Saying Goodbye to an old Friend

Having a ton of time on my hands recently due to my recovery from surgery, I’ve given a lot of thought about what I’m going to do when I fully recover. I have plans that right now seem both huge and minuscule at the same time, if

that’s possible to understand. I want to do things that seem so unattainable right now (the huge part) but at the same time I know it takes daily dedication (the minuscule) to make it all work.

If you’ve been following along you know I’ve recently entered the 2010 Walt Disney World Marathon where I plan to run the full distance of 26.2 miles. In my recent training the most I’ve run so far is 9 miles, so I have quite a ways to go and 13 weeks to get there. Having been laid out for the last week and this coming week recovering from surgery, my outlook is a bit dim right now but I haven’t quit. It’s just hard to think positively right now when I’m unable to train and feel like a failure. Don’t count me out though, just feeling down and being honest about it.

Given all of this I felt a change was due. I decided the direction of my writing was changing into more of a personal journal instead of the directionless focus it had initially back in May of 2008 when I first started writing. I often felt it wasn’t fair that I wrote about my running and training when this was supposed to be about our family. People I asked to subscribe to the blog are friends and family and I felt over time that I misled you all into reading a blog about the Diets family when it started turning into the Quinton blog instead.

So as of today this website will be phased out and a new one will rise in it’s place. A website about my personal journey, a bit about my past and also what I’m going through as I attempt to take on some huge physical challenges and life changes. I really have no idea what I’m in for but I’m positive it’s going to be a fun, exciting and challenging ride.

So I ask you, if you’re interested in reading about my journey, or you’re interested in helping in any way please visit my new website, signup for the updates and enjoy the trip. I promise to make it fun and who knows it may even encourage you to do the same. At the very least and most importantly I could use some cheerleaders, something we could all actually use more of. The address to the new website is  – QuintonDiets.com I hope to see you all there!

Be good to each other!

Feeling let down and fearful, but still growing

I’ve been feeling a bit out of my element lately and didn’t have the energy to post anything creative. To be upfront about it, I’ve been sad and feeling slightly defeated.

I’ve been battling a few health issues for the past 10 years or so, sciatica, knee issues, back pain, migraine headaches, eye trouble and what I thought might have been a hernia. I treated all of it like a minor annoyance, went to the doctor, took my medicine did my therapy and shrugged it off as symptoms of aging. I’ll admit to not caring all too much about my health until recently and as crappy as that sounds, this same sentiment is shared by more people than you think. Why else would we fall out of shape, gain weight or even smoke cigarettes?

I started my quest for physical fitness on the Monday after the 4th of July weekend. Since that time I’ve amazed myself with my little achievements and started feeling pretty good. (I asked Christa if it was okay to be amazed at myself, she said yes but I still have my doubts) It was during one of my runs to the YMCA for strength training that I felt pain while lifting weights and doing crunches were out of the question. So I admitted to myself that I day that I should probably go to the doctor again and check out this possible hernia.

I admit to feeling let down and fearful that I would need surgery, slightly depressed that I would have to stop training and scared that I wouldn’t be ready for the marathon in January. But it was better to get it checked out now rather than later and my training was only making it worse. My doctors visit confirmed my fears, I had a hernia and needed immediate surgery before it became an emmergency. I didn’t even hesitate, I made an appointment for as soon as I could and had my surgery this past Friday, the 2nd.

The doctor said my surgery went very well and for the past week I’ve been confined to the couch in recovery. I can walk, get up on my own and am doing very well now. During this next week I hope to be out of pain completely and able to get back into the swing of things.

It wasn’t until my surgery that I realized how important it is that I continue to do what I am doing. I miss my runs a great deal and I’m eager to get back to my training plan. I’m also excited that I will be out of pain and at 100%. So today I admit to all my readers that yes I’m stubborn but glad that we all still have the ability to continue to grow and mature even in our 40’s and beyond, I’m proof of that and it’s one of the many truly amazing aspects of life. It’s never too late for you to quit smoking, change the way you eat and start exercising with me. What are you waiting for?

Racing is Definitely a Blast!

My second 5k race is in the books, yay!  I ran in the 11th Annual South Daytona 5k Run, to benefit Childhood Cancer Awareness this morning which scored me a nice t-shirt, a warm feeling that I’m helping out the children and a new PR, 5k = 29:23! That’s down 13 seconds from my previous 5k, I know I know it’s only 13s…. but it’s the little things! Right?!

So that’s enough of the racing for now, the Daytona Grand Prix series has a 10 miler in November but I think I’m going to skip the rest of the series and focus on the marathon, that’s my main goal not the grand prix. Running a full marathon is no joke and needs all my attention from here out, it’s only 15 weeks away and in that time I have to go from running 6 miles to running 26! I’ll gladly admit that racing is definitely a blast, even if you’re only racing yourself and with what I’ve done so far, at least I know what to expect on race days. Though I have this sneaking suspicion that all of this changes when I push the mileage from 3.1 up to 26.2. Ya think?

Bring it on!

Finish!

I had a blast and saw so many amazing and good looking runners today. The event coordinators said it was their biggest turn out in 8 years. Could it be that people are finally realizing we need to stay active to stay alive and in good spirits? I know I have, so this is just the first of many and there’s bigger things in the works.

See you at the finish line!

