JMERLAU's SparkPeople Blog

2013 Oklahoma City Half Marathon

Sat, 4 May 2013 09:00:13 EST

warrior4health.com/2013/05/04/2013-o
klahoma-city-memorial-half-marathon/

Fairview Half Marathon Blog

Sun, 7 Apr 2013 16:07:04 EST

warrior4health.com/2013/04/07/2013-f
airview-half-marathon-3-for-the-year/

2013 Dallas Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon Recap

Thu, 4 Apr 2013 22:26:43 EST

March 24th, 2013
Dallas Texas
Rock ¡Vn- Roll Series

I¡¦ll start by saying that I LOVE the half marathon distance. Ok, now that that is out of my system, I can more on with this blog.

I hadn¡¦t been training in the running department as much as normal since the first of the year. My wife and I had been doing Les Mills Combat since the first of the year. That is a great program that develo...

Fat Guy....you aren't welcome here!

Wed, 6 Mar 2013 11:21:01 EST

Originally posted on my personal blog site: http://warrior4health.com/2013/03/06/fat-g
uy-you-arent-welcome-here/

March 6th 2013

I have NO IDEA WHY, but my former self is talking to me today!

He is telling me that I need to go eat everything I can.
He is telling me that I am going to gain every pound back.
He is telling me that I am a slacker.

I'll be perfectly honest as I have been my entire journey. This is sort of freaking me...

2013 Hot Chocolate 15K report

Mon, 11 Feb 2013 07:20:18 EST

Posted on my personal blog, but wanted to share

warrior4health.com/2013/02/09/2013-h
ot-chocolate-15k/

2013 Hot Chocolate 15k
Posted on February 9, 2013

Today was the Hot Chocolate 15K, my first 15K of the 2013.

My week leading up to this race has been interesting. Ifm on call at work, which means I work a crazy schedule from 9-2 in the office, then...

A Realization from the Blindside

Sat, 26 Jan 2013 22:33:43 EST

Originally posted on my personal blog warrior4health.com

January 26th, 2013

I had a realization today that honestly sort hit me on the blind side. That realization was this:

"we really are an obese nation"

Ok, I knew that. But for some reason it hit me today, of all places at Walmart. Standing in line to check out I looked around and just sort of got sad for a moment. 4 of every 5 people were obese.

I know it's a very per...

Success Factor #1

Fri, 11 Jan 2013 06:38:52 EST

I wrote this originally over a year ago, but is STILL very relevant today! I will post Success Factors 2 and 3 in the coming weeks

Wake up to what you're really eating
How many calories do you eat in a day?

Did you stay within your recommended calorie range?

When did you last look at a label to know what is in the food you're buying?

Do you know what your BMR calorie burn is for a typical day?

You aren't sure about any of those answ...

TODAY is that day!

Wed, 2 Jan 2013 07:11:46 EST

I wrote this a year ago....but it's still VERY relevant today! Yes this is a repost, but I KNOW there are STILL folks out there who are waiting for THAT DAY! Make that day TODAY!

THIS is a very special day!

There has been much discussion about this day and we weren't sure it would ever get here. However, I've checked and I've double-checked the calendar and TODAY is THAT DAY! Oh sure, there will be some who aren't as happy about this day as others. I mean, if ...

2012 running stats

Tue, 1 Jan 2013 13:00:31 EST

2012 final stats…..the races are from memory, there were probably more.

Count: 164 Activities
Distance: 964.40 mi
Time: 149:49:28 h:m:s
Elevation Gain: 14,080 ft
Avg Speed: 6.4 mph
Avg HR: 155 bpm
Avg Run Cadence: 82 spm
Calories: 119,378 C
Avg Distance: 5.88 mi

I lost my thumb drive that had my race schedule, pictures and my life on it.. :-( …..but I think there were
1 full marathon
5 half marathons
2 – ...

Steps in the right direction

Sat, 29 Dec 2012 08:34:06 EST

This was originally posted on my personal blog, but felt I needed to share
warrior4health.com/2012/12/28/steps-
in-the-right-direction/

Steps in the right direction

Dec 28th, 2012

Today is my 3rd anniversary of the day I start my journey. I posted a before/after picture on FB with the hopes of motivating others. I got a couple questions in my inbox today that I felt were blog worthy. I’m sure there were others who thought about the...

Spark Radio Interview - SO MUCH FUN

Wed, 26 Dec 2012 22:20:29 EST

This was SO MUCH FUN!!

I got to be on SparkRadio with Lily and Karen, such great gals and I had a blast!

