April's in the Books ... May is gonna RAWK!

April took forever. 

It seemed like I did NOTHING but sleep, eat and stretch. 

I'm new to all of this endurance sports stuff and each experience is a huge learning experience.  While I've trained for three bike events, this was the one I trained for the best.  As such, the taper was painful and unexpected.  I hurt from head to toe for 10 days.  I'm so glad that's done.

I haven't yet gotten on the scale since last weekend, and I'm not looking forward to the message reading:

 

That said, I still managed to compile 506 total miles, but just 35 miles running.  I didn't want to risk a stupid injury running with a bike race coming up.   In April, I had my two best bike rides ever.  One was a solo 75 mile ride where I averaged 20.7 mph, even with traffic lights and other junk.  The second was Saturday's race.  The average speed wasn't that great, especially for riding in a group, 22 mph, but I had POWER that I never felt before.  That was exciting.

I won't be training for anything until mid-August, so I plan on doing some great base building over the next three months.  Diet, body composition, some swimming and so on.  It is so weird that losing weight while training for a big event isn't easy.  I did manage to drop about 10 pounds from the beginning of February until, well, just before the tapering.  While I had a great race Saturday, you can read about it here if you missed it, I feel guilty.  I like piling up miles and doing lots of pushups and pullups and so on.  The past two weeks of the taper were so easy, so sedentary, I just feel ... ick.   

I'll be making up for that in May.  Here's my list of things to do for the month:

• 150 Miles Running:  Feed the Beast To join me in the challenge, held on daily mile, click here. 
• Drop 15 pounds (Will weigh in on 5/1)
• Climb Mt. Wrightson (9,800 ft. mountain that dominates the local landscape...never climbed it)
• Complete the  inaugural Nogales Bicycle Classic, finish in under 2:45
• 6500 pushups
• 1300 pullups 
• Daily Ab Exercise (6 days a week)

May will also bring high school graduation for our oldest daughter.  I'm not sure how that will sit with us, but we're sure to find out soon enough!

Anyhow, I hope those of you that are healthy, stay so, and those that are nursing injuries recover quickly.  That said, I have this to say:  May, bring it!

Team SeaBiscuit's Inaugural Run

It is better to give than to receive.

Word.

Saturday was my dad's 63rd birthday.  The picture of my mother leaving on the one-mile walk really captures the mood of the day!

That evening he updated his facebook status.  It read:

Greatest birthday ever in seven thousand years of recorded human history.

How cool is it to have your best birthday at 63?

I thought it would be cool if all of his children could join him in a 5K.  My dad ran a lot when he was younger, but a string of Achilles problems and life in general eventually removed him from running and his weight ballooned.  In recent times he's lost about 80 pounds, is running several hours a week and is eager to run his first marathon.

As with most people that begin running, my dad has had a string of injuries from piriformis to ankle.  But he's tough and determined and has patiently worked through them all.  Thus, I've taken to calling him Seabiscuit.  In fact, for his birthday I bought him a RoadID bracelet inscribed with "Seabiscuit Racing."

For race day my sisters thought it would be a great idea if we had matching shirts.  They purchased the lovely chartreuse shirts and then decorated the backs for the occasion with #49 and Team Seabiscuit.

The race was the Boxer 5K, hosted by Vail Science Academy High School and put on by the always wonderful Steve Taggert.  The morning was beautiful, race time temp in the mid 60's, quite nice for this time of the year.  

 We lined up for a photo, but unfortunately, my mother had already left for the 1 mile walk.  The Easter Bunny sat in her place.  In the photo are 5 of the 6 grandchildren, two of the three spouses, all four children and my father.  He's wearing the red hat.

For the run I planned on hanging back with whomever needed company/support.  My dad was going to do the same.  My calf is strained from last week's 5K.  While my dad runs regularly, the others are in varying stages of fitness...meaning, my dad is in better shape than all of his children, save the oldest, me.

We all "took off" and talked, joked and had a great time.  We are a friendly, outgoing family, quite loquacious.  We talked to different participants before the race and during, and cheered them on as they looped back. 

At one point, my oldest sister said, "I'm having the best time I can remember!"  Later the other siblings shared similar sentiments.

As people returned and ran in the opposite lane I cheered, gave my buddy Bill (who finished 4th, first in age group) a high-five.  I loved it.  And I was surprised how much I enjoyed running 12 minute miles in a 5K...but that'll have to wait for another blog.

My oldest sister was pooped and began to walk and my dad hung back with her.  My other sister and baby brother decided to keep going, so I paced them.  My youngest sister exercises regularly, but has exercise induced asthma, has been ill, just moved to a new town and has a new job...and hadn't worked out in a month.  My brother has been trying to get into a running routine, but also has just moved to a new state (back to Arizona), has a new job, and has two young children.  We talked about and had a great time, just the three of us.  I can't remember spending time with us three only ever before.

As we approached the finish line I was in the middle.  My sister leaned over and said, "Whatever you do, beat Nathan!"  You'd have to know the family dynamics to catch the full meaning, but needless to say, somethings never change...and it cracked me up!  I didn't though, I let them both cross in front of me.

After turning in my tag, I went back out to catch the rest of the team.  My sister joined me.  We caught my dad and sister and walked back with them.  Eventually my sister-in-law, niece and nephew and brother showed up.

We cheered as a 79 year old man zoomed past us to finish.

If I haven't conveyed the fact that we had a GREAT time, I'm remiss.  Let me offer this evidence:

The picture is my dad first, me second and my SIL Katie, with her son Matthew on her shoulders.  Matthew has MD and, while I've not shared this with my family, on my RoadID is inscribed, "Race For Those That Can't," and it's for him.  But more on that later, too.

Now what would a family outing be without two things...first, the cute thing, and second, the embarrassing thing.

1.  First, cute.  My nephew Matthew is stomping on ants.  His little sister, Lainey, watches and studies, then copies in every detail.  Typical ...  

