Wow It's Getting Real!

It's been an awesome couple of days. I am a little sore from this morning's Boot Camp but that is to be expected when you miss a day like I did on Monday. It couldn't be helped. My 8th month old son is going through a phase right now where he is not sleeping at all and it is really taking a toll on my wife, so I thought I would miss one to help her out. I don't recommend this but sometimes it can't be helped. I did get in a really great walk with my 3 year old which was just as strenuous as any parent can tell you.

We got a nutritional plan today from Coach Michael. Just scanning it briefly makes me really want to try it. I am concerned though that the calorie count may be way to low for me at this stage so I am going to talk with him about it. To me that is another key about weight loss, talking. As a Fat Person we are conditioned to not ask questions. Asking questions is viewed by Non-Fat People as us challenging them or their ideas. I have seen it with Weight Watchers Leaders, Personal Trainers, and Dietitians. I am fortunate in that Michael welcomes questions and is very reflective in his practice so I have no hesitation in talking with him about things.

To end I am embedding a song I really like. I think I may do this every now and again.
http://youtu.be/ZOZUxl074Bc

Man What A Way to End the Week

Boom That Just Happened!

Michael threw it all at us today. Full body work out, sprints, and grass drills. It was awesome. What was really great was Tim's daughter is in town and she brought her friends to BC. We had a ton of people there and it really ramped up the adrenaline for some of us. Who wants to look bad in front of young women? Not this old guy :)

I have a lot to do today so this is really super short. I now have to figure out what to do this weekend.

Signs You Have Had A Great Boot Camp

So today was a tough day at the Park! Michael gave us the "Full Body Workout." You know you are in for a "spirited" time when you start off with a casual walk, that's when you know you are going to get it fully on the chin. So with that said I would like to give a list of signs you had a great Boot Camp session.

1. When you are in the shower you have grass and gravel falling out of places that it should have been impossible for it to get into, unless you were doing Burpees until failure or death in my case.

2. Your instructor's name replaces your favorite curse words. Example: I got cut off this morning in traffic and I yelled, "Go Michael Williams yourself, Michael Williams."

3. Your teeth hurt from clenching them so hard as you stand for what seems like hours, which in fact was about 2 minutes, in a 90 degree angle with your back against the wall.

4. You can't lift your arms to reach the ibuprofen and then you have to ask your 3 year old to take off the "child proof" lid because you just physically can't do it.

5. Stairs are the bane of your existence. I have a one story home and those two steps to get into the house was almost a deal breaker.

So if you experience these five things and a myriad of others then you know you have had a great Boot Camp. Can't wait to see what we got in store for us on Friday morning.

Boot Camp Baby!

So today was my first day back at Boot Camp with Michael Williams and man have I missed it. Now I am way, way, way out of shape but that is the point. You don't go to church after you fixed your personal life, you go to get the help you need. Same with Boot Camp for myself. As I was trucking around the parking lot Michael reminded me that exercise is fine but it is going to be nutrition that will determine my success. Using Weight Watchers will be a good way for me to keep my eating in check but its going to be a tough one because I love my food.

Best part of Boot Camp is the people. Today I met two new guys, Mark and Tim, who are preparing for their first 1/2 Marathon. I was reacquainted with a guy name Lee who used to work at the radio station and my friend Brooks from Athens Church. Two folks I was really glad to see today were Kevin and Barbara. They are rock steady individuals who have been on the same journey as I have for a long time. I used to see Ms. Barbara running up and down Whitehead Road and Kevin joined Boot Camp right around the time I came back from Hilton Head. These are all quality people and they make the work a tad easier.

So first day is in the books. I am back and putting the three legged stool in its correct position. Cheers!

Mowing the Lawn and a Treadmill for the World Cup.

So the Evans's have close to an acre and a little more of land that needs to be mowed every week. In an effort for me to get back into 1/2 shape I have ditched the riding lawnmower for the old school walk behind without a drive. So it goes with my push power and boy howdy let me tell you when you get done you know you have done something. Now according to RunKeeper and Zombies, Run I covered only 2 miles of ground but I was active for over two hours, which is what I want. I need to get my lungs back and this is an awesome way of doing it.

I am now looking for a cheap/free treadmill. With World Cup coming up I want to watch while I am busting out some mileage. 4 years ago I would get on the treadmill while the boys were playing and break when they took a break. It was a lot of fun and I want to repeat that joy. So if you are in the Athens Area and are looking to get rid of your extra clothes rack let me know.

Weight Watchers Active Link

Hey everyone. It's the weekend coming up quickly and I hope you have some activity planned to get you moving. We are T-Minus 5 days from the Disney 1/2 Marathon sign up and I am eagerly awaiting that moment.