I got to share a little of my story and part of my life with them in the process. This is something that I would love to do again! Check it out with the link below. It's only 8 minutes.

www.benchmarkradio.com/podcasting/Sp
arkPeopleRadio/2012/SP_122412_04.mp3

Excited/Scared all at the same time

Wed, 26 Dec 2012 20:30:40 EST

Originally posted on my Personal Blog
warrior4health.com/2012/12/26/excite
dscared-all-at-the-same-time/

December 26th, 2012

I started a new job today with DR Horton Homes. Really it’s the same job I’ve done for more than a decade, on steroids. I’ve been primarily an email engineer, until now. Now I get to put my hands in all sorts of servers, apps, platforms, etc and get my hands as dirty as I want……………..well, as dirty as my keyboard will ge...

2 year maintenance video

Thu, 20 Dec 2012 06:45:16 EST

December 10th, 2012 was my 2 year anniversary of hitting my 100 pounds lost mark. I made this video in celebration of that!!

My hope is that you will find this video inspiring or give you HOPE, and all that comes with that. NO matter where you are in your journey, NEVER GIVE UP! It is a daily struggle, some days are better than others, but it is a struggle. Is it worth the struggle, YES!! Living FULLY ALIVE is SO much better than what I experienced the 10 or 12 years before I ...

2012 Dallas Marathon - The Recap

Fri, 14 Dec 2012 22:43:00 EST

Originally posted to my personal blog at http://warrior4health.com

December 9th, 2012
Dallas, Texas

This weekend didn’t quite start the way I’d planned my 2nd marathon, I was thrown a curve ball as I call it, but that’s ok. Thursday, December 6th, 2012 I had an issue at work and was awake and working for 27 hours or so, that just flat drained my body. The adrenaline I had running throu...

2 years in maintenance!!!

Mon, 10 Dec 2012 14:55:23 EST

Today is December 10th, 2010

Today marks two years since I hit the 100 pounds lost mark and I have maintained that within my 7 pound allowance either way.

I continue to care about the foods that go in my body.
I continue to challenge myself physically.
I continue to challenge others to take their life back!

To those who struggle, I say, YOU CAN DO IT! One meal at a time, one BITE at a time if that's what it requires. Is it difficult, yes, but it'...

10 minutes a day challenge

Sun, 25 Nov 2012 13:46:17 EST

Yesterday(11.24.2012) I posted a video blog that contains my thoughts on society’s acceptance of the ‘holiday 10 pounds.’ That video can be found here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_xXmfX_Fl0Y
&feature=plcp

I still say that is NOT acceptable and completely UNNECESSARY, period. I want to take this challenge one step further. How am I going to take this one step further you ask, well, I’m glad you did.

I believe that there are two important steps that we can ALL...

NO MORE....No more Holiday 10 pounds

Sat, 24 Nov 2012 11:56:04 EST

This was originally posted on my YouTube Channel and I plan to do more of this thru the end of the year.

www.youtube.com/user/JeromeMerlau/vi
deos?flow=grid&view=0

AllState 13.1 Marathon Series - my 7th Half Marathon

Wed, 14 Nov 2012 21:49:21 EST

October 17th, 2012
AllState 13.1 Marathon Series
Dallas Texas

I’d heard a lot about this race and it got great reviews from last year here in Dallas. I had it on the calendar forever, just wasn’t sure I really wanted to do it, THEN I saw that part of this course is the same at the Dallas Marathon course so I signed up! I’m so glad I did too.
Temperatures dropping and I’m in a panic as to how t...

Thought for the day...

Thu, 8 Nov 2012 09:11:23 EST

Don't quit until you have NOTHING left

in life
in family
in relationships
in business
in work
in health
in fitness
in school

Don't quit until you have NOTHING left

"Almost"

Wed, 7 Nov 2012 09:35:58 EST

As I'm working to avoid the "negative" today, I'm listening to positive video's on YouTube.

Art Williams and his 'Just Do It' speech is a favorite for me, I listen to it often and it fires me up! Below is a small portion of the speech that I listened to over and over this morning and I wanted to share.

Almost everybody in America "almost" does enough to win
they "almost" get there
they "almost" over the hump
they "almost" have it going
they "almost" ...