But Katie noticed that at the same time I began to stretch out my bum calf, my sister Amber watched and studied.  Then she said, "Oh, that's what I should be doing now," and did exactly as I'd done.

2.  It was a small race.  My dad won first in his AG, but was the ONLY one in his AG.  When he was called up for his prize, he took a picture with the Easter Bunny, as all winners had done.  And he said, "Where's the Playboy Bunny."  Of course, my mother was horrified and somehow fulfilled, as if she knew he would say just that.

I was raised with the notion that a family that eats together stays together.  But I think that this run was the strongest bonding experience I've experienced with my family.  I'm so happy that everybody participated and am truly touched by the whole experience.

It's All About the Diet

I'm at the point where now I really want to lose weight.  I don't want to lose weight for any reason save one:  To be faster.

And at this point I know that It's All About the Diet. 

But I've been a bad boy over this holiday season.  I've been sick, and I've been weak.  However, I've been weak of mind, not body.  Over the past three weeks I've eaten fudge and cookies, drank a lot (not ever in one sitting) of beer, I've eaten too-large of servings of calorie-heavy food.  I've had late night snacks and have eaten not many fruits and vegetables.  I've been staying up late and sleeping in.  It's been a great vacation!  I really don't regret it ... but ...

I was afraid that when I got on the scale this morning it would say, "One at a time please."

My fears weren't entirely misplaced.  I had gained a pound from last week, which was a pound more than the week before.  That's four pounds less than the day after Thanksgiving, which is okay, but not what I had wanted at all!

I know, Call the Wahmbulance, right?  But you have to consider, I've spent two hours at the gym this week doing circuit training and between riding and running have covered almost 80 miles already this week. 

And that just goes to show, It's All About the Diet.

Monday I go back to work.  It's a lot easier to eat correctly (both in quantity and type) at work because I make good decisions bringing things to work.  I need a schedule!  That's really the only reason I'm looking forward to going back actually.  I love my job, but I could be a fitness bum provided the opportunity.  

That said, I've got a Duathalon coming up in about 60 days.  I'm STOKED.  Today I did my third quasi-brick.  For now I'm just laying the foundation and gaining experience running after riding.  Today I took a nice ride with my cousin that covered about 26 miles.  He's new to riding and while riding with him it was conversation speed for me.  But after I dropped him off, and before I met up with him, I had the opportunity to hammer down pretty good. 

When I got home my daughter met me at the driveway and took my bike to the house.  I threw on my shoes and ran a mile.  This was my fastest mile yet in this fashion, 7:31.  That's not a fast mile for just running a mile, but it sure felt fast after riding like I had!  Plus, that one mile has a sneaky hill in it.  The climb is 75 feet in elevation in about a quarter mile.  It's not crazy, but certainly enough to get your attention!

What a way to ring in the new year!

New Year's is our  holiday.  That is, my immediate family does whatever is easy, no pressure.  We usually run around here and there from mid-November until Christmas.  So, it's our time.

This year my youngest daughter spent the night at her friend's house.  My oldest daughter stayed home and played cards with my wife and I, and my wife's parents came over until about 10 pm.  We had ham, smoked salmon, some amazing pickled radishes and pickled papaya (Filipino dishes), some fancy cheese and crackers, homemade apple pie and of course guacamole!  Our plan was to play cards, snack from about 4 pm until whenever and burn stuff we've been collecting for the past three weeks in the fire pit.  It's how we roll!

My daughter is the "guac" expert. I bugged and bothered and pestered her all day until she made the guacamole.

Eventually my daughter brings me the bowl of guacamole and some chips for me to do a taste-test.  I was outside getting the fire ready. 

All was wonderful, it needed nothing but my attention, so I took the guacamole and stepped backwards, tripped and fell all the way to the ground, the arm holding the guacamole shooting up, sending the guacamole sky-ward. 

I landed, terrified!  I stretched out and got my hand under the guacamole bowl, but not with any dexterity, more like playing hot potato with a five year old.  The bowl flew back up, seemingly in slow motion.  But this time I caught it, open end facing down. Only about two tablespoons were lost!  I am so happy I had a witness! 

The New Year came as it normally does.  We were all tired.  My wife and I were watching stuff on Netflix, well actually I was watching, she'd fallen asleep, and my daughter was upstairs reading. 

This morning I got up and prepared for a 10 or 12 mile run.  What a way to ring in the new year, right?  I had eaten a lot of salty, rich, and fatty foods last night, not to mention consumed a fair amount of alcohol.  I didn't get drunk, but considering I was going to run for an hour and half minimum, any is probably too much.

Twelve miles would be cool, being 2012, I thought, but also, I've been sick and my knee hurts.  One of my resolutions is to be safe and while 12 miles would send the message that I'm serious, 10 is what was planned. 

I decided to run 10 and be smart.  The twelve would've been for show anyway. 

Also, I'd only run 10 or more miles twice, one time being the half marathon.  I ran slow and easy, trying to make the first mile slower than 9 minutes (it's down hill ad I'd have 9 more to go), and the rest around 9:30 or so.  But really, I was just going by feel. 

Check the link  here for some cool graphics Garmin puts together.  I made my last mile my fastest, 8:34.  The overall average pace was 9:47.  Not fast, but that's okay.  I was happy with the run, it felt good, especially since I really didn't want to run this morning.

On a side note, I ran with compression socks for the first time.  I run in toe-shoes most of the time, but also have a pair of racing flats I run in.  Today was the shoes and the compression socks.  I just bought the knee-high dress versions from Wal-Greens at $20 (can find them about half as much on Amazon I learned later).  They worked great, my legs feel good.  I'd recommend them without hesitation!

To all I wish a happy, healthy, and productive 2012!

No Fighting It

I give up.  It's no use.  I'm sick and no matter how I try to behave like I'm not, it doesn't change the fact.  I feel like crap.

