Thirty-Seven Miles

Thirty-Seven Miles
Thirty-seven miles.  That is all of the running that I have done this year.

I never posted what happened at the January 1/2 Marathon, as I was actually one of the ones that was thankful that it was canceled.  

Around Christmas last year, I came down with some nasty crud.  I had not felt that bad in a LONG time, if ever!  I stayed at home and mostly in bed for most of New Years.  When it came time to go down, I thought I was feeling better and went ahead and flew down to Orlando.

Then, it got worse.  It was to the point that on Sunday morning, I went to the urgent care and they gave me some antibiotics.  My ears were plugged up and I was getting dizzy spells.  They also gave me some vertigo medication to deal with the dizziness.

Afterwards, to say that I was disappointed was an extreme understatement.  I had actually TRAINED for that 1/2!  My motivation to run went below zero.

I was all signed up for the Indy Mini at the beginning of May.  Work happened.  We were to launch our big software update, and it was mandatory that we work that weekend.  In a way, I was relieved of that happening too.  I had not done any training for it since the January fiasco.  I was disappointed to miss out in doing it with my friend Rick, but I did get to spend some time with him at the expo.  

I got out a few times over the spring and summer, but I just wasn't really into it.

So, with all of that, I let myself go pretty much.  I joined Weight Watcher late in the summer, but haven't made much progress on the weight front as usual.

Life Changes
So, by the time summer has come around, I had made some life changing decisions.  I asked Shelley to marry me.

She said yes!

On a classic train ride.

This was the start of a whirlwind of activities that I never imagined! I was busy, Shelley was beyond busy!  We decided that we were going for sooner rather than later.  The date was to be about six months later!

Shelley's planning was great and everything went very well!


Marriage!
November 4th, 2017.

Kipp & Shelley got married!

The day came, and it went pretty much as planned!

Friends of mine said that they had not seen me smile that much in 20+ years!  I'm very happy and cannot think of life any other way now.

Two weeks after the wedding, we traveled down to Orlando.  We spent some honeymoon time at Walt Disney World (of course) and the Kennedy Space Center.  We also spent Thanksgiving with family.  We had a great time, but it went by too fast.


A year in the blink of an eye!

With everything going on this year, it went by so fast!  The time between the engagement and wedding has all become one big blur!  

Mixed in with all of this, was a moving day too!

Even leading up to Christmas tomorrow!  CHRISTMAS!  Already!

There were tons of memories made this year.

I had intentions to get out and run more often, but it always seemed like I let something get in the way.  As we all know, if I had really wanted to, I'd have found the time.  Procrastinating as time sped by. 

Looking to 2018

I have my last blood results in for this year, and my next doctors visit is on the 28th.  It's not good.  My numbers are not good, and I need to turn things around again.

It's getting to be a broken record.  So, once again, onto more life changes.  I HAVE to get this right, as I now have much to look forward to!  I want to make sure that Shelley and I have a long time in front of us.  If I do not make changes, that future could be in jeopardy.

I have signed up for the Indy Mini again.  I have my training plan kicking off the new year.

Will I sign up for more races, only time will tell.  

We are looking forward to having another busy year, but in better lifestyle ways.  More physical activities and less of the eating activities!

It's time to dust the treadmill & bike back off and get them set up to be used.  

The end goal, is still to loose one hundred pounds.




Thanks for Reading!
Regards, ~Kipp

2018 - Get moving again!
Check the link above to see my current and past races.

Roll up for the Magical Mystery Weigh-in!

Magical Mystery Weigh-in!?
Okay, so my Bluetooth scale started freaking out last week.  When I stepped on it, it looked like I was a contestant on The Biggest Looser when they do their weigh-ins.  The numbers were just going everywhere and then it finally went to ERR.

I figured, the batteries were over a year old, so I replace them.  Yeah... well, now it's telling me that I weigh 302 pounds!  So, I think I'm back in the market for another new bathroom scale.

