Three Classes and One Full Week Done of Piano Class

I have finished the first full week of piano class.  Three classes and I certainly would not say that I can read music.  However, I am making headway in the art of reading music.  The book starts off easily getting us familiar with the keyboard and how we will eventually be reading music.  The digits of our left and right hand to use when reading the music.  Sure, it all makes sense now as we are only doing basic things on the piano.

Still, there are times when I am practicing at home, maybe making up my own tune on the piano (as encouraged by the book to learn the keyboard) where I forget for just a moment that I have no idea what I am doing on the piano.  I start to get into the rhythm of the piano and the tune I am pouring out from my fingers takes over... if only for a few seconds... but it feels and hears to my mind that I am playing a real tune.

I still have not tuned our piano at home though, so for it to be a tune, you know it has to be a badly out of tune.  There are some keys that make you cringe, but overall, it does not sound too bad.  Carrie and I were guessing the piano has not been tuned in over fifteen years through various moves before we received the piano and not played, it is in desperate need of tuning.

My piano teacher provided the name of a person in town who can tune our piano.  About two weeks have gone by since I got the name of the tuner from the teacher and I still have not called to schedule them to come out.  It is on my to do list to call and schedule them to be out to tune our piano.  Then, look out as I will finally be in tune here at home.  Another week or two and I believe we will be full in deep to reading music then too.  At least that's what I observe looking through the book to see what is coming up in future classes.

I am still working on remembering treble and bas clefs (see Studying, Piano Lessons, and Remembering Childhood Piano Practicing).  It takes me a while, but I can eventually get it.  Of course with practice I know that I will get faster at being able to read music.  Still, we have not started really reading notes in the class.  We are only looking at pages with numbers and notes, but the notes are not on a clef.  Again, I know eventually we will get there and eventually be reading music.  We have to get through this basic stuff first before we can start being able to play.

The class provides extra credit if we go to events in or around Topeka.  Friday night, Carrie and I had the opportunity to go to a recital for a friend.  She sang soprano accompanied by a piano, flute, and other soloists all at first times.  Primarily it was our friend (singing) and piano accompaniment.  It was a wonderful performance.  We were able to heard another friend of ours who sings opera and they sang a piece where he joined in too.  Wonderful evening of music!  To think I get to use that for extra credit now in my class too.  Works out nicely!

Carrie and I talked afterwards that we need to try and go to a local musical event a few times a year.  I would like to attend operas or orchestra once or twice a year.  I remember when I was little, I would go to events throughout the year with my mom.  Of course when I was little, I did not really want to be at some of those events and rather be out playing.  Now that I am older, I want to expand on my musical knowledge or experiences.  So, Carrie and I are both going to watch for events we can attend and make it to a few throughout the year.  No, not only for extra credit in this class, but because we enjoy the music.

Still not any pictures, video, or sounds of my practicing at this point as no one wants to hear that now.  Our class is interesting as it is a full class and we all play aloud in the class.  The instructor has us turn our piano down to half volume, but still, it sounds like a train wreck when we all play wrong keys to start a scale.  Gradually though, we get better as we learn the process or notes.

I have slacked off since our Wednesday class on practicing, so I need to play a lot Sunday to make up for it.  In class on Monday, we will each play our own piece for the class.  It should be interesting as we make it up as we go, but are restricted to a certain set of keys.  We will simply make up the chords and the melody with the right hand.  We can take notes so we can duplicate our play on Monday in class.  I am thinking I will just wing it and act as though it is planned.

As we are about to begin our second full week of class, it still amazes me that I use to play the piano when I was little.  I remember bits and pieces as I read and while I find it exciting to play and for a brief few seconds feel as though I know what I am doing, I still feel as though I am only making noise.

I know it will all come together at some point.  At some point it will all make sense and I will be able to read music and make a sound that others want to hear.  That is my dream from taking this class and the ability to be able to sit down and read from sight a new piece of music so that it is recognizable to those listening.  With practice, I intend to be able to play a song, but I want to be able to sight read anything too.

Are you playing a new instrument or learning a new tool?  Share it with me in the comments sections.

Fell Off the Exercise Wagon... Eating Better?

My last post on July 18 (Week Two Done... Prepping for Week Three... Jog On!) was my last post here.  So, obviously I have not posted or worked out in a very long time! Ok, so I worked out a few times after the semester started, but that ended about halfway through the semester. Officially, it ended on September 29 (Endomondo Workouts).

The start of October was difficult to get anything going consistently in terms of working out.  The bad eating and beer drinking was in full effect from the start.  The Blues Festival that second weekend of October and Royals baseball games all through the month helped to keep me out of the gym, off the road, or basically finding any excuse to do anything healthy.  I was not even eating well during that time finding myself weighing in the most I have ever in my life on November 16.  Really, that was the first time I had weighed myself since sometime last year.

Yes, that November 16 weigh-in was a wake up, but only to the point of starting to eat right.  Cut back on alcohol and that's been bout it.  I weighed myself about a week after that first weigh-in and found I had lost three pounds... so it is a start!

