Today: 186

Looks like that's about where I'll be when the gun goes off on Sunday. I may drift a bit higher as I taper down.

Only one run of any length left -- an 8 miler on Wednesday. Already feeling a touch wistful about training. Could I actually miss it?

My worries about the race itself: guts and glory. My stomach has been an issue on my last few long training runs. I don't want cramps or a stop for bathroom breaks to interfere with my big day. One thing they don't tell you -- marathons require restroom strategy. And I've let some time expectations creep in -- 4 hours looms large. I've been advised against that. I know what it feels like to finish a great race and yet be disappointed because of a time goal. I started marathon training to sidestep that very thing. So I'm trying to manage that.

I feel great about my readiness. In the months of training, I have never yet missed a single run (just jinxed it). My fitness is about as good as it gets for me.

The gun is 7am CST next Sunday. If you want to follow along on race day, there's and app for that -- android and apple. The Livestrong Marathon app. I'm wearing bib # 1010. And we're still accepting donations for our charities here.

I've already started to think about my post marathon fitness program. Not yet exactly sure what that's going to look like.

@krellpw Congrats on hitting your goal and for the successful cleanse program. What a great result.

I recently embarked on a long-term weight loss journey. My point of departure was about 191lbs. The distant land is 150lbs, and I pledged to traverse the 41lb distance in 82 weeks (losing .5lb/week). 82 weeks is a long time, so I'll be celebrating every 5lbs of net loss.

So far, so good. I'm slightly ahead of schedule, having lost 2lbs in 2 weeks. The app I'm using to track weight (Libra for Android) uses a moving average to indicate stable trends, and it expects me to hit 185lbs mid-April. It's a little depressing to think of 185lbs as a loss, but I'll take what I can get.


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After that, I hope to hit 180 by Independence Day.

175lbs will hopefully be close Labor Day.

God-willing, I'll face the gluttony of Thanksgiving at 170lbs.

I'd like to see a smaller shadow on Groundhog Day 2013, weighing in at 165lbs.

Some time between Easter and Tax Day 2013, I'll be looking like a sophomore in college, weighing 160lbs.

A couple weeks before Independence Day 2013, I should be 155lbs.

As September 2013, 18 years after I left for college at the age of 18 as a scrawny weakling weighing 140lbs, I should be a toned 150lbs.

It's going to be long, hard road, and I know there'll be setbacks, but I'm determined to succeed. I need all the help and support I can get, so any you can offer will be appreciated. :)

In the chute. Now checking weather forecasts hourly -- looks perfect at the moment for Sunday, but rain on Saturday makes me nervous. A full in the rain would kinda suck.

Prepping this week by losing key gear like favorite headphones and SPIBelt. Also completed final strength workout today. Last long run tomorrow (8 miler with a couple race pace pieces). Then it's just a couple 4 mile shake out runs Fri and Sat. Then go time.

@funkydung Love the long-haul nature of this goal. We might have to build the next challenge around your time frame.

Today's obsession: hydration strategy.

Austin Marathon has water stops every mile, so I won't carry water like I do when I train. They offer gatorade and water at every stop. I'll have gels (I like PowerBar Energy Gel, Strawberry Banana with caffeine -- just the right consistency, not too thick) that I will eat every 6 miles. I'll start taking water at mile 3, water at every stop starting mile 10, maybe mixing in some gatorade on the back half.

The weather forecast is holding in at ideal -- 48 degrees at the gun. Perfect for running, but it does mean I'll probably want to wear a layer I can drop at the start.

@funky dung -- Sounds like an aggressive and achievable long range plan. Good luck and stick to it. It can be done.

@Daddy Clay -- I don't have any experience with marathons, so I don't have anything constructive to offer. However, it sounds like you've got it very well thought out. From the outside looking in it sounds like you've got all the bases covered. Have a great run. Look forward to hearing about it when it's done.

Final weight: 186.2

Marathon time: 3 hrs 42 mins

While I may have come up a little short on the first number, the second makes up for it.

