Addictions, again!

Been awhile since I've updated the blog and a lot of things have changed in my life, so to speak! We have actually moved in with my Dad. A couple of reasons, which the main reason being our bankruptcy final became final and we had to move!

Dad has had some health issues and the move may be a blessing after all. Dad had a heart attack about two months ago and had to have two stints put in that night. He had three blockages on the right side of his heart as well, which he ended up having a quadruple bypass just a few weeks back.

He currently is in a rehab facility not doing much. He is walking some, but his breathing exercises are non existent and his stubborn, bull headed attitude about his blood sugar just pisses me off.

I took him to the rehab place from the hospital and of course we had to stop at Wendy's for a cheeseburger and a large "sweet" tea. I've told people it's like picking your buddy up from the alcohol rehab place and going straight to the liquor store or a bar. Kind of funny, but I know addicts who have done the same thing, and here it again, it goes back to an addiction, whether it be cocaine, heroin, pot, alcohol, food or sweets!

Really frustrating to watch someone go through all the trouble of having their chest pried open, just to go back to the same old shit that got them there in the first place.

Anyway, he's all gung ho to come home and do all his therapy at home. Anita and I initially was going to stay on his ass, but have decided, it's nearly impossible to help someone, until they are ready for help.

We'll see!

Bittersweet day...

I took off on the 29'er with the new rubber and man did it make a difference. I hadn't rode in almost two weeks, but rode the farthest yet last night. 9.1 miles in 0:50:28, 10.82 mph average. I felt as good as I ever did and it really makes me wonder if it's the tires or what. The course yesterday was all blacktop, with several long climbs, but everything just seemed to work.

I can also say, I have officially fallen off my bike. I've had my clip in pedals for several rides now, and honestly thought it wouldn't be a problem getting out if needed. Well yesterday I had stopped for a second and took off with my left shoe not clipped. I kept screwin' with it and eventually my heel got against the tire and stopped me on the edge of the black top, and boom! I'm in the ditch. Luckily no scrapes, and most of all no one saw me!!!

While on the ride, my Dad sent me a text that his little Jack Russell terrier, Mazy had came home. She'd been gone for a couple of days, and we were starting to worry maybe the coyotes had bushwhacked her. But he said she just came running around the house last night like nothing had ever happened!

Got home and felt really good, worked on Kody's bike to ready for qualifier this weekend. Noticed several police vehicles flying South on 57, but never gave it much thought. Later found out, a old family friend had taken his life. I'm not even sure where Phil was at, and the police vehicles may have been for something else, but the time frame is close.

Phil Wiseman Jr. aka... Lil' Phil had grown up next to us when I lived at home and we still talked when we saw each other, back and forth on Facebook some. In fact he came to Mom's funeral and I remembered how much he'd grown over the years. He was a helluva man now, big, strong, several cool tats, but still flashing that mischievous, shit eatin' grin he always had. His Dad and my Dad were good friends through archery and bow hunting, and basically just a good neighbor.

Not sure what all went on in Lil' Phil's life yesterday, but it sounds like he had just gotten married and everything went to shit in just a few short weeks. He posted a farewell message on his Facebook page which makes it worse to so many people. A lot of his friends are just wondering, why he didn't call. I think there is a country song called "Glad you Called" right now that's pretty popular, too bad he wasn't listening to that! He leaves behind a loving Mom and Dad, a sister, extended families, a kid and tons of friends.

It's really ashamed when something like this happens, you have to wonder, what could have been done to stop it, but in the end it was a "rational" decision by an "irrational" person at that particular minute. He'd had enough, and know he's gone.

Rest in peace, young man, rest in peace.

April...my own worst enemy!

Well April has came and gone, and I believe I rode a grand total of 4 times. I did have a lot going on this month, but that shouldn't be a excuse. I have also come to the understanding I am my own worst enemy. While working out of the office I had a control situation where I brought food, fruit, etc... everyday and ate a lot better than now. I'm currently working out in the field doing inspection work on a construction job. It is so easy just to stop every morning and grab coffee, ho-ho's or a breakfast sandwich. Lunch is no better, although I have used the local Subway a few times.

I lost a couple weeks of riding do to some family obligations like moving my mother-in-laws trailer, plus we have started mowing the cemetery again, which unfortunately is becoming a 2 or 3 night job every other week, but still I could find some time to ride.