So, I had to do my best estimate on the big tank scale at work.  Looks like I had a bad week, both 5 years ago and this year.  I managed to do worse this go around.t

Week	Date	2011		Weekly%	Overall%	2016		Weekly%	Overall%
0	5/31/2011	257	3	1.15%	6.55%	285	0	0.00%	0.00%
1	6/7/2011	256	1	0.39%	6.91%	283	2	0.70%	0.70%
2	6/14/2011	259	-3	-1.17%	5.82%	283	0	0.00%	0.70%
3	6/21/2011	256	3	1.16%	6.91%	283	0	0.00%	0.70%
4	6/28/2011	259	-3	-1.17%	5.82%	286	-3	-1.06%	-0.35%
5	7/5/2011	252	7	2.70%	8.36%	283	3	1.05%	0.70%
6	7/12/2011	253	-1	-0.40%	8.00%	280	3	1.06%	1.75%
7	7/19/2011	251	2	0.79%	8.73%	280	0	0.00%	1.75%
8	7/26/2011	254	-3	-1.20%	7.64%	278	2	0.71%	2.46%
9	8/2/2011	250	4	1.57%	9.09%	275	3	1.08%	3.51%
10	8/9/2011	249	1	0.40%	9.45%	271	4	1.45%	4.91%
11	8/16/2011	250	-1	-0.40%	9.09%	274	-3	-1.11%	3.86%

The week goes to Me 2011!

Totals for Last week!
My mileage for last week was still down at 21.22 miles. My ten week total is now 199.32 miles, just under 200!

Sun	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thur	Fri	Sat
17221	13268	10882	14091	3234	5397	12130

Coming in at a grand total of: 76,703 Steps for the week, just slightly above t he week before.  Since I've been keeping track during this training, that now makes 663804 steps!


B210K Second Week Review
The second week went to crap!

The past couple of weeks have just been rough on the training schedule.  Between weather and things happening that took up time, I've been a little off track.

I've moved straight into week 3 day 2 starting today.  It was just getting too rough to try and "catch up".

W3 D1	W3 D2	W3 D3
	Warm up 5 Minutes	Warm up 5 Minutes
Skipped	Run 17 Minutes / Walk 1 Minute (3x)	Run 17 Minutes / Walk 1 Minute (3x)
	Cool Down 5 Minutes	Cool Down 5 Minutes

We're up to 63 minutes of activity!  With the heat and humidity, I've not pushed it.  I just want to make sure I get through it.

Today I did the Week 3 Day 2 and it went pretty good.  I'm able to keep a slow pace in the heat and humidity.  I remain moving throughout the whole 17 minutes.  My pace isn't exactly steady, but it's still a work in progress.

I would like to start taking some time, either in the morning (HAHAHA), or on the weekend to start testing some different intervals to see how I want to start my 1/2 Marathon training.

RunDisney "minus's" more

WARNING: RANTING AHEAD!

There used to be a term that happened at Disney all of the time.  They would "PLUS" things.  Add little bits here and there that added to the over all experience at Walt Disney World.  Not so much any more.  Bob Iger and crew are now all about the bottom line at Disney.  So, now instead of PLUSING, we're getting MINUSING.

5 years ago, my first race at Disney World, we actually go stuff in the goody bags when you went to pick up your bib and shirts.  Each year, it's gotten less and less, until now its a "VIRTUAL" goody bag.

Other races I've attended in the intervening years, we've gotten a wide variety of things.  The Indy MINI and Monumental races, you can still pick up some nice freebie stuff at the Expo and you also get a few items.

Now-a-days, at the end of a Disney race now net's you a "box of junk food" and a bottle of water.  A banana too, if they have any left (we back of the pack folk get slim pickins at the end of a race).  I remember that first race, trying to juggle so much stuff (a banana, an apple I think, a powerade, a water, a cookie or something like that), that I had to hand it off to my Dad so I could actually get things situated.

So... what have they done now?  In my opinion... this one is a HUGE F.U. to the loyal Disney racers.

On or about August 1st, they are no longer allowing deferments of RunDisney races.  So, if you end up sick or break a leg or something, you are S.O.L.  

Now, those of you that don't know (well, 99% of the people that read this DO KNOW) that Disney races are E-X-P-E-N-S-I-V-E!!  They are some of the most expensive races you can enter.  It was the bonus fact that you did get a lot of extra stuff.  But like everything else in the parks, they've been slowly minusing things here and there.

This last item is a HUGE minus.  For such an expensive race to just up and tell you that you're out of luck that you broke your ankle 3 weeks before the race.  It WAS a pain in the rear to even defer a Disney race.  They would keep your money, but you could just register the next year and THEN they would refund your money for the previous year, minus handling!  WHOA!

So, here are the breakdowns for 2017:

Dopey $560 (Marathon, 1/2 Marathon, 10K, 5K)
Goofy $365 (Marathon, 1/2 Marathon)
Marathon $180
1/2 Marathon $170
10K $110
5K $65

So, someone registered for Dopey and breaks their ankle training for this INSANE challenge, is out $560!!

This sucks.

Mr. Yuk face indeed!

Counting down!
Vacation in 23 days!  I'm SO READY for this vacation!!

140 Days until (my last?) Marathon Weekend!  Those days just seem to be flying off of that counter!

Magical Mystery Tour




Thanks for Reading!
Regards, ~Kipp

2016 - Challenge Year: Me Vs. Me!
Check the link above to see my current and past races.

Here we go again...

8 Months Down the Road
Last that was heard from me was 8 months ago.  I was starting to "train" for the 2016 WDW 1/2 Marathon.  Well, since there were no updates, there was no training.  

I went to Disney World for Vacation in September and then I was back down for Marathon weekend in January.

I made it.  I was not last like I was the year before, but I wasn't that far ahead of the back of the pack.  

I wish I remember the guys name that stuck with me after the climb up to the overpass coming off of World Drive, heading to Epcot.  He was going back and forth with several of us back in the back, and he helped me keep my mind off of how bad I was feeling.  I wish I would have seen him at the end or even remembered his name.  It's people like that that give these types of events a good name.  He wasn't one of the Team in Training coaches either.  Just a guy, helping out the back of the packers make it those last few miles.

I walked the entire route.  I didn't even attempt to do any running, as I was THE HEAVIEST I've ever been.  I was pushing 292-295ish (possibly over the 300 mark...) in January.  

The next morning, I was up even earlier than I had been for the 1/2!  I was a volunteer for the Marathon on Sunday!  I was on my feet all morning, from 2am till 9 am, I was "on duty".  I was part of the teams that put out the snack boxes and bananas.  Our only duty was to load them up for the first and greet the super elite and wheelchair racers as they came in.

Anyone who thinks the wheelchair racers have it easy for a marathon, has never witnessed any of them crossing the finish line.  These first racers in were just as run down and shaky as the elite runners are when they come in.  

It was amazing, because we were able to see everyone in the corrals leave on the jumbo screens they had set up in the family area.  We would then get updates as to where the wheelchair racers were and where the elite runners were, and when we could expect them to come in!  It was an amazing experience to have.  Not so much the stacking of the boxes, but to see a lot of the behind the scenes work that goes into putting these events on!

In February, I saw a nutritionist.  I'm on a new diet and I'm having a rough go at even attempting to stay true to the plan.  I'm getting better, and those "better" weeks are the ones I've actually seen the scale move down.

I'm currently at 283.  Back in 2011, when I started training for my first half marathon, I was just a bit lighter.

So, today, I've signed up for the 20th running of the Walt Disney World 1/2 Marathon.  We are now five ears down the road from my first race.

Coming up
I have the 2016 Indy Mini Marathon coming up in a couple of weeks.  Again, next to zero training effort.  I will be walking this one too.

A month after that, I have the 2016 Tour De Cure bike ride!  I'm way short of my donations goal.  I may actually have to pay out of pocket to meet the minimum.  I have to remember to take in my packet, so I can see if I can get some donations from work.  They have a matching plan, that I missed out on last year because I didn't get the correct paperwork.  Now, I'm very short on time.

Once the Tour De Cure is finished, its then time to fully focus on these two new goals.

When I hit that start line in 2017:

1)  I am to be AT or lighter than I was when I crossed that line five years ago!
     (242 lbs or lighter is the actual goal)
2)  I will finish the race in a better time than I did that first race five years ago!
     (3:48:49 2012 WDW 1/2 Marathon, 
      3:32:27 is my PR time from the 2012 Flying Pig Half Marathon.)


