Day 5:  OK…  I fulfilled my commitment to walk/jog for 30 minutes each morning this work week with one day off.  I have done it!  I took our dog Rio with me this morning knowing that it would be hard to jog steadily with him since he wants to stop and smell/pee on everything.  He is out of shape too and was fairly cooperative with some coaching especially on the way back because he was already pooped (pun intended).  We did 42 minutes and went almost as far as yesterday.  I jogged “off and on” for a few short blocks  but the calves were still burning and I could feel my lower back “talking” so I walked the rest of the way.  The shins felt much better however so that is good.  I also verified my heart rate was at 135 after stopping which is in the correct range for cardio although the low end.  Afterward, I actually did some stretching and leg lifts for the Abs…

Time for a new commitment:  I am going to let my calves rest this weekend and then do the same thing next week with the intention of jogging the entire distance each day and maybe going a bit further.  I will listen to my body and replace jogging with swimming if necessary.  I am also going to get my bike fixed up so I can mix it up a bit and glue the sole of my shoe back on…  🙂

Until Monday…

Forgot to mention what I’ve been eating…

• Monday:  Veggie omelet/pistachio nuts/pork chops (fat trimmed off)/green beans.
• Tuesday:  String cheese/mixed veggies/turkey sando with lettuce as bread, cheese, veggies, hummus.
• Wednesday:  5 eggs/nuts/2 chicken breasts/green beans/1lb lobster/mixed veggies.
• Thursday: 4 eggs/pistachio nuts/taco salad with no rice, a little guac and a little cheese.

Lots of Water…

Listen to your body!  I got somewhat mixed messages from my body today, but I must interpret the messages correctly…in other words…interpret them in the way that will keep me going!  Moving forward!  I went out this morning and did 3.5 miles in 42 minutes.  Not a blazing pace but I am happy.  I jogged at least 3/4 of the distance.  I walked the first few blocks to warm up and felt the same pain in shins/calves as before but not as intense.  So, I started jogging and felt a little shaky but after 10 minutes I was feeling good and just kept jogging.  I turned around after 20 minutes and kept jogging back with a little uphill to make it interesting.  About half way back my lower back started to hurt so I jogged a little more and then went back to walking.  I walked at a normal pace for a minute and then picked up the pace to the “brisk” walk I had started with…  After getting home and sitting down and eating some eggs, my groin started to hurt along with the back and calves so I got a little worried.  This is something that has been a problem for me throughout my hockey years and I don’t want it to stop me here.  My body is telling me to ease into this thing!  OK, I can deal with that but I will not be discouraged…  After showering, making lunches, etc…I got in the car and drove to work.  Once alone with my thoughts and feelings in the car, I realized that I FELT FANTASTIC!!!!  Thank you BODY for giving me that last message!

I did take yesterday off to let the shins/calves rest.  If my groin talks to me tomorrow, I may go swim instead…  And, thanks everyone for all the support!

Day 2:  I weighed myself last night with our new scale and I came in at 264.4 lbs.  Alarm went off at 5:00…hit snooze…then rescheduled for 5:30.  I got up, ate some string cheese and went out for a walk/jog.  Shins and calves hurt but I think it is from skiing at Squaw Valley on Saturday and Sunday.  Jogging made the shin pain go away so I jogged about 1/3 of the time trying to stay on the balls of my feet.  I did 40 minutes this time and felt good other than soreness in legs.  Maybe I will rest the legs tomorrow and do some ab work…

My name is Mark Siechen and Ronnie Lott is my favorite football player of all time. He was an incredible athlete who would deliver punishing hits to any opponent holding or catching the football. Recently, every time I tell someone how old I am, I reply that I’m 42, the year of “Ronnie Lott”, because that was his number on the San Francisco 49ers team. I used to be an athlete and would like to be one again…recreational, of course.  I have recently been inspired by my brother Todd, my friend Trevor, and several other friends to get myself in shape and healthy for the rest of my life starting today. I have always been the “party animal” in my family and I need to make some lifestyle changes in order to accomplish my goals.  I stole the name “Project 42” from my friend Trevor who set a goal to lose 42 pounds before his 42nd birthday.  He had 90 days to do so and accomplished his goal and then some. I think he lost 50 lbs by his birthday.  He had done something similar before so was very aggressive with his training.  I am working on setting some bigger goals but am taking a first step by taking my brother’s advice and doing some consistency training first. I am going to walk/jog for 30 minutes each morning this week (mon-fri) and I am going to give myself 1 day off (if necessary) wed or thurs morning.  The other part of my first step is creating this blog to tell the world what my intentions are; to use my friend Trevor’s term “Open Kimono”.  I plan to create consistency first and then increase my workouts and set goals for physical milestones in a couple weeks. I am doing this for myself and for my family who I love very much.

Day 1 :  I walked briskly for 30 minutes this morning in sub-29 degree cold and still broke a decent sweat.  However, I forgot to eat something before I went.  I will work to not forget that step tomorrow.

First Step for Goal Setting:  I am going to Target to buy a new bathroom scale.  😀