Capital to Coast Relay - 223 miles, 2 vans, 12 runners = GREAT TIME

Fri, 12 Oct 2012 12:52:03 EST

Originally posted on my personal blog: warrior4health.com

Capital to Coast relay - the longest relay in Texas

I’m not even sure where to begin this blog to be honest. It all started around February 2012. I think it was Lynette who brought up the idea, then we brought John Hulsey into the mix and made him Team Captain. Before we knew it, we had more than enough ready to run the Capitol to Coast relay, the longest relay in Texas. The Facebook group was created and the ...

Capital to Coast Journey Begins

Thu, 4 Oct 2012 08:58:25 EST

I originally posted this on my personal Blog site: warrior4health.com but wanted to share with my SparkPeeps!

October 4th, 2012

Ever felt like a 7 year old child on the night before Christmas?? Of course you have at least once in your life, right?! The excitement, anticipation, the build up, the 'unknown', all wound up in one little package that is about to burst.

THAT is exactly how I feel today!!

Today begins the journey that really started some...

WAKE UP

Sun, 23 Sep 2012 09:02:04 EST

Hey there Friends....I made a video that I can't post here for some reason?!?! I mean, I could but I would be sideways and that's just silly! HA

Check out the message at the following location:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=JcxSK9dFJeg&
feature=plcp

This is on my newly created youtube channel.

I hope you enjoy this message.

2011 Year in Review Video

Fri, 21 Sep 2012 14:18:36 EST

This is my 2011 year in review video.

I've had this nearly done for MONTHS and finally took a few minutes to put the final touches on it.

I hope you enjoy it.

The Body Beast

Sun, 19 Aug 2012 21:49:07 EST

I spent the afternoon in training, very cool stuff.

After the training, the TRAINING began. The BodyBeast is a brand new BeachBody series and I was lucky enough to be there today when Sagi Kalev, the creator of The BodyBeast took the stage to lead a 45 minute workout.

GOOD STUFF!! All we used was a towel and partner. AMAZING what can be done what kind of a strength exercise we can get out of this setup! LOVED every minute of it, although my arms are worn out.
...

When to eat?

Tue, 7 Aug 2012 11:20:02 EST

I had the following email in my Inbox this morning:

“When is the best time to eat? I don't have a problem with eating, but I don't know when the best time to eat. Like before a work out or after for the best results possible. Also when is the best time to work out? Early morning, late at night, mid-day, or just whenever fits your schedule? Let me know what you think.”

As I started my response, I realized this was something that I needed to share.

Here is my re...

BeYourOwnSuperHero......isn't that right Nicholas

Wed, 18 Jul 2012 15:25:08 EST

Tuesday July 17th, 2012 was SUPERHERO night at VBS.

There were superhero's of ALL kind.

SOME of us learned from good friends to BE OUR OWN SUPER HERO!

Here we have a photo of Nicholas being himself:

I think we can all agree....it's pretty dawg gone super

SO....when I thought of SuperHeros, I thought of my brother and his tag line
#BeYourOwnSuperHero

....I d...

3 year Anniversary - a very special race (Too Hot to Handle)

Tue, 17 Jul 2012 15:49:37 EST

Too Hot to Handle
July 15th, 2012
White Rock Lake, Dallas TX
Norbuck Park

This is a special race for me! Three years ago today I ran my very first 5K road race, EVER! I remember that day pretty well. I met some special friends that day, I¡¦d lost 88 pounds at the time and my time was 32:04. This was an emotional day for me honestly. The memories of the first race and every race since then were flooding my brain throughout the run. I had my run meter conn...

Quick Update on my Wife being Hospitalized

Sun, 1 Jul 2012 09:07:30 EST

Hey Friends.....THANK YOU for those who are praying for my wife!!

I wanted to take a quick minute to tell you what's happening.

She got bit by SOMETHING?!?! We think it was a spider as she was doing a fitness walk in an unfamilar area last Thursday. We are now over a week into the battle and 4 days in the hospital for serious antibiotics. (it was not a brown recluse spider though)

She is doing better one day at a time and with any hope at all, today I will ...

Revisiting my Journey - with a few pics

Fri, 22 Jun 2012 16:34:16 EST

I was asked recently to complete a questionaire to which I was very happy to do. What I didn't expect was the journey it took me on as I worked through the questions and formulated my responses accordingly. This was honestly fairly tough to get through at times and took me several weeks to complete.(partly due to life in general though)

As I read and re-read and re-re-read this, I felt like this was worth sharing. This isn't an easy journey, the struggles are tough, but you can...

DRC Bloomin 4 mile race report - with pics

Mon, 4 Jun 2012 21:54:06 EST

June 2nd, 2012
White Rock Lake, Dallas TX
Dallas Running Club
Bloomin 4 Mile

I don't run many shorter distances but I was really looking forward to this run!

