Day 12

Today, I had a long day. I was up @ out of the house by 0500. I had decided early on that I would work out in the evening. There was one problem with that plan, We had plans on getting a room on the river walk to walk the the River Parade. Since most hotels have a fitness center I decided to get a quick work out before everyone came by to watch the parade. I was able to run a mile on the tredmill and did a quick chest work-out. I was able to get back to the room, take a quick shower before everyone was ready for the parade. Again, in the past this would have been a perfect reason to not work out. Thanks to everyone reading, you've keep me going and help me push through these time to ensure I start living the lifestyle I wish to have. Thank you for you support.

Day 11 Turkey Day

Today is Thanksgiving. If any day is a must for a work-out, it is today. This is the day most Americans will over eat and eat poorly. Realizing this, I decided to go for a run this morning. I had a great run. I ran for 3.5 miles. At first i started off slow, my knees ached and did not think I'd run that far however every step I took, it felt better and better. Before i knew it i was in the zone. I was experiencing that "runner's high". I decided i was gonna push myself so I can enjoy this day. I was recalling how in 2002 I was running the Turkey Trot oversea. The distance was a 3.5 mile run so it was only fitting that I ran that distance again. I felt great. Today I am grateful for my family and friends. I am grateful for being on day 11 without neglecting my goal to become healthier and better shape. Thank you for your support.

Day 10

Sorry guys, I'm updating this a day late. Yesterday I started the day by cooking breakfast from my employees at 0600 - 0740. After working all day I drove to San Antonio. Once i arrived in San Antonio I went for a run. The weather was beautiful. When I started it was probably about 65 degrees and dropped to about 60 by the end of my run. I ran for about 2.75 miles. I felt great. I needed to run because I did not eat as well as I had in the past week. I had 2 breakfast burritos with eggs, bacon, and salsa. I also made chocolate chip waffles. Thanks again for your support.

Day 9

Long day at work today. Got to the office @ 0700 & came home @ 1930. Did not even leave the office for anything. Anyway, I loaded & unload cans today for a little part of mt work out. After I came home I ran only 1.5 miles on the treadmill in just under 12:00. I realize the treadmill is different from real running but I struggled in ROTC to do my 1.5 mile run in under 12 mins. After that I had a quick chect work out. I am a bit concerned because I have a pinched muscle in my left shoulder. Not sure where it is from. Thanks for the support.

Day 8

4 hours of sleep...up @ 0330...travel 169 miles to go to work, Work from 0630 to 2030. A small diner @ 2100. If any day is a good excuse to blow off a work out its today. Thanks to you guys out there I forced myself to run a mile before I went to bed. Thanks guys and good night.

Day 7

Today marks a complete week with out missing a work-out. I started of the day with a nice brisk run. I ran for about 2 miles. My legs are pretty tight because I did some extense stretching yesterday which is something I normally don't do but should. Over the past 4 years my warm up would just consist of walking and then slower running until getting up to speed. My muscles are not use to being stretched and when I stretch them they become tight for days. If I start stretching on a regular basis I believe it will help however I have to just get past this tightness that I have right now. Tomorrow I will be back to running and lifting @ the gym. If it takes 22 days to estalish a habit I am a third of the way there. Will you still be reading when I hit that day? Thanks for the support. We'll talk tomorrow.