Last week I forced myself to take a few days off, five in fact, from exercise, but I was going nuts. In the past few days I've taken a ride and a run.  But that's a drop in the bucket compared to what I wanted to do.

I'm on vacation.  I wanted to do two-a-days, run in the morning, ride in the afternoon and somewhere in between, a trip to the gym.  I can't make this something it's not.  So, for the rest of the week I'll take an easy ride or an easy run, if I'm up for it.

In the meantime, I'll give some focus to the Honey-Do list.  Last week I fixed a leaky bathtub faucet, yesterday I worked on the oven and broiler (the igniter was dead), and today I fixed a mysterious electrical problem in the house.  Suddenly an entire series of switches failed to work, and they were on the same circuit as other stuff that worked perfectly.  Nothing that three hours of experiencing the difference between combinations and permutations couldn't fix!  I have a degree in math and couldn't help noting that in this situation the order of the wires definitely mattered...making them permutations, just like a combination lock.  The order matters, making it a permutation lock, not a combination at all.  How could that be confusing?

Actually, the light situation has been broken for a while.  I've worked on it in the past with no luck.  My wife knew I was working on it, but when she came home and EVERYTHING worked perfectly, she looked kind of like this (actually I just wanted to come up with an excuse to post a picture of my nephews and their expressions of excitement and delight):

I still have the week after New Year's off from work, so hopefully I can get this kicked and get 100% healthy.  Then I can focus on some exercise, provided I don't prove myself too handy!

Now, how do I avoid the homemade fudge?  How do I convince myself it won't help make me healthier?

As I near 100

I don't know exactly when I'll hit the 100 pounds lost, or if, for that matter, I already have.  It's truly irrelevant because my original goal was never to lose weight.  But as I near the point where I weighed myself at my heaviest, which was after about two months of diet and exercise where I'd lost a very measurable amount of weight, I thought I'd share some things that I've noticed, learned and experienced.

Originally I started blogging to chronicle those very experiences.  But, now, in hindsight, some things are quite different. 

There is nothing special about me, save one thing:  I can pick a great wife.  That's the only thing I have that is truly superior.  I'll spare the details, but the point is, she's helped me a lot just by being supportive and patient with me.  I also mention it because there is no secret to losing weight.  This isn't something that just works for people in group A and if you've tried to lose weight and failed you're in group B.

In this post I'd like to share what I believed help make this attempt successful.  I'm not going to suggest or advise people on things in particular, I'm not an expert at all, but rather just share what worked for me in a general sense.  Also, I'd like to remind you that this is in hindsight.  I didn't know these three things would be important before I started.  But after talking with people and thinking about how things played out, I think these three things were key.

I think I was successful because of three major things.

1.  My goal was simple, appropriate and approachable.

My original goal was simple:  I wanted to be healthier and more active.  I wanted to run, always loved it. I wanted to feel better.

I had tried other motivations like looking better, getting recognition in contests and so on.  But the truth is, while I'm as conceited as the next guy, I'm not really motivated by those things.  The push wasn't strong enough to last more than a few months at the most.
 
2.  I had an easily executed plan.

My plan was to exercise every day I worked.  So, no exercising on the weekends or holidays.  But if I worked, I'd get up early and do something.  At first this consisted of just walking a few miles, though they're very hilly and even now are exercise for me.

After a few weeks I began to sprinkle in a little running here and there.  Not only was I way out of shape, but I was so heavy (started running at about 290 pounds), that it was murder on my body.  I'd run in the morning and could barely walk the rest of the day, knees looking like balloons.

It was only at this point that weight loss began to become part of my thinking.  And this time, opposed to previously, the weight loss was in support of my original goal, to be healthier and more active.

3.  I kept it to myself, kept it low key.

There is a small scene in John Steinbeck's The Pearl, where the natives are talking and the conversation grows boisterous.  The men are bragging, become full of themselves and their language grows to match how they're feeling.

Kino, if I remember right, thinks to himself that if he speaks his intentions, he'll certainly betray them.  I have found this to be very powerful and true of me.  I certainly can be full of myself, but am usually well-intentioned.  However, I find that if I speak my intentions, I am somehow relieved of the obligation to follow through.

It's similar to someone that says, "I'll be honest with you," or, "I'll do my homework today, I promise."  Most of the time, the people are true in their sentiments, but later their actions drift away from their intentions.   It's just human nature.

The point of it all is, I didn't mention anything to anybody about being healthier for the first month and a half.  I'd say that I went for a walk, or maybe that I was exercising.  I'd share with a friend that I wasn't going to eat a double quarter pounder with cheese today because I wanted to be smarter.  But those came up in natural course of conversation.  I never looked to share news with someone for a while.  I had to own it before I could share it.

There are other factors, of course.  My cousin had started losing weight before I started and I was able to use him as a resource.  I have friends that are athletes and I pick their brains time and again.  My grandfather exercised every work day.  He'd get up at 4 am and lift weights and go on a run.  Unfortunately I never really got to know him as an adult, but I remember how he'd go about his business.  But I had him as a role model.  These made things easier for me.  I didn't have as many things to figure out, no doubts that it could be done.

While I'm doing a lot more now than exercising every work day, and at the moment I'm aggressively cutting weight (for the first time), my goal is still to be healthier and more active.  Right now I'm chasing a weight because it will help me ride and run faster...and I want to race!

A picture is worth one thousand words...so...

I hope you find this informative and encouraging.  The key to losing weight for me is this:  The goal is to be healthier, the weight will follow.

Too Early, Again

Today was my first half marathon.  I had a great run, really enjoyed myself as I promised myself I'd do.  I was able to keep a good pace and relax, not worry about anything and just run.  Fantastic day.  Here's how it went.

2:00 AM:  I wake thinking, "Alright, if I'm doing under 8 minute miles before mile 10, I'll slow down.  Just finish healthy, uninjured and soak up the experience of your first long race."