This has been my favorite challenge yet for a lot of reasons. Mostly because, for me, the goals were so clear and the result so surprising. I was unable to meet my weight loss goals, but able to far surpass my marathon goals for reasons that may be related.

I really appreciated having a forum to share the experience and truly enjoyed hearing about the experiences you guys were having.

There's a long post(s) brewing about the specifics of my race experience, so I won't dump all that here. But I know that my health and fitness pursuits are going on from here -- where I'm not exactly sure, but somewhere -- so stand by for future challenges.

Cheers.

Congrats on completing the Marathon @DaddyClay.

Pushups 4/5 days last week. (I only count work days). More importantly, I'm starting to experiment with technique/numbers (will post more on that later). Going to experiment a little bit more this week and hopefully come up with a program in the next week or two.

In other fitness related experiences, on Saturday I dug up some sod in the yard for my wife's raised bed gardens. It was a grand total of 72 square feet, which doesn't sound like much, but I was surprised how it wore me out. The soil was thick and full of clay, and I hit a lot of rocks. I'm just a middle aged man who is wearing out, I guess.

Best wishes,

Roger

@Daddy Clay -- I'll second Roger's sentiment! Congratulations on completing the marathon and exceeding your goals.

Roger -- gotta love that exercise in disguise, no?

I've also really enjoyed this challenge. I think it's the first time I've actually hit the weight goal, but that's kind of secondary.

It's been great sharing the experience with you all, and I look forward to doing it again soon.

DaddyClay. Did the clayscaping help you with aerodynamics during the race?

Are we not doing this topic any more? Tuesday afternoon and all is quiet.

After some weeks of experimentation with upper body workout, I finally settled on a pushup form that works for me. I tried old-fashioned (from the toe) pushups, but it seemed like a little too much strain for my poor middle-aged body. I also tried from the knee pushups (i.e., girl pushups) and did them for a while, but they were too easy and didn't seem like they were giving me enough exercise.

I have a little folding weight bench - it's a tiny thing, they type you'd use for doing crunches or sitting barbells - and last week I started doing full body (from the toe) pushups with my hands on that thing. It's about 18 inches off the ground, and seems like it's just about right. Now the challenge is to work up to a good number of repetitions, and do it five days a week.

In other exercise news, over the weekend I used a homemade tamper to compress a path of cedar chips on the north side of my house. My father in law made the tamper himself - it's a steel pole welded to a piece of I-beam, and it's taller than I am. I don't know how much it actually weighs, but when I was done with that I felt like I'd been throwing a caber.

Best wishes to all you w/ your fitness programs.

Hey Roger

Each of the past Fit Fatherhood challenges have had "finish lines" or end dates. This one more or less completed Valentine's Day when the Dad Labs Team ran their marathon. That's why it's been relatively quiet here since then.

But knowing Daddy Clay another challenge will be coming around soon.

In the interim, it raises a good point. Maybe there should be an ongoing infinite fitness thread where we can exchange ideas and continue to support one another in between formal challenges.

Great work finding the pushup form that challenges you. I'd encourage you to try all different combinations just for variety's sake. Try this variation. Do them from your knees, so you're not using your whole body weight, but here's the catch make sure your three points of contact (hand and knees) are elevated off the floor a couple of inches, say on sturdy books. That way when you drop, you can drop past horizontal! Good times!

As for me, I'm still crossfitting 4x a week and holding my weight steady under 220. So I'm really pleased. I'm also nursing a sore left wrist that I torqued 10 days back. Confirmed with x-rays today, nothing's broken, but I've sprained the host of muscles at the base of my thumb and through my wrist. Anything done with a neutral grip, is fine. As soon as I flex the wrist (like push ups) and apply pressure is pretty rough. Going to be tricky to rehab this.

I'll start that general fitness thread and drop the link back here, if I don't find a pre-existing one.

Best

OK so I started this thread www.dadlabs.com/forum/Lounge/Dad-Health/...ss-Forever.html#8541 as the stop gap between challenges.

Best, gents!

Oh, I see how it works - thanks for explaining that, and duly noted.