Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Acting like a fat person, get over it fatty, and some C25K results.

When we doubt ourselves or our abilities we do nothing positive for our end game outcome, in fact when that bar is set low because of that doubt we are once again acting like a fat person. That is the thought that came out when I thought about last nights run, I am still somewhat sick from last weeks barrage of symptoms that my lovely daughter gave me and I was starting week 3 of the C25K program, I was not looking forward to it all week. I started week one and thought "how am I at 345 pounds going to run 60 seconds in a row?" then I did it, week two came and I thought "90 seconds? that's like double the time I hope I can do this" then I did it and now week three has begun and a 3 minute interval was introduced and with the not being 100% added to that its 3 minutes I was sure that I would be collapsed on the side of the road gasping for air like a freshly caught fish laying on the shore.

I felt strong as I did the 5 minute warm up walk, the first 90 second interval I felt a bit and while walking on the 90 second cool down I was thinking about the 3 minutes of hell that was surely going to hit me in the chest, there is that doubt again. Robert said "It's just 3 minutes..Go!" and for those 3 minutes I was Forest Gump, I felt nothing in the way of being too tired, I felt nothing in the way of loss of breath, and about halfway through that interval I see a fellow standing in the road ahead having a cigarette and the closer I got I could see that he was smiling and when I got close enough he said "Good for you!" to which I replied "Hows it goin" he said "I am good, but man, good for you" and clapped his hands once or twice, I just kept going and the 3 minutes ended and interval from hell (which turned out NOT to be from hell ) number 1 was fini. I walked my 3 minutes and then the 90 second interval came and went, The 2nd three minute interval was coming and off I sprinted (yes I said sprinted) I felt great at his point and ran a few seconds longer after the voice in my ear said that the 3 minutes was done, I felt good.

I went 1.94 miles in 28 minutes so I was on my pace if not slightly faster than week 2, I was very surprised to see how NOT difficult the 3 minute intervals were which is not to say that it was very easy, I just seemed to run them with no problem at all which was a surprise. The way that I looked at the start of week 3 was the way that a fat person would approach it, since I am still a fat person I guess I fell for the bait that my psyche laid in front of me. That fellow that said "good for you" when I ran by got me thinking as well, what might he have said if I was a svelte 190 pounder running by? my thought is that he would not have said anything but just stepped to the side to let me run by unobstructed, maybe a hello, BUT I guess its not every day that you see a 330 pound guy running so it is what it is and I wasn't the one standing on the edge of a dark road smoking so indeed good for me.

When we act like we will fail, we will fail and I believe that is the downfall of most fat people (there is no political correctness here friends, we are fat people whether we want to believe it or not) that try and lose weight, it was my downfall for so many years. "I can't not eat so much", yeah I know that one, "I can't walk" me either and I was 534 pounds when I started WALKING so I had a proper excuse, right?, "its too hard to lose weight" why? because it takes effort? "I can't run 3 minutes in a row!" To hell with all that, You can and you DID! You are no different than me, I am no different than that older fella that runs around my lake daily and he is no different than whoever won the Boston Marathon last time around, apply yourself 100% to what you want to achieve and my guess is that it can and will be yours. What do you have to lose besides the weight? perhaps the burden? or maybe the excuses?

The bottom line is that if you get on up off of your fat ass (I did) and do something, anything! the possibilities are endless, if not? you will just get the end.

As Ever
Me

10 comments:

  1. This post reminds me of my Dad so much :-) Anytime I'd say "I can't do that, Dad" He would give me the same answer...

    "There is no such thing as you CAN'T! You can, you just don't want to"

    I CAN do anything! We all can. We just need to believe it!

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  2. Very inspirational story. Keep up the great work.

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  3. You inspire me my friend! When i jog, it's usually for sixty second spurts, and I just can't imagine doing anymore. I know it's possible. Thank you for reminding me the difference between doing it and saying we can't...the difference...do we want it? You're incredible.

    Thanks again
    Sean

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  4. Great post...if you put that negative energy out there, that's what you're gonna get back.

    Loved the post!

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  5. Plus Tony, you'll find when you start running regularly, that a lot of getting through a RACE is mental. In fact, I have a couple of "mantras" that I say when I'm racing and my left brain starts telling me I'm hurting and need to quit. It's a good idea to come up with something to counteract that. So keep those positive thoughts flowing

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  6. I agree man- in my blog today I wrote "you are STRONGER than you know..." And see! You were! Great job.

    I'm a week behind you- I'm on week 2, week one was tough but I'm still pushing through :D

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  7. Excellent! When I was doing C25K, I always fretted about the following weeks workouts, and then somehow I was always able to pull them off! Just challenging enough, but doable enough that I kept going back for more!

    I just read this on a friend's blog today:

    Running is 90% mental, and the rest is all in your head!

    Push the mind and your body will follow.

    Keep it up, soon you'll be signed up for 13.1, I just know it!

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  8. I am sending my blog readers on a 'Field Trip' to this blog tomorrow, but I thought it was fitting to post here as well. It is more discussion about pushing the mind, great stuff: (this is not spam I promise!)

    http://trierictri.blogspot.com/2009/06/push-mind.html

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  9. When we act like we will fail, we will fail.
    ------------
    I needed to hear this.

    I needed this reminder.

    I thought I did not! That mightcould have been my first failing?

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  10. Me, I've given up trying to run for now, my ankles are made of glass. Being out of breath is one thing, but feeling your ankles crack and ache whenever you bounce 300-plus pounds on them is just too much. My answer to that is working out on a stationary bike, where I'm not putting my whole weight on my weak knees and ankles. It's worked well, it allows me to ride for an hour a day and get all the cardio I want and need without feeling the pain in my joints.

    The point is, if you have trouble running, there are other options. Don't let joint pain become an excuse.

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