stay tuned for pictures :-)
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Monday, November 8, 2010
2010 DRC Half Marathon
This should be shorter than my last race post... (EDIT: It isn't.)
I ran my first Half Marathon yesterday.
I woke up at 5:30 Sunday morning. I rolled out of bed, headed towards the living room, and opened our front door. My eyes shot open when I realized that, standing there in boxers, 42 degrees is really cold. I closed out the chill and warmed up some pasta, stretched a little, and got into my running clothes.
Jonna stayed in bed till around 6:00, then she got ready as well. This was her 5k race. She's not a fan of early mornings or cold weather when they're mutually exclusive, so you can imagine her gusto when we were standing at a bus station before 7:00 in the morning.
Yep. Since there were almost 4,000 people racing between the 5k and half marathon, we opted to take a shuttle a mile from our apartment. The bus ride made everyone feel like giants; it must have been an elementary school bus, or at least a bus for really really small people.
I'm not small at ALL.
About half an hour before the race, I pulled off my sweater and traded my short sleeve shirt for long sleeves. It still wasn't 50 degrees, and it probably wouldn't be until about 10 o'clock. Ten minutes before the start, I made my way to the line. Well, not all the way to the line. Not even close, really. There were so many people...
As I made my way through the human labyrinth, there were various pace groups...1:30...1:40...1:50. After training for 3 months, I knew I probably could only sustain 11.5 minutes per mile. That would put me finishing in about 2.5 hours....aha! There actually was a 2:30 pace group, led by blue balloons and Green Shirt Girl. It was the next to last group. The 2:40 was clearly labeled as "RUN/WALK". So I popped in with the 2:30 folks just as the National Anthem started blaring on the horizon, muffled by the distance and general commotion.
I should make a couple of points here. First, I had no real intention of jogging 13.1 miles without stopping. Second, I had no real desire to cover 13.1 miles with RUN/WALK. I just needed to hang with the 2:30 group for as long as possible, then I could fade at the end and finish in under 2:40. I mean, seriously, that was the last pace group? From what I understood, 2 hours was a respectable time. I figured that 2.5 hours wouldn't be bad for a 235 pound guy on his first go. Maybe I had spent three months underestimating how difficult this would be.
Or maybe I hadn't. I crossed the starting line exactly three minutes after the gun, and for two miles those blue balloons were my pillar of cloud. By the start of Mile 3, I had caught up with Green Shirt Girl just in time to hear her say, "Hills up!" On queue, the breeze shifted into a headwind and the run really started.
The course took us around White Rock Lake, but since it only makes about a 10 mile loop, we had to venture through some established neighborhoods. And did those neighborhoods have some hills. Mile 3 through Mile 6 somehow offered rolling hills with a constant incline. It felt more like climbing up really, really, really long steps. Up. Flat. Up. Flat. Up. ...Flat. ...Up. ...Flat...Up....Flat....
Fortunately, this meant that the second half of the race was mostly flat or downhill...and that the wind was at our sides or back. After Mile 5, I settled into a pace a little faster than the 2:30 group and struck out on my own. The real problem was that most people finishing in over 2 hours did some kind of run/walk intervals. This meant that, unlike my other races, I couldn't find a talking buddy. At this point, I had been running for an hour and hadn't stopped yet, and I didn't feel like quitting my slow jog to walk and talk. It also didn't help that I was one of probably five people not wearing headphones...
Mile 6 through Mile 10 went pretty well. I did manage a couple of conversations with a 63 year old man in Texas flag running shorts. He hadn't ran a half marathon in a couple of years, so he just thought it would be fun. It's worth mentioning that the times I talked to him were on his walks, because his walk was the same speed as my jog. But I was still jogging...
The first real decision that I had to make was at Mile 10. My heart, lungs, and legs weren't hurting, but I was just getting tired. So I put off that decision as long as I could.
My. Goodness. I felt like. I had been going. And going. For hours. And I had. When I saw the Mile 12 marker about 400 yards away, I wasn't sure if I had enough energy left. I had been going for 135 minutes, so 15 more sounds easy. Until you're there.
One minute later, I put the 63,360th foot of the race behind me. I knew that my pace had slowed the last couple of miles. It slowed just enough for me to hear Green Shirt Girl and the 2:30 troop 100 yards behind me. She was loud. And that was all the encouragement I needed.
