Tell It to Me Tuesday: Chris's Journey #2

Chris is still going strong! I am so proud of him. This is the first time in the four years that i have known him that he has stuck with it for this long. He is getting stronger everyday, and is one step closer to his goal!

His journey continues below...

t is the day after day 5. Day 5 was going to be a glorious walk. It was a brisk 68 degrees outside. The wind was blowing. The sun was shining. I just had a really good day at work. I was supposed to walk with my friend Angie that day, but work got in the way. Luckily she understood. So, I got changed checked in with Francesca and began

to walk.

I put on my newest walking mix, and it started with a little AC/DC “Shoot to Thrill”. I smiled and chugged along. I decided before I started that I wanted to walk Saturday’s Monster Dash fun walk route.

Side note, Monster Dash is a 5K race that the YMCA at work put on for the employees at Florida Blue. Along with the 5K there would be a “Fun Run” that will be ¾ of a mile. The Fun Run is geared towards the kids that are coming out to Monster Dash, but I am nowhere near a 5K, so I decided to do the Fun Walk. Better something than nothing eh?

OK back to the story. So I decided to walk the route. I knew it would be a bit shorter than I wanted to walk, so I decided to do the route plus. The route is a simple one. The Fun Run is a lap around the fitness complex at work (one of the amazing bonuses to working at Florida Blue). So I decided to start my walk a little further out than where the starting line was. I also went down a longer path to get to the lap. I wanted to stretch things out to challenge myself a little more. When I got to the actual path I was feeling great.

After the path was over with I heard the Runtastic App lady tell me one mile. I was happy. First time a mile did not feel like a mile to me. You got to realize to a guy my size a mile is not just 5,280 feet (I had to look that up). A mile to a guy my size feels like the 40 year walk that Moses and the Jewish nation walked to get to the promise land, and just about as slow. Honestly, a month ago I would not have seen myself walking over a mile on such a consistent basis as I am doing now. OK, OK back to the walk. So I hit the mile with not much struggle and was still feeling good. Music was still entertaining me as The Karate Kid’s “You’re the Best Around” came on. So I decided to take the long way around to get back to the gym.

About a mile and half I really began to feel it. The wall hit me pretty badly. Luckily God had my back. My buddy Jordan was walking out to his car after a long day and walked with me a bit. Conversation always lifts me up, and Jordan is a good friend who must have seen me struggling. Just the 5 minutes of conversation helped and I continued on.

So after 46 minutes and 23 seconds I finally got back to the gym and my walk was done. Totaled walked, 1.83 miles. If you saw the picture of my walk on my Runtastic App it may look like I was trying to draw a picture through step. I really was not trying to do that, but if you want to give me that kind of credit, go for it. When I got done, I was spent. SPENT. I had a sick feeling in my stomach of hunger and exhaustion. Both my calves were cramping up. I get bad Charley Horses when I do not drink enough water or work out too hard. And I drank plenty of water this day. I knew I over did it. Later on that night I felt pain in my ankle and in my groin a little. Not too much, but enough to where I felt it.

When I got done with the walk I said to Francesca that 1.8 is my threshold for walking now. I have done 1.8 twice and have not felt that great afterwards. So with much thought today, I decided that I am going to stick to the 1.4 to 1.7 mile range. At least do that for a while before I feel like pushing myself to the 2 mile walks. That is the next “goal” or stage in the journey. I accomplished 1 mile and 1.5 miles with little sweat. 2 miles will be more difficult, especially if I am feeling a little pain. I want to accomplish so much right now. But I realized I want to because I am really enjoying the “atta boys” I am getting from all my friends. I cannot do it for the praise. I need to do this for me. I have to focus on the me and not that I will let people down if I do not walk 2 miles today. In the end, I have to look at myself in the mirror. The only one I need to answer to is me. So the lesson today is walking = all about Chris. The praise and encouragement has to be secondary to the all about Chris part. I will do my best. The encouragement is such a healthy addiction. I am soaking it in and loving every bit of it. But I only answer to me. All about Chris.

So I weighed in before the walk. Still at 455 pounds. Frustrating to say the least, but I know why I am at a standstill even though I am walking like crazy. Need to work harder at the food part. I see my nutritionist next week. Need to be really honest with her.

Here was my Day 5 playlist: Shoot to Thrill – AC/DC; Dream On - Aerosmith; Citizen Soldier – 3 Doors Down; You’re the Best – Joe Esposito; Supertones Strike Back – OC Supertones; The Cave – Mumford & Sons; Gunpowder and Lead – Miranda Lambert; I’m Shipping Out to Boston – Dropkick Murphys; My Hero – Foo Fighters; American Girl – Tom Petty; Good Feeling – Flo Rida

Day 6 is tomorrow. ¾ mile Fun Run for Monster Dash. Nervous about all the people there. But still focused on doing it.

Chris and I after his first Monster Dash! I was so proud of him!

Post Monster Dash….

OK, this is being written a day after Monster Dash. The walk and setting up went well. I was a lot more tired than I thought I would be. But I was also on my feet for over 3 hours and then did my walk. Just proud I made it without whining. Well without whining much.

Two things occurred to me while I was out there. The first was it hit me that when I was doing the “Fun Run” that I was one of only a few adults in it. Not only that, but I was the only adult that did not had a child. I will be honest, this hit me hard. Wow, I could not do the grown up walk, I had to do the kids one. But in more thinking about it, that is appropriate. As a baby, you crawl, then you learn to walk, then you learn to run. I am learning to walk all over again. I need to embrace this time as a time of learning and growing. I need to also try to be positive about it and not down on myself.

The second thing that occurred to me is that I have a great support system. My friend Karen was waiting for me to cross the finish line. She was so excited that I just did the fun walk. I was so grateful to see her smiling face as I crossed. Francesca constantly checked on me to make sure I was OK. She celebrated with me when I was done. And my friend Joanne was a constant source of support. Just wanting me to move around and not be still. Does not matter what I do, but to move. And then the dozens and dozens of FB support I continue to get every time I post. My friend Mel Mel and her husband Andy offered to be there when I walk my first 5K! We are setting that up for May 2014. The attention makes me feel like a rock star. But more importantly it makes me feel that I can continue.

I need to invest in a good pair of sneakers, so I am going to Jacksonville Running Company on Monday. I am hoping this will help with the ankle and knee pain. I need to continue. I need to keep moving. Hoping for Day 7.

Sincerely, Chris