Just a brief note to say that I am still in the game! These last three weeks I have been completely outside my comfort zone. I figured out that I spent 11 days out of town out of 20.
I haven't made a Weight Watchers Meeting in that time... I haven't tracked on a daily basis what I have been eating.... I haven't exercised...except for walking the Bunny 5 K. Which was FUN! I haven't prepared myself everyday to do and eat the things I should... Result is that in the last five weeks I have gained 4.6 pounds. Good News? Yes there is good news. I am back on track, weighed in yesterday and have gotten back into doing the things I know I need to do to get healthier. Good News! Yes I am aware...You see when you have lost as much weight as I have in my life time and then gain in all back. There was a complete disconnect....I was never really aware that I was gaining all the weight back until it was too late. Today I know exactly how much weight I have gained and why. That is Good News! There were a lot of lessons learned this last week and I intend to write about all of them....
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 It has been a week and I think I can finally wrap my mind around the whole thing.
I need to start by thanking a bunch of people…first no doubt about it is my Wife Michele. That is true about so many things in my life. She makes a difference in every way. Next our KIDS…. (By age) Jennifer, Jo-anna and James. James again because he has worked so hard to make the ATX100 Group a success. Speaking of the ATX100 group…Thanks to Brenda for telling me after the Reindeer Run 5K that I could do it, I could walk the Capital 10K. And to Mark and Wilma for walking with us on that hot spring day. And so many more of you that it is hard to include all the well wishes. It sounds like I just won an Academy Award and that was my acceptance speech. Prior to race day I had walked the 10K distance and this particular route 5 times before, all in an attempt to prepare. I woke up Sunday morning and told Michele I was going to make in less than two hours. My previous best was 2:09 and my worst 2:30. I did a lot of things wrong. Here is the check list. 1.) Don’t drink alcohol 24 hrs prior-3 glasses of wine with dinner the night before. 2.) I wasn’t ready for the crowd and standing around for 1½ hours before the race-my back was killing me before I ever started. 3.) Pace yourself-I took off like a shot (FOR ME A SHOT) walked my fastest 1K, 2K and 2½ K-then whoops I started slowing down. 4.) Hydrate-see previous note about alcohol plus not enough fluids to start-Where the hell is the next water station? What started out as a quest to be under 2 hours-turned into beating my previous best- turned into just surviving? Mark was grabbing two water cups at each stop just to keep me going. At the 5K I was exactly 60 minutes. Oh well there goes my best time. At 7.5 K I was thinking I just want to beat my worst time. At 8.0 K my therapist was waiting and congratulated me while he walked with me for a block. (I know, but it is true. It sounds a little Woody Allen like!) At 8.5 K Mark is telling me not to be a hero and get some help. But at 9.5 K, when the man at the water station said “O.M.G. are you alright? Here sit down. There is the EMS cart let me get you some help.” Damn that was cold! I finished….not my fastest, not my worst, not last and I stayed ahead of the traffic control guys picking up cones. As I sat on the rock wall after the race I was drinking bottle after bottle of water and saying I should have done better. After listening to me whine for 20 minutes Mark asked me “What was your time last year in the Capital 10K?” I didn’t walk the Cap 10K last years! “Exactly!” Five years ago I finished walking in the Turkey Trot 5 Mile to raise money for a charity. When I crossed the finish line, I walked over to a rock wall and sat down. Four years I sat on that rock wall and didn’t exercise. I finished the Capital 10 K walked over and sat down on another rock wall. Thirty minutes later and four bottles of water, I got up and said… ”What’s next?” My life’s journey continues…see you on the trail. |
Joe Bacon
Happily Married to Michele and living in central Texas. Archives
May 2020
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