Love and Happiness

The Beginning

I thought I'd finally get a post up about myself. What I am besides running. I expect this post to involve plenty of photos. Perhaps a chance for you to get to know who I am outside of short shorts and a tshirt...

So this about the time I decided to get my life together. Not that it was in any sort of disarray but, I was unhappy (notice blank stare and chunky face). I'll start my story here: Freshman year of college. Most people put on the Freshman 15, I put on the freshman 30. I wasn't even in the dorms, I was just lazy and too overwhelmed with life, girls and school to care about my looks. [Insert comments about over all bodily upkeep and facial hair...]

I hit an all time high of about 208lbs. I remember that I would go to the gym and lift weights and be able to bench 150. I remember thinking I wanted to hit 200 some day. I also remember that cardio was not in my regimen, errr existent in my life.  I simply didn't enjoy sweating, not as much as I do now. I remember being bigger (fat for our intensive purposes), and sweating when I slept. Ick.

This is basically the story of freshman year, cheese doodles, thinking I knew how to be an engineer, taking "hard" classes, oh hardly...developing my inner caveman. I was an odd fellow back in those days. I smoked a pipe, no seriously; I was hip before it was hip to be hip yo. I wore some serious flannel and really enjoyed bagels.

The change wouldn't hit me until Christmas of Sophomore year. I am sitting here thinking so hard about when  that change came and what caused it, what was that deciding point. When did I decided to exercise? When did i decide to become a vegetarian? Who influenced me? When? Where? Why?



The Awakening


I know when it happened, and where but the why is evading me. I decided that I was fat. That was like admitting you're an alcoholic,too food. yeah. I was never raised to eat "healthy" or even understand what that meant. I simply put food in my mouth, not thinking about what it was, or how it would make me feel or it's calorie content. ( I got big somehow, it was not due to hunger, trust me). I remember that summer before when I first started interning, I remember taking my dad's old schwinn. Check it!

Anyways, I was taking it in for a tune up, in an attempt to get healthy and try to lose some weight. Needless to say this was not my first 2 wheeled love. I had this honey too and a dirt bike. You get the idea. I loved the speed, adrenaline and fun that came along with this. It always inspired a sense of freedom and bit of care free life.

The true piece of life that caught me off guard was the fateful day with the schwinn varsity. I was taking it in for a tune up and while I was waiting for them to bring it back to me (so this was after it was tuned up). They were rolling it back, I was bored at looking at all the bikes I could never afford so I went and looked at the pamphlets. Who doesn't like pamphlets!

It was then that my life would change. I went from fat slob to iron man, runner, and beyond. OK maybe not. I picked up a pamphlet for The Shermanator Triathlon. I was intrigued. Having been a swimmer in my young years (I was like 7, rockin a speedo) [Sexy and I know Ittt...] I knew I could run, albeit slow but, I could do it. As I was looking at it, they rolled the bike back. I paid and threw it on my car. I kept the pamphlet. I took it home and put it on my desk. I left it there and looked at it every few days. I finally decided to start running, trying to run the required distance atleast once, swim the distance without stopping, and bike atleast the distance.

The concept of brick training, transition practice, and wetsuit skills were lost on me at this point. Unfortunately my debut (dehboo for those in the cycling world), was not going to be what I thought it was. I laugh now thinking back as to how badly I floundered, and how much I thought I needed and how much I over thought the whole process. Unfortunately tragedy would strike and I'd never actually make it to that first race. Ok so tragedy struck twice...ugh.

Remember that Schwinn Varsity? Remember how it worked and I could ride it. Apparently bikes and cars don't play well. Who'd have thought? I was in my neighborhood finishing a ride and a car backed out unreasonably quickly. Enough to cause some tire chatter on their part.. I was forced to lock the brakes up, in  super n00b fashion I locked up the rear end, threw it into a curb in this slow motion n00b-esque praying mantis motion. I had not heard of clip ins or the concept of cycling apparel so... I hit the curb at about 15mph tossing me onto the grass. I tacoed the wheel and bent the rear triangle. Needless to say the bike was not worth repairing. It made lawn art for about 2 days before it was picked up.

Shaken but not stirred (See what I did there :) ). I picked up the next bike in the garage. Fit and fine tuning were not in my vocabulary so I just picked up a bike I could ride. This story sucks a little more but, I'll keep it short. I was finishing a ride very close to home (again with the close to home business). I was riding down portage road right before bacon in the bike lane. I was sideswiped by a teal saturn at about 45 mph. I took off his mirror with my elbow, and he sheared the crank of the forbidden fuji. I mean clean off.

Besides a very sore elbow (OW), a broken bike, I had a mere scrape on my leg. notice the black tired rub. I didn't actually end up falling over. I had earned some bike points form the bike gods after the last joy and thrill.






 So now I'm left with no bike, and all this athletic ability, what do I do? I run the 5K instead, which was really good for me because I was able to get an idea of what not to do in a race and watch the pros do it right. It was one of the most exciting experiences of my life. Oh yeah, I won my age group at a race for the first time. Which would insert a deep seated love for the sport.

Sweet Hat  Right? GO AMERICA

Part of me regrets this photo.

From here the journey began. I'll stop here for today and continue my story some other day.