A funny thing happened to me on the way to the Las Vegas Marathon . . .

If you had asked me prior to this weekend what kind of race report I thought I'd be writing, the LAST thing I thought my report would include would be the letters D-N-S: Did Not Start. I still can't believe I just wrote that . . . still shocked (and under heavy medication).

My gf and I had a great time at the LVM Pasta Party and were feeling extra carbed up and completely ready. We had already visited the expo and registered her for the half and we were feeling pretty good. It was early, so we decided to walk back to the hotel via the Forum Shoppes at Caesars.

Half-way through our tour of the mall, I started to feel side-stitch and I knew that it was the start of a gallbladder (gb) attack but also knew that I could fend it off with some Pepcid. I have had these attacks before and, while not pretty, you can ride them out and still be fine the following morning. And my girlfriend knows about them so she knew to get me some tea on the way back to the hotel and let me ride it out while going about her business.

We made it back to the hotel and that's when I began to vomit. This is the ugly side of weight-loss that they never tell you about. Gallbladder attacks are very common for someone in my situation - they're absolutely horrendous. And this was no ordinary attack, it was particularly strong and kept me awake the entire night. When I wasn't writhing in pain on the bed & on the floor, I was in the bathroom bent over the toilet. Finally, around 6AM, my need for sleep overtook the writhing pain enough for me to sleep for 10 minutes. This continued for an hour but it was definitely not restful sleep - it was simply one body function (sleep) winning over another one (pain) for brief moments (10 minutes max).

At this point the race was shot, so I wanted to salvage the most I could from the weekend and turned to my gf and said, "it's hospital time". Talking about it afterwards, we realized that when we decided to go to the hospital, we both thought that we'd be back in our hotel room sometime that day. They've patched me up before and I thought that would happen again and I'd take it back up with my doc in Los Angeles.

Oh no . . . not the case at all.

In the ER they ran me through some blood tests along with an ultrasound and belly x-rays. Most importantly, they also introduced me to a wonderful drug called Dilaudid - described as a "supercharged morphine" - to me it meant instant pain relief! I was just so exhausted after being up all night that I fell asleep during my ultrasound; the lack of pain finally let me sleep!

Within a very short time-span, the ER docs told me of their conclusion and their need to admit me and operate on me the following day (Monday). That came as a shock at that point that my initial reaction (and my gf) was to decline. It was a horrible attack, but I was so far from home and just didn't feel comfortable doing that. On the other hand, I also knew that I was in no condition to get back to Los Angeles. So, after some back-and-forth with the docs, I was admitted overnight to see if I improved and we would re-assess on Monday. I have never been admitted to a hospital and was completely freaked out at this point.

Monday came and I really only got worse. At this point, my pain was being controlled but my white blood cell count was sky high and I was running a 101 fever. On top of that, my ultrasound showed that my gallbladder was highly inflamed - in other words, my body was fighting a massive infection. I spoke with the surgeon that afternoon and we decided to move forward with the surgery and he scheduled it for Tuesday morning. I immediately got my hands on a Merck Manual and read up on the procedure. Theres just something about that mental preparation that helps calm me down in these types of situations.

Here's the main reason why I scared: Most gb surgery can be done laproscopically and the recovery time is actually very reasonable. However, 20% of them must be done via traditional methods and the recovery (and pain) is quite different. The surgeon gave me indications that it would be very borderline in my case; he could not rule out the possibility of needing to slice me open in the traditional way. He wouldn't know until he got started with the surgery and would have to decide then. This is not the kind of gambling I had in mind when I came to Las Vegas!

On Tuesday morning, my gf was great about keeping me calm for the surgery. I wasn't in a great place mentally, but I knew that it had to be done. Fortunately, everyone in the surgery ward was really nice and I felt fairly comfortable going into it. Naturally, the last thing I remember is having an oxygen mask put on my face and told that some strong meds were being put through my IV.

