Well our first session with Paul was amazing! He kicked the crap out of us in about 40 minutes! I weighed in at 254lbs with all my clothes on....pretty much what I was expecting.
Paul had us do a series of exercises from jumping jack to push up to squats. We also had to do various moves with a 15lb sand bag (easy at first....very hard later!) as well as planks. Great short work out. This is going to be a great experience.
He wants us at his one hour boot camp 3 - 4 times per week. It will take some scheduling magic but I should be able to swing it as well as keep my marathon training and morning swims intact.
WELL I DON'T REALLY THINK OF MYSELF IN THOSE TERMS....HOWEVER!
So the other day a friend of mine makes the comment that he and 4 of his co-workers were doing this contest put on by Hot 103 called Winnipeg's Biggest Loser. He mentioned that one of their guys may not want to do it. I chirped up and said let me know if he bails on you.
So I get the call today....I'm in! I really want to lose more weight....BUT, I want to do it in a safe way. I have had a "ton" of weight loss experience and I know how to properly do it. Anyways, here's the deal.
We get a FREE 3 month membership to a gym called The Brickhouse complete with a personal trainer!
Since Christmas I have lost 8 pounds by watching what I eat and running more. This will continue as I start a more "rounded" workout program!
Watch for weekly/daily updates....the official weigh in is this Saturday. I currently sit at 249.
As a person who runs, cycles and swims....alot....I have ample time to mull things over. One of the ongoing issues that I debate internally is motivation. Many people ask "what is your motivation for doing X"...or "wow, are you ever motivated". But what does that mean? What exactly is motivation? By definition: Motivation is the activation or energization of goal-oriented behavior. It can be either intrinsic or extrinsic....Well that's a good start, but what is it that motivates me?
Does the thought of a medal and a hat at the end of a race form to provide enough of a reward to call myself extrinsically motivated to complete all the training required to get that swag? Hardly! Do I train like a madman for a determined goal race because it makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside? No. Truth be told, I really only enjoy riding my bike and longer runs. I find that the smaller 3-8km runs boring and an annoying necessary evil. (it can take more time to prepare for the run that the run itself takes!) On longer runs 15km+ I kind of fall into a trance like state...I find it very relaxing. not to mention once you're done the endorphin rush is great!
Swimming,,,,well what is my motivation to swim? Clearly if you know me it is so that I can call myself a triathlete! Swimming is a ritual I do a few times a week just to keep the skill up and hopefully improve. If I were anywhere near serious about the sport I would have a coach and join a masters swim club. Otherwise what I do is equal to (to steal a quote I heard the other day and think it's very appropriate....) rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic! I am not very graceful in the water, nor am I very confident. My motivation is to get me through a certain distance....not fast, not technically perfect, just alive!
Riding my bike that's a different thing all together. It's a means to an end, it's cheap clean transportation. The fact that it's good exercise is just a nice bonus.
I have come to realize that much of my exercise is motivated by an inner drive to be accepted or validated. I think that when I was a golf professional people really like to talk to me because, well I was a golf professional. I was very good at something that is perceived as "cool" in some circles. When I decided to leave that life, I needed something to replace that. I have really noticed that in social settings when meeting new people (which I enjoy!) when asked what you do for a living the reply Education Assistant and Golf Professional elicit very different responses! Now a days the conversations I have with new acquaintances and old friends take on a different form. Of course with those who have known me for quite sometime, the conversation is all about training and racing....were as it used to revolve around golf. At times I will meet up with old friends who are still perceiving me as a golf professional and, of course after they stop marveling about how different I look they will want to talk golf with me. They are amazed to find that I may only play a few times a year and no longer play tournaments. They ask me what is wrong and how could that have happened. My short answer is "I have other interests now!" That is usually enough to get them to move onto talking about the weather. Luckily, I am a skilled enough conversationalist that I can switch the flow of banter around to their situation and take the spot light off myself. I do have an inner need to be liked by those around me and those new to me. I think that by replacing one interresting fact about myself (golf professional) with another interesting fact (endurance athlete) I am able to in some way validate myself as a worthy and interesting person to know.
