One way I plan to do this is with the help, yet again, of the Wii.  You may remember that the Wii initially motivated me to become healthier and lose weight with Wii Fit.  This year, with the recommendation of my friend, Andrew, I will use Jillian Michaels Fitness Ultimatum 2010.  I am on my first week of the program, but it appears to really whip you into shape.  the workouts are intense circuit style and last nights consisted of:

• Running (in place) ~5.5 minutes
• 25 push-ups
• 20 back kicks (1 rep consists of kicking leg straight back and “punching” with both arms then repeat with other leg)
• 20 sledge swings (1 rep consists of swinging the Wii remote like you would a sledge hammer on one side of your body then repeat on other side)
• 25 water pumps (holding Wii remote with both hands at your chin then squatting down bringing remote almost to the floor then back up)
• 20 boat poses (half sit-up at the same time bringing both legs up to form a “V” with your body)
• Quick stretching (knees to chest while laying on the floor)
• Running ~5.5 minutes
• 25 push-ups
• 40 sledge swings
• 20 back kicks
• 25 water pumps
• 30 sledge swings

Jillian Michaels

This all left me completely exhausted, especially after running a little over 2 miles at lunch yesterday.  I will continue the 2-3 runs during the week and a long run on the weekends.  I will also try to cycle to work and home when the weather permits.  As long as I can get to the pool or lake, I should be set for the triathlon season fast approaching!

I have a hiking trip with Andrew and others coming up on 3/20/10 in the Roan Mountain Highlands.  I will certainly keep you posted on that with (I hope) wonderful pictures from the trip.  I am also looking forward to taking Althea along on the trip as well!

I look forward to what the training with Jillian will add to my abilities.  And with a trainer that looks like that, how can you resist?

Another reason for this post is to spread the word about 344pounds.com.  Tyler is on his quest to lose a lot of weight and is doing a workout pledge.  So all of you get to his blog and comment/friend him, whatever to add more time to his workout!

That being said, after (what I hope will be) a relaxing weekend with Jenn, I plan to start a 3-run-a-week schedule to get back into a routine.  I only have a little over a month before my next race, a half marathon, and I am a little intimidated by that thought.  Follow that up with a triathlon a month later and I realize I have a lot of work to do and that I need to be careful not to injure myself.  I need to stay injury free and in shape all year if I hope to finish my first Half Ironman that I have signed up for in November!

On another note, my Grandmother, Great Mia, is in the hospital with kidney complications.  Read more about it on Melissa’s post.

I did run my first 5K of the year last Saturday and it felt good to be in a race again.  It was the Alyce T Guettler Hunger Run in Rock Hill, SC and I mainly raced the event because they were doing it to raise money for a good cause.  It was cold and drizzling that morning, but it didn’t keep 100 people from showing up.  After I finished, I noticed that there weren’t many people cheering for the others as they finished.  So I stayed around and cheered people in, then went home to spend time with Jenn, Mia and Sadie.  As it turns out, I finished second out of four in my age group and missed out on collecting the award.  Oh well, hopefully there will be others.

Unfortunately, I think racing came at a price.  On Sunday, my back started to hurt pretty bad and after visiting the Chiropractor on Monday, I messed my back and shoulders up pretty bad in the wreck.  So I am forced to take it easy for a bit while I recover.  Hopefully the Chiropractor can work his magic the way he did before the marathon and I will be back at it real soon.  I will keep you guys posted!

And now to present my new (well 2007) Toyota 4Runner:

My New Ride

 It is a 2007 Toyota 4Runner SR5 4WD.  It has just under 60,000 miles on it and has a clean history.  Was owned in North Carolina by one owner.  I found it at an Infiniti dealer and they made me a good deal on it.  Perhaps the flack Toyota has received recently helped me land it at more than $4,000 under NADA retail value.  What do you guys think?

My foot hurts as it is still pressing as hard as I can on the brake.

I gasp for air (I think I might have been holding my breath)

I am covered with glass and the items that used to be in my backseat.

I am in the middle of the road and thankful other drivers were able to stop/go around me without hitting me and making things worse.

I think I am okay!  Nothing hurts too bad and I check to make sure I can move body parts.

The friendly motorist that came to check on me had a look of terror on his face.  His wife came to give me a hug after she realized I was okay.

Luckily the guy in the other car was okay as well.  He apparently spun around a time or two and then hit the guard rail as well, but not very hard.

Also luckily, I was okay even though airbags did not deploy.  I would have expected them to come out in a much less serious accident.  Makes me nervous about buying used cars again as I suspect it was in a wreck before I bought it and I wonder if the airbags were properly repaired.

As I said before, I feel extremely lucky.  And as I commented on Melissa’s blog:

Live life to the fullest by doing what makes YOU happy

and

Don’t dwell on things that aren’t important and things that you cannot change

Good-bye my dear friend...

When I saw Jenn, Mia and Sadie later that afternoon, I gave them all the love I could.

When in bear country, remember this: if you see a bear, the best thing to do is to lie down and pretend you are dead.