8th Annual Halifax Hospice 5k Run

I don’t claim to be a runner, in my opinion runners look like runners. You know the type, calves made of steel, tight glutes and slim waistlines. The typical runner. Me on the other hand I’m still rocking a little extra around the waist, my glutes bounce a little and my quads need work. But I’ll admit my calves aren’t too shabby!

My first real experience in running was on the freshman Cross Country & Track team in high school. As a typical teenager I lacked focus back then and didn’t do any real training aside from practices and the track meets I took part in. I ran intermediate and high hurdles but that didn’t last long, I loved the longer distance runs that I never won but had fun trying.

It wasn’t until my time in the military that I proved that I could run quite well and excelled at longer distances. I used to eat up the 5 & 10 mile runs we’d go on and never really liked it when we ran 2 short miles. I also had a knack for motivating others and was called on when morale was really low to help boost the spirits of others. If I have one trait in running it’s that I never quit, I may never win a speed award but you’d have to knock me out to get me to fallout.

So over the years I’ve put in quite a few miles but I’ve never entered a race outside of school. Tomorrow that changes and I’m pretty excited though I’m trying to be cool about it. Some would say ‘it’s just 5k’, well ok yea 3.1 miles isn’t amazing but it’s for a good cause and it’s the first of many. Symbolic of the life change we’ve gone through and the first step in many that I’ll be taking in the future. If for one reason alone, to say that I’m trying to make a difference in the world, my community, my family and myself.

So after tomorrow will I’ll finally be able to call myself a runner? I think so, bouncing glutes and all. 

Doing the Running Man, with ears on!

I’ve been running regularly for two weeks now since getting off of physical therapy (my knee is 1000x better) and I have been getting in about 10 miles a week of solid running. I also mix it up a little and add about 5 or so miles of walking and regular exercise all the while making sure I don’t push too hard and injury myself. I’m feeling pretty good muscle wise but I need work on my cardio, 24 years of smoking took it’s toll.

About 2 months ago I signed up for a race, the Palmer College Paint the Towne RRCA Southern Region 5k Championship. Back before my injury I figured it would help me stay focused and give me something to work on. As time went on and my knee got better (last I saw the doctor he said it was solid as a rock) I started to believe it was too far out and I had already been running 5k’s several times a week, surely there were other races I could enter before then.

Today I found about about the Daytona Beach Grand Prix and decided to give it a shot. It’s basically a series of races from now until April where you gain a certain amount of points and at the end awards are given out. The nice part about it is that most races are 5k or 10k and one half marathon (13.1 miles) so it will fit in nicely to my training schedule. I also decided today with the amount of time I have to train that I’m going to enter the Disney World Marathon (26.2 miles) in January. It may or may not be the best marathon to enter I’m not sure, but it sounds fun and it’ll be my first marathon. I know Logan will enjoy the trip so I’m really doing it for him.

This is sure to be one hell of a ride. See you at the finish line!

Make it a Habit

“Choose the positive. You have choice, you are master of your attitude — choose the positive, the constructive. Optimism is a faith that leads to success.”

“What you habitually think, largely determines what you will ultimately become.”

– Bruce Lee

Is There a Magic Answer?

There are days that go by when I’m excited to post and update to the blog and  decide not to, thinking that it may not be what people want to hear. Bah, I started this blog as a journal of our lives and what we’re up to, I didn’t start it with a concern for what people want to read
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Living a Dog’s Life, kinda sorta

It’s almost time for school to start back up for the lil man, which indirectly  means more stress for me at work (working in the school system, I relate what he’s doing in school to what I have to do at work, kinda weird that way). Anyhow, he’s excited to get back into school as are we.

C is doing great with Avon, I’m constantly amazed
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Run, Run Run!!!

It’s been three weeks now since I’ve started my exercise plan, I walk/run (Galloway) about 8 miles a week and do some light cardio and stretching afterward. My diet is a bit modified and all in all things are going pretty well. I’ve also signed up for my first 5k in November
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Never Stop My Brother

Our story together is long but short at the same time. I haven’t seen him in person in over 24 years though I’ve felt he’s never left my side. He could be a complete stranger in a crowd and I’d know where he is, feeling a bond with him stronger than anyone in my life. Some day our story
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Earthlings, Make the Connection

There’s two movies that I attribute to helping us make the decision to go vegan, The Beautiful Truth put the wheels in motion and Earthlings drove the point home. Christa has said from time to time that when she finds herself craving foods we used to eat, all she has to do is recall scenes from ‘Earthlings’
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It’s Our Home, Keep it Clean!

My daily thoughts have changed quite a bit in the past few months in relation to how I think of other people, our environment and how we live in it. In my day-to-day I encounter discussions about career, finance, business, television, local gossip and sports, but none of it interests me as much as
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My Letter to the President

President Obama,

Living 10 minutes from the shores of the Atlantic Ocean I wanted to thank you from the bottom of my heart for your courage and wisdom in responding to our world environmental issues.  Your making the month of June”National Oceans Month” and creating the first ever national oceans policy
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Change is Good and it is Constant

“I am learning to understand rather than immediately judge or to be judged.  I cannot blindly follow the crowd and accept their approach.  I will not allow myself to indulge in the usual manipulating game of role creation.  Fortunately for me, my self-knowledge has transcended that and I have come to understand that life is best to be lived
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