Buying Up My Constitution, AKA My First 5K Run...

Good Morning, All:

As a personal note, I thought I would share the fact that I ran my first 5K race yesterday, after only nine weeks of training using the Couch to 5K running plan. I completed the 3.1 mile track in 44 minutes, 4.5 seconds. It's not a fast time, I admit, but it's a success. I couldn't have done this at the beginning of the year. Last year, I lost almost 70 pounds. This year, I'm running races. I can't wait to see what next year brings me, in terms of personal successes. :)

All of this is part of an overall goal: I'm trying to build a healthier me. The men in my family have traditionally died from heart-rated complications in their mid-50s. I don't want to be one of those numbers. I have a new baby coming in June, and since I turn 41 tomorrow, following in my father's footsteps means that I won't live to see her graduate high school, much less go to college or walk her down the aisle on her wedding day. I started losing the weight last year before my wife got pregnant simply to insure that I'll be around as long as I can for her and for my 12-year-old son. Our baby girl's arrival simply adds more impetus to that desire. Also, I remember tales of a group that attended Gen Con one year promoting Gamers For Health, and I think it would be cool to stand out from the crowd as a healthy gamer, as sadly, most of us are a bit overweight. (At least, that's my assessment after nine years of Gen Con attendance, based on a purely anecdotal perception of the gamers I've seen in attendance there. It's a large sample space, but such an evaluation could scarcely be called scientific by any stretch of the imagination.) As I passed the half-way point to my ultimate goal weight, I formulated the plan to run a 5K this year as the next step in improving my physical health. That's where the Couch To 5K program came into the equation, and now I've done it only nine weeks after starting the program.

I'd say I feel as if I'm spending points on my Constitution/Vigor stat, and it's a great feeling.

With that in mind, I have to ask my readers the following question: What do you do to either improve or maintain your health, given that gaming is mostly a sedentary activity? If you don't, what would you like to do in those regards, assuming you were interested in doing so?

Working Towards A Goal,
Flynn