I have made a few changes to the old 29'er. I bought some road tires to try out on her. I just got the different tubes last night and will be hitting the asphalt again tonight. Hopefully she'll roll a little better!

Haven't really talked much to the "office" guys since being out in the field. They were my silent support group of sorts and didn't even know it. I know Brian bought a new road bike and has rode some, but as far as Aaron and Swab, who knows. I'm sure it won't take much to get the trip back in everyone's blood, but it does make it a little harder, at least for me, being alone all the time.

I'll try and post up some commentary on tonight's voyage here soon!

The wife journeys have come and passed. The first trip was pretty unsuccessful and Anita did a pretty good job. She's not exactly the "most" athletic person but is willing to put forth an effort in most things!

We left my Dad's house and I already had a route mapped out in my head. Things went pretty smoothly and I was trying to tell her about shifting, momentum and cadence, but honestly I'm still learning the same thing as well!

She struggles a little bit right now with the longer climbs. I should also note she has suffered from asthma from birth and her lung capacity is probably limited some. She felt like it was more being out of shape than the asthma, but she did fine. At one point she stopped and I peddled onward, and picked her up on the flip flop. I then ventured a right onto a gravel road, which unfortunately, made for some rough peddling. She eventually stopped and went back, giving me the wave to keep going.

I made my route, with a little stoppage on the long Hopkins ascent, but eventually made it to the top and ventured on towards Dad's, mostly downhill! Anita had made it back and rode even further back South down the blacktop and seemed none worse for the wear!

The next day I had planned another route and was upping my distance to 8 miles. Yesterday I had rode just 4.5 miles, but felt like today would be a good day to go further. I had just got home and changed when Anita called. I hadn't said a thing to her about riding,and wondered if this would be the old "go ahead without me" call, but she was asking "if" we were riding.

I waited, of course, for her to get there and off we went for day #2. Today's journey I had laid out in Somerville. I planned to go 8 miles or bust. The trip was all along decent blacktop, with some hills, but nothing to serious. The first long hill is were Anita bailed on me, but I kept going. I made out to about 4 miles and reversed my route. I wasn't really tired, but was happy when I received a call on the cell about some construction work at my mother-in-laws lot. It was a short conversation, just long enough to catch my breath and grab a little water and I was off again.

Nothing real eventful, but as usual my calculations were off and I only made an official 7.8 mile journey. Tonight the wife is working in Evansville so I'm loaded and ready to roll after work. Going to do at least 8, maybe 10 miles. We'll have to see!

Somewhat proud of myself, and Anita for that matter. I rode everyday this week so far,and she has ridden twice. I feel like I'm continually getting stronger and that's what my goal is.

Food has been OK, not good, but just OK. I ate out at lunch everyday so far. Once at Subway, twice at Gatti-Land and yesterday at Shyler's. Shyler's is coming off the list. Seems like every time I go there it gives me the diaroo! Not good when biking, I think! Gatti's is decent and I load up on salad then have a bread stick or two and some pasta. Dinner has been about the usual, just trying to make more decent choices.

I feel like I'm doing good, and at some point soon would like to weigh,just to see if I'm doing as good as I think.

Back home again in the old stripper pits!

Day two of the riding seemed like a good idea. I was determined to keep riding, so I ventured off to my old stomping grounds today for a little nostalgic ride through the pits. Most people don't know what "stripper pits" are, but when the coal mines strip, or dig up the earth to harvest the coal, they used to leave mounds or spoils of the dirt. Over time, they become re-forested and provide a lot of enjoyment for outdoor enthusiast, who like to fish, hunt, four-wheel and dirt bikes, etc...

Back in the late 70's and early 80's when I rode out there it was all owned by the mining companies. Since then they have sold or leased these many acres of land to individuals, corporations and so forth, so now all of the land is private property. Fortunately for me, my brother and some buddies have leased 600+ acres, which they hunt and fish on.

I parked at the old Coleman Cemetery, I believe. There are a few cemeteries the mines stripped around in the area and I always get the names mixed up! This particular spot is well know for the parties back in the day and more so for being the dump site of a local double murder. In 1986 a young couple murdered her parents because they wouldn't let her marry this gentleman. Anyway they killed them one night around Christmas and dumped their bodies over a highwall, or cliff, to be found later by a guy scrounging through some junk. In these pictures, it would be just about right of my seat! Awesome huh?

