Just Another Reason Why Running is About Community!

This is a great video I found from RunKeeper. It is their look back to 2013 in mileage and exercise. How was your 2013? Mine was GREAT!

If you want to read the article click here and check out their video or just check it out below.

Halfway to Got Chocolate Milk Team Refuel

My quest to become the next member of Got Chocolate Milk Team Refuel is just halfway over and voting participation is more important than ever! DON'T FORGET! You are allowed to vote once per day! This sponsorship is something that I have been looking forward to since I started getting back into exercise almost 2 years ago.

I feel like it will be a gateway to bigger and better things in either the exercise world or in the journalism/photography world or both! I am also very excited to become a member of the team because of the benefits. If you were unaware, races cost to enter. The bigger the race, the more money it costs to enter into the race. If the race is in another state, such as runDisney races are, there are travel fees included. Well, with this sponsorship I am awarded Rockn'Roll and Ironman race entry for free. This is huge as these are rather expensive races to enter.

So you can help me become apart of this team and reap the benefits that this sponsorship has to offer. The way you can help is vote! Vote daily!

From NOW until Feb 7th vote! You can also share my blog posts and Facebook posts with friends, this would help me to get the word out. Please help me to win this sponsorship and become the next member of Got Chocolate Milk Team Refuel!

To vote click on the photos below or the link in the header above!

Photo screen shot of the gotchocolatemilk.com website.

Photo screen shot of the gotchocolatemilk.com website.

Training Update: 1/5/14

Greetings from the snowy midwest and Happy New Year!. So far we have about 9 inches of snow and it's still coming down as of about 4pm STL time. The only problem with snow is that it can inhibit a training schedule. Of course that's not the only thing that can inhibit a training schedule. Vacation, sickness, holidays, weather all these can inhibit a training schedule and guess what? I've had all of them in the last month and getting back on track is like trying to move a two ton truck with your pinky finger.

The second week of December I was gone for work at a conference in Orlando, FL. I didn't get a chance to work out at all while I was at the conference because I was gone from 6-8am through 5pm at the conference then dinner, etc. By the time I got back to the hotel, I was so tired that I would fall asleep before I could get a chance to work out. I did however walk no less than 3.5 miles per day. I used my wife's pedometer and clocked how far I walked at the conference and when we went to some of the parks on our off days. As good as it was to walk so much, not working out and eating out EVERY day was not the best for my weightloss and diet.

To make matters worse, I caught something in Florida that lasted about 2 weeks. By mid week of the conference I was in the beginning stages of an upper respiratory infection and by the time I got home, it was full blown yuck. I had no sick days left at my job so I had to go into work, which makes getting better all that much harder. Obviously working out is rather difficult while nursing an infection and not being able to breathe. So I found myself further derailed.

That brings us to Christmas week. We all know how much food there is during the holidays and I mean good food too. This never helps training or a diet. I know that many, many of us get off track at Christmas time and during the holidays but getting back on track can be easier with just the holiday eating issues rather than the rest of it where you have sickness AND holiday cooking. So in typical Christmas spirit, I went over board. I think I gained a total of 5 pounds during all of this mess, but I haven't really wanted to get on the scale to get a true weight. I cheated and weighed myself at night, so I don't know what my actual weight is.

So now I'm tasked with getting back on the horse. My goal still remains that I want to be at the weight I was for my wedding last year at my one year anniversary this year. I'm not going to lie, it is going to take some work and didication, but I believe this part is the hardest. Getting moving and getting into a routine is usually my biggest challenge. I face laziness and fear of pain and pretty much working out all together. The interesting thing about this is once I get started and down into a routine I really do want to work out and actually look forward to it.

So for right now I am just going to continue fighting through the apathy and kick my own butt.

Don't forget to vote if you haven't yet today for me as a member of Got Chocolate Milk's Team Refuel! Click Here to Vote

Thanks to those who've voted and keep voting every day!

I think I'm still in shock! I'm a FINALIST

Ever have that moment where someone tells you something and you about fall out of your chair because you cannot believe what they are telling you. It's not a bad thing, it's actually a good thing. Well, I had one of those moments today. If you read my last post, you'll know that I applied for the Got Chocolate Milk Team Refuel Sponsorship and was sent an email that told me I didn't get in as a finalist. Today I got an email telling me that I was a FINALLIST in the January 2014 voting period. OH MY GOSH!!!! I thought I was going to fall out of my chair. Such cool news!

I made the video and by the grace of God got this far, now I need your help to get the rest of the way. From now until February 7th I need to rally as many votes as possible. This is where you come in. If you go to gotchocolatemilk.com you can vote for me and help me WIN. If I win, I get a full $300 worth of training gear and $500 toward future races and training stuff. Anyone who has done races knows how expensive they are and how much it costs for gear too.

This is a great opportunity that I really want to win so help me do so!!! Vote every day and don't forget that voting will donate $1 (not your dollar, chocolate milk's dollar) to challenged athletes.