I was up at 4:45am ( I know, I slept in, slacker! :-) ) to start getting ready and get my body to move and groove a little. I started the day on my PVC roller, I love what that thing does for me. I went through my normal stretches to get my low back, hammies, quads and calves somewhat functional(so...

Gotcha Day Letter to Emily 5-13-2012

Wed, 16 May 2012 10:00:30 EST

Posted to my personal blog but wanted to share

11 years ago today, we were in China on one of the most important mission of our lives.

We were on a mission to bring you home! Very excited, very scared, very nervous, but we were there and ready for our family to start growing. Little did we know all the changes that would really begin that day.

We were blessed with an amazing little girl that day. She was scared, unsure what was happening and very curious ab...

Gotcha Day letter to Sydney

Wed, 16 May 2012 09:58:53 EST

This was originally posted on my personal external blog, but wanted to share.

7 years ago God gave us you
Your eyes so bright
Your smile so sweet
I'm so very thankful that God gave us you!

Sydney - it's hard to believe that it's been 7 years already. It seems like only yesterday that we arrived in Nanning China to meet face to face for the very first time. Those oh so curious big beautiful eyes will, I will never forget them.

Your first words...

The story behind the photo

Wed, 18 Apr 2012 10:45:21 EST

The story behind the photo

I've had several questions about the new photo on my page so I thought I'd do a quick blog to explain how that came about.

My wife works for Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children and both my daughters are patients at the hospital. Needless to say, we are passionate about TSRH. They do orthopedic care for Children, regardless of their ability to pay, this has been the policy for 90 years now.

TSRH partners with Southwest Airline...

DRC Tal Morrison 15K - race report

Tue, 10 Apr 2012 13:10:07 EST

Saturday April 7th, 2012
Dallas Running Club
Tal Morrison Classic 15K
White Rock Lake

This was the funniest race I think I’ve ever run and there is a very good reason for that.
I am a member of the Dallas Running Club due to the simple fact that I get 8 free races a year. These races are all at White Rock Lake, which is my favorite place to run in the area, basically it all works out perfectly.

Recently I’ve not ran many DRC races due to my group t...

Rock n Roll Half Marathon - My 6th Half - lots of pics

Thu, 29 Mar 2012 21:54:05 EST

Date: March 25th, 2012
Event: Rock and Roll Marathon Series Dallas

Race Length: Half Marathon – my 6th

I have to start this blog by going back to my training run on 3.18.2012. I did a 10 mile training run that was the worst run I’ve had in a very long time. I ran the service roads in my area, like I do a lot when I need a nice long run with some hills. I didn’t push my pace as it was probab...

Lost 100 lbs and the benefits just keep coming....

Wed, 21 Mar 2012 18:17:15 EST

I am feeling really blessed today and I wanted to share with you WHY that is the case.

Yes – I’ve lost 100lbs (maintaining at a 96lbs loss right now) and the benefits just keep coming. That is STILL amazing for me to say that. I am now honored to have the opportunity to help others to the same thing. I’ve never considered myself as ‘FIT’, but I think the results below would qualify for that category.

Recently I had to have some blood work done. I’ve not had any done...

Question of the day

Tue, 13 Mar 2012 09:10:32 EST

Good Morning Spark Peeps!

I've recently heard about Cetyl Myristoleate

My question to you is:
WHAT IS IT
DO YOU USE IT
HAVE YOU SEEN RESULTS

Just curious and trying to educate myself more.

Have a SPARKtastic day

Question of the day

Mon, 27 Feb 2012 08:59:06 EST

"I'll never reach my destination....If I never try."

That lyric struck me this morning.

Destination, what is my destination, this is a journey, do I really have a destination??(This will haunt me all day as I work on my 1.5 year plan that I've been challenged to do)

Curious for others views on that lyric.....what you think friends?

More pictures from the Hot Chocolate 15K

Sun, 19 Feb 2012 08:30:46 EST

These are a few more pictures from the Hot Chocolate 5K/15K blog that is here
http://www.sparkpeople.com/mypage_public
_journal_individual.asp?blog_id=4734161

Race Report - Hot Chocolate 5k/15K

Sat, 11 Feb 2012 18:47:36 EST

It's February 11th, 2012
Race DAY

Hot Chocolate 5k/15K - The Sweetest race in Dallas
Fair park

We've had a VERY mild winter in Dallas, even wearing shorts and having 70+ degree weather this year. This morning it was 30 degrees, wind blowing felt like 20 something!! WHAT - where did winter come from and WHO invited it???