Ten minutes later, the starting line was in sight. The pace group was at least 200 yards behind me now, but I could hear the leader yelling, "DO NOT STOP. THAT IS THE STARTING LINE. THAT IS NOT THE FINISH LINE. YOU HAVE POINT TWO MILES TO GO. SO GO!!!"
And I went. As I came around the last corner and fixed my eyes on the finished line, I realized that I put off that decision from earlier just long enough. It wasn't time to walk now. So I ran. And 2:29:28 after I started, I crossed the line smiling.
I finished 2,347th. And the most important part of that sentence is the first two words.
I ran my first Half Marathon yesterday.
I woke up at 5:30 Sunday morning. I rolled out of bed, headed towards the living room, and opened our front door. My eyes shot open when I realized that, standing there in boxers, 42 degrees is really cold. I closed out the chill and warmed up some pasta, stretched a little, and got into my running clothes.
Jonna stayed in bed till around 6:00, then she got ready as well. This was her 5k race. She's not a fan of early mornings or cold weather when they're mutually exclusive, so you can imagine her gusto when we were standing at a bus station before 7:00 in the morning.
Yep. Since there were almost 4,000 people racing between the 5k and half marathon, we opted to take a shuttle a mile from our apartment. The bus ride made everyone feel like giants; it must have been an elementary school bus, or at least a bus for really really small people.
I'm not small at ALL.
About half an hour before the race, I pulled off my sweater and traded my short sleeve shirt for long sleeves. It still wasn't 50 degrees, and it probably wouldn't be until about 10 o'clock. Ten minutes before the start, I made my way to the line. Well, not all the way to the line. Not even close, really. There were so many people...
As I made my way through the human labyrinth, there were various pace groups...1:30...1:40...1:50. After training for 3 months, I knew I probably could only sustain 11.5 minutes per mile. That would put me finishing in about 2.5 hours....aha! There actually was a 2:30 pace group, led by blue balloons and Green Shirt Girl. It was the next to last group. The 2:40 was clearly labeled as "RUN/WALK". So I popped in with the 2:30 folks just as the National Anthem started blaring on the horizon, muffled by the distance and general commotion.
I should make a couple of points here. First, I had no real intention of jogging 13.1 miles without stopping. Second, I had no real desire to cover 13.1 miles with RUN/WALK. I just needed to hang with the 2:30 group for as long as possible, then I could fade at the end and finish in under 2:40. I mean, seriously, that was the last pace group? From what I understood, 2 hours was a respectable time. I figured that 2.5 hours wouldn't be bad for a 235 pound guy on his first go. Maybe I had spent three months underestimating how difficult this would be.
Or maybe I hadn't. I crossed the starting line exactly three minutes after the gun, and for two miles those blue balloons were my pillar of cloud. By the start of Mile 3, I had caught up with Green Shirt Girl just in time to hear her say, "Hills up!" On queue, the breeze shifted into a headwind and the run really started.
The course took us around White Rock Lake, but since it only makes about a 10 mile loop, we had to venture through some established neighborhoods. And did those neighborhoods have some hills. Mile 3 through Mile 6 somehow offered rolling hills with a constant incline. It felt more like climbing up really, really, really long steps. Up. Flat. Up. Flat. Up. ...Flat. ...Up. ...Flat...Up....Flat....
Fortunately, this meant that the second half of the race was mostly flat or downhill...and that the wind was at our sides or back. After Mile 5, I settled into a pace a little faster than the 2:30 group and struck out on my own. The real problem was that most people finishing in over 2 hours did some kind of run/walk intervals. This meant that, unlike my other races, I couldn't find a talking buddy. At this point, I had been running for an hour and hadn't stopped yet, and I didn't feel like quitting my slow jog to walk and talk. It also didn't help that I was one of probably five people not wearing headphones...
Mile 6 through Mile 10 went pretty well. I did manage a couple of conversations with a 63 year old man in Texas flag running shorts. He hadn't ran a half marathon in a couple of years, so he just thought it would be fun. It's worth mentioning that the times I talked to him were on his walks, because his walk was the same speed as my jog. But I was still jogging...
The first real decision that I had to make was at Mile 10. My heart, lungs, and legs weren't hurting, but I was just getting tired. So I put off that decision as long as I could.
My. Goodness. I felt like. I had been going. And going. For hours. And I had. When I saw the Mile 12 marker about 400 yards away, I wasn't sure if I had enough energy left. I had been going for 135 minutes, so 15 more sounds easy. Until you're there.
