Are you fit for duty?

Date: January 25, 2011

To:  All with proper clearance

From: TeamBoyd Commander

Subject: Special Ops – Fitness Check

Okay, so TeamBoyd has posted a few training runs, and we are waiting anxiously for spring to get here so we can hit the mountains / lakes / streams.  Cole doesn't know it yet, but his first BB gun will be bestowed upon him during our inaugural camp out this year.  This will begin his education and training with guns, and even though Mom is still trying to come to grips with this fact, time marches on.  Cole may never be a hunter, and even though most don't believe me when I say it, I really would be fine with that.  If hunting is not my boys' passion then we will become great salmon fishermen and if the boys don't like that then we will be hikers or runners or motorcycle riders or wake boarders or….  I'm here to find what my boys love and teach them what I can about it, support them in their pursuit of it and be ready to do it “full out” (whatever it is).  That brings me in my roundabout way to the subject of this blog.  In order to be ready to roll Special Ops, you have to be able to get out and summit the mountain or swim to that island, or carry a fallen soldier, or one that is just too tired at the dog park.  I came to the realization quite awhile ago that I was no longer fit for duty in that regard, not by a long shot.  I have an entire team of boys coming at me full steam and I found myself in a condition that was unacceptable.  How can you go on adventures and teach your boys to push themselves and try things that seem hard and work at it until you conquer it if you yourself don't do that?  The tough answer is…you can’t!  It’s a nasty pill to swallow as we can all get very busy with other “good” things that also support our families or commitments.  I have been gnawing on this bitter pill for about a year now and I have almost choked it down.  Bottom line is I had to come face to chubby face with the real deal and say “I have had enough”.  Then I started moving.  I did the couch to 5K program which starts out week 1 doing a brisk five-minute warm up walk. Then alternate 60 seconds of jogging and 90 seconds of walking for a total of 20 minutes.  Seems like a joke now but I remember “running” those weeks and feeling like it was tough.  Coming home and telling Holly that I jogged but having to measure my progress in seconds.  After a few weeks I got to report out in minutes and then finally miles.  Since those days I have completed many, many 5K’s.  I have completed a sprint duathlon and then an Olympic length one.  Then on November 26^th I finished the Seattle half marathon (that was tough).  I ran a 5K on January 1^st to kick off 2011 in what is now TeamBoyd style.  I completed it with a personal best pace of 8:11 min/mile.  Still slow compared to runners, but for your comparison please note that I came wheezing across the line at a little over an 11:00 min/mile pace for my first 5K almost a year earlier.  Hopefully my boys won’t even remember fat dad when they're older, but I can show them pictures and we can jointly laugh at that guy.

During my journey I have read a few different diet philosophies and training methods and I have adopted a few tidbits from many of them as my own.  One of those gems is:

·         If you really want to do something and you’re committed, tell everyone!

It’s always harder and more shameful to skip a race or chow down at dinner if you’ve publicly declared to the world that you are all about the exact opposite of that.  So here I am telling all of you!  I plan to do a bunch of races and different things this year but mark my words on these:

I will hike to Camp Muir and back before summer is over.
I will complete the STP bike race, July 9-10.

Mark it down; tell me you’re watching me to see if I do it.  Punch me in the teeth if that weekend goes by and come Monday morning I’m not sporting my finisher shirt….you have my permission.  I would rather get my teeth fixed then have to again climb out of the hole I’m just now clearing.

Here are some of my "favorite" photos from the past few years that make me cringe and think about lacing up my running shoes…enjoy!