Marshall Ramsey

I don’t have time to exercise. I make time.  I get up and run way before most people hit the snooze.  I’m not saying this because it makes me superior. Or special.  It’s the only time I can get in my hour of exercise.  It’s my choice. I roll out of bed at 4 a.m. ready to run.

I work from 6 a.m. until 10 p.m. during the week.  And usually 8 a.m. until 10 p.m. on the weekends.  There’s no way in the world I’d be able to pull off hours like that without being in good shape.  I know — I tried it when I weighed 248 lbs. and drank sodas for cheap energy. And it nearly killed me.

Exercise gives me time.  An hour invested every day allows me to get more done in the other 23.  I have more energy. More stamina. More ability.

So I view exercise as an investment.  And the payoff of that investment allows me keep moving forward. I won’t work hours like this forever.  But believe me, as long as I am, I’ll make sure I keep exercising. I don’t have time not to.

I had to take off a pair of jeans today. They were too big, too baggy and didn’t fit me. They were size 36s. That’s a long way from the size 41 waist I had back in January.

One reason why I’ve tried to reduce the amount of body fat I have is because of the threat of cancer recurrence.  I’ve read studies in the past that seem to hint that the higher body fat you have, the more likely you will have a melanoma recurrence. Melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer, is very difficult to fight once it comes back.  (although you need to read the story of Kevin “Stenny” Stenstrom who has had it recur twice and beat it back both times.)  Also other types of cancers are linked to obesity: Esophagus, breast (postmenopausal), endometrium (the lining of the uterus), colon and rectum, kidney, pancreas, thyroid, gallbladder, and possibly other cancer types.

Been there, done that. Got the scars to prove it. Don’t’ want to go back to Cancerland.  Nope. Nevermore.

So I run.  And watch what I eat.  Because I know that Benny Franklin was right: An ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure.

Today, I ran 5.18 miles, burned over 860 calories today. For 2012, I have burned 64,428 calories while running. That’s a lot of calories.  And I probably sweated off another half-dozen pounds today because of the humidity. We’re getting into the miserable time of the year for running.  It was nearly 80 degrees at 4:45 a.m.  To quote my friend Meteorologist Ethan Huston, It was Mother Nature’s morning breath.  Very apt description.

Goal Weight: 195 lbs.

Ah, the ever elusive “Goal Weight of 195 lbs.” I lost 40 lbs. in the first 12 weeks of the year. Then I lost another 10 and have been in a holding pattern since.

The last three pounds have been taunting me.

Honesty moment: I’ve never been a good goal setter.  I’ve achieved great things in my life, but many of them because of persistence and dumb luck.  I’m so right-brained and this is one area where it really shows. Unlike Hannibal in the A-Team, I’ve never said, “I love it when a plan comes together.” Yes, I knew I wanted to become an editorial cartoonist. And yes, I did everything I thought I had to do to become one. And I achieved my dream. But I never said, “I’m going to do A by this date, B by this date and break C into micro goals to be completed by this date.”

I think of what I could have accomplished if I had been more focused.

Exercise is a great laboratory for goal setting.  You can learn, experiment and implement. Pick a goal like running a marathon, break it into smaller steps and the achieve each one of them. Like the old saying goes, “How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.”

My life has gotten way more complex and busy now.  I need goals, deadlines and self-motivation more than ever.  I’m going to take what I’ve learned from exercise goal setting and apply it into my daily life.  Creativity and discipline are going to have to learn to get along.

So it’s time to:

1. Take the time to set a big, measurable goal.

2. Break that goal into smaller, achievable goals.

3. Put dates on all of them.

4. Give myself a reward when I accomplish them.

5. Get busy.

My first goal is to start setting goals. My second?  I plan on losing those last pesky last three pounds.

Today is a “rest” day. I slept until 5:14 a.m. and it felt decadent. Usually I take Sunday off, but Saturday’s rain forced my long run to Sunday.