Career motivation....wow, do I struggle with this one! In true Gemini form I have no clue what I want to do! Even as a golf professional in my 14 years in the business I worked at 7 different facilities all by choice. It's true I need variety to keep me stimulated. If it's too mundane I start to look around. These days once I think I have my career path figured out, wait for ten minutes because it will change! I'm just a big kid trying to figure out what I want to be when I grow up. God bless my wife....she has the patience of a saint!
Big picture....I am a very happy and positive person 99.9% of the time. But, at times I will really struggle with that big old existential question. I worry that I am not doing what I am "suppose" to be doing in life. I think that stems from a financial point of view. I am a very luck person in that I have an immensely supportive spouse. There is no pressure on me to get out and find a better pay check or to climb the corporate ladder so to speak. We live a very comfortable upper middle class lifestyle. We have everything we need/want but still I look at some of my peers and see what they have achieved and that really gets me thinking what is wrong with me....I don't have a great career. The past 2 years I have had a very difficult time deciding what path to take next. At times I can truly say I pine over it. When I fall into the doldrums...my rational is that maybe my in life mission is to be a good role model for all those I touch. It's very important to be a committed husband, it's very important to be there for your child - at all times, it's very important to listen to those who need to talk, it's very important to do the small things that pave the way for others to do the bigger things.
Leading by example is such a cliche, but I think that it pretty much sums up what I'm all about these days. I am slowly coming to terms with the fact that this is not a good way to get rich. Who wants to be rich anyway, you have to pay way more taxes!
Well I have decided that I will race Ironman Wisconsin in 2011. Logistically it works out for us. So what does that mean? I need to:
-lose 40 more pounds -ride my bike more -learn to swim with out buffing my toe nails on the bottom of the pool -learn to run a marathon properly -mentally prepare for the distance -STAY HEALTHY!
Once that is done I'll be fine! Actually the weight lose will make all the above that much easier. I know how to lose weight....that's not the issue. I think for me the swimming will be the hardest part of this journey.
For those who don't know what this triathlon stuff is all about here is a quick guide!
Sprint distance Swim 750 meters Bike 20 km Run 5 km
Olympic Distance Swim 1500 meters Bike 40 km Run 10 km
1/2 Ironman Swim 1900 meters (basically 2km) Bike 90 km Run 21.1 km (1/2 marathon)
Ironman Swim 3800 meters (approx. 4 km) Bike 180 km Run 42.2 km (a full marathon)
Big breath!
The short distances are easy....when you get into the longer courses like the 1/2 and full Ironman not only is it important to be in excellent physical condition, you must also be mentally prepared. The belief that you can finish is the most important thing!
Well today got off to a mediocre start. It was a swim day for me (I swim Tuesdays, Thursdays & Saturdays) First off, I struggled to get to the pool on time....I was 5 minutes late. Then I had to share my lane with a guy who was very fast...that was demoralizing! It makes you feel like you are swimming in concrete....very thick concrete. On a brighter note I will be commuting to work all week on the bike.
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Scott Chudley – My Story
One day in September of 2005 I weighed myself and I was absolutely mortified at what the scale said...296lbs!! I knew I was up there because I had to wear XXL shirts, the only pants that fit were size 42’s. I was working long hours over the summer as a golf professional and sat around in the winter. My eating habits were not very good, if I wanted something I had it...regardless of what it was. Our son was 3 ½ years old at the time. One day as I picked him up from daycare he asked me why I was fat. What a hit of reality, something needed to change.
This is pretty much what I looked like in 2005 at my heaviest! (Just about 300lbs!)
