The Rush Is On

This is going to be the most challenging step for me so far.

Tonight, I wasn't able to go to the gym like I wanted to. I wanted to at least get some cardio in, get some stretching in, and at least keep some momenteum going.

Not a chance in hell, though. I couldn't get the energy to get up in the early AM and get to the gym, I was out of the house by 7:15, went to school, had to drop the car off at the shop, went to work, went to pick up the car from the shop, went to a student's house and taught a Tuba lesson, came home, ran a few quick errands, and sat down for the first time at 8pm. Not a major issue, but it didn't leave time for the gym, and that didn't sit well for me.

I ate well again today, it's starting to get a bit easier. I'm starting to notice that the busier I am, the less I think about food. One of my biggest struggles has always been my dedication to food. I think it's almost (if not completely) a food addiction. This is the truth: When I wake up in the morning, I am thinking about when I'm going to have breakfast. While I'm putting the breakfast dishes away, I'm wondering how long it's going to be until lunch, and if my hunger will hold off until then. Then, I time my lunch and eat it as late as possible so I'm not hungry for dinner.

I think the problem isn't the hunger, but that addiction to food. I always get on my parents' asses about smoking cigarettes, my friends about it, my co-workers about their bad habits for cancer-sticks, but then I've got this addiction that tears at me just as bad. I'm constantly thinking about food. Granted, lately I've been doing pretty well with it, but it's still in the forefront of the mind. Just part of the struggle, I guess. I'll win.

As for the working out part, tomorrow's insane. I have an hour drive to my 8:30am class, I drive to work (35 min drive) to work for ONE HOUR, and then I drive back to school, take a few more classes, and then drive BACK to work, and THEN my wife's work Christmas Party is tomorrrow night at 7pm. Another long, long day. I know I won't have time to go to the gym unless I go ASS early in the morning again. I mean, like leaving the house at 6am.

Think I can do it? Honestly, right now, I'm not feeling motivated to. I want to, I know I need to, yet.. I just want to sleep in. That's my challenge for tomorrow morning.

Get to the gym. Just have to do it, you know?

The Massochist In Me

Have you ever called Mike Tyson a wuss? Have you ever said something insulting about Clark Kent while Superman was standing behind you? Have you ever been paid to be a speed bump at the Hummer test track?

If you've answered yes to any of these questions, you know how I'm feeling today.

Blog, meet Josh.

Josh is my trainer.

Josh enjoys inflicting pain.

In fact, I'm pretty sure that Josh sits back and night with a notebook and a pencil and thinks of different ways to make me regret ever TOUCHING a cheeseburger.

So, tonight was my workout with Josh. Skinny guy, spiked hair, bright red Bally's shirt. And ask me what he did tonight.

He put me in boxing gloves, had me doing high speed squats, sidestepping back and forth, and throwing punches at full speed.

I'm still alive. Of course, if I had to change a lightbulb, signal a touchdown, or do the YMCA dance, it ain't happening. I can barely lift my arms. Chest lifts, curls, squats, you name it, I did it tonight. And you know what? I pay for this. And you know what's even crazier for that?

It's the best damn workout I've had in ages. It'll also be the best damn sleep tonight that I've had in ages.

So, Josh... I know you're reading this, as I gave you the blog address tonight. Plan another workout like this next week, and kick my ass again.

You want 10?

I'll give you 12.

Speaking of numbers, notice the blog title. Dropped another pound since Saturday, and it's only Tuesday. I know that I said I was only going to weigh in every Saturday.. but, it's my blog. I'm allowed to lie.

Keep posting comments, folks. Send this to your friends, show this to your co-worker, send a link to your gym teacher, it doesn't matter. This is a shameless attempt to get more viewers, get a bunch of you motivated, and keep me doing this.

Down another pound, plenty more where that came from.

Motivation From All Over

Lots of things to talk about today.