3:45 AM:  Both (me and my wife's) alarms ring.  I shoot out of bed.  FINALLY time to get up.  I brush my teeth, eat a banana, cliff bar and protein shake.  On the way out the door my father-in-law asks if he can tag along.

5:00 AM:  We arrive at the location where the buses drive the runners to the start line.  It's cold, but I don't have to wait long before the bus (probably 50 of them) open up for us.  I was surprised they were school buses, and mine was from Nogales School District, about 80 miles south.

My wife reaffirms that I am going to be done by 9 am and wishes me luck.

5:45 AM:  The bus pulls into the start-line staging area.  The race information said there were ample heaters, and there were...if it were May.  12 heaters for 2,000 runners on an exposed hill top, all dressed for a run, in 30 degrees with a breeze.  The portable bathrooms were all zip-tied shut...adding to the excitement.

I huddled around a heater wishing I'd brought some warm wool socks and shoes.  I wore toe shoes for the run, but we had drop-bags that the buses would take to the finish line for us.  I now know how penguins feel. We all huddled around the propane heaters, the body of people spinning and moving to maximum wind protection for its members.

6:15 AM:  The woman in charge of the half-marathon start line comes to our heater area and says we can re-board a bus.  The bus is about 1/4 mile down the road and I trot over there thinking how nice it would be to sit down, remove my shoes and rub my feet warm.  I get to the bus and they're leaving.  PSYCH!

At this point I decide to just move around to keep warm.  I was ready to start the race right then!

6:40 AM:  Time to load the drop-bag, which for all practical purposes means, get naked in the wind.  I load the bag, toss it in the bus and warm up.

7:00 AM:  I leave with the second wave of people.  The first mile was 7:05, way too fast.  A pair of ladies mention the same and point out a group in front that they think will provide a good pace for them.  I decide to stay with them and see how it works out.

We pass people, people pass us as we run down towards Tucson.  I listen to them talk some more before chiming in.  After a while I'm in their group.  They're from South Dakota, traveling for their annual tropical winter run, which they said was terribly disappointed this year (the weather only they meant).

I explain that I'm a new runner and my goal was just to finish in under 2 hours and have a good time.  We were clipping the miles off at 7:30 or so for the first four miles.  I felt great, hardly working.  I only worried about cramping or have my muscles reaching muscle-failure at mile 10.  I expressed as much.

Stacy, the stronger of the two today, said, "This isn't hard for you?"

"No."

"Then you can tell us stories to distract us."

So I did.

When we got to the second aid station I decided I'd get some water.  I grabbed a cup that was half full of blue powerade.  I watch Cynthia and Stacy drink their water, then proceed to dump my powerade all over my face.

"How do you drink while running?"

"Fold the top, like a funnel."

Lesson 1 learned.

Lesson 2 was about pace.  We ran and kept watchful eyes on our pace, sub-8 minute miles was their goal.  The two wanted to finish in under 1:44.  I felt great, so just went with them seeing how it would play out.

Around mile 7 I started hurting.  My feet were getting sore.  They usually do around mile 8 or so, as I've not done a lot of running really.  Each time I run a new distance they really hurt once I get past my previous long run's distance.  I also had a blister in full bloom on the bottom of a toe.

Around this time Cynthia dropped out.  She said she was ok, but fell off the pace.  Another runner that had fallen in with us complimented the steady pace, though I suspected he'd not stay as he was laboring.

I mastered drinking while running and was able to pick up a few Gu's or Cliff Shots along the route. At mile 9 I felt ok, not over-doing it and getting that too hot feeling.  But my legs were getting quite tired, my blister was obviously beyond the point of a blister and my feet were complaining at me.  We kept the pace at under 8 the whole time.

At the 11 mile mark Stacy said she usually picks up the pace but said she didn't have it in her today.  So, I left her pushing ahead.  At that point it dawned on me that there was a good chance my family wouldn't yet have arrived at the finish line.  I thought of how they'd be disappointed, especially my wife.  My first road bike race I finished an hour and fifteen minutes before expected.  So, this was old hat.

What happened next surprised me.  We came to our first "hill."  It was a fairly light incline and short, but all of these people that had recently passed I reeled back in.  Pays off living in the middle of lots of big hills I guess!

I labored through the next mile and a half, teetering on the point of getting too hot.  When I saw the finish line I sped up and left those around me behind.  It certainly was NOT a sprint, I didn't have enough left for that.

I finished in 1:42:15, unofficially.  At about this point in time my family was leaving their vehicle in the parking lot and beginning to walk towards the finish line.  My wife was disappointed to not see me finish, but it was really good to see them all.

Here's a post race picture.  I'm happy to have Oreos in my hand!

After the race I was on cloud 9 for a few hours.  My feet and blister really hurt.  The muscles in my feet are so painful now that walking is only done when 100% necessary.

I had a great time, loved the run and can't wait to do it again!

Yup, Pride Cometh Before the Fall

My father, father-in-law, and brother-in-law have all recently begun riding road bicycles.  All have had incidents where they've been clipped into the pedals at a stop light and fallen over.  I had that almost happen once on a mountain bike, but never on my road bike.

I suspected the reason I'd never fallen over was because my bike was on the lower end of my size, where as the others bikes are all at the upper range of their size.  So, maybe I could stand over my bike more easily.  WRONG.

My daughters show rabbits in the county fair and had a rabbit meeting today in Sonoita, which is 40 miles from my house.  I decided to drive there with them and ride my bike back home.  So the ride was to be 40 miles and a drop in elevation of about 1500 feet, though far from a straight shot down hill.  There are a lot of climbs both directions.  I am working on becoming a faster rider and had a very lofty (unattainable I thought) goal of averaging 20 mph for the trip.

The majority of the down hill takes place in the first twelve miles.  I pushed pretty hard, but tried to maintain a pace.  My average speed was 24 mph, but after the 12 miles my mind began to wander a bit.  I was losing focus, dropping my cadence, slowing down and looking around a lot.  Those are all fine and dandy on a really long ride, but not for today.

