What the hell...

I have to admit, I never considered myself to be the blogging type, but through the wonders of the Internet and peer pressure, I thought I would give it a shot.

I don't really know if I have anything really that interesting to say, nor do I think anyone will really pay attention to this one blog among the millions that are out there(it took me like 10 different domain names to find one that wasn't already in use), but I figured I had a good story and maybe at least I would enjoy reading it.

You see I have always been a fat person. When I was young I was a fat kid and as an adult I have been a fat man. I may not always have been the fattest because of not being able to afford luxuries such as Lunch, or maybe I was a little more active than usual, but inside every "not-so-fat" me was a fat kid just waiting to get out. In August of 2008, I was looking over the shoulder of a doctor who just told me I had to have my gall bladder removed, and I noticed a diagnostic description of me on the computer that said that I was obese. What did that inanimate object just say? Obese? Hey, I might be a little husky (I will forever love this description of the jeans my mom used to have to buy me), but I am not obese. Obese is one of those shows on TLC (Come see the Amazing 3000lb. man). I say to the doc, "Am I really obese?"

(Doc)"No, your not REALLY obese, but you are more than 30lbs. overweight, technically, classifying you as obese."

(Me)"Well, how much does my gall bladder weigh?"

(Doc)"That is not going to help."

I proceeded to have my gall bladder removed a couple of weeks later and voila!...I was still obese. Rather than do something about it immediately, I began a championship binge for the holidays. Mashed potatoes with butter and gravy, an extra helping of stuffing, and more pie than I care to remember (or do I?). By the end of the holiday season, I think I was pushing the envelope of morbidly obese. I went to a New Year's party and was going to wow everyone with my fashion sense. I planned on wearing a new pair of jeans my sister got me, because the old ones no longer fit, and a button down shirt (GQ ain't got nothing on me!). When I went to change into the shirt that night, guess what? It didn't really fit either. I looked like too much sausage stuffed in an undersized casing (mmm...sausage). At least my jeans looked good! When I went home from the party, I stepped on the scale...249lbs. The fattest I had ever been in my entire life of fatness, and nearly clinically defined as morbidly obese for a man who is 5'10". I knew it was time for a change.

The plan had actually begun to formulate while I was with my family for the holidays. We decided to participate in a "Biggest Loser" challenge amongst like 10 of us in the family. Any of you who really know me, know I love a challenge (i.e. chasing a woman who is days away from moving in with and eventually marrying her boyfriend of 4 1/2 years), and I flourished. I actually lost 9 pounds in one week. The plan was simple: get off my ass and get moving and eat right. Since that Jan. '09 I have lost 40lbs. I have pledged to lose more weight. I have promised to participate in more runs and bike rides. And I hope to add to my repertoire of healthy culinary adventures.

None of this I could have done without the help of my beautiful wife, who has also lost weight and is actually the lightest she has been in her entire adult life (Woo hoo!).

All of this is the basis of my blog. I will talk about my workouts, my runs, rides, and races. I will share with you the recipes I find exciting. and I will share with you some of the challenges we face as a RACING HOME.