Ferb, I know what we're gonna do today!

There's 104 days till Survival Race Dallas

And I’m too out of shape now to own it

So the imminent problem for my overweight @$$

Is finding a good way to tone it

Like maybe... 

Doing some yoga

Or maybe some boxing

Or picking up a tractor tire

Discovering muscles that didn't exist

They feel like they’re all on fire

Using battle ropes

And some videos

This rhyming’s becoming a strain

Finding my target zone

With my heart rate watch

And driving my dear wife insane

As you can see

There's a whole lot of stuff to do

Before I do this race

So check back here and see if maybe I 

Fell flat on my face

So check back here and see if maybe I 

Fell flat on my face

Lets start with a little background. I relaunched this blog back in 2012 to document my fitness routine after my son told me I was too fat to be a Power Ranger. You can go back and look at the backlog for all of that. Then this happened: Knee Surgery Post. Then a whole lot of nothing to back up all that posturing. Then this happened: More of the Same BS. Now it is just over a year after my knee surgery and I have let everything go and then some. 2012 might as well have not happened. I have put back on more weight than I lost thanks to a big stinking pity party over my knee. I stepped on the scale the other day to see what the holidays had done to my already awful situation and I was crushed. I had broken a promise to myself. I swore I would never break 300 lbs again and last Monday morning I weighed in at 300.4. Letting myself go before was one thing but seeing that number on the scale was the last straw.

Back in 2012 I had decided that I wanted to do a mud run obstacle course 5K thing. I have never been a big fan of running and doing a 5K never really appealed to me. Then I heard about a zombie 5K and it sounded great. I wanted to do it with some friends but no one was really down and it was way out of town and it was just not a good thing. I found a MUCH closer run that was just an obstacle course and it looked so much fun. I decided it was the closest I would ever get to being on Ninja Warrior. Well my knee injury ended all that. I signed up for a few more runs after that but never went through with them for one reason or another. After a year of feeling sorry for myself I decided that the pity party ends NOW. Through a Groupon, a discount for canceling, and a New Year's sale I have signed up for 3 races this year. I will be doing The Survival Race on April 27th, Mud Factor on June 21st, and ending with Savage Race on September 13th. It just so happened that my first race is in 104 days, thus the lame attempt at a Phineas and Ferb joke to kick this off.

So what will I be doing to get in shape for this thing? Well, here is the basic plan: DDP Yoga, GSP RushFit, battle ropes (in my case an old firehose), tires, boxing, running programs Couch to 5K and Zombies, RUN!, my Fitbit Zip, and a number of fitness apps such as Runkeeper, LoseIt, and mapmyfitness. That sounds like a lot but hear me out. The main things I will be doing are the running programs, DDP Yoga, and RushFit. Those are my constants. When the weather balances back out I will be using a strength training routine I devised from hours of research utilizing battle ropes and tires. When I am not able to go outside to for that routine RushFit will serve as my strength training program as well as my go-to ab workout. Lastly, the boxing is because it is a helluva workout and SO much fun!

Over the next several weeks this blog will return to being a record of my fitness journey as well as covering some of the things I am using and why I am using them. It will be hard work but I have done it before and I know I can do it again. I know diet will be my biggest obstacle to overcome. My baby is starting to sleep through the night and is getting on a more regular schedule so that will help as well. I actually have the energy at the end of the day now to get a workout in. As long as I manage my time, manage my diet, and stay focused I should be just fine.

Until then MAY THE POWER PROTECT YOU!

\m/ IS NO TRY \m/

Don't Call It A Come Back...

I'm back! I have let this blog get away from me over the last few months, but there is a reason. I have been recovering from injury/surgery. In case you have not been following, here's the story...

I was training for an obstacle course 5K that was to take place in November. All Through my training U was fighting a nagging knee pain. Turns out that pain was actually a somewhat serious injury. I broke down and went to the doctor when I fell off the treadmill in pain. I had an MRI done and it was revealed that I had a "compound tear of the left medial meniscus  and that was going to require surgery. That took me out of my race. I was very upset, to say the lest. Over two months of training and I was sidelined two weeks before the event. I had surgery on November 30th and everything went fine.

The surgery may have fixed my knee, but it broke something else...my spirit. Sorry if that sounds overly dramatic but it is the truth. I spent most of 2012 working out a eating better and I was fianlly going to prove to myself that I was not just the fat nerd that makes everyone laugh and that opportunity was taken away. I did more in 2012 than I have in my entire life up to that point combined. I lost about 50 lbs, lost several inches all over, dropped a shirt size, my belt did nto fit anymore, and my wedding ring fell off. The I hit the brick wall of this frakking knee.

I was very concerned that I would backslide during my recovery and I dd just that. I took my "do or do not" mantra a bit too literally and "did not." With the exception of eat all the things. I threw myself a fully catered pity party and ate the whole spread. Never let it be said that I don't have feeling...I have 20 lbs of them. And none of them tasted like happy. I have spent the last few months feeling sorry for myself and letting myself get  lazy. I have noticed that my clothes are not loose like they were getting and I can see where I have put weight back on. Well I am here to declare NO MORE! This is not about a New Year's Resolution, it is about me getting off my lazy bum and getting back at it (it just happens to be January).

Now that you are up to speed.... where to go from here. I was scheduled for the Run For Your Lives Zombie 5K (my first 5K since I did not get to do my original first 5K) in March, but it was moved to the only weekend in June I have a conflict. Turns out that may not be a bad thing. I tried running last night for the first time: big mistake! About 45 seconds in to the run my knee let me know I was not ready for that. And it has continued to remind me not to try that again any time soon. For now I am focusing on body weight strength training. I am using a bike and walking to build up my knee and lower body work for strength. I bought a new punching bag over Christmas I am ready to try out and I am doing the RUSHFIT thing again. GSP is currently in training camp for his March 16th fight with Nick Diaz so I am doing Battle Camp and "training along with him". I am better than my knee injury and I will win.

\m/ TRY NOT. DO. OR DO NOT. THERE IS NO TRY \m/

30 Days and counting...

I have not posted in a several days because I have barely had time to workout let alone blog about working out. Last Thursday I went to a concert with my dad (Aussie Floyd FTW), Friday I had dinner with my folks, Saturday I was podcasting all morning then spent the rest of the day with my folks again, Sunday I did a light workout, and Monday was a holiday with my kids so I spent that time with them. I got back at it last night and could tell I have been slacking the last few days. My run is picking up and my legs are about to fall off. I really need to get past my "I hate to warm up/cool down. I would rather just get to the workout" hangups and actually stretch. Things are beginning to settle back down with my schedule and I will be back on track by the end of the week. I am getting very nervous about this run. It is officially a month away and every time I think about it I get anxious. Perhaps that is part of why I am slacking. But as Yoda tells us: Fear leads to Anger, Anger leads to hate, Hate leads...to suffering.

Side note: I signed up for another run! I know, right?!? The run that started this whole crazy plan is coming to DFW. More specifically to Forney, which is just right down the road. Since the location is what mainly stopped the Austin run, I have no excuse this time so I signed up (apparently all you have to do is tell me the price is about to increase and I will sign up). This run is in March so assuming the world does not end in December I will be tackling the Zombie Apocalypse!

\m/ IS NOT TRY \m/