I finally woke up about 2 hours later in the recovery room and was in surprisingly little pain. I took this as an encouraging sign because it most likely meant that my surgery was done laproscopically. Sure enough, the surgeon visited me a few minutes later and confirmed this. He also told me that it was a very tough operation for him; my gb was highly inflamed and he had to struggle to keep the operation as a laproscopic procedure. It was also so inflamed that the incision around my belly button was about 30% longer than normal because it had to be large enough to accomodate the gb. Thats a trade-off I'm willing to accept because I didnt want to be sliced up, period!

I was kept in the hospital for just one more day and since the weight of the surgery was off my mind, I was able to sleep (the medication also helped). The next morning, I had my first meal in over 4 days. I wasn't exactly starving since the medication was suppressing my appetite, but I did feel a surge of energy since I really had 0 calories in my system. Runny eggs and dry muffins never tasted so good!

I was finally discharged from the hospital and my gf and I stayed in Vegas for one extra night just in case I had to run back to the hospital. She took great care of me in the room with some crackers and tea and I felt comfortable enough for the car ride home. 5 hours later we were back in Los Angeles and in my own bed.

Finally, I have to put something in here about Treasure Island. Since we were due to check out on Monday, we needed the room for a few more nights. Once my gf explained the situation, they gave us a really low rate (under $50/night), told us that we could have that rate for as long as we needed and didn't hassle us about the fact that my gf didn't physically have my credit card. To me, when a company can listen to individual needs like this, it's a sign of a quality organization. Having my gf at a safe location without us having to worry about paperwork or whether it was a high rate really helped my mind - they're a great hotel.

My First Marathon - Endurance 50 Run with Dean Karnazes

I have now completed one more of the things that I thought I would never do at 395 pounds - I have now finished a marathon. I completed event #45 of the Dean Karnazes Endurance 50 in North Carolina on the Triple Lakes Trail Marathon course.

The Prep
I flew to Raleigh to spend some time with my sister on her birthday weekend. I rented a car on Monday night, which ended up being a mini-van and a great choice for the ride home. I spent most of Monday night prepping the van with all of my gear in the back and pre-race food in the front.

Can you spot the Pedialyte in this picture? I mix it with Gatorade and makes for a great drink full of electrolytes!

The Course
This course was really rough. It was 99% on trails and it was very rooty with tree roots, branches and stumps all over the place. In addition, all of the fallen leaves created some slick sections. Dean started the day by saying that on his 50 courses, some are easier, some are harder and that this was definitely one of the harder ones - great! In their pre-race instrcutions, the race directors also said that they fully expected for people to fall and be scraped - wonderful! It wasn't ideal for a first-time marathoner, but it would have to do.

The support on the course was really good. I had been concerned because it was a trail course and knew that a roving SAG would not be available. But, they did have a good number of aid stations with coolers that had drinks and snacks. It was actually quite effective for this course. The only annoying part was that you never really knew when you were coming up on a station. The course was through a fairly dense forest, so you never knew when you were about to hit a roadside or someplace else where they would have the aid stations.

The Run
I had never done an extended trail run, so this made things very interesting. You try to move at a decent pace, but you end up taking some really choppy steps in order to keep from falling. I managed to avoid falling, but I did come close one time after I stubbed my toe on a root. I hit it really hard and I think I might lose my toenail.

The weather was great for running. It was a very cool morning and waiting the parking lot, I had my gloves and sweats on. But they were definitely not needed on the course, it was a little breezy and I think there was a lake-effect that kept the trail cool. So, very close to ideal conditions for a long run.

Overall, this was a really lonely run. It was a Tuesday morning on trails - not exactly conducive to a lot of spectators cheering you on. Most of my encouragement was from the police officers at the intersections where they helped you cross the highway or the couple of volunteers on the course. Its not exactly the party atmosphere you would see at most large marathons. The 25-mile marker was the loneliest one you've ever seen - just a simple little photocopied "25" on a tree, nothing else. No one yelling, "just one more mile!" or people clapping, just a sign on a tree. Also, passing runners (or getting passed) was a relatively rare event. I think I went more than 6 miles in between some runners - it was just me and the course out there.

