The Last Man to Run

You look at those pictures and you'd think I failed, right? November 2012. 165 lbs May 2012. 170 lbs                        You look at those pictures and you'd think I failed, right? The biggest farce, scam, misconception - or whatever you want to call it - in the wellness world is the "losing weight" concept. "Oh, I need to lose 10 pounds", or "I need to lose some weight", "I need to lose a lot of weight, though" blah blah blah blah blah... It's the most ridiculous way of thinking when it comes to your health. Really? Is that what you really need? Even further, is that what you really want? Probably not. Let me explain. (By the way, please pardon my ultra sexy and stylish superman pants, I obviously didn't remember I had them on when I got the picture taken.) If I was taking "weight" only into account when evaluating my physical state, I would have an argument that the 6 months I spent trying to change ...

Some people will say that running is crazy. I think running is mental. That's right, in any way you wanna look at it. We put ourselves to this intense amounts of pain, unnecessary pain. Running is mental, and here is what I mean: Running is Mental. A lot of us know we'll never win a marathon and that we'll be glad just to participate and finish one. We train so we can get all of the pain without necessarily any of the glory. Who does that? It's a little normal that some people run with a purpose, i.e. losing weight, heart health, but others simply just... run. Marathons are 26.2 miles of constant running. Have you ever measured that with your car? It's far. Running that much is mental. Ultra-runners must be crazy. Who gets up before dawn to run 50+ miles in one sitting? The bad water ultramarathon is some 135 miles in the freaking Death Valley desert. Who does that? That's crazy, right? It's gotta be. It's definitely not normal. "Normal...

Ever wanted to do a Ragnar? Here are a few "soundbites" if you will, if you want a bit of insight about it. A Ragnar can be torture or a lot of fun. It just depends on who you ask. Really! There are some people here who look like they can't wait to hit the next Ragnar. And then there's people like me - probably not many - who are just thinking "ok, been there, done that, mark it off, don't need to do it again". LOL Aside from that, it has been a good test and exercise of will over mind. Oh yes, and the elements. It was freaking cold here in Las Vegas, I think the only thing I did right in preparing for this was bring 2 sweaters, 2 long sleeve shirts and flannel pajama bottoms. Without those items I would have not been able to survive. It was that cold. There are a couple of things that could have made this a great experience, not that I didn't have fun; it's just that it could have been so much better. I think the problem here with me was t...

For someone who said he'd never take up running, doing a Ragnar might seem a bit of a stretch. Even in the leg I chose is one of - if not - the easiest of them. Still, doing 12 miles in one day seems like quite the undertaking for me right now. I don't know why I let people talk me into this. Or do I? I think deep inside I really wanted to do it, I wanted to find out if I could really do it. I've been pushing my limits quite a bit lately and this might be a more measurable (and visual - show and tell) way to accomplish the same. At least I can get a cool story out of this, a small bragging right. 12 miles in one day. 12 miles is what I have done in, maybe, a week before. In all honesty, the last man to run is really living up to his name; and might, for all intents and purposes, live up to it in the race and be the last man to run through his leg's check points. It's also a lot more involved than I imagined, had I known everything you have to do to run this thin...

I'm looking more like I want to. Running is the best slimming exercise I have ever tried, and I have tried lots. I'm not done yet but I'm reaching my goal and I have made good progress. Look at my pictures, end of May to mid-October. Running is effective. Enough said.

It's been a bit of time since I have had time to publish on here, which is too bad because I had one of my most exciting experiences ever. I went for about 5 miles a couple of weekends ago. And while I paid for it later, I will say it was well worth it. My knees were actually inflamed by the end of the day. In my inexperienced opinion, I must have been doing something wrong, something incorrectly with my form. That was a fair price to pay for the exhilarating experience that is Runner's High. My friend Will got me to push myself yet again. I was really worried and afraid to go for 5 miles because it sounded intimidating but more than anything I didn't want to be lame and slow Will down.Fortunately he's very good at dealing with my rookie-ness. This allowed me to push past mile 1, then uphill onto mile 2, then down hill for mile 3 and then... boom!! There it was. I remember thinking "I feel good, I'm feeling pretty good right now" then I just kept g...

This week I have tried to go hit it hard, but after only half a mile, wear out sets in, it becomes a mental battle just to keep going for that first mile. Mile 2 seems almost unreachable. At least that's how it was 3 days ago. I ran again last night, it was cold, and that made it a bit more painful than usual. Because I've never done that before, my chest became yet another thing to battle; another element to try to push out of my mind. I tried to go for a fast mile and after less than half a mile it became painful to breathe. You know, that blood taste feeling in your mouth. It was hard and discouraging. However, I did another 8 minute mile, which is my fastest mark to date and I hadn't done that in a few days. That was a little encouraging but just a little, after all I am not training for a sprint but for endurance and distance. Does anyone have any tips for running in the cold? I'm still feeling its effects in my esophagus. Thanks for the comments and advice....