First off, I got a phone call from my brother telling me that he's read my blog, and that he wants to join a gym. It looks like I might have a work out partner. Best news I've had in a while. It'll help a ton with motivation, and having a spotter there definitely is a good thing to have. Also, when you're there with someone else, you can't puss out and NOT do what you're there for, so that's a bonus. The more the merrier.. Bally Total Fitness at 16 Mile in Troy.

Also, I found a great website that helps on those days where you're 'stuck' going out to eat. The family gatherings, etc.. if you absolutely HAVE to go to Olive Garden, Red Lobster, Chili's.. you name it, use this website. It'll tell you the statistical breakdown of that meal that you're about to eat as if it's coming out of your fridge with the nutritional breakdown right on it. Helped me tons.. we went to Don Pablos, my FAVORITE Mexican joint, a few days ago.. and who knew there was a Mexican dish that is less than 600 calories and about 15 grams of fat? Everyone, say hello to Mama's Skinny Plate.

Also, in other news, I was talking to a 64 year old guy at work today who ran the Detroit Free Press Marathon. Actually, he walked it. 13 miles, and it wraps around the city. It's an October event.

Guess who wants to do that?

Your resident fat man.

That's a long term goal. I know my sister-in-law Melissa said that she's do a 4 mile walk with me that takes place on New Year's Eve, so now I've got more motivation. I need to get more info on that, and then I need to start walking more. I'm thinking I'll start soon with the walking, and make that an 'above and beyond' the gym thing.

So, lots going on. If anyone is near the Detroit area and wants to start doing the walking thing, get with me. I need more and more.

Ok, that's my blog for the day. Motivate me.

Oh, and by the way..

.. I'm freaking starving, and won't be home until 8:30pm tonight. I don't know how you skinny folks do it.

Another part of the struggle

Today's plan was to go to the gym after work at 6, and then get downtown to Wayne State for a concert that I'm required to go to for school at 7:30.

Long story made short, I made it to the gym, and had about 15 minutes.. and then ended up talking to a few trainers instead of really working out. Did a few stretches and curls, but who am I kidding. I knew I didn't have the time, but I wanted to show my face in the gym.

At really well tonight, and Erin's doing a great job of cooking healthy. Had an amazing chick pea spaghetti and chickens over spinach tonight. I've got an amazing wife that makes Rachael Ray look like Ronald McDonald when it comes to the kitchen.

The next few weeks are going to be tough. Final exams in 2-3 weeks, I've got a stretch in the 2nd week of December where I have to go to 7 concerts in 8 days, which means I won't see my house from 7:20am until after 8:00pm at night.. every single night, and that's accounting for ZERO gym time. Just not acceptable.

So, I'm going to cut this short, as the gym opens early. I have to be downtown (about an hour drive from my house) to be in class at 8:30, which means a 7:30 departure if I'm skipping the gym. I'm *NOT* though, so that's a 6:00am departure time.

Tomorrow marks one week, and I'm still on the wagon. Hang in there with me, I'm going to need it. Oh, and if anyone knows how to stop the clock so we have enough time in the day, let me know. I'll take two.

My Wife Makes the BEST Desserts

This one's going to be short and sweet. I did pretty well this weekend. I worked out Saturday and Sunday, doing a half hour on the Eliplical Machine (it's a combo run-stride type of machine) both days, and ate relatively well. I found myself cheating a little bit tonight though, which isn't great, but I don't think it's devastating. Erin's cousin Theresa's 16th birthday was tonight at her house, so we had dinner there. Dinner was healthy, but there were appetizers that I could have done without that I nibbled on, which was a bit of a cheat. Also, cake and ice cream, but to be fair, I had a small portion, and intentionally didn't finish, so I feel like I did pretty well.

Nothing major to note, except that Tuesday marks one week. Plenty to go.

Some of you have told me that you've been motivated by this, and that's the best news I could hear out of this. If there's anything I can do or say, I'd love to. Just keep reporting back to this blog to keep ME motivated, and I'll do whatever I can do for you. Challenges, or just talking about things.. anything to keep the ball rolling.