Many of you know that I love the spin class at Washburn Student Recreation Student Center, but I have not been to class since the last part of September.  I had plans to start going back in November, but now we are about to the end of November and not having the motivation to get to the gym at 6:30 in the morning.  So, I am going to try and start working out after work and do running instead of biking.  Previously when I was running I had races as targets so I could train, but I have not been to a race in over a year, so I am going to set small targets with running.  Focus on pace and distance instead of on a goal of running a race.

This next week is of course Thanksgiving, so not the best time to start.  So, I will target the Monday following Thanksgiving to start working out after work.  Try not to go crazy with eating during the holidays and try to get a start on getting back in shape before the new year starts.

Happy Holidays!  I hope to be posting soon with my progress in eating right, exercise, and meeting my running goals.

Week Two Done... Prepping for Week Three... Jog On!

Posting a update on my progression of getting back into jogging.  How out of shape do I get when not running at all?  It is bad!  I did not think I would be able to motivate myself to get out and run each three days a week.  So far, I have been able to do two days a week.  Hoping to start a three day week kicking it off on Sunday.  I have felt alright when running the past two weeks, but not great!

The first week was brutal.  As I mentioned, I have started up the Couch to 5K again.  The first day I could barely keep up with the routine.  I was breathing heavy and possibly wheezing, but I was able to get through it without too much trouble.  Keep in mind that day one of C25K is the following:

• Warmup 5 minutes
• Repeat 5 times
• Jog 45 seconds
• Walk 90 seconds
• Jog 45 seconds
• Walk 60 seconds
• Cooldown 5 minutes

Yes, I was about done at the end of the first day.  That night, my legs hurt, and the next day, it was difficult to go up or down stairs.  My legs were yelling at me for not running for so many weeks.... or months.

Moving on to the start of week two where I found that it did not hurt as bad, but still it was not great! The only good part with starting week two was that I was not completely sore that evening nor the next day.  The progression of C25K was doing the job and progressing me slowly toward week three. I ran the end of week two last night.  A week consists in C25K terms of three segments, or days, before it moves to the next week.  Still a long way to go in my training and I hope to be ready for the Washburn Alumni Association 5K in the Fall.

I still need to get motivated and back to spin class.  I love it so much, but I have been lazy.  That is the plain and simple about it that I have been lazy.  I enjoy sleeping until about 7 or 7:15, rolling out of bed, shower, and at work by 8.  It also does not help that work has been happening where I work out (SRWC) which I have been using as an excuse.  Granted, I could still be working out at the SRWC as they are still open, have showers, and classes are in session.  I am looking for excuses not to get up in the morning.  That has to end!

The only race I have planned for now is the Washburn Alumni Association Fun Run in the Fall.  That has not helped my motivation by not having a target race for training.  Now it is all mental and relying on my motivation to get out and run.  

Tonight though, I sit back, sip a cold beer, and cheer on the Kansas City Royals.  Everyone have a great week!

2014 Started and Snuck up on Me!

The previous year was a good year! It flew by, but it was a fun year. It does seem as though 2014 snuck up on me. It seems like only yesterday that we had just returned from our Washburn Alumni cruise (November 2012) and here we are headed into the start of the spring 2014 semester. Wow!

The end of 2013 turned into my not working out at all. Well, this started with my last spin class at the SRWC. I had great intentions of getting back to working out once January 1, 2014 rolled around, but the amount of cold and snow we have had thus far as taken away from my workout motivation. Spin class will be starting again as we get close to the start of the spring semester, so I plan to start getting up early and working out. As it proceeds into Spring and warmer weather, I plan to increase my workouts to at least fives days a week. My plan includes doing a five day workout through the summer. For me, if I put it on my calendar and plan on it, that is half the battle of getting to the gym.

I will be meeting with Ben at the SRWC during the month of January. This will be my health assessment and should give me solid goals to strive for through the rest of the semester and into the summer.

My iPhone woes continue. I have a little less than a year for my warranty on my iPhone 5. I am still not convinced that it is my battery that is failing which is causing my phone to die. Based on when it started and the "testing" that I have done, I believe it is a iOS 7.x.x problem. I read recently that 7.0.5 is supposed to be out later in January and then 7.1 is scheduled to be out in the next two - three months. Nothing confirmed, but I am hoping that either of these fixes will resolve my battery problems. If not, then I will be forced to get a new iPhone before my warranty expires. Crazy for my phone to die with 15-25% of the battery remaining and it happens on a regular basis. To the point where if my phone is under 50%, I do not feel it is reliable to use it until I get my charger. Frustrating!

I am sure there are other items I could comment about, but that is all for now. I just finished shoveling snow for the third of forth time this year. I am all warmed up and ready to relax. Have a great 2014 and I will post more later...

Working Out and Planning for Trolly Run

I cannot wait for Spring... To Run Outside!

Once again, it has been a while since I have posted anything. I had plans of posting about various things regarding my workouts, board meetings, and other random thoughts. Yes, the last time I posted anything, it was in January.