This was the beginning of my adventure! I took off down an old road I had traveled probably a thousand times on dirt bikes, but everything had changed. It was all grown up and briers were everywhere, including my unprotected, fleshy legs! I eventually made it to a old ditch, where unfortunately another guy had perished several years ago as well in a car wreck. My brother had made a bridge over the creek but was made for 4-wheelers and the pipe were just wide enough for a bike tire to drop in to. I walked the bike across this section! The section ahead of me was heavily grown over and I could hardly see the old trail. It eventually ran in to a hairy section of briers, and I retreated back across the rickety bridge.

I then ventured off towards what used to be "The Highwall"! We used to climb these steep embankments, but the State has came in and leveled most of these areas down. Safety concerns I guess? It was a pretty good climb and I made it, only stopping once because of a tree on the trail. I decided, it would be more fun to ride backwards, or in the opposite direction next time...all down hill! It was pretty cool to again see the areas I had spent so much of my youth in riding. The "highwall" itself is no longer, just a gently rolling hill, not as perilous as it was back then, but still an awesome site.

I took off down the old trail, which was gone and now replaced with a ton of black locust trees, the ones with the big ass thorns! More ripped flesh! That trail evidently had become flooded over the years and was now about 4-6 inches of soft gooey mud! I made it through most, determined to make it back to the old haulage road unscathed!

I encountered a big branch and tried to pedal over the stick, but lost traction with the bike and my foot and the pedal. The back of my calf ripped across the gnarly pedal teeth, tearing even more flesh. This one actually bled a bit. I cussed a little, and trudged onward.

I finally made it out to the road, stopped for some water and took off down the road towards the old "Junk Pile" road. It too was all grown up, but the boys did have a gate there and I could easily climb over or under it and take off down another memory lane so to speak.

I chickened out! Hell I was beat and bleeding and still had a mile or so back to the van! I leisurely pedaled back to the transporter,wiped some blood off my leg and cracked into a Gatorade. A beer sounds better, but Gator Juice and water was all I had!

I plan to come back often and explore my youths playground, but tonight may be the biggest challenge of all...riding with the wife!

Pyshoholic breakdown

My bike came in last week, which I was really excited for, but the strangest thing happened on the way to Henderson. Probably not strange in an addicts world, but I often wonder, or know, I'm addicted to food of some sorts.

I stopped at KFC for no reason other than seeing the new "boneless" chicken grabber things advertised and had two, on the way to pick up my "healthy" mountain bike. I then stopped immediately afterward at Dairy Queen in Henderson for burger, onion rings and a blizzard, with my new bike in tow!

I really wish I understood addiction more than I do. I read the Heroine Diaries by Nikki Sixx a while back and it's amazing to see how others handle and deal with addiction, or not handling actually. Granted, I'm fighting off burgers and rings, while Nikki was a drug fueled mad man, but still the concept of an addiction is mind blowing.

What made me just suddenly snap, with no self control, to do what I did. I'm sure it's a psychological imbalance of some sort, but still, you have to wonder just what triggers shit like that.

I had the bike for over a week before I actually rode it. Makes you wonder right? Well. Kody was prepping for a LL qualifier all week and I was busy getting the van, bike, etc... ready for that, plus the weather wasn't cooperating too much either. I decided this week was going to be different!

Last night I stopped at Bluegrass and rode the 29er for 4.8 miles, in just over 35 minutes. Not too bad I guess, but I actually never got too winded, but did stop and walk for maybe 75 yards up a incline.

The bike itself is pretty bad ass, and I really like the way it looks and handles. An $800 bike ought to look cool and work, right? I got my bike at Breck's Bicycles. They all are a pretty cool bunch, but while I was there, they had a couple customers come in with road bikes. The one guy picked up a custom set of Zipp wheels, which go for about $800 each, just for the rim! I just thought Mountain bikes were expensive I guess!!

Anyway, I'm planning on hitting it again tonight, not the DQ, but the open road! Remarkably my back and hip didn't hurt any, unlike now while sitting here typing away with a dull pain in my butt cheek. Weird, it usually goes away after I'm up and moving! God's sign to get my ass up and move I guess!

Oh yeah, I went back to the Dr. Etherton and my blood work was good, my BP is doing much better and he really liked my iPhone apps i use to send him updates. I lost right at 9 lbs as well, since Feb. 13, so something must be working!