I'll post more tomorrow, hopefully more inspirational than this, but I told myself I'd post every day, so here's today's entry. Until tomorrow!

The First Weigh In

Ok, there's a few things to discuss here.

First off, I wasn't going to put my original weight up here, but I think for the purpose of this blog, it's a must.

The photo on the left here isn't what you think it is. It looks like a general scale. Every doctor's office has one. Most gyms have one. Hell, Rosanne Barr's house has two of them, one for each foot.

This is where it's much different. This scale is judgement day to me. I've decided to weigh myself only on Saturdays, and that's when I'll report in to you folks. When I started this blog earlier this week, I stepped on the scale. This is the embarassing part, but if I've laid the rest of it out to you so far, I can do this.

Most doctor's scales go up to 350 pounds. It's a standard scale. Some doctor's offices have the super-sized ones for us big folks. About 9 months or so ago, my back was really, really hurting. To the point where tying my shoes became an Olympic event. So, I went to the doc to get some drugs, right? "Step on the scale, please".

379.

That's no typo. 21 pounds from a small Volkswagon.

Go back to the regular scale at the gym. Remember how I said it goes to 350? Well, if my math serves me correctly, 379 is bigger than 350. Long story made short, my original goal was to be 'weigh-able'. Longer story made even shorter, in the past 9 months, I was able to get down to 341, and that's where my most recent issue started.

I was happy with myself. I reached my original goal. And in Tuck-land, that means you get lazy, find excuses, and coast. As predictable as this story goes, I went back up above the 350 point. So, this week when I started this blog, as I said, I weighed in. When I said "Fourth and 100", I was considering my 100 to start at 350, and end at 250. So, in order to even start, I needed to get back down. The scale would still balance out, but past the marker, so I assumed it to be about 352, 353, 354.. honestly, I'm not sure.

So, technically, this blog should be called "Fourth and 104 or So". But, that's just not sexy. No 'ring' to is.

Fortunately, today's Saturday. Weigh-in day.

The blog is now renamed, "Fourth and 99". I made up however many pounds that was, and am back on the scale. 349, and counting.

The Run - Pictures Part 2

Here's some more, as promised. I'm still riding the high of the race, but I know that I can't rest on my laurels. I need to keep doing what I need to do. Eating healthy today.. found this amazing 89 cent lunch that my awesome wife packed for me today. It's one of those Michelina's Budget Gourmet ("Gourmet" is stretching it) frozen dinners.. Chinese Style Veggies w/ Chicken. Surprisingly good, and only 300 calories and 6 grams (only 1 saturated) of fat. Not bad.

Ok, here's more pictures of the race day. There's only 3 more, for some reason I was thinking there was more than that. Total tease. Sorry about that ;)


This was the biggest relief of the race. I knew that 5 kilometres (look at that, the proper European spelling) equals 3.11 miles, so when I passed by this sign, I knew I was almost there. That boat in the foreground? That's the Detroit Princess, sitting on the Detroit River. Basically, once you got to the boat, you turned right and hauled a couple hundred more feet, and you were at the finish line.


That big tube was the finish line. I took this picture from the OTHER side.. I had already made it through. That was a rush on top of a rush for this big fella. All those people cheering you on, after 3.11 miles, the last couple hundred feet I literally SPRINTED. Part of it was for show.. I mean, you can't WALK the last stretch with all those people watching you.. but it's not like I fooled anybody. You finished at 46:48, and you were walking. Still, I got to the end, and this picture proves it.




There I am, in all my glory. Bright red face, lucky number 7322. My wife Erin knows how much I hate to be the guy to ask a stranger to take a picture of you, but I had to do it this time. I'm standing in Cobo Hall, and the runners you see behind me outside were the ones running 10k. At least I beat THEM to the finish line :)

So, there you go. I survived my first 5k in a lifetime. I feel exhausted today, and can't even IMAGINE working out today. I need to talk to my trainer and find out what I can do to help regenerate and get me back working out daily. This is one of my problems.. I kill myself, and then need days to recouperate. Those 'days of rest' are usually the ones that give me enough time to fall off the wagon.

