Windy run

I guess I won't complain about being able to run in shorts and a t-shirt in the 65 degree weather, but it sure was windy today running outside. For about half the run, I felt like I was cruising along, but the first time I turned into the wind, I felt like I almost completely stopped moving forward. Over all though, my run felt pretty good, and I ate pretty good today, so good day today.

Prayer tonight is for the youth group from church as some of them will be traveling during spring break next week.

Injury

Training gets tough when you are fighting injuries. I don't even know how I did it, but for some reason on Wednesday my left ankle was really swollen, so I've not been able to run all week. I have however swam three times and lifted weights twice, so that coupled with the Sunday run, I still got six workouts in this week...so still a pretty good workout week. I am hoping to be able to run tomorrow.

Prayer tonight is for Cara and her knee that she banged up today while playing volleyball.

The second "F"

Sometime soon, i should do a summary of the first two SPF's so far, one of these days.

But for now, I'll tackle the second F (financial) goal/idea...I think an important thing to think about in your financial lifestyle is to make sure you live within your own means. It can be easy to try to compare yourself to friends or family who have bigger and nicer things like homes, autos, or other things, but doing so can make you want bigger and better things when maybe you can't afford them. Living within your own means can be a difficult thing to do sometimes but is a must if we want to stay out of debt, tithe properly, and save for things like college for the kids and/or retirement for ourselves.

Prayer today is for Adam Shay, who is layed up with back issues.

Postponed long run

Cara and I postponed our 8 mile run until tomorrow since it is supposed to be 60 degrees out. Probably a good day to rest anyways since neither of us feel that hot. Hopefully a good night of rest will do us some good.

Instead of a prayer tonight, I thought I'd share one of the verses I read today. Mark 5:28, "if I could just touch his coat that will be enough to heal me". Oh, to have that kind of faith...

2nd "p"

The next "P". I think it is very important to set goals for your diet or physical improvement. Whether it be a weight loss goal, or a workout goal, it is important to have something you are working towards. I also think it is good to set a realistic goal and a dream goal. My realistic goal is to get in to the gym or workout 5 times a week, no matter what. My "dream" goal is to run the May 12th half marathon in a 9 minute mile pace.

Prayer tonight is for my kiddos...nothing specific just for them in general.

Late run

Luckily I was able to get my run in tonight as Cara was giving the kids a bath. I am struggling to keep up with the daily blog...I can't seem to find enough time to spend to actually say something worth while. Workouts going well, eating only ok...

Prayer tonight is for Jodi and her pregnancy...due in April.

Weights

So I decided to work some weights into my workout plan. The schedule we are on has us running four days, cross training one day and two rest days. So, I am going to start lifting on the two rest days. Long lean muscle is my goal...we'll see.

Prayer tonight is for my wife... I love her lots.

end of the weekend

Well, the weekend is about over and to summarize how I did this weekend, I guess I would say I did average.  I ate better today, and got in my recovery run of just over 2 miles...my legs were toast after the 7 miler yesterday.  But, they feel pretty good now.  I ate a little better today than yesterday, and now at 10:15 tonight, I am actually starving and am having to fight the urge to go downstairs and grab something to eat.

This week I'll need to get back on my SPF initiative before the month is over.  I need to get back to spending a little bit of time on the blog as I have been slacking a little bit.

Prayer tonight is for Austin Miller and his heart isse that he has been dealing with.

Decent Saturday

okay, so last night I vowed to have a better weekend eating, and today I did a little better I guess, I didn't really eat all that great of a lunch, then we had ice cream after dinner...so really I didn't do that great.  We did however get in a 7 mile run, and I did that in an hour and four minutes (or about a 9:13 pace), so I was pretty happy with that.  It was pretty nice outside and we were able to run outside which is always good.

I must eat better tomorrow!

Prayer tonight is for churches and leaders of the churches across the world as they prepare for worship tomorrow.

Losing blog steam

It is amazing how after a month of solid blogging nearly everyday, I now struggle everyday to find time to blog. I know all of the blog followers are waiting on pins and needles for my next blog, (yeah right)...well I am finally back on, and I need it. I have been working out pretty good but my eating hasn't been so great, time to get back on the wagon. I am going to try real hard to eat good this weekend and see if I can drop a pound or two. We have a 7 mile run on tap for tomorrow...should be fun.

