Summer is really here! And although I am glad it's not winter (really really glad) I am not quite thrilled that it is summer, either. I think the reason is because we didn't have a Spring. We don't seem to have Spring anymore. There is no real transitional season. It goes from COLD to HOT virtually overnight. Also, I am really, really out of shape...again! Argh!
THE GOOD NEWS: I am doing something about it - at last!
I started today with a new trainer at Good Life. Not my favourite club, but I've been a member for 12-years (mostly for the free parking privileges at ManuLife) and it is cheaper and the trainers are cheaper than The Yorkville Club - and it's still a recession...lol!
So here are my opening stats...drum roll (double argh):
Weight: 226 lbs (oh my god...how the fuck did that happen)
Body Fat: 28.4% (yuck)
Bicep: 14.5 inches (ok...just tighten/tone)
Chest: 42 inches (smaller please and tigthen/tone)
Waist: 43.5 inches (W H A T....omg....no....please!)
Buttocks: 45.5 inches :(
Right thigh: 24.5 inches (crap...that's as big as some people's waists)
Right calf: 16.5 inches (huge)
So...there you have it! The honest to God's truth...whether I like it or not. AND...that is my baseline from which to develop.
MY GOALS:
RACES:
- Run the Honda Indy 2.8 on 9th July
- the Acura 10-miler on 19th July
- the Beaches Jazz Fest Tune-up 10k on 26th July
- and more building up to the Scotiabank Marathon on 27th September
I also want to do some Tri-Tri's and Sprints and maybe a full Triathlon by the end of September.
And then I want to climb Mount Kilimanjaro and run the Great Wall of China Marathon.
That's all within the next year...and some more things too!
SO...next I have to take "before" pictures and post them....yikes! And show up tomorrow at 7am for first 'full' training session. My plan is to train Monday/Wednesday/Friday @ gym for 1-hour with 30-minutes of running to warm up. Then on Tuesday/Thursday to bike for 30-45 minutes and swim for 15+ minutes! Then on Saturday's I want to ride the bike on the road and Sunday to run on the road - preferrably with the Running Room High Park group for my long run! I think that will create a difference pretty quickly.
For food I am drinking 5 20 oz bottles of water per day. Plus taking a multivitmain + SMS w/ Chondroiton & Glucosamine + an immunity booster. I will probably play around with this too.
I want to try Barley Max green drink (substituting for Greens + -- someone is telling me it is better) and perhaps start juicing again.
As well, I am going to have a breakfast routine as follows:
Upon waking (5am) and before exercise:
- bowl of organic steel cut oatmeal with organic skim milk yogurt
After exercise:
- 250 ml of chocolate milk + 1 hardboiled egg + banana
I will figure out the rest of my meals soon...probably salads and chicken for lunch and some healthy snacks...and not quite sure about dinner!
GOOOD start...keep you all posted!
S :)
Monday, June 29, 2009
Friday, June 19, 2009
"Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear -- not absence of fear." - Mark Twain
"Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear -- not absence of fear." - Mark Twain
Fear is persistent. Everywhere I turn. Fear of failure. Fear of sickness. Fear of death. Fear of loss. Fear of embarrassment. Fear of....you name it. In fact, fear seems to be the driving force in life, in business, in politics, in culture -- in the world. And yet, what does a life of avoiding fear create? A "not" life. A life in avoidance to that which you fear vs. a life in pursuit of that which you desire. Avoiding fear is a path to a cowardly existence. Avoiding fear is the road to emptiness and despair. Resisting fear on the other hand would be the pursuit of a life in spite of fear. I desire/want X and there is FEAR along the way BUT I will NOT allow fear to be the determining factor. I will not allow fear to choose how I live or what choices I make or what life I have at the end of the day, week, month, year...my life! Succeed or fail, it shall be because I say so...not because I have avoided FEAR.
Fear is persistent. Everywhere I turn. Fear of failure. Fear of sickness. Fear of death. Fear of loss. Fear of embarrassment. Fear of....you name it. In fact, fear seems to be the driving force in life, in business, in politics, in culture -- in the world. And yet, what does a life of avoiding fear create? A "not" life. A life in avoidance to that which you fear vs. a life in pursuit of that which you desire. Avoiding fear is a path to a cowardly existence. Avoiding fear is the road to emptiness and despair. Resisting fear on the other hand would be the pursuit of a life in spite of fear. I desire/want X and there is FEAR along the way BUT I will NOT allow fear to be the determining factor. I will not allow fear to choose how I live or what choices I make or what life I have at the end of the day, week, month, year...my life! Succeed or fail, it shall be because I say so...not because I have avoided FEAR.