One minute later, I put the 63,360th foot of the race behind me. I knew that my pace had slowed the last couple of miles. It slowed just enough for me to hear Green Shirt Girl and the 2:30 troop 100 yards behind me. She was loud. And that was all the encouragement I needed.
Ten minutes later, the starting line was in sight. The pace group was at least 200 yards behind me now, but I could hear the leader yelling, "DO NOT STOP. THAT IS THE STARTING LINE. THAT IS NOT THE FINISH LINE. YOU HAVE POINT TWO MILES TO GO. SO GO!!!"
And I went. As I came around the last corner and fixed my eyes on the finished line, I realized that I put off that decision from earlier just long enough. It wasn't time to walk now. So I ran. And 2:29:28 after I started, I crossed the line smiling.
I finished 2,347th. And the most important part of that sentence is the first two words.
Saturday, November 6, 2010
Florida!
Last week we had the awesome opportunity to take a mini vacation to Florida with mom & dad lamb. The original purpose of the trip was to see The Discovery launch, but unfortunately two additional non-refundable tickets later, the space shuttle remains on the ground. Don't get me wrong- we wanted it to be a safe launch, but we're still disappointed that we were unable to get the full effect of a shuttle launch. Definitely a much needed vacation for us both and we enjoyed lots of family time with mom's cousins, aunt, and uncle.
Here are a few pictures from the trip:
Here are a few pictures from the trip:
Friday, September 3, 2010
Friday, July 30, 2010
Food for Thought...
Cover via AmazonI just got done reading Breaking Free from Emotional Eating by Geneen Roth (author of Women Food and God which I'm currently in the middle of now).My brain has been racing with thoughts since reading it. Not necessarily about the food aspect, but just a lot of really good points made and I thought I would share some of my favorite excerpts.
So many of my clients have expressed their struggles with eating and their relationship with food (as well as having my own struggles of course) that I just can't help but thinking about it.
Here goes...
"We don't see the struggle of people we admire, the people we respect....We see them weel, sparkling, succeeding. We can't look inside them. But we are constantly looking inside ourselves, comparing our insides with their outsides. And it's an unfair comparison."
I was working with a client today and she made a comment about another lady that was very fit/super skinny working out next to us. I continued our conversation by asking her if she liked reading, etc. and if she had heard of or read Women Food and God (since it's the "popular" book around right now) and she told me that she doesn't read nonfiction books, she has enough nonfiction in her life already.
"If you are looking with critical eyes, there is no such thing as an acceptable body. Stop waiting for permission to like yourself. No one can give it to you."
Bam. There it is. Acceptance. Such a simple word that we try to do everyday by accepting others, but how many people really are accepting themselves? She goes on to challenge her readers to look in the mirror everyday and find three qualities that you love about your body. I love this exercise, or maybe it's more of a challenge for some. It's definitely a tough one that I will be challenging my clients to do in August.
And this last quote is still one that I'm personally digesting, but I still wanted to share it.
"When we get on a scale, we say, 'Tell me, machine, how I should feel about myself today.' We've made the scale our symbol of authority, of worth, of truth. If we've been "bad," there's no denying it because it shows up on the scale. If we've been "good," getting on the scale will be its own reward. The scale, like God, knows all. A scale, however, is just a scale- a cold, lifeless piece of metal- until we give it its power."
I'm in the process of making a
-J
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Tales from the Scale- July Edition
My favorite client stories so far...
Client A- Trying to lose 25 pounds as a gift to her husband for his birthday... She is my favorite. She will do anything/everything that I ask her to, and NEVER complains. It's AWESOME. She's already made huge improvements in the short amount of time I've been working with her.
Client B- 60 year old male with a 29 year old heart. Yes. My heart transplant patient. Two years ago he received a new heart, and has shown me ALL of the scars that went with it. Definitely never used a gym before now. Very challenging to just to get form correct, but motivate to lose his HUGE GUT- "Ms. Jonna, if you can help me get rid of this huge gut, I'm gonna buy you lunch!" That's enough motivation for me! :-) Oh, did I forget to mention the 25 year old girlfriend? No wonder a new heart was needed ;-)
Client C- New graduate from Texas A&M University. Absolutely AMAZING. Awesome athlete just needing to tone up after the "college" years. We get along really well seeing as we're almost the same age and she loves a good challenge. Unfortunately, she was unable to raise her arms after our first workout. Oops!