Blogging about it helped me stay honest back then, and I hope that I can use it as a tool to help keep me honest in this go around.

Thanks for Reading!
Regards, ~Kipp

2016 - Some witty catch phrase goes here! Check the link above to see my current and past races.

A Year of Silence

What happened before

Chicago Rock 'n' Roll 1/2 Marathon July 20, 2014

  In May, the doctor prescribed a new medication for me.  I had NO idea how it would affect me in a race setting.  Some things learned:

1) GU / Cliff Gels, no longer a good idea for me.  This new medication didn't like the pure sugar bomb effect these have and tore me up.
2) Gatorade/Power-aide, A few drinks of these had me feeling like I wanted to barf. 

Rick had other types of replenishment and they were much more acceptable to my stomach.

With pretty much no training, it took everything I had to continue on.  Without Rick and Mike, I'd have bailed when my stomach went nuclear. 

Since this event, I have found Hammer Nutrition products do not have these adverse effects on me.

Air Force Marathon  September 20, 2014

Bailed on this event.  No training due to being a lazy ass and getting ready to move the following week or so after this event.

I also had a "not-mandatory" but suggested mandatory company function to attend that evening.

Rick went to this event and didn't have a good go of it.  It was very hot and humid.  Not an ideal situation for a Marathon held at an Air Force field and area, or any type of area really.

Indianapolis Monumental 1/2 Marathon November 1, 2014

Rick came down for this one again!  I had next to no training for this one.  Moving at the beginning of October had played havoc with any plans I had originally made.  Plus the fact that I was still just being a lazy ass.

Rick stuck with me to about the 10K/Half Way point.  At that time, he went on ahead, as the portion of the course we were still on was about to officially "close".  We could still progress on, only on the side walks.

It was much better once I got to the point where the full marathon and half marathon courses re-joined.  They had done something different.  They actually marked the left side of the road as the half-marathoners and the right side as the full.  So, here I was, practically the sole person on the half marathon side as the full marathoners zipped by me on the right.

Many words of encouragement from the full marathoners!  I had a Mickey Mouse hoodie on, and many of them would go by and shout "GO MICKEY!".  It brightened up my mood considerably.

I finished.  Not last, that I found out later, but darn near so.

Space Coast 1/2 Marathon November 30, 2014

Rick was thinking of bailing on this event, until I let him know that I was signed up for it too.

Rick stuck with me for the first several miles, almost to the half-way point.  We walked most of that time.  After Rick departed, I fell into a decent pace until the half way point.

This race is an out and back race, so the wind was to the back on the way out.  Coming back, it was in my face.  I kept going along, getting some running in when I could.

I finished.

2015 Disney World Marathon Weekend

I signed up for the Goofy anniversary race(s).

My last preparation for this event, was the Space Coast Half.

The Half Marathon.

Dead. Last. Finish. 

I started my battle with the Balloon ladies coming into Magic Kingdom.  There is a hard cutoff right at the area where you double back to enter into the Magic Kingdom.  We had to be in front of them when we got to that bus.  I made it.

The next battle was on the road going past Polynesian Resort.  The ladies let us know once again, if we weren't in front of them by the time they passed the bus, you were done.  I managed to get in front of them with great effort.  This is where I know 2 of the blisters popped.

The remainder of the course, I was followed closely by the safety team on bikes.  They let me know that as long as I could communicate with them and I was making an effort to continue, I was probably safe.  They spoke with me often, if I started to slow down.  They urged me onward, or else they would have to pull me.

On the way back to Epcot, I was surrounded by many of the Team in Training coaches, as they were concerned about their last person.  A young lady that was participating in the race, very pregnant.  Between her and I, we were the LAST.  Even though I wasn't part of Team in Training, they commented on my WiSH team shirt, saying that they saw those shirts at as many races as they were at.  They loved our saying, and it certainly was going to apply to me on this day.

Dead Last Finish is greater than Did Not Finish which greatly trumps Did Not Start.  DLF>DNF>>DNS.  This motto is now a charm on my RoadID wrist band.