Sunday, June 14, 2009
"We must walk consciously only part way toward our goal and then leap in the dark to our success." - Henry David Thoreau
"We must walk consciously only part way toward our goal and then leap in the dark to our success."
It is true that "thinking" can only take you so far. Bold action! Daring! Bravado! Even foolishness itself is the necessary final ingredient for any true success. Because if you think something all the way through, you will inevitably realize the unlikelihood of success. The absolute utter folly of trying. The inertia of inaction will gain momentum and all of your dreams and aspirations will come to naught. I speak of experience. Being of relative sound mind (most of the time), I am only too familiar with a history of rational thought and smart, well-thought-out choices. And the results: a boring, safe, and ultimately unsatisfying life. And those rare times (seemingly rarer by the day) when I 'leapt' as Thoreau admonishes? On many occassions - abject failure! But on just enough - bliss! success! heroic accomplishments! memories worth cherishing and retelling! and always a sense of satisfaction for having tried. The most recent of these experiences being my Marathon in Hawaii. Completely unwise given a) I hadn't trained for over 3-months, b) I had injured both knees in the preceeding 3-months of training, c) the financial burdon of travelling there and covering the obligations of my mediocre fundraising efforts. But I was committed. Determined. Or at least unprepared to not go. In fact, it was only at the very last moment that I truly decided to proceed. I remember it was the night before the race and I was still not decided. Soberer voices begging me to reconsider lest I do more damage to my middle-aged body. I went to bed that night undecided. I woke up wide-awake without alarms or wake-up calls at 3:30am and was so certain that I didn't hesitate once before jumping into my running gear and headed down to the lobby to meet the rest of my so-called team. It's funny. I didn't make very good time at all. In fact, I probably would have completed sooner/faster if I had walked the whole way instead of ran the 1st half and walk-ran-hobbled the second. But I finished! I did it! I completed the race. And although I was in absolute agony for the rest of the trip and for days/weeks later, I am to-this-day proud of that frail accomplishment. I DID IT! So...the question now begs asking: TO WHAT OR WHERE SHALL I LEAP NEXT?
It is true that "thinking" can only take you so far. Bold action! Daring! Bravado! Even foolishness itself is the necessary final ingredient for any true success. Because if you think something all the way through, you will inevitably realize the unlikelihood of success. The absolute utter folly of trying. The inertia of inaction will gain momentum and all of your dreams and aspirations will come to naught. I speak of experience. Being of relative sound mind (most of the time), I am only too familiar with a history of rational thought and smart, well-thought-out choices. And the results: a boring, safe, and ultimately unsatisfying life. And those rare times (seemingly rarer by the day) when I 'leapt' as Thoreau admonishes? On many occassions - abject failure! But on just enough - bliss! success! heroic accomplishments! memories worth cherishing and retelling! and always a sense of satisfaction for having tried. The most recent of these experiences being my Marathon in Hawaii. Completely unwise given a) I hadn't trained for over 3-months, b) I had injured both knees in the preceeding 3-months of training, c) the financial burdon of travelling there and covering the obligations of my mediocre fundraising efforts. But I was committed. Determined. Or at least unprepared to not go. In fact, it was only at the very last moment that I truly decided to proceed. I remember it was the night before the race and I was still not decided. Soberer voices begging me to reconsider lest I do more damage to my middle-aged body. I went to bed that night undecided. I woke up wide-awake without alarms or wake-up calls at 3:30am and was so certain that I didn't hesitate once before jumping into my running gear and headed down to the lobby to meet the rest of my so-called team. It's funny. I didn't make very good time at all. In fact, I probably would have completed sooner/faster if I had walked the whole way instead of ran the 1st half and walk-ran-hobbled the second. But I finished! I did it! I completed the race. And although I was in absolute agony for the rest of the trip and for days/weeks later, I am to-this-day proud of that frail accomplishment. I DID IT! So...the question now begs asking: TO WHAT OR WHERE SHALL I LEAP NEXT?
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