Monday Check In

Mornin, world.

Just a very short blog post today to check in and keep on track. After being back on plan for a little while, I'm seeing my weight creep slowly back down a bit, as expected.  Returning to better eating habits means shedding some water weight right off the bat. The trick now is to keep on target again and keep motivated, exercise, walk, etc.

I'm hoping to have some new recipes up online to share soon too, as we have a beautiful new kitchen at the house and I am eager to get into more home cooking again.  We made a fish recipe recently that was good apart from me underestimating the power of the new oven and overcooking it slightly.

I've got a whole new set of walking routes now that we moved too, so I'll have some photos of that to share as well.  I am going to get a post up in the next few days talking about some of the other things I've been up to lately.

Haven't got much else to say today so.. here is a pic of some clouds. Kaybye.



Dukan Reboot!



Click for Ze Big Version



Last week I started the Dukan Diet all over again, from the ground up.  Since ending my strict adherence to the diet in January this year, I put about 10 pounds back on and knew it was time to get back on track.

I didn't weigh in yet this week but expect to see that number dip down lower as I shed water weight, since I am back on a no/low salt diet.  I'm  not worried about putting 10 pounds on, since I know I have all the right tools and motivation to be able to lose it.  I also have the privilege of a lot of support from family and friends, and my very small number of blog readers (thanks for being here, sorry, there's no free beer.)

Putting things back into perspective is a good start for me.  I weighed 340 pounds at one point. Now I'm 260, and slowly falling. I've still managed to shed 80 pounds.  That's nothing to sneeze at.  Let me see.. how to best put that into perspective? The average weight of a thanksgiving turkey from the store is about 15 pounds. Let's call it 20 to be generous. That means.. if I wanted to replicate what it was like to be me at my heaviest right now, I'd need to..



Pick up 4-5 of these at once and lug them about 24/7!!!

Alrighty!

I feel sufficiently motivated now. :)

I have another tool in my arsenal, a new grill we bought after moving. I'm learning my way around it still - it's much better than my trusty ancient one I ditched during the move. Grilling is a fantastic way to cook healthy veggies and meats, no matter the time of year.  This one took about 4 hours to put together, has a nice little side burner. Nothing fancy, but it makes me happy.

We also haven't quite gotten to housewarming yet and a grill is downright necessary for that IMHO.

Over and out - wish me luck in round 2!

Some guy

Rock and Rolling it

The start line.. dun dun DUNNNN

Saturday, June 22nd I participated in the Seattle Rock and Roll Marathon.   Click here to see my finishing time and stuff.. got it done in just under 4 hours.

Leslie and I walked the half-marathon, and Parul (who has been training like a monster) ran the full marathon.  The half is 13.1 miles - the longest uninterrupted walk I have done in my entire life, to date.

My journey to this event has been the work of several years, and if you asked me if I'd ever even go and WATCH a marathon at the start of that I'd have laughed at the thought.  Getting in better shape this past year and dropping a bunch of weight has been a huge help - and the motivation I have had from my friends and family and especially my wife have really carried me to this point.

I blame Leslie and Parul for the Marathon - they signed me up and then as an afterthought, let me know I was going. ;)

The rest of this post is going to be a combination of photos I snapped with Leslie's camera while walking, and me discussing the walk itself in detail.  For those of you who might not want to read all of it, here's a short summary:

This was very difficult, and I wasn't fully prepared.  I did it anyway, and was proud of the blisters and aching feet.  Dawn watched me limp for a week.  I'll do it again sometime!

Now, on to the good stuff.  First, a photo of me taken at about 5am, driving down there. As you can see, I was thrilled to get an early start!




To get good parking - we had to be AT the garage at 5:30am.  That means I got up at about 3:30 in the morning, and was in a car an hour after that heading down to Seattle.  The race started and ended at the Seattle Center.  It is an iconic part of the city, and launching into this event from the shadow of the Space Needle seemed very appropriate.  There were approximately 18,000 people in the marathon.  Yeah, 18,000!





Here's a photo for reference, as we queued up to get going. File this image under 'collective insanity'. We were in 'corral 42' - which means 41 other groups of people started before us. That's why my 'chip time' for the race shows 3 hours 54 minutes, but the 'clock time' is higher - we didn't get going right at the start.  For this event we tied plastic ribbons into the laces of our shoes containing a disposable microchip - so when you walk through checkpoints, your progress and time is tracked automatically. Pretty slick. No need to turn it in later - just toss it!

I've done a handful of 5K walks before, including the MS Walk up in Bellingham several times and the Jingle Bell Run last December. 5K is about 3.5 miles.  It's a decent walk - enough to get your heart going.  It's also about about 1/4 the distance of a half marathon.  I got a brand new pair of Brooks walking/running shoes not long before the marathon (love them) - and I dressed in shorts and a t-shirt.

