Race. Iny Mini Miny Mo. Weigh-in Picture.

I posted earlier today about my energy and how motivated I was just to enjoy the day. It carried on through the rest of the day. I still need to do my P90X Yoga-X tonight (which is 1 ½ hours long), but still feel really good. There are a few things that I want to hit with this post tonight. Let’s start with the upcoming race.

Race.

I am feeling pretty good about this race. If you have followed my blog for any span of time, you know that I enjoy running. Approximately 70 days ago I added a countdown timer on the right side of the site. It’s exciting and scary at the same time. There were many times that I did not even know if I would be able to participate. We have been able to fight and bounce back from injury and the mental games associated with running. I say we, because I really do feel that you guys are a part of this journey with me. We are all getting fit together – and the best part is that we are doing this intentionally. Don’t you just love that you are able to accomplish what you set out to accomplish. Crazy cool huh?!

The race is on Saturday. I’m pretty excited. I saw a comment somewhere on another post and the person said – “why not be in it to win”. If it was you that said it, tell us. I have pushed and pushed myself to be able to complete this 5k with no stopping and have surprised myself with endurance. Why not be in this one and try to place? This takes nothing away from our other goals to simply finish the race - (that was my original goal before I started training for it). I am a competitive person and I wouldn’t be myself if I didn’t want to win. As for my time – who knows what it could be – I’m shooting for under 30 minutes. Any time will be my personal best. I do know that I will give it what I have and leave it all out on that course. :)

Iny Mini Miny Mo

Sticking with the running theme of the post – I ran 4.31 miles in 43’18”. That's a pace of 10'03".

I did not look at the watch until 39 minutes. I was trying to guess where I was on time and had guessed 45 – 50 minutes. To my surprise it was only 39 and I kicked it up a notch b/c I only had a little left. During my run, I just went where I pleased. I tried to make it simple, but just ran. It was nice. I actually got behind the “runner” around town. I’ve talked about him before where he is always running and never looks tired. I was behind him and tried to sync pace with him. His pace worked with "iny mini miny mo". Each step is the beginning of each word. It may sound weird…but when you say it smoothly as when you read it…that was his pace. I used that for the duration of my run. I did not do it the whole time -that would drive me crazy.

Weigh In.

I managed to produce another loss this week! It was not quite as large the loss as the previous weeks, but it was bigger than any number below it!!!

I lost 1.2 pounds. I am starting to see a pretty good difference in definition in my body. Check for yourself. Go here to see a pic like this from January.

Give me ONE word that summarizes your workouts!

Mine is…"Mental"

Awake. Energetic. Definition.

All of the Above.

I am awake today. There is nothing sluggish in me right now. My body woke up naturally with that aid of an alarm clock on time and feels good. I have already weighed in for the weigh-in post tonight – that went well. :)

I have been struggling with keeping up with reading all of the blogs lately; I am busy. This post is just a precursor to what is coming later. I don’t normally do multiple posts during the day, but have decided that today – with my excellent energy level – deserved an extra post.

The heightened energy may be in part because of the upcoming race on Saturday. Maybe it’s the continued weight loss I am seeing. It might be because I am starting to see definition of muscles in my pictures. Or, it could be because it’s teacher appreciation week at our school – so that means goodies! I can’t quite pin-point the reason – but to be honest, don’t really care too; I’ll just take it and run with it.

Check in later for an expanded post!

What is one thing that has brightened your day on this Awesome Monday?!

April Review. May Goals. One Thing.

The Past Month in Review.

April was a pretty good month overall for me. I continue to push myself more than I ever have. I pushed myself more than when I was playing basketball in high school. I pushed more than when I was lifting weights four times a week my first year of college. I pushed myself this month into a new level.

I was happy with how my ankle held up this past month considering March’s misfortune. I definitely caught up on some of the missing miles that I received once I hurt my ankle. This past month – I ran like crazy.

To any of you that have given me an award - I will try to make some time this month to post those. I am very appreciative that you find my blog enjoyable, readable, and "come-back" worthy. So appreciative.

April Recap.

Starting Mile Balance: 804.67
Ending Mile Balance: 712.32

Starting Mile Month Goal: 125.87
Ending Month Mile Achieved: 92.35

Miles off pace to reach year pace goal: 33.52

Days in April: 30
Days worked out (walk/jog/run): 30
Days no workout: 0

Avg workout per day by 30 days: 2.85 miles
Avg workout per day by Workout: 2.85 miles

Starting Month Weight: 205.0
Ending Month Weight: 199.2 (4/26/2010)
Month Weight Loss: 5.8 lbs.