Prayer tonight is for the family of the guy who was serving in Haiti and died while working to serve others.

Run and swim

Cara and I had to do a six mile run on Saturday. It was cold outside so we had to take turns on the treadmill. One hour on the treadmill is a long time, but I did it without stopping. We had a real busy day on Sunday, so we took the day off from running. Today was supposed to be a rest day, but instead I got in the pool again, I did another 2,000 yard swim in 50 minutes that felt pretty good.

Prayer today is a praise that Eli's MRI came back with good results!

Better workout today

After my miserable run on Tuesday I had a much better run today. We had to do 5 miles today, I started off a little slower than Tuesday and built up. I still for some reason really wore out after 4 miles. I had to run/walk the last mile, but still got down in under ten minute mile pace. Tomorrow I am taking the prescribed rest day before we do a 6 mile run on Saturday...should be fun.

Prayer is for a friend who is trying to get pregnant (unnamed for now).

Rest day

I found out the hard way yesterday how important rest days are. Instead of taking the rest day on Monday, I swam pretty hard. Then yesterday I was supposed to run 3.5 miles and my legs were absolutely dead. So, I took today off as I have to run 5 miles tomorrow and 6 miles on Saturday...we'll see how I feel after Saturday. Morale of the story, take the rest days.

Prayer today is for the Spring Hill, KS community.

The next "S"?..Love

So with a new month, comes a new set of SPF (spiritual, physical, and financial) ideas/goals. To go along with keeping myself accountable to myself with my diet and workout plan, I thought I would also write out this idea I have had for some time about this SPF.

As I was putting Cameron down for bed tonight, I was laying there thinking about how much I loved him and Eva and then thinking about how much I loved Cara and how fortunate I am to have such a great family and great friends as well. I was thinking about how much I love the kids even after they can be complete monsters at times. Then I was thinking about God's love for us and even when we are "monsters" God still loves us. If you think about it, Love is really what makes the world go around. The ultimate act of love was of course God sending his son Jesus to be the ultimate sacrifice for our sins. As much as God loves us, we too should love God, others, and ourselves. When the religious leaders tried to trick Jesus in Mark chapter 12 verse 29-31 by asking Jesus what the most important commandment was, he answered "The most important one, answered Jesus, 'is this, Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself'". So that's it, we should love God, love others, and don't forget to love yourself!

Prayer tonight is for Marc Lundy and family...

Small breaks can easily turn into long ones

It is pretty amazing, I didn't blog for two days and all ready I didn't want to do it again tonight. I can so easily get out of a habit it is not even funny.

I did get a good five mile run in on Saturday and the half marathon training is doing good so far. I did however eat way too much on Sunday while watching the Superbowl at church, but everything was so good so it was worth it.

Prayer tonight is for Theresa and her job situation.

Heading to the weekend

Improved on my swimming today, got in 2,000 yds in 49 minutes. I hardly ate all day, then went and stuffed myself at dinner...probably not the best way to do things...but a splurdge once in a while I think is good for you.

Prayer tonight is for little Julia Rodgers to get healthy.

Late post

Quick hit tonight...had a great night at Grow Group. Also ate pretty good and got a decent 4 mile run in this afternoon. Cross train tomorrow, then a 5 mile run scheduled for Saturday.

Prayer tonight is for all the prayer request we had tonight.

Swimming

I had a new swimming best workout today. I did 1,700 yds in 42 minutes at the gym today. It felt pretty good and thankfully my workouts in general are finally getting better. I ate pretty good today as well, pretty good start to February. On a church note, our Nathan Project Bible study was great tonight...a good bunch of high school boys have been coming pretty consistently.

Prayer request tonight is for one of the boys in our group tonight who is having some problems at home with his dad.

Vending machines

Well, I have made it through a whole month of not drinking any soda and not eating sweets (at least while at work) and the only real loser is the building's vending machine vendor. They have to notice the lack of activity at the vending machines...well I hate to hurt their sales, but that is what is it going to take to drop a few pounds.

I got a good run in late tonight, did three miles at about 8:30 tonight...starting to feel a lot better.