Coming up with exercises that they like while still challenging them has been interesting, but I'm definitely 110% more confident than I was two weeks ago.
Client A- Trying to lose 25 pounds as a gift to her husband for his birthday... She is my favorite. She will do anything/everything that I ask her to, and NEVER complains. It's AWESOME. She's already made huge improvements in the short amount of time I've been working with her.
Client B- 60 year old male with a 29 year old heart. Yes. My heart transplant patient. Two years ago he received a new heart, and has shown me ALL of the scars that went with it. Definitely never used a gym before now. Very challenging to just to get form correct, but motivate to lose his HUGE GUT- "Ms. Jonna, if you can help me get rid of this huge gut, I'm gonna buy you lunch!" That's enough motivation for me! :-) Oh, did I forget to mention the 25 year old girlfriend? No wonder a new heart was needed ;-)
Client C- New graduate from Texas A&M University. Absolutely AMAZING. Awesome athlete just needing to tone up after the "college" years. We get along really well seeing as we're almost the same age and she loves a good challenge. Unfortunately, she was unable to raise her arms after our first workout. Oops!
Coming up with exercises that they like while still challenging them has been interesting, but I'm definitely 110% more confident than I was two weeks ago.
Monday, July 26, 2010
June-July 2010
Originally we started this blog so that we would be able to remember things that happened in our "early" years. Unfortunately, once a lot started happening, we didn't update this....so here's a backlog of events:
Jonna:
-Started working for 24 Hour Fitness as a Personal Trainer on June 18th (currently the only female trainer at the location). It's definitely a new challenge that I am SUPER excited about. Definitely more stories to come about my adventures in the gym...
-Took an amazing (48 hour) road trip with my favorite sister to St. Louis.
-Found out the truth about babies belly buttons. -Stayed with our favorite Gpa in his new bachelor pad.
-First timer at Ted Drewe's amazing frozen custard of heaven.
-Went through a lot of Gma's treasures, found some interesting keepsakes from dad's childhood, and said goodbye to 640 Gateswood Dr.
Bryan:
-Started a different assignment with Oncor and is currently working in downtown Dallas (I'll let him explain when he wants to).
-Reading, thinking, reading, thinking, reading. :-)
Us:
-One Year Anniversary (May 31st, 2010)!!! Memories/moments from our first year will be another post.
-Starting to get more involved with The Village church.
-Possibly starting to look for a house.
-Went to our first Estate Auction...interesting.
We'll try to get into doing this more regularly, but no promises. ;-)
Jonna:
-Started working for 24 Hour Fitness as a Personal Trainer on June 18th (currently the only female trainer at the location). It's definitely a new challenge that I am SUPER excited about. Definitely more stories to come about my adventures in the gym...
-Took an amazing (48 hour) road trip with my favorite sister to St. Louis.
-Found out the truth about babies belly buttons. -Stayed with our favorite Gpa in his new bachelor pad.
-First timer at Ted Drewe's amazing frozen custard of heaven.
-Went through a lot of Gma's treasures, found some interesting keepsakes from dad's childhood, and said goodbye to 640 Gateswood Dr.
-Started a different assignment with Oncor and is currently working in downtown Dallas (I'll let him explain when he wants to).
-Reading, thinking, reading, thinking, reading. :-)
Us:
-One Year Anniversary (May 31st, 2010)!!! Memories/moments from our first year will be another post.
-Starting to get more involved with The Village church.
-Possibly starting to look for a house.
-Went to our first Estate Auction...interesting.
We'll try to get into doing this more regularly, but no promises. ;-)
Monday, May 17, 2010
NASM-CPT
Tuesday, May 11th, I passed my NASM test to become a certified personal trainer. Currently working on job applications and program designs...
-Jonna
The Omnivore's Dilemma
Disclaimer: It may be silly to do so many 'book reviews' on our blog, but the purpose of them is more for us.
We have become library junkies lately. Currently we have 50 books checked out. Bryan and I both have had huge eyeopening experiences in the past few months. After four years of college, we realized that a lot of the information we were given in classes was based purely on our professor's opinions but taught as facts. It wasn't until we started checking out book in our areas of interest that we realized how many other points of view there are out there.
I recently finished two books by Michael Pollan: In Defense of Food and The Omnivore's Dilemma. Both of these books made me do some reevaluating and deep thinking. If you haven't read them, I strongly encourage you to do so. Fair warning- do not read before eating...