My workout has not been going all that well. While I have been running regularly, I do not feel as though I have the endurance or motivation that I had last year at this time. I am doing the Couch to 10K and I love the process, but I feel like I am struggling. I get tired and have aches when only running for three minute blocks for thirteen times mixed with walking for two minutes thirty second. Some of the workouts are 78 minutes and others are 58 minutes. I am mid-way through the program and still have a long way to go. Soon, I will be "required" to run for the entire time and I am not sure at this point if I will be able to do the whole route running.

I do still enjoy the process. I enjoy the act of running which is something I never thought I would say. I am looking forward to being able to run outside. I know, I could have been running outside at least a few times the past few weeks, but when it was nice and when I could run were on two different schedules. So, I have been left to run inside on a treadmill.

No, I really do not mind running on a treadmill. Do I enjoy it? No! I do not enjoy the process of running on the treadmill in one stationary location. What I do love is being able to watch Netflix while I run. That might be for another posting where I talk about the shows I like to watch while I run on the treadmill. I will miss being able to watch shows while I am running. If I am not watching shows, then I am watching basketball or listening to Washburn on the radio.

I am training for the Trolly Run which is at the end of April. I ran in this race last year for the first time and I loved it! Done very well and the route is very nice. The route is downhill for the most part, but not bad at all. Goes through the neighborhoods of the Plaza in Kansas City. Last year it was raining and it was cold! I am hoping for nice weather this year. I am taking donations, so please take a moement to donate to over 300 children in the Kansas City area that need assistance with their vision. I hope that those of you that are runners that read my page will consider taking part in the Trolly Run too as it is a lot of fun and goes to a good cause.

Memorial Day weekend is a perfect time to take place in a 10K race in Boulder, Colorado. I cannot wait! My first 10K is set to be May 27, 2013 in Colorado. The BolderBoulder will be my first race and that's what I am training for with the Couch to 10K. I have a few months until I run in this race, but I think I will be ready. By that time, I should be able to run outside here in Topeka a few times and hopefully I will be ready for Memorial Day in Boulder, Colorado.

The last week of March will be my first attempt at doing a regular class at the rec center at Washburn University. I joined the gym back in 2012 and I have only been one time. I am going to start my first spinning class and I am excited for it to start. The class is at 6:30 in the morning Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, but I think I will be able to do it and I love to cycle. I will keep you posted on my status and ability to attend the classes.

Until the next time... which I hope is not as long as this post... Happy trails and running!

 

First 10K in May, Other Races, and Motivation

Signed up for my first 10K in May. I will be running in Boulder, Colorado for the BolderBoulder. I cannot wait! I am having a difficult time getting motivated to start this year with running. I miss running outside and cannot wait for it to get warmer so I can be outside running.

I signed up for the gym at Washburn and have only managed to get there once since I signed up. I know that is sad! We have a treadmill in our basement, so I use that when I do workout. Last summer I was managing to workout (run) 3 - 4 times a week. Since about November, I have only been managing to do 1 - 2 times a week and sometimes taking a week or two off before running again. Since the start of the year, I have been running 1 - 2 times a week, but intend to increase that rate.

I know that I will run in at least three 5K's this spring/summer. The Trolley Run in Kansas City was one I did last year and had a great time. The Washburn Alumni Fun run which is in the Fall is another one that I will do towards the end of the running season. Sometimes in July, you can count on seeing me at the Fiesta 5K. So, I have my targets lined up and the motivation is starting to build.... in my head. Now to put the motivation to work and get me running on a regular basis.

Over the next few months, I do plan on getting to the SWRC at Washburn at least once a month. I plan to limit my calorie (beer) in take with the goal of dropping weight. Finally, I plan on running at least three times a week with a big mile push each Sunday as I get back into shape and use to running.

I hope your running and exercise is going as expected. Until next time... Happy running!

 

Already into October and My Update

It is hard to believe that we are already into the month of October.  In fact, we are fast approaching the end of the month.  The end of football season and the beginning of basketball season.  Where did the Fall go?

I have been running on a regular basis.  This past week, I decided to join on our gym at work.  I figured it would help motivate me to lift weights because I am definitely not doing so with my home weight set.  I also joined the gym so that as it gets colder out, I have a place to run inside.  They have a track that is indoors, but it is only 1/8 of mile around.  Yeah, so that is a lot of laps to make one mile.  Still, better than running outside and I have treadmills if I need them.

My races are over for this year.  I thought about possibly doing another 5K in November, but at this point I do not think I will be doing so.  Some friends are going to be running in the Thanksgiving races, but I will be headed to Florida at that time or on a boat enjoying cold drinks.  So, I do not think I will be running in any more races this year.

Next year I am looking forward to my first ever attempt at running a 10K.  Right now, that first time appears that it will take place in Denver, Colorado.  I am looking to sustain my 5K running through the winter months running at the gym or possibly outside if there are nice days.  Then, starting in February or March, I plan to start training for the 10K.  I have only run the mileage for what is a 10K once or twice while out running in my neighborhood.... never in a race.  I am excited!

Happy running!  Until next time!

Time Flies Once Again...

