The Current State of My Exercise Journey

Exercise

After a cruise, a move, and multiple busy life events I have been more tired the last few weeks. Unfortunately, I have started to notice my pants are fitting a little bit too tight. My shirts are similar, and the scale is reading a number that I worked so hard to drop. About this time last year, I read a number on the scale that was similar to my father while I was growing up and I just couldn’t believe it. 220 pounds. After that I started to increase my exercise amounts while also being more mindful of eating and with marathon training, I was able to drop 24 pounds to 196 at my lowest in a couple of years. The holidays hit and the number started to increase, the marathon happened, and I had no reason to train anymore. I have since continued to gain weight and now weigh almost 210 pounds. Like I said, the stomach has been able to show that significantly.

How can I get back on track? I noticed with a goal I was able to remain consistent no matter what. Each week I would run a long run on top of one to two shorter runs during the week. With how slow I was running it would take a big chunk out of my day, but I want to know if I could push myself to go quicker. I planned on taking a year off of training, but I feel like I’m losing a chunk of my life not doing it. Running was one of the most peaceful activities I have done. A way to enter a state of peace all while working towards a goal and staying in shape. It is pretty much guaranteed that I will do the run in 2027 where I am hoping I can run at a four-hour pace. A huge goal to cut my time in half from my first marathon. The training was fun watching myself improve and the final mile was an emotional one for me. All my hard work compiling into this huge moment of completing a goal. If I shave time to a 10-minute mile pace I could spend much less time training. I might even just try and do a full marathon elsewhere. A race an hour away is $138 to participate. Maybe I give that one a try. My family won’t be there so that will be hard to see but I just NEED the goal to really spark a fire in me.

I am mulling my options over. Seeing which one could be the best for me. I really like the one in November, it is six months away. A perfect time to start training for time improvement.

In other activities I am now 15 minutes away from pickleball courts to start going to it again. This was always one of my favorite things to do but I just haven’t started it back up again. I am going to start soon. Hopefully tonight but right now I am so tired that I don’t think it is probable tonight. Even my brain is a bit all over the place today, while I am writing this.

Bike rides can also be on the horizon with how many parks and trails we have close to us. It is going to be so much fun to explore the different exercise options.

Golf is already an option, once every other week and that has been fun to explore. It gives me some outdoor time and steps in while improving at a task. I am still running through the possibilities and maybe just need some time to step away and really think about what I should do. A pickleball tournament is also a goal of mine and training for a marathon plus a pickleball tournament doesn’t seem fun. A great way to push myself but difficult to pull off. I already have so many things on my plate it doesn’t seem ideal to add anything else.

So, the plan is to work on marathon training to lose some weight before pickleball tournament training. This will allow me to always have something to train for. Always be maintaining great shape and improve in life. Furthermore, I am planning on going to pickleball tonight and also making a small little pickleball training area in my garage. To shadow pickle ball. How high is the pickleball net. How far away is the kitchen line from the net and work on my dinks. The kitchen is 7 feet long and the net is 34 inches in the middle or 3 feet on the sides. That I can work on.   

I am asking a few of my buddies to do a marathon with me to try and get a bunch of people to do it so I’m not alone while I run. I’m excited for this chapter to begin. The running chapter took way too long to start but I enjoyed it so much I can’t just give up on it. It is a wonderful hobby to have. A great way to lose some pounds while doing something fun and pushing yourself.

I decided against the marathon after having some thought. The commitment for ramping up your mile time, and mile number it just took too much out of my day. One day on the weekend would be dedicated to long runs and then the day after would be dedicated to recovery and rest. This made me miss a couple of events but not too many. The amount of clear headiness I got after long periods of running made it all worth it. Also, a nice cheat meal could happen immediately after. I could eat anything I wanted after burning thousands of calories per run sometimes. I will be picking this back up for a marathon in 2027.

The path I am taking instead is improving in the pickleball world. I wanted to do a tournament earlier in the year but after being torn up in several games in a row on the “competitive” side of the court I decided to give that up for a while. My logistics also weren’t great as I needed to drive 45 minutes each way just to go play. Now, I am about 15-20 minutes away and I even get to work on swings in my garage which have translated on a few shots. Yesterday was the first day I moved over to the other side again and I was able to hold my own. Won one lost one but brought it down to the wire in the second game. I could feel slight improvement as I have started to get back to where I used to be.

There was a setback in addition to my skill level. My conditioning. It is no secret that I have put on several pounds over the last few years. When I moved four years ago, around this same time, I was 170 pounds. Since then, I ballooned up to 220 at my highest. Lost 25 to get to 195 for my marathon and went up to 212 in the months after. I weighed myself this morning and I was 206. Once again on the weight loss journey and it seems like I will be hovering in the 190-215 range with my exercise levels. 220 was my largest from years of sitting on the couch and sitting at work for over a year, all while eating like crap. I have added almost 10,000 steps per day to my daily routine. I was at 5,000-6,000 for a little close to a year which added the pounds. I made a change in June or July of last year where I started adding steps which made me start to shed some of that weight. My mental health issues stopped too.

My exercise journey has had ups and downs. Some weeks I feel good about myself, exercising in my own time, and walking at work. It has become a habit now where it is part of my daily routine. If I don’t get the activity in, I can start to feel a difference in life. I get a lot more negative, which includes towards myself with inner talk and even outwardly towards the world. A complete negative view if exercise isn’t put in. I feel strong about the direction I am going but life has ups and downs and THINGS that can pop up and take you on a different path. Pickleball, golf, running, and walking have been staples of my life lately. I do plan on adding some weight training eventually but right now I feel strong. Losing weight, taking care of my life.