We have a neighbour who is a runner...I secretly envied him and his dedication. I decided to join a learn to run clinic at my local Running Room (Pembina). 10 weeks later I was a runner...sort of! I had met some nice people through the clinic and one fellow asked me if I’d like to join him as a 2 person relay team in the 2005 Winnipeg Police Service ½ Marathon. I said sure and I immediately signed up for a 10k clinic. I dropped out of it about mid way through. I was having trouble getting my butt off the couch to do my training runs (it was winter after all, nobody runs in winter, RIGHT?). I gave up on the clinic, I gave up on the race, I hung my partner out to dry and I gave up on myself. I felt ashamed of myself. (He ended up finding a new partner and doing the race)
One year later (2006) while at a Christmas dinner my sister in law (who had recently taken up running herself) challenged me to run a half marathon with her (ironically, it would be the Winnipeg Police Service ½ Marathon!) full of turkey and red wine, I said: “sure, no problem”! I had 4 months to get ready, my wife reminded me daily that I had made a promise to run with her sister and that I had better not back out...like before.....Oh crap, I had no choice!
I decided that I could do the race...I trained my butt off using what I had learned through my learn to run clinic. I persevered through snow storms, ice storms, minus 40 degree temperatures and I ran the ½ marathon in April. I ran it in 2:22:02. I was now a runner and I was hooked. Aside from our son being born and our wedding day, this was probably the proudest I’ve ever been of myself.
I had always watched the Ironman World Championships (KONA!) on TV and would get very moved by it. I loved watching the pros, but more so I marvelled at the determination that the amateurs displayed. The dedication and passion to cross a finish line is something that at the time seemed totally beyond any explanation. I wanted to become a triathlete...just one problem, I don’t swim very well. (A problem I have now come to know that many aspiring triathlete’s have!) I investigated my local triathlon association website and found a thing called a duathlon...no swimming, cool! I signed up for every single one I could that summer. I borrowed a buddy’s old Cannondale road bike and I ended up doing 7 duathlons. I decided to do another ½ marathon bettering my first ½ mary time by a full 10 minutes! I began to cycle commute to work every day (36km round trip)...I found it easy to get my bike training in this way. Two birds with one stone, not bad! Not long after that I had bought a mountain bike to commute on and a triathlon bike of my own.
My life was changing, I had way more energy and my weight was down to 225lbs for the first time in...well, truthfully I have no clue the last time I was in the 220’s! My body shape had drastically changed; I could even see my toes! My knees and body no longer ached in the morning like it used to, or at least when I was sore I attributed it to my training now! I was looking at making a career change and I began working part time at the Running Room that originally had empowered me to begin this physical fitness journey. I found the energy to return to school and did exceptionally well in my course (4.25 GPA).
It was now the fall of 2007, the next goal was to learn how to swim. I signed up for an adult stroke development class at the University of Manitoba. It was enough to get me swimming properly...not perfect but not sinking! I signed up for my first official triathlon the 2008 Thief River Falls sprint triathlon. It had a pool swim; the open water terrified me at this point- far too many critters! I finished in 1:35. I did a few early season duathlons (OWS is too cold early in the season around here). I also decided to run my first full marathon and I took a leap of faith and signed up for our local ½ Ironman! Go big or go home! I even bought my own wet suit.
Up first was the Manitoba Marathon. I trained like a man possessed, only to cramp up at mile six. I had a goal time of 4:30...I limped home in 5:30. I had never been so disappointed in my entire life. Such a huge effort and accomplishment but all it gave me was sorrow...and a sore calf! I was ready to strangle the next person who said: “hey, at least you finished!” Yah, I finished I never gave up on it...the old me would have given up. I decided to focus on the ½ Ironman.
The morning of the ½ Ironman came and I was focused and ready...mentally and physically. My goal time was 7:30. However, Mother Nature decided to throw everyone a little test! The temp had dropped to the mid teens, we had winds blowing 50km/h with 70km/h gusts...it was gut check time. There were white caps on the lake...I saw a couple of buddies who pulled out during and after their swims. I saw many people pull out while on the bike course. I came to finish a race and I did not once give into the little voice that says: “you don’t need this, you don’t belong here, and this is too tough...nobody will fault you if you give up.” Thing is I don’t give up now! I finished it in 8:30. Nowhere near my goal time, but I finished in what was the worst conditions anyone has seen in this event.
I am not the fastest athlete, I am not the most talented or gifted athlete, I will not ever set any course records, I will not ever win any age group category races...what I will do is NEVER GIVE UP, EVER!