That's where you guys come in.

Anyone want to start running/walking, or working out?

The Run - Pictures

This one's a picture inside Cobo Hall. It's where we signed up, and were ready to go. I think it's symbolic, because of the dedication that Joe Louis (the statue) had for the city. I just really liked this picture. It was taken around 6:45am, where people were starting to gather for the 8:00am run.


This I thought was pretty cool. You're looking at over 7000 people. It was packed right before the start. Everyone was awesome, talking to each other, giving encouragement. I'm not sure if the guy at the bottom right was thrilled about being part of my blog, however. He probably blew me away by about 20 minutes, though. Ate his dust.

This was pretty cool. A good picture of the RenCen here in Detroit. Notice the fog creeping up near the top.

A good zoom up on the guys who started the race. The guy with the horn.. well, he started it off. My first ever "shotgun start", and the horn faltered, and was all air. Bummer.

This was pretty cool. It's about the 1 mile point, in front of the famous Fox theatre. I should have taken a picture to my right as well.. you would have found the home of the American League Champions, Comerica Park. Home of the Detroit Tigers.



What I found impressive were the people just watching. They were early for the Parade, but they were cheering us on, clapping and chanting for us. It was pretty motivational. Here I am, thinking I'm going to die, and you hear total strangers rooting you on. It was very cool.

There's a couple more I'll post tomorrow. It seems blogspot.com doesn't want to let me upload more to this post. Catch you tomorrow!

I'm Alive and Well

http://www.runmichigan.com/results/06/turkeytrot5k_112306.shtml

Those are the results of the race. My first 5k race time ever comes in at 46:48. My goal was to beat an hour, and I did it. Now that I'm looking at everyone else's results, I've got mixed feelings. The 'egotist' in me sees that out of 70 people in my age bracket (25-29), I placed 67th. That part of me thinks that I could have done much better.

The other part of me is proud as hell. I finished. And, I learned a ton. Here's what I learned:

- Stretch out. And not just for 2 minutes.
- Wear REAL running shoes. I was rocking my K-Swiss, and each and every step after about 3/4 of a mile felt like a lightning bolt of pain running through my legs and into my hips.
- I can do this.

I thought I was going to die. I have to be honest and say that this was much more physically demanding that I thought. I figured "oh, go run and walk.. alternate, and see what you can do". I went into the 5k with literally NO training, NO preparation.. and crappy shoes.

And I survived to tell about it.

And with dinner, I did pretty well. I barely touched the gravy (although, it's law here in Michigan that you MUST have some gravy on your food), and I was light on everything. I had a lot of dry turkey, and I avoided two of my favorite desserts.. pumpkin pie, and my wife's AMAKING "poke cake".. it's a white cake with jello infused into it, and then a layer of whip cream. It's amazing. And not one bite.

So, keep up the comments to me. Ask me questions, give opinions.. tell me what else I can do. The reason that I did this race was because of a friend on Rotokingdom.com. He told me to do a race, and he even told me that he didn't think I would do it.

I proved some things today. I have to say, I feel pretty good about myself.

Again though.. this is what scares me. I'm always good at the beginning. Can I keep it up 6 months from now?

That's where I'm counting on you guys. Hang in there with me. Also, I'll post a few pictures soon of the race. I carried the camera with me.

24th Annual Turkey Trot.. Here I Come!

I've never done this before. An organized race, going downtown Detroit to run. It's pretty freaky to think that I'm going to take this on myself, with no one there to tell me that I'm crazy. The race starts at 8:00, which means I can pick up my "racers packet" tonight or tomorrow. I'm guessing since I'm going to sign up tonight at Cobo Hall, I'll just pick it up, and assume that I'm leaving my house around 6:00am.