Total weight Loss in 2010: 36.8 pounds
Total Miles traveled in 2010: 297.68

Miles Until Year Goal Achieved: 712.32

Happy.

I'm really happy with how things turned out this month. I personally think that this month has been the best yet in terms of fitness and mental health. I really think that I broke down some weight loss walls that I had set up the past few years. I did have an April goal of reaching 1,010 push-ups. It did not happen. I ended April with 745 push-ups. Still no easy feat.

MAY Goals

• Continue to prepare for the 5k that takes place in less than a week – I would love to run the 5k in sub30 fashion. I’ll be happy with whatever though.
• Reach 200 readers on the blog. (weird goal? Maybe)
• Learn how to do pull-ups. I seriously stink at these. I’m learning through p90x, but I am still a ways off due to lack of pull-up bar.
• Continue with the goal of 1010 miles.

These are my goals. These can happen.



If you can change ONE thing in this next month -
What is that one thing?

Windy 2 Mile. Awesome Fitness GIVEAWAY Winner!!

Windy 2 Mile.

Today was a very windy day. I didn't run on Tuesday (which through me off schedule) and didn't get to run yesterday due to that unexpected trip. I got to run today and it was a rough and tough run. Thursday is the three mile run for the week, but it became the Thursday 2 mile today. I actually felt way over pace in the wind but was actually in the 8'50"s the first mile. Second mile was a little slower with about a 9'30" mile. It wasn't a bad run mentally, this one was just fighting the element of wind.

My 5k is just over a week away (Yes!) and I am still shooting for that sub30. I know that I can run it as I have before -- I just want to make sure I don't over process it while I'm running. If you are mentally drained while running - It doesn't take long for the physical draining to catch up. Overall, it was a good run -- windy with a side of windy -- , but good nonetheless!

Thanks for all of the compliments with the head shot comparison pics. I didn't expect the "good lookin" bits and pieces, but hey - I'll take 'em where I can get them!

I know this is why you all are reading this Post. It's because I am about to announce the winner of the Awesome Fitness Giveaway...but you'll have to wait.

If you are on Twitter - go check me out.

www.twitter.com/MistrTyler

You can check up with the latest things that I am doing -- some of my newest run times -- and some nonsense as well.

AWESOME FITNESS GIVEAWAY


There were 82 entries into the giveaway. I used a random number generator and comment number.......


#34 --- Katie J wins.

Katie J -- You just won an Awesome Fitness Giveaway Package....You need to hit me up so that I can get your info! styler [at] cccb [dot] edu


How Do You Take Your Compliments?!
I NEED TO LEARN FROM YOU!

Noticeably Different. Skinny Man. Comparisons.

My wife and I took the day off and went to our old college to visit some friends and to take care of some things. It was an expected trip -- but earlier than we had thought. It was nice to have the day off and go see some friends. We walked around campus and I saw a few people that I knew and each time received something different related to my appearance. . It was really cool - but can also get really weird. From my close friends saying "skinny man" - it was pretty expected that they would notice, but when it's from an old acquaintance that says...you look "noticeably different"; I wasn't sure quite what to say to that. I said thanks!

It's been a very long day with over 5 hours of driving, a meal with Carol's brother at a mexican restaurant, and another late night workout (to be done following post).

I thought I'd leave you with what 56 pounds off of me looks like from a head shot.

What is the Greatest Compliment that you have Received?!

Yoga-X Pictures. Chicken Kabobs. Tues-Day of Rest.

Tues-Day of Rest

Yesterday was a really good day. I dropped below 200 pounds for the first time since high school! I experienced yoga in a way that I never have – (it was only the second time ever). Another thing that yesterday did, was allow me a peace of mind to take a bit of a break today. Today was 5k Tuesday, but it ended up into Tues-day of Rest on the running front. I will be back at it tomorrow. I took a nap when I got home from school and slept a bit longer than I had wanted too – it was very nice. Saturday is normally my rest day but I will do a run on Saturday to make sure I keep up with my 1,010 in 2010 pace. Rest is so nice sometimes. I still have p90x though tonight. Day five!

Chicken Kabobs.

I tried to make chicken kabobs for the first time as well tonight. It wasn’t quite as successful as I thought that it would be. I use a charcoal grill and grill chicken quite often – but for some reason – when you put chicken, onions, tomatoes, green pepper, and zucchini on a skewer…I just can’t grill properly. It seemed like what should have taken very little time…a looong time – and we were starving. We ended up taking everything off of the charcoal grill and throwing it on the George Forman grill. We cheated. We also had corn on the cob. It was a good meal!

