So, it's been a while since I've given any sort of update on my fitness progress. You may have noticed. Maybe not. Well, that could be due to the word "progress" being involved. I might have posted a fitness "digress" maybe. Or, perhaps, a fitness "regress." However, my ego would not allow that sort of thing....thus, no reports at all.
If you've been following my blog for a while, you know that I started out 2011 with a bang. I set a lofty goal, and I set about trying to attain it. I was walking...outside...in the freezing cold...with icicles in my nose in January and February. It was successful. I was cranking out some mileage and I lost about 15 or so pounds. I kept it up as the temperature began to moderate, but then it was time to switch to the bike and just when I should have really been laying down the miles...the proverbial wheels fell off.
First, I got sick in May...I mean really, stinkin' sick. I was out of commission for a good two weeks. Then, lots of work travel in June. The final straw that broke the back of my goal for the year was a tweaked left calf/achilles in July in a failed attempt to play softball. That pretty much shut me down for the month of July and now into August. There is just no realistic way for me to hit my goal (2011 miles in the year 2011).
I have a decision to make. Do I get discouraged and give up altogether? Maybe eat what I want and see just how big I can get before Thanksgiving? (That is my default setting.) Or, do I hit the reset button and refocus on the real point of why I set the goal in the first place?
I didn't set that goal just because I thought it would be a cool thing to be able to tell people that I did it. Most people think I was nuts for attempting it anyway. Nope. I set the goal to force myself to get serious about fitness issues and to get my body in a better place. To be healthier. To lose weight. To lower my cholesterol. To keep my blood pressure at a good level. To wear the clothes I have and to not have to keep buying bigger ones. (I have smaller ones already.) To encourage my daughters...who worry about me. To be a better husband to my wife...who probably also worries about me. Etc.
So, the bottom line is that even though my year's goal is shot in the head, I still need to be healthy, lose weight, and be fit. I won't be posting weekly progress updates, and I'm not going to push myself to walk in the freezing cold this winter (the indoor treadmill will be just fine). (Stu, you can say "I told you so" anytime now.) However, I am going to refocus my eating habits. I am going to get back on the bike if my left calf/achilles will permit. And, I'm going to still attempt to "walk my butt off!" I don't think I've gained much weight in my recent inactivity. I haven't weighed in, but I can tell by how my clothes are fitting and how I feel that I'm within a couple of pounds of 260 which is close to where I was when I stopped tracking it. Still, I would feel much better at 240 and I'd feel stellar at 220. (If I could only remember that when I'm trying to order lunch!)
Enough said.
On a side note, I've come across a couple of websites that you might find interesting:
http://www.mapmyride.com/ This is a great tool for mapping out your bike rides. It keeps track of your routes, tracks the mileage, tracks the time, give you a report on the elevation changes, ets. Check it out.
http://www.mapmywalk.com/ This does the same thing for walks.
I've also noticed that they have some other versions like "mapmyrun" and "mapmyhike." Check them out.
See you on the road....come on out and join me. Let get fit together!
Mike
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