I'm really going to do this. If you don't see me post another blog in a week, it means that Big Tuck has died on the roads of Detroit. I found this chart to help give me an idea of what I'm expecting:



According to this, I should expect to take about 62.5 minutes to finish the track. That means, I'm setting my goal at an hour. I have no idea if this is reasonable, too hard, or too easy, but I'll be sure to let you know tomorrow.

I feel good about this. But, I always feel good about challenges in the first few weeks of a "diet". Keep me honest, and keep posting and letting me know that you're reading this. It means a lot towards my success.

Keeping Current

Technically, I started yesterday. I kept track of everything that I ate, and everything that I did starting yesterday, and I'll continue to keep it up.

Thanks to Kevin's Blog, I found a pretty cool website that keeps track of everything.

Starting today, I need to drop 100 pounds. That's not a final goal, but that's where I need to be. The picture on the top left is where I was in July. Pretty much where I am now. I'm not trying to kid myself. The holidays are coming, and it's going to be the biggest challenge of my life. Strangely enough, the last time that I went on a 'health kick', it was the week of Halloween, 2 years ago. I dropped over 50 pounds in about 8 months. Guess what? Around February, I got lazy and content, and each and every single one of them came back. I do not want that to happen again, which is why instead of putting this as a private diary, I'm laying it out for you all to see. Peer pressure is a bitch. At least, I hope so.

Here's the link to keep track of what I'm doing. Again, please keep on me. It's what I'm putting myself out here for.

It's Fourth Down, and it's 100 to go.

I'm laying it right out on the table. This is embarassing, this is bold, this is desperate, you name it. I've been debating this for a long time, but when I noticed a friend put his neck out on the chopping block, it motivated me.

S0, here we go.

I'm a big dude. For those of you who know me in person, this is no secret. For those of you who know me only through online relationships, it's one of my 'on-going jokes'. But this is real. This is damn real. Want drama? Here it is.

This is my life we're talking about here. Life or death.

Let's cut to the chase. I played high school tennis. I was in the marching band. I ran 5k a day, every day, running cross-country. I played basketball, football, hockey, and anything else you can think of in the streets. I was never Michael Jordan, Joe Montana or Steve Yzerman, but I could hold my own.

My interests today?

Fantasy football. Fantasy basketball. Fantasy GOLF. I couldn't make that up if I tried. What do they all have in common?

I'm sitting on my fat ass.

There's no pity-party here. It is what it is, and I'm not going to blame anyone but myself. I'm just going to put it out there. I'm lazy. I like food. I like being lazy while eating food.

But I don't like groaning when I drop the remote control. I'm not a big fan of backaches. I can't stand migrane headaches. And you know what's the worst?

I hate myself. I hate the fact that I'm in a 4x shirt, and I hate the fact that I'm rocking 46 or 48 size pants. I hate the fact that I'm willing to be the one holding the camera during family functions so that I'm not in the pictures.

So, I'm laying it out there.

I need your help.

If you're reading this, I'm counting on you. I'm counting on you to keep me honest. I'm counting on you to say, "hey, fatass.. get back to the gym, you haven't been there in 3 days". I'm counting on you to say, "hey, why don't you shove down another taco, lardass?". I'm counting on you to say, "you need to reclaim your life, this is way too damn important to be lazy about".

Here's the plan:

Every day, I'm going to record whatever I intake, and whatever I do to keep peeling the pounds. I'm going to record this, and I'm going to keep a running tally of everything, as well as keeping a daily journal about how I think I did that day. The name of this blog is "Fourth and 100", 100 representing the pounds I want to drop. As I do this, I will rename the blog. So, if I lose five pounds, the new blog name will be Fourth and 95. Get it? Again, I stole this from Kevin's Blog. Make sure to give him the same support that you are doing for me.

Your mission, if you choose to accept it, is to keep me honest. Make sure I don't just let this turn into another empty blog that sits .. well, empty.

You up for it?

Kick my ass. Please. For me.