Well, here we are early into September and I have not posted anything since July. I am going to try and pick up my posts again and fill in some of the blanks from the past few months. I trust everyone had a fun and safe summer. I know my summer was crazy! July was so busy with traveling and I turned 40 that it kept me away from writing anything at all. Yes, I thought about posting updates, but I just simply did not take the time to do so.

I intend to start regular updates once again. I know, this is a common theme in my updates over the course of the past few years, but I do intend to get regular updates posted at least once a month. I should have a few more updates before the end of the month to catch up on some of the things that have taken place since July.

 

Month Seven Update and Third Race of the Year Results

Front View Month 7 Update

July brought me to month seven of my life style change. Eating differently and working out at least three times a week. All of this since January 2, 2012. I mentioned in my last update that I would post picture updates of my weight loss status. After seven months, I really cannot see a difference from month two, three, or seven. Even though when I look down I think I can see a flatter stomach, but still when I stand in front of a mirror or look at my pictures, I can still see my gut. Ah, the love of beer and not eating right for so long makes it fun to try and lose the belly. I have mentioned it a number of times, but last year when I did this same thing the weight seemed to drop off much easier and I could see major differences when looking in the mirror or viewing pictures. Maybe it is because I am nearing in on the big 40, but this time I do not see the difference.

Month Seven Side View

I feel better and can run farther. I do not ache when I run and I cannot wait until I run again. When I do not run, I try to figure out when I will be able to get another run in as soon as possible. Still, I do not see any differences in how I look. While only a little frustrating, it is by no means going to deter me from continuing to eat well and run.

So, there you have it... A front and side view of my seventh month in my new life style change. I do not see much difference, but I continue to work at it.

Now, on to my big news for the month of July. I ran in my third race of the year and my second 5K of the year. I had my personal record (PR) in this race. I did not start out intending to run as fast as I did, but I felt great and just started running. I started off with a good pace. Even though my Blackberry Endomondo app said it was still searching for a signal when the race started, it seemed to catch up and register correctly. It clocked my first mile at 9:28 and it only got better from there.

The official results of the race were posted this evening and I was thrilled with my time:

145 JOHN HAVERTY Topeka KS 20 40 M 12 40-44 29:06 9:23/M

The results are from Sunflower Striders web site who record the official results of most races in the area. This was the Fiesta 5K race which helped to kick off the week long Fiesta Festival in Topeka. My official time was 29 minutes and six seconds. I blew my previous 5K PR finish out of the water with this race. My previous PR was a little over 31 minutes. I shaved off about two minutes of time and had a average pace of 9:23 a mile.

Oh, I forgot to mention that yes the "40 M" that you see in the race results above was a mistake on my part. When I filled out the form for the Fiesta 5K back in early June, I made the mistake of putting down that I would be 40 on the date of the race. Well, I do not turn 40 for another 18 days from the race date. Opps! Well, I do not think that it caused any major problems other than my friends teasing me about not know how old I was for the race.

Other news involves a new purchase I made for my running and biking. I just purchased a Garmin FR210 with heart monitor. It should be here in about a week and I cannot wait. I am hoping with this new Garmin watch that it will be easier to track my miles and of course it will be much more accurate than that of my Blackberry. I am sure it will also help to motivate me to run and bike.

My next race is scheduled for the end of August in another 5K race in Kansas City. It will have a lot of hills (I ran it last year) and I doubt my time will come anywhere close to the 29:06 of the Fiesta.

Happy running....

Second 5K of Year and Third Race of the Year Coming Up in a Week

I am looking at about one week until my second 5K and third race of the year. The second 5K will be in hot and humid conditions for the Fiest 5K. This will be the 79 years for the Fiesta Festival in Topeka, KS. It will be my second time running in the 5K race. I am looking forward to it. Truthfully, even though it will be hot and humid, it will not be too bad because we run early in the morning.

If you follow my updates (Month Six Update on Life Change) you know the the past few weeks I have been alcohol free. Yes, no beer, wine, or anything else that even resembles those items. I did not give it up as long as I did a year ago when I went for a few months without anything. This was primarily to see if it would help to drop any pounds. Just three or four weeks is not enough to notice anything when giving up drinks. Still, it was tough when grilling not to have a beer. Not to mention when going to my parents for pizza and not having a glass of wine. That was tough! Other than those instances, it was not bad at all.

Now, I am ready to go back to drinking beer. It is not as though I am going to go crazy, but I do look forward to enjoying a beer now and then. Before long we will be into football season and tailgating and I am not sure I could go through that without any beers.

I mentioned last time that I have my account on MyFitnessPal set to lose 1 & 1/2 pounds a week. I do plan on trying to keep that plan and not going over my calorie count. This might prove a little difficult to do if I am including beers into my diet. The weekends are always tough for food in general and that has been the case the past few weeks without alcohol too. Now, introduce alcohol and it will make it extremly difficult.

Following the Fiest 5K race, I will post picture updates. I do not see any changes when I look at myself, but I have had others say they can tell I have lost weight. No pictures have been posted for a few months, so I am interested to compare them side by side.

