Tuesday, July 30, 2013

The Countdown

This Friday August 2nd is the day that my wife and I will drive to Pocatello, Idaho and meet my oldest-younger brother Jeff.  From there, he and I will drive up through Idaho on Highway 93 North and head over the pass, aside the Lost Trail Ski Area.  Sula is just north of the pass, once you get over the Montana/Idaho State Line/Border.  Sula is a beautiful place!  Population: 37 (http://censusviewer.com/city/MT/Sula).

The population will be increasing by just a few this coming weekend! I am not sure how many folks will be there, but I know that when Ryan Cowboy Ehmann put it out there that he was going to do the Cowboy Fitness Ranch, he was looking for 10 contestants.  He and his wife have been posting pictures and such on their Facebook pages of the area and the ranch. The anticipation is killing me.

A cook thing is that I think that on the Friday that we check out from the ranch, hopefully both of my younger brothers will be there. In an ideal world, I'd have my wife, children and my brothers there to meet The Rodeo Cowboy.  I've asked Ryan about meeting my brothers.  I think I'm more excited about it than he is. But, it will be cool that I get to hang out with my brothers Friday night in Missoula.  Maybe Kevin, Jeff and I will get a chance to shoot some hoops or pool, like old times.  That is, if I have enough strength to stand.

The gal at the ABC 4 news here in Salt Lake City has asked that I do a video diary every night.  Which I will probably do on my phone.  Not many places to charge the phone up there.  But I'd like to get some footage of our activities too.  Of course we'll be able to take some pictures. 

This week I'll be focusing on getting my list together and packing everything up. We have a friend that is letting me borrow their sleeping bag.  I still have a tent, but the other stuff was all stuff that I had when I lived in Montana. But since I've lived in Salt Lake City for almost the last 5 years now... we haven't done much camping/fishing or anything up in the mountains! Drives me crazy some times.

It is a tough thing to have to ask my wife to be SuperMom while I'm away for a week. Taking care of the kids, getting them to daycare, working her hours, picking them up, going home, trying to find time to get them outside and play, cooking meals, bathing them and then getting them to bed.  That is a long week!  I have to make this work!  I have to kill it while I'm there. 

I have to find a way to make this stick with me! The coaching side by side is what I'm looking forward to the most.  I'm sure it'll be like drinking water through a fire-hose. Just to put it out there, I have not been doing a lot.  Not counting calories.  Not really on a routine for eating.  I wanted to go up to the ranch with the idea that I'm going to get my butt kicked.  I know that I'll be sore.  I know that it will probably be the toughest physical thing I've ever gone through.  I want this to teach me a lesson. 

Monday, July 22, 2013

Afraid of Failure

Hello,  remember me?  What a crazy last couple of months it's been.

One thing that ya'll have seen me blg about before is the fear of failing.  I'm not here to give you excuses.  I'm not here to ask you to follow me.  I'm not here to hear you judge me.  But, if you'd like to follow along there are some big things happening for us.

Katie is interviewing for a different postion at our company.  She has been here going on 13 years now and has held the same position for the last 8 years.  This is big for us.  There is a lot of change in our company.  Katie is very valuable and in my opinion, under appreciated.  If offered the new role, it is a big decision.  So, stress has been present.

Another birthday of my mom's passed yesterday.  It is still hard to swallow sometimes, that I am older than she was when she passed.  Katie and I have talked more and more about her over the last couple of years. 

Oh yeah, The Rodeo Cowboy, aka Ryan "Cowboy" Ehmann, aka Coach Cowboy, aka The Fat Loss Cowboy and his investor from ABC's The Shark Tank, Damond John (creator of FUBU) have selected me to be one of the 10 clients to go up to Sula, Montana for a Cowboy Fitness Ranch.  It is hosted by Ryan "Cowboy" Ehmann.

You may or may not be thinking in your head: "How did this come about?"  Well, read on...

On Facebook one day, I received a personal message from Coach (and I quote):
"Nick,
Hows your fitness journey going?
What results have you got and what stuggles are you dealing with buddy?"

It was unexpected for sure and I could have lied.  If you've been reading my blog at all, you know that I've had ups and downs.  But instead of lying, I was blunt.  I replied to him (quoting myself here...), "Struggling. Just gotta get right in my mind right and get a string of consecutive days/weeks together. I know I can do it. But the first doubt creeps in and I get a defeated feeling.
You've been extremely busy. How are you doing sir?"

Coach continues: "I have a very special gift for you ... I got to know you want to continue and you will do what ever it takes to change your life."

Me, "Life is a gift and I've taken it for granted. I my ears are open..."

I can tell you that it took some convincing from my siblings and my wife. I don't know why, but it just punched me right in the gut!  I felt sick.

From there, I'll leave you with this.  Go You Tube "Sula Fun", then keep that image in your head and go to Coach's website: www.fatlosscowboy.com.  When you've looked at both website and You Tube video, you should ge a mixed image in your head of the the workouts and boot camp fitness tossed in with a Dude Ranch experience.  Pretty spectacular eh? 

Plus, I am trying to help The Rodeo Cowboy get a Boot Camp going here in Salt Lake City, UT (a 2-day Boot Camp).  We are in communication with a guy for use of a gym.  But this will give 15-20 people an opportunity to train personally with Ryan "Cowboy" Ehmann and get some eye opening life changing heart rate training with the master himself!  His energy will infect you!

The Boot Camp will take place Sept 27th and 28th, each day having an early hour and then late evening!
Here is the website if you're interested:

http://www.fatlosscowboy.com/Group_training_with_Ryan.html

As well, I've reached out to local ABC 4 News Team and they're going to follow my journey for the next year, tracking numbers, reporting success and plateaus and milestones.  Here is the initial interview:

http://www.abc4.com/content/news/state/story/A-Midvale-mans-weight-loss-journey/-fNdRH9BrEC4lv3PE0lYkw.cspx

So like I said, a crazy couple of months!  Here is some other fun stuff for ya'll to look at.  One is a website from Coach to get us clients excited about our check in to the Cowboy Fitness Ranch in just about 10 days. Plus I'll get to meet another guy who has been really supportive, as well on his own journey!

Here is some footage of the scenery and what we can expect from the filming and 2-workouts-a-day Cowbody Fitness Camp:
http://www.fatlosscowboy.com/Fitness_Ranch_.html

Are you excited?  I am!!!