This blog asks "Can a 500 pound man train and condition to finish and compete in a 5K race?"Answer: Yes! But it didn't happen in a year, it took a couple years to complete - however it CAN happen. I am not going to let the fact that it took another year to happen to get me down. My friend Mike sent me this quote just as I was thinking about this:
"Dripping water, in time, will cut a hole through stone."
- Chinese proverb
The picture here is of the "Chazz Vader Dream Team". This trio were some of the folks who trained and committed to becoming 5K runners, and the results are evident. Go ahead and look at the picture, and notice the necks, chins and hands of these three. Sometimes it is a great motivator to look at the before and after pics, as it is easy to forget where you came from. It can help to give a good idea of where you are going.
So, the question is - where are you going? Now that the 5K season is ending for the year, the title "Fat 2 FiveK" isn't all that relevant. It is time to refocus, organize and regroup. So, with this introduction, let's begin with this weeks post:
Motivation:
St. Olaf Homecoming Weekend Theme:
"If you don't know where you're going,
any road will take you there."
(Ok, it may not have been "the theme" of the weekend, but I saw a group of student volunteers who were all wearing Homecoming T-Shirts with this saying printed on it, and a St. Olaf design above the words. Either way, it is appropriate for today's blog post.)
"If you don't know where you're going,
any road will take you there."
(Ok, it may not have been "the theme" of the weekend, but I saw a group of student volunteers who were all wearing Homecoming T-Shirts with this saying printed on it, and a St. Olaf design above the words. Either way, it is appropriate for today's blog post.)
Diary:
Last weekend, several people were asking me "what is the next challenge, and when does is start". I am so bored with running and training for the 5K, and ready to change my workout and eating routine. However, I haven't quite finished all of the written and unwritten goals for myself. I am close, but not ready to move on yet.
As I was doing some planning and prep for the next challenge - and thinking about Goal Planning, I received this email from Dr Chet (you remember him, from previous posts) about the power of planning and preparation. I laughed when I saw that Dr Chet repeats the mantra bouncing around my head this week "Nothing makes you focus better that knowing where you’re going." After reading this, I ordered my protein bars, vitamins and supplements for the next "phase"
30 Days Minus One
Dr. Chet Zelasko
I challenged you to drop some pounds and improve your habits before the holidays begin. Tomorrow is Day One and I wanted to send a special reminder to you to get ready.
- If you’re using food bars and shakes, make sure you buy them today.
- If you’re going to prepare your own shakes or bars, make sure you have the ingredients in your home.
- If you’re going to exercise, make sure you pack your gym bag today and put it in your car.
- If you’re going to workout from home, make sure you lay out your clothes today.
- If you’ll need extra time to prepare a shake or exercise before you wake up the kids or go to work, set your alarm right now.
- Finally, write down your health goals for the next 30 days and put them where you can read them several times per day.
- When the going gets tough, the tough focus. Nothing makes you focus better that knowing where you’re going.
- Sleep well tonight. Your better life has begun.
SMART Goal Setting - Fall 2007
Now that the 5K season is over, it is time to put paper to pen and record the next goals to reach.
First, write down some goals. What do you want to do in the next 30 days to 2 years? Think about it for a while. What excites you? Where do you see yourself? What do you see yourself doing? Where do you need improvements? What challenges do you have for yourself? This isn't just about health or diet and exercise, it could be other personal goals that you have.
If you have problems, just start brainstorming, writing down things that are interesting to you. Even if it is silly, or you have always felt it was un-attainable, write it down. Think about things that are beyond your reach, that may be challenging or difficult. It is ok if you think it isn't realistic, we will deal with this later. Take a few days to think about this step. It is important! Note that you can always tweak your list and add/remove things later. At this time nothing is written in stone.
Now, when you find that thing that sticks out in the list, that goal that you have been thinking and dreaming about for a while, or something that just MUST GET DONE - now it is time to move to the 2nd part of Goal Setting.
On a sheet of paper, make some columns that have the following headings: S, M, A, R, and T
Instead of just writing down a list of random wants and wishes, we are going to make SMART goals. SMART, as we have discussed before, stands for:
S = Specific
Specific is the What, Why, and How of the SMART model. In the S column, we will narrow down each of our goals to focus the steps required to achieve the goal.
- WHAT are you going to do? Use action words to describe what it is that you want to accomplish.
