Accountability does wonders for personal accomplishment. Without it, you soften, become doughy, and slip back into the same crap habits that got you into the hurtin' position you were in in the first place. I accomplished a lot with this blog toward my own personal health and unfortunately since ignoring SlimCache, I've experienced a backslide. I've experienced a loss in focus, self-confidence, and motivation and I think that's due in large part to the fact that I have no one to answer to anymore.
I recognized this while listening to a Tim Ferriss interview by Chris Hardwick on Nerdist. Great show on stand up comedy, nerd culture, and in this instance, life hacks. If you haven't heard it please check it out. Ferriss talks about how essential goals, and lofty ones at that, and accountability are to personal betterment. He himself has set the goal to run an ultra-marathon. He goes on to talk about how individuals who take iPhone pictures of their meals, for accountability sake, are more likely to succeed in their weight-loss goals. I realized this is what I did for a long time with SlimCache, and how this blog for a long time was vital and integral to my success, and I then realized that I needed to get that back.
Before going forward I should probably explain what's been going on in the year of radio darkness here at SlimCache. I successfully completed two marathons last year. I also grabbed a sub 25 minute 5K PR and finally placed in my age group. At a Thanksgiving Day 4 miler I ran 8 seconds per mile faster than that previous best 5K time. But since Thanksgiving there has been a dark cloud of motivation suck hanging just over me. I've slipped to only working out a couple days a week and I've got a nagging Achilles issue. I've experienced a weight gain. Nothing drastic but coming as far as I have it's disappointing to see any pounds go back on. I'm 12 pounds heavier than my last weigh in post a year ago. No more. Time to get my shit together.
So I set a goal! I'm going to participate in this year's Trek Across Maine, a 3 day, 180 mile bike ride from Sunday River to Belfast, and I'm incredibly pumped about it. I decided to pass on doing a marathon in the first half of this year and train on the bike. I'm planning on getting in training by driving halfway to work, procuring a parking space in the swank Marginal Way park and ride, and commuting the rest of the way. On weekends I'll go for longer rides. During this process I'll again chart my weight loss and fitness goals and report them here and on other social media venues. Please join me in the effort to once again get me together, cuz I realized I need the help of you the community. I've missed you all. Peace.
Starting Weight : 218.6 lbs. Body Fat % : 25 Basal Metabolic Rate : 2132 BMI : 30.1
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How I Learned I Need You
Apr 1, 2011
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The Curtain Falls
Apr 30, 2010
I sincerely wish to thank all of those who helped me along the way. My weight-loss goals could not have been achieved without the support of this community. Since the blog has not been updated for some time I've officially decided to call it quits for SlimCache. I'll leave it up for a time to refer back to when I slip or just need some inspiration. Hopefully someone will stumble upon it from time to time and it may inspire them too. The story goes on though over at So.ME.Vegans, the new blog I've launched with my wife to cover vegan foodiness in Southern Maine. I'm excited about the newest project and hope you'll join me. It's been real. Catch you at Sugarloaf in two weeks when I run my first marathon!| 3 comments |
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Camden Hills State Park
Oct 11, 2009
First of all I would like to express my extreme gratitude to L.L. Bean. I've worked for the outdoor retailer for about three years now and in that time I've utilized their employee programs to lose weight and get in touch with the outdoors. They've recently launched a new program called the Employee Outdoor Club. The EOC organizes trips for cyclists, hikers, paddlers, skiers, and anyone else wanting to participate in an active outdoor pursuit. This weekend was my first trip and it was slated as a Fall foliage hike in one of the most beautiful places Maine has to offer; Camden Hills State Park.
I left home before the sun came up in order to get to Camden a little early. I wanted to grab a few caches on the way. Prior to meeting the group I bagged three geocaches. GC169M9 - A LITTLE PAGE was a simple park and grab found on the drive up. It overlooks Damariscotta which I find to be one of the loveliest little towns in mid-coast Maine. GC1K927 - Old Carriage Road Cache and GCVVW - Shirt tail? are found in Camden. The former is on the edge of the park on a trail the connects Route 52 to the hiking path to Mount Battie. It's a great alternative to driving to the top of the mountain. The latter is in a small park on the opposite side of Megunticook Lake. The cache page describes it as "...a little known municipal park with a playground, picnic area and is a pleasing place to take your family". I agree. A hidden gem that's so quiet you could easily forget you're so close to downtown.
