I've set myself a goal.

18 months ago Karen and I made a major life change. We started following the south beach diet, if you don't know its no simple carbohydrates (beer, bread, sugar pasta, doughnuts, all the really good stuff), smart about fats and as many veggies as you can stuff into your mouth. In combination with Hike Club activities and camping we lost some major weight over the summer. Weight loss waned as the weather changed and then there was December or Carb-cember as we started calling it. We have been able the stay on the diet, or continue to live this new life by not punishing ourselves when we have cheat meals, or evenings, or weekends. In Carb-cember we were really bad. We didn't abandon the diet completely but there were way too many opportunities to cheat: Karen's annual cookie party, Holidays and travel, Dinner parties where i'm making Pizza ( no, you cannot have Pizza without beer). Which inevitably leads to a new years resolution to re-double our dieting efforts. Now it's February and were doing good. We had a dinner party last night where I made Beef Cheek tacos and we drank all the wine. Tortillas are off plan, but as our only major cheat so far this year were on track. I still have a great deal of weight to lose which brings me to the subject of this post.

At Hike Club we mock others on the trail. Trail runners get the most harsh criticism because if the obvious stupidity of their chosen activity. Were up there hiking and its tough, we do many miles and thousands of feet and feel it the next day. Then this ass-hat goes running by showing us all up. Mocking ensues once they are out of ear-shot. Back in October i realized i could go hiking by myself.  Which means not only do i go whenever i'm ready, i can go as fast as i want and get some good exercise. I was on top of Red Rocks on the Morrison Slide trail, half the little loop goes across a small table top; I was trying to walk fast enough to keep my heart rate up, but across this flat section i couldn't walk fast enough. Then coming down the other side a woman my age was running up the other direction. I thought to my self, if she can run up this hill, I can certainly run down it. I quickly learned i had the wrong gear for this activity, my backpack was bouncing all over. I rearranged it and strapped it all down as best i could and kept running. Slowly at first and only down hill after trying to run up a hill and almost dying (side note: how die turns into dying is why i hate writing English). I finished the last 1.5 miles running as much as i thought i could. It was actually fun. moving that fast on the trail was great, choosing my foot placement was a challenge enough to keep me from thinking about how shitty is to run. As I reached the trail head, the woman who inspired me was at the end of the trail where it narrowed to meet the road, She saw me bounding down the trail and politely waited for me to pass and cheered me on. I took that as a sign i had made the right decision.

I've been running Jeffco trails as often as i can since then. I'm still nowhere near able to run up the major hills but i keep a pace that keeps me breathing heavy. I've acquired new gear too. I got a small hydration pack for Christmas and it's very nice. It carries my water, coat, keys, and wallet very nicely; and has enough straps to keep it from bouncing. We had a pretty good snow the last few days and the gear that allowed me to run today are Yak Traxs. The weather was great. Not a cloud in the sky and no wind to speak of. 95% of the trail was packed snow, perfect for these guys. Didn't slip even once. On the steep parts i could see foot prints where people had slid, I'd put my foot right on the slip-print and run on. I'm curious to see how long they last. but for $25 they are already worth it. I also started using Run Keeper to track my exercise. The first time i finished a run it wanted me to set a goal. I've got big plans for this summer, our first 14er, more zip-lining, backpack camping. All of which are easier if i'm lighter. The zip-lining we did in Alaska last summer was simply amazing, and was a weight loss goal already that was really easy to meet. My father had hinted that my Christmas present would require me to be under 250 pounds. I told him that wasn't happening, mostly because of the short notice, cold weather and Carb-cember. But thinking about that, my birthday would be a good time frame to set that goal. So it's on. 250 lbs by April 27th. It's official, I've promised my phone that I will lose the weight, and if i disappoint my phone it may never let me google again. Better not mess this up.
Some pics from the run today: