A personal training & food journal. Read about our weight loss progress at Train With Ron in Chicago, our nutritional habits and the life changes we're making to get in shape and stay healthy!
October 7th
Friends, family and some of our beloved pets made it out to Soldier Field last Saturday for a great challenge and for a great cause. The Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund. Fittingly, of course, I got sick. No worries, just a cold so DayQuil to the rescue and just pound through it. Dan and I rode our bikes over to the hill because it’s just been so beautiful lately we want to enjoy every second. That got our legs warmed up.
After a few stretches and a warm up lead by Matt, we got started running the hill. Some walked, some ran, some were looking to break the record and some were just having fun. I kept a steady pace for about 50 minutes and got 42 hills in. I have nothing to compare it to since last year I didn’t participate, so I was proud of my little number.
I enjoy these events because you get to see so many people from the gym that maybe you wouldn’t meet otherwise and unless you are completely into the challenge you get to chat a bit with your fellow TWRer. Maybe commiserate over a workout 
Not to mention your are helping to make the world a better place by giving your time and money for a great cause. Good for the body and soul.
Unfortunately Dan and I didn’t go to the after party so that I wouldn’t get everyone else sick, but it was a really great morning hanging with the TWR team. Looking forward to the next one!
September 16th
From the 2010 3rd Annual TWR Soldier Field Charity Hill Run
Each year Train With Ron organizes a charity event at Soldier Field and we run the hill to benefit an organization. Last year we ran for the The Anti-Cruelty Society who since 1899, has been committed to caring for animals and the community. A very fitting charity indeed because the one thing I know about Chicago is that there are a lot of dog lovers here. Our trainers Ron, DB and Matt are all dog owners, as are we. We actually adopted our dog Brady from The Anti-Cruelty Society almost 4 years ago and she is a wonderful dog! The best!
This year all proceeds and pledges from the hill run will be donated to The Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund. Paying tribute to and supporting those who have sacrificed for our nation.
I’m very excited to be able to participate fully this year since last year I couldn’t. Dan did very well in 2010, running 63 hills in 60 minutes. That’s a good goal to shoot for and we’ll see what happens on October 1st. As you can see from last year’s picture, the weather was beautiful. The view is also fantastic since it’s at Soldier Field stadium near the lake. You really can’t ask for much more, being surrounded by the awesome people from Train with Ron, working hard for a charity to support our nations heros, on what hopefully will be a clear day with sunshine.
I encourage you to join us at this even because one, you’ll be contributing to a great organization and secondly because you’ll meet lots of people from Train with Ron and find out what a welcoming, encouraging, motivating and down to earth group of guys and gals they are. You can find out more about this event here or just post in the comments if you have any questions. You can contact Ron as well. Even if you would just like to donate towards Dan and my performance, let us know. It’s a $30 donation or you can donate per hill run ($.50/hill etc….).
Stay tuned, pictures and updates will be coming from the hill in October!
October 11thThis past Saturday I took part in my first Train With Ron Charity Hill Run event near Soldier Field. The run benefits the Chicago Anti-Cruelty Society, an animal shelter in downtown Chicago. Coincidentally, Monika and I got our fine four legged family member Brady at this very shelter! (It worked out amazingly well, she is a dream doggie!) When the announcement about the Hill Run was made, I shot my mouth off on Facebook and told everyone I would be running for $.50 per hill or a flat donation of $30.00 – this was before I had ever seen the hill and I wasn’t aware that we had only 60 minutes to do it… I thought we’d be able to run until we hit our goal! Monika is still on the 15-Day Disabled List / Injured Reserve so she was there to support all the runners and take pictures. She wanted to run very badly and can’t wait to get back into her workout routine. We were members of the gym last year, but opted not to be a part of the hill run because we were so new. As I looked at that hill last Saturday and remembered the kind of shape I was in this time last year, I doubted whether I could have made it up 5 times… never mind 60.
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October 5thToday marks a full year that Dan and I have been on this journey, working out at Train With Ron. My tally for the year is: lost 53lbs, 16% body fat and dropped 10.5 dress sizes. These last couple of months I’ve really pushed hard trying to meet my ultimate goal (lose 75lbs) by the anniversary but instead I am dealing with this muscle strain.
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April 25th
April 25th 2010 TWR Charity Stair Run - Dan and Monika in the rain - soggy.
Ahh! A beautiful Chicago morning. Just around 55 degrees and a chance of rain throughout the day. The TWR Charity Stair Run began at 10 am and we had hoped the rain would not reach us until noon. Crossing our fingers but bringing our hats. Train with Ron organized the Charity Stair Run to help raise money in the fight against childhood obesity. A problem that greatly effects the children in this country.
Dan and I had a late night last night because of his show, which he’ll tell you about, lets just say he rocked Wauconda! And because of that we got very little sleep. Basically there were plenty of excuses I could have used to not go to the event. 7 months ago, I would have. But, I was excited to go and once I gulped down a double espresso (i don’t usually do that) my body caught up with my mind.
We reach the track … still no rain … we’re very hopeful.
Train With Ron had a good turnout despite the possibility of rain and some of us, me included, changed into the event t-shirt (so comfy!) and started on the warm up. A light jog around the track and a couple of laughs got us going.
Slowly we sprinkled onto the bleachers in small groups just as it began to drizzle, and we began to zig-zag up and down the stairs in between the bleachers. I may get this wrong by a couple of numbers but I would say each side had about 10 flights of stairs. Right around there, anyway. One lap consisted of both sides. Some of us ran, some walked and some mixed it up. It went on to rain harder and pretty much stayed consistent throughout my first lap. It felt good though, running in the rain. It kept me cool. The first lap took me about 15 minutes then I took a short break and went around again. That’s about all I had in me so after we chatted with some friends we left for …. Breakfast!!!! Feels good to have breakfast after a great workout. Hmm, maybe that’s why I like the morning workouts better. Something to think about … just not for too long.
Tomorrow I begin my 2 months of Unlimited Training and start going 5 times a week. I’ll post a new picture of myself tomorrow to show my progress and note my weight and body fat. In the picture on the right I look like a wet cat so I’m not using that as my official ‘Begin to Kick Some Serious Butt Spring and part of Summer Training’ picture. Let’s see how much I can chisel off over the next two months and get closer to my goal. As of today I am 172lbs with 31.8% body fat. After the next two months I would like to be at at least 155lbs and get my body fat into the high to mid twenties. I know I can do that!
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