So, here's a tentative race schedule for 2010. There are some blanks that I'll fill in when I figure out what I'm going to do during those months.
2010 RACE SCHEDULE
1/17 Houston Half Marathon (Houston)
2/14 Austin Half Marathon (Austin)
3/? Prickly Pear 10-Mile Trail Run (San Antonio)
3/? Bayou City Classic 10K (Houston)
4/? MS 150 (Houston to Austin)
5/? Lone Star Stampede (Houston)
6/? TBD
7/? TBD
8/? TBD
9/6 The Austin Triathlon (Austin)
9/? Chicago Half Marathon (Chicago)
10/? TBD
11/? San Antonio Rock-n-Roll Marathon (San Antonio)
12/? TBD
Sunday, July 26, 2009
New Direction
I've been trying to figure out what this blog is about for the past month. I'm still not sure, but I have decided the purpose of the blog is accountability (and a little bit of shame). If you've ever been to Weight Watchers, you'll know what I'm talking about.
About four years ago, I was pushing 200 pounds. I'm 5'11" and have a medium build. A good weight for me is 175. 200 was not a good weight. I tried dieting on my own and stalled out at 192, so I made the decision to go to Weight Watchers. The first thing that happens when you enter the meeting room is the weigh-in. Yikes. And although it was March and 50 degrees that Saturday morning (which is friggin' cold in Houston), all 40 people in the room (including me) were wearing shorts, tee-shirts and flip flops. I got into line and waited my turn for the weigh-in. The lady who took my weight wrote it on a piece of paper and slid it across the desk to me. She'd also written down my goal weight - 172 pounds, which would have been a 10% reduction. 172 seemed doable and a good weight.
After the weigh-in, I took a seat in the back of the room for the meeting. I remember three things about the meeting. First, I was the youngest person there by about 20 years, and I was the only man. The second thing was that the instructor walked in wearing a black, Hefty garbage bag. That was funny enough, but what made it really funny is that the woman looked and talked like Cheri Oteri playing the porn star Robin Byrd on SNL (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robin_Byrd). The instructor told us she was wearing the bag because you are what you eat. You eat trash, you are trash. Or something like that. The third thing I remember is that the instructor told us her niece was overweight and dieting, and the one thing her niece had learned during the dieting process is that she "likes cantaloupe because it makes her poop." Well, that was surprising and useful news. But four years later, I still think to myself, "Should I eat that piece of cantaloupe now? I'm about to enter a meeting and it may be two or three hours before I have access to a comfortable, private bathroom, and you know, cantaloupe makes you poop. Can I make it? Should I have the watermelon instead? Will watermelon make you poop, too?"
Accountability. I went back to WW the following Saturday morning and weighed-in, but I skipped the meeting (I have my limits). I was down to 189 and couldn't have been happier. Had I not had the weigh-in ahead of me, I'm not sure I would have lost those three pounds. The following week, I'd lost another 2-3 pounds, and every week thereafter I lost weight. What made the weight loss happen was the weigh-in. I was scared to death of not losing weight and although no one would know but me and the lady taking the weight, I just couldn't bear the shame I would feel if she knew that I hadn't lost weight. I got down to 175 and quit going to WW for the weigh-ins.
I'm not sure if I ever hit 172. In retrospect, I wish I'd continued going to the WW weigh-ins until I hit 172. I had a goal, and like many other times in my life, I didn't follow through until the end. I got close, and I thought close was good enough. But it's not, you know? So I've decided that the purpose of keeping this blog is accountability. I've set some goals for myself for 2010, and I figure that by putting my goals out there for anyone and everyone to see, I'll actually follow through with them.
I've signed up for the Houston Half-Marathon or Houston Marathon every year since moving here in 2004, and I still haven't run in either event. So I registered for the Half-Marathon once again for 2010, and this time I'm going to do it. One thing I've done differently this time, is that I'm running for a charity. I'm running for the AIDS Foundation - Houston. I figure that if I can't get my ass in gear to run for a good cause, then how will I ever follow through on one of my goals if I'm only accountable to myself?
But that's not it. My goal for 2010 is to compete in at least one race per month - running, bicycling, swimming, duathlon or triathlon. I'm still working out a schedule and will post it at a later date. So far, I've registered for the Half-Marathons in Houston (January) and Austin (February). In March, I hope to run in the Prickly Pear 10-mile Trail Race in San Antonio. I've run (run is such a strong word) that race before and look forward to doing it again. April is the MS-150 (bike ride from Houston to Austin). And November is the San Antonio Marathon. The rest of the months are up in the air. Ultimately, I want to finish an IronMan, but I think that's a goal for 2011.