My friend Javier has been taking the magazine Runners World for a while now. He gives me issues to read and I have enjoyed the articles. This past week I received a email from Zinio electronic magazines with a $10 off code for any magazine. I decided to go ahead and buy it. I purchased it on Tuesday and I am almost done with the magazine. I have been reading it on our iPad and it is great! Getting tips and techniques from other runners and inspiration on doing more. I am excited to get the next episode too.

Until next time, happy runnings and stay cool!

Fourth (and 1/2) Month Status Update

I am a bit late in my fourth month status update.  The pictures from the forth month, taken today (4/22), I do not see much of a difference.  However, I can tell from the clothes that I wear that the weight is coming off.  I can also tell from looking at the scale each day that weight is coming off.  Still, it does not seem as fast as it was last year when I went through this same process.

The good news is that I am running on a regular basis and I really enjoy my running.  I enjoy my time three times a week to run.  I can hardly wait and if for some reason I have to miss a run, I try to figure out when I will be able to make it up or run the next night.  As I have mentioned, I am running outside and I am loving it!

This time I am running outside and while I have had a little pain in my legs from time-to-time, it has not been bad at all.  I am not sure what I did last year when I was running where my left leg would hurt to the point where I could not walk, but that has not been a problem this go around.  My right leg in the groin area has been a little sore after runs, but usually does not last long.  Nothing like what was happening last year when I would run.

Forth Month Progress for Haverty

I took a snap shot of my progress going back 180 days.  So, well before I started my training after the start of the new year.  As you can see, I was clear down at my last weigh-in clear back in September of last year (the last race I ran) of 204.2 lbs.  The least weight I have weighed in a long time.  I am currently as of this morning at 212.4.  I feel good and I can run four miles easily without walking.  I am averaging a pace of 10m:44s with a average speed of 5.59 mph. The only problem I have been having is that I sometimes start my run way too fast (quickest mile so far is 8m51s) which I think might be causing my groin to be sore following the run.  I am trying to control my run and not run so fast.

I have started using a new application for my phone that I am really enjoying.  It is called Endomondo and it is helping to track my runs, cycling, and walking.  It does a number of other items too as far as tracking of my workouts.  I definitely recommend checking it out as I have enjoyed it so far.  I listen to my music when I run and the app keeps me updated on my miles.

So far this year, I have run in one race which was a 2 mile fun run in Manhattan, Kansas.  It was a good way to start out the year and helped me to get focused for upcoming races.  That race was back in March for St. Patrick's Day.  The next race I will be in is this Sunday for the Trolly Run.  This is a four mile race which is timed.  I will be running with Autumn and Shayne Friedli.  We are looking forward to it although Shane and Autumn have both been fighting a head cold.  We will be leaving Sunday morning from Topeka at about 4:30 in the AM.  Early start for what I expect to be a fun event and I think I am as ready as I will ever be to run.

Future 5K races that I will be in this year include the Fiesta Mexicana 5K which will be in July followed by the  Susan B Komen 5K in Kansas City in August.  The last one I have planned is the Washburn Alumni 5K Fun Run.  For me, it is important to have races to run in that keep me focused on my workouts.  Following the 2011 Washburn Alumni fun run this past year, I did not have anything to focus on, so I lost interest in running and got very lazy.  We entered the holiday season and my weight sky rocketed until I started working out again on January 2.

My goal this year is to work out all year.  Although I might be eating foods that I like come November and December, I plan to continue running and stay in shape.  I do not want to go through what I did this year when I started running where I could not even run a minute without losing my breath or having pains in my stomach or legs.  I have motivation with running and I truly enjoy my runs.  Even when it is raining outside and I am forced to run on our treadmill, I enjoy it and look forward to doing so.

Finally, I am sorry that it took me so long to update for this month.  This is of course all for me and my keeping a plan.  As the weeks clicked by from April 1, I kept reminding myself that I had not posted a update for the month.  Well, here we are at the last week of April and I am finally getting it posted.  Better late then never I suppose.... I do plan to post a new update following the 4 mile race this upcoming Sunday to let you know how it goes and my status going into May.

Happy running to you all and keep up the good work on your life style change!

Third Month Status Report on my Workout Progress

Progress Report of Weight Loss

I am a little bit late in posting my update for March.  I had been trying to do so on or about the second of each month.  Well, that slipped by a bit with other things going on and I did not take the time to sit down and write out how things are going.  A big part of that is because things are not going that great.  I am doing great on the eating and for the most part of watching calories.  However, as you can see, I am not doing well on losing the weight.  I have been right around the same weight since I started this back on January 2.  The weight goes up and down, but I am basically right around the same weight.  I am not losing the weight in my belly like I did last year when I did this and I am finding it difficult to run.  I do not have the motivation that I had last year when I was doing this same process.

While I am about to finish up the Couch 25K, I have not felt as great doing the runs this year.  It has taken a lot more motivation to get me to run.  When I do run, I have not felt great during the run.  I have had pains in my side, legs, and chest.  Those have somewhat gone away since I have made it to the point of running non-stop.  Still, I do not feel the drive that I had a year ago to run.

