First update since initial post...

Today rode 30.6 miles with coworker. Covered from my house in Fairview Park to Public Square downtown. Great ride, great day, lots of fun.

Major drawback though; exacerbated my back problems quite a bit.

And here we go...

So this is my first entry in what will be a chronicle of... let's call it my desperate quest to reclaim things that have either atrophied or reared ugly over the last few years. And those are:

• persistent back problems
• carpal tunnel syndrome
• excessive weight
• strength
• creativity
• stress / depression

To reclaim, as it were, my Cool, I hope to change these things.

Maybe I should back into this a little. I started an eight to five desk job two years ago, and have started to see the classic symptoms thereof. I also was married three years ago, with a baby coming that same year. All of these things happening were such amazing moments- the new job was a great promotion, and of course the new wife and child were the most beautiful creatures I'd ever seen.

But of course the adjustment to the new demands of all of these life-changing events was a little rocky. While I knew that a desk job could be detrimental to overall physical health, I've had only passing fits of activity aimed at abating that negative effect. And I've been so devoted to my family that the "I will always love you!!" in the movies just seems trite and to find a good comparison I have to get all Shakespearean. But in that devotion I have let my own well being suffer at times. So now I sit at 200lbs., where once I was a lean 176lbs. cycling fiend. I once broke a friend's ribs in friendly wrestling, and now I have chronic pain due to musculo-skeletal atrophy. (My own diagnosis, of course.)

SO...

What's my plan? I suppose the idea behind the "blog" entails a few elements. Of course there's the obvious point that nearly every person with a computer thinks that they should blog and that other people will naturally and rightfully give a damn what's in it. But past the narcissism, I think that it will impart a bit of accountability that has clearly been lacking.

So into this blog I will put links to whatever information and research I accumulate in order to address some of these problems, the plan by which I strive to betterment and I'll also put here details of my progress on the road back to Cool. Details, in order to have any meaning, need a starting point. How far is it to Albuquerque? 113 miles of course. Eh? From Cleveland?

My starting point:

Height:
Currently: 6'4" // Goal: Cool

Weight:
Currently: 200 "bad" // Goal: 190 - 210 "good"

Physicality:
Currently: back trouble, difficulty with things I normally would thing of as easy or routine.
Goal: healthy>> restored vitality, lessened pain, increased strength, better mood, restored endurance, renewed enthusiasm for life.

And there we have it. By the time anyone actually sees this, I will have sent the link to several people who are close to me so that they will know about it and I will feel like a heel if I don't carry through with it. Over the next couple of days I will be planning out first versions of the "Action Plan" that will pave my way. I'll have that up as soon as possible.

Thanks for listening.

Huzzah!!