run, fat boy, run a.k.a. the story of derek
Semi-recently we dialed up Run, Fat Boy, Run from Netflix after seeing a preview for it on another movie from Netflix. We are very much the Netflix family now, especially after little Lauren was born and our "going out to dinner nearly every night" lifestyle changed to be more of a "lucky to eat dinner nearly every night" lifestyle. Those of you with a child understand this. And those of you with more than one, or twins (!) well, my hat is off to you. I have no idea how you do it. Anyway...
So out of five stars I would give the movie four. It should probably really only be a three star movie, but the basic premise hits very close to home for me. (And to be clear, it's the running premise I'm talking about, not the leaving a pregnant fiancee at the altar part) The movie in a nutshell is that a chubby dude is trying to get his lady friend back by training for a marathon to show up her new, smarmy runner boyfriend. He (chubs) of course, is the epitome of health in that he drinks a lot, smokes a lot, sleeps a lot, etc. I won't ruin the ending for you (he gets her back) but here's how this hits home for me....I have started running on a fairly regular basis also training for runs. Not marathons, but still. The reasons for this are threefold:
So why do I do it? Why don't I bike or play racquetball or something like that to get some exercise? Well it all comes back to what's most important, my lovely little family. Kirsten is a life-long runner (and an excellent one at that) so this not only makes her happy that I'm working out, but it also gives us another thing that we can do together which is great.
This past weekend we went up to Green Bay and ran the Bellin Run. It was my first time not only running the Bellin, but also running a 10k. I know, this is not a marathon or anything, but for me it was tough and a great accomplishment. I still remember the first couple times going to the gym where I could barely run 1 mile. I also remember the day I ran 2.75 miles (not sure why, it just sticks in my head) thinking that I was superman. And now, I ran a 6 mile race! Feels great and as the picture (below) shows, it was a great family day. Kirsten pushed Lauren in "the B.O.B." (pictured, left) and finished I 
believe as the first mommy/stoller runner which is awesome. There were a couple guys ahead of her, but no ladies, so she was incredible and I was in awe of her as I usually am when it comes to running. As for me, I finished 2 minutes over my goal of one hour and 3 minutes behind Kirsten (and the stroller) which yes, is a little humiliating, but it's all worthwhile when we can pose for a picture after completing something hard together as a family.
(have a great weekend)
So out of five stars I would give the movie four. It should probably really only be a three star movie, but the basic premise hits very close to home for me. (And to be clear, it's the running premise I'm talking about, not the leaving a pregnant fiancee at the altar part) The movie in a nutshell is that a chubby dude is trying to get his lady friend back by training for a marathon to show up her new, smarmy runner boyfriend. He (chubs) of course, is the epitome of health in that he drinks a lot, smokes a lot, sleeps a lot, etc. I won't ruin the ending for you (he gets her back) but here's how this hits home for me....I have started running on a fairly regular basis also training for runs. Not marathons, but still. The reasons for this are threefold:
- To appease my lovely wife by getting my heart rate up a couple times a week, which she helpfully suggested I do, so I can be around for a long time and remain to be in my peak level of hotness. Okay, I made the last part of the sentence up but I'm guessing something about physical appearance has crept into her mind when she encourages me to run.
- To shed a couple pounds. I believe it was shortly after our wedding where I hit my all-time high of 170(ish) pounds. This is a large number for me since my standard weight was between 150-155 for a long, long time. (thank you very much aging body with a slowing metabolism. now I know what happened to Rosanne Barr, John Candy and the like)
- For my health. Also around the time I got married it was discovered that my cholesterol was a whopping 340 which means I was basically a walking heart attack smothered in a Quarter Pounder with Cheese. It was suggested that I start exercising more and eating better to see if I could lower it, which I did, to what I thought was a fantastic number of 240 (ish) but apparently the doctors felt differently as now I am on medication for it which has a side effect of ruining my liver but hey, at least I would die with great looking LDL levels!
So why do I do it? Why don't I bike or play racquetball or something like that to get some exercise? Well it all comes back to what's most important, my lovely little family. Kirsten is a life-long runner (and an excellent one at that) so this not only makes her happy that I'm working out, but it also gives us another thing that we can do together which is great.
This past weekend we went up to Green Bay and ran the Bellin Run. It was my first time not only running the Bellin, but also running a 10k. I know, this is not a marathon or anything, but for me it was tough and a great accomplishment. I still remember the first couple times going to the gym where I could barely run 1 mile. I also remember the day I ran 2.75 miles (not sure why, it just sticks in my head) thinking that I was superman. And now, I ran a 6 mile race! Feels great and as the picture (below) shows, it was a great family day. Kirsten pushed Lauren in "the B.O.B." (pictured, left) and finished I 
believe as the first mommy/stoller runner which is awesome. There were a couple guys ahead of her, but no ladies, so she was incredible and I was in awe of her as I usually am when it comes to running. As for me, I finished 2 minutes over my goal of one hour and 3 minutes behind Kirsten (and the stroller) which yes, is a little humiliating, but it's all worthwhile when we can pose for a picture after completing something hard together as a family.(have a great weekend)
posted by Derek at 9:12 PM
5 Comments:
I am thoroughly impressed by your running ability! I really like this post and your reasoning for making a better time! :) I laughed a lot at this. It may not be a marathon, but after I just about died running like 3/4 of a mile during that race, I think you're doing great! keep it up - oh and you look really skinny in that picture. Not too skinny, just skinny. ok I'll stop typing now.
Great post my love! I don't think I have ever laughed this hard at something you have written. :)
Well, I have read it and I can nearly fat, I mean fit, right into the story that you've shared. Only I found myself thinking about beer the whole time I was reading it.
You see, when I was young pup, me and the boys used to go beat up ourselves back country skiing all day or paddling rivers during the spring run off. When we finished someone usually had the grand idea of leaking a couple of brews and discussing the events.
I appreciate your entry and Erika had urged me to read it, as she knew that I would enjoy it.
Thanks,
Bill :)
Tell your love that there is another activity you can do a couple times a week to raise the heart rate, burn calories, and improve your health that is a lot more fun than running. I'll give you a hint, it starts with an S and ends with ex. Oh yeah!!
Congrats, Derek. Your reasons are very altruistic. Doesn't having responsibility for other human beings change your perspective in ways you hadn't thought about? You may have not cared about eating cheeseburgers when it was just you...
Health and weight are affected by two primary things: exercise and diet. It seems that you're attacking the exercise part wholeheartedly. While I've never had weight issues myself, switching to vegetarian diet had an amazing affect on my blood stats. In fact, I was able to get my cholesterol level down to a meager 113 (more info at http://www.yanoff.org/veg/index.shtml#08122007). While this diet is not for everyone, sometimes just having a "meatout monday" is a good start towards attacking that cholesterol level. If you ever want more info, just let me know, or checkout the vegetarian section I started at www.yanoff.org.
Regards,
-Scott
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