I feel motivated to run and I like the outcome, but I am not seeing the results.  I am weighing in every day, which I have heard is not a good idea, but I like seeing where I am at each day.  By the third month last time, I could already tell the weight was dropping off.  I could see it in my stomach, my face, and I felt great.  I also had people telling me I looked great... yeah, not so much this time.  I am not even sure if people know that I am running again.  It is for me though which is what I have to remember....

Not a lot of changes from the previous pictures.  Hair is shorter that is about it.  I did lose another lb this morning.  Still, after three months of working out... I cannot tell.  Carrie says she can tell in my stomach, but I sure cannot see it.

Then looking at the side view, I really cannot see the difference.  Is it frustrating?  Yes, a little.  As I have said a number of times, I am not cutting out alcohol completely like I did last time which I think helped to shed the weight fast.  It is not as though I am drinking every night either with the current workout.  I do enjoy a beer here and there or a glass of wine.

A lot more work to do.  Next weekend I will be running in a warm up two mile run in Aggieville.  While it is timed, it is nothing too serious.  I will be running with Javier who has also been getting back into the work out routine.

As the weather improves, I find myself wanting to run outside.  I enjoy the treadmill, but running outside is a nice change.  I will try to post again before the end of the month regarding my routine or how the 2 mile run goes in Manhattan.

Until then, enjoy March Madness!  It is my favorite time of the year and even better when your team is playing well.

Brief Update on Jogging and Status

I had lunch with my friend Shayne yesterday. We talked about jogging and how it was going. I told him that this time around it seems to take a lot more energy for me to run.  I am through week five of Couch 2 5K and I seem to be laboring to get through it. I finish my jogs and I am winded and in pain.  This has been true since I started back in January.

Shayne reminded me that when I was running last September that I was lighter. I gained on a lot of weight through the holidays and then end of 2011.  Thus, I am running with that weight now, so I am carrying more weight running.  I think that could very well be why I feel so miserable when I am doing the jog now.  I have lost a few pounds since I started, but not a lot.  I have to keep in the motivation and stop focusing on how much I have lost.

The part that is causing the most problems is that unlike when I did this back in 2011, I am enjoying a few beers whenever I want.  Last year, I cut out all alcohol for weeks.  That helped to really drop the weight fast. This time around, I have not done that complete cut out of alcohol.  I planned on doing so, but I have not done it as of yet.

I have a few races in mind to do for the year, so at least I have events that will help me be focused.  I have a lot of work left to do and must keep the motivation.  I am still weighing daily which I like to be able to look at my weight graph, but that might also be working against me in motivation.

Second Month Day 35 Update

It has been a little bit since my last update and I missed updating with pictures for month two at the February 2 mark.  Better late than never.  So, here I am at day 35 and my second month under way.  Based on the picture to the right, there is not a lot of change from what Week 1 Day 1 Begins showed at the start.  To me, I still see a (beer) gut hanging over my workout pants and I do not see that I have lost much at all.  My face and body basically look the same as they did back in beginning of January.

Twenty-eight days ago, I was sitting at 226 and today I am sitting at 220.4.  So, not a lot of weight lost during that time, but there has been a lot of fluctuation during this time.  My lowest weight being 218.6 during the past month.  Last weekend and this weekend have proved to be tough with lots of things going on and I have not been able to completely cut out alcohol as I had hoped.  The longest I went without beer or wine was about two weeks.  I did not keep notes, but I believe that's when I went down to my lowest weight loss point during this past month.

I have been running consistently during the past month with only missing a session or two.  I have stayed on pace with the Couch 2 5K program and just completed week 5 day 1 today.  The running has been going well with some minor pain.  Primarily the pain has been in my calves or my sides (stomach) hurt a few times when running.  I ran seven minutes non-stop in one segment today and it felt good.  No pain or tightness, so I was happy.

Again, the side view just as I did in the first update back in early January (Week 1 Day 1 Begins) is to the left.  Not a lot of difference between the two pictures.  I believe this is primarily due to the way I am training.  I am doing the Couch 2 5K as I have mentioned a few times.  It builds up from running only a few minutes a session to running a 5K non-stop.  So, this first week has not been a lot of sweat or workout.  Gradually building up to longer workouts and then eventually more fat burned which I hope will be noticeable in future pictures.

In regards to eating, I think I am doing a good job.  It has not been difficult to keep counting calories and I enjoy doing so with MyFitnessPal.  Yes, there are some days where I have gone well over my calorie count, but most days I am well below.

I have enjoyed reading and getting encouragement from a friends jogging diary.  He recently ran his first 10K.  Not an actual race, but simply ran on his own a 10K.  That gives me drive to try and do the same some day.  He has also lost over 100 lbs.  If you are looking for another blog to read with interesting updates, check out Ernie's Web.

I apologize for posting this three days after I should have, but I am happy to keep this up along with pictures of my status.  It is about time for the Super Bowl to begin, so I better sign off and finish cleaning the house for guests.

