Goals for this year

I want to keep my fitness goals simple this year. All geared towards getting me closer towards the 4 hour marathon:

1. Reduce weight by 20 lbs
2. Get bodyfat to 11%
3. Run a half marathon in under 2 hrs
4. Complete a marathon
5 Not miss logging training and diet for more than 2 consecutive days

The rest of them all are not fitness related so i thought i shoudl leave them out. I will plan my next 1 year ahead and set it rolling.

Easy run

Had a good run across necklace road. I am tracking some of this using runkeeper. Its a nice iPhone app actually. The good thing about this app is that it integrates with iPod which means that i get to listen to music while i run.

I also like the fact that it uploads all the data to their hosted platform at runkeeper.com. Awesome really. Wonder how others track their training.

So here is my easy run - http://bit.ly/8wALO3

Fat Man runs..and pigs fly...

I was a fat guy - weighed nearly 200lbs with a body fat of about 32%. I wasnt obese (or thats what i would like to believe), but overweight. Obese, overweight, fat, thin - are all in the mind. Till this point i never thought i was obese, funnily in my case it seemed as if i stopped growing at 21. But then, i knew. In my mind i was fat and thats what counted. Inadequate sleep and bad food is a disaster 'weighting' to happen. And it happened. The worst part about being fat (apart from the fact that everyone gives you those strange looks) is that your triglycerides, cholestrol and all of those gory things that you never thought of monitoring, go through the roof.

The second thing about being fat is that it is a SFP. You are fat, hence you dont play, your knees hurt if you run. And if you dont workout you grow fatter. It is no wonder that most of us give up... Come new year eve, we all pick up resolutions.

Then a bet with my cousin got me started last year. The goal was to lose about 20lbs in 3 months. I tried running on the threadmill, at 7 km per hour i could run no more than 2-3 minutes at any time. It was miserable. Perhaps it was just not possible, maybe i signed up for something that was just not feasible. And then funnily most people around you talk of the horrors of exercise (yes!) and eating less - it is usually those who are overweight who dish out such advice. I stuck on...

I studied enough about nutrition and exercise. I decided it was now or never. By the end of 3 months i got myself to 177 lbs. There were 3 simple rules i followed:

1. Calculated my BMR, figured out what my total calorie deficit needed to be. 3500 calories = 1 pound of fat and i had to lose 1.5 pounds a week- a calorie deficit of 1000 calories was needed

2. Used livestrong.com and logged everything i ate. This was the tough part and required enormous discipline. I wanted 500 calorie deficit through lower food intake

3. Ensured that i worked out 5 days a week for 1 hour (if not a workout it would be a playing a sport)

And the results came-it was as simple as that. The key is to ensure that you are regular and disciplened.

After the weight loss, i slackened. I was still overweight, my bodyfat reads 24% - i needed to do something about this. 3 months ago i thought maybe i should start running. Truth be told i never ran, ever - no not even during my school days. i hated the very idea. Whenever i used to read of runners "high" i used to think that runners are different tribe-a tribe that inflicts extreme self-pain and then derives a "high" from this pain. I could never understand why someone would run for the sake of running. Around 3 months ago, i had another colleague of mine who challenged me and part of that challenge was that i needed to complete a half marathon by December 31st 2009.

About 2 months back i started training. I have been using Jeff Galloway, walk run method.. I started running and my first race (run/walk is more appropriate but just feels good) was a 10km run. I finished it in 62 minutes. It felt great.

Now i am unto the ultimate challenge(atleast for me-considering my low fitness and lack of . a marathon AND finish it under4 hrs 10 min. I know my first marathon wont be anywhere close but i am going try. This blog will chronicle my journey to two goals:

1. Get to 155-160 lbs from current 177 lbs

2. Complete a marathon under 4 hours 10 minutes...