No Pain No Gain

Since Jan. 2 Jeannie and I have been involved with a group of people from church committed to losing weight and becoming healthier. Our inspiration comes from the hit TV show on NBC, "Biggest Loser," which is what we have affectionately dubbed our group.

Originally the competition was to be a three-month marathon of dieting, exercise, and waking up every Monday morning knowing the scale wouldn't lie. We had 11 couples join the group and Jeannie and I ended up third overall in total percent of pounds lost since Jan. 2. Overall she and I combined to lose 44 pounds -- 24ish by me and another 20ish for her. Not bad... not bad at all.

Considering I pretty much stopped trying to shed pounds about halfway through, that's REALLY good, actually. By the grace of God alone I lost a quarter of a hundred pounds.

March 31 was the deadline day to end the contest, but the idea began to pick up steam over the last couple of months and some of us have decided to continue on through June. I reluctantly agreed at the last minute -- partly because there's going to be a prize at the end, and mostly because my wife threatened me. The bottom line is I am still in the business of losing the excess body baggage I've accumulated since I pretty much shut down my physical activity about a decade ago.

Last week, of course, was the first week of the new competition and again the mood didn't really strike me at the beginning to the week. Jeannie has become an exercise junkie -- she's doing some weightlifting, aerobic-type workouts consistently... she even participated in a 5K run last weekend. I never thought I would live to see the day my wife ran a 5K -- not because of anything else other than she's just not that type of gal. But she for sure ran it, proudly.

Maybe that was the inspiration I needed. I finally got in a groove driving home from work on Friday and within 15 minutes of getting home I was in shorts and a jacket with IPod in tow. Our neighborhood, luckily, is almost perfectly in the shape of a walking track, so it provides a nice exercise opportunity when you get the urge to do so.

I had that urge. About 2 1/4 laps around the neighborhood is a mile. I know, I've driven it to check. I pushed it to about six laps (counting one lap as a warmup), and felt better than I have in weeks.

Saturday, before going to work in the early afternoon, I felt the urge again and walked. I added another lap. Everything seemed fine until about halfway through the sixth lap.

I like to make the joke that I've never cramped in my life because fat doesn't cramp. Other than an occasional visit from Mr. Charlie Horse in the middle of the night, I haven't been able to feel an actual muscle in my body in 20 years. But toward the end of that sixth lap Saturday, I felt tightness behind my right knee that quickly extended upward to behind the thigh.

I've been around athletes enough to know what that means. Very briefly, I felt a surge of accomplishment -- I had finally proven that I indeed did have a hamstring!!! But just as quickly, that newly-discovered hammy began to tighten like a rope around the bull at the rodeo.

It began to buck like the bull, too. And it hurt. Not wanting to miss out on my goal of seven laps, I pushed through as best as I could and eventually made it around. But the seventh lap was an exercise in nothing but pain.

The leg continued to cramp the rest of the day off and on. It finally settled down Saturday night when I was able to really sit down and just rest for a little while... and after I'd taken about 20 Tylenol. Tylenol is such a great thing, you know. I've grown to love it even more as the years have crept by.

I am proud to say that I got back on the horse Sunday and managed another four laps. I felt twinges of tightness in the hammy, but made it through without incident. Showered, changed, made it to church on time -- I made the comment to Jeannie on the way to church that I loved that feeling that comes at the end of the workout, when you know you've accomplished something physically, and you hit the shower and feel like a brand new man afterwards.

That's the gain part of the pain. I was somewhat rewarded this morning when I stepped on the scale for the weekly weigh-in and discovered I'd lost three pounds. Considering that most of that probably came in the last couple of days when I recommitted myself to working out, I'll take it.

But my goal is, I want to double the 24 I lost the first time around. That's 48. Now I got 45 left. And at least one functioning hamstring. I like them odds!!