- WHY is this important to do? What do you want to ultimately accomplish? Specific reasons, purpose or benefits of accomplishing the goal.
- HOW are you going to do it? The methods used to get the results you are looking for. (If the goal is unique or difficult, and you don't have all of the information, then this step may require outside help. For me, I used books, doctors, nutritionists, and counselors to guide me through the "How" to lose weight piece. I thought I knew the "how", but found that I needed to lean on another person's expertise... You do not have to have all the answers, as this is part of the point of goal planning - to improve yourself - but you do need to have the plan. Don't be afraid to ask for help, it is important to get the information to complete the goal setting plan. I don't want you to fail - so having the "How" up front is important!)
- WHERE will it happen. Identify a location.
- WHEN are tasks to be completed. Establish a time frame. Even better, break it up into smaller steps - we will be discussing this concept in future weeks, but DO NOT think that you should do the entire goal in one step. Instead, break up the goal into mini-steps. The easiest way to do it is to take your long-term objective, divide it in 1/2, and this is your yearly goal! Divide that in 4 parts, and this is your 3-month milestone. Divide that into 3 parts, and this is your 1-month milestone. Divide that again into 4 parts, and this is your 1-week project. You can divide this yet again into 7 segments for daily tasks. Some goals aren't able to be split into daily tasks, some are.
- WHICH way are you going to complete your goal. Identify all your requirements and constraints. Be as specific as possible. It may seem silly to do this much planning and prep, but I will guarantee that you will follow through much easier and consistently if you are fully ready to begin before you do it.
M = Measurable
If you can't measure it, you can't manage it. You want to think about your goal using measurable progress, so you can see the change occur. How will you see when you reach your goal? Be specific! "I want to read 3 chapter books of 100 pages on my own before my birthday" shows the specific target to be measure. "I want to be a good reader" is not as measurable.
To determine if your goal is measurable, ask questions such as......How much? How many? How will I know when it is accomplished?
A = Attainable
A goal needs to stretch you slightly so you feel you can do it and it will need a real commitment from you. If your aim is to become a fighter pilot but you don't have a pilot's license, we all know that isn't achievable. But setting a goal to apply for a license, and get information about training, when you've achieved that, aiming to log some flight hours, and getting accelerated training, etc, will keep it achievable for you.
When you begin to figure out ways you can make your goals come true, tou develop the attitudes, abilities, skills, and capacity to reach them.
R = Realistic
This is not a synonym for "easy." Realistic, in this case, means "do-able." It means that the learning curve is not a vertical slope; that the skills needed to do the work are available. A realistic project may push the skills and knowledge of the people working on it but it shouldn't break them.
A goal can be both high and realistic; you are the only one who can decide just how high your goal should be. Your goal is probably realistic if you believe that it can be accomplished. Additional ways to know if your goal is realistic is to determine if you have accomplished anything similar in the past or ask yourself what conditions would have to exist to accomplish this goal.
T = Timely
Putting an end point on your goal gives you a clear target to work towards. If you don't set a time, the commitment is too vague. It tends not to happen because you feel you can start at any time. Without a time limit, there's no urgency to start taking action now.
A goal should be grounded within a time frame. With no time frame tied to it there's no sense of urgency. If you want to save money for a new car, when do you want to purchase it? "Someday" won't work. But if you anchor it within a timeframe, "by May 1st", then you've set your unconscious mind into motion to begin working on the goal. This will help to understand what needs to happen between now and then.
When I worked at a radio station, there was a lot of work that involved "back timing". At specific times every hour (the top of the hour, the 30 min point, the 20 min point, the 50 min point, etc) there were things that HAD TO HAPPEN. Every hour, exactly at the right time. These were due to ABC News sending feeds to us that had to be broadcasted at a specific time, as well as advertisements ($$) that were slated for specific times and specific places.
So, planning happened every hour, and may change on the fly. Can I play "It's Not Unusual" by Tom Jones? If the song lasts 2:49, but it is currently 2:48:15, the answer is No! You won't be able to finish the song, play a station identification, then get to the advertisement slated to run at 2:50! This measuring, counting the clock, mathematics, and creativity happened very swiftly if you were good at your job, or was a nightmare if you didn't do your homework, didn't have an idea of how the clock worked, or what songs fit with what other songs.
