Momentum is Real

So I was bragging about a day when Jake didn't go work out and I did a while back.  Yeah, Jake had done some sort of activity during the day an was really tired, and a little sick, when it was time to go to the gym...and I went it anyway.  Without my pardner.  Sans my external motivator.  Minus guilt that my actions would harm another.  And I went anyway!  I was pretty excited about it.  It was a sign to me that I was on my way to being self motivated.  And then the weekend happened.  That's when I learned about negative momentum.  A body at rest...will find something 'interesting' on TV even if it is a Friends re-run.

I'll start with the typical excuses.  I had a rough week.  I had a meeting that would have made average person curl up into a weepy ball.  I wasn't feeling 100%.  I had even read in the book that it was important to take days off to help rejuvenate your muscles and get back up to speed.  I'll just tell you what I heard a comedian say once....Excuses are like asses. Everyone has one, and they all stink.

When Thursday rolled around and Jake was too tired to go.  So was I.   I think I even fell asleep early that day.  Then Friday came and I knew he wouldn't let me go two days in a row without going...but inside I was secretly hoping, "Don't mention the gym.  Don't mention the gym."  He was tired again...and we didn't go.  Saturday rolled around and I did something in the morning that I called exercise, because it was, but Jake called it a cop-out.  He said that delivering flyers in the neighborhood wasn't strenuous enough.  Well, I think I walked over four miles and I jogged between some of the houses.  I sweat and I did the route faster than I ever have before.  I would call that a workout.  I got the 8% equivalent of, "Yeah, yeah, yeah...whatever you think old man."  I will tell you that Saturday afternoon I felt like I had taken some sort of experimental medication designed to make every muscle in my legs and midsection sore...and it worked like a charm.  No gym that night.  (I had a pretty good excuse though.  I had a chance to be on national TV.  I will explain further nearer to December.  I signed a release.)

Then Sunday came.  I was still sore and I used the soreness to secretly project onto Jake the desire to skip the gym again.  It was a late night on Saturday.  I was still sore.  I hadn't used an excuse in a few hours.  We didn't go.  Monday...similar to Sunday.  They swam and played soccer.  I just didn't go.

Last night, I forgave myself for the lapse and we dragged our lazy selves back to the gym!  I wanted a sign that it would be ok.  As we walked to the door Jake said, "Oh, I forgot my card.  The thing is on my keys and I didn't bring them."  When we got inside, the guy just waved us through.  How about that!  We're regulars!  The people at the front don't need us to prove that we belong there because they see us all the time.  Sign received and understood.  It will be ok.  But I do need to watch that annoying little voice that tells me it would be ok to just stay home one night.  Because one, turns into two.  Two turns into a weekend.  And a weekend turns into a trip to the all you can eat bacon cheeseburger palace complete with a Dr Pepper soda fountain.  I gotta stay away from that place!  (if they ever build it)

A Little Bit Better

Today I continued my streak of trying to be a little bit better than yesterday.  The first day was easy.  I had to do a little bit more than next to nothing.  Every day beyond that has been a challenge.

I'm not saying that a couple weeks into this I am already fighting to find motivation.  I'm saying that for me, personally, I want to do something more every time I go into the gym.  If I started at 3.5 miles per hour one day (don't judge....I'm working on it) then the next day I want to do 3.6 mph.  If I did 2 miles the first day, I want to do 2.1 the next.  We've given ourselves a healthy chunk of preparation time to get ready so I am not trying to burn up the record charts.  For me, every day that I get out there is a record and I want to keep breaking them daily.

I mentioned that Jake had a friend join us in our quest.  Now another friend of his has joined the preparations.  He hasn't said that he wants to do the marathon but I don't think it's because he can't do it.  I think that is only because he doesn't want to spend that much time running.  We'll see.

As I ran/walked my way past an hour and some the boys all went into the back to do some weight training.  As I passed 4 miles (a little farther than before) I called it a night.   I went back into the gym and saw them doing a contest on the pull-up bar.  Jake lifted his knees up to his chest, brought them over his head, and dropped them down toward the ground making his arms look twisted and his face red.  It looked like the adult version of when dads have little kids walk up their legs, spin over the top, and then drop to the floor only to say, "Do it again Daddy!"  Jake, instead of dropping to the floor, did the entire process in reverse like an Olympic gymnast on those hanging ring things.  (I'm going to have to warn him that there is a large *no pun intended* **well maybe I intended it a little** group of people who secretly dislike people with only 8% body fat and he should watch the showing off stuff.)  The other two guys tried it but they have a few more practice sessions before they do it as effortlessly.  I then told the boys to step aside so I could show them how it was done.  I know my place in our little band of runners...comic relief.

