Dropping the Pounds
Goals have been critical to my overall weight loss. Also critical was keeping these goals bite sized and manageable. The thought of losing over 200 lbs. in one fell swoop is overwhelming, however 12 lbs a month is far less so.
Early on, I did set 12 lbs a month as a goal. It was manageable and reasonable. It also proved to be fairly easy to beat, so exceeding that goal proved to be a great further motivator.
For 2007, I set a goal to lose and additional 100 lbs, total of 200 lbs. My final goal weight is 199, a total loss of 218 lbs. -- a decrease of more than 52% of my starting weigh-in. Through May, I'm at 136. May was the first month that I achieved a monthly goal this year. I believe that I can continue to lose at this pace, given my new focus on training longer races.
Running Weight
I know that every pound that I shed makes my running goals that much easier to achieve. My feet, ankles and knees will certainly thank me. Ideally, I'd like to be at 250 or below when I step to the line at Philly in September and below 220 for my first marathon next spring.
Running Goals
When I started out last July, I never expected to have running goals, just weight goals. Now, the running goals have almost taken over. Weight loss will be a byproduct of my training and preparation, rather than "treadding" or "jalking" being the means to the end.
(Definitions: treadding: v. exercise on the treadmill, where it all began; jalking: v. the act of intermittently jogging or walking in a public place to complete a course.)
At the present time, I can run only about 1/3 of a mile. I have worked on the treadmill to adjust my speed to be able to get to that point. My most immediate goal is to be able to run a full mile without breaking stride into a walk. Time is not important, but the accomplishment is. It only builds from there.
As for times, my next event is a 5k on June 10. My last timed 5k in December was in excess of 45 minutes. My time goal is to break 40 minutes. I "jalked" the course last weekend and broke 41 in 81 degree heat. I'm pretty confident on this one.
The next big race is the Philadelphia Distance Run. It's a half marathon on September 16. Goal is to break 3 hours.
After that, the Columbia Metric Marathon in December. 3:30 would be great there.
All in all, just finishing these longer events will be an accomplishment and set the stage for 26.2 in the spring.
L'Chaim
2 comments:
I'm enjoying reading your posts. You have optimism that we can all learn from Hang in there and you'll nail your goals.
Tom
Hey Jeff you have a great story. On the running may I suggest a running program called couch to 5K. It really helped me when I started running after losing weight. I will also be doing the PDR in September maybe our path's will cross. Great job and keep up the great work. OK I have to back to reading your blog now.
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