January first has finally rolled around. It's 2015. I honestly don't fully feel like I know how I got here. Yet, here I am.
A year is enough time to change your entire life. I've seen it. I've experienced it. More than once. This year is especially significant since I roll over the 50 mark. Yes, my god, I am that old.
2014 was a transformative year for me. It started like the years before. I was slogging my way through a joyless life. Halfway through the year, I met a person who resonated with me on every wavelength. One thing led to another and by August, I was unrecognizable relative to who I had been in June.
It wasn't that this person pushed me, or encouraged me, or told me I needed to change in any way. They woke me up, though, to who I had been, and to who I was.
The changes were all over, but most noticeably in the area of fitness. Thanks to a workout routine that included free weights, 5 and 6 mile runs and low carb diet, I dropped from about 210 to around 185.
That's roughly where I am, today, though I've probably gained some of the weight back. I gave myself December off. Previous endurance training has given me the belief that you need periodic downtime for your mental and physical well-being. Bodies get beat-up. Hairline fractures start developing. Ligaments and tendonds get strained. Mentally, folks start getting worn down.
December is now officially over. 2015 has begun. In 2014, I was very close to some of the best shape I've ever been in. My bloodwork was phenomenal and I had six pack abs that I would show anybody who wouldn't run away covering their eyes.
I think there's another level beyond that and I think I can hit it in 2015. So, here is what I will be
working on this year:
1. Shoulders, arms, glutes: working on muscling up a little bit. Especially glutes so I don't end up with flabby, flat, old man ass. This is particularly a concern for me since, thanks to my Asian ancestry, I'm gleutially challenged anyway.
2. Abs: I feel like I got these just about right in 2014, but will be working on core strength with a wider variety of exercises in 2015. The bulk of what I've been doing is incline board at several settings, 20 reps per setting, 5 settings, for a total of 100 reps. I do this several times per week. This year, I'll start adding weight to the reps and doing other exercises that hit obliques, etc. and jumbling up the ab exercises with various other routines now and then.
3. Rower and stepper: love both these machines and need to do more of them for overall fitness and cardio, as well as muscle definition in quads, glutes and back.
The rest? I'll be working on definition. Just keeping the weight down, keeping the muscles toned and trying to get them ripped.
Pretty much I'll be doing exactly what I did in 2014... just more of it.
In the low 180s, my body fat was pretty low. I'll be happy to hit that again, but my goal is probably something in the mid 170s. We'll see. Not terribly concerned about the scale, honestly. I'll know when my body fat is where I want it to be. I can see it, feel it, and notice it as I move about.
I have signed up for the Air Force marathon. Though it would benefit me to go into it with as little upper body weight as possible, I'm not in this to win a marathon or even to run one very fast. I'm just not that fast. I'm in it for my overall health and appearance. So, I'll sacrifice a few seconds per mile to carry that extra upper body weight for the race.
Goal for the marathon is simply to complete all my scheduled 20 milers and finish the marathon. Time goal? Don't really have one, but if I had to put a number to it, I'd say a finish in 4:30 or less is just fine with me.
Also, although I'm not much of an athlete, I do have an athletic goal in mind. Now that I have taken up fencing, I want my physical training routine to at least compliment my fencing without detracting.
I'll be posting workout info to facebook and am contemplating some shirtless selfies to show my progress. Nothing like the spectre of public humiliation to aid in achieving a fitness goal. I added a little weight in December, and have the start of a belly. Might do it, might not... I am afraid that a lot of folks just don't want to see some pasty old guy without his shirt when they open their facebook news feed. We'll see... jury is out on that one.
But I will be at least staying in shape and trying to take this to the next level. 2014, of all things, I ended up really amping up my fitness. There's another level beyond that and I think I can hit it. I'll keep you posted as I go.
Wednesday, December 31, 2014
Saturday, December 27, 2014
Bring on the New Year! 2015 on the way!