Yoga-X

As I said ealier, I have only tried Yoga once and that was when I was in my ankle boot. I really couldn’t experience it to the fullest, but that changed last night. I experienced Yoga – p90x style...to the fullest. It was a 1 ½ hour long experience! It was quite the workout too! I don’t think I have sweated that much during a p90x workout. My wife joined me in the workout -- she is becoming quite the stud -- in the most feminine way of course!

I have decided that I would give you a bit of a look at what I look like while doing Yoga.

Enjoy!

Yes - that is my wife's Pink Yoga/Pilates mat!!

What is the One thing that has put you out of your Comfort Zone the Most?

The Weigh-In. Happy. Picture.

199.2

I had a good smile this morning, but chose to suppress my manly roar of satisfaction in fear of waking the neighbors. I have officially entered into Onederland! I had been flirting with this level this past week and they finally let me in. I’m speaking as if someone literally opened the gates to this awesome amusement park and let me roam free. I did dip below 200 lbs earlier in the week, but didn’t want to say anything just in case - if on challenge weigh-in day, I was at or above that number. As of today, I have lost 55 pounds (!!) from my first decision to do something about my weight. You can see the day and picture that started it all here.

It really is something special for me. I’m enjoying today – at least until my p90x Yoga workout later. I do not know what will happen with that. We will see though. My wife and I also will be going to the park for a 1 mile walk and for me, an additional 1 mile run. I think this will set a good pace for me for the rest of the week.

I really thought that I would have a really cool post to write when I entered into Onederland – but I don’t. It’s simply awesome without having to add the witty fluff.

I’m simply happy.

Don't Forget about my Fitness GIVEAWAY. It is quite the prize pack for anyone! Go check it out and ENTER. It is Easy to Enter!

Flirting with Onederland. 5k time. P90X.

Flirting with OnederLand.

Last week (Monday) I weighed in at 202.4 lbs. It is by far the lowest weight I have been since high school. I think I left high school around 200 lbs. I’m 5’8” and my weight is pretty proportionate throughout my body…but even at 200 lbs – I’m considered obese (BMI of 30.4). It is not until 196 lbs that I get to experience what overweight is. I can’t wait.

I have put in a lot of hard work since 202.4 lbs on Monday. I am hosting a six week weight loss challenge (come join the progress of 13 participants) and have been working hard to take the weight off while utilizing the wealth of health knowledge through books, magazines, and all of the tips that the weight loss/fitness blogosphere has to offer. It is paying off. I have been flirting with Onederland all week. I will not know until tomorrow’s weigh-in whether I will officially enter into Onederland or if I will be denied another week. It’s exciting. If I enter Onederland tomorrow - that will mean that I have lost over 55 pounds since I started losing weight. Results are fun and fun to look at. Some day I would like to use my experience and knowledge to impact other people whose shoes I have filled…or have even overflowed.

I’m ready.

5k Time.

I am a little more nervous about posting this 5k time because it means that when my upcoming race comes…my time should be close to it. I have purposely been not posting my running times because I felt like it was coming across as bragging and I try not to do that. My times have been getting consistently better. It’s easy to be big-headed and I’m trying to get smaller overall…not bigger. My times aren’t worth bragging about anyways. They are just personal bests and I compete with myself only to make myself better and not to intimidate others. I sincerely hope that I don’t come across as bragging or anything close to that fashion because that is not my intention.

The time that I ran my 3.1 miles in today is my personal best. I have been keeping a low 9 min pace lately and I ran my 5k today in 27’33”. That is definitely the sub30 that I have been shooting for. My goal for my first 5k is to do it in sub30 fashion. I’m nervous about posting times because they don’t seem real to me. That 27’33” 5k time does not seem real. It happened though – I know that.

P90X.

I am on my third day of p90x. I really enjoy the workouts because they push you and allow you to push yourself. They are a bit time consuming though and when you don’t have a lot of time to put into them…I can see how it could get hard to do it. So far, I have been able to find the time. I think I’ll be able to find the time too. I have noticed that since I have been working out so much since January, that I have not watched TV, played Wii, or games on the computer as much as I used to. It’s actually quite nice. P90X is a beast.

A Shout-Out.

As I do every once in a while – I wanted to shoot you the way of another blogger. I actually went to college with this blogger, but hung out more with her husband. It wasn’t until about a month ago that I found her blog and realized that she worked out. I hope that she doesn’t mind that I am sending you her way but she just accomplished something I find pretty cool in my book. I’m not even going to tell you what she accomplished – just suggest you go there and give her some love! Go check her out!

Don't Forget about my Fitness GIVEAWAY. It is quite the prize pack for anyone! Go check it out and ENTER. It is Easy to Enter!

What was your Last Non-Scale Victory?!
Let us enjoy it with you!