Monday, June 30, 2008

Stay Motivated

So my resolution this year was to stay motivated. And I guess since the year is half over, time to review how that has gone. In some things I have definitely done so, and in others, not so much. My main goal this year was to buy a condo in downtown Minny. Well that is definitely out the window now. My other goal was to upgrade to captain at Pinnacle. Yeah, don't work there anymore. Blessing, I know.

But one of my goals was to really manage my weight. Not just lose the weight I had put on, but manage it through proper eating, exercise, and whatnot. I began the month of January just starting to date Theresa and since she is like Ms. Super Athlete I wanted to be in shape for her so she wouldn't dump my fat ass. Couple that with a trip to Hawaii where we were competing against each other for the best beach bod and the month of January turned out pretty good for me.

In February and March I really began to see change, and have other people notice the change as well. Gray pointed out that I was now ripped, my mom said I needed to gain weight, and Theresa was very proud of me. I was even talking about doing a tri in 2009. I can attribute most of it to hard work and cutting out the booze. I also ran my first 5K, which was huge for me.

Late April saw a setback. With the job situation and having me feeling like I just got fucked in the ass, I slid a bit. My exercise was lacking and my eating tuned to hell. I noticed that I could not see the outline of my stomach muscles anymore and I definitely had a gut going again. Sure, my arms were ripped and my legs looked good, but what use did it have? I was depressed, stressed, and sad.

However, things turned around pretty quickly. I got hired by a new airline and immediately felt better about myself. I began working hard again at the gym and in my workouts. My running has improved steadily, my cycling, which sucked wrinkly ball sack at first, is getting better, and I still feel like a natural in the pool. Last week, I looked at myself in the mirror and noticed my stomach muscles again. Honestly, today, I feel the best I have felt since high school. It's weird, but awesome at the same time.

I am still motivated to do better in my 5K's this summer, still motivated to maintain my weight, and motivated to begin my triathalon training for next year. I went to the gym tonight with the girlfriend to lift some weights. We hit a little of everything. Leg presses, calf raises, her situp dealies, planks, shoulder presses, and curls.

I have to stay motivated for ground school as well. But with my brain feeling better than it has in a long time, I think I will do well for the rest of the year in terms of my motivation goal.

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