I want our children to know where food comes from. As I was thinking, I realized something about my roots- as we moved across the country (literally), my dad would always grow something native of that state: Texas- peppers, cotton, & strawberries; Hawaii- Pineapple; Pennsylvania- tobacco. Although we never used these 'crops' for sustainability, I think it must be deep in our genes. Jordan & CJ now grow peppers and have joined their local CSA program which has been quite fun to hear stories about their random box of vegetables.
As for us, we will slowly but surely be making some big changes over the next couple of years. If we are going to make sure that our kids know how to grow fruits and vegetables, we need to figure that out as well! I'm not sure how I feel about meat right now either. Don't worry, I don't think I'm going to become a vegetarian any time soon, but where our food comes from will start playing an important role in our lives.
And the quote that has been on my mind for weeks is: Shake the hand that feeds you. -Michael Pollan
Saturday, April 3, 2010
A Happy Blurb
This is Bryan again. No worries. Just a happy blurb. (Okay, just got done. Not really a blurb.)
About a month ago we joined the Dallas Running Club and registered for a 5 mile race. After running for just six weeks, and this being my first race, I wasn't sure what to expect from anyone...including myself.
I've built up my mileage slowly, and last Sunday I wanted to give the full 5 miles a trial run. Jonna didn't come; she's been pretty sick the last two weeks. So I drove out to White Rock Lake, fully expecting to finish hard and feel one of those personal, life-changing moments. I went out 2.5 miles and was pretty tired by the time I hit the turnaround. I walk/jogged the last half and finished in about 58 minutes.
I felt completely defeated.
Needless to say, I was determined to perform better on race day. I read up on running nutrition and (thanks mostly to the bodybugg food log) carefully tracked my calories and percentages of protein, fat, and carbs. I took it pretty easy during the week, doing a 4- and 3-mile run. I rested all of Friday and then...
We woke up at 6 this morning to prep for race day.
Of course...we didn't get up at 6.
Frantic mornings are worth it when you get a few extra minutes under the covers :) We threw on clothes, and barreling through the kitchen I thought, "Banana. Cereal. Water. iPod. Keys. Wallet. ... ... SHOES." And we were off.
Thankfully, there was no check-in line for pre-registrations. Jonna pinned on my bib, number 3838, and we headed towards the starting line. The race was handicapped with staggered start times based on age and gender. The first group was scheduled for an 8:00 start; the last group was supposed to take off at 8:30. Being a strapping young lad, I was in the alpha male group.
Excited and nervous now.
From the start, I settled in at the back with Larger Fellow. By "at the back" I mean we were the last two out of the 360+ runners. That's okay though. I had a plan. By the time I hit the first mile marker, Larger Fellow had to take a breather and I set my sights on Water Bottle Man. I paced myself behind him and didn't see anyone until the 2 mile mark. These were, however, people running towards me that had already hit the turnaround. Great.
Keep moving.
Another half mile up the road, I passed Water Bottle Man and reached the turnaround cone. Glorious. I didn't think there was anyone within a quarter mile of me in either direction. Then I saw him. And heard him. Surely, an angel. A volunteer's exuberant yelling and applause made sure I didn't keep running forward indefinitely. To his surprise, I jogged past the cone, and we stuck our arms up for a MASSIVE high five.
Halfway there.
I checked my watch and was about 27 minutes into the run. And I hadn't walked yet. I was on pace to finish in under 55 minutes, which was probably my only goal. I knew I would have to walk at some point. I found my groove on the way back, which was more of a gradual downhill, and actually passed a few people. I made it through 3.5 miles, and by the time I passed mile marker 4, I could see the finish line. That was it.
I picked up my pace for the next half mile and soon came around the last corner. I saw the finish line. I saw the clock. I saw my wife. I was less than a minute from the end, and in that moment realized that I was almost 5 miles into the beginning.
I crossed in about 50:20. The bibs were chipped, and we'll know my official time after it's posted. All that I know is that the time really doesn't matter. I ran as hard as I could. And I'm going to do it again. Crossing the finish line, I found that personal moment that escaped me a week ago.
Oh, and I never walked.
About a month ago we joined the Dallas Running Club and registered for a 5 mile race. After running for just six weeks, and this being my first race, I wasn't sure what to expect from anyone...including myself.