Prayer tonight is for Cara's mom Sylvia...nothing in particular....just that she is doing okay...

Fooled

Ok, so I have been dropping a few pounds this month but if I'd known what I know now, I may have lost even more. I have been eating Jimmy Johns quite a bit for lunch...the veggie, right that has to be healthy. Well today, I decided to look up the calories and found out that there is almost 700 calories in the veggie sandwich...so sad, because I love JJ sandwiches. I guess I'll have to find something different to eat for lunch.

Prayer request today is for the group at church who is preparing to go to Haiti this May.

First "f"

In honor of Eli, who has been patiently waiting on the first F, since he did such a great job speaking tonight, I'll get the first F in the record books for my SPF blog. The first F, could be also lumped into the Spiritual category as well, but we'll put it in the F...that is the tithing. I think it is very important to tithe back to God what is his and what he has given us. I am a strong believer that we should give 10% of our gross income, however with that being said, Cara and I still have a little ways to go to get to that point, so I want to be careful to not be hypocritical on this one. We are not where we want to be, but we really hope to get to that point some time soon. I also would encourage anyone that if they can't give 10%, then at least give something and keep striving to give what you feel in your heart is what God is asking you to give.

I did a little better eating today...I had one small little bite of birthday cake tonight, and no desert and a small lunch at church today. I also got a decent run in during the afternoon in between church. Amazing weather still...almost February and I wore long sleeves and shorts and was still comfortable running outside.

I'll keep prayer consistent tonight and keep it with the Casey family. We pray for a healthy pregnancy for Katie, and all the other things that Eli has talked about recently...(purposely vague here).

Good workout, bad eating

Ok, I've got to figure out how to have some will power on the weekend. I did good for the first half of the day, but then totally blew it at dinner and then ate way too many cookies when we stopped by Aunt Pat's house for a little while. I did however get a good workout in today. I was able to run four miles straight through without walking and ran about a ten minute per mile pace...so I am happy about that.

Prayer tonight is for our Pastoral staff as they get ready for worship tomorrow.

Working for the weekend

Last weekend I had a momentary lapse of good eating. I must do better this weekend, no splurging, and need to get two good workouts in. Ate salad for dinner, but did have some popcorn and cotton candy at the Sesame Street Live show we took the kids to.

Prayer tonight is for the little boy and family that was a few rows in front of us at the show. Just as the show was starting, the dad jumped up started freaking out that something was wrong. Apparently the boy was having a seizure and luckily there was a pediatric nurse that jumped right in and took over the situation...hopefully the little boy is okay. It was a very startling situation.

Early workout

I had to get up early to get my workout in today. This is the first early workout I've done this year as I had a very important lunch appointment...lunch at The Bullet Hole that is. Todays half marathon training was to run 4 miles...well I did the four miles, but it was a walk/run combo. I was on the treadmill at around 5:45 am, and it was nice to get done and over for the day. Oh, and it was fun blasting some holes in some paper targets for a while and blowing off a little steam.

Prayer tonight is for our grow group as we talked about trying to better become a "community" with each other and with others in the church. Hopefully we will act on some of our ideas Katie brought up tonight.

Swimming is a nice change of pace

I think I had a personal best today, I swam 1600 yds in 43 minutes. I hardly ate today also, so I am anxious to get on the scale tomorrow...

Prayer tonight is for the high school boys that we had Bible study with tonight.

Half marathon training

Today was day one of week one of a twelve week training for a half marathon Cara and I are going to try to run in April. I ran three miles in just over thirty minutes and it quite simply felt awful...hope it gets better, or it's going to be a long twelve weeks. Tomorrow is a cross training day, so I'll try getting a good swim in.

Prayer today is for my Mom...nothing specific.

Back on track

Well, after a not so great weekend of eating I had a pretty good recovery day today. I ate pretty good, oatmeal for breakfast, a protien shake for lunch and chicken chili for dinner with very little cheese or crackers. I had a couple of healthy snacks and that's it. I also got a real good swim in at lunch, I swam 1,250m in 43 minutes...pretty slow for a good swimmer, but not too bad for me.

Prayer request today is for the people in Alabama who got hit by storms last night. Crazy winter weather this year...