I got lost in the crowd of coaches and they celebrated the last runner as the pregnant lady.  If you saw the live feed, I come across the line after she did.  I didn't care, at that point, I was glad I was done.

Dead.  Last.  FINISHED!

I wound up with very bad blisters on both feet.  So I didn't even attempt 
starting the Full Marathon.  With no training and having managed to complete the half, I left it where it was.

I cheered on my friends and everyone else that was in the marathon with the rest of our WiSH running teammates at the Hollywood Studios area.

There is a much longer story to the Marathon Weekend adventure, but I'll write that up another time.

Where am I going from here?

I'm almost back to square one, from when I first started this blog.  I'm back up even heavier than I was last year, topping out at a massive 285 pounds.  I've made some efforts and have lost the first 5 pounds to put me back at my goal.

To loose one hundred pounds...


With that, I'll end it for tonight.  The rest of the story begins tomorrow.

Thanks for Reading!
Regards, ~Kipp

2015 - something, something! Check the link above to see my current and past races.

The Long, Long road ahead.

My journey there and back...
Just to give a comparison, I have a picture of me in the same shirt 3 years ago and then again today.  Bad haircut 3 years ago and needs a haircut today!

Sad part is, the huge neck and extra chin are back, making most of my shirts uncomfortable.  The huge belly means my shirts no longer tuck in very well either.

May 2011

April 2014

First intervals since the groin pull...
This is kind of how I felt the first times hitting the run interval, for at least 2 out of the 3 miles tonight:

Yeah, it wasn't feeling that great.  Like a big knot or having an extra... *ahem*  Once I got past 2 miles, everything started to feel better.  Now that I'm home and cleaned up, everything is still in it's proper place, so I think I'm good to go.

The last mile I was actually able to get in some longer intervals of actual jogging speeds, without it feeling awkward.  

How I think I look out there
The self consciousness of being out there again at this weight is just making me feel uneasy.  I know that I've just got to say I don't care what anyone is thinking, just get out there and get this done... again!



Around the 3:50 mark in the video really is a strong expression of how I was feeling out there today!

Eating
I was much more aware of what I was eating this week.  Was it all good, no.  But I was much better than I have been in months.  

I will now be hitting the farmers markets and local butchers to start getting some cleaner foods into me.  Today was the first local farmers market of the year and they didn't have much.  They said Mid to late May is when they will have a good variety of items.  I still bought a pound of ground beef from a local farmer and looked at some lamb patties, thinking that those might make some nice lamb sliders, if I can find the recipe again...

A big difference 3 years ago and now was that I was monitoring my carb intake much more closely.  I know I need to drop most of what I have been eating because my body cannot handle those carbs anymore.

Past time to hit the RESET button...

*BAM!!*

Indy 500 Mini Marathon (1/2 Marathon)
With a week to go for the Indy 500 Mini Marathon, I'm really not sure what to expect out of myself.  Almost zero training and a lot of extra weight.  It's going to be rough.

Oh, I'll be there!  I'll be starting!  Next Friday I'll be at the Mini expo and I know I'll post some pictures up about that on my Facebook account.  I don't remember if KT Tape had a booth at the past Mini Expo's, I think they did.  The Indy Mini is a pretty big race, so I expect they'll have a taping boot there.  I may get my ankle and calf done up again, just for some extra psychological measures (and maybe some physical ones).

The thing I'm most looking forward to is actually being on the track.  Kiss the Bricks!!!

The Long, Long Road Ahead
It's very evident that I've lost a LOT of conditioning these past 6 months.  It's nowhere near as bad as when I started 3 years ago, but it sure feels like it sometimes!

I'm signed up for races throughout the year, all leading up for next years Goofy race and a Half challenge at Disney world.

I have plans, I just need to stick to them and STOP EATING all the junk I have been.  Also to eat much less than I have been too!  

I have a couple of months left to pay off my car, so once that monthly expense is released I'm going to sign up at a local gym too.  I want to have a full Running/Riding/Strength training program in place before I go to my full marathon in September!

Thanks for Reading!
Regards, ~Kipp

2014 - The Road to Goofy 2015! Check the link above to see my current and past races.