Fit[ter] by 40 - Part II

Ok.. so, first things first.. I won't be updating about this every other day, but initially.. you'll probably be hearing a lot about this.

So, I woke up this morning to it raining and went to go lace up my shoes and get Day 2 on. It wasn't pouring rain, but it was coming down steady. I figured if I start making excuses this early on, I'm doomed. Plus, I just got done playing softball last night in the rain and it was a blast. I love the rain.

My bigger concern was about my shins and whatnot... I was originally planning on just walking this week after my mildly uncomfortable first outing, but thanks to some gentle prodding and my ego I decided I'd try to  increase my number of run rotations (I only did 2 last time). Baby steps I kept telling myself.

It's about progress... not perfection...

Well.. I started off and sure enough the same discomfort returned shortly, but instead of just walking out the rest, I decided I'd just slow down my pace and go for just one more time. So that's how my routine went today.

except it went more like...

jog/walk...

slower than jog/walk...

lifting feet up/walk....

power walk/walk

but.. I made it through the whole routine this time.

So soaked, a little sore and smiley I got home. I'm thinking I may opt to do Week 1 for a couple of weeks, but we'll play that by ear.

Fit[ter] by 40 - Part I

As the day looms closer, I figured I'd set up some fitness goals for myself. Not because I want to be Jack Lalanne fit, but because I have a nephew/niece, friends/family and just a lot to stay around for.

I've flirted with being active most of my life and except for periods of 3-6 months here and there, I've done an ok job at it. Eating is a whole other issue though. I'm a far cry from terrible, but I can definitely do better.

So, that leads me here. I've decided I'm going to start training for a 5k as well as getting ready for P90X in October. I'm a firm believer in working your way up gradually into any new routine and I see no reason to change that now. As a part of my healthier living, I'm also going to just be more aware of what I eat. I'm going to start focusing on more whole foods and just cleaning up my eating habits.

I'll be keeping a running log (pun intended) of my routine and progress. I'm not big on scales, so I'll probably do weigh ins maybe every couple months. If I do it more than that, you have permission to tell me to stop. You also have permission to yell at me if I EVER start counting calories.

I'm doing the Couch to 5k program along with my regular biking, but with any new thing I had to get some sweet gear. So, with some help from Wendi I went and got some proper running shoes. Then, I went and got some socks, a new iPod Shuffle and an SPI Belt. Stuff motivates me, what can I say?

I opted to go ahead with the Couch to 5k podcast instead of just timing myself. (although I was totally thinking about buying a runners watch) I had this moment of paranoia that I would be so focused on my breathing, pace, form, the squirrel that just ran in front of me, the biker that I swear is looking at me, etc.. that I  would lose track of how many run/walk rotations I'd done. (Yes.. these are the things I worry about)

Week 1 (Day 1) - I found out really fast how unaccustomed my legs are to impact type exercises. I made it two rounds of running/walking and had to walk the rest of the routine. My shins were throbbing, so I decided that I should probably just take a week or two to just walk and then fire up the running program. My 5k date is in October, so it's not like I'm in a rush.

On the bright side, I walked 2.75 miles this morning and will be doing that 3x a week (and might even try to sneak in a 4th time) and will see how I'm feeling by the end of the week.

Sometimes quickly... sometimes slowly.

Games

There's so many "Game" themes in my life.. Game of Thrones (which is an AMAZING series) based off even more AMAZING books. - I'm sure I'll blog about this in the future.

Video Games - don't have time to get into this one today

Table Top Games - The topic of today blog

So, having said that.. it shouldn't surprise you that I'm a huge gamer. Not Pictionary or Balderdash, but video games (and old school pen and paper games). They've always been a part of my life.I just read somewhere that the average age of today's gamer is... wait for it... 37 years old.

*Flashback 1982*

3 kids hanging out in a garage with a slightly beat up copy of the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Players Handbook, Dungeon Masters Guide, Monster Manual and a bunch of oddly sided dice.

*Back to present*

I have my old table top gaming group that I've known since grade school. (4th and 5th grade to be precise) We use to play constantly growing up and even through most of college. We hung out, let our imaginations run and enjoyed the company. As we got older, people got married, had kids and carried on with their lives. Well.. my friends have continued getting together and I bowed out for the last 6 years or so. That is.. until about 2 months ago.

Once upon a time... it was our bold band of stalwart adventurers journeying forth to either slay the dragon or save the maiden (well.. our stories were usually a lot darker - had nothing to do with maidens and typically involved rescuing all of existence from impending doom, but minor details). If you would've asked me to role play out a scene of flirting with a girl, I would've gotten an "F", but I could tell you the difference between a 2 handed sword, a bastard sword and a long sword. Or the difference between a footman's mace and a horseman's mace and why that is important. Needless to say, the ladies were not lining up to date me.

These last couple months have reminded me that it has never been about the games we played, but about the relationships we build during them.

This last week, we spent our first 1 1/2 hr with character sheets, dice and pencils at the ready. We've since replaced red wine or mixed drinks with bottled water and coffee and just talked and laughed. These are people I've known for nearly 30 years and as much fun as it is to get together and "take on the bad guys", it's even more fun to see how the kids are doing and how are their parents.

Today, my 12 year old me as the geeky gamer guy is a lot different. Even though I can still tell you the difference between swords, maces and pole-arms (although I probably won't ever bring it up on a date) , I realize that I'm just another guy who has friends who share a hobby. And because of this hobby, I have been blessed with the opportunity to have my life enriched by some of the most incredible people I know.