At mile 13 another cyclist pulled onto the road behind me, a few hundred yards back.  He was gaining on me.  I decided that since I was pushing for a time I was going to do all in my power to NOT be passed.  We had another 3 miles of flat road before some hills began.  I picked up the pace but he closed a bit more.  I figured I'd slam it through the hills.

On the first major climb I slammed up the hill at 17 mph.  In the past I've been around 12 mph.  At the top I looked back and the gap between me and my chaser doubled.  After the climb the road flattens, but doesn't drop.  Instead of slowing down, I pushed harder on the flat.  I hit the next hill, which is about 4 miles long, with full force.  I never saw the other rider again.

A little competition is exactly what I needed.

I got through all of the big climbs and still was over 20 mph average speed!  YES YES YES!!!  SAH-WEET!

I had one more climb and it's a tough one to maintain speed because of the distance.  Also, at this point I was totally rubber legged.  By the time I finished the hill my speed was down to 19.5.  Still way higher than I ever really expected was possible.

There's a four mile straight and flat road before the final two miles home, which climbs about 500 feet.  The four mile straight away merged into an off-ramp from the interstate and ends at a stop light.  I was totally beat and not thinking clearly.  There's a left turn only lane and I belonged on the right hand side of that lane.  For some reason I went to the left hand shoulder of that lane, which meant that I was not on level ground (it's banked heavily to the left) and when I went through the intersection I would have to cross the traffic lane to get on the proper side of the road.

I rolled to a stop and unclipped my right foot, as always.  I stepped off and because of the slope to the left, I fell over!  Of course a lot of people saw me.  I have a minor scrape and a spot of road rash.  The bike is undamaged.  My pride, however, it's taken a hit.

At least now I fit in with the group!  I've got my scrapes of entitlement.

In other news, weight loss is going well.  I've pretty much given up bread.  I get plenty of quality carbs from sweet potatoes and fruit right now.  I'm down to around 205.  I'm excited and energized about breaking the 200 pound barrier.  My legs are still healing and I ran about 10 miles this week, pain free.

I am excited about beginning the half-marathon training.  I had hoped to have a good running base built by now, but am happy to just be nearly healthy.

I've got a should injury, hopefully just bursitis.  Rest, ice and compression...seeing the doctor about it Tuesday.

Some runs are special

Vanilla may be the least exciting flavor of ice cream, but it's the coolest color of sunrise.  I realized that this morning.  The sunrise was SPECTACULAR.  My leg was quite good too.  I was down the hill (3/4 of a mile) about two minutes faster I have been in the past few months.  Still, I know by sitting wrong, or stretching or bending over, that if I stretch it out on a run I'm gonna be in trouble!  P A T I E N C E

Regardless, it was awesome to run a bit faster.  I didn't set out to increase my speed, I just go by feel.  If the leg is fine, no complaints, then I'm fine, no complaints.

I explored the neighborhood, deciding at the last second to turn left "here" and then right "here," and so on.  Then, I saw something I never knew existed.  It was a triple rainbow...but not like this kind.  I didn't have my phone, so no pictures.  :(

I've seen double rainbows like in the video before, but this was different.  First, there was no space between the rainbows.  Normally you just see one spectrum, yellow through violet.  Here, though, after violet, was yellow again and it repeated.  The rainbow didn't go across the sky, I only saw a small portion of it, like a random swipe from a broad painter's brush.  Either way, the colors were extremely vibrant through the middle and it was PDN (pretty darn neat).

When the rainbow was gone I looked at my watch and I'd run 28 minutes.  From where I was I could've been home in about 4 minutes, but that wasn't long enough.  I explored some more, wandered around and figured out later I did about a 5 mile run in 45 minutes or so.

I stretched, put the leg on ice and chowed down.

Tomorrow is the first day of classes.  I'm trying to decide if I should run again tomorrow morning or not.  It's that or an early morning bike ride.  Hmmm, decisions decisions.

Anyhow, here's to seeing PDN stuff while running and recovery!

What an interesting week this has been so far...

Yesterday morning I went on a short and slow 2 mile run with my daughter.  My injured leg behaved as expected, a little sore, but loose and no further aggravation.

Saturday I went on a pretty tough bike ride that really kicked my butt.  Sunday I went clothes shopping.  I have now replaced my entire wardrobe.  I think I'll end up dropping another pant size, down to a 32.  I still need more shirts, but I all in good time.

Yesterday I went to move my classroom.  I've volunteered to teach math in the freshman academy this year.  That means giving up my favorite precalculus class.  Oh well.  I'll still teaching college algebra and calculus for the community college. 

Yesterday was HOT.  My leg was tired from running and I had to lug everything completely across campus.  Once I got everything moved, the maintenance crew just so happened to have my new room scheduled for carpet cleaning.  I had to move everything back out!  And I'm not talking a few notebooks, but desks, a large table, filing cabinets and so on.

My high school is undergoing some major changes and state involvement as part of a $3 million dollar improvement grant.  The thing is, we had to frame data collected from a group of students that represents less than 8% of the total student body to qualify for the grant.  The money is going to help, but all of the other successful programs (the other 92%) are being completely revamped.  There are a lot of new, aggressive people that are well-intentioned but completely misinformed.  To further aggravate the situation, a $3500 bonus I was promised last year is questionable ... well, let's just say I better get my money! 

Not all frustration though.  Yesterday I also found out that my parents, and perhaps youngest sister, are moving to Tucson (about 60 miles from me)!  That's very exciting news.  My dad house-shopped yesterday and drove to my town to spend the night at his mother's home.  My dad has had a renewed interest in running and he, my daughter and I, planned on a short run this morning.