So, that's it. That's why I'm keeping this blog. As you can see from my first post, I'm gay, so this blog may be about that, too. And about my dogs. And about my search for a house. And my niece who was born on July 22 and is the MOST beautiful baby EVER. And living in Houston. And whatever else. Also, if you're interested in donating to the AIDS Foundation - Houston, you can do so at the link below.
http://www.chevronhoustonmarathon.com/Donate/PersonalPage.cfm?MID=4508&CRID=27&CID=191
About four years ago, I was pushing 200 pounds. I'm 5'11" and have a medium build. A good weight for me is 175. 200 was not a good weight. I tried dieting on my own and stalled out at 192, so I made the decision to go to Weight Watchers. The first thing that happens when you enter the meeting room is the weigh-in. Yikes. And although it was March and 50 degrees that Saturday morning (which is friggin' cold in Houston), all 40 people in the room (including me) were wearing shorts, tee-shirts and flip flops. I got into line and waited my turn for the weigh-in. The lady who took my weight wrote it on a piece of paper and slid it across the desk to me. She'd also written down my goal weight - 172 pounds, which would have been a 10% reduction. 172 seemed doable and a good weight.
After the weigh-in, I took a seat in the back of the room for the meeting. I remember three things about the meeting. First, I was the youngest person there by about 20 years, and I was the only man. The second thing was that the instructor walked in wearing a black, Hefty garbage bag. That was funny enough, but what made it really funny is that the woman looked and talked like Cheri Oteri playing the porn star Robin Byrd on SNL (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robin_Byrd). The instructor told us she was wearing the bag because you are what you eat. You eat trash, you are trash. Or something like that. The third thing I remember is that the instructor told us her niece was overweight and dieting, and the one thing her niece had learned during the dieting process is that she "likes cantaloupe because it makes her poop." Well, that was surprising and useful news. But four years later, I still think to myself, "Should I eat that piece of cantaloupe now? I'm about to enter a meeting and it may be two or three hours before I have access to a comfortable, private bathroom, and you know, cantaloupe makes you poop. Can I make it? Should I have the watermelon instead? Will watermelon make you poop, too?"
Accountability. I went back to WW the following Saturday morning and weighed-in, but I skipped the meeting (I have my limits). I was down to 189 and couldn't have been happier. Had I not had the weigh-in ahead of me, I'm not sure I would have lost those three pounds. The following week, I'd lost another 2-3 pounds, and every week thereafter I lost weight. What made the weight loss happen was the weigh-in. I was scared to death of not losing weight and although no one would know but me and the lady taking the weight, I just couldn't bear the shame I would feel if she knew that I hadn't lost weight. I got down to 175 and quit going to WW for the weigh-ins.
I'm not sure if I ever hit 172. In retrospect, I wish I'd continued going to the WW weigh-ins until I hit 172. I had a goal, and like many other times in my life, I didn't follow through until the end. I got close, and I thought close was good enough. But it's not, you know? So I've decided that the purpose of keeping this blog is accountability. I've set some goals for myself for 2010, and I figure that by putting my goals out there for anyone and everyone to see, I'll actually follow through with them.
I've signed up for the Houston Half-Marathon or Houston Marathon every year since moving here in 2004, and I still haven't run in either event. So I registered for the Half-Marathon once again for 2010, and this time I'm going to do it. One thing I've done differently this time, is that I'm running for a charity. I'm running for the AIDS Foundation - Houston. I figure that if I can't get my ass in gear to run for a good cause, then how will I ever follow through on one of my goals if I'm only accountable to myself?
But that's not it. My goal for 2010 is to compete in at least one race per month - running, bicycling, swimming, duathlon or triathlon. I'm still working out a schedule and will post it at a later date. So far, I've registered for the Half-Marathons in Houston (January) and Austin (February). In March, I hope to run in the Prickly Pear 10-mile Trail Race in San Antonio. I've run (run is such a strong word) that race before and look forward to doing it again. April is the MS-150 (bike ride from Houston to Austin). And November is the San Antonio Marathon. The rest of the months are up in the air. Ultimately, I want to finish an IronMan, but I think that's a goal for 2011.
So, that's it. That's why I'm keeping this blog. As you can see from my first post, I'm gay, so this blog may be about that, too. And about my dogs. And about my search for a house. And my niece who was born on July 22 and is the MOST beautiful baby EVER. And living in Houston. And whatever else. Also, if you're interested in donating to the AIDS Foundation - Houston, you can do so at the link below.
http://www.chevronhoustonmarathon.com/Donate/PersonalPage.cfm?MID=4508&CRID=27&CID=191
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