Signed,

The Bears

While that theory may be a bit far fetched, it is strange and fascinating the different techniques for protecting yourself from a bear.  There are products commercially available that claim bear protection such as pepper spray, noise makers designed to deter an interaction and even electrified fences that would provide a protected perimeter.  I have heard that if you pee around the site where you make camp, it will deter them as well.  Everyone seems to think hanging any food and items that have an odor will help keep them away while you are sleeping.

Andrew shared an article with me that prompted this post.  It tells the story of how a woman fended off a bear by throwing her IPhone at it.  I immediately thought of you, Melissa!  It seemed to work by distracting the bear, but perhaps we should reach for something less valuable than an IPhone to throw.  Perhaps a rock would do the trick?  Of course, carrying a firearm with you would do the trick as well.

We arrived at Black Mountain Campground around 10:45.  We had received word from Jeff’s friend Chadd that he was on his way and would be there soon.  He arrived at about 11:30 and the 5 of us got ready for a 3 mile hike to Mid Camp, where Melissa, Jeff, Chris and John were already set up.  About 1/2 mile up, Chadd was having knee problems.  He told us that he has had surgeries and the cold and his heavy pack were giving him problems.  He was going home.

The four of us continued up in the hard packed, basically frozen snow.  And yes, I realize that snow is already frozen, but this snow was solid and very slick.  Thanks to YakTrax that I had picked up from REI the week before, I had little to zero problems hiking on the ice.

We made it to Mid Camp around 2:15 Saturday morning.  We set up in the cold air that read on Jeff’s thermometer at 4 degrees.  I was thankful there was little wind.  I crawled into my sleeping bag in my bivy sack on the snow and tried to sleep.

I woke up around 6:00 and I had to pee.  It was still dark outside and no one else was up.  I tried to hold it for a while, but finally had to get up.  After I got back in my bag, I warmed my feet with my hands and then laid back down for a while.  All of a sudden I heard someone yelling in the distance.  I yelled back and then soon realized that it was Chadd.  Jeff summed it up nicely, “Hey Chadd you crazy bastard.”  Apparently, Chadd drove back home, unloaded his pack some and returned to meet up with us, hiking by himself in the dark.

We got a fire going and thawed out the feet.  We made some breakfast, which for me consisted of a freeze dried meal from Mountain House that was scrambled eggs with ham and green and red peppers.  It hit the spot, but I think anything warm would have been great.  We geared up for a summit hike and left just before noon – later than we should have left.

Melissa, John, Andrew, Chad, Tyler and I started up the mountain and it hit me, (like it does every trip there) how amazing it is to have such a diverse landscape so close to home.  It really does feel like you are on another world compared to Charlotte.  And it is a mere 2 hour drive!

At around 2:15, I ask Melissa if she wants to hike in the dark and she says no.  We had already discussed turning around at 2:30 to get back before dark.  It was 2:15 and we had 1.5 miles to go to the summit.  We decided to turn around and the other 4 went on to the top.

We got back to the camp where Jeff and Chris had a fire going and we got warm and dry.  the others made it back just before it got dark with their tales of how extreme the conditions were at the top.  Their frosted beards proved such conditions.

We made dinners and several turned in early to get warm in their sleeping bags.  Melissa, Chris and I stayed up a bit and talked and listened to the “I must be camping with Jeff” music by Johnny Cash.

Sunday morning I woke up and was extremely cold.  I was worried about my feet that I could barely move.  Jeff made a fire and I warmed my toes that had turned a shade of white/yellow and finally got their color back and stopped hurting.  I packed up and headed down the mountain with Chad, Andrew and Tyler.  Melissa, Jeff, Chris and John stayed back and made coffee and breakfast.  I had my sights set on food and a toilet at the nearest Waffle House!

We mad it to Waffle House around 12:00 and after hitting up the toilet (new Special Place, thanks Waffle House!) I ate a waffle, hash browns, eggs, toast and of course, bacon!

It was a great trip and it reminded me of why I love to hike and camp, but I have decided that, with my current equipment, my threshold on low temperatures is around 15-20 degrees.  The 4 degree temperatures were uncomfortable in my currnet sleeping system.  Perhaps a tent and battery-powered socks (good tip, Chad) are what are needed to get a good night’s sleep in such conditions.

Andrew, Kevin, Tyler and Chad After the Hike

Me: *sarcastic tone* “Thanks for that.”

Her: “Oh, I didn’t know it was going to hit your car.”

Me: “Carts go in the cart return, you know.”

Her: *sarcastic tone* “I know.”

Me: “Next time use it.”

Her: “I ain’t gonna use tha cart return. You have a blessed day.” *smacks lips, driving away*

Me: *loud enough so people can hear* “That’s LAZY!”

Then, I have to go around, pull the cart off of my car and put it where she should have to begin with.  What is it about people that think they don’t have to be kind to others?  What is it that makes them think they are better/more privileged/whatever you call it that makes them not follow general guidelines of human dignity?  To add insult to her kind, she leaves after being so rude with a “Have a blessed day.”  What?  I would only assume from that statement she is Christian or at the very least Religious.  Aren’t people that follow a religion supposed to generally be nice to people?  Someone help me figure this out!