First Race ... finished with distinction! Now I'm icing my crotch.

Saturday morning I participated in a 5k race, my first one. I finished last. :D

My dad joined me in the race and he too was ailing. We agreed to walk. I didn't trust myself to jog lightly and carefully monitor any pain. So, play it safe and live to run another day. There were a lot of walkers, but they were obviously walking for exercise and finished well ahead of us.

The route was through a pecan grove at sunrise. It was beautiful. My dad and I walked and talked and just enjoyed the scenery and company. It was a special occasion.

Turned out both of our injuries grumbled from just walking, so it's a great thing we didn't run. Also, I ended up with a blister! I was wearing shorter socks than I normally would with those shoes and the blister formed on the Achilles.

That afternoon my family and my parents went to my inlaws' house for lunch and fun in the pool. Jumping out of the pool I pulled a small muscle where my thigh meets my stomach...right in the front, a tricky place to ice for sure. Geez...it sucks getting old. :D

My family spent the night at my inlaws' home. My father in law has been riding a bike lately so my wife and I brought our bikes along. This morning we went for a little ride and had a great time. My father in law is ready to step up from his Target bike into something a little more serious. That's awesome, someone else to ride with!

Anyhow, here's to being active with your family and spending quality time together. :D

Day 1 Commuting Review

This week I am going to commute from home to work (vacation is over), to the gym, then home. The total trip is only 17 miles. The difficult part will be packing clothes and food and of course weather.

The morning's trip was uneventful. 6 mile shot, almost all down hill. I was at work, in my classroom, in well under 20 minutes.

I changed clothes and was glad to not have forgotten any garments. It was early, before the heat, and about as easy as a ride as I could hope for so I wasn't stinky...until I got to school. The air conditioner in my new room is DEAD. They couldn't fix it today either. I was stinky by the time class was over!

But, the stuff I was in charge of went well. Snacks, no problems. Fluids went well, no problems.

Right now I'm teaching a type of summer school that is from 8 to 12, Monday through Friday. I eat a banana and something light at noon, go to the gym and workout, then eat again when I get home.

When I got to work, I went to prop the outside door open with a large rock. Out from behind the rock jumped one of these:

When it's time to leave work it's lightly raining, but no lightning or thunder, so I'm good to go. A bit windy and wet for the 7 miles or so to the gym, but nothing bad. I worked out for 35 or 40 minutes working on core and arms (arms are my fun day), then headed home. Still overcast (thankfully) and humid (a nice treat sometimes) and done.

All in all, I'm all grins. I'm not sure this is something I'd like to do permanently here because there aren't any bike lanes and very few shoulders. But I'm going to give it the old college try for the week. That'll be about 85 miles of commuting, plus whatever riding for exercise I throw in later.

The thing that surprised me is how tired my legs are. I guess because each section is broken down into about 6 mile segments I feel like I don't have to pace myself. So, I'm zipping along on the flat stuff 20 to 22 mph and hammering out the small hills, up and down. Not sure that's going to be sustainable.

As far as running goes, I'm still on the shelf. :( I've got a 5K run on Saturday. I will go and at least walk. If I can run it was be a very light jog. The hamstring is just not right! Luckily it's something that isn't bothered by riding!

Until next time boys and girls, happy running!

Odoriferous Reflections

Fact: Athletes stink.

It's a simple fact. We stink when we exercise and our sweaty clothes can really make the closet hamper overpowering. That's pretty obvious to all involved, but something that takes some adjustment for those becoming more athletic.

There are quite a few olfactory stimuli that change when changing your lifestyle, many unexpected.

The most surprising is that when you lose a lot of weight and change your diet permanently, your body odor changes.

I'm not talking about how, when I first joined the gym, I'd be there when the opened at 5 am, slathered in icy hot. I'd workout for an hour and then rush home so I could be ready for work. Being as heavy as I was I'd be drenched in sweat. I'd wear warm clothes to sweat more in fact. I didn't have time to change or shower at the gym. I'd just let my icy hot-spiked sweat soak into my wife's car. (Her car is way cheaper to drive than my truck.) She'd get in the car shortly after I returned home and said it smelled like "old people" when she worked at a nursing home.

I'm talking about the inherent smell we develop over the course of a day due to our body chemistry. Mine, I've been informed by my wife, is now worse. And I have to agree with her because she's my wife and a wrong husband is a happy one...but also because I do smell worse. Mine is, well, I would say less pleasant, but that would imply that my funk used to be nice!

Now, smell is a big thing, especially to women, though many may not know it. Women are attracted more attracted to men who are significantly genetically different than those who are genetically similar. Also, mothers apparently can identify their newborns by smell alone (though I can't find the article at the moment). Also, mother rank their baby's #2, #1. I used to think my wife was nuts...she liked to sleep one of my dirty shirts if I was out of town. Apparently we our genetic differences are vast!

What do we men get out of smell? Well, I can sniff out a good restaurant or someone else's gym sock (not my own) from a mile away. That's about it.

What made me think of all of this happened this morning. I went on a ride with my wife. She's new to bicycling and doesn't have a lot of equipment yet. So, this morning she was wearing a pair of my riding gloves (they save the palms of your hands). Actually, she was wearing the pair I wear most of the time. I knew they stunk. They remind me to wash them each time I put them on. They're salt crusted to the point where they look grey on the back of the hands. She probably thought they were that color naturally.

We had been riding for about 20 minutes when I said, "Hey, I'll give you a dollar if you smell that glove."

She took a wiff and jerked back so hard that the other hand that was on the bike pulled back causing the front tire to jerk and shake. She almost went off the bike the other direction trying to correct the imbalance.

All from a stinky man glove. Best dollar I ever spent!

Phil Staples

I recently watched the docudrama "Fat, Sick & Half Dead." Basically, a 320 pound, 40 year old business man decides to reclaim his health. It struck me as he was about the same size and age as me. He went about things quite differently than I did though.

He loses weight like drug addict would enter a detox clinic. The man is Australian, but travels to America for 60 days (removes himself from his society) where he only consumes fruit and vegetable juice (goes cold turkey) from a juicer (not prepacked stuff). Of course he loose an incredible amount of weight and in a short time.

His hope is to restart things, drop a huge amount of weight in a short amount of time and then develop a healthy lifestyle. Though I wouldn't promote some of his drastic measures, I found his motives to be sound and his demeanor to be of someone who wants to help others as he helped himself.

In his travels he meets a morbidly obese truck drive named Phil Staples. Phil NEEDED drastic measures. It is Phil's story that got me. Phil was well over 400 pounds and could barely walk. He was literally killing himself with food. He was ashamed of himself and afraid of what was to come.

Phil lost an incredible amount of weight and went from walking 10 minutes (his total limit at first) to actually jogging! His reclaimed his health and became a huge motivation and influence to the people around him. He got his health under control and seemingly regained a reasonable grasp on his life.

What struck me was how happy Phil was just to be enjoying his new found health. He was happy running a post pattern while his son threw him the football. He was happy jogging and sharing his journey with others. He was a sad sack that turned into a very happy man. The human element of Phil captured in this film was priceless. Here's to Phil!

It made me think about throwing away my watch when I run. To run is a gift. Not everybody can run. When I start worrying about how fast I'm going or how far I'm going is when I injure myself. And my goals really have nothing to do with running fast or a certain distance. Sure, I have time and distance goals, but the real objective is to be healthier, enjoy the act of exercising and participating in physical activities. And truly, the goal for me, is to enjoy all of the other things that go along with it.

When I ran my fastest 2 miles in the army, 11:30, I wasn't at all worried about running fast. I had no goal other than to run. I felt good and pushed myself for the experience of pushing. That day I remember feeling great and really being in tune with myself. I noticed things about my feet and breathing that I had never noticed before. I wasn't worried about the clock. I beat my official PR that day by 35 seconds.

Now I'm not really going to throw away my watch. In fact this morning, I used my watch as a tool on my bike ride. I had a 10 mile loop with a few hills in it that I wanted to cover in 30 minutes. But, I really enjoyed what I was doing. I didn't complain that I'd rather be running. I went fast, averaging around 24 mph on the straight flat stuff and just enjoyed the morning and the experience of being able to be physical.

Again, I'm lucky to be able to ride, have a nice bike to ride and a great place to ride it. And I've put literally 10 times more miles on my bicycle this year than my motorcycle! Whoa! Who'd have guessed that!

In the mean time, I'm incorporating strengthening exercises into my routine to promote healing of the hamstring, but also to help prevent future injuries.

And...it dawned on me last night (bragging here) that my pant size is way less than my age! Eleven months ago I was squeezing into a 44 with a huge over-hang, and now I'm easily slipping into a 34 and probably need 32's! :D Ouch, I think I just strained something patting myself on the back.

Cross Training: Either 50 mph or 5 mph.

Today I went on a very difficult bike ride, perhaps the most difficult I've ever done. It was only 15 miles, and I've done rides with greater total elevation changes, but not on similar terrain. The other climbs I've done were gradually up, climbing to a high point and then turning around. This was route traversed canyons, up one side, down the other. Eight of the miles were flat. So, 1300 feet in 7 miles, up one side, plateau, down the other, repeat.

I've driven this route before and the hills can make a car overheat in the summer. The cool part, of course, is going down the hills. The steepest hill was a switch back, so I didn't get to let it open up right there. But, there's a section that's 1/4 mile long and here's what happened. Note that the big number is the speedometer (it's reading interference from the phone) but the number 49.4 was the max speed on the ride.


That speed on those skinny little tires is kind of scary, especially one old country back roads that receive minimal upkeep. To make matters worse, with my head down gravity and wind conspired to pour gobs of sweaty sunscreen in my left eye. One eye, down a road I've never ridden a bike on going 50 mph. AWESOME!

I also thought I'd share a cool graph. The hills are fairly accurate, but for some reason, the computer changed the distance from 15 and change to 21 miles. So, the inclines are actually considerably steeper.
Today, after the first steep climb at mile 4.7, which was actually the worst climb as it just kept getting steeper as I went, it struck me why running hills is easier than riding them. Hills are the hardest part of either sport (in my opinion), but while running, I can zone out and just push. As long as I can provide oxygen and fuel to my muscles, I can go. While riding, I'm using a machine to the limits of my ability and there's a certain coordination/dexterity that is a learned behavior, not an inherent genetic ability. Both sports are largely mental, but the equipment changes things. Some people prefer the aspect of the equipment, but not me.

Saturday I'm going to run a few miles at the high school track, just see how everything feels. At this point, I'm concerned that I actually have a broken foot instead of just a sprained one. There was never any significant swelling or lack of strength, just pain. But it's not healing like a minor sprain. I hope I'm just getting old and it really is a sprain!

The real issue, on the other leg, the Soleus/Achilles is feeling better and better. Just some minor pain this AM at the bottom of my heel when I got out of bed. But those types of pain are normal for me as I've really trashed both of my ankles in two separate accidents while in the military.

Anyhow, while that was the hardest bike ride ever (only one other comes close), it was also the most exciting. Like running, I fought NOT to bargained with myself during the ride:

Take the easier route home, you're tired. You'll make it up later.

No, I got this, though that last hill is scary.

When it hurts, you're getting to the good part.

Last thing: Plateau...I've not broken it. Since dipping down to 208 my weight has fluctuated from 211 to 215 like before. I'm not really worried about it and only share to keep record of some of the events that occur as one loses weight. My body fat is dropping and I'm putting on muscle, still visibly so. I'm stronger each week and the width of my hands and feet are shrinking, while veins bulge in places never before seen. And considering that I've been on vacation for three weeks and have maintained my weight is an accomplishment. I've got free reign over the pantry, fridge and could swing by Wendy's for a frosty at any time. So, I'm doing ok. :D

I will stay the course for now, and continue to fight those bad eating habits (though their number is ever diminishing).

Stuff I've Learned

When trying to lose weight and get in shape a lot of things will change in order to meet that end. I do not have a large data bank of information, just my experience and the experiences of those I've known that have done the same.

I've still got a long way to go, but here are a few things I've learned so far.

1. Substitutions Aren't Natural

When substituting foods I was very hesitant. I didn't want to NOT eat meat for lunch. I didn't want to eat more fruits and veggies. I liked my diet, when it came down to it. Sure I could talk a good game and psyche myself up to eating a salad for dinner a few times a week. But when it came time to sit down and eat a salad when everybody else was having, well, not salad, I faltered.