I just wanted to take a minute to jot down today's success...a little bit better...and try to find a ticker on the web so I can keep track of how many miles I run while training.  I found some that will talk about weight loss...but none that will count up miles.  Not sure what I have to do.  Does anyone have any ideas where I could find something like that?

Anyone?  Anyone?  Bueller...Bueller...

Down a Few

Just a really quick note as I run out the door.  It appears that I am down a few pounds.  I've no plans to celebrate by knocking over a Little Debbie's armored truck and consuming the proceeds.  That would be bad.

Anyway, I'm going to work in pants that seem to fit a little better this morning.  They are, ashamed to admit, the largest size I have ever worn...but they had started to get snug.  Ok, tight.  Ok, I couldn't wear them for a while because I couldn't fasten the button without fearing that the pressure would loosen the stitches that held the button and it would fly off at a speed large enough to injure someone.  OK!?!  There, I said it.

I've been watching what I eat but only seriously in terms of portions and maybe a little in not just grabbing something sugary when I am the slightest bit hungry.

Also, yesterday Jake couldn't go to the gym since he had a group to go to.  I decided to go on my own.  I know that sounds mundane to you but I haven't gone to the gym alone for decades.  I think it's a good sign.  He wants to keep me encouraged, but I want to keep myself encouraged too.

And, I would like to officially welcome one of Jake's friends to our band of marathoners.  He heard what we were doing and decided to join in.  He will be very motivating as well.  (Of course he will, like Jake, need to take it down a whole series of notches if he wants to actually run with me)  Any runners out there who can tell me if it is better to run with someone or if you should go at your own pace?

Ok, gotta go shape young minds into the geniuses of the future!
Jeff

Photographic Evidence

Jake had a really good idea...dagnabbit.
(I want to formally apologize for the potty talk but it seems that you aren't taken seriously as a writer unless you talk trash.  It also might help with my street-cred to mix it up a bit linguistically speaking.  Ya Feel Me!?)

Jake's idea,
"Hey dad, why don't we take lots of pictures to show the changes we're going through while doing this!"

Uh, yeah, that is a good idea Jake.  The only problem...there would be photographic proof that I am a big fat guy.  I can see it now.  He gets out the GoPro and does some sort of time lapse trick to make it into a movie.  Then there would be the YouTube thing.  Millions of views, words like viral and amazing transformation, and labels that say "See what happens in six months with a dad and his son."  As a card carrying introvert, that makes me nervous as heck.

Am I thinking there will be changes?  Yes
Do I think the transformation will happen?  Of course
Am I ready to help one of my children do something they want to do?  Naturally
Do I really want a bunch of "BEFORE" pictures floating around in cyberspace?  Not so much

I think I will compromise and get a few face pictures onto here.  I want to be sure to have something to compare myself to...other than the body fat analysis sheet that rivals a kielbasa...so I will let a few be taken.  Jake is wanting to build himself up for this and, since he already has a head start, he'll probably end up with a six pack and big beefy legs.

I haven't completely forbidden the idea of taking pics.  I just have to warm up to it.

Maybe I'll puff out my cheeks and pretend that I am puffing out my belly (or better still have a Santa costume casually laying in the background so people think I just got done being the Jolly old elf and forgot to take out the pillow!)  Yup, I have a plan.  We'll see if it matches the kid's plan though.

OK, I am off to bed so I can get up and get back to training tomorrow.  Being sick has made it remarkably easy to sit around.  (The fact that doing a few dishes was enough to make me need to sit and rest helped too)

Hopefully I won't have any other challenges at least for a while.  Although I have had shingles a number of times and my back on the right side is annoyingly hurting like the start of another outbreak.  Whoever says things like, "Once you get shingles you can never get them again." runs the risk of being punched in the head.

Anyway, I want to get some shuteye so my body can reset.
Nighty Night
Jeff

I left my list over there, in the bucket

Because it's there, doesn't seem to cover it this time.  At least if we were getting ready to go do some mountain climbing, or shipwreck exploring, then we could argue that it was a once in a lifetime shot and we had to take it.  No such luck when deciding to do a marathon.  There are miles and miles of running trails all over the place.  I haven't seen the route yet, but it is in Fremont, (where I have lived for a large majority of my life) and I have yet to say, "I think I should go run for several hours straight along this trail/road."  If you would like to see people who do say things like that...I know where they'll be.  On race day they will all be in the incredibly large group of people ahead of us.  And when I say "us" it is only because my son cannot imagine not doing the race together.  He seems to think that his nearly fifty, pot-bellied, inexperienced old man will be able to keep up with his sixteen year old, 8 percent, used-to-run-track and field body.  I think there will be lessons learned along the way.

