So I decided to start a blog.  I have been thinking about doing it for a couple of months now and finally decided that I should.  Mainly for myself to look back at in the years to come, but if someone else enjoys reading it too, great!  Anyway, I guess I will tell you a little about myself.  My name is Kevin and I am 25 years old.  I live in Fort Mill, SC and work in Rock Hill, SC as a loan officer at a credit union.  I have a beautiful wife, Jenn and two adorable girls.  Mia is 2 years old and Sadie is 8 months.  I recently changed my lifestyle dramatically for the better and started this blog to write about that and whatever else happens to come across my mind.

It all started when I bought a Wii for myself and a Wii fit for my wife last Christmas.  We first did the Wii fit on 12/30/08 and although I knew I was not in the best of shape, what it told me made me make a life changing decision.  I weighed 194.2 pounds and was well into the “overweight” classification.  After not weighing myself in quite some time, I thought I was maybe 175 or 180, but I knew I should weigh about 150.  I had recently made several weak attempts at starting a running routine, but after a week I would lose motivation.  194.2 is the number that finally motivated me.  I did not want to be 200 pounds.  So I started running a week later (I still wanted to enjoy my New Year’s Eve festivities, so I put it off a bit).

I started a new diet plan that my boss worked up for Crystal (a co-worker) and her husband that focuses on increasing protein intake and reducing fat and sodium.  It also focuses on healthy, natural foods like fruits and vegetables instead of processed foods.  If anyone would like the plan, e-mail me!

I started running using an IPod podcast called podrunner intervals First Day to 5K with an end goal of being able to run 5km or 3.1 miles.  It is a 10 week program that progressively increases your running time and distance.  After 8 weeks, I ran my first official 5K, The Frosty 5K on 2/28/09 at the McMullen Creek greenway in Charlotte, NC.  I finished in a little over 32 minutes and I had the best feeling in the world after finishing!  I was definitely hooked.  I have run in several 5Ks since and have improved my time with each one.  My PR is 26:55 on 4/11/09 in Concord, NC at the Bunny Run.

Finishing my first 5K

The most fun I have had at a race is definitely at the Terrapin Beer 5K Plus one Mile (4.1 miles).  The race was in Athens, GA on 4/18/09 and sponsored by the local brewery and it started at 4:00PM.  After the race, you collect the beer glass they give you and you can sample up to 8 of their finest products.  My sister had the great idea to dress up for this event to have even more fun, so I ran the 4.1 miles in a beer helmet with two (empty) cans of PBR.  Terrapin only bottles in glass and I wasn’t about to run with glass bottles on my head!  To see some photos from this event and read what Melissa has to say, see her blog post.

I took off in another direction in March when my brother in law, Alex, said that I should do a triathlon.  He has been doing them for years and he convinced me to go to the local pool and just jump in a see if you can swim 500 yards, or 20 lengths of a 25 yard pool (the distance of the swim leg of the triathlon, Tri the Rock, he was planning to do on 5/9/09).  I went and swam about 2 lengths freestyle before I had to turn over on my back to breathe!  I e-mailed him that day and asked if you had to swim the whole thing freestyle or if it mattered.  He replied saying “you could doggie paddle the whole way if you wanted to, but with practice, you’ll get better.”  So I signed up!  I trained for about 10 weeks of swimming twice a week, biking twice a week and running twice a week.  Each Monday was a rest day.  I enjoyed the training so much that I plan to keep doing this until I can’t for some reason.  I made a new life goal to complete a full distance Ironman.  Swim 2.4 miles, bike 112 miles and run a marathon, 26.2 miles.  140.6 miles in all.  10-15 hours of constant exercise.  My wife thinks I am crazy, but she is supportive.

It is now 5/14/09 and I have completed my first triathlon and it was incredible.  It was even better than the first 5K.  The feeling makes you feel like you can do anything you want if you are willing to put in the time, which is absolutely true.  I finished the 500 yard swim, 16 mile bike, and 3.1 mile run in a little over 1 hour 32 minutes.  My goal was to finish period, but I did want to finish in less than 1.5 hours.  I came close, and I am happy with that because I was pretty sick the day before.

On the run leg of my first triathlon

With all of this exercise and diet changes, I have managed to lose 34.7 pounds.  I am at 159.5 now and about 11 pounds from my “ideal” weight.  Apparently it really is what they have been saying all those years; that diet and exercise are the keys to being healthy.

My next event is a 10K in Lake Wylie, the Splash Dash on 6/13/09.  My sister, Melissa, and I went and ran the hilly course about 2 weeks ago and it is challenging, but that’s the point, right?

I will then plan another triathlon that includes an open water swim, probably the Cane Creek Triathlon on 9/19/09.  And if the running continues to feel right, and I can comfortably run 13.1 miles by 7/31/09, I will sign up for the Thunder Road Marathon in Charlotte on 12/12/09.  Again, my wife thinks I am crazy, but I know I can do it if I do it smart.  Then, next year I will plan to do an Olympic distance triathlon in the spring and a half Ironman in the fall.  Then I will go for the big fish: a full distance Ironman in 2011.  This blog will chronicle the journey.