Where to begin... hmmm... Well I guess I'll start with how I got here. I kind of plan on making this a straight forward blog that talks about my training philosophies, diet regimen and, if anybody's interested, I'll answer a question or two. I'm not a very serious individual, nor am I very inhibited. I want this blog to be honest, fun and most important, humorous. So, I guess I'll just dive right in and talk about where I started.
Today was my first obstacle race and my first competitive race in about 5-6 years. Up until about two years ago, I was... well... a slob. I ate what I wanted, when I wanted with little regard for the consequences. I smoked, I drank and I sat around on my ass listening to it get bigger. Then I got, what I thought was, a wake-up call. The husband of one of my wife's friends, who is about my age, had his second open heart surgery. I was practicing several of the same habits that lead him down that path, so I decided it was time for a change, but how?
I had struggled with my weight for a long time. At this point, I was close to my all time high of 200 lbs, which may not sound like much, but it's a lot for a 5'7" - 5'8" frame. With that much weight, I felt like running was out. Besides, I hated running anyway. I decided to start with elliptical training. I even went so far as to buy an elliptical trainer for the house. I trained hard, too.
I kept up with the human hamster wheel for about six months and I was happy with it. I had "quit" smoking years before, but during this period, I finally kicked the habit permanently (well, I haven't had a cigarette in the last 15 months anyway). I kept drinking and I kept eating, but I felt like I was doing something. It was around this time that I met Renae from the Pentagon Athletic Center (PAC).
Quite frankly, Renae is a boss. She's in her mid-50's, a grandmother, she's tougher than my drill instructor and high school wrestling coach combined and she's in better shape than most 20-somethings. She runs the circuit training class at the PAC, which to this day, is the best workout I've ever had. Renae made me fall in love with fitness. It was her circuit training class that got me back in shape.
Her circuit training class focuses on hardcore, high intensity interval training (HIIT). She combines cardio conditioning with weight training into an intense, heart thumping, ass kicking hour long class. I credit her class for the endurance I now possess. It was after starting her class I decided to give running another chance. Thanks to her and her HIIT classes, I went from running 10-minute miles to 8-minute miles.
I think I'm going to end this first blog with my first experience in Renae's class. It was a Monday afternoon and I was standing outside, waiting for the class to start (I would later learn that her classes tend to start a few minutes late) and I saw a bunch of fat bodies who were also going to attend the class. The fat bodies were complaining about how tough the class had been on Friday and how they were still sore. I was chuckling inside. I was supremely confident in my elliptical training. I knew my phenomenal cardiovascular conditioning would make this instructor rue the day she ever met me.
When I walked in and saw this tiny woman, I knew for sure I would own this class. I went over to the sign-in sheet, signed in and grabbed the requisite equipment. The music started and we did some easy calisthenics for warm-ups and then we jogged around the room. After that, it was a blur of nausea, pain and sweat. I made it to the 40th minute of the 60 minute class before she pulled me aside and said "You're not looking so good and you're sweating a lot. This can be kind of intense if you haven't done this before. You're feeling dizzy, aren't you?" I responded, "Actually, I'm a little nauseous." She said, "Why don't you sit this one out?" and me, being utterly broken by this tiny woman, relented and said, "Yeah... Ok." Meanwhile, the fatbodies were still moving along while I sulked off on the side.
Today, a little less than two years later, I finished 21st out of a field of about 2500 in Run Amuck. In addition to the love I get from my family, the training I do on my own, and the litany of support I get from a host of other areas, a lot of the credit for my performance today goes to that little bitty ball of energy that knows how to kick ass. Thank you, Renae. You'll never know how much you've helped me.
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