Here's something people do at Marathons - I had no idea:

Wear an old coat you don't want so you are warm in the morning. Then when the race starts - people toss them to the side, and they are collected and donated to those in need of clothing.

Accordingly I wore a huge blue coat which.. used to barely fit me, and now, I could smuggle a stillborn elephant around in it. When we started, I tossed it to the side after a half mile or so and never looked back.  In a way I was tossing a reminder that I used to be a lot larger.  Maybe a bit contrived.. but it felt damned good.

We got lucky with the weather - it was cool and overcast, no punishingly hot sun on us, and no drenching rain.  There was a morning fog gently clinging to the building tops as we got going for real.  If this isn't Seattle weather, nothing is.

The other thing that makes the Rock and Roll Marathon.. well, Rock and Roll - is the music. They station bands along the course, every mile or so, on temporary stages. Some of them were pretty good! Some others.. were groups of people, with instruments.. and a singer! Yeah. But they added a cool added zing to things and something to look forward to.  There were also tons of people watching, all along the way - groups cheering, people with inspirational signs. The all-important tables with people handing out water or Gatorade along the way, naturally.

Here's an example of one of the bands - it's also just amusing to see them.. well, here:

The marathon is tough stuff. Even people who do them all the time know you have to really be ready for it and expect it to tax you.  A lot of doing this - especially for someone like me, who isn't in peak physical condition - is willpower.  I have that in spades these days, thankfully.  So here is a chronicle of the rest of our journey.  It is surreal and fascinating to walk the closed-down streets of Seattle, and along the freeways.  Being me, I couldn't help thinking - this is what the zombie apocalypse is always like in movies.. a bunch of people trudging down the freeways, while eerily, there are no cars moving in sight.

Enjoy, Enjoy. Rememebr you can click these to see bigger pix.



Coconut man says.. this way, citizens!



The sun is trying to break through...



Mile 3 - almost 5K down. Still feeling good.



First big hill. Here, people falter for the first time. This is tougher.



No time for love, Dr. Jones. Drink, toss your cup and get going!



Seattle's finest.. playing Angry Birds, probably.



Awesome mural artwork.



Even awesomer, more mural-ier artworks.



This is where it really started to get hard. Conversation dwindled.



A somber memorial guard near the water...



DJ at the end of a tunnel section



You wouldn't think so - but walking banked corners sucks more than hills. :|



Passing cars honked at us and people waved.




Very strange to walk on the raised freeway sections!

 

Hardest mile in the course. At least at mile 12 we could go, "Just one more.."



Some last-minute motivators near the end!



Finish line - beyond this, we were handed an assortment of goodies.



Gear check after the finish line.


Part of walking the marathon is a free beer at the end.  What really happened though is.. we crossed the finish line, got our medals for finishing.. got handed water, Gatorade, bananas, bagels, chocolate milk, energy bars.. and then found the beer tent was down a staircase and said, "Screw that, let's go sit in the car. Parul isn't done yet and will be a little while." ;)

As we were picking up our gear bags from the fleet of handy-dandy UPS trucks it cut loose and started to  pour, and I do mean pour. In seconds the whole Seattle Center was absolutely soaked.  Parul ran  his last 2 miles in the rain while we limped back to the car and hung out.  I wasn't there to see it - but I like to think he Shawshanked a bit at the finish line.

This was a very emotionally and physically taxing thing to do for me. By mile 7 I was tired and starting to hurt.  By mile 8, as we headed uphill again, I knew it was going to be very hard to finish.  My feet were killing me, even in new shoes and socks.  My left smallest toe was blistered badly.

As I mentioned above.. Mile 11 was the killer. At Mile 11, mentally, I was wondering if I could get through this thing.  It was the longest mile in the course, hurting, sweating, tired, and seeing that sign and saying.. "It isn't even the last mile yet!"  Then, of course.. a couple of grandmotherly woman walked past Leslie and I chatting about what sort of burgers they were going to make for dinner, as if they were just out on a casual stroll.

At the start of the year - I was down to 250 pounds, and on track. I went to Hawaii on vacation, and life has been a massive whirlwind since then which has seen me lose both of my cats, move into a new house, and walk 13+ miles in one go.  I'm up at about 260 pounds right now, because my eating habits have slipped a bit.

It's time to Dukan all over again - I am getting ready. But this time, it sounds like I might have a bonus player involved. Dawn is considering joining me - my vegetarian wife, contemplating a mostly-meat diet.

Life has endless surprises this year.