I had read an account of one of the riders that has completed the Race Across AMerica (RAAM). They wrote about how they celebrated every 500 mile portion of course that they completed. They would have a finish line and everything, taking this entire course 500 miles at a time. So, that was mostly my strategy - I would take this thing 10K at a time. 4 10Ks and 2 miles, that's all it was. I threw my ends up every time I finished a 10K and acted like I was crossing a finish line - it was my strategy and it worked!

I knew that I hadn't put in enough proper mileage for a full marathon, but I also feel like I'm in the best shape of my life right now. So, lacking no confidence, I set what I felt was a good pace during the inital part of the race. By my estimate, I hit the half-marathon mark in about 2:40. I have to estimate it because there weren't markers at every mile, so that's my rough guess. I felt pretty good up until about the 16-mile mark. There was an aid-station at this point and I refueled and felt OK, but as soon as I started running, everything started to ache. Particularly problematic were my ankles and quads. Both were just filled with lactic acid and felt really heavy. It took me just over an hour to get to the next station, which was just 4 miles away. However, at this point, I did feel a little renewed because I knew that it was a mental game from here on in. Before the race, I had told myself that if I could just make it to the 20-mile mark, it was just a 10K from there. So, once I hit that point, I knew I would finish. I refueled, took pride in the fact that I hadnt fallen and nothing was particularly painful (aside from the obvious) so I set off again.

We had been warned that the last 4 miles of the course were particularly "technical". "Technical", of course, is a euphemism for "hurts like a mofo!". It was a very rough section of trail with a ton of roots and many uphills. The frustrating part of the uphills is that they were always followed by a downhill, but you really couldn't take advantage of them because they were so rooty and full of stumps & rocks that you had to be cautious. Otherwise, your race could end with a twisted ankle in the blink of an eye.

I almost couldn't believe it when I came up on the 25-mile marker. I knew that the finish was nearby but it was the longest mile of my life! You would think that you'd have at least some roads at the end of a marathon (to get the finish area) but that was not the case here. You passed a greenway and then up a huge hill to the finish line within a park - not a bit of concrete.
I crossed the line in 6:10 and felt pretty good. I know that on a road course, my time would be diferrent, but hey, this still gives me a marathon PR to work with!

The Party
This event was unique because the after-party was scheduled at the VF headquarters, which is the parent company of North Face. However, I was late to it and missed most of the festivities. However, I managed to still get there in time to get my goodie bag and meet with Dean for a few minutes. He signed my book and finisher's certificate and tooka couple pictures with me. I had always wondered about Dean doing the Death Valley Cup (Badwater and The 508 completed in the same year) - he could probably set the record for it - and I asked him about it. He said that it was on his list of things to do and wanted to try The 508 some time (he already has multiple Badwater finishes).

It was kinda cool to see Dean's bus and realize what a big production this event was. There's a lot of good people behind it and it's all for a good cause, so that's great.

So, I didn't get to enjoy the after-party as you normally would at other marathons, but it was still a fun time. I got some food in me and there were plenty of drinks for the ride home.

The Aftermath
I didn't drive on the ride home, instead I laid in the back seat of the mini-van and put my feet up; the cool glass felt good against the soles of my feet. My knees and quads were aching, but I don't think it was anything out of the ordinary for having run so many miles. When I got home, we had a delicious dinner of pasta and turkey cutlets. The carb and protein combination was perfect for a post-race meal.

I'm writing most of the post at 3 AM and I think that's because my body is still running with energy. I'm very excited about the fact that I finished and completed a marathon under less-than-ideal conditions for a first-timer. I know that there will be other opportunities for marathons in the future, but right now I'm just enjoying this one.

39.3 Miles in 3 hours and 34 minutes

I'm just starting to recover from my long Sunday that had me doing 39.3 in the Long Beach Marathon and I completed 2 events in 3 hours and 34 minutes.

BIKE TOUR - 26.2 miles in 1:19
I started the morning with the 6AM bike tour of the course. There were a lot more cyclists than I was expecting. That's good because its always nice to see people exercising, on the other hand, it makes for crowded conditions and I don't necessarily enjoy riding like that. I managed to get to the front of the pack at the start line, so that avoided me having to jostle too much at the start.

