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  1. Caching from the Couch

    Apr 22, 2009

    Sometimes when it's cats and dogs out I wish I could just search for the cache from the comfort of my own home. Thanks to Erika Jean's Self Titled Nonsense Blog I can do that. Her concept is an interactive geocache hunt in her backyard. You'll be given several options. Use your geosenses and don't forget to sign the log. Be warned, it's more tricky than it would seem. It took me over 6 tries to find it. There are lots of great hiding spots so go with your gut. And be sure to let her know you appreciate the cache. It's a whole new kind of find.

    Posted by Unknown at 7:58 PM | Labels: | 1 comments |

  2. Week 47

    Apr 19, 2009


    Things seem to be gathering steam. More than likely the calorie allotment I've given myself is starting to gel with the goals I have in place. It's rather conservative, but I've been going on 300 calories six times a day. Maybe it's the 25 miles I ran this week. Anyway, I'm thinking it should be harder than this. It would seem that weight loss for me now is just a given. I don't mean that to sound overconfident. Maybe I've just hit my stride and avoid plateau points. Whatever I'm doing it seems to be going right.

    It would be fair to say that I've embraced the running lifestyle. I'm planning on doing my first double digit run tomorrow. I could not be more excited. I'm not officially in any type of training cycle right now, I just want to push myself to go that much farther. Maybe it's my homage to those running the 113th annual Boston Marathon. My 10 seems pretty measly to those competing, but it's the level to which I've pushed myself up to this point. All those great runners competing tomorrow started at this same point. It makes me feel as though I could be part of something greater. I am, as well as you are, capable of great feats. I'll be watching and cheering on my friends Steve Runner, Chris Russell, and Dennis the Early Morning Runner from the running podcast community. Cheers to all those who are running this weekend, in Boston or otherwise.

    Starting weight : 315 lbs. Last week : 210.6 lbs. This week : 208.4 lbs. Since previous weigh in : -2.2 lbs. Total weight loss : 106.6 lbs

    Posted by Unknown at 4:12 PM | Labels: | 1 comments |

  3. Thank You GoWagon

    Apr 16, 2009

    It was my pleasure to speak with SuperHeroBen a few weeks back on The Runners Round Table. He's behind the tremendous training site BuckeyeOutdoors. At the time of our interview he announced a new project just coming out called GoWagon. Since then I've used the hell out of both Buckeye and GoWagon. I've synced my new birthday toy using the handy Buckeye plugin with Sport Tracks and it's made my life loads easier when it comes to entering workout data. Integration of Garmin products is another feature that will soon rock the site so I'm looking forward to that as well.

    Craig of the GoWagon team just messaged to send me a birthday greeting! How's that for customer service? They offer a really personal experience there so please go check it out. They've recently also published a video showcasing all the great things already going on and more great things to come. Thanks to the GoWagon team for bringing together a community that I'm prouder to be part of every day.

    Posted by Unknown at 7:20 PM | Labels: | 0 comments |

  4. I'm not very good at accepting complements. Maybe it's still the fat kid in me with low self-esteem. It's also possible that I'm just that humble, although pointing out my humility is not especially self-effacing. Either way, it's hard for me to hear someone say they found my story inspirational. Too often people simply use that as a way of flattering someone. Have I really inspired you? Are you moved to do something about your current situation, no matter what it takes?

    That's why I took it to heart when I received a message today regarding a new blog called Onesville. The author, also going by the same Onesville moniker, had written to inform me that this blog here had inspired him start his own blog, a weight loss journal similar to SlimCache. He launched the project on Sunday with the stated mission that by Easter of next year he intends to weigh 199 pounds or less. He starts at 270 pounds and has set a completely reasonable goal of losing 1.3 pounds per week. I'm so excited for you Onesville. I hope to be cruising into town very soon myself.

    So, an inspiration? Maybe so. It's for sure this guy's not just blowing smoke. I'm very touched that my story has helped another person. My advice is to keep with the blog. Facing up to the online community has an inherent amount of accountability and that alone has often been enough to keep me going. There are some great people out here with a lot of support to lend. Plus you might just inspire another yourself.

    Posted by Unknown at 4:56 PM | Labels: | 0 comments |

  5. Week 46

    Apr 13, 2009


    In the shuffle yesterday, my weigh in blog post got lost. This was too important of a post to miss too. April 12th was the goal I set to have lost 100 pounds total. All weight loss goals that I've set so far have been met, often times early, on the date they were projected. The 50 pound goal was October 12th, 2008. Met it. January 4th's goal was 75 pounds. I came in 2.4 pounds beyond that goal at the time. I then projected April 12th, my birthday, as the next goal. Again, I've nailed it. I weighed in 4.4 pounds beyond the mark I set for myself 13 weeks ago!

