The Incredible Shrinking Man

In less than four weeks I’ll be joining the man seen above in his first Half Marathon. Almost a year to the day my brother-in-law Eric was over 200 lbs. heavier than he is now. Since then he’s been a man on a mission, and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed training and running in races with him along his journey. I suppose that’s why I find the video below so moving. It’s like watching Eric’s story put to music with one of my favorite songs (Fix You by Coldplay).

Since watching that video I’ve been following Ben on his blog Ben Does Life. Today he had a great post for those asking the question:

“What advice can you give me, as someone who needs to lose a lot of weight, and is just starting?”

» Ben’s Four Commandments for Getting Started

I couldn’t agree more.

Filed under: Exercise

Warrior Dash 2010

Warrior Dash Midwest – 2010

Rockin’ the hawk

Time to get muddy

Pre-mud pose

The kids made their own dash

WARRIOR!

Coming down the homestretch

FYI – real barbed wire

Post-mud pose

FYI – Mud solidifies up fast

Road Warrior!

Filed under: Exercise, Warriors

What’s Next

Now that my first Half Marathon is in the books, I have the following physical feats to look forward to this year…

June 19, 2010 — Warrior Dash Midwest

July 3, 2010 — Kenya Dig It 10K

July 25, 2010 — Make A Wish 50-Mile One Day Bicycle Tour

October 3, 2010 — Big House Big Heart 5K

October 17, 2010 — Grand Rapids Half Marathon

Filed under: Exercise

Life of Riley

Glancing at my upcoming calendar I’m starting to understand what my dad meant when he told me one time that I live the ‘Life of Riley.’

March 24 – Switchfoot Concert
April 3 – Run for Diabetes Awareness 5K
April 10 – Martian Meteor 10K
May 14 – Barenaked Ladies + Ingrid Michaelson Concert
May 29 – Traverse City Half Marathon
June 19 – Warrior Dash
June 30 – U2 Concert

Can’t wait to get things started off tonight!

Filed under: Concerts, Exercise, Music

Why I Run

A friend asked me a simple question, “Why do you run?” as part of some research she’s doing. That sounded to me like a perfect blog post. So here it is. This is why I run.

Physical Health
No brainer, right? I run because it’s good for me. I tend to be lazy and rely too much on my blessed metabolism, but I often neglect other health concerns such as cholesterol. Running has helped me get in the best shape of my life—inside and out.

Mental Health
I’ve yet to find many things more relaxing, and mentally freeing, than running. Stress is just an “easy three” away from disappearing. I’m a big fan of running to music or podcasts, but that doesn’t stop my mind from solving the worlds problems as I run. And I’m an outside runner, so benefits of the fresh air and scenery is impossible to calculate. (This is probably a great time to mention that running is a great prayer venue.)

Challenge
I started running as a little challenge to a few friends a couple years ago. We were meeting at our college homecoming and thought it would be fun to run in the 5K going on that weekend. That challenge set me on the course that now has me training for a Half Marathon this May. I’d have to say of all the reasons to continue running, challenging myself to new heights is pretty high on the list.

Community
Like any other hobby, running gives you an instant community. We all want to discuss our runs, our shoes, our gadgets, our races, our milestones, our training schedules, etc. Recently I’ve discovered that training with others is another a great community (and accountability) builder!

Inspiration
I run for inspiration—to inspire others, as well as to be inspired.

It’s also convenient, cheap, and fun! You get a great sense of accomplishment, and it’s extremely easy to make great strides (no pun intended). It started out as a simple challenge, turned into a hobby to collect t-shirts as I stayed in shape, and is now part of my regular routine.

Related Links:
» 6 Reasons To Run a 5K
» Lessons Learned From Running
» Race Log
» Why Run?

Filed under: Exercise, Health, Running

The Hits Keep Coming

I shouldn’t be surprised.

He was riding a bike without training wheels at three years old.

At four he was channeling Pelé.