The course itself was very nice for runner, but not ideal for a cyclist. It had a bit too many twisty turns and turnarounds that don't make for fast times. At one point, I was nearing a tranisition point between a bike path and the road and a police office simply yelled out "Curb!" and I had no idea whether I was going to go down a curb or hit one! Fortunately, he was wrong and there was no curb, just a small incline (like a handicap ramp). Once on the main parts of the street, the course had a couple of false-flats, so I had to shift properly and maintain a nice cadence. My main concern overall was to maintain energy for the half-marathon, so I did manage to draft off a few riders. I rode behind one guy for more than 5 miles, so I managed to soft-pedal while maintaining close to 19MPH.

The only eventful part of the ride was that I almost crashed right around mile 21. I was taking a drink and then made a mistake while putting my bottle back in the cage. For a brief second, my bottle was stuck in between my pedal and my crankset. I managed to power through it and had the bottle stuck on my top ring and it actually chewed through and ripped up the bottle. I had Pedialyte sprayed all over the legs and shoes, but I avoided crashing. It was a scary moment and since I only had one bottle with me, I had to forgo drinking for the rest of the ride.

After finishing and collecting my medal, I quickly made my way to the car to get ready for the half-marathon. Some cyclists were looking at my like I was crazy when they saw me putting my bike away and pinning a running number on my jersey at the same time. They were all done and going to breakfast while my day was just beginning.

HALF-MARATHON - 13.1 miles in 2:15
I had made arrangements to meet a friend at the 13.1 mile marker of the marathon course. So, I had a legitimate bib number and everything was above-board, I just did my own version of 13.1 miles. Getting to the 13.1 marker was surprisingly easy; I took a cab from the starting line and he got me as close as possible. I only had to walk about 1 mile and could easily spot the 13.1 marker by the timing mat there.

The pace started off relatively quick, but I settled into it right away. The initial miles were through a park and some residential areas, so that made for some good sightseeing. We hit some hills and overpasses the definitely tested my already-warm quads, but I felt pretty good on them. I kept on reminding myself to pump my arms and that helped with the overall cadence and pace.

As with the Nike run, one of my saving graces was running through a college campus. There's something about the energy of a campus that really gets me moving. So, when the run passed the Cal State Long Beach campus, there were many students cheering and I felt like I caught a second-wind and it came at just the right time.

Once the run left the campus, that's basically the turning point from where the course heads back to the finish area. Needless to say, these are also the hardest miles. I had felt pretty strong throughout and was running fairly consistent mile splits, but getting to mile 12 and mile 13 was extremely difficult. These miles represented the furthest that I have ever run in my life and part of me was in disbelief while the rest of me was just plain tired. I'm pretty sure that during my trek to mile 12, I slowed down to a very slow pace - I was still running, but someone could have followed me with a brisk walk pace. Getting to 13 was hard, but helped by the fact that I knew that it would be over soon. There were many, many people walking at this point, but I just kept on going because I knew that I was on a good pace.

I almost couldn't believe it when I crossed the line in 2:15! I have never run that far for that distance before and I was really proud of myself. Surprisingly, I felt OK at the end. I needed the mylar blanket to keep me from shivering, but otherwise, I was good. My quads hurt a little and I felt like my feet had swollen, but nothing out of the ordinary after running for more than 2 hours. Considering that I did the bike tour in the morning and had an earlier start that I would have otherwise, I think that a goal of a sub-2 hour half marathon is very possible.

Overall, a wonderful day! I felt strong on both the bike and the run and I enjoyed the race events. This make me even more excited about my upcoming half-marathon races!

Nike RunHit Remix Race Report

I had been waiting for Sept. 24 for such a LONG time that I was so excited the morning of the Nike RunHit Remix. The race was by far the largest I've run in with about 10,000 people registered. The race didn't disappoint and I had a great time at it!

PRE-RACE
My girlfriend and I managed to leave on time and make our way to the downtown area at what should have been a good time. However, I was not prepared for the number of people there and we ran into significant traffic, all headed to the same spot. Fortunately, we managed to get off the freeway and into a parking lot. This was much preferred since it was easier to navigate the race area on foot. We made our way to the start area about 5 minutes before race time. She lined up with the 12 minute/mile group while I made my way to the 9s. I didn't quite make it all the way to the group, so I ended up closer to the 10s.

