so proud of you! You inspire me.. I have so many of the same struggles and fears and dread that you do. I am hoping for a successful year to get to the gym and get going FAITHFULLY this time without fail. Its just that first step which is scariest, because if you take it and don't continue, you fail. I fear failure. Crazy but true.. Anyway keep up the excellent work Chris...
Thanks Mechele. Good to hear from you. I'm glad that you're going to make a start too. Just earlier today I rediscovered a great quote: "The brick walls are not there to keep us out; the brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something".
That was from a computer science professor at Carnegie Mellon University named Randy Pausch, who gave a famous lecture in 2007 called "Last Lecture: Achieving Your Childhood Dreams". It was called Last Lecture because Randy had pancreatic cancer and he knew he was going to die soon. You can see the YouTube video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ji5_MqicxSo. Almost 18 million other people have watched it (have your Kleenex handy - it's emotional stuff).
Hi Mary. Thanks for the comment. I have always wanted to see Crater Lake in southern Oregon. The Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) goes almost right by there. I can kill two birds with one stone. The terrain isn't too mountainous, the weather should be okay at the end of May (snow on the ground at very high elevations but none falling) and it's a well established scenic trail with lots of documented tips on what to see and how to survive walking in the wilderness there. My daughter and I will be arriving in Klamath Falls, then getting ourselves to Fish Lake/OR140 to join the trail. We'll walk north, take in Crater Lake, then head to Chemult to catch the train home a week later. You can read more details (always being updated) at http://www.ergoob.org/pct2016 , including a list of gear and a schedule.
January 01, 2016
I was talking to my friend Jerri this morning about people taking care of their health. Without our good health, we have nothing. It's even more important than taking care of our kids (or, at least, it should be), and more important than our husbands/wives/girlfriends/boyfriends/significant others. It's too easy for us to sacrifice our own good health for the approval and well-being of others. But, if we're sick (or even just sicker than we could be) then we are doing them, and certainly ourselves, a dis-service.
Despite living in Montana on and off for almost 20 years now, I've never been a fan of the snow and ice and freezing cold temperature. These sustained periods of below-freezing daytime temperatures, with nighttime lows down to 0 °F (-18 °C - yes, that's MINUS eighteen Celsius!) are no fun.
Given my dislike of the cold and snow, plus my general state of physical fitness (i.e. my lack thereof), I've never tried - nor can I currently imagine enjoying - Nordic or cross country skiing. So, my aim for the end of 2016 (when I'm much fitter, and after the summer [when there's more snow back on the ground]) is to try cross country skiing to see if I like it. By then, I will have completed my 100-mile Pacific Crest Trail section hike (at the end of May). I should also be a lot closer to weighing only 200 pounds (90 kg), and my strength and stamina will be such that I can actually ski for 10 miles or more within collapsing from exhaustion. Maybe, in those new circumstances, just maybe I'll actually enjoy the snow for a change.
[Image]
338 lbs (153.3 kg) this morning
On a separate note, I'm happy to report that the holiday season, from Thanksgiving (349 lb) until Christmas (338 lb) saw my weight loss journey continue, with no major upsets. Eleven pounds in a month isn't bad. At my weigh-in this morning, I tipped the scales at 338 pounds even.
"Trying to like the snow - never say never"
4 Comments -
so proud of you! You inspire me.. I have so many of the same struggles and fears and dread that you do. I am hoping for a successful year to get to the gym and get going FAITHFULLY this time without fail. Its just that first step which is scariest, because if you take it and don't continue, you fail. I fear failure. Crazy but true.. Anyway keep up the excellent work Chris...
Mechele
December 28, 2015
Thanks Mechele. Good to hear from you. I'm glad that you're going to make a start too. Just earlier today I rediscovered a great quote: "The brick walls are not there to keep us out; the brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something".
That was from a computer science professor at Carnegie Mellon University named Randy Pausch, who gave a famous lecture in 2007 called "Last Lecture: Achieving Your Childhood Dreams". It was called Last Lecture because Randy had pancreatic cancer and he knew he was going to die soon. You can see the YouTube video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ji5_MqicxSo. Almost 18 million other people have watched it (have your Kleenex handy - it's emotional stuff).
Call me when you have a few moments. -- Chris
December 28, 2015
What section of the PCT are you doing? I've been sectioning it for a couple years now.
January 01, 2016
Hi Mary. Thanks for the comment. I have always wanted to see Crater Lake in southern Oregon. The Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) goes almost right by there. I can kill two birds with one stone. The terrain isn't too mountainous, the weather should be okay at the end of May (snow on the ground at very high elevations but none falling) and it's a well established scenic trail with lots of documented tips on what to see and how to survive walking in the wilderness there. My daughter and I will be arriving in Klamath Falls, then getting ourselves to Fish Lake/OR140 to join the trail. We'll walk north, take in Crater Lake, then head to Chemult to catch the train home a week later. You can read more details (always being updated) at http://www.ergoob.org/pct2016 , including a list of gear and a schedule.
January 01, 2016