Goal Planning is a little like working at the radio station. Sometimes it helps to start at the GOAL, and work your way backwards to where you are right now. This will help to visualize what needs to happen to get to where you want to be. It also helps you to mentally accept the idea of what life will be like when you have completed your goal, because you have already thought about what the steps are going to be forward and back.
While you are working on your goals, I would encourage you to stay excited. Planning for some can be a drudge, especially if you are ready to "jump in". I found the following notes on another blog:
7 ways to empower you and maximize the probability of you actually accomplishing your goal:
- Be positive. Always formulate your goals in such a way that they represent what you DO want to happen. Why do you want to achieve your goals? To live healthier? Write it down.
- Set a realistic date. Be very specific as to when you want to accomplish your goal, but remain realistic. It might feel silly, but don’t give yourself slack here.
- Plan it as if you’ve accomplished it already. Make it a part of your future self.
- Be as specific and detailed as you can possibly be. The better you can describe what you want to accomplish, the better you can focus your attention on achieving what you want. “Being able to do 50 sit-ups” looks nice, but “Being able to do 50 sit-ups in 2 minutes time on 5 days every week” is much more specific.
- You need to make your goal measurable, for the simple reason that you need to be able to verify whether you’ve accomplished it.
- Make sure that you are the deciding factor in accomplishing your goals. Don’t rely on someone or something else or on a specific event to get what you want.
- Express confidence. Refrain from using “doubt-words”. Don’t try or attempt something, don’t wish, don’t aim for. These are all words that have failure built in, they keep it as a viable option. Think Yoda - "Do or Do Not - there is no Try".
So now we know the rules and have inspiration and motivation to start the next challenge, but we aren't quite ready to begin yet. In order to measure progress, I like to monitor progress so I can stay on target. If I do not have a way of charting or logging progress, it is too easy to stray off the plan and get discouraged. While I was losing 250lbs, I had a diary EVERY DAY that showed what I ate, my exercise, my water intake, my sleep, my bowel movements, EVERYTHING. Every week I had a chance to review my status, look at my progress, think about my goals, and most importantly - it gave me a chance to tweak my plan often. Was something not working? Why? What can I change? Can I try something different for a while to see if it changes my routine? This is important, very important, but if you don't record your progress you won't have any way to look back and track your progress.
I would highly encourage you to have two starting documents. 1) The goal spreadsheet that we will start below, and 2) a Diary that you update daily to track your goals. My diary is very precise, with specific information that I documented every day, but your diary doesn't need to be a chore, even if it is just a one line comment indicating what you did today to help get you to your goal.
After that explanation, here is my solution to the tracking issue. It is one example, and may be not the best for you, so do something different. It doesn't have to be complicated, but it should allow you to track what you have done, and left undone. On my spreadsheet, I have listed the SMART goal columns, and the 3-month, 1-month, and daily milestones that I must do to get to the final goal. I will fill it out for an example of what you could do.
Goal Setting Spreadsheet:
| Desired Goal | Specific | Measurable Criteria | Attainable Results | Realistic Objectives | Timely Commitments | 3 month milestone | 1 month milestone | 1 week milestone | Daily Tasks |
| Learn Adobe FrameMaker | Create a website using FrameMaker | Have a website that is publicly viewable | 5 - 6 pages of content built with FrameMaker | Yes, I have a space on the internet to host, and a computer to learn on. | Website will be up by June, 1 2008 | ?? | ?? | ?? | ?? |
| Transfer Old Home Movies to DVD | Put old 8mm movies onto computer, transfer to DVD | Produce a DVD and share with my family for them to use as they wish | Film the 8mm film using my video camera – transfer video to computer, edit and produce movie files for digital transfer | I have the instructions and a space to do it. I just need to make time to complete. | In 52 weeks | Transfer 12 films to digital | Transfer 4 films to digital | Transfer 1 film per week (1 hour average time) | ?? |
| Lose the last of my fat | Get under 15% body fat | ?? | ?? | ?? | ?? | ?? | ?? | ?? | ?? |
| Be a lean muscle stud | Lift the equivalent of the Statue of Liberty | ?? | ?? | ?? | ?? | ?? | ?? | ?? | ?? |
| Beat my own time in 5K | Run a 5K in under 32 minutes | ?? | ?? | ?? | ?? | ?? | ?? | ?? | ?? |
| Play the Accordion well | Perform 5 or 6 solos on the accordion for a critical audience | ?? | ?? | ?? | ?? | ?? | ?? | ?? | ?? |
| Study for computer-based certification | Get certification in computer | ?? | ?? | ?? | ?? | ?? | ?? | ?? | ?? |
| Interview and record my heroes for netcasts | Produce 4 interviews and post at "podbean" for public consumption | ?? | ?? | ?? | ?? | ?? | ?? | ?? | ?? |
| Have $$ to go to Spring Training in Florida | Save enough money to take a vacation to MN Twins Spring Baseball Training | ?? | ?? | ?? | ?? | ?? | ?? | ?? | ?? |
| Make a difference in lives of others | Do some volunteer or give of myself purely out of no gain for myself | ?? | ?? | ?? | ?? | ?? | ?? | ?? | ?? |
Ok, well that didn't really format very well - but you should be able to view the entire spreadsheet at this address:
http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=pd_MzRMQiFVTqkoi1n-6YHg&hl=en
As you can see, my goals are varied and some are even not so well defined. Over the next week, the tasks are to fill out this list. I will post my progress and ask for your ideas and input. I don't have all the answers yet, which is part of the excitement. Learning "how to" do something that you haven't done is the journey that can be at times fun, at times distracting, annoying, painful, exhilarating, and hopeful joyful when you get into the stride and become confident and motivated.
