Parge vs Ben

I've got a link to Ben Does Life in my links section and haven't said anything about it yet. I run the risk of having this blog be too much like Ben's. In reality, this blog was inspired by Ben's. My wife sent me a link to it after I told her my Sun Run plan. She has a way of bombarding me with information in a sort of vicarious enthusiasm for any health quest I set out on. So I read (most of) his blog and immediately related to the person he started out as. But there are key differences between what he did and what I'm doing, and also between who he is/was and who I am/will be.

• When Ben started, he was a single student, in his twenties. I, on the other hand, am a happily married, professional, father of two, nearly halfway through my forties.
• Ben had emotional/psychological challenges related to his weight that provided to impetus to start him on his path to health. I've adopted a battle-scarred combativeness around weight issues from a lifetime of dealing with weight problems. My desire to "be thin" has never waned. I've just become adept at knocking down criticism about my weight. My impetus is more of the "sure, why not" ilk.
• Ben seems to be a gregarious, jovial, positive everyman with a robust family and social life. I'm a bit of a hermit, thinker, half flippant/half sour sub-culture-ite. My extended family and social network are lucky to ever see me in meatspace.
• Some of Ben's key challenges revolved around money - specifically the expenses attached to his regimen. My key challenge will revolve around time - specifically finding enough time where I'm free to get the training in I need.
• Ben's starting weight was nearly 100 lbs more than mine, even thought we're nearly the same height.

The commonalities are a bit interesting:

• Ben's starting physique was very similar to what mine is like now, regardless of the 100 lb difference. I'm not sure if I just have a poor body image, or that I don't know what 100 lbs of fat looks like.
• Ben started out in the south and recently moved to Vancouver. I did a stint in the south and moved to the Pacific Northwest, eventually ending up in Vancouver (over 20 years ago now).
• Ben's a musician. I have called myself that at times.
• I have a shirt or two that I've kept just to one day be able to fit into.
• He thinks being called "big guy" is just as insulting as I do.

Beyond that, I hope that my blog won't be accused of being a copy-cat. If I achieve anything, it won't be near the scale of Ben's achievement. I have a single goal: The Sun Run (under 50 min) which is pretty big. I think that if I tie in a few subsidiary goals, it would help my chances of success. I'll hold off on any weight goals. Those are notoriously fickle and prone to demoralization. Maybe after a few weekly weigh-ins, I can plot a reasonable target. I'd like to dig out a shirt to fit in myself. I like that tactic. I'd just be satisfied if my gut disappeared. Again, let's see how it goes.