Channeling Nerddom into Fitness? I found my new home!

[AceInMySleeve]

I'll start with a little history, skim over/skip if you don't like reading things. I was a reasonably athletic guy, won a few varsity letters in high school, participated in a few intramurals, triathlons, etc. in college, but never really stuck with anything. After school I got a desk job, and proceeded to spend the next 18 months sitting at a desk staring at a computer. Then, I would go home and play video games, drink with friends, eat whatever was tasty (all crap), or sit around and watch tv. Like a lot of people, I slowly but surely gained weight, going from about 165 in high school to over 200.

Every once in awhile, I'd decide to get in shape, stick with something (P90x, running, gym membership, triathlon, diets, anything and everything) for about 3 weeks, then go back to my old habits.

Case in point:

I completed my first Half-Iron distance on 10/2/2011, the Half-Full in Ellicott City, MD in 7:06:55. http://rev3tri.com/half-full/results-hf/2011-results/ Bib #189 for my splits and stuff. I weighed about 185lbs, after losing about 15lbs having done the bare minimum training, but I survived.

http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff366/ARice87/Half-FullRaceDay.jpg

Basking in my own accomplishment, I shot up to over 200lbs, highlighted by this picture at Thanksgiving 2011 (how do you put on 20lbs in 7 weeks? beer, wings, and no exercise).

http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff366/ARice87/Thanksgiving2011-me.jpg

So, after checking myself out in the mirror in January, I said fuck this, signed up for Eagleman, and started really training. I didn’t keep much of a log, but I started at 212lbs and about 35% body fat. Unfortunately, I don’t have any pictures of me at my fattest, I tended to avoid them. I started training on January 20th until race day, peaking at 5-6x per week, running 4x times a week and swimming occasionally. On June 10th, I completed Eagleman in 6:20:30, over 45 minutes faster than the Half-Full. My swim/bike met my goals, but I blew up nicely on the run, partially due to the heat, partially cause I didn't get enough run time in.

http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff366/ARice87/598941_10100099820575608_934197685_n.jpg

Anyway, I'm doing everything I can to continue training, rather than slip back into my normal routine of doing nothing. On the positive side, I’ve learned that I like working out with groups, so I’m focusing on that more this time around. I’ve joined a local Crossfit Gym, and will be mixing that with my (now) normal endurance training to keep losing weight. I've got a few more triathlons this season, peaking at the Half-Ironman 70.3 Poconos Mountain at the end of September.

Goals:

Eat more Paleo - I started this about a month or so ago when I learned about it at Crossfit, and so far really like it. It's pretty simple and I've seen/felt results after only a month of about 80% Paleo eating. The only thing I haven't been able to cut out consistantly is bagels (I live in New York, they're really good!). Other than that, I've been slowly munching through anything I have remaining in my apartment that's not Paleo, but not replacing any of it (except the bagels).

Become GoRuck Tough – Show up for and complete the GoRuck Challenge NY on 9/8/2012. A friend sent me this and I decided to do it, should be crazy/hard/fun.

Under 15% Body Fat and/or 160lbs, as appropriate by 12/18/2012, my 25th bday - It'll be roughly a year since I started this fitness journey, so seemed like a good date. The BF%/weight are a little loose, as I get closer to meeting the goal and better educate myself on my own body, the numbers will firm up.

Break 6 hours in the Half-Ironman distance - This was actually my ambitious goal at Eagleman, and I was on pace until a little ways into the run. Meeting this is very achievable, just need to keep consistently training. I'll have another shot at Poconos Mountain in September.

Finally, because I'm slightly crazy, I recently decided to try and complete the 2013 Ironman US Championships in NYC. I was originally planning on waiting a few years, but (actually after reading one of Steve's posts) decided to just do it next year. I have 13 months to train, no real commitments other than work, and am going to give it a shot.

Stats:

I've become a stat whore through all of this, so here's a few of the essentials:

Sex: Male

Height: 5'9"

Weight: 170

Age: 24

Body Fat: 20%

Fitocracy: http://www.fitocracy.com/profile/ARice87/

Maybe I'll start a log at some point with other goals and stuff, but this is already a massive Wall of Text, so hi everyone!

TL;DR - I've lost a bunch of weight and enjoy triathlons, Civilization, and experiencing new challenges

[wildross]

Welcome. You have quite a history there. Look around and don't be shy about posting.