So as you know if you follow me I have rejoined Weight Watchers. I like the program. Pretty simple to follow, its not as fussy as the other programs, and forces me to use real food--not just prepackaged stuff. I am not a big fan of the meetings but I go. I dislike the meetings because you always get the one person (usually a soccer/dance Mom) who is complaining bitterly about their husband and his eating patterns. Yes, I know this is the place for that discussion but there are times I just don't want to hear it, which is all of the time!

I have purchased a ActiveLink from Weight Watchers. It is $40.00 and to be honest I am completely underwhelmed, especially with all of the great trackers on the market. My first issue I have with it is that it costs me a $5 a month maintenance fee. WTF are you maintaining? So ridiculous! Second issue, its huge! When I put it in my computer I can't use any other USB port, which leads me to my next gripe. Third issue, it is not wireless. I have to physically plug it in to my computer everyday, unlike my FitBit in which I can walk past my computer and it recognizes my FitBit and downloads my data and (oh yeah) FitBit doesn't charge me $5 a month for maintenance. Last gripe, for the size of this thing I have to guess on where I am at. Yes, it has these lights that light up that let me know I am 25%, 50%, 75%, or 100% to my goal but it doesn't tell me how far I am from those goals. Again with the size of this thing you should be able to get a screen on there to let you know where you stand. The only positive I have about this is that it goes directly into my points calculator online but it doesn't show me or my leader what I did.

My suggestion to you all. Get a FitBit, Bodybug, or any other type of device to measure your progress. The ActiveLink is just not a good product.

Tomorrow Runner 5 is going after supplies and then on a mission. It's going to be a good Friday.

Cheers

Another Successful Runner 5 Mission

So I am going to gush a little here but the Zombies, Run! app has become one of my favorite parts of the day. I love to get out there and hear the story as I am cruising through my neighborhood. I often now wonder who in my neighborhood would be a Zombie I would have to deal with by bashing in their skull, torment before blasting it in the head with my shotgun, or lead away, because they were once a friend of mine but now they are a killing machine bent on eating my family, so I wouldn't have to do them in. It is a fun mental exercise.

I am also doing either 10 side straddle hops (jumping jacks) or lunges when I am feeling fatigued and need a small break from the blistering pace I am setting. (That is sarcasm there folks.) It was a beautiful evening to get out there and get after it. Humidity was low, nice cool breeze from the East, and the sun was overcast just enough to keep the temp in the mid 70s.

Hope you had a good, solid weekend.

Ok So I Love This App

So like I said yesterday I was going to try out this app called Zombies, Run! and folks I am addicted. I went for a walk and started the "game" and was hooked right off the bat. Yes, its $3.99 but it is so worth it.

Here is the link: Zombies, Run!

Now for the larger of us they have included a Zombie Attack on/off button which is great for me as I can barely outrun a baby at this moment in time so the stress of that was taken off. It plays your music too! The sequence goes like this. Story is introduced, you get your mission in the Zombies, Run world, and then your music plays. I hooked it up to one of my iTunes playlists and it worked perfectly! When the story ended it uploaded my stats to not only my Zombies, Run account but I was also able to link it to my RunKeeper app, which is also linked to My Fitness Pal account. All that linking can sure make one tired LOL.

You can choose between 1/2 hour or 1 hour missions. For the foreseeable future I will be using the 1/2 hour during the week and the 1 hour during the weekends.

One other option this app has is that it allows you to go on scavenger missions that are open ended. So I can walk around and collect items for my base. This was great because I had to mow the front lawn this morning and decided to get some supplies at the same time. So I got to listen to great music and build up my base while continuing to get my lung capacity up for the big races I have planned in my future.

Now that I am home I can login to my account and see the stuff I have collected and begin building my base to withstand Zombie attacks. Needless to say I am in Fat Nerd Heaven!

Speaking of Fat Nerd Heaven I have decided to do another 1/2 Marathon. This race was totally made for me! I haven't been this excited about a race since my inaugural Athens 1/2 in 2010. So for those of you who know me you know that I love Star Wars. As fate would have it Disney Runs is putting together a Disney Star Wars 1/2 Marathon. Needless to say I will be logging on 10 June at 12 pm to get my spot! Here is the link to the race. Star Wars Half Marathon Weekend

Well that is my report on the app. If you join up let me know and I will see if we can be buddies and who knows defeat the Zombie hordes together.

Zombies Are Going To Eat My Brain

Hi everyone. Feeling the bug again and so I am going to go back out there. At 220 Kilos though I am afraid but I am afraid of being eaten by Zombies more and so out I go.

Now you probably think I have lost my mind here but I just got an app I have been dying to try for a couple of years now called Zombies, Run! So tomorrow morning I will be getting up early and going out there with my new app. So far I am liking how easy it is to function. I will give a full account tomorrow morning after my 30 minute 1.5-2 mile walk/jog.

Cheers and good night!