And now this.

This past Saturday, at the mere age of 5, my boy Tanner ran his first 5K (that’s 3.1 miles btw). Not only did he run the entire course with me, but he also did it in 37 minutes 45 seconds. Finishing first in his rather large age group (1-10).

Congratulations Tanner!

3 generations of Hawkins runners representing!

Filed under: Exercise, Tanner

My First Race

Bison Stampede 5K Run — 26:11
October 25, 2008 / Searcy, Arkansas

Lessons learned from my first race:

→ Running early in the morning should be illegal.

→ If running with friends establish up front that it’s every man for himself.

→ Get a feel for the course prior to race day.

→ Carb loading for a 5K is probably unnecessary.

→ If you turn off your ipod for a second you will hear a stampede coming up behind you.

→ You’ll be lured by the pace of the masses.

→ You’ll constantly compare yourself to those around you.

→ You’ll run faster than you trained.

Filed under: Exercise

Lessons Learned From Running

→ I’m not a spring chicken any more. I actually wonder if I ever was.

→ It is no longer called jogging. Should you refer to it as jogging, you will be chastised.

→ Shoes are important.

→ Diet will determine how easy your run is.

→ Your mind is extremely stronger than your body. Control your mind and you’ll be able to control your body.

→ The faster the music in your ipod the better.

→ Your appetite will increase exponentially.

→ Small gains bring great encouragement.

→ Bigger gains make you feel bulletproof.

→ Your 5 year old son will try to run you over with your own car if you’re not aware of your surroundings.

→ Pacing is key.

→ It’s bad on the environment because you’ll shower more, and put more clothes in the laundry.

→ You look forward to challenging yourself on the next run.

→ After the second time out you will realize that you actually can do this.

→ I should have started a long time ago.

**UPDATE**
→ And you can even do it when you’re old.

Filed under: Exercise, Health

6 Reasons

Next month I’ll be meeting up with a few college buddies at our alma mater, Harding University, for Homecoming. We’ll be camping the whole time and sneaking into dorms for showers. Good times.

Yesterday we decided to enter the 5K Bison Stampede they are having that Saturday. Ironically the last time I ran one (21 years ago) it was also in Searcy, and I came in first place in my age group. That won’t happen again, but I am planning on doing more than just completing it.

This morning while researching some training and tips for the run, I ran across a great article with Six Reasons to Run a 5K.

1. Ease. Most of you are busy, and training time is precious. Therefore, it’s really tough to find the time to train for a half-marathon or marathon. Not so with the 5K. You can work up to it quickly (from scratch) and train for it adequately on just three days a week.

2. Convenience. With a 5K, race day is a snap. You arrive at the race, warm up for 10 to 20 minutes, race for 40 minutes maximum, cool down, replenish with food and drink, and head home in your new race T-shirt before your family has finished breakfast.

3. Exhilaration. In a 5K, you feel like you’re really racing. And that’s a good feeling. Not many runners can maintain a 10K race pace that is much faster than their daily training pace. With a 5K, however, you can motor as much as one minute per mile faster than your usual training pace.

4. Improvement. Racing the occasional 5K is an excellent fitness booster. It will elevate your max VO2, improve form and efficiency, and make your regular training runs feel easier.

5. Change. Too often in our training, we run the same course at the same pace at the same time of day. Don’t get me wrong. Routine is good—essential, in fact, if you want to stay with a long-term running program. But too much of a good thing is too much of a good thing. You need variation, and a short-and-sweet 5K every once in awhile is a great way to mix things up.

6. Motivation. Races are great motivators. Each year, scores of runners tell me that having a regular schedule of 5K races gets them out the door on days when they would have stayed in bed in the morning or hit the couch after work.

… and it’s probably good for my cholesterol.

Filed under: Camping, Exercise, Harding University, Health

Best Diet Plan Ever

(ht: The Deloach)

Filed under: Diet, Exercise, Food, Health, YouTube