How I got here

I just wanted to provide a little background info as to how I arrived at my present situation.



Last fall I was presented with a life changing challenge. Move up another waist size or lose weight. I was about 30 lbs over weight and had some how moved up to wearing XL dress shirts. All along I kept telling people that if I could just get off my _ss and do any kind of exercise I could get my metabolism going again and get back to my pre-thirties weight.



Up until I was thirty, I was at the 9% body fat range and a whopping 145lbs. Upon turning 30, getting married (all within 2 days) and quitting smoking (almost 6 years ago), I managed to obtain a maximum density of 195. I went from a 28" waist to 34 working on 36 quickly in under 10 years.



So anyway, back to last year. I finally decided that it was time to stop talking and start doing, so I took up running (really jogging). Around the end of September I started running a mile, slowly working up to two and a half miles by the end of November. December was a complete wash and I had to pretty much start over again in January.



Since it was winter and I was already paying the local YMCA a ton of money, I decided to start using the treadmill. I concentrated more on time than distance and pace. By May I was jogging the first 5 minutes, running for 20 and cooling down for another 5.



Then at the end of May, I got the Nike+ system for my 40th Birthday. This was the key turning point for me. Previously, nobody knew (or cared) how far or fast I ran. Now with Nike+ I could see how far and fast I ran and so could other people. That was the kick in the butt I needed. Then I saw the ad for the Human Race and decided that I was going to run it.



Long story short, I picked up my distances and pace and ended up finishing the 10K in 1:01:56. I was really hoping to finish in under an hour, but I'm still happy with the results, because up until today, I have not run 10K since the early 90's. The real reason why I'm happy, is because even though I stepped things up a bit to prepare for this, I really haven't put forth a ton of effort.



So with this in mind, I have decided that I will try to run the NYC Half Marathon next year, which should be some time in July. I guess I'm working on doubling my distance again. I typically run 5K every other night, and the 10K was a first for me. Now I'm looking to double my distance again go for the 13.1 miles.



I hope to use this blog to track my progress as I work my way up towards this new goal. Wish me luck!

By the way, I'm only 15 lbs over weight now and I can still wear my 34" waist pants. I have accepted the fact that will not be 9% or even 18% body fat again (without surgery or getting shipwrecked).