One month in!

Well it's been a month since I started all this and I'm proud to say, I'm still doing pretty good. The problem is, when I started I weighed on 3 different scales and they all had different numbers!

I believe when I started I was in the 331 - 336 lbs. range. I weighed at the Surgery Center last Thursday and was 326.7 lbs, so I know I have been losing weight! I settled on saying 331 pounds as my initial weight, that's what the digital scale at Tri-State Ortho said, so I'm a believer!

Now another "problem" of sorts; we have quit the Surgery Center cleaning gig! No place to weigh again. Anita started a full time job, with benefits this past Monday, so we are no longer cleaning 'til 8 or 9 PM most nights!! I'll just have to find another weigh in spot. Hooray!

I really disliked working there, but I really disliked having my wife there till 10 or 11 PM every night by herself. I loved the people working there and will miss them all, but I was never comfortable with her taking trash out to a dark dumpster and the thought of some crackhead scoping the place out in search of pain meds coerced me into helping. Thankfully we never had a single issue, but I felt better knowing at least I was the one now taking the risk of getting conked in the head!!

Anyway the healthy eating has really not been a problem. It's almost always plain oatmeal, a banana and apple for breakfast. Healthy Choice at lunch, then a sensible dinner somewhere! I can honestly tell I'm losing weight too. In the face, arms, etc.. and especially the chest or "man boobs" seem to be getting smaller! The Livestrong website has made it fun to track food and has really opened my eyes to better choices. My sodium intake was astonishing sometimes as to what I was eating. We went to Denny's one Sunday morning and I had my usual Lumberjack Slam. Almost 1,800 mg. of sodium right there on one plate. That was 186% of my daily intake right there. Pretty amazing, when you start paying attention.

I have also noticed my blood sugar reading have gone down quit a bit as well. My blood pressure has not been so lucky! It seems to be still running high and I have another appoint for that next Thursday and I expect a medication change.

I finally ordered my a bike too! I had hem hawed back and forth on several different bikes, but eventually decide to stick with what I've had in the past, which is Specialized! I had a Hard Rock a few years ago and sold it, but always felt like they made awesome bikes. I had actually offered to buy a Rockhopper 26" bike from some dude of eBay. Actually he didn't receive any bids and I offered him $435 shipped for the bike. He never seemed to receptive to shipping the bike, and I now wonder if it was stolen or what. Anyway, I looked at the 29er's at Dan's in Mt. Vernon and would have bought from them again, but the guy I was dealing with just didn't seem to want to "deal"! My Dave Ramsey teachings was ready to offer a cash for the deal, but he just didn't want to talk. They would have had to ordered the bike anyways, and maybe once it arrived they would have been in a dealing mood, but it made it easy for me "just walk away".

Anyway, I called every Specialized dealer in the area, hoping to find one in stock, but to no avail. I even convinced myself to go with a Cannondale in Bloomington, IN and even started that way, but waffled back to the Spez!

I ordered it from Breck's Bikes in Owensboro, KY, got a deal and awaiting it's arrival as I type. It's black with some brown accents and looks pretty sweet to me, especially considering the other color choice is sea foam green!

I saw Dr. Whitacre this week as well and it seems like my back/leg problem is getting better. I do still have some pain at times, but just in the upper part of my butt cheek! I really think once that pain radiates down towards my leg, the epidural injection blocks it there. I'm not a doctor, but that's my diagnosis! I asked him about biking and he felt it probably wouldn't be a problem, but hell, who knows. He said they also "last" from anywhere from a few weeks to even years, so I'm optimistic it lasts a while.

If the new velocipede makes it here by the weekend, I plan to do some riding to just see how much pain I have. Hopefully none.

Thursday, Feb. 11, 2010

Well got up again today with my blood pressure sky high. 184/89 was the number right out of bed! Not sure what the hell is going on there, but I have an appointment tonight to see what is going on.

Saw Dr. Etherton today and upped my Taztia back to where it was when I saw Polly Anna. I'm going to start eating right for a month or so and just see if it works! I like oatmeal and my diabetes book says straight cut oatmeal is awesome. We'll see. Got to watch sodium intake as well.

More to follow...

Feb. 10, 2010

Checking in!

Been a week since I logged into the blog. Still on course with healthy eating. Don't know if I have lost any weight because I just weighed myself yesterday. 330 pounds to be exact.