START
As you can imagine, it was actually a pretty slow start just because there was so many people! Since I forgot my race watch at home, I made a point to look at the start clock when I crossed - there was about 2:40 on gun time. I had to walk the first quarter-mile or so because the course was a bit narrow. When it finally widened, I was able to open up my stride and hit my pace fairly quickly.

MILE 2
No, I didn't skip a mile here. There were so many people during the initial portion of the race that I actually missed the first mile marker. That actually ended up being a mental boost because it was nice to hear, "only 3 miles to go" when I was still thinking that I was on my first mile. When the clock at the 2-mile mark read 21:00, I knew that I was right on the pace I wanted.

MILE 3
I gotta admit that I was pretty spent by the time I hit this mark. But, part of this course ran through USC's fraternity/sorority row and they were quite supportive. I was giving the kids high-fives and pumping my fist and just had a good time with it. That really helped me feel much better about the way my race was going. I focused on my breathing and realized that I was pretty normally; it wasn't labored or particularly tough, so it let me know that my body was in a good spot.

MILE 4 & FINISH
I knew that we were getting close to the end and that my pace felt steady. At this point, I had what I thought was a sign! Going into the race, my goal was to finish in under 45 minutes and I knew that my pace would have to be in the 8's to do that. Somewhere towards the end, I was passed by a lady with an 8 on her running cap. Heck, it might have even been a "B" but it looked like an 8 to me. So, I decided that I needed to stick with this lady because she represented a really good pace. She was much faster than I, but I knew that I wasn't working overly hard to keep up with her. I kept up with her most of the way to the very end.

This course was great because it ends inside the Los Angeles Coliseum. You get on the field by running through the same tunnel that all of the atheletes used for the1984 Olympics - it was awesome. That also means that about the last 200 yards of the race are downhill and I pushed myself on this portion. I hit the infield and the finish-clock read 45:08 - I did it! With my offset from the start-line, I knew that I had beat 45 minutes and felt great! I collected my medal (which is very nice) and started some slight recuperation. I then made my way back onto the course to help my girlfriend finish the last part of the race. My final, official chip time for the race was 42:55 which represents a pace of 8:35 over the distance. Considering how far I've come with my weight, I'm ecstatic with this result.

One of the nice things about this event is that there's a post-race concert, right there on the Coliseum infield. This year's headliner was De La Soul and they put on a really good show. My girlfriend & I had access to the VIP area at the race, so we just hung out and watched the show and had a great time. We also ran into my friend Barry and took some photos together.

Overall, it was a great event and I'm pretty happy with my run. Next year I'll have to have for a sub-40 minute time, but right now I'm enjoying my pictures and my race medal!

Red Lights On Wilshire

After putting in many training hours with both running and on my bike, the season has finally begun for me with the completion of the bike leg of the LA Triathlon this morning. I completed the 24-mile course in 1:19 and am very proud of my performance.

I woke up around 5 AM and felt a slight twinge in my left shoulder. I considered that odd because it's never given me a problem before. I just finished getting dressed, hoping that this wasn't a sign of things to come. I had packed my gear bag the night before, so all that was left to do was fill my water bottles and load-up. I strapped my beautiful Cervelo to the back of my car and off I went to pick up my girlfriend. We made our way to the start are in Venice and took this picture at the starting line.

After I loaded up my jersey with my ID and energy gels, I kissed my girlfriend for luck and headed to my bike. The triathlon was generally well organized and the bike-only group was told where to go. We crossed the timing chip mat and off we went. I was so nervous and excited at the same time, that it took me a full block to clip my second foot in but once that was set, it was ON; no stopping pedaling after that!

I had a pretty good spin throughout the event and averaged 18 MPH which is not bad considering that there were some significant hills. I'm still always amazed (and slightly embarassed) when other cyclists can pass you as if you're standing still; there are people out there that can just hammer away on a bicycle. I had the experience of being passed by both a male and a female pro rider. The female was next to me one second and almost literally, the next second later she was 200 yards ahead. The male pro I could hear coming from 50 yards back because he had a full aero set-up and sounded like a Mack truck and he passed me like one too! I was doing almost 20 MPH at the time and I might as well have been standing still, he passed me like it was nothing!