After killing time around Camden, grabbing myself a soy latte from Zoot Coffee in the process, I headed over to the parking area at the trail head to meet my group. There would be eight of us total; all employees of L.L. Bean. We started at about 10:00 AM on our way to Maiden Cliff which overlooks Megunticook Lake. Maiden Cliff is a memorial site to Elenora French, a young girl who fell to her death from this spot when trying to catch her hat, blown by the wind, in 1864. A haunting story for sure, but the views are awe inspiring. It's also the site of the days first cache in the park. GCWX3K - At the Edge of Life aka "Life At the Edge" is just a few steps off the trail and is easily one of the most organized cache pages I've seen. The hider doesn't want you to go home empty handed so they have provided photo clues. You can go into this cache with as much of as little information as you want in order to find it.
Our group proceeded to Ocean Lookout via the Ridge Trail. This was the longest leg of our journey at about 3 miles over some pretty gnarly trails. I use the term trail loosely since at times it seems we were mostly walking uphill through small streams. This was my first encounter with this kind of terrain and I'm glad I had waterproof shoes. One of the members of our party had a pretty worn our pair of Nike running shoes with a sizable hole in the forefoot. I think "breathable" was the word he used. At the Lookout you are rewarded to stunning views of the Atlantic Ocean and Camden's picturesque downtown, as well as the finest foliage we had seen all day. Peregrine falcons flew close to the cliffs over deciduous growth at 70% peak. It was beautiful.
Close to the Lookout is GC176YH - Juliebug's Cache. The cache is about 30 feet off the trail and was a fairly easy find. What I found rewarding about this cache was not the find, but the interaction of my fellow Bean hikers who seemed more enthused about this one than the first. I think I may have converted a few folks. There were questions to which I gladly shared my version of answers. I'm not the authority on caching by any means. There are others with far more finds, and anyone with even one hide has more than I, but it was great to be able to share what I know with an excited audience.
From there it was all downhill. It's pretty deceptive. You would think going downhill is easier than up. By the end of the 2.5 mile trek back my knees were yelling at me and my quads will probably be echoing the same tomorrow. It was an intensely gratifying trip. I feel more connected to those I work with, I found a decent handful of caches, and got to visit one of Maine's most beautiful places during it's most beautiful season. It was the best time I've had in recent memory and I can't wait to repeat the experience with my new friends in the Employee Outdoor Club.| Labels: Cache of the Day, Community, Tracks and Trails | 4 comments |
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The End of the Trail?
Oct 3, 2009
Is there some kind of penance that is standard issue for bloggers who ignore their readership for far too long? It was the kind of words of vegan blogger Laloofah of Mehitable Days that made me realize I need to get off my ass and start giving something back to those who have supported me through my journey.
It's pretty fair to say that my weight-loss journey is over. I've essentially reached my goal. Since the last post I've been somewhat inactive having fallen off a bicycle at a fairly high rate of speed and needed to head to the emergency room. I required 12 stitches to my knee, and yes, it was the same knee I injured over the Summer training for my half. I managed my calories effectively though and ended up having lost over eight pounds since the last time I checked in. This is probably the first time since my early teens that I've weighed less than 200 pounds. It's a sobering realization. To look back and face that I was that unhealthy as an adolescent. I've turned my life around though and want to help others to the same. This is likely the last time you'll see an update pertaining to weight loss, so here it is:
Starting Weight : 315 lbs. Last post : 205 lbs. This week : 196.8 lbs. Since previous weigh in : -8.2 lbs. Total weight loss : 118.2 lbs
While weight loss is no longer an issue, I of course realize that maintaining positive health is key. I have plans to train for a marathon in 2010. I also have the lofty hope of hiking the Appalachian Trail in 2012. I hope that amounts to more than a pipe dream. It would be an amazing personal accomplishment but I realize I have a long way to go before I could ever make such a dream a reality.
Going forward I intend to continue to post on my commitment to the path I've chosen as a vegan. I'll talk about it's role as part of a healthful, peace-promoting lifestyle. How it can be a rich life lived outdoors as an active and conscientious individual. Let's continue to hike, bike, run, cache, discuss, encourage, and attain together. Your feedback is greatly appreciated as always. I look forward to continuing with SlimCache in whatever form it should take next. Let me know what you think. Thank you.| 4 comments |