Time for New Year's resolutions and here are mine:
1. Stay in shape.
2. Stay debt free.
3. Run a marathon.
4. Play more music.
5. Get a rating in fencing.
6. New job / home / both.
Staying in shape is a pretty modest goal, but I made a lot of progress on fitness this past year. I'd like to keep it. Putting numbers to it, I'd like to keep my weight below 190, with regular workouts. Diet is always problematic for me because of all the time I spend on the road, but as much as possible, I'll try to avoid eating junk. Or at least eat more intelligent junk. If I end 2015 below 190, I'll be pretty happy with this one. My bloodwork is phenomenal and my health is the best it's been in over a decade. I need to keep this up.
Staying debt free should be a little easier. I rent my condo, and will probably rent anyplace I live. So, there's no real need to even have mortgage debt for the time being. The trick will be to avoid buying too many toys. (Or avoid buying toys at all... I don't have time for all the toys I already have.) This is one of those goals that is really just maintaining what I already have, but it will take mindfulness and effort.
Sort of hand-in-hand with staying in shape, I'll be training for a marathon this year. I won't have a time goal. (Though, probably something in the neighborhood of 4:15 to 4:30 is realistic.) One of the reasons 2014 was so awesome fitness-wise is that I have been able to run pain-free for the first time in years and years. So, I'll celebrate that by lacing up the trainers and putting down some real mileage. I have no goals related to running speed at the moment. If this plays out like it did last time I got sorta serious about running, I'll get a big speed bump after my marathon recovery. So, if I have any speed-related goals, they'll need to wait until 2016.
My life has been covered by a veil of general yuckiness since 2012, but that veil is lifting. It's mostly gone at this point. I always feel better when I exercise and play music. So, I need to start playing more music. I'll be setting up my piano and playing a bit here and there. I don't know that I'll perform or record, but I at least want to be regularly playing, now. Maybe 2016, I'll have a recording or performing goal.
I picked up one new hobby in 2015: fencing. I absolutely love it. Started in very late July with some classes at a local community center. I've fenced in half a dozen tournaments this year. If you do well enough in certain types of tournaments, you can get "rated". At this point, I'm rated "u" or unrated. Meaning I haven't achieved anything rating-wise. Sometime in 2016, I'd like to see if I can do well enough in a tournament to get an E in my weapon of choice: epee. Fencing has been a blast and I've been looking for a sport. I guess running is a sport, but this one is a lot of fun in a way that running really isn't. Haha! (Never particularly loved running... I just love everything about running other than the running, itself.)
Lastly, I'll have to make a change this year. I'm hoping to find a job closer to home (Toledo), or if not, then a job closer to family or friends (Dallas, Cleveland or Phoenix.) If I can't do any of those things, I'll be moving down near to Dayton so I can have a more normal semblance of a life. Driving from Toledo to Dayton and paying for hotels has been draining in every imaginable way. I can't really keep it up much longer. Of course, this means I'll have my son for half the Summer, instead of for every other weekend. It's not really better or worse, near as I can figure. It's just a different challenge.
2014 was a great year for me. I'm happier in so many ways. I've met a ton of great people. Had some fantastic experiences. Got in shape. Picked up a new hobby. It was just super all the way around. If I make the same sort of progress in 2015, I'll be pretty darned happy.
Really, my life is mostly back on track, except for two very important things. I don't live close to my son, so I still spend less time with him than I did before my life cratered in 2012. He graduates High School in 2019. I have only so many years with him. So, I want to make the most of it. The clock is ticking on this one and when he graduates High School and is off to college, this chance will have passed. All I can do is continue to do the best I can. Forgive myself for what I can't, and just keep moving forward.
Career-wise, I'm very happy for my job. I love it and am lucky to have it. However, I'm nowhere near where I was, either professionally, or when I owned my own business. That's a work in process.
1. Stay in shape.
2. Stay debt free.
3. Run a marathon.
4. Play more music.
5. Get a rating in fencing.
6. New job / home / both.
Staying in shape is a pretty modest goal, but I made a lot of progress on fitness this past year. I'd like to keep it. Putting numbers to it, I'd like to keep my weight below 190, with regular workouts. Diet is always problematic for me because of all the time I spend on the road, but as much as possible, I'll try to avoid eating junk. Or at least eat more intelligent junk. If I end 2015 below 190, I'll be pretty happy with this one. My bloodwork is phenomenal and my health is the best it's been in over a decade. I need to keep this up.
