Thank you Mr. Miyagi

Today I woke up at 4:30 a.m and hit snooze on the ole' cell phone Alarm Clock only to have it ring 5 minutes later...Internally, I told myself, you need to get up, you need to do this...Fighting the urge to go back to sleep I ventured out for my 18 mile training run...The running plan called for a 10:23 average pace...I instead averaged 10:09..I think I could have stayed below 10, however the last few miles had some pretty steep hills and my legs were killing me. Overall very happy with the run...and I have to throw some love to Mr. Miyagi...yes that Mr. Miyagi..Danielsan's teacher, coach, mentor...well actually it is not really to him, but it sounds cooler...In the Karate Kid I, when Daniel begins his quest to become the Karate Champion, there is a great song...OK a great 80's song..OK, I think it was a great 80's song..."You're the Best" by Joe "Bean" Esposito.

As Daniel is kicking A#$ and taking names this song is blaring in the background...I loved it, always have...Well I finally found it on Itunes, and for the first time, put it into my playlist for my runs...It did not play once, twice or even three times...yep four times...and everytime I could hear Danielsan yelling " We did it Mr. Miyagi, we did it." Almost choked up...ok maybe not...ok maybe...

Another really cool thing that happened on this mornings run was seeing a Bald Eagle fly up and land about 40 feet in front of me...Tried to get my cell phone out and take a pic...It just was too quick...

In conclusion I have included a few pics...turn away if you do not want to see me without my shirt on...I will understand...Just wanted folks to see the progression of my weight loss..Have also included a pic from 2+ years ago when I started this endeavor...It has been tough and there have been ups and downs...but I am happy to report today that I weighed in at 209....a pound lighter than my Senior Year of HS Football...Have a great week everyone, and for those that are fighting the battle..keep fighting on...as Mr. Esposito say's "You're the Best"

Pushing 300 Pounds...Yikes...

209 Pounds...and feeling great..

One of my 3 biggest fans..."Daddy your belly is going away"

Hell Yeah that Felt Good....

October 25th seems a long way in the distance, but I know that it will be here before I know it...and after tonights run I can hardly wait. Tonight I had a 7 miler...Going into it, I felt really good..I am back into the routine this week after being at residence camp last week...Weights, Cardio, Running and Eating Right all clicking as smoothly as I could possibly want.

Then came tonights run...With a time of 1:00:02 I was amazed..I have never run that distance that fast...Sure to you speed demons out there 8:50 min miles may not seem like much...but to this guy...I am ECSTATIC...

Baby Brother was right...as the weight drops the speed will pick up, the endurance will get better, and I will feel like a NEW MAN!!!!

YES I DO!!!!

Just took a look back at my scrapbooks...Senior Year Football..Media Guide...I weighed 210...I weighed in tonight...because I wanted to...at 213.....For all of you like myself, that have doubted themselves...Find the courage to start, because when you do, you will not be able to describe the joy you feel to anybody...Believe me..I have tried...

Finally please do not forget that for the Marine Corps Marathon, I am running for Team Hole in the Wall...you can click on the following link and donate right online...Once clicking on the link, click on the Support Chris Section and the rest is pretty self explanatory...Thank you..
http://www.teamholeinthewall.org/netcommunity/manwichmantorunningman

Operation Purple Camp and Husky Picture Day

Check out the link to the Family Blog...Did not want to repeat everything I already did there...

http://kasparekfamily.blogspot.com/2009/08/operation-purple-camp-and-picture-day.html

Possibly the Best Morning Ever....

This morning, I woke up at 5 a.m. and prepared myself for the 14 mile run....I had set out all of my necessary items the night before, and slept on the couch...This way I do not disturb Vanessa or the kids when I am getting up at the butt crack of dawn for my run.

When the alarm went off at 5 a.m., I won't lie it was hard to get up...The temp outside was a ton cooler then it has been so your mind starts playing tricks with you..Am I going to be warm enough at the begining of the run? Do I have everything I need? Will I have enough water? to name a few...

So after going through my usual routine, I hit the road at 5:30 a.m. My route was great...no traffic, hmmm, wonder why...Oh yeah its 5:30 in the morning...The first 4.25 miles were awesome...they are a part of my usual route, so I know it like the back of my hand...The next 3 miles were the brutal ones...Straight up hill..Not a quick hill...Nope a pain in the ass long one...It felt good, but you cannot help but look up and say "am I there yet".

After the big hill it was pretty easy from there...Sure you fight the mental fatigue, but everything was flowing very nicely...At mile 9 I entered the base and started running towards one of my School-Age Programs...Why? Because I was starting to run a little low on water and did not want to short myself on the last 4 hours...After refueling at the center, I had 2 more miles to go....

I then left the base at mile 12...2 more to go...Feeling really good...but definitely getting fatigued..A couple of small hill climbs later and I was to the end of my 14 mile adventure...The time I was supposed to do was 10:21 miles...I instead averaged 10:14...A few months ago this would have discouraged me...Now...not at all..I am sticking to my training program and this is what it said to do...Plus take out the mother #$%^&* Hill and who knows..

So after my long run, I did my usual...strip down and weigh in for the week...I was very excited about this...Last week I had weighed in at 234 after 9+ days on the new "Body for Life" nutrition plan...The only problem with that was I had no idea what I started at....Which is no big deal...I guestimate that I started somewhere between 240 and 250....I did start right after a vacation...

So I stepped on the scale, held my breath(this absolutely does nothing), and looked down as the electronic scale as it calculated how much I weighed...Come on, Come on....and then it happened...224...HOLY @#$%%....I stepped on and off the scale three more times just to make sure it was right...Even had Vanessa look at it...even though it was probably hard to do, considering she was probably distracted by her naked husband(yes, I put that visual in your head)....224, I have not been this low since before we left Japan and I am only 5 pounds away from being the lowest I have been since...Wait for it....Senior Year in HS....

So how could my day possibly get any better....Well we then went to Church...Nope that did not make my day better(no offense), but rather it was the next stop on the Kasparek Morning Plan that did the deed...OLD NAVY....We walked in, only because they were having a 30% Sale and I picked out some shirts....DAMN, the one I really liked was not available in a XL....So I asked the Old Navy worker Kristen if they had another...She said they did, but not sure where I would find it....Thanks...She then stated that they run big and I may want to try a Large....Right...a Large...are you kidding me...I am not sure I even wore a Large in HS...Then I thought what the hell...we will try it out....Went to the fitting room and tried it on.....

WOW...It actually fit...and it looked really good...To make sure that I was not hallucinating I walked into the main store and asked Vanessa and her mom(Yep...Linda is out visiting...)..They said it looked really good...I then stated I know, and it is a LARGE....

So now I had to change the sizes of the other shirts I had picked out....Who knew...Sure not me...Then we went to pay...There was Kristen at the register...She asked if it fit alright and I said..yeah suprisingly...She then made my day even better...."Well I was surprised that you needed an XL, you do not look like an XL person" IF Vanessa was not there I think I would have kissed her....

So now we are home and I have a smile from ear to ear...You that have either struggled with weight or are struggling with weight know these feelings...You know how good it feels to have a morning like this...Well guess what....if you are struggling, hopefully this will serve as some sort of inspiration that WE ALL CAN DO THIS!!!!!

Have a great day....PS: Thank you COACH TIM....