THE FIRST EIGHT WEEKS

To get you up to speed with my progress, I'll hit the highs and lows of the first eight weeks that took place before I started blogging.

I've logged over eighty hours on the Wii Fit I'm typically completing two hours of activity per day on Wii Fit and I've logged over eighty hours. My weight has dropped about thirteen pounds.

Initially, I completed various balance games, such as ski jump, soccer heading, ski slalom, and table tilt, as well as the aerobic activities, like basic step, basic run, rhythm boxing, and free run. Over the past few weeks, I've switched exclusively to free run, usually the 30-minute variety.

The low point was the development of meralgia paresthetica, a nerve entrapment syndrome affecting the lateral surface of my left thigh. During the first half-hour of running, the area goes numb. The second half-hour usually brings on a mildly painful "pins & needles" sensation. On a recent two-hour run, I developed a severe pain that felt like lit cigarettes being extinguished on my thigh. Obesity is one of the causes of meralgia paresthetica, so hopefully I'm gradually curing myself.

MY NEW SHIRT!

I created a T-shirt for my blog on Cafepress. I like it, but who knows if anyone else will! I ordered one today and paid for premium shipping. Hopefully it will arrive before my first road race next Sunday!

MY GOALS

I was an avid runner thirty years ago, but college and work took their toll on me. To rectify this situation, I have devised some general goals and some specific goals. My two general goals are: 1) lose weight, and 2) improve my physical fitness. 

I always wanted to run a marathon, but I never attempted it when I was in my youth. I ran in a few half-marathons, but never the full 26.2 miles. My first specific goal is to complete a marathon. While I'm not terribly concerned about the time it takes me, I think a goal of 5 hours, 30 minutes is reasonable and I'd be quite pleased with a sub-5-hour time. Really, simply a completion is the #1 goal. 

My second specific goal is to get my weight below 200 lbs., preferably by the end of 2009. I'll settle for the end of 2010 if I need to.

I plan to use only Wii Fit for my day-to-day workouts, only shifting way for road races.

MY FIRST ROAD RACE IS APPROACHING

On March 7th, 2009, I'll be competing in my first road race ... a 10K in Roanoke, Virginia.

My concerns: 1) How well does running in place prepare you for running a road race?, and 2) How fast am I really running in place? I know the sub-4-minute pace shown on the Wii Fit screen is gross overestimation, but is a ten-minute mile pace, roughly three times what the Wii is showing, realistic?

ABOUT ME

In January 2009, after reaching the embarrassing weight of 286 lbs., I decided to do something about it. I purchased a Wii Fit video game back in May of 2008, but it had long since been gathering dust. I wondered if you could REALLY lose weight and get physically fit playing a video game. I dusted off the Wii Fit balance board and I haven't looked back.