No, not for office. My past is far too checkered and shady for that.

For my health. And to clear my head, become a better person, evolve, shed some stress, etc.

I remembered that my friend Ephraim lowered his blood pressure about 15 points just by running several times a week. I have needed to do something about my high bp for some time now. Time to put up or shut up.

So, I’m running. On Wednesday I ran 1.5 miles. First exercise aside from tennis I’ve done in months. And the first time I’ve ran since probably 1997. It was excruciating. I definitely felt it the next day in my shins, my knees and calves and thighs. My muscles were in full revolt. They must have been like WTF is this bullshit?!

This morning I woke up at 5:30 am and ran another 1.5 miles. My plan is to run 4x a week, with a day off in between. Now, when I say “run” I really mean run for a bit, walk for a bit, run again. Alternating, like the experts say to do when you’re not a young pup anymore and you are starting up a new strenuous activity after years of inactivity.

The route is great…I’m going past the farm near my house and then down a shady country lane. Very picturesque. The only problem is the shoulders of the road are a little narrow in some stretches. And the road is hard. It would definitely be better on a track. If my knees wind up taking too much of a beating, I will switch to a track surface though. You have to think long-term, too. No sense getting into shape if I destroy my knees in the process.

The short-term goal is to lose 10-15 pounds. And to lower the bp. Just losing the weight is good for the bp in itself, but exercise helps it too. The long term goal is to get myself to my college “fightin’ weight”, and just become more self-confident in general.

I started at 197. I usually am right at 200 pounds. This morning I weighed in at 194 after the run, but I doubt all three pounds was due to the two jogs alone. I haven’t been eating a lot, and what I have has been more sensible (no fried foods for lunch, only rice cakes and water for snacks when home). On the off days, I’m going to do some situps and stomach crunches just so I don’t lose the progress I gain from running. I want to avoid having to join a gym, because I simply don’t like the sterility of the places and the macho preening. I have no qualms about running in bad weather (we’ll see if I feel the same come mid-January).

Updates on this activity/goal will probably be posted here at the bottom of this entry rather than in new ones.

(8/20): On my 8th run this morning…. almost made it to two miles!!! Holding at 193. Most surprising to me is the fact that I am getting up regularly at 5:30-6:00 a.m. with no trouble.
(8/25): Made a mile without a break. Overall distance still increasing each time out.
(8/28): Another mile uninterrupted. Shaved ~15-20 sec. off my time, which is still far above the average of 10:07.
(8/29): Weighed in at 189 today….before my afternoon run.
(8/31): 187. Ten pound goal is achieved. Woot!
(9/2): Made a mile and a half without pausing. Two miles overall with only a short break of less than a quarter mile. If I can get to three without stopping, I’ll be able to enter a 5K maybe.
(9/3): Ditto.
(9/8): Still maxxed out at 2 miles total with one short break after a mile+. 186 today. Only four pounds to go! Next time out I am going to try for 3 miles.
(9/23):  Finally made two miles without a break.  Hovering around 185.   I’ve been eating worse lately though (blaming sports).  My average time is not improving, but I’ve giving up on that — I’ve always been very slow, even as a kid.