Slacking a bit

Ok, so I haven't blogged in two days now, so even though I am exhausted from a long (but good) day, I must get something written. Not only have I not blogged, I haven't eaten all that great this weekend. We ate out with some friends on Friday night, ate at the movie theater for lunch with the kids on Saturday, and finished off with chicken from Sonic tonit. So, how do I react to this...normally I would just go back to old habits...hopefully I can get back in to gear tomorrow. We are officially starting our 12 week half marathon training this week, so maybe this was one last bump in the road before we start getting real serious.

Prayer tonight is for my sister Melissa and her husband Bob who are dietingnrightnnoe as well.

Getting better

Today, I had my best day on the treadmill this year, I got three miles in under thirty minutes...not record speed but definitely getting better. I also ate pretty well, and showed some will power by not eating the delicious smelling dinner and dessert at grow group tonight.

Prayer request tonight is for my buddy Jeff who tore up his knee up last night and finds MRI results tomorrow to determine if surgery is needed.

Day 18

Still no soda yet this year, and what's weird is that it doesn't even sound good. Got a good 45 minute workout in on the elliptical machine at the gym, and today is four days in a row of working out.

Prayer request today is for baby Avery to get feeling better, she has been sick for a few days now.

Today's quick overview

Well, 17 days into this blog and SPF summary and I think overall things are going pretty decent. I've read my Bible everyday and am keeping on track to read the New Testament this year, I've worked out 12 of 17 days and can feel myself getting a little better in shape. The one thing I haven't really touched on yet is the "F"...for financial. This may be my toughest thing of them all because I am not a very good money manager. I'll have to Get the first F on record in the next few weeks before we get into February.

Prayer request today is for Cara's cousin Mark and his continued search for a better job.

Late night workout

I owe a workout tonight to Cara encouraging me to get down on the treadmill later in the evening. I spent my lunch break unloading a few 9mm rounds at the Bullet Hole with my friend Adam, so I was ar risk of missing a workout today. However, as Cara bathed the kids and got them ready for bed, I went down and got on the treadmill and got thirty minutes in...not the best workout, but definitely better than nothing. Now to concentrate on the KU vs. Baylor game...

Prayer request today is for Natalie as she starts a new chapter tomorrow at her new job...as well she starts in on her last semester of school this week.

Splurge day

Ok, so maybe I just want to justify having eaten poorly yesterday, or there really is something to having a day (or even just a meal) every once in a while where you go off your diet. We did that on Saturday when we had some friends over for dinner. I ate way too many brownies for dessert, but they were very tasty. I think it is good every once in a while to eat something bad, so you are noy always just denying yourself something that you really enjoy. This might also just be another reason why I can't ever really lose any weight.

Today I ran for a while in the treadmill but didn't feel all that great. Tomorrow I need to get back on the wagon and have a good week of eating and exercising.

Prayer today, is for myself. I was asked to teach the lesson next week for the youth, and I pray that God would help me prepare to have something worth while to say to the youth group and that they might get closer to God, and that I am not too nervous.

The little calories

I have a real hard time not snacking, during the day at work and especially at night later in the evening. But think these "little calories" that you pick up during the day really add up and can be a reason to not lose weight. I'm already at the point where I've been stuck at around the same weight for three days, and it is a bit frustrating. Although, I haven't really been eating perfectly, not too bad, but I've probably added a few extra calories during the day that are unneeded. I am going to try real hard to cut back on the "little calories" this weekend and hopefully going forward.

Prayer request today is for my sister Suzi...nothing particular, just pray that she is doing well.

I've got to stop waiting until late to do this

Another short blog tonight...tired and going to bed. I had another good workout today, actually got three miles in on the treadmill without stopping, not too fast, but considering I couldn't even run one mile two weeks ago, it is a good improvement. I've got one week to decide if I want to start the twelve week training for the rock the parkway half marathon...well'll see.

Prayer request tonight is for Linda Atwell to get feeling better...she has to be one of the sweetest ladies in the world.

From better to worse

Its getting late, so it's a quick blog tonight. I went from having my best workout of this short year yesterday to no workout today. I always feel like I probably gained five pounds on days that I didn't get a workout in, and let's hope that is not the case. I ate decent today, but did stop and have a Jimmmy Johns sandwich with my boss after he and I took a quick trip to the Bullet Hole for lunch (hence the reason I didnt workout at lunch...at least it was for something fun).