Final Thoughts:
During my 5K training this week, I had the following song repeating on my mp3 player. I found the lyrics to be some of the thoughts that a weight loser would have during the process:
"Too Little Too Late" by the Barenaked Ladies
You say, why does everything revolve around you?
You say, why does everything I do confound you?
You say that I pulled the world from under you,
You cant go through it this time
And I could be good, and I would - if I knew I was understood
And it'll be great, just wait - or is it too little too late?
One day, this embarrassment will fade behind me
And that day I could think of things that wont remind me
But these days its unbearable for both of us
We cant discuss it this way
I'm gaining strength, tying to learn pull my own weight
But I'm gaining pounds at the precipice of too late
Just wait
I could be good, and I would - if I knew I was understood
And it'll be great, just wait - or is it too little too late?
Record and play, after years of endless rewind
Yesterday wasn't half as tough as this time
This time isn't hell,
Last time, I couldn't tell
This mind wasn't well
Next time, hope I'm going...
...to be good, and I would - if I knew I was understood
And it'll be great, just wait - or is it too little too late?
On Saturday, I ran the "Twin Cities 5K" part of the Twin Cities Marathon, and was so glad to see my friend Memphis there at the registration table. I was calm, no pressure. The weather was light rain, but nice running weather, I think.
We started at the foot of the MN State Capital, and ran up to the Cathedral, then down Summit Ave, then turned around and ran back. It was packed - lots of runners and groups of run/walk teams. It was crowded at times, and I just felt like running until I got tired, then I would just walk the rest of it. Weird thing though, I never really got tired - and so I never stopped. My legs were comfortable, my breathing was normal, and my heart was pushing - I could feel it, but it wasn't stressed. 1 mile mark seemed to come and go very quickly. By the time I hit the 2 mile mark, I heard someone behind me say "We only have a mile, we almost have made it." About the time, my shoulders and arms seemed to get stiff. I kept running and tried to shake them to get some relief. Then we ran by the Cathedral the 2nd time, up the hill - and there were people there with cowbells ringing them - as if I was a skier at the Olympics - I felt a push and saw that it was downhill to the finish line. I just let my legs stride out and as Memphis said "let gravity do the rest of the work". It was fun at that last half-mile. My brain was gone, but my body had a runners high. I was so glad to be there. See the run and my results here:
http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/activity/4132992#
Those who looked at the link, and see the number across from "Total Time" may be confused. Yep, that was the number - 2 minutes better than my St. Olaf run. If I "Smashed" my race time in Northfield, then I must have "Demolished" it in St. Paul. Maybe I was just under no pressure, and just running - maybe I had more pressure because of the crowd, I am not sure. I was concerned that my time would be worse, due to the banning of headphones - no music allowed at this race "for the safety of the runners", whatever that means. Here are all of the result information:
- Number of finishers: 1733
- Number of males: 760
- Average time: 00:33:42
- Overall place: 964 out of 1733
- Division place: 67 out of 85
- Gender place: 548 out of 760
- Chip time : 32:49
more later,
Chazz
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1 comment:
The "Any road will take you there" quote is from the George Harrison song "Any Road" which is on his excellent final CD Brainwashed. I bet you would dig that.
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