I've built up my mileage slowly, and last Sunday I wanted to give the full 5 miles a trial run. Jonna didn't come; she's been pretty sick the last two weeks. So I drove out to White Rock Lake, fully expecting to finish hard and feel one of those personal, life-changing moments. I went out 2.5 miles and was pretty tired by the time I hit the turnaround. I walk/jogged the last half and finished in about 58 minutes.
I felt completely defeated.
Needless to say, I was determined to perform better on race day. I read up on running nutrition and (thanks mostly to the bodybugg food log) carefully tracked my calories and percentages of protein, fat, and carbs. I took it pretty easy during the week, doing a 4- and 3-mile run. I rested all of Friday and then...
We woke up at 6 this morning to prep for race day.
Of course...we didn't get up at 6.
Frantic mornings are worth it when you get a few extra minutes under the covers :) We threw on clothes, and barreling through the kitchen I thought, "Banana. Cereal. Water. iPod. Keys. Wallet. ... ... SHOES." And we were off.
Thankfully, there was no check-in line for pre-registrations. Jonna pinned on my bib, number 3838, and we headed towards the starting line. The race was handicapped with staggered start times based on age and gender. The first group was scheduled for an 8:00 start; the last group was supposed to take off at 8:30. Being a strapping young lad, I was in the alpha male group.
Excited and nervous now.
From the start, I settled in at the back with Larger Fellow. By "at the back" I mean we were the last two out of the 360+ runners. That's okay though. I had a plan. By the time I hit the first mile marker, Larger Fellow had to take a breather and I set my sights on Water Bottle Man. I paced myself behind him and didn't see anyone until the 2 mile mark. These were, however, people running towards me that had already hit the turnaround. Great.
Keep moving.
Another half mile up the road, I passed Water Bottle Man and reached the turnaround cone. Glorious. I didn't think there was anyone within a quarter mile of me in either direction. Then I saw him. And heard him. Surely, an angel. A volunteer's exuberant yelling and applause made sure I didn't keep running forward indefinitely. To his surprise, I jogged past the cone, and we stuck our arms up for a MASSIVE high five.
Halfway there.
I checked my watch and was about 27 minutes into the run. And I hadn't walked yet. I was on pace to finish in under 55 minutes, which was probably my only goal. I knew I would have to walk at some point. I found my groove on the way back, which was more of a gradual downhill, and actually passed a few people. I made it through 3.5 miles, and by the time I passed mile marker 4, I could see the finish line. That was it.
I picked up my pace for the next half mile and soon came around the last corner. I saw the finish line. I saw the clock. I saw my wife. I was less than a minute from the end, and in that moment realized that I was almost 5 miles into the beginning.
I crossed in about 50:20. The bibs were chipped, and we'll know my official time after it's posted. All that I know is that the time really doesn't matter. I ran as hard as I could. And I'm going to do it again. Crossing the finish line, I found that personal moment that escaped me a week ago.
Oh, and I never walked.
Friday, March 19, 2010
UPDATES!!! PROGRESS!!!
Sorry, but I found our lack of updates rather alarming...and this will probably be concise because, well, I'm at work :-) What's the real point of this?? Find out after the jump! (Just kidding, there is no jump.)
I just finished writing this, and it's a lame post. Beware!! (And I messed up some math...)
Lent has been interesting so far. I thought life without ranch dressing, chocolate, and ice cream (among other less delicious things) wouldn't be fun at all. But...I've been living. And I mean I've been living. First, a little back-story:
At 6am on February 15th, I woke up to my 23rd birthday. I lumbered toward the bathroom and did something different: I got on a scale for the first time in a while. The scale promptly screamed "260.7" and . There was something vaguely unsettling about that moment, but, in and of itself, that moment would not have changed my life. What did change my life was a gift. For my birthday, I received a bodybugg from my wife, in-laws, and brother- and sister-in-law. It didn't turn my world upside down. Maybe a little sideways though.
Alright. Back to real time. This isn't a bodybugg review, so I'll just say that I started the bodybugg program on February 16th. As they're apt to do, the pounds started coming off, but it felt a little different than before. My eating habits didn't drastically change, and I was only exercising about five hours each week with my wife. After a month of use, I've dropped eleven pounds of fat. Jonna and I started running, and we've registered for our first race in two weeks: a five miler!
All that to say, just changing your lifestyle can make a huge difference in your health and wellness. But...where to go with this? What is my GOAL?? HOW WILL I CHALLENGE MYSELF???!?!?
