There’s just no way to compare it to everyfreakingthingelse that’s gotten an uplift from all this. Clothes fitting better, walking without knee (or back) pain, wife is glad I have a neck again (and more energy), kids are really happy to have a dad who plays with them.

Looking forward to a future where I get to LIVE LIFE, and not watch it on T.V. (or Hulu, or YouTube) – hell, that’s the best of all. I really want to hike the Grand Canyon. And soon, I’ll be healthy enough.

So get your bad muppet self out there, man. It’s worth it.

-G

After considering her victory, I’ve decided to (literally) follow in her footsteps and start the “Couch to 5k” workout series that led her down this path to becoming an honest-to-goodness runner.

This new side project supports the overall goals of the 10×10 in 2010 project by providing a healthy mechanism to increase health, burn calories, and lose weight.  It has the added benefit of preparing me for a bright future of active living with the woman I love – that’s a tremendous bonus.

Here’s the link to the website with the interval mixes: http://www.djsteveboy.com/podrunner.html

If you’re interested in downloading them at iTunes (they’re free), here’s the link to the podcasts (will launch iTunes): http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?i=55501053&id=124686671

The Plan

3 days per week, 9 weeks – 27 running sessions.

Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays.

Day 1 – March 22nd, 2010 – COMPLETE (and it didn’t kill me, or even hurt all that bad.)

As part of this grand 10×10 in 2010 project, two exercises per morning simply won’t be sufficient to maintain a 2lb-per-week pace.  Years ago (18 of them, gah) I used to run a fair amount (6 miles 2-3 times a week), but then … I stopped.

So, I decided to give it a shot, got dressed, stretched out, headed out the door, and…Ran a mile, with one short walk break at the halfway point, maybe 100 yards or so.  Didn’t go fast, didn’t go far, but… I WENT.  Wow did it feel good.  Not physically, no, that pretty much hurt.  It felt good inside – that deep, gut, visceral, HA! I KICKED THE WORLD’S BUTT! kinda good feeling.  Like I put one over on Old Man Time.

So yeah, the past few days my calves have been petitioning for a separation on the grounds of abuse, but they’ve just about stopped complaining.

It’s time to lace up the shoes again and keep running towards 12/31/10.

Climb! (photo courtesy of Flickr)

After a dismal week of progress (no pounds lost), I got to thinking about motivation.  Clearly it’s possible to lose weight, to alter one’s lifestyle, and to move toward a better life. Why is it that we fail and fall in our journeys?

A spiritual answer might be the concept of concupiscence – that we humans “walk with a limp” as a result of original sin (Adam & Eve).  I’ll set that answer aside for now, as it requires more intellectual horsepower than I can muster at 4am.

I think the truth might be closer to “lack of vision”.  Starting a new project is exciting! Visually it’s like setting out on a journey.  At first, the road is clear and wide, there are lots of excited people happy to see you on your journey, and you can ride that natural excitement out of town and onto the plains.

Once you’ve been on a the road a while, though, it starts to head into the hills, and the journey takes you up and down.  At the top of the hills, you can still see your destination in the distance. That vision powers you through the next valley and up the hill on the other side.

A little further along the road, you get into a forest.  Now the hills are there, but the sky is blanketed in the boughs of trees, and it’s hard to see the destination – your goal – at the crest of the hills.

It’s at this point that I think a lot of us start to get lost.  The road ahead is either unknown (for the lifetime-unhealthy) or overgrown (for those who have been unhealthy for a long time).  It seems easier to turn around and retreat to a place where we can see our vision again, even though you’ve gone backwards.

The challenge is to climb a tree.  Wherever you are in your journey, when the forest gets thick, and the valleys seem dark, and deep, take a moment (a day, or a week), and mentally climb a tree to get your bearings back.  This is recommitment – to find again the direction and purpose for starting this journey in the first place.

This is week 7 of 10×10 in 2010, and I’m climbing a tree.

Source: Flickr

The world is a huge place, and being unhealthy really starts to limit how much of it you can get out to experience.  (I mean, there’s no way I’m hiking up a huge mountain pushing 330.)  As a way to keep motivated, put together a list of those things that, when you’re healthy, you get to do (or do again!)

If a (before I kick the) Bucket List is for those on the outbound train, what would you name a list for people getting their lives back?  Post a comment below with your ideas!

Gerret’s Starter List of Fun Things to Do Post-Weight-Loss

This is my list – you should go start your own, then post it somewhere visible (like the front of the refrigerator…)

1. Go downhill skiing
   There are few things to compare with flying down a mountain with the wind screaming by.
2. Take off Shirt at Beach
   (at least, without the threat of Greenpeace trying to slide me back into the water to save me…)
3. Shopping for clothes
   (whole new wardrobe, in normal sizes)
4. Run a 5k. And a 10k. And a Half-Marathon.  On the same day.
   (Yes, I’ve read Born to Run, and I can. not. wait. to lose more weight and start RUNNING again.)
5. Paddle a Kayak without rolling it
   (Heather, Dan, Kathy, I’m looking at you…)
6. Play Racquetball
   Really miss racquetball!