Normally I would have taken my wife's car to our rendezvous point, but she had to leave early for work.  I was stuck with my old 87 Ford F250 diesel.  The truck has been protecting the earth beneath from falling debris for the past few months.  When I got in it the fuel gauge wasn't working on the rear tank.  It was pegged on E.  I know it had a quarter tank it in...no doubt in my mind, even now!  The front tank's gauge never worked, but I was sure it was empty. 

My daughter and I get a mile down the road and the truck dies...out of fuel.  Ugh.  All three runners are on tight schedules this morning, so there goes the run.  I thought it was going to be neat to have three generations doing a jog together.  We'll have to try again later!

To make matters worse, I left my cell phone at home, so I couldn't call my wife.  No problem, we've already got our running gear...we were home after the short jog.

Since the truck hadn't been run in a while, the batteries were a little low.  I put a few gallons of fuel in a tank but didn't have the power to get the stupid beast started.  I jumped it with my wife's car, no luck.  I returned the car, called my uncle to come give me a jump start.

In the end, it took an hour total to get back on the road.  Ridiculous.

I'll spare the details, but there is a lot of upheaval right now.  None of it is bad, just stressful.  Most of it is of the nature that will be forgotten in three years.  But for now, I need to concentrate on being patient and calm and letting things happen as they will.

Just like running with an injury, patience and time are paramount!  Gotta be cool in the face of uncertainty or else I'll make thing worse.  That's my mantra for the month of August.  Wish me luck!

Today is my NEW birthday. Now I'm undercover.

I'm going to share some stories from this week that a few months ago would've made me feel proud.  But now, they're just funny experiences.  I guess that I've really changed a lot.  I don't see myself as the person most people remember me as anymore.

From what I've read, people that keep the weight off for a year are the ones that keep it off for good (generally speaking).  Well, today is officially one year since I started.  A year ago today I vowed to exercise every workday.  I knew I'd lose weight that way.

No longer is weight loss my primary goal.  Now I want to qualify as a platinum cyclist and I would like to qualify for the Boston marathon.  Both are huge goals, but there you have it.  A lot changes in a year.

Before I share the stories with you, let me say that I finally feel like a responsible adult.  I've used an entire tube of lip balm without having it go through the washing machine or being lost!

Thank you, but please hold your applause until after the show!

Now it's official:  The plateau is BUSTED.  I've been stuck between 210 and 215 since April.  Again, I'm losing body fat and dropping clothes sizes.  But the weight has been stuck.  I finally said, "Whatever...I'm going back to work in a month (I'm a teacher).  Until then I'll workout hard but eat whatever comes my way."

Luckily for me, most of what comes my way is fruits and veggies, but I did eat out and ate a lot.  I ate cookies and cake, had some beer and pizza.  I haven't been able to run in this time period either.   

Tuesday I got on the scale for the first time in two weeks.  I expected to see 217 or so.  Nope.  205!  Two - Oh - Five!  I got on the scale the next day and was two pounds less...203.  Dang dang!  In the army I weighed 205 to 210.  Sah-weet!  Now if I could only run as fast as I did then I'd be set.


I started the whole ordeal on July 29th, 2010.  I wouldn't even allow myself to step on the scale until Labor Day (285 lbs!).  I had lost quite a bit of weight in that first month.  It comes off fast at first!  But now, I'm completely undercover in my new body.  Just for reference, here I am last September.  Keep in mind that at this point I'd probably lost 20 pounds, though I can't remember exactly when the picture was taken. 

 

Now, here I am about a month ago trying on an AWESOME jacket at a Goodwill.  I felt like I should've been in Dumb and Dumber in that thing...dang, I should've bought it!

Story Time:

Yesterday I was walking with one of the assistant principals.  I asked her to unlock a room for me.  We exchanged small talk about the coming year and so on.  I was softening her up before I went in for the kill.  See, I want another whiteboard in my room.  Teaching math requires a lot of space and I always run out.

Here's the conversation:

Me:  Were you able to locate a spare whiteboard?
AP:  Yes, but Mr. Brown already requested it.
(I am Mr. Brown.  There is another, but he's an ROTC leader and has 3 in his room...he doesn't use them.)
Me:  Ok...(thinking...)
A moment passes as we walk in silence.
Me:  Wait, who?
AP:  Mr. Brown...oh, um...
By this time I knew she messed up.  I gave her an out.
Me:  I bet he asked for something else and the two items have been switched.  Do I have a huge bundle of rope in my room now?

Later, I asked the other Mr. Brown and he said he had NOT requested anything from her!

--------------------------------

I'm walking on campus and see a former student that graduated last year walking the other direction.  He's extremely pleasant, professional even.  Quite an odd thing for a teenage boy (nice though).

I saw him and said, "Hello Raul."
He walked by and said, "Good morning."  Strange, he didn't call me by name.  No biggie.

We passed each other.  A few seconds later he calls out, "Mr. Brown?!?!?!?!"
I said yes.
He said, "Whoa, now that's a change!"

-----------------------------------
Over the past three weeks I've been working in a summer math academy to help incoming freshman prepare for high school.  I've gotten to know some new faculty and staff.  They have NO idea of the former me.  I'm walking with one of these people, a very nice woman named Bea.  Bea is extremely overweight (only mentioning because it comes into play).

We walk into the school's administration building where for the first time in a month and a half I see some of the older staff members.  They're huddled in an informal semi-circle discussing whatever.  Bea and I wedge ourselves into the group.  I nod at Eleanor, who is someone I've known for years.  Bea says her bit, then I say mine.  I didn't get a full word out when Eleanor interrupts me:  "Whoa, I totally forgot what you looked like!"

Bea says, "What did you used to look like?"
I showed her a picture.
She asks what I've done.  I give the standard response, "Diet and exercise, that's it."
She, true to the script, looks at me with complete disbelief.  It happens this way every time an overweight person asks what I've done to lose weight.  It's a look that says they believe I am hiding my secret so I can sell it later for great profit!