I've learned to TRY a substitution, if only once or twice, maybe up to a week. Slowly your habits will change. It will be easier to substitute items in your meals, or entire meals because you'll see that you're not going to starve. You'll thrive. Also, strangely enough, what you crave will change.

2. Food is Energy

I love food. I appreciate fine food. I've had to realize that not every meal has to be a blow-your-socks-off meal. Food is energy and our bodies need a continuous, steady and high qualify flow of energy in order to run efficiently.

Sometimes it will be in your best interest to identify some macro-nutrients you need and then find an appropriate food. It may not be in your current menu! What you'll probably find is that you will soon crave that food because it's providing you something you need.

For me, that was tuna. I found myself insatiably hungry. I went rifling through the pantry and the fridge looking for something. I found a can of tuna, popped the lid, drained it and shoveled it down. It was fantastic. Now remember how I said I love fine food. It's true. Canned tuna is NOT find food. However, my body really needed either the fatty acids or the proteins and my pleasure sensors were lit up in reward for consuming the right thing.

3. FIBER

Fiber. Eat more of it. Insoluble fiber. Eat more of it. Fiber. Eat more of it.

Oatmeal, vegetables, fruits, beans. Wheat berries, Fiber One cereal. Fiber. It's awesome.

Basically, it makes you feel full. It promotes a healthier digestive tract. There is a huge list of benefits and they're all tangible, real, and begin very quickly. You'll notice.

A note of caution. Add fiber to your diet slowly! Increase water intake with increased fiber intake.

4. Variety May Be the Spice of Life...

When trying to lose weight, the bigger objective is really to keep the weight off! Studies have shown that people who tend to keep the weight off for a full year do a good job of keeping it off forever. However, the vast majority of people do NOT keep it off for a year.

So what do those long-termers do? They have a steady and consistent menu. That is, they eat the same thing for breakfast and lunch every day. Boring, right?

Through trial and error I'm developing acceptable menus from which I can freely choose meals five days a week. On the weekends, I'll just try and play it safe. The mantra, "You don't have to eat perfect all the time, just eat well most of the time," succinctly states the idea.

For a meal or food item to belong on my menu it must:

1. Fit within the dietary requirements
2. Make me feel full
3. Be enjoyable to eat

Now I've not kept my weight off for a year and I wouldn't even say I could start counting yet as I still have a considerable amount of weight left to lose. However, consistency is key for those who maintained their weight loss and healthier life styles.

5. Arm Yourself

Amazon sells 63,619 diet books. Most probably aren't worth reading.

Many diet books are written by people like me. I don't know anything. Many diet books are written by general practitioners. They have minimally more nutritional education than I have, and certainly nothing that you couldn't discover in a trip to the library. Am I making that up? Nope. I read it in a cited book. Does that mean it's true, I guess not! But it makes sense to me.

Nutritional books, written by people who specialize in that field, are where to look for information. Be cautious of any gimmicks or new spins or earth shattering break-throughs.

I'll share a few key points I've discovered in my reading.

1. Misinformation is more plentiful than accurate information. Most of the accurate information has already been printed, so if you want to be published, you have to have something new.
2. Eating after exercise is a must. Your body will use that food in ways different than if it were consumed at any other time.
   
3. All major diet plans ultimately restrict caloric intake. If you have a deficiency of 3500 calories, you'll lose a pound of weight. The problem is, are you losing fat or muscle, and for how long? (see #4)
4. Nutrition is a increasingly important as you age. Kids just need calories and they can perform athletically. That's not the case for the rest of us. If you're over 30, eat a candy bar and drink a coke, now go on a run.
   

6. Sssshhhhhh...

John Steinbeck's The Pearl, describes a cultural standard among the indigenous peoples along these lines: Speaking your intentions is to betray them. I've spent many hours thinking about this and have many arguments showing its merit. I'll spare you though. But...

Don't tell anybody of your intentions. Just do it. If you want to be healthier, start taking steps in that direction. Don't talk about it.

