Sunday, October 26, 2008

Blog Numero One

Total Miles: 9

Hello everyone and welcome to my blog. This being my first post, I feel that I should take a minute to introduce myself and then go on to document my progress from each day.

About myself:

My name is Eli Bozeman. I am a 23 year old technical SAP developer for Deloitte Consulting and a recent graduate of the University of Arkansas. I have struggled with my weight for most of my life. I have never been satisfied with my physical condition, but over the years have grown to accept it.

College allowed for its share of rationalization. Between class, work and a university meal plan, keeping the weight off proved to be a challenge.

So now, as I begin to settle into my career, I feel as though I have run out of excuses. It is time for me to stop believing that my wardrobe is shrinking and accept that it is time to do something for myself.

A week or so ago, Taylor Fox suggested to me Maratona di Roma and soon there after racetorome.com was born. This seemed like the perfect opportunity for me to set a goal and do what I can to reach it…all the while fueling my motivation by way of a good cause.

I am not expecting a miracle, 5 months of preparation is no substitute for 20 years of disregard. 26 miles is one hell of a trip, there is no way around that. For me, my goal is not necessarily beating anyone or even finishing the race, but rather getting to the starting line. I now have a specific goal to reach: shape up and leave Europe feeling as though I have done everything in my power to prepare myself for the most challenging physical experience of my life.

The start of a routine:

Thursday, a co-worker and myself joined a local gym and I took advantage of a free personal training session. This proved to be one of the most miserable, inspirational 30 minutes of my life. There is no doubt that I am impressed with what some simple exercise techniques can do to your body. I followed this up with 20 minutes on the treadmill and left feeling as though I was walking out on a cloud. Three days later, I still struggle to stand up, or even straighten my arms. I guess this must mean that it was a successful session.

Friday, after work I went back to the gym and spent a half hour on an elliptical machine, 10 minutes on a stationary bike and did what I could to recreate some of the exercises I had done the day before.

Saturday, I woke up, cooked an omelet and decided to make the trip to my favorite coffee house via foot. I had planned to jog what I could of the 3.5 miles and take a break out-front and do a few hours of people watching. As I passed through the surrounding neighborhoods I noticed that there were an awful lot of trick-or-treaters for a Saturday morning and as I came up on my favorite sitting-post, I found that the streets were lined with children and local shop owners giving out candy. I weaved through the crowd, grabbed a drink and was back on my way back home.

Nearly every part of my body was still hurting from my pt session, but I did what I could to keep up a decent click. I elected to time my final mile at a walking pace and see what I was up against. For the marathon we are given 7.5 hours to complete the race. That gives me just over 17 minutes /mile. I calculated my casual walking speed to get me home at 12 minutes / mile, making it very possible to finish this race by not even getting in a hurry.

Stamina is really the only contention to finishing the race. (Granted, my test was done on super-flat Oklahoma trails. I don’t know yet what to expect out of the Rome course.)

I have decided that I should try and take advantage of the awesome outdoor trails near my house for as long as the weather holds out.

Over the past few days, I have really tried to change my eating habits. I have decided to give up any casual drinking, deserts and seriously cut down on wasted carbohydrates. This has came with its share of tests, i.e. an ice cream social at work, client sponsored lunches and an unexpected visit from friends looking to go out for dinner and drinks. So far, I feel as though I have passed and hopefully this will become less and less of a challenge.





Lessons learned:

1. JalapeƱos and cayenne are probably not the best omelet topping to have before a run
2.
60 degrees is not cool enough to justify a sweater
3.
Never underestimate the power of a double shot of espresso after a good jog
4.
Getting outside and pushing yourself actually isn’t all that bad, lots to see and up to now I have no regrets
5.
There seems to be an perceptible correlation between the size of a house and which political signs people exhibit in their yards
6. Never again take for granted standing up or a full range of movement

3 comments:

MF said...

Pretty entertaining my friend. Look forward to similar quality work here.

S:suphia said...

go oreo!!

Binky Guy said...

Eli,

I am so proud of your ambitious endeavor to "race to Rome" Would so love to be there to cheer you and Taylor on.
Your blog is great....very motivational and entertaining. My favorite part was the "lessons learned."
Amy