We have made it to exercise/train every day since we decided.  I suppose you could say that it isn't technically official yet since we haven't signed up.  However, I did talk to the organizer and he said that we would have the opportunity in a couple weeks.  Then it will be even more official than just saying, "I wanna do it."  One of the running advice sites I visited said, "Pay the entrance fee.  If you drop a wad of dough on the entrance fee you have an end point, a goal, and a monetary motivation."  Up to now "dropping a wad of dough" would have made me really sad because it would have meant that the pizza crust would have to be that much smaller.  sniff...  I'm not saying that pizza is off the table...so to speak...but it will have to be monitored and kept in its rightful place of "every once in a while" or "treat."  Up to now it has been my, "Not sure what's for dinner.  I'll call for pizza"  In fact I have a homemade sauce that makes the taste buds stand up and dance around like the little jelly guy in Flubber.  (well maybe not...but it's tasty)

I was surprised by how quickly Jake jumped at the chance to run with me.  It could be that he has been thinking about doing this for a while.  It also could have been that he was eager to encourage me to get off the couch and so he jumped at a chance to change.  Either way, if I have a down period (they say it'll happen) I have a willing participant to buoy me up!  I am counting on it.

Among the things that I am thinking about writing is a list of challenges that we meet and overcome.  The other night I thought my shoelace broke.  As I laced up and tugged to get it tight the friction of the pull cut through the hole in the shoe itself.  I can still wear them but it is weird feeling and I look like I got my shoes out of a donation box rejects.  A few people, and a few websites, have said to go to a running store so they can watch you run and determine what type of shoe would work best.  I'm not terribly interested in running in front of people who see fit runners all the time.  I will have to work up to that.

The second setback...is actually ongoing.  I have succumbed to the petri dish that is an elementary classroom.  Sore throat, a little achy, absolutely exhausted, and a tiny bit of a cough.  It has been enough to cause me to lounge around all Saturday and take a lengthy nap about the time that I was done with breakfast.  (Secretly I want to take a nap every Saturday but only do it on days that I am not feeling well.)  I am sitting at the computer writing and thinking about going to bed once again.  I'm guessing that there are running enthusiasts who would say to play through the pain, or man up and sweat the germs out of me.  Unless I work up a sweat changing channels on the remote, it ain't happening today.

Looking forward to getting back to training soon.
Jeff

Finish By Fifty

Hey Jake.  If I started to train for a marathon would you want to do it too?

I often get these harebrained ideas to do things and most of the time I can suppress the words from ejecting out of my mouth.  This was not one of those times.

My son and I are members of a gym.  For months now I have operated under the assumption that a gym membership was similar to paying protection to the Mafia.  If you paid it, nothing bad would happen.  I think Jake has been going with his friends every once in a while but I have been avoiding it like the organic food aisle at the supermarket.  I know it's there, but I don't have any reason to go check it out.  After my very well thought out and intentional mentioning of a marathon (yeah right) I decided to go back.  

Jake is a healthy kid and was up to the task.  In fact he remembered that our gym offered a body analysis test that we could take advantage of once a month.  We had never done it and I was operating under the assumption that we would have to make an appointment, shave our heads, run on a treadmill hooked up to wires and breathing into a giant tube that looked like a vacuum hose...then I realized I wasn't the Russian guy from the Rocky movies. Turns out we could do it right away, in about a minute, and we only had to take off our shoes.  (Will the sacrificing never end!)

Jake's printout reads like an Olympic athlete.  His stats are all in the normal to a little less than normal range.  The kicker was his percentage of body fat...8.  Not 18...8.  Well to be fair it was 8.3 but you get the idea.  I think I have had polo shirts with a higher percentage of fat after a messy trip to the rib joint in the next town.

My printout looked more like the daily recommended allowances sticker on the back of a Twinkie box.  In fact, to be more specific, it would have been the Twinkie that they described in the Ghostbuster's movie.  When I get the new results next month, and the fat content has dropped below that of a jelly donut, I may tell you what the original number was.  Prepare to leap back in horror!  That has to change.

So, armed with determination, a countdown clock, a book titled MARATHON, and a gym membership we are off on this journey to complete a marathon before I turn 50...an age that is closer than I think but far enough to manage.

Wish us luck!