Three Weeks Done Status Update

I officially started this life style change on Monday, January 2.  I just finished the third full week of trying to improve my eating and exercise habits.  How am I doing so far?  Well, I am feeling pretty good.  I am slowly getting back into being able to jog long distances and I am eating better.

I just finished week two day three of Couch 2 5K, so I am jogging about three minutes without stopping.  I could really feel it on Friday when I did my last session.  I admit it that I like to sweat and I like to sweat a lot.  I believe it helps to motivate me to keep going and it of course is a indication to me that I am burning calories.  Now that I am getting deeper into the Couch 2 5K program, I am starting to sweat more and more.

Along with running, I am also lifting weights.  This is not something I have really done in the past.  I am trying to track it as part of the MyFitnessPal diary.  I have been doing weights for probably about two weeks.  I could really feel it the first week and then on Thursday after working on my legs, I could really feel my legs.  It is a good feeling and lets me know that I am working out correctly.

The good news about finishing the second full week of jogging is that so far I do not have any pain in my legs.  You may recall that last September when I ran my last 5K of the season, I was having major pains in my legs after each run.  To the point where it was difficult to walk following a workout or race.  It was even difficult to stand after sitting for a period of time.

So far, non of that has happened so far.  I believe that part of the reason I did start having pain is due to the fact that I tried to run faster than I should have and I was working out four times a week.  I put too much torture on my legs which caused pulling of muscles.  In a way, I believe it was good that I took off the four or five months off from jogging.  It helped my legs to repair whatever was hurting and hopefully with lots of stretching before working out, I will avoid having any pain in my legs.

Everyone, have a great week and keep the focus on your life style change...

Windows 7 Problem After Failed Hard Drive... Problem Resolved!

I had a hard drive failure on my Dell Windows 7 system back at the end of November.  I ended up purchasing a new drive and copying the drive to it.  Everything appeared to work without any problems.  Updates were working and overall the system seemed to be working correctly.  I thought the problem was resolved and everything was going to work correctly.

Starting a few weeks into January, I started noticing problems with Windows 7 not being able to get Windows updates.  It would display a error message that "Windows update can not currently check for updates, because the service is not currently running".  I checked to confirm the service was running and could not get it check for updates.  I even tried clearing out the directory where updates are stored to see if perhaps it was corrupted, but the updates still would not run.  This was true for Microsoft Security Essentials as well and it had not received updated since the last week of December.

I tried various things to try and resolve the problem.  Going into the middle of last week I was planning on reformatting and installing Windows 7.  Not a huge problem in itself, but I did not look forward to getting all of my music off or the various programs I use re-installed.  I spent the rest of last week preparing to do the re-installation this weekend.  Backing up files, locating installation disks, etc.

Saturday morning I was ready to do the installation and decided to do one last search to see if I could find a solution for the problem of why Windows Updates would not work.  I found a article that spoke about having a old, outdated, or not installed Intel Rapid Storage Technology causing the problem I was seeing.  I decided to give it a try, so I downloaded the program.  The system rebooted and when it came back up, I found that I could at least get into the Windows Update section now on my computer without the error.  The system starting checking for updates and since I had removed all previous history of the updates, there were a lot to download.  It was working again and all because when I re-imaged to another drive the Intel Rapid Storage Technology had to be re-installed.

Everything is working again and I do not need to install Windows 7 again.  I made sure that Microsoft Security Essentials was running too and that it would update.  I promptly ran a full scan on the computer and found a few trojans that had gotten through when apparently I was unable to check or do Windows Updates.

As of today, the computer appears to be running smooth with Windows Updates running correctly and no errors showing up in the logs.  Ah, it is good to have my computer back and working properly.  I would provide a link back to the file I downloaded to correct the problem, but I cannot find it in my history.  If you are having a similar problem, I would suggest searching for the Intel Rapid Storage program.

Friday Night Food Implosion.... Ouch!

Finishing up my second full week and I was doing good.  I had eaten well through the week and not had any alcohol.  Well, Friday night, we decided to get take out from Chili's which was not the bad part.  I love the Margarita Grilled Chicken from there and it is only 550 calories.  Very tasty!  In addition to the chicken, I also had a lot of chips.  Again, not too bad as it was only about 240 calories.  The down fall came with Spangles shakes that we picked up.  It was our treat for the week... er, well, my treat anyway.  One large shake (yes I went for the large) is 4,200 calories.  For just one freak'n shake.  Ouch!

If I had stopped with the chicken and chips, I would have had about 300 calories to spare.  Nope, I had to have a shake too and it was delicious!  That one shake put me in the negative calories by -3,620.

I believe it is worth it to have a free day or have a few beers if I have been doing well, but this was over doing it a bit.  I need to be smarter in what I reward myself with or my cheat days.  Anything over 1,000 calories is probably not the best choice.

I weight this morning and remained the same weight from yesterday which is good.  I am sitting at 222.2 lbs.  I will probably see my free night tomorrow morning when I weigh-in and it should not shock me at all.

Two Weeks in Status Update

I finished the first week of Couch to 5K last night. Not bad for my first week back into running again. I ended up skipping last Sunday as I did not feel like running. I also ended up having beers last Friday and then wine on Sunday. OK, so not as planned, but better than drinking and eating throughout the week. Plus, I have been doing well with what I eat. I have been tracking it on MyFitNessPal.