I had the epidural steroid injection done yesterday and it has gone quit well. My leg has actually quit aching, so I'll keep my fingers crossed on how long it will last. My wife, Anita says I was my usually wacky self under sedation. Babbling about useless BS, I'm sure.

I don't remember much about the procedure and wasn't really knocked out, just something to "take the edge" off, but I must have slept the entire time!

I have started using my iPhone apps to track my health. I use the Livestrong app for logging all my food, exercise and such. it's a pretty cool app. Yesterday while in pre-op for the procedure, they checked my blood pressure and sugar levels. My BP was 171/84, which is pretty high. My blood sugar was 112, which is good. I checked my BP again at home and it was 174/89. I re-checked it again this morning, straight out of bed and it was 173/84, so it looks like I need to see Doc Etherton soon! Reminder...appointment Thursday at 4:45 PM, we'll see.

I have a BP app called BP Buddy that works really well. Log all your data then email to whomever you want! They have a glucose Buddy too, so I'm going to use that one also.

Enough of the health stuff, let's talk bikes!

Still way up in the air as to what i want to do. Part of me wants to build from frame up, if I could control the costs, that would be sweet. I have also found a Cannondale F7, which is a decent bike, but from everything I've seen, the components are junk. That's the thing, most of these bikes are all the same, it's just when you add the derailleurs, shifters, brakes, etc... is where you get into the money. I'd still like to find a Kona Hoss to build on, but who knows, I change my mind like a "princess" looking at prom dresses!

I'm in no real hurry, cause we still have about 3 inches of freakin' snow on the ground, but I'd love to get active real soon!

Anyway, pretty proud of the way I've handled my food intake for a week. It started a day at a time, now hopefully a week at a time and monthly, you get the picture! I have roughly 68 weeks before next June or so, when we really have to make the decision, well probably about this time next year would be more accurate, but if I can stay on course until then, surely the last few months would be cake! I know, don't call me Shirley!

Later...

Friday, Feb. 4, 2010

Rain, rain here in Southern Indiana. Sucks. I hate winter anymore. Used to be when I was a kid, I loved the snow, etc... Now, once Christmas is done, I'm ready for Spring and warm weather.

Dietary went good again yesterday. Oatmeal for breakfast and an apple and banana. Lunch was a Lean Cuisine and dinner consisted of Fajita Quesadilla from Los Bravos. Another pretty good day for me anyway. Wonder what makes this so hard?

Started researching bikes again. I have had Specialized in the past and really liked the way they are built. The thing with so many of these mountain bikes, is the components is where the cash comes in. You can get in a decent MTB for anywhere from $450 to several thousands. I certainly don't feel the need for such a high end bike, but you also don't want something that will fail while out on long rides, especially if the Colorado trip comes to be.

Since I last bought my last bike, they have come out with the 29érs. These beast's have 29"wheels instead of the normal 26 inchers. For a big guy like myself, this may be the ticket. It's funny in the MTB circles, I'm what is referred to as a "Clydesdale", big and huge, like the Budweiser horses! Awesome, I love Budweiser products, especially the Bud Light Lime!!

I'm in no rush currently to buy a bike. I'm going to research and use what I learned in my Dave Ramsey course, cash is King! I did see a sweet deal on a Kona Caldera, but doubt I get it. I would be interested in a Kona Hoss, their "Clydesdale" offering, which is a sweet machine. It looks like they dropped the Hoss for 2010, but maybe there is some leftover deals out there to be had.

Lot of choices these days for sure in the biking world!

February 3, 2010

Day 1, lets see how it goes! I have never been very good at losing weight, but have wanted so bad to get back into shape. I ran track in High School and loved to run. I ran the 440, now the 400 meters in 53.2 seconds, which ain't too bad! I used to run all the time when younger and would again love to do so.

One of my passions would be to compete in a triathlon. But again, ol' fat ass can't do that now, being over 300 lbs. can he? Coincidentally, there is a couple of triathlons in our area every year, and I'm sure probably more if I looked. The first is in June and it's a Xterra sponsored triathlon at Scales Lake in Boonville.

This means it's a half mile swim, either a 11 mile or 5.5 mile bike ride and a 3.3 mile run. The event is almost all basically off road, including the run! It's on June 26th, exactly two weeks after our beautiful daughters wedding. What a good month that would be, if I made the race!

