Living Right!

I am going to get a bit personal for one post. I have not had a Mountain Dew/Pepsi/Coke since 7/12. For those that know me, this is a BIG thing. Last night, we went to a mongollian barbecue place. I cut the size of my servings and used a lot more Tofu than meat.

June 16th was my first workout in the new gym at my office. I have worked out 3 to 6 days a week since then. I lift and do cardio on Mon-Wed-Fri and Run/Walk on Tues, Thurs, Sat. I ran my first 5k two weeks ago, have signed up for at least one more race before snow flies this year, and publicly committed to a half-marathon and a full marathon in 2007.

I am also working on cutting fried foods from my diet. Again, this is a BIG thing for those who know me. Now, I am not going completely bean sprout on this; but the fact is that I do like Tofu and more meals with Tofu and soy won't be that bad. Now, Paige won't like it, but she can learn to cope.

The secret: a few years ago, I was really sick. I don't think I even realize how sick I was or if I would be alive today if I had continued on that path. I was tired, quick to anger, quick to be frustrated, easily distracted, trouble focusing, and eating poorly with no working out. I was unhappy and headed in the wrong direction. I was chronically fatigued. I was not getting any REM sleep and it was affecting my moods, energy levels, fitness, health, blood pressure, etc. Too long without REM makes one psychotic; I wonder how close I was? Finally, the only thing I was doing outside of work that was mentally stimulating was negative focused. I was fighting against something rather than building something new.

What is saving my life:

1) Art. Creativity is flowing and I have something that challenges my mind and body. It brings beauty, joy, passion, harmony, and meaning into my life. It is also something that I share with my wife and son and it brings us closer together.

2) Sleep Apnea diagnosis and CPAP. I am now getting restful sleep and the effect is amazing. My body feels better, my energy level is up, and I am happy again. I also lost about 50 pounds.

3) Exercise. As I stated above, I am now on an exercise regimin. I have learned a few things in this process: a) Plan -- use a good plan for your workout that varies the work and commits you to goals. b) Tell everyone -- it is a lot harder to skip a day or stop if you have told your boss, your family, put it on your blog, recruited people to run marathons with you, etc. c) Break it down -- I will NEVER be able to run 26.2 miles. But I can run the 3.1 miles on the plan today. If I follow the plan, I will be able to run 26 seperate 1 mile races back to back to back by next November. GTD talks about the key to overcoming procrastination is always focusing on "what is the next step?" In this case, it is literally the next step. Dick Beardsley writes about his 1982 Duel in the Sun Boston Marathon that he got to the 21 mile mark and knew he could not make it to 26.2 miles, but he knew he could do one more mile. At 22mile mark, he knew he could do one more mile. He kept it up and he finished second in the greatest US marathon ever. I am literally running by taking the next step.

Why I am doing this:

I could give you a lot of reasons why, but the short answer is: 1) Paige and 2) Cooper. The running books give lots of self visualizations about losing weight, feeling pride of accomplishment, etc. I think about those when I run. But the real reason is Paige and Cooper. My dad died of lukemia when he was 39 and I was 3. Last year, I was 39 and Cooper was 3. Now that we made it past that year, I want more. I want to be damn selfish and get a longer life for myself! Dad could not have avoided lukemia, but I can avoid many things that WILL kill me if I don't change my life. I grew up being told "your dad would have been so proud of you." I want to be there and see Cooper's face when I tell him. I want to spend a lot and lots and lots of years growing old with Paige. I want to see Cooper grow and graduate and get married and have kids and all the things that my dad never saw. I am so proud of him and I want to be here to encourage him, and help him, and say "good job; I am proud of you." I want to take Paige to Tuscony, Ireland, and other places where we can walk through the country side and enjoy the sites, have a picnic, and fill our minds, cameras, and sketchbooks with beautiful memories.

Final secrets: Learning "how to run" and MP3 players are key. In school, I was never taught how to run. "Run five miles" was about the extent of track coaching. Never knew how to build up endurance, pacing, etc. Now I have a plan that I understand and focus on each step. I am actually surprised when I total my miles at the end of the week. Secondly, I have a small MP3 player I wear that helps prevent boredom. But more importantly, there are a couple of hidden gems there! "In my mind, I'm going to Carolina" -- When I hear those words, I am thinking about the Outer Banks Marathon in 2007 and it gives me a jolt of adrenelin. "Will you still need me, will you still feed me, when I'm 64" -- Reminds me of the questions I have for Paige that I want to live long enough to find out the answers to!