First Blog Post - Deal or No Deal

In the beginning…

In life we often come across a junction of sorts, where we ponder "Do I go left or right?". Dumfounded we typically choose one direction over another, without much pondering I suppose. Whether it is good or bad, it is a series of these junctions that has lead me to where I am today. Sure, I could be like most politicians these days and try to fix things by whining about the past, and making false promises to myself about the future. But enough is enough already...

I am a happily married guy, with a wonderful family, an 'Ok' career and about 100 pounds of extra glycerol’s and fatty acids (Ok, so I am a bit of a Fat Ass and a Smart Ass if I am to be told by my friends...)

Diets, Medifast, Modified Protein Fast, Protein Shakes, Gym Workouts, Exercising, Eating Healthy. They all suck. They suck bad. They are hard to do, and even harder to stay motivated in doing them. Agreed?

So... Here is the deal...

My wife and I have had 4 children. Our first children (twin girls) only made it a few months, and delivered way early and did not survive. After we had tried to get pregnant for over 5 years, this was obviously not the intended result. So we tried again, after all half the fun is in the trying - chicka chicka bow bow! Then along came baby number 3, Oliver. He rocks, pure and simple. So much, that we went for number four and 9 months later came Eli. He is only 7 months old so far, but he is made of the same stuff his sibling is, pure awesomeness. A few months back my wife looks at me and says, you know I would like 2 more kids. In my best smart-ass voice I said "Good luck with that!". I then started to ponder her request, and with good intentions (as should all good hubby's) I gave her request some very serious thought. I then came to agree that more kids would do very nicely...

So... Here is the Rub...

I am fat. 125 pounds overweight fat. My fat has caused chronic health issues for years. I can’t seem to kick multiple episodes of Bronchitis per year, my feet have arthritis and experience Gout flare ups and overall my energy sucks a big doo doo. And, if you add up the Math (Age when married + 5 years of trying to get pregnant + twins, plus Oliver + Eli) you will quickly come to the conclusion that I am somewhere near 37 years old. And, oh yeah, did I mention that my Mom suffered from Diabetes (From age 30) Strokes and Heart Attacks (from age 40) and finally passed away when she was 48? Ergle!

I am almost 40 and fat with a family history of Diabetes, Strokes and Heart Attacks.

Not a good combo when thinking about having 2 more kids. But, I love my wife and in my heart I want more kids as well... What to do... (feet tapping...) What should I do... I need to get healthy, I need to STFU and stop making excuses, and oh yeah, I need to get healthy...

So... The Reveal...

So, one day I am having lunch at work and I order hamburger sliders - yummy! Everything goes well; I get home, have din-din with the Fam and head to bed. Next thing I know it is 2am and I am having serious flu symptoms and am hurling those sliders right into the porcelain end zone. I must admit, a 2am my aim aint bad... I am hurling, and heaving, and ... you get the picture.

Guess what now?

I can no longer handle the sight, smell or ingestion of beef? What? I am a meat eater, a carnivore, a man that enjoys his incisors. As my wife woudl tell it "We are a meat eating family!"

What the heck, beef makes me sick now? Really? REALLY?

After a few days of this, I come to terms with my new reality. It is hard, and difficult to imagine not eating beef but the memories (and taste, eeewwwww the taste) of those nastily ejected sliders comes to mind EVERY FRIGGEN TIME I even THINK about eating beef...

But, a thought crosses my mind. Beef isn’t that good for you anyhow, what else do I eat that probably should not? So I make a list (Soda, Caffeine, Fried Foods, Fast Foods, Sugar, and Sugar Substitutes) and think to myself, what if I stopped eating those as well?

So I did, I DID! I stopped eating those things (Much to the chagrin of my wife, but that is an entirely different blog post)! It was THAT EASY! WTF? I wrote it down, made it a goal, and whammo - I was now ingesting less toxins (I still ingest plenty of others mind you).

Less toxins GOOD! I am still fat – BAD!

So now what? What do I do next? I have tried every diet out there, and tried exercising and working out and everything in between. Frustrated, a little depressed over the reality of my failures to lose the weight and get healthy, and a bit peeved off at my Genetics (that is not an excuse by the way, just venting at having crappy DNA) I had almost given up... Almost...

And then…

I am in the middle of interviewing a possible server engineering candidate as a new hire on my staff and he mentions that he is training for a half marathon. A half marathon, I have heard of that. I had, that is where people run for friggen ever and ever – right? Light bulbs, bright lights, and many other energetic things go off in my head sounding like the end of Round 1 in a Title Boxing Match - DING, DING DING! I immediately file that away as a serious consideration, both afraid and hopeful that maybe I have a new idea that will stick.

Could I, the fat ass run a Marathon?

1 week later, I am in church and a friend/Neighbor is talking up at the pulpit and mentions that her father ran 12 Marathons in his life, and has given a "Finisher" T-Shirt to each child as a wedding present - DING, DING, DING! There goes those flashes and sounds again running around in my head. What is going on here?

Should I be running a marathon? Is this fate? Is this destiny?

I talk to a couple of folks at work, 2 other guys are interested in training and running a marathon - this seems too easy? Is it?

Well... This has been a very long winded entry to a simple question. Can I evolve from a Couch Potato to a Marathon Runner in 9 months? Can I get off my arse, get in shape and complete a marathon?

Here is where I plan to post things I learn about running a marathon, things I hate and things I like, my progress, how I train, good days and bad days, and a little of life’s lessons, funny remarks and situations along the way as well…

By the way, here I am trying to figure out how to do one of the physically hardest things I will ever attempt in my life – I hope you enjoy reading this blog and tag along for the ride, but I have one question for everyone reading this blog - What is your next goal, what do you plan on doing with the rest of your life?