7. This is a Fight

"It's not an adventure until something goes wrong" Yvon Chouinard

Make no mistake. This is a fight. You're going to have to be tough, mean, steady and patient. If
there is a knock out blow delivered, you'll be on the receiving end. If you're going to win this fight, you're going to have to last the fifteen rounds. Then, you'll have to defend your title for the rest of your life.

Nobody can step in the ring for you. You have people in your corner though. The trick is to know what they can help you with, and what help will ultimately hurt your cause. See, methods used to attain your goal (win the fight) will not likely match what you envision, so keep an open mind. Along the way you'll get stuck, relapse and get frustrated. Refocus, regroup. When you get stuck it's not that you suddenly have a problem. You've always had that problem, it's just that now you're aware of it. That's an opportunity to improve and fix it! But it's your fight. You're going to have to fix it.

Or, you could resign yourself to your fate and only take what comes easy. Really, it's your call. People can argue the merits of either choice. But me, I'm a fighter. Why? Because I decide to be.


8. Set Goals That Aren't on the Scale

While a deficiency of 3500 calories will result in a pound of weight lost, weight loss is a tricky thing. Your body sometimes refuses to lose weight. Sometimes you'll burn fat really fast, regardless of what you're eating. Sometimes your body will build muscle. Sometimes something akin to voodoo is occurring because you'll have done everything right and yet the weight won't budge.

My weight has been the same for about 3 weeks now (well, within the normal fluctuations). However, I've dropped a pant size in the same time period. Why? I have guesses, but who knows.

The point is, if my main goal was seeing a lower number on the scale, I'd be frustrated. While it is mildly frustrating that the number isn't dropping, I know I'm more fit and have less body fat. I can see it. Everybody can see it. Not to fret!

It wasn't always that way. I hit plateaus about every ten to fifteen pounds of weight lost. Early on, nobody, save my wife, could really tell I was losing weight. Again, not to worry. It will come off.

This, when you get stuck and the weight will not come off, is a good time to revisit your plan. Don't make sudden, knee-jerk changes because these plateaus are part of the process. However, you may discover that you're eating too many carbohydrates. Or, maybe you'll rediscover that you're eating too many processed foods, but earlier you weren't motivated to give them up.

I found that when I hit a plateau, and stayed there for a while, I was more willing to make those substitutions that seemed unnatural than I was when things were going well.

9. Ginger

I do not subscribe to herbal remedies and holistic medicines. I'm not suggesting you shouldn't either. I do have an open mind. What I am suggesting is that if you are having swelling an joint pain you take 4 grams of ginger a day instead of ibuprofen or acetaminophen (Tylenol or Motrin).

Ginger has been clinically proven to be a more effective anti-inflammatory medication than all other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medications. This is solid science. You won't need to believe it for it to work. Give it a week and you'll see. You can buy ginger capsules at Wal-Greens.

10. Sleep

Turn off the TV, put away the phone. Pick up a book, read. Go to bed. Sleep reduces recovery time. Try it.



Now, turn off the computer and go outside and do something.

Bike versus Run

I love riding. The distances that can be covered, the speeds attained and the sense of accomplishment after a long hard run is incredible. Riding helped me really get into fantastic cardiovascular shape, to the point where my resting heart rate was in the low/mid 40's! I probably could not have spent that much effort on running, not weighing as much as I did.

On April 16th of this year (my birthday that I share with my grandmother), I competed in a road bike race. It was the Tour of the Tucson Mountains. As races go it was an easy one. It was flat, never had to get out of the largest chain ring (big sprocket on the front) and 73 miles. I had hoped to finish the race in 5 hours, but finished in 3:45, way before my family showed up to cheer me across the finish line! It was a huge rush competing and doing well in that race. I can't wait to do more!
This is a picture shortly after the race, when I'd recovered.

As much as I love riding, and plan to keep riding, I prefer running. There's a zone I easily fall into when running that I cannot find so quickly when riding. It's something when I'm tired and my lungs burn a little but I just find a pace and push through. I love it.

I now find myself having to find time for riding. There's gear to wear, stuff to pack, and routes to be considered (for safety reasons, cars). But with running, throw on the shoes, look for a trail and go. So, here's to running.