Day 6 Krav Maga

Today I did something I've never done before. I took a Krav Maga work-out course. It totally kicked my ass but it was amazing. I have this couple that I was stationed w/back in the early 90s in Cal (Jen & Chris Coble), they have been attending Krav Maga for about 2-3 years and have been telling me I really need to check it out. So since I am determined to get back in shape I took them up on the offer. Krav Maga is a type of self defense. The studio that I went to teaches all sorts of courses. Anyway the work-out I did was very cardio intensive. This was the "heavy bag" work-out. We started by doing some stretches. I knew I was in trouble when some of the stretches seemed intense. Once we were warmed up we put on boxing gloves and did a series of punches on the heavy bag. I felt like Mike Tyson (without the lisp and criminal record). Right jag, left jab, right cross, body shot, high kick, low kick etc. You get the picture. After several minutes of that, take the gloves off and on your back with a medicine ball for sit ups and twists. Ok, back to the bag, more punches and kicks, round houses, right hook, left hook, low punch. Now cross overs with the medicine ball for several minutes, ok back to the bag. After that we had 3-5 pound hand weights, now we are punching the air with the weights, now doing shoulder presses. Again back to the bag, left, right, left again. My arms are feeling very heavy at this point in time. Now with the hand weights we are doing push ups for 3 minutes and doing back rows in between push-ups. Back to the bag again. This whole work out did not come with breaks, we had literally seconds in between exercises while taking off and putting on your gloves. You were lucky if you were able to wipe the sweat from your head and take a quick sip of water. Finally at the end we had 3 rounds of all out punching at the end of the class. In between rounds you had to keep moving, you could not stop moving your feet or stay still. I have no idea how a fighter can last 12 rounds and keep his hands up to keep hitting. At the end of the work-out I was drenched from head to toe in sweat but I survived. It was an awesome work-out and I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to get in shape. This was THE most intensive work-out I've have in years.......probably decades. Thanks Jen & Chris I had a blast. This was great fun. If anyone is in the San Antonio area and would like to check it out I've attached the website http://krav-maga-san-antonio.com/ If you stop by ask for Chris or Jen Coble and tell them you know me. Anyway, it was awesome. Thank you for taking the time to read this and feel free to leave comments and/or suggestions. As always thank you for your support.

Day 5

I ran approximately 2 miles today in the rain. I felt real good. For whatever reason i love running in the rain. It keeps me cool and the air is easier to breath. I ran at a great pace and did not stop at all. I can feel my stamina coming back and i am sleeping better and finding i am more productive at work. All i did was run today because tomorrow i expect to get my butt kicked with the workout i'm about to attempt. I have finally taken up an old Air Force friend on her request to attend a Krav Maga work out with her. After talking about what takes place during this training i can not hope to have enough energy to type in this blog tomorrow. Stay tuned.

day 4

Thank you once again. Had a busy day today. I left the house @ 0600 because had to head up to a small town call Yokam TX for a meeting. Its about 3 hours from where I live. After the meet I spent most of the day in Victoria TX @ my other station. I left there around 3:00 to head back to work in Corpus. I had agreed to run the reload from 6-7pm. I had planned on working out right after thaat. On my way home I rec'd a call from Manny my old Ops Manager. He said he was in town & we should go to dinner. I thought that would be great. In the past we would normally go to Wings & More for chicken wings and beer ("home cookin for a guy from Buffalo") so when he recommended Wings & more or Hooters I declined and said we should go to TGIF. I picked there because they have a great salad there. (Stop it, I know how that sounds) especially since I had a water too instead of a beer. I guess I'm taking this lifesytle change pretty seriously. Another strange thing is all week I've been eatting veggies, fruits & drinking plenty of water. My meals have been in small quanities by I've had many of them. Today for lunch we went to a great little Baraque place in Victoria. For whatever reason my body is so used to "good" food & my system has been so flushed of all the acid/toxins that the briskett & saugage didn't taste as well nor did it agree with me. I was burping briskett all day (sorry I know that sounds gross but its true). My body finally settled down with more water and green type food.
Make a long story short after diner I normally would have said the hell w/it. Its a long day I'll just work out tomorrow. Because I know people will be reading I forced myself to the gym. My work out wasn't as exciting as running on the beach or on the waterfront but I was proud of myself for getting a workout done when normally I would have blown it off. I ran abou 1.5 on the tread mill and had a nice chest workout.
Finally I have two last things to add. 1st I am writing this from in bed on my blackberry so if there are spelling errors or other errors I'm sorry.:) Second thing is I spoke to an old friend this morning and she told me she had read my blog and thought it was a great idea. She told me that she was actually motivated her self by reading it. This made me feel great. I started this to motivate myself and keep me on track. I have never intended for anyone to be motivated by my words or actions. I am grateful that I can help others move toward their goals. Very cool. Thank you for everyone who has read this blog,weather you are a daily reader or just have read it once, YOU have motivated me to stick to my word and helped me take action, Thanks for being here for me.

