12 days to go, and only one goal remains

With 12 days to go, I am down to just one remaining goal - run/walk 1,000 miles before the end of Project David 2.0.  Since I started walking on September 30, 2011, that gave me 9 months, 17 days to complete that goal.  With 12 days to go I have just another 38.12 miles to get there.  Since I carry a Fitbit tracker, people have asked if I was counting the miles that it reflects on a daily basis.  The answer is no.  I've only counted the running and walking miles from my workouts.

The last goal you ask? Yes.  But wasn't there another goal to be completed? When I wrote my last entry there were two remaining goals - 1,000 miles and my revised (upward) weight loss goal of 71.6 pounds.  Well, happy to report that on the morning of June 22, as we were getting ready to leave for our road trip to Oregon, I stepped on the scale and learned that I had lost - drum roll please........ 72.8 pounds!!!  An extra 1.2 pounds!!  10 months, 7 days.  More to come on that as I am preparing my Project David 2.0 "recap" blog entry for July 17, my "go live" date.

As always, thanks for stopping by!

30 days to go!

There are 30 days left in Project David 2.0.  How have we done? There are two key goals remaining - run/walk 1,000 miles, lose 71.6 pounds.  Are we going to make it? Well, we have 100.73 miles and 0.8 pounds to go.  I have no doubts that I will make these two remaining goals.  This nearly year long project has been about success!  And we're not stopping short!

If you've been following along with me, you know these are not goals that I set last August when I started this journey. If you are new to my blog, let met tell you where these goals came from.  The weight goal was 61.6, but I decided along the way to increase it by 10 pounds. Why? Because as I got closer to my original goal, I thought there was room for an extra 10 pounds. The 1,000 miles? Yeah, not in the original plan either. In fact I had no exercise goals when I started. At the end of September I started walking every night.  I logged all of my walking sessions. In January I decided that maybe I would try running. Walking 4 miles a night was taking about an hour. If I could run, I should be able to cut that down. So I started the C25K training program.  This is designed to get a non-runner ready to run a 5k in 9 weeks.  The 1,000 miles? Inspired by my good friend Bob Stanke.  In 2011 he set and achieved a goal to run 1,000 miles. I decided that take that one on - but in a combination of walking and running.  Since I wanted to hit my original goal date, July 17, I only had 9 1/2 months to complete the task.  Kind of aggressive for someone who was not a runner.

So how has the running gone? On Saturday I ran my second race.  This one was a 4 miler.  Beat my goal by 2 minutes, running it in 35:53.  I'm working towards a 10k, and a co-worker is trying to talk me into a 10 miler.  I think I am ready for the 10k.  Tonight was a 5.25 mile run.  It felt good.  It was my longest run to date. Adding another mile shouldn't be an issue.  Up next is a 5 mile race on the 4th of July, a 4 mile race on July 7th, and another 4 mile race later in July.  And I'll be entering the lottery for the Medtronic TC 10 Mile in October.  I have time to get from 5 miles to 10 miles by October. Keep your tigers crossed that I can get in.  It's very popular. Some will say that once I get to 10 miles, I am probably ready for a half marathon since I'm only 3 miles away.  Pretty amazing that a guy who has never been a runner, and 6 months ago just started running, could be working towards running 10+ miles.

I'll keep you posted on my progress!!

Thanks for reading!

It was about more than just the shirt.

With my wife and kids cheering me on at the finish line, I accomplished something today that I never really thought I'd do. Something that 60 days ago I couldn't believe I would do. Today I became a runner. Today I ran my first 5K race, the St. Patrick's Day Human Race in St Paul. Not bad for a guy that 60 days ago struggled to run for 5 minutes, let alone 3.13 miles. My time, 28:25. I'll take it!! It was an unbelievable feeling as I came down the last few yards to the finish line. Seeing my kids jumping up and down cheering me on, giving me another burst of energy to "sprint" home. What a feeling. It was about more than just the shirt (although I proudly wore my first race shirt).

