Tools for the Journey

I have to admit I'm new to this whole social networking phenomenon, but the more I learn, the more I enjoy it, and the more time I'm spending online. An article I just read online said that "social networking is quickly becoming the dominant online behavior globally". I can see why...I'm addicted already and I've been at it for a little over a week now.

I mention this explosion in social networking because I wanted to share my excitement about a site I was referred to by some friends. If you haven't checked out http://www.sparkpeople.com/ yet you should...especially if you're interested in getting your weight/fitness back under control like I am.

It's totally free and adds the social networking component to fitness. I've tried diets or exercise plans on my own in the past and failed, but I'm really looking forward to the social aspect of the communities I have joined.

Feel free to check out my page on sparkpeople, build one of your own and keep in touch. It's tools like these that I know will keep me motivated when my tank is running low. Today I'm on a real fitness high. I ran 5k at lunch, I stuck to my meal plan and lifted/core trained in the evening. I have nearly 25 lbs to lose to get down to my goal weight and its tools like these that will make my journey all the more sweet.

Computer monitors on Flickr by Random Connections

Dumbbells on Flickr by Josh Rokman

My Recent Journey

It was about two years ago that I was complaining to my wife about how I had no energy and how this and that was aching, and in a way that only she can, she looked at me and said "Don't you think you should be in the best shape of your life when you turn 40 years old?

She was right, and that night laying in bed a hatched a plan. An 890 day plan that would end with me running my first marathon on my 40th birthday....SuperBowl Sunday 2008. Being fairly sedentary at that point I started slow. I walked and cut out a few foods without really dieting. Then one day I decided to just run a block to see how I'd feel and to my surprise I felt great.

Long story short I set a few goals and tracked everything I ate, every mile I walked, ran or biked, every sit up and push up I did. It worked great, sort of. I ran a couple of organized races and lost 22 lbs overall, and got my body pretty close to high school shape.

Looking back I didn't set the right goals though because once I hit my weight goal and ran a few races I started losing interest. It's been a number of months that I've been off my 890 day plan and shamefully I have to admit that I've put all the weight back on and my pants are tighter than ever.

I've learned that for me to sustain long term success the goal can't be a number (goal weight or miles run, or goal pace - those are great milestones and reasons to celebrate but not much more), it has to be a direction. I've been back on my 890 plan for a week now, and I'm starting over again slowly. The test of my success this time isn't going to be if I finish a marathon (http://www.runsurfcity.com/site3.aspx) on February 3, 2008, it will be the next week when I'm sore and feeling proud and not so motivated to run in Iowa winter weather.

I know I'm not alone on this journey (I do have friends supporting me http://blog.runnerslounge.com/ ) and I'm hoping that by stepping out into the bloggesphere I'll meet others I can encourage. If you're training for your first marathon please write and let me know how you're doing, I'd love to visit your blog and share in your journey as well.