------------------------------------------

My oldest daughter is a senior this year.  She was to stop by my classroom and pick up some documents for registration.  She brought with her two former students, one that graduated last year and the other graduated two years ago.  I know both students well.

I step outside of my door (my class is working on something) and the oldest of the former students lets out a very loud gasp as her hand jerks to her face as though she's trying to shove the gasp back in!  She was literally speechless for a few moments before finally finding the words to express her surprise in my change in appearance.

Unexpected day off...

One of the many things I need to work on is listening to my body. In the past I've repeatedly pushed through warning signs headlong into injury.

The other day I fought through the doldrums and ended up having a good run. I believe that was the right decision. But each workout since then has been a battle (either physical or mental) and each has been less fruitful. (Usually I'm just excited to "go.")

I woke up this morning and felt hungover. I haven't had any alcohol at all, so I know that's not the case. I ached all over and was extremely tired, fatigued. After a full night's restful sleep, that's a sign that I need a break. I was supposed to do an easy run this morning, but that's postponed. Either I'll do it this afternoon or not at all.

Now, one other issue. I've been craving something for a few days. I think it's plain potato chips, like regular plain Ruffles, but not that brand (don't like them). I've not touched anything like that for months and months, don't know why I have a sudden craving for them.

I figured it out while standing at a store's register yesterday. There was a case of them on display. I didn't buy them and it wasn't very hard NOT to. Instead, for dinner, I thinly sliced some new potatoes and pan fried them (using only cooking spray in a cast iron skillet) with some onions. That kind of did the trick. But, not entirely.

Salty and crunchy elusiveness, why do you taunt me so?

Much Better

I was on the road at 6 am this morning. Much better than yesterday. In fact, it was a little cold!

Today was going to be my longest run yet, 7 3/4 miles. My previous longest was 6 1/2. In addition, the route is very hilly, with three 300 foot uninterrupted climbs and countless shorter climbs. My plan was to start slow and make each mile faster than the previous. If you start slow enough, it's certainly possible! The only mile I was worried about was the second to last as it had the second most difficult climb and was of course at the end.

Anyhow, I did well, each mile was faster than the previous, though they were all slow. Even so, at the end I was pretty tired. The last stretch was of course not a full mile, but it was by far my fastest pace, so I was very happy about how I finished.

But, wow, am I tired. Those nagging injuries become a lot more than nagging after an hour of running! It hurts to move right now.

On a side note, I was under 210 this morning on the scale, after my run, 208 to be specific. I wouldn't call myself as being out of my 21X plateau just yet, but there are some encouraging signs that I'm gonna break through. I've been stuck at 210 and 216 pounds for almost two months. So, this feels good!

Also, I weigh myself on the Wii fit because it keeps record of weight changes nicely. This was the first time I wasn't in the obese category, I was just overweight.

Dietary Changes

I've been wrestling with a recent, and extended plateau for a while. I've lost about 80 pounds but the weight hasn't dropped in about 7 weeks now. Body fat is dropping, but I need to drop weight to save wear and tear on my knees, ankles, back and feet.

After re-examining my dietary habits, I've come up with some changes.

1. Eliminate all refined/processed sugars
2. Limit carbs after lunch
3. No eating after 7 pm
4. Replace gatorades with NUUN

For the next two weeks, I'm going to plan, and measure, each meal.

Breakfast will be:
1 cup of oatmeal with 2 TBS of raisins and 1 tps of raw honey
1 protein shake

Snacks (choose one)
1/4 cup unsalted peanuts
apple
watermelon
orange

Lunch:
Either 2 cups of pinto beans, 1/2 cup of brown rice with jalapenos, salsa and veggie garnishes to taste

or

greek yogurt smoothy

Dinner:
Salad with tuna

Dessert: watermelon

Still hungry: Popcorn


This isn't far off from what I currently eat. The differences will be portions and cheating! I'll have to monitor how I feel and make changes as needed, but I hope this will knock me off the plateau!

Ready for further commitment

My best days of running are ahead of me. Why? Because I'm older and I want to run. Before I just ran because I could. Now, I can barely run and former me would definitely be frustrated with the current 2011 version. But this is something I want to do.

Nine months ago I agreed to exercise everyday that I worked. That has developed and led to bigger changes that were at the time unexpected. Back then, a small change had drastic effects. Because I had 100 pounds of excess weight with which to work, make a minor dietary adjustment had large benefits in weight loss.

Now, I may have a fifth of that original excess weight. As I get closer to where I 'need' to be, it is getting gradually more difficult to drop the weight. I never had a number in mind, or a clothes size. I just wanted to be healthier and lighter. Now I have a number in mind, but it's a functioning number. I think, and this may change, that if I weighed 180 to 185 I'd be able to do a lot of the things I have in mind. That's still 30 pounds over my "ideal" weight, but I don't know how those numbers come to be! Right now I'm 210 to 215. So, I have a ways to go.

A few months ago I wanted to join races just to complete them. Now, I want to compete. I need to drop the weight so that I can training with lower incidents of injury and also for the obvious reasons of speed.

I've already developed a menu from which I can eat. It consists of various items I can for meals and snacks that I can have at other times. I try not to eat after 7 pm. I eat immediately after working out and try to increase the veggies and limit the fats as much as possible.

But now, I need more. Over the next two months I want to design a training specific diet and go all out. I'd like to use the next two months to combine diet and exercise to really get over the hump and into a position where I can safely push myself to the point where I can compete as I hope to. I'll put a lot of time and energy into this and post how the progress an experiences go!

Do what you love, love what you do

A lot of people would be happy if they'd lost the weight I have and were in my physical condition. But I'm not. I want to improve, a lot.

I don't just want to ride in a century (100 mile bike ride), I want to place. I don't want to just complete a marathon, I want to get the first one in 4 hours.

