Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Versatile Blogger Award



I was tagged by Darlene at My First 5K and More... with The Versatile Blogger Award.  The rules are to share 7 things about yourself.  Then to tag 15 people.  This will be by first one of these, so we'll just have to see where it goes from here...

(1) I first started running in 1985, and have participated in several races from 2 miles to 15K. I was never really fast (more of a middle of the pack type), but enjoyed running and participating in the races. I was on a marathon build-up for the Dallas White Rock Marathon in 1986, when I was hit by a car about a month before the race while on an evening training run. It broke my fibula, and sidelined that effort. I did manage to build back up to running again, but could never stay on the run longer than 8 to 10 miles before the leg would start to ache...which led to the "vacation".

(2) I started running again in June of 2011 after taking a 20 year vacation from it back in the spring of 1990. I was embarrassingly out of shape when I restarted, and had to slowly work my way back into running while mixing in quite a bit of walking and a WHOLE lot of cycling over the summer and early fall. I've run two races since then... the 13.1 Dallas, and the half-marathon at the Dallas White Rock marathon.

(3) I lost about 35 pounds and 7 1/2 inches off my waist between the end of April and the end of September 2011, and have managed to keep my weight stable (within a 5 pound range) since then. I even made it past the holiday season without gaining any back, so I'm pretty pumped about that.


(4) When the weather permits and I'm not running, I love to ride the bike I bought last spring. It is nothing really fancy, but I enjoy getting out on it and cruising around my neighborhood and the part of town and surrounding countryside relatively close to me. Some of my favorite rides have been seeing the sun come up over the lake that is three or four miles from my home.



(5) I've been married to a wonderful woman and my best friend Bertie for 27 years at the end of March this year. She has been and continues to be a very patient and ardent supporter of every little "hobby" in which I immerse myself, which has been a few over the years.


We also have a little boy (Aiden) who turned six in October, and is enjoying his first year of Kindergarten.


(6) Although it has been a day or two since I've "gone under", I'm a certified PADI Divemaster, and my wife and I have been to several dive destinations such as Grand Cayman, Key West, Honduras, Cozumel (our favorite location for this), and a couple of live-aboard dive vessels in Belize and the Bahamas. I also got to do some diving off the coast of Sydney, Australia while there on business years ago, and went through Cave Diving instruction through the Apprentice level.


(7) I'm a Project Manager at a home and business automation company in the Dallas area, and have been with the company for a little over 14 years now. Although my first love is programming, I've also done a 5 year stint as the Director of Software Engineering, and have been in project management for the last 5 years.

If you're wondering what it's like... many times it is similar to doing the following for a living...


...except I don't work for EDS ;-)


I'm pretty new to the blogging world, and don't know a lot of people, so 15 "tags" might be a bit of a stretch, so I'll just tag a few of you with whom I'm not as familiar to play along if you like. Consider yourself "tagged"...


Happy Running Everyone !!!

8 comments:

  1. Thanks for tagging me! I'll be sure to play along tomorrow :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Nice to learn more about you. I don't plan to take 20 year break (too old). I appreciate all your support. Can't wait for your marathon!!!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Congrats on making your way back to running!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I enjoyed reading this Michael, all very interesting. Didn't know about the car accident.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Woah, getting hit by a car on a run is SCARY! Do you run differently now because of it?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh, absolutely I do..if by differently you mean a LOT more careful, running AGAINST traffic (and not with it), and ensuring that I'm a LOT more visible.

      Of course, if you mean differently as in with a limp and a shuffle...well, I'm not sure its that bad, although I probably won't win any awards for my running form any time soon. :-)

      Delete
  6. You're a pretty interesting guy, Michael.

    What a beautiful family you have! The three of you look so happy. You've been married longer than I've been alive. That, my friend, is amazing.

    You're doing great keeping off the weight. Do you have any maintenance tips?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I wish I had some "magic" to share in the weight maintenance area, but everyone is just so different that what works for one person wouldn't even make a dent for others. However, I personally can "maintain" as long as I continue to do the following 6 things:

      (1) Get at least 6 1/2 to 8 hours of aerobic / cardio activity a week (running, walking, cycling, swimming, elliptical, whatever)

      (2) Eat breakfast every day (for me, about 600 calories)

      (3) Keep myself from getting overly hungry between meals by placing a snack between them (for me, either a cliff bar (rarely), an apple or banana, or some beef jerky)

      (4) Ensuring the evening meal is at least 1/2 protein

      (5) Not eating past 7 at night if possible, and

      (6) Limiting desert type things (ice cream, frozen yogurt, cake, pie, candy etc.) to no more than once a week, and only a "normal" portion (NOT Texas-sized).

      Of course, staying hydrated is important as well, although I drink mostly Diet Dr. Pepper or Diet Coke...I am NOT much of a water fan !

      Delete