Getting in Shape for 5k's (part 1)

Here we are eight months before my first naked 5K run! So, I have been doing my best to work out and get myself into shape. As many of you who have read any of my blogs already know, I am a heavier guy, but that is not stopping me from getting my work out on. A recent physical brought me the good news of 15 pounds lost over the last 30 days (yea me!). Over the last month I have changed my eating and workout habits considerably to get myself ready and it seems to be working.

As for the work out, since I now go totally nude at home, I am now working out naked (except for running shoes on the treadmill). I must say that working out in the nude feels a lot different than when I wore clothes. I can without hesitation say it is more freeing. As for running naked I would say that I definitely had to get used to it. I will say that the first few times it did felt a little awkward, but after a few days it became very natural. I am following something called the Galloway method of running. I talked about it before in a blog. I basically run for four minutes and then I walk for one. That also took some getting used to, but after the first week, it seemed to become natural. I no longer had to use the clock on the treadmill since my inner clock was telling when to run and when to walk. My goal is to get to a full run, no walking for the events. I feel as my weight continues to go down, my running times will get better.

I also have changed my eating habits. I eat mostly fruits and vegetables. I have given up breads, flour, sugar and so forth. That also took a little getting used to, but I have done it before. My current goal is to lose 65 pounds before the end of the year and I am already 15 down, so 50 more to go. I am crazy excited to do my first run. In fact, I am so excited, I decided to run two of them. If for some reason, I am unable to run the entire 5Ks, I will be happy to run/walk and just finish. This will be a big step in my life. FYI, I was not always this heavy. Unfortunately, I broke my back twelve years ago and was laid up for a while. I gained a lot of weight. I am not making excuses and once again I am not losing weight to look better (which I am cool with), but to get healthy. At 51, I need to make sure I am doing whatever is best for me to live a long healthy life, as we all should at any age.