And while your physical activities have to be fun or you won't stick with them, even the most fun activities lose their appeal sometimes. Yesterday, for example, I did NOT want to run, and I love running. I was sore, the wind was INSANE, and I was worn out from a crazy year at work, poor sleeping the previous two evenings and a stressful day.

Here's a picture of a tree that had been blown over by the day's wind.


But I went anyway. Luckily it was a short run. I ran with a positive attitude and completed the run in a fashion I am proud of. But, change requires sacrifice. One of those sacrifices is sometimes a nap!

Today is an off-day. No running or gym. Tonight is high school graduation and I'll be sitting among the graduates during their ceremony. I hate ceremonies and would rather be doing something else. But, I'll do it with a positive attitude, while maintaining sincerity, and have a good time.

Do what you love, love what you do.

Flaked on the blog...

Well, I've officially flaked on maintaining the blog. Silly to even write here at this point. The thing is, I've been reading about this Agoge Challenge and part of it includes daily writing. I do realize the benefits of articulating my thoughts. So, here goes, again.

Since I last posted I've dropped a lot of weight. I'm down to around 215 or so and feeling great. I've competed in a Warrior Dash and a 73 mile bicycle race. I'm running 5 to 6 days a week and have scheduled a list of upcoming races in which I'll participate. I'm hooked!

I've also been reading quite a bit lately, for me anyway. I'm usually too antsy to read, or, maybe more accurately, most of what I find fails to divert my attention from the television, fridge, you name it.

The books I've read recently are all about human achievement, all personal, physical achievement. The recurring theme is that comfort and ease are not the seeds of happiness or fulfillment. Those come from struggle, pain and uncertainty.

Like I tell my lazy students, you are what you do. If you do nothing, what are you? What do you have, what do you do for others? What is your worth here on earth? Before them is a challenge, an opportunity. Yes, it will be a struggle, but that's what it takes to grow.

A clever George Lucas quote I read recently says something along the lines of, "We're all trapped in a cage with the door wide open."

Ok, back to results. I've been diligent in diet, changing eating habits and really have lost the taste for many things I used to eat. They're just not appealing anymore. I now crave apples (never like 'em before), watermelon, beans and fish. Crazy!

Now, save the past two weekends, I've pretty much cut out all beer consumption. There's been cause for celebration lately with the completion of the Warrior Dash, pictured below. I ran it with a torn hamstring in a pair of water socks from wal-mart and finished 69th in my age group (out of almost 700)! Here's a picture:


Two weeks previously I raced in The Tour of the Tucson Mountains, two weeks to the day after tearing the hamstring. I had a goal time of 5 hours. I completed it in 3:45! I was done before my family had arrived at the finish line to cheer me on.

That race was an incredibly emotionally draining experience. With about 5 miles to go my injured leg cramped and I couldn't move. Until that point I was focused on riding with the group I was in, focusing on my form and so on. After the cramp I had to coast for a long while, then I could finally pedal slowly. It gave me time to reflect on the past 9 months. How much I'd changed, how much I'd lost, how much I'd gained. And I got to think about, "Why?"

The answer that came to me...



Now in the previous two pictures I had died my beard red for a beard contest that I didn't win. Since then I'm clean chinned...first time in 16 years!

Road Bike

I went on a really fun trail run Friday afternoon with my youngest daughter. It was about a half hour run through a narrow canyon. We saw a tarantula, snake and had a stink bug squishing contest as we ran. It was a lot of fun. My knees though, not so happy with the result.

That run motivated me to buy a road bike. So I picked up a Fuji 24 speed bicycle. I've never ridden a bike for exercise before I purchased the bike. But I'm excited about the prospect of being able to do some work with lower incident of injury while I lose weight. I am going to cut the running to a maximum of 2 days a week for now...may not run at all this week. I need to get my knees some time to heal!

I also need to continue to improve my diet. For the past two weeks my lunches have been carefully designed with calories and nutrition in mind. My breakfasts have been done in a similar fashion. It's dinner that gets me in a bit of trouble, but not too bad. The real killer is liquid carbs...AKA beer. I love beer. However, I'm NOT going to have a beer for the rest of this month! I need to drop some pounds and that's the most obvious thing to cut. Wish me luck!

Chaotic Schedule and running

I haven't posted for a few days, but not because nothing has been happening. This past weekend was the county fair and my kids were showing some animals in the fair. We were there from Thursday afternoon until Sunday evening. They spent the night out there with some friends one night, but otherwise we'd take them home at 7 and have them out there at 7. Not too bad until you realize it's an hour's drive each way!

Anyhow, I ran Wednesday but not Thursday. When I got home on Friday night I went for a two mile run on a new route. I was proud of myself for running even though I was truly beat!

Since then I hadn't run until this morning, Wednesday. I was gone all day Saturday, returning home at 1:30 on Sunday morning (I went to the UA game against then 9th ranked Iowa). Monday morning I planned to take off, knowing I'd be drained. Tuesday morning, when I rolled out of bed my back cramped up.

So today was only my second run since last Wednesday! I feel kind of like a slug! However, I put in a hard run and think my legs benefited from the long rest (well, lack of running). I also bought a heavy punching bag, gloves and jump rope. That stuff provides world class exercise, second to none!

I'm still at it, still working on zeroing in on a sustainable diet and the marathon goal is here to stay.

This morning was a fight.

I didn't run yesterday even though I was scheduled to run. My knee was swollen and my hip was sore. So I took the day off. Mondays (yesterday) and Wednesdays I work from about 6:30 am until 8 pm with a dinner break in the middle. So naturally I'm tired on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

This morning I didn't want to get out of bed. I did. I didn't want to warm up. I did. I didn't want to run, but I did. The run was a battle. I kept having to motivate myself to move forward, keep picking up my feet.

After about a half mile or so I forgot I was running and started thinking about stuff. So, I wasn't running hard, but I was running and that's OK. The run took me significantly longer than usual, but I finished it strong and ran really hard the last quarter mile.

Anyhow, here's to fighting!