So I'm up at 4:15am starting to get ready for the race. Having...

NO LIMITS

Sun, 5 Feb 2012 10:55:24 EST

My 12 year old daughter has said several times that she has no limits. She has said this in TV and Newspaper interviews, she has said this in Executive Board Rooms while giving speeches as an Ambassador for Texas Scottish Rite Hospital. She really does believe this and you know what, the success she's had so far in life proven it. She is an amazing young lady!

Can you imagine what could happen in YOUR life if you thought the same thing??

This picture is a snap shot th...

PLEASE READ

Thu, 12 Jan 2012 20:48:50 EST

Incase you havn't heard.....OR you didn't already know....

SOMEBODY has a BIRTHDAY ON JAN. 13th.

Click the link below and go wish him a Happy Birthday!!

www.sparkpeople.com/mypage.asp?id=SA
NDIEGOJOHN

All Dressed up and ready to RUN

Wed, 11 Jan 2012 15:01:14 EST

December 31, 2011
Allen Texas
New Years Double

This was a brand new race to the area that included a 5K, Half and Full marathon on New Years Eve AND the same on New Years Days. I had several CRAZY friends who ran this on BOTH days. I only ran on December 31, but I had to get all dressed up to do it!

It was a beautiful day of about 42 when we arrived at race site and just over 50 when we finished. Absolutely beautiful New Years Eve day!

You MIGHT r...

2012 Goals

Mon, 2 Jan 2012 10:20:07 EST

Why put my goals out in the public, to help hold me accountable, that's why. I'm pretty simple really, I don't have all that many and I'm certain these will adjust as the year progresses.

2012 Goals
January my primary goal is to HEAL my performers issue! Taking a little down time. This means I will continue to cross train, fewer (short)runs and add yoga to stretch and help the muscles in my butt heal!

Beyond January, my long term goals are as follows:
-Exe...

2011 Running Stats

Sun, 1 Jan 2012 10:24:12 EST

Count: 149 Activities
Distance: 1,001.22 mi
Time: 156:18:13 h:m:s
Elevation Gain: 15,438 ft
Avg Speed: 6.4 mph
Avg HR: 155 bpm
Avg Distance: 6.72 mi

All this come from countless training runs and…
1- 5 mile face
1- relay race (5.25 mile leg, I think)
4- 10K Races
2- 15K Races
5- half marathons :-)
1- FULL marathon

Yep….2011 was amazing. 2012 will be even better!

2 year Spark Anniversary

Wed, 28 Dec 2011 07:21:04 EST

December 28th, 2011
2 year anniversary with SparkPeople.

As I sit here this morning thinking about the last two years with SparkPeople, I can’t help but smile.

I’ve taken my life back
I’ve made some great friends
I’ve learned A LOT along the way.

I’ve handled myself very well most of the time and I’ve failed on more than one occasion as well. I’ve let outside influences control my habits, from my fitness training regime to my emotional eating.(...

Celebrating one year of 100pounds lost

Sat, 10 Dec 2011 11:09:46 EST

As I sat here enjoying the journey this morning, I felt like I needed to share this again.

Today is officiallly one year of maintenance! Oh sure, I've been up and down a litle with in the year, I've given myself a 7 pound window, and I've maintained that pretty well.

If you've seen it before, maybe you need to be reminded of what is possible.

If you've never seen it, I hope you find the Courage, Determination, Inspiration and motivation I tried to pack into ...

DRC Half - The Review - my 4th Half

Mon, 7 Nov 2011 22:52:49 EST

Sunday November 6th, 2011
Dallas White Rock Lake
DRC HALF

This race has been on my calendar FOREVER! I just wish I’d remembered to register a little sooner, it would have been cheaper! Oh well, I needed the timed event so I paid the fee, at the encouragement of my wife to get out there and do it!

As usual, I didn’t sleep well the night before, prolly didn’t help that it was time change w...

Shaun T LIVE - recap of workout with Shaun T

Thu, 27 Oct 2011 07:54:22 EST

Date: Saturday, October 22, 2011
Place: Arlington, TX Convention Center

I didn’t sleep great the night before, almost as if I were running a race on the 22nd of October. I wasn’t running a race though. Why be so nervous then Jerome??

Saturday at 6:30am I was in line at the convention center to check in with Beach Body. I was about to do my very first LIVE workout with Shaun T of Insanity and Insanity Asylum!! HOLY SMOKES, what have I gotten into here?!?!
...