Staying debt free should be a little easier. I rent my condo, and will probably rent anyplace I live. So, there's no real need to even have mortgage debt for the time being. The trick will be to avoid buying too many toys. (Or avoid buying toys at all... I don't have time for all the toys I already have.) This is one of those goals that is really just maintaining what I already have, but it will take mindfulness and effort.
Sort of hand-in-hand with staying in shape, I'll be training for a marathon this year. I won't have a time goal. (Though, probably something in the neighborhood of 4:15 to 4:30 is realistic.) One of the reasons 2014 was so awesome fitness-wise is that I have been able to run pain-free for the first time in years and years. So, I'll celebrate that by lacing up the trainers and putting down some real mileage. I have no goals related to running speed at the moment. If this plays out like it did last time I got sorta serious about running, I'll get a big speed bump after my marathon recovery. So, if I have any speed-related goals, they'll need to wait until 2016.
My life has been covered by a veil of general yuckiness since 2012, but that veil is lifting. It's mostly gone at this point. I always feel better when I exercise and play music. So, I need to start playing more music. I'll be setting up my piano and playing a bit here and there. I don't know that I'll perform or record, but I at least want to be regularly playing, now. Maybe 2016, I'll have a recording or performing goal.
I picked up one new hobby in 2015: fencing. I absolutely love it. Started in very late July with some classes at a local community center. I've fenced in half a dozen tournaments this year. If you do well enough in certain types of tournaments, you can get "rated". At this point, I'm rated "u" or unrated. Meaning I haven't achieved anything rating-wise. Sometime in 2016, I'd like to see if I can do well enough in a tournament to get an E in my weapon of choice: epee. Fencing has been a blast and I've been looking for a sport. I guess running is a sport, but this one is a lot of fun in a way that running really isn't. Haha! (Never particularly loved running... I just love everything about running other than the running, itself.)
Lastly, I'll have to make a change this year. I'm hoping to find a job closer to home (Toledo), or if not, then a job closer to family or friends (Dallas, Cleveland or Phoenix.) If I can't do any of those things, I'll be moving down near to Dayton so I can have a more normal semblance of a life. Driving from Toledo to Dayton and paying for hotels has been draining in every imaginable way. I can't really keep it up much longer. Of course, this means I'll have my son for half the Summer, instead of for every other weekend. It's not really better or worse, near as I can figure. It's just a different challenge.
2014 was a great year for me. I'm happier in so many ways. I've met a ton of great people. Had some fantastic experiences. Got in shape. Picked up a new hobby. It was just super all the way around. If I make the same sort of progress in 2015, I'll be pretty darned happy.
Really, my life is mostly back on track, except for two very important things. I don't live close to my son, so I still spend less time with him than I did before my life cratered in 2012. He graduates High School in 2019. I have only so many years with him. So, I want to make the most of it. The clock is ticking on this one and when he graduates High School and is off to college, this chance will have passed. All I can do is continue to do the best I can. Forgive myself for what I can't, and just keep moving forward.
Career-wise, I'm very happy for my job. I love it and am lucky to have it. However, I'm nowhere near where I was, either professionally, or when I owned my own business. That's a work in process.
Thursday, December 18, 2014
2014 Wrap Up: Where Do I Even Begin?
2014 was one to remember. To recap, 2009, the biz started dying. In 2012, I sold off what remained of the assets and started working for the government down in Dayton. I still honestly don't know how I survived the past two and a half years. I just did, I guess. None of it should have worked, but I seemed to grunt my way through what has been, without doubt, the most difficult time of my adult life.
2014, though, things changed. I lost a lot of weight. Got much healthier. (Bloodwork all looks phenomenal, now.) Met so many new people. Took up a new hobby: fencing.
All in all, I never could have predicted at the end of 2013, that 2014 would have been so good.