One of the main reasons that I really wanted to do this ride was because it's a completely closed course; you don't get many opportunities like that in Los Angeles. One of the wonderful sites of this ride was turning on to Wilshire and seeing a long string of red traffic lights for the entire distance. The LAPD did a great job of keeping the roads closed and safe for the racers.

The only negative part about my morning was my experience on the last hill, right at the edge of downtown. It's really my fault for not shifting properly, but I ended up dropping my chain half-way up a monster grade on the 1st street. I had to unclip, get my chain back on the cog and then start, all while on this incline. Fortunately, I did not have the same clipping problems and got back on track. I think this cost me a total of 90 seconds or so, but that's the way it goes. I made a mental note to prepare my gears better when approaching hills.

The end of this ride involved a long, steep descent on Grand with some bumpy intersections. I didn't throw myself down the hill like I wanted to, but still kept up a pretty good pace. In spite of that, I had another speedster with a full aero setup pass me and blew out the hill. From there, it was a quick flat ride to the transition area and the end of the ride.

Overall, a really fun event with a (nearly) flawless ride. It was well run and I got a nice medal at the end of it all. This event was a great way to open my season and I'm really happy with the way it went.

Let the Season Begin!

If you'll recall, I have quite a few events scheduled for the upcoming months. My earlier post shows all of the events that I'm doing.

So, this coming Sunday will be my first event with the bike portion of the LA Triathlon! I'm so excited about it, that I just can't wait for it to get here. I'm slated to pick up my registration materials on Friday evening, after work, and I'm sure that the excitement will start building up even more from then.

As for the event itself, I'm feeling pretty confident. I've been driving parts of the course during the week and it seems OK. It's a little hilly in some portions, but otherwise, it should be a fun ride. The bottom line is that the downhills are the key to the course. There are enough downhills to allow you to build momentum for the next uphill. So, throwing myself down the hills will be key - if I fail to do that, it can make for a miserable ride the rest of the way. Another thing that I've noticed is that I will absolutely need a pair of sunglasses. In the hills of Hollywood, we will essentially be riding right into the sun, so this will be essential. I usually don't ride with sunglasses, so I'm going to go out and buy a pair today. My biggest fear will be of getting a flat tire somewhere along the course. I've had too many flat tires on recent rides, but otherwise, I'm very happy with my bike. I'm sure that my trusty Cervelo and I will do great!

Also, I should point out that I've made a couple of changes to my upcoming events calendar. It all remains the same, but I have added a couple of new events. On Sept. 30 I will be doing the Rosarito-to-Ensenada bike ride. I've been reading about this ride for a long time and glad that I finally get the chance to do it. On Oct. 6-8 I will be a crew member for The 508. I am scheduled to help a mixed team for the duration of the race. I'm definitely looking forward to this since I enjoy being part of a crew. In addition to this, I have my eye on a 5K in Santa Monica (might opt for the 10K) and I'm thinking about doing the Carlsbad Half-Marathon in January, depending on the outcome of the Las Vegas event. Either way, I'm slowly building my calendar for 2007 and can't wait to start the season this weekend!

Nike Does It Right

I must admit that I've never been a huge fan of Nike shoes & apparel. First off, their sizing chart is off by at least 1" in most sizes (when compared to Adidas, Reebok, etx) and I've just never really felt comfortable in their shoes.

However, I've recently begun to take part in the various running clubs that they run in the Los Angeles area and I've been very impressed. THE running club to attend is the Thursday night at Niketown in Beverly Hills. On any given night it attracts at least 100 runners and on the special nights where they have guests/giveaways, I've seen as many as 300 runners there. Since this is a run through residential Beverly Hills, it's also one of my favorite courses. The 3 mile is a quick jaunt and the 5-mile loop tests you early while providing a quick downhill run back.

