The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

We've been in the process of moving 1/2 way around the world, which is no small feat with a family of five. Ever since Cindy and I got back from our anniversary trip, we've spent a bulk of each day packing, selling, shipping, or other fun activities associated with moving. The Good: My weight loss has maintained during this time, even though my workouts have not been consistent at all. The Bad: It's been a lot harder to get in my workouts with things packed, the gear sold, and a crazy schedule. The Ugly: It's not only the workouts that are crazy... We have no fridge anymore which means the next two weeks will be eating out exclusively. The next time I'll get a homecooked meal will be July 27th! We're leaving Chiang Rai today and are finished with our home. Everything is packed and shipped and our airline cases home are packed as well. Today our family is heading to Krabi, for a final family trip to the beach in Thailand. Emily and I plan to rock climb at Railay Beach and Cindy's going to parasail. It's going to be an active vacation with lots of family time together. I'll take it... The good, the bad, AND the ugly! I'm just happy that I'm heading back to the states 120 lbs lighter and looking forward to seeing the reaction of my friends who haven't seen me since I weighed 359! We'll be back in the states on July 26th...

Thai Boxing

Today I got to try my hand (and feet) at Thai boxing. The resort has free lessons several times a week as part of their fitness program. After 20 minutes of warm up and initial instruction, I got to punch, kick, and knee the instructor over the next half hour. While I got in some good connects, I'm still sore the next morning.

It was a great workout. Cindy and I also went for a run/walk this morning and did water aerobics in the pool near midday. It's been a great holiday and I realized yesterday that I'll be coming back home more fit after my break than before I left! That's wonderful and such a change from the days of vacation meaning that I need to be a slug.

The other funny realization is that the people here have no idea that I used to weigh 120 lbs more! To them, I'm just a fit guy who loves to exercise and be outdoors. It's been really interesting over the past few months as I get to know new people. Their perception of me is that fitness is just who I am and how I live... I like that :-)

New Personal Record!

Amazing! There is no other word for it! I have been running near a 12 minute mile, usually just over 12 minutes. Today, I decided I was going to break that barrier! I decided to take my own advice from my PR bike time and do 2 minutes at a regular "fast" pace and then 2 minutes pushing the pace 10-20% then back to regular "fast" pace for recovery, etc. Back and forth for the entire 33:53 5k run... Yes! For those who do math fast in your head, that is not only less than 12, but less than 11 minute miles!!! I ran the 5k with 10:35 miles, which I am SOOOOOOOOOOOO excited about. I broke several barriers that I wasn't sure I'd ever break!

What an amazing run! If any of you out in cyberland try my 2 minute fast - 2 minute faster running or biking, let me know what it does to your speed. I'm curious...

Here's a picture right after my "record breaking" run :-) Notice the large amounts of sweat.

Come with me for my morning ride!

Last month Carol in NC wrote a great blog about "You Know You're in the Boonies When..." and I made a comment about the great things I see on rides here in the countryside of Thailand. She said she'd love to see some pictures and that got me thinking...

Here's a slideshow of pictures from this morning's 20 km ride. I hope you enjoy...

Chaos and Control

Right now our house is an expression of chaos... the chaos of moving, the chaos of going through our possessions and deciding what makes the 12000 trip to America, the chaos of considering what our work will be in the USA, where we'll live, and what we'll drive.



While things are chaotic, it's easy to let the fitness and healthy eating slide. Thankfully, I've learned better. In the midst of chaos, it's great to hold onto those things that we can control.



I can run. I can bike. I can eat healthy foods. I can focus on what's great and where we're heading in life. I can spend time with friends and marvel at the beauty of God's creation.

In the midst of chaos, I'll focus on those things I can influence. Those areas where I can stay in the "zone" and build health.

Maybe it's a balance thing... Being at peace with the chaos while controlling what matters.

2022 is Pretty Cool!

Yesterday, after my workout posting on SparkPeople, my minutes of exercise this month crossed the 2000 minute mark!



That's pretty sweet... It's amazing that once you start tracking your work, over time it really accumulates. Another example is that the other day I was having a slow day on the bicycle and got a little frustrated. As I turned into our neighborhood I flipped through the bike computer and it was just crossing the 1000 km mark after being reset a couple of months ago.

It's easy to get discouraged or lose focus on a rough day, but by consistent and long term effort, we reach amazing heights!

Sore again... naturally

When Cindy and I first started losing the weight, I remember one night looking at each other and saying "will we always be this sore?". It felt that way as weeks upon weeks were filled with soreness and aches as we pushed muscles that had gotten used to "hanging around".

Thankfully, as time went on and the pounds dropped off the soreness came to an end. In fact, over time it was replaced with a feeling of athleticism. I began feeling strong and powerful. Not all the time, just often enough to like the feeling :-)

The other day we got Jillian Michael's "30 day Shred" workout video. We're in a group "Biggest Loser Fans" on SparkPeople.com and joined a challenge to do it everyday for a month.



How hard could it be? It's only 25 minutes a day...

OUCH! My shoulders are sore, my abs hurt, my triceps feel like they're going to fall off. I'm sore again!

I'm thinking that's a good thing...right? Thanks Jillian.

I'll post a blog at the end of May after all this daily shredding... I'm already seeing progress in my push ups. I realize that my lower body does a lot of my cardio work and this video is really giving my upper body a run for the money!

Kickin' Tae Bo

This morning Cindy and I were going for a run, which I was really excited about. Being together with her and challenging each other with our running pace is really fun. Instead, we woke though to the sound of a steady drizzle.

We reconsidered our workout plan. "Let's do Tae Bo", Cindy said. "We haven't done that together in a while!" I have to admit that my response wasn't enthusiastic. I'm embarrassed to admit, but I thought I had "graduated" from Tae Bo as I'd lost some of this weight.


You see, Tae Bo was one of the exercises that I was able to do when I was severely obese and over 300 lbs. Ok... Well, I couldn't do it at the same pace as Billy Blanks, but I could do the routine at a 1/2 speed pace, get a great workout, burn the calories, and see improvement over time. Somehow I had decided that my more recent swimming, biking, and running in preparation for a triathlon was much more cool exercise and a better workout. WRONG!

We went into the living room, moved around the furniture and started the workout. I had put on my heartrate monitor, because I was curious what kind of workout I was going to get. My goodness! Within minutes I was at 120 beats per minutes and then the real workout began. A few minutes later, I glance at my watch and it's registering 149 beats per minute! I'm getting a serious workout.

In the months since I did Tae Bo last, I'd forgotten what a fun workout it is. Billy Blanks is always so encouraging and I was amazed that after losing 109 lbs, I can do the workout at full speed, rather than my old 1/2 speed pace.

What a awesome workout! I promise... I will not diss Tae Bo again! Promise!