2015 may bring some changes. Actually, it will, one way or another. In July, my service commitment is up, leaving me to seek other positions both within and outside the government. My preference would be to move closer to home. Home is still Sylvania, because my son is still in Sylvania. At least he's here for another 4 and a half years until he graduates High School.
If I can't find anything here, I'll be moving. If I don't live near Toledo, I'll move somewhere near family or friends. So, that means, Cleveland/Akron, Dallas/Fort Worth or Phonenix... ummm... /Phoenix. If I can't find anything in those cities, I'll move closer to my current position, probably by moving to a Western suburb of Columbus, like Hilliard.
Time frame for a move will be sometime after Logan's travel baseball season. I plan on taking off a month just to follow him once school lets out. That'll give me time with him, and the time to travel around to watch him.
January, I'll be taking a little week-long ski vacation to West Virginia. That'll be my first little vacation in forever. Things are getting better for me. I am still not entirely sure what the next few years hold, but by the end of this year, the picture should get clearer.
My son continues to be my pride and joy. I have always said that if I had to chose between a great life for me, and having a great son, that I'd take the great son. That's the deal I have. As long as I have that, I can be happy.
He continues to do great in all his sports. Like most teenagers, he's growing like a weed. He's getting a lot of playing time in basketball this year. Football he did great. He will be playing on his most competitive baseball team, yet, this season.
He's also getting serious about playing bass. He is in a little band and he sounds great. I haven't heard the band, yet, but if they're as good as he is, they should sound fantastic. They're preparing to play in their school's talent show at the end of the year.
All in all, my son is great, and 2015 finds me in better shape than I was in when 2014 started. I'm still rebuilding my life after the business died. It's pretty much all there, except my career got set back pretty far. I've got another couple decades in the worforce. No telling what it will bring.
Best wishes to everybody out there. I hope 2014 was good to you, too. We can all hope for a great 2015!
2014, though, things changed. I lost a lot of weight. Got much healthier. (Bloodwork all looks phenomenal, now.) Met so many new people. Took up a new hobby: fencing.
All in all, I never could have predicted at the end of 2013, that 2014 would have been so good.
2015 may bring some changes. Actually, it will, one way or another. In July, my service commitment is up, leaving me to seek other positions both within and outside the government. My preference would be to move closer to home. Home is still Sylvania, because my son is still in Sylvania. At least he's here for another 4 and a half years until he graduates High School.
If I can't find anything here, I'll be moving. If I don't live near Toledo, I'll move somewhere near family or friends. So, that means, Cleveland/Akron, Dallas/Fort Worth or Phonenix... ummm... /Phoenix. If I can't find anything in those cities, I'll move closer to my current position, probably by moving to a Western suburb of Columbus, like Hilliard.
Time frame for a move will be sometime after Logan's travel baseball season. I plan on taking off a month just to follow him once school lets out. That'll give me time with him, and the time to travel around to watch him.
January, I'll be taking a little week-long ski vacation to West Virginia. That'll be my first little vacation in forever. Things are getting better for me. I am still not entirely sure what the next few years hold, but by the end of this year, the picture should get clearer.
My son continues to be my pride and joy. I have always said that if I had to chose between a great life for me, and having a great son, that I'd take the great son. That's the deal I have. As long as I have that, I can be happy.
He continues to do great in all his sports. Like most teenagers, he's growing like a weed. He's getting a lot of playing time in basketball this year. Football he did great. He will be playing on his most competitive baseball team, yet, this season.
He's also getting serious about playing bass. He is in a little band and he sounds great. I haven't heard the band, yet, but if they're as good as he is, they should sound fantastic. They're preparing to play in their school's talent show at the end of the year.
All in all, my son is great, and 2015 finds me in better shape than I was in when 2014 started. I'm still rebuilding my life after the business died. It's pretty much all there, except my career got set back pretty far. I've got another couple decades in the worforce. No telling what it will bring.
Best wishes to everybody out there. I hope 2014 was good to you, too. We can all hope for a great 2015!
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