I also recently attended the Sunday morning marathon training group that runs in West LA. Nike provides the organization, the pace leaders and they even have water/aid stops along the way to keep you going. It's a very well-run operation that is very impressive.

And the total cost for joining these clubs? It's free! Oh sure, they might have my mailing and e-mail address to send me promotional items. but other than that, I haven't had to pay anything to participate in these runs. While I'm sure that it's a relatively small expense for such a large company, the genius behind this type of marketing is amazing. My hat goes off to Nike for putting together such a well-run and fun series of events.

The Bodyfat Chronicles

I've been doing more and more thinking & research into the theory
behind the composition of your body and whether it's made up of mostly muscle or fat? I used to think that weight was weight; 230 pounds was the same across the board. However, it's become obvious to me that this is not the case. You can be a soft and fatty 230 or a firm and trim 230. So, I've been fousing less on my weight scale and looking more at my bodyfat percentage.

I had my bodyfat tested in June for the first time in a long time and
I came in at 17.7% when I was 220 pounds. I had it tested again
yesterday (almost 2 months later) and I am now 234 and my bodyfat is
down to 15.5%. That means that while I've gone up in weight, I've
actually lost 1 pound of bodyfat and gained 14 pounds of muscle. I'm
also happy with this progress because I know that my trunk & waist
have never been this firm and even though I've put on 14 pounds, my
waist size is the same - I'm wearing the same jeans!

Finally, the increases in strength have been very welcome. I know that
I've been 234 before and I did NOT have the same strength that I do
now. I'm able to do proper push-ups, bench press so much more than
before and can do a few ab exercises that I could simply not do
before. Needless to say, I'm very happy that my training is paying
off!

Push-Ups

It has been one of my greatest embarassments in life to admit that I have never been able to do a proper push-up. I just have never had the strength to support my body weight in that way. My shoulder ache, my elbows shake and my core has never been strong enough to support my back & stomach while in the push-up position.

So, in all my recent weight-training and with the help of a personal trainer, I've been focusing on building my core strength and building up to a push-up. I recently reached a point where I finally felt comfortable trying them again.

There I was last Thursday and I was feeling pretty good about the set of bench presses that I had just finished. Feeling determined I went to a secluded corner of the gym and got down on all fours and into the push-up position. At this point, I didn't really think about it, I just went for it. I dipped down and before I knew it, my nose was on the gym floor! While I still felt some shaking in my elbows, I pushed back up. I went down again, this time I turned my head to the side to check my elbows and, sure enough, they wer at 90-degree angles at the bottom and I managed to get back up again.

I could only manage to do 2 push-ups, so on Friday, I was pretty anxious to try again just to make sure that my previous effort was not a fluke. I did the same thing and checked my position at the bottom and felt pretty good. This time, I was able to do a couple of "sets" with my longest set being 4 repetitions. Definitely not the most impressive numbers, but for someone that is just starting with push-ups, this makes me very happy.

I'm now a few days removed from that and I'm at the point where I can do some good reps and focus on my form. I'm incorporating some push-ups into my daily routine and feeling really strong. This is yet another step forward in all of the hard work that I've been putting in at the gym and building my overall strength.

5x5

Don't let the title of this post confuse you - 5x5 is not a new hamburger or something crazy like that.

I've decided to start using Bill Starr's 5x5 weight-training program to help me continue develop my strength and frame. It focuses on a lot of the core-strengthening exercises with an emphasis on whole body movements like the squat and deadlifts. Its called the 5x5 because you do 5 sets of 5 reps for each exercise.

I did my first workout with this program this morning and it felt great! The program has built-in ramping of weight during each set and it makes you push yourself. I know that I had some pretty good breakthroughs today. Sometimes, I feel like I'm running into mental blocks with my weight choices, so it's good to have a program that makes you move forward. Plus, the thought of only doing 5 reps is less intimidating than the standard 10-12 reps.

I'll post more on my progress, but right now I'm really happy that I made the switch to the 5x5!

Upcoming Events

So, I went a little crazy with my Active.com account and have registered myself for a variety of upcoming events. They just make it too easy to sign up for a lot of events at the same time!