It was also about another accomplishment in my Project David 2.0 journey. It was an amazing day. I can't wait for the next race, and looking down the road to improving my distance and time and working towards a 10k.

I am 7 months and 3 days into Project David 2.0. An 11 month project. On Saturday I hit the scale, down 57.6 pounds. 4 pounds away from my original goal. So close to a goal that I hoped I could reach by the middle of July. And today I accomplished another goal - I earned the shirt.

3.38 miles - an incredible feeling!

Today marked another milestone in Project David 2.0. This one was did not involve flour. This afternoon I did something that I haven't done in more than 30 years. A road run. I've never been a runner. Now I've run before. Back in 7th grade. My last road run would have been while playing soccer in 7th grade. I went to school at Oak Grove Jr High in Oregon and soccer practice was at North Oak Grove Elementary. Every day we had to run to the other school for practice. A distance of about 3/4 of a mile.

As I've shared before, I decided I wanted to change things. 9 weeks ago I started the Couch to 5K program (C25K). So, over the last 9 weeks I've been working to go from a person that walked 4+ miles a day on the treadmill (since September 30th) to someone who could run 30 minutes three times a week on the treadmill. My goal, to run a 5K (it's about the shirt). Running on the treadmill I reached the 30 minute sustained run mark. And with a combined run/walk I've covered the 3.13 mile distance in 37 minutes. A major accomplishment for me. I had been told that running on a treadmill was different than running on the road. It was easier. Works the muscles differently.

Having accomplished the goal on the treadmill, it was time to take it outside. The weather forecast this week was looking good for today. A high near 60. And amazingly, no kids activities tonight, so I was going to hit the road. Last week I mapped a route that would cover roughly 3.13 miles. My practice 5K. Biggest question - how fast could I run it. At 5:04 this evening I walked out my front door, hit start on the Nike+GPS app on my iPhone headed down the driveway. 36:07 later I had covered 3.38 miles. Wow. Unbelievable rush. I can't wait to get out and do it again.

New goals for Project David 2.0: faster and farther.

I'm running? What's up with that? It's about the shirt.

I've never been a runner (well, there was soccer in junior high), and I never planned to be one. Of course I never planned on Project David 2.0. That all changed 4 weeks ago when I decided I was going to run a 5K before my project goal date, my next birthday.

4 weeks ago I started the C25K - Couch to 5K - program. I had seen tweets about it, and decided to check it out. The concept, for those that are not familiar with this program, is a running program that takes you from the couch, or a non-runner, and in 9 weeks gets you ready to run a 5K or 30 minutes non stop. Since I've been walking 60+ minutes a night since the end of September I jump straight to week 2 of the program. My wife asked me why I wanted to run since I've never shown any interest. Told her it was about the shirt. You always get a shirt when you participate in a 5k. The real reason was that I wanted to shorten the amount of time I have to spend on the treadmill each night, so I needed much a faster pace. I was already walking at 4.2 miles per hour, so I was going to have to start running. Tonight was workout of 2 week 5:

00:00-5:00: Warmup walk

5:00-13:00: Run

13:00-18:00: Walk

18:00-26:00: Run

26:00-30:00: Cooldown Walk

I continue my usual walking for another 30-40 minutes beyond the C25K program. I don't have the speed there yet. More focused on actually being able to sustain a run. I figure the speed will come once I can reach a sustained 30-40 minute run. So far in a combined run/walk on a treadmill, I can cover a 5K in 42 minutes. That's with 16 minutes of running in that 42 minute window. The next workout, on Friday is a 20 minute run. Crossing my fingers that I'll be able to make it!! In a little over 3 weeks I'm supposed to be at a 30 minute run. That will be amazing. My first goal will be to run a 5K in under 40 minutes. There are two in St. Paul around St. Patrick's Day, and I am thinking that maybe that will be my first. I think I need to commit to that in the next week before they close registration.

So that's my story and I'm sticking to it - another goal added to continuing to be successful Project David 2.0.