After realizing I would be sitting in an empty office most of the day, I pulled out some blank paper, a couple of fancy pens, and armed myself with the power of calculus and the US Navy Body Fat Calculation Formula.
(Okay, simple calculus. Look hard enough and you will see the integral in there.)
Okay, honestly, I didn't want to write any of the stuff before this. Here's my extended joke:
Since I've decided that I enjoy being not-as-fat, I figure that I'll enjoy being less-than-not-as-fat. I decided that 250 is kind of a "fat point" for me. Weighing more than that really makes me feel gross, and edging my way under that is when I start to feel healthy again.
I really had no idea what a good first goal weight would be, so I found my lean mass and calculated my body fat percentage from 0% at 180lbs to around 30% at 250 lbs. I decided to graph my body fat percentage as a function of weight, then I found the "balance" point. If you drew a vertical line straight up from that weight, half of the area under that curve would be on the left, and the other half would be on the right. It's my balance weight!
So...if you don't feel like looking at my math, my goal is to get down to about 226lbs and 23% body fat by June 18th. And this is Bryan. (lol.)
(p.s. - If you look on the x-axis, I labeled the weight ranges for athletic, fit, acceptable, and obese. It just so happens that 226 is on the acceptable/obese border. Important goal! And what a joke of a way to find it!)
HAPPY FRIDAY!!!
EDIT: First order balance point is at 228lbs. I am ashamed...works out as f(x) = 0.2*x^2 - 71.4 * x + 5881.
- B
I just finished writing this, and it's a lame post. Beware!! (And I messed up some math...)
Lent has been interesting so far. I thought life without ranch dressing, chocolate, and ice cream (among other less delicious things) wouldn't be fun at all. But...I've been living. And I mean I've been living. First, a little back-story:
At 6am on February 15th, I woke up to my 23rd birthday. I lumbered toward the bathroom and did something different: I got on a scale for the first time in a while. The scale promptly screamed "260.7" and . There was something vaguely unsettling about that moment, but, in and of itself, that moment would not have changed my life. What did change my life was a gift. For my birthday, I received a bodybugg from my wife, in-laws, and brother- and sister-in-law. It didn't turn my world upside down. Maybe a little sideways though.
Alright. Back to real time. This isn't a bodybugg review, so I'll just say that I started the bodybugg program on February 16th. As they're apt to do, the pounds started coming off, but it felt a little different than before. My eating habits didn't drastically change, and I was only exercising about five hours each week with my wife. After a month of use, I've dropped eleven pounds of fat. Jonna and I started running, and we've registered for our first race in two weeks: a five miler!
All that to say, just changing your lifestyle can make a huge difference in your health and wellness. But...where to go with this? What is my GOAL?? HOW WILL I CHALLENGE MYSELF???!?!?
After realizing I would be sitting in an empty office most of the day, I pulled out some blank paper, a couple of fancy pens, and armed myself with the power of calculus and the US Navy Body Fat Calculation Formula.
(Okay, simple calculus. Look hard enough and you will see the integral in there.)
Okay, honestly, I didn't want to write any of the stuff before this. Here's my extended joke:
Since I've decided that I enjoy being not-as-fat, I figure that I'll enjoy being less-than-not-as-fat. I decided that 250 is kind of a "fat point" for me. Weighing more than that really makes me feel gross, and edging my way under that is when I start to feel healthy again.
I really had no idea what a good first goal weight would be, so I found my lean mass and calculated my body fat percentage from 0% at 180lbs to around 30% at 250 lbs. I decided to graph my body fat percentage as a function of weight, then I found the "balance" point. If you drew a vertical line straight up from that weight, half of the area under that curve would be on the left, and the other half would be on the right. It's my balance weight!
So...if you don't feel like looking at my math, my goal is to get down to about 226lbs and 23% body fat by June 18th. And this is Bryan. (lol.)
(p.s. - If you look on the x-axis, I labeled the weight ranges for athletic, fit, acceptable, and obese. It just so happens that 226 is on the acceptable/obese border. Important goal! And what a joke of a way to find it!)
HAPPY FRIDAY!!!
EDIT: First order balance point is at 228lbs. I am ashamed...works out as f(x) = 0.2*x^2 - 71.4 * x + 5881.
- B
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Book Review
I finished reading this book last night and highly recommend it for any woman who is not really serious about running, but wants a good read/laugh. In fact, my husband stole this book from me after the first night because I couldn't get through the first couple of chapters without laughing out loud (he wanted to see what he was missing).
