So turns out I really enjoy going out in the morning for an early workout…I started be telling myself I need to do better at keeping a schedule of activity and actually going out and finding something I can do that is enjoyable, and rewarding. You see I am a big guy 309 lbs at the time of starting this new adventure. I wasn’t sure what it would bring so I set out and decided that I would try to pick up running. There has to be a reason why you can see the same people day after day, month after month, on the trails just enjoying it all in the morning and taking it all in…how did they get started why did they get started and what kept them going are all things I wanted to know. So on May 16th I decided I would try to find out, and to keep myself honest I would blog about my adventure.
A little background about myself…I’m a married 28 year old guy who has always been big, well I think since third grade at least. I remember that on the 5th grade basketball team we did measurements and I was 183lbs which for a 5th grader is pretty large. I don’t know where all my bad habits came from they are there I do enjoy relaxing, a little PS3, and the occasional nap, but I tend to wonder how much of my extra weight was genetic. I have bigger than average grandparents on my dad’s side I would guess that grandpa is 6’3” and 315 and on my mom’s side I would wager that grandpa is 5’5” and 425, it is hard to say. My parents aren’t that big but are above average if I can just say that.
Back to myself I married my high school sweetheart which everyone seems to point out after meeting us. This journey isn’t about her really just that she is my rock and there to support me in anything I really ever would want to do and accomplish. My high weight was around six months before we got married I know at one point I was physically on a scale and it said 328, but I do also know that I had thought I had just lost some weight which was scary. We went to college together then she went on to grad school while stayed in the area and worked in a job I didn’t like I didn’t feel respected and I turned to a hobby I love…baking…a great hobby, only if you live alone one that can cause you to gain weight. I’d be willing to bet I can make chocolate chip cookies in many varieties but I don’t need a recipe anymore I made them that many times. After the wedding I know I lost weight and was down as far as 289 on a couple of occasions but over the last year I’ve been bouncing around the 305-310 range.
Now I live in Sheboygan, Wisconsin so May is as good as a time as any to begin an outside workout activity and if I get hooked I figure I can find someplace to go when the weather starts to turn if it is too cold to go outside. I’m an accountant by day and a sports junkie by night. I love to golf, watch the Brewers and 49ers play along with my alma mater the UWGB Phoenix. Also I like to tinker outside doing yard work or building things overall just messing around. I started gardening last summer the second of being an adult and having a house. I live with my wife and a dog so along with my running I would say on average three or four times a week we also go for walks down to the Lake Michigan shoreline and back about 2.25 miles if I would be forced to guess, although I’ll make that a route for one of the next runs to see the true distance.
Way back on May 16th I downloaded a new app for my android phone…Adidas MiCoach. I wanted something that had all of the following, some sort of mileage and pace tracking, something to tell me if I need to go faster, something that had a program for beginner runners that would interrupt my music, and of course something that was free. MiCoach fit all those and that is now what I am using to track all my stats if you will. As you recall I am both an accountant and sports junkie so if I was going to get hooked I need some sort of comparison system to use to get me there. Two weeks in I love it, I don’t know how accurate the calorie number is but since it maps my route via a GPS and has a clock for time I assume it can track my pace and mileage accurately. You give them your weight for sure I don’t remember if height but I think that since I have given them both calorie burn may be in the ballpark, again I’m an accountant so I’ll take the numbers it gives me for granted. Now I just have to get started…and over the fear of running in front of other people.
You see I am a little embarrassed at the pace I run especially when combined with the distance. So at the start I’ve decided to go about this as a morning only thing until I get over that. Good thing Casie has to commute to work and gets up way before I did so she can get me started on my day. I just hope I don’t see too many people early on, that has been my plan. Lets get this thing started.
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