Day 3

I had a great run today. I went down town Corpus on the waterfront. I did a 2 mile run along the gulf. The weather was perfect!!!! It was about 75 degrees with a slight breeze coming from the gulf. I decide to just go with a cardio work-out today. I did not hit the gym because I need to make sure i don't over exert my upper body.

Tomorrow will be my biggest challenge with sticking to my goal. I have to have a sales meeting and will be very busy with work. I will attempt to get up early to work out. I am proud of myself thus far with my diet. I have been eating small multiple meals. I have not had any beer nor soda. I've been drinking a ton of water too. The exfuze i am taking is really helping me with my energy and my recovery. As always, thanks for keeping me on track.

Day 2

I slept well last night. I did not work-out or run this morning because I had my State of the Station (SOS) presentation to give at my Corpus station this morning at 0715. I normally need time to set up therefor i did not want to chance being late. I did get a chance to run & work out today. It was awesome. I went to the beach and ran for almost 3 miles. I'm no where near the shape I used to be but it felt great being out there. The weather was perfect, sun shining and a nice gulf breeze. The coolest part of the run happened toward the end of my run. This time of year is butterfly season in south TX. There are millions out here. Well toward the end of my run i had almost 20-30 butterflies running (actually flying) right next to me at the same pace i was running. Talk about inspiring. Just at the time i started getting tired they were next to me almost encouraging me to run a bit fast and further. Its the little things in life that if we look tell us we are on the right path and doing the right things. Sydney would have gotten a kick out of it if she was running next to me.

Shortly after my run, i went home and had a quick back and arm work-out. It felt good to be back in the gym. I can feel the difference already. Tomorrow i will attempt to get up early and work out and run. Once again, thank you everyone for reading my blog. This has helped me stay focused and stick to my work-outs. Also feel free to add comments, i always love hearing from everyone.

Day 1

I set my alarm for 0500 today hoping to get up and go for a brisk morning run. Since i did not go to sleep last night until 11:30 I decide to hit the snooze until 0530. Well 0530 cam and went I hit the snooze again. I finally dragged myself out of bed around 0545. If it wasn't for this blog and the fact that i told people of my quest i might have stayed in bed (Thanks for keeping me motivated). Since it was still dark out at 0600 i decided to run on the trend mill and work out after. My initial desire is to go full out and run fast and lift hard however I know I would be paying for it later and possibly hurt myself so I am staring off slow. I run a mile on the trend mill and worked out for about 20 minutes. I felt great!!!! I went home, took a shower, made a smoothie and started my morning. I found myself more focused and more productive this morning. I am eating several light meals during the day and debating on doing a short work-out tonight. Thanks for listening. I appreciate the support.

Here goes nothing

I have decided to create a blog to keep myself on course on where i want my life to go. I will start with my health/weight. I will later post my goal to reduce my debt, parenting, career goals and my new business. I want to lose 20-25 lbs. I am currently 220 lbs and need to get down to 195-200. I always have good intentions with working out and eating right but it seems something (life) tends to get in the way. I figured if i start blogging and i have an audience (or just myself) keeping me honest and disciplined. I encourage everyone to read and keep track of my progress. I would love feedback, encouragement, criticism or anything you feel like saying. OK let's see how it goes.

P.S. Normally my spelling sucks and i am bad proof reading my own work so i apologize in advance for my grammar and errors.