Dawn does a great job of being real about marathon training. She complains, is sarcastic, and has comments about every aspect of running. She goes from not exercising to completing a marathon, and comes in first! Ok, just kidding. She definitely does not come in first which is why I liked this book. It definitely isn't one of those crazy motivational books that you read and feel the need to go run immediately after. Maybe I should read one of those too...
I'll leave you with two of my favorite quotes from the book:
- I will wonder if it is physically possible for my breasts to bounce off my body...
- I'll tell you one thing: I was on about Mile 4 when that guy offered me the Bible. Had he offered me his bike, I would have become a Mormon on the spot.
-J
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
March 2010 Goals
We're 'goal-setting' type of people. Every month, new short term goals are set, medium goals are evaluated, and long term goals are in progress. Goals range anywhere from financial, fitness, spiritual, intellectual, etc. No limits. The only requirements are that the goals must be measurable and achievable.
More importantly than setting a goal is definitely achieving a goal. When we sit down to set our goals, normally a plan of action shortly follows. It's definitely different setting goals as a couple now and not having school goals, so we're adjusting accordingly.
More importantly than setting a goal is definitely achieving a goal. When we sit down to set our goals, normally a plan of action shortly follows. It's definitely different setting goals as a couple now and not having school goals, so we're adjusting accordingly.
I thought it would be neat to blog some of our short term goals for this month...
Jonna's goals:
-Run 50 miles by March 31st.
-Drink 64 oz of straight H20 everyday.
Yes...both of my short term goals right now are fitness/health related, but I definitely needed to start challenging myself more.
-Drink 64 oz of straight H20 everyday.
Yes...both of my short term goals right now are fitness/health related, but I definitely needed to start challenging myself more.
Bryan is currently working on some fitness goals as well, and we have a few financial goals that we would like to meet by April 15th.
What are your goals right now?
-J
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Lent
This year, for the first time, Bryan and I will be participating in Lent together. We knew that we wanted to do something that would truly feel like a sacrifice for us. After much deliberation, we've decided to give up lactose items for Lent this year- all cheese, pudding, whipped topping, ice cream, string cheese, creamy jalepeno at Chuys, goldfish, milk chocolate, etc. However, we did feel we needed an exception for plain milk (for Bryan) and plain yogurt (for me) to make sure that we still get enough calcium. Planning dinners just got harder.
We know that this is going to be rough. I think it will be really good for us to remember why we're participating in Lent.
In other news, we're on the search for a blog layout! Any good websites we should check out?
Jonna
Random Question: Are you participating in Lent this year?
Our Answer: See above. :-)
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Happy Valentine's Day!!!
Happy Valentine's Day from The Sonniers!
But for right now, until that completeness, we have three things to do to lead us toward that consummation: Trust steadily in God, hope unswervingly, love extravagantly. And the best of the three is love. I Cor. 13:13 (MSG)
This is our first Valentine's Day as a married couple! Very exciting! We try to show love to each other and those around us on a daily basis, so today is just an extra loving day.
It's nice to have a special lovie day, but overall it really is about loving unconditionally and inconveniently on all of the other day's of the year. Good thing we have a lot of extra days to practice loving. :-)
It's nice to have a special lovie day, but overall it really is about loving unconditionally and inconveniently on all of the other day's of the year. Good thing we have a lot of extra days to practice loving. :-)
Sunday - early church(we're loving The Village!), Ikea(scouting out some furniture), Chuy's for lunch, relaxing and watching the Olympics!
Saturday we went with Peyton & William to Buca di Beppos and then to see the movie Valentine's Day. It was pretty cute and definitely puts you in the Valentine's Day spirit!
Congratulations to Erica & Josh on your engagement!! We were so excited to get a text late last night sharing your news with us!!
Saturday we went with Peyton & William to Buca di Beppos and then to see the movie Valentine's Day. It was pretty cute and definitely puts you in the Valentine's Day spirit!
Congratulations to Erica & Josh on your engagement!! We were so excited to get a text late last night sharing your news with us!!
I've decided our blog will always have a random question at the end. I love random questions!
Random Question: What is your favorite Valentine's Day candy?
Our Answers: Heart-Shaped Reese's (Bryan), Heart-Shaped Runts (Jonna)
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Welcome!!
I'm working on getting this up and running! I completely underestimated the amount of time that it takes just to create a layout!
Any suggestions, tips, or good topics are greatly appreciated!!
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