Prayer request tonight is for everyone in our Grow Group, we met tonight and had a good time as always, so just general prayers for the group.

"P" physical

Again, to recap the general concept of this blog "SPF 36" is to determine 36 things or goals that can help a person improve their life Spiritually Physically and Financially.  Spiritual always being first, then everything after will fall in line.  Each month in 2012 I want to identify one of the SPF, and today is the first physical, I am identifying these in no particular order within each category.

The first "S" was to open your Bible every day, getting into the word daily is so very important.  The "P" for physical can mean diet, workout, or mental I guess.  I don't know what is more important diet or workout, consistency with both I think is brutally important, and since these are in no real order, we'll start with a healthy diet.  I may have mentioned this in an earlier blog but we'll call the first idea that "food should be for fuel, not fun".  So many times we tie food into our emotions, we eat when we are happy, we eat when we are depressed, etc.  So, I think if we can get to the point where we are really concerned with properly fueling our bodies with foods that we need to help us throughout the day with our daily lives and our workouts we would be so much better off.  Then eventually we will stop craving the fattening foods that slow us down and crave foods that will help us operate better.

Prayer for today is for our country and the pending elections since the whole process is underway to pick a Republican candidate to run against President Obama.  I hope that we can elect leaders that have their priorities straight and can lead our country in a good direction.

The long haul

As I stepped on the scale this morning I was thinking about my usual dieting and how I start off really good, lose a few pounds, then eventually level off and I quickly go back to my old habits. Fortunately this morning I was down another pound, and stayed motivated but that day will come soon I'm sure when I feel like eating something unhealthy and not care so much about getting a workout in. I hope that this blog, or something will keep me motivated this year for the long haul, and make it different from the years past.

I ate decent today and got a good swim in over lunch, so it was a pretty good day as far as that is concerned.

Pray request today is for a friend of Cara's from the hospital, Cher who found out that she has stage three breast cancer.

Traveling

First time this year I traveled for the day while on the diet. I decided to forego (sp?) the last day of the cabbage soup diet since I was making an all day road trip. I did pretty good eating, had oatmeal for breakfast and salad and turkey minis for lunch at Ruby Tuesaday...best of all I didn't eat a single French fry off my plate (and drank water). no workout today, so I've missed three days all ready this year. Also trying to decide if I want to really get started on a twelve week training, forthe rock the park half marathon April 14th...we'll see.

Prayer request today is for an unnamed friend of mine who is really doing some soul searching these days...I hope he finds God while searching. He is a smart one, I think he will.

Hate is a bad word

I know you shouldn't hate anything or any one, but if there is anything that is okay hating, it is that I hate missing church. We've been battling with two sick kiddos this week so I stayed home this morning and Cara went to church, then by this evening Cara wasn't feeling all that hot, so we missed Youth Group tonight as well. This makes me grumpy.

Well, I did get a pretty good workout in today, I ran on the treadmill intermentintly while stopping and lifting...worked up the best sweat yet this year. I also had a decent day of eating, I was so hungry after dinner that I warmed up week old leftover peas and added them to lettuce for a salad.

Prayer request today is for all remaining military overseas and any that are away from their family.

Day 5 cabbage soup diet

Cabbage soup diet is going pretty good, today is day 5 of 7 and we got to eat our soup, tomatoes, and beef or chicken. Cara and I attended a funeral this morning and on the way back to pick up the kids we stopped and picked up a Rotisserie chicken and devoured it in the car, I'm sure if any one saw us in the car they would have thought we were a bit strange. Well, so far the dieting is working good, I've lost 7 pounds as of this morning (which I am sure is mostly water weight) only 23 to go, to reach my first weight loss goal. I also had a good workout...30 minutes on the track (in shorts in January was nice).

Prayer request today is for Cameron who caught the puke bug today, but after a three hour nap, seems to be feeling better, but I hope he continues to get back to 100%.