Tomorrow, Thursday, I will start week two and I plan to include some weight lifting in my routine too. I used some birthday money and a money from Sprint rebate to get some weights. Basically a whole weight set from Dick Sports for about $150. I am excited to start using them and I might bring my weight bench out of hiding in the back of the basement. I plan on starting with small weights and of course not over doing it. I am doing the same with my jogging and trying to keep it at a 5 mph pace. So far so good and no pain when I jog.

Progress with Tracking Weight

I started off on January 2 weighing in at 223.2. I have fluctuated a lot since I started, but I am starting to see the line go down on slightly. This does help motivation and helps to make me think I will get back to where I was at back in mid-September. Two pounds in about two weeks, well, not great, but I did have fun last weekend with food and drinks, so no complaints.

Hard to believe that I will soon be halfway through the the first month. In a few short months my first 5K of the season will be here and I plan to be ready. Always good to get some friendly competition going among friends. So, I continue to get my friends interested in jogging and doing 5K's with me. We have fun competing and training for upcoming events. Text messages to brag that we are actually working out or how far we ran. I still have a few weeks to get to the point where I am bragging how far I ran as right now I would not be able to make it a mile running.

I am looking forward to losing the belly weight again and having my clothes fit better. Not to mention being able to bend over or walk across the campus without getting winded. The important thing is that I am having fun and enjoying my workout.

I struggle with eating some days. No so much in that I am still hungry, but trying to make sure I get a mid-morning and afternoon snack. Sometimes things happen at work, life, etc. and I simply forget to eat my snack. I have picked up my water drinking considerably which is supposed to also help with not being hungry. Both the eating snacks and drinking water is something I continue to work on and battle going through this process. Just reminding myself to do so.

That's it for tonight! I meant to post earlier this week on my status, but at least I finally got it on here. Happy jogging to you and see you on the next post!

Week 1 Day 2 Update... The Weigh-in

One thing I forgot to mention in my update yesterday was that I am going to weigh myself each day. Now, there might be some days that I am unable to weigh-in which would be if I am traveling, but for the most part I plan to record my weigh each day. Well, I did so this morning and tracked it on MyFitnessPal. Nothing like being on the second day and already gaining a pound. OK, I know that is not a huge problem as it is only my second day, but I was hoping to at least stay at the same weight.

So, total weight loss from the time I started last March is now 8 lbs. It is tough to begin a workout and see the weight increase, but I am not too surprised. My body is probably in shock that I did not eat as much yesterday and that I actually exercised. My target calorie count each day is 1920. Of course when I exercise, that is adjusted and more calories are allowed. Still, I am sure my body is going into shock with the new changes. I know my side was killing me at the end of my mild jog last night which it had not done since I started running back in March.

That is all for now, but I wanted to post a update while I was thinking about it. I thought about it while getting ready for work this morning and decided I better post it. Need to get this thing going on the best start I can and keep the posts going too.

Week 1 Day 1 Begins

I was excited to start my workout. I had told myself that I would start January 2 and that's exactly what I did. I took a before picture which I hope will motivate myself. I remember how great it felt to lose all that weight (about 30 lbs) between March to September 2011. I still remember how many people told me I looked good. I felt good to and that's what is important. I felt so much better when I was exercising and losing weight.

When I started in March 2011, I was right at about 235 edging in on 240 which was the most I have ever weighed. Back in March, I decided it was time for a change. I knew I had problems when it was difficult to bend over to tie my shoes or get winded walking up a flight of stairs. I started running just for the exercise... I never thought I would actually enjoy running and doing 5K races. I ran in three 5K races in 2011 and I enjoyed each one. Each one helped to motivate me to the next one. Well, that is not exactly true as the last one (in September) I lost all motivation after running that race. I initially thought it would be only short-term and I would start running again. I quickly learned that my thought process had completely changed and that I did not care what I ate, drank, or the fact that I was not exercising at all. How quickly the pounds came back on and back on my belly.

To help to motivate, I decided I would post a front and side view picture. Ah yes, my belly is back and almost to the point where I can rest a can bottle on it. I can feel it when putting on shirts that were before previously fitting very nicely. I felt good and people were telling me I looked good.

While I do plan to post a blog update at least weekly, if not more often, I only plan on taking the set of pictures the second of each month. The next 5K I will be running in is tentatively set for April in Kansas City. Shayne and Autumn found the event and it sounds like it will be a fun one to run in. That leaves possibly three other events for me to race in and goals to train for during the next four months.

I hope everyone has a great 2012 and I look forward to posting my updates through the year on my progress. I hope that if I miss out on posting that you call me out on it and help to motivate me on this life changing routine.

If you have not used or heard of MyFitnessPal, I strongly encourage you to check it out. I can be found on the site where I keep track of what I eat and the exercise I complete by visiting http://www.myfitnesspal.com/havertyj. I would be happy to help motivate you on the site too.

Thank you!