    So yesterday I got a three-fer deal. Three holidays in one! April 12th was my birthday, Easter, and my hundred pound goal day. Such an occasion calls for a pretty massive gift right? I've had my eye set on a Garmin Forerunner 405. It's an eye-catching toy that all of my runner friends have already jumped on the bandwagon for. Envy inspiring. Well, my wife saw fit to treat me to my dream training watch. The pride she and our kids have expressed in me has kept me going during the most difficult times of this process. I'm extremely thankful that I have this support system, and that they expressed their esteem with a kick ass gift. They also made me a crown that, with congratulatory flattering phrases all over it amongst stickers of trophies and race medals, made me cry. Thanks guys. I love you.

    So that goal is in the bag. Next up is July 26th, the ultimate end goal. I will weigh 190 pounds on that day. My track record speaks for itself. I'm sure if I put my mind too it, that goal will fall just as the others have. Thanks to everyone who has kept me accountable and urged me along. I can't do it without you.

    Starting weight : 315 lbs. Last week : 215 lbs. This week : 210.6 lbs. Since previous weigh in : -4.4 lbs. Total weight loss : 104.4 lbs

    Posted by Unknown at 4:27 PM | Labels: | 2 comments |

  6. Family Weekend Cache

    Apr 7, 2009

    GCA6B8 - Kimee #1
    I've been way too long without talking about geocaching, on this, my geocaching blog. The extremely snowy winter brought on a bit of a forced hiatus from the sport. The caches that I prefer are always out in the woods and for the most part, have been buried and inaccessible. Trust me, I tried. I know now that I will need snowshoes next winter. I learned that in the first week of March when I attempted caching at Bradbury Mountain State Park and ended up sinking into the snow up to my mid-thigh.

    Thankfully all that mess is starting to break up now. Sunday was an especially gorgeous day and it was also the end of a very enjoyable weekend visiting Boston with the family. We went to the New England Aquarium, the Boston Children's Museum, and on the way home, Stone Zoo. I had programmed some caches and routes for our time in Boston and even though I got some great running time in, hadn't really gotten a chance to grab a cache. This was unfortunate since I've only logged caches in Maine I really wanted to get one across state lines this weekend.

    Then it dawned on me. Perhaps I had a cache close to the zoo already in my GPS. We could go check it out after we looked at the black bears, meerkats, and my favorite, the coatis. As luck would have it there was a cache across the street in Greenwood Park. Even better it appeared to be family friendly. The difficulty rating was low. On a scale of 1-5, both the terrain and hide rating were 1. The cache location is just over 1/10 of a mile away from the playground. This cache was just screaming at me to take the kids there.

    My son was the scout, and my daughter played the role of navigator, meaning she held my GPS unit for me and relayed distances to the rest of the group. Nice park. It's part of the 2,575 acre Middlesex Fells Reservation. I found this to be an absolutely beautiful area and wish I had a little bit more time to explore the area. There's another cache here too; GCMA1E - Not Crystal Clear. Didn't have a chance to check this one out but if others in the area have please feel free to share. I would love to go back.

    Posted by Unknown at 2:56 PM | Labels: | 0 comments |

  7. Week 45

    Apr 6, 2009

    Many, many apologies for not having posted much recently. I was wrapped up in what was to be the greatest family trip I've ever taken. More explanation on that in a post to come tomorrow. But briefly, my wife and I took the kids to Boston. Very exciting family togetherness time. Also a really exciting time for me personally as I know the place is runner central. I'll tell you a little about the routes I took and the sights I saw, including a random mass pillow fight, later.

    Many of you have probably also struggled with trying to maintain a weight loss plan while on vacation. This trip was hard for me. Great food was nearby at Local Sea Foods. Sam Adams tastes great at the source too btw. So you could say I slipped a little. Thankfully as I had accomplished my birthday goal 2 weeks early, there was a little bit of room for error. An 8 mile run, my longest to date, Saturday morning also helped keep me on track. Unfortunately my efforts couldn't save me from a 1 pound gain.

    So at this time I'm back up to 215 even. So long as I keep it there for another week I'll be happy. After my birthday it's time to tackle another goal. I'm 3 for 3 so far. I've projected the next one into July. The 26th to be exact. This is to be my final weight target. From there I should only have to do maintenance. I never thought I would get to this point but I've put some research into my recommended healthy weight for my height and build. That number is 190. I'm confident that I can achieve that. I've nailed every other goal I set before myself. I'll personally testify to the fact that setting goals and holding yourself accountable for them is possibly the strongest tool you can have in your weight loss effort as well.

    Starting weight : 315 lbs. Last week : 213.8 lbs. This week : 215 lbs. Since previous weigh in : +1.2 lbs. Total weight loss : 100 lbs

    Posted by Unknown at 6:53 PM | Labels: | 0 comments |