Back to the first "S"

So, I wanted to finish my thoughts from the other day quickly on the first "S" in the SPF (Spiritual, Physical, and Financial).  I mentioned that I think getting in the WORD everyday is very important, but as I have been reading the last few days (in my attempt to read the New Testament this year), I realized that I want to make sure I am not just glossing over the text in an effort to "check the box" each day and to make sure that I really try to understand what I am reading and that I get something out of the daily reading.  It is so easy to say "that the Bible is so confusing", and sometimes some of the messages are a little difficult to decipher, but I think sometimes that is because we really don't spend a lot of time really trying to understand that we are reading and if we focus on each passage and follow along what is happening then it will make a lot more sense.  Recently I've been helping on Wednesday nights at church with the Nathan Project and we've been studying the book of ACTS.  It is amazing what I have got out of this chapter since I have really been studying and paying attention to what is happening chapter by chapter as the early church was created and as they started spreading the Good News.  Anyways, I hope to really pay attention to what I am reading this year and gain a much better knowledge of the New Testament and better understand the Bible and what it means to me.

Prayer today is for the small group of people that I am texting daily who are also reading through the New Testament with me this year.  I pray that we would make time everyday to read and concentrate and understand what the Bible is telling us.

Baby steps

Today my 4th workout of the year was I guess a little better, but so far my workouts this year have been pathetic. I am so out of shape, I am having to start back really slow, which is often the case I find myself in. I can never seem to stick with a workout long enough to get out of the "baby step" phase...but hopefully this is the year than I can stick with something long enough to really get in to it...

Day 3 of the cabbage soup diet was pretty good...luckily tomorrow is the milk and bananas day, woo hoo!

Prayer request today is for Leigh and her family as they mourn the loss of her dad...

Day 4

Well, so far so good.  I've worked out each of the first three days of the year and have been eating pretty good...not great, but pretty good.  Day 1 of the cabbage soup diet yesterday fared pretty well, but I had a hard time not snacking when I got home.  Today we eat the soup and all the vegetables we can eat, oh and we get to have a baked potato with butter for dinner!  Woo Hoo!  Not sure if I'll workout today or take the day off, three in a row and I might need  a rest day.  However, to get 300 in the year, you can't take too many off and it is nice to start off with a bunch in a row to build up a reserve of misses, so we'll see.  My problem is being so stinking busy at work I really can't afford to go and be gone for an hour and a half.

Prayer request today...there are several important ones:  First for my boss Chris and his family as they mourn the loss of his dad who passed away yesterday, second for Leigh who is having to take her father off his ventilator today and the doctors don't think he'll make it very long after that, and finally Eva is pretty sick with the flu or something...fever and puking...yuck!

Going drastic

Okay, so for two days, I have worked out both days, eaten better (although not great), but now that I am back to work and on a bit of a regular schedule, Cara and I are going to try out the 'ol cabbage soup diet.  Day 1, today we are to eat only cabbage soup (that is actually pretty good) and fruit, water, and we can drink cranberry juice.  It's 11:00 at the time of this post and I am officially starving!!!  I've had one bowl of soup, pineapple, and a pear...and some water.  This is going to be a long 7 days, but I hope to kick start the diet with this plan. 

Prayer request today is for my little baby Eva (she will always be my baby) who is not feeling good and had a fever all night.

First "S"

The whole idea Of this blog is to outline the 36 ways/goals/ideas, or whatever I end up calling them to improve your life. The most important one of the three is always going to be the S (spiritual) since God should always be first in everything we do. I believe that if we put God first in all we do, everything after will fall into place according to God's plan. I am not placing any order of each of the 36 things per category, but of the three categories "s" will always be most important.

The first S goal will be to get in the word every day...set a goal and maybe even get some people together to create an accountability group, to read the Bible every day, no matter what. I'll expand on this more tomorrow.

Prayer request today is for everyone heading back to work after the Holidays....especially me...

Happy new year

And so it begins. We started the year off right by attending church this morning with great worship and a great message by Pastor Doug.

Most people with headaches today is because they drank too much last night, but no drinking for me, I think mine is because of not having any caffeine today, which is pretty sad that I have that bad of a need for it. Oh well, it will get better I am sure. I had a pretty decent day of eating and did actually get on the treadmill for a half an hour, but baby steps on both.

Prayer request today is for Pastor Doug...nothing specific, just pray for him and Laura.