Honestly, I have no idea if I'd be ready for that. I'm still looking for a replacement bike and haven't ran in almost 3 decades. The swim, doesn't seem to bother me. I think if I'm in decent shape the swim shouldn't be too bad!

Shortly after that there is another triathlon, hosted again, by the Evansville YMCA. This is a little more involved. It's a half mile swim, biking 15 miles and a 3.3 mile run. Who knows if I can make it, besides God and myself.

I mention God quit a bit and here's a little background into that.

My Mom passed away September 1st of 2009. Shortly before her death, she asked me to start going to Church. Now, I have never been a Church goer, and quite honestly was a "non believer", doubter at best. Of course, I told her I would, to comfort her, but would probably never go. The night she passed away, I held her hand a told her it was time to go. I wasn't telling her to give up, but it was time to let go. She had fought this bitch of a disease twice before and won, but the third time just proved to be too much. That night, right there, with my sister on the other side of the bed, surrounded by my father and the rest of my family, God finally made an appearance in my life. I have no idea how I managed to get through that talk with my Mom. I'm the biggest wussy, crybaby in the world when it comes to stuff like this, but I made it through and she died right there holding my hand. My Aunt Connie said, "I was her hero". I felt good about that!

I sort of became more of a skeptical believer that night!

Anyway, I started going to Church the Sunday after her funeral and haven't missed too many times since. We go to Hillside Methodist in Princeton, IN and it's a more laid back "non traditional" service, and I actually enjoy going. I'm sometimes still a skeptic and doubter, but I'm getting there Mom!

Today, I cut my usual 4 Pop tarts to two and had coffee. Lunch was a Cafe Steamer, which kind of sucked and we ate at Taylor's II for dinner. Grilled tenderloin, salad and a bowl of chili, no beer!

We, meaning Anita and myself, clean at the Princeton Surgery Center. This is our second job of the day, and quit frankly, I hate it, most of the time. The thing is though, if I don't help, Anita will do it all by herself, which would mean 4 to 4.5 additional hours a day, plus I don't like the fact she's dragging trash out to a dumpster at 10:30 PM. It's a pretty secure area,right next to a hospital in fact, but still I don't like it she's in the dark, by herself.

So we split the work. Not exactly 50/50, but I joke with her it's more like 80/20 with me getting the bad end of the stick!

I told her on the way home, "well I did it, not too bad a day with the food"!

Day 1 is in the books and I actually did probably pretty well. About 450 some more days to go!

February 2

Today was an interesting day at work. Somehow we managed to go from Groundhogs Day to Karl Tanner and the mountain bike trip he took a few years back. Keith, aka... The Swab got wind of this adventure and was immediately ready to set sail for Colorado, of course he's the young pup of the office and is always full of piss an vinegar!

Brian and I wanted to do this since Karl had went. Now I'm 48 and will be 49 on February 13th. Brian is 39. Anyway we got to talking and everyone was all in. Aaron, is also involved and he's under 30, so it's an old guy, an older guy and two pups basically!

We eventually decide, hey let's do it. Not this summer, but next. The summer of 2011 will be the targeted trip. Brian has asked KET...aka Karl tanner if he'd be up for another adventure, so if he goes we'll have some "experience" for the trip.

Now the problem. I sold my bike a few months back to pay of some bills, so I'm going to need another bike, plus the fact that I'm extremely overweight and out of shape! Hell,I've got a year and a half, so I think, I'm extremely motivated to get this done. It's been a dream of mine to do something like this forever. I watched a documentary on Mt. Everest over the Holiday's and thought that would be the ultimate, but that's a $40,000 trip! The MTB trip is $850, a little more in my broke ass range!

So, after today everybody is all excited and searching high and low for bikes for me and Swab.

Tomorrow, we'll see if the healthy living aspect takes shape. I'm currently well over 300 pounds and don't know if I really want an exact number. I'm borderline diabetic and have high blood pressure. Every doctor I see, says the same thing...lose weight. I figure if I could loose in the 100 lb range, I'd be good. I weighed just under 200 lbs when I graduated, and had back surgery in 1986 at somewhere around 230 lbs. I'm shooting for 220 lb range, and I'm 6'3" to boot!

I plan to keep this blog updated, and with the enthusiasm of the "kids" around here and maybe the grace of God, support from my wife and kids, I'll make it. We'll see!