• 9/10/06 - Los Angeles Triathlon: The LA Tri is doing something new called the "bike wave". Basically, you can just ride the bike portion of the full triathlon. The cool thing is that according to the schedule, the cyclists will start right after the pros, but before the amateurs. So, I'll have a chance to be on the course with some of the best triathletes in the world. I'm sure that I can't even hope to hold their wheel, but it should be fun nonetheless!
• 9/24/06 - Nike RunHit Remix: I'm not quite registered for this one because the registration opens on 8/1 (Nike - what's up with that?). But I'm going to register as soon as its available because this one is basically a running party. I'm really looking forward to this one. I'm not looking forward to the run because 5 miles is such an odd distance, but a finisher's medal is always nice.
• 10/15/06 - Long Beach Marathon - Bike Tour: I debated doing the Long Beach Half-Marathon as a warm-up for the Las Vegas event. However, I just can't pass up the bike tour. Any time you get a chance to ride a closed-course in Los Angeles, you just have to take it.
• 10/15/06 - Long Beach Marathon - 5k: Yes, you read that right, I'm going to attempt to do 2 events in one day! The bike tour starts at 6AM and the 5K doesn't go off until 8:30. So, I figure that gives me about 2 hours to do the bike and then 30 minutes rest until the 5K. I don't expect to put together a fast time for the 5K, I'm just doing both events for fun and as an endurance test. The LA Tri will give me a confirmation that I can cover 26 miles in 2 hours (pretty sure that I can do that). My only concer with this is that I'll have to find a secure place for my Cervelo during the 5K. I just love my bike and I know I have a desirable color, so I gotta figure something out that will let me run the 5K without fretting about the safety of my bike.
• 12/10/06 - Las Vegas Half-Marathon: What was I thinking? My hubris got the best of me and it had me thinking that I can run 13 miles. So, I committed to the Las Vegas Half-Marathon. It's a done deal - I paid for it, I have my vacation request in at work and I'm finalizing my travel arrangements. All of my friends are having the funniest reactions to me doing this. The best reaction was from my personal trainer, "13 miles, huh? Bring a magazine".

My first 5K!

Today I completed my first 5K! It has been more than 10 years since I've participated in an organized race and it felt great! One of the smaller cities in LA had a weekend festival with a decent 5K course to start the weekend. There was very easy parking and the registration was quick.

I ran with a friend until the 2 mile mark. At that point, I took off and managed to post an 8:52 for the last mile. I know that's not an impressive number, but I was so proud of it because it's probably been more than 12 years since I could post a mile time like that. Considering that it was 2 miles into the race and a little warm out, I might be able to go faster than that in a 1-mile time trial. My final time for the 5K was in the 34s, but the important part is that I finished and had a great time. The organizers didn't buy enough water, so they ran out of bottles in the finish area, but otherwise, it was a great way to spend a Saturday morning.

Everyone is Free . . .

I have always heard how finding good running efficiency & form is so much better and easier when you run barefoot. Obviously, barefoot running has its followers, but I wasn't quite ready to go that far. Enter the Nike Free.

I haven't really been a fan of Nike shoes. My last pair of Nikes was a pair of high-tops well before the whole "Nike AIR" phenomenon started. I've always thought that Nike was made for the lighter runner and even at 225, I couldn't see myself in a pair of their running shoes. But, I have read many good things about the Nike Free and wanted to work on better form without going completely barefoot. On top of that, I always thought that previous versions of the Free looked a little goofy. But the current Free 5.0 V2 is actually a pretty good-looking shoe.

So, I went to the nearby Niketown during my lunch break and bought a pair. They felt pretty good in the store and I could tell a difference right away. I wore them on a 3 mile training run that night and they felt good. I can see why you need to have another pair in addition to the Free (they shouldn't be your primary training shoe) especially since I run down hills quite a bit.

Overall, the shoes feel great and I will use them on my shorter training runs. I'm not sure exactly how much it's helping my form, but it's definitely making my foot-strike feel better.

The Joy of Cervelo

I took advantage of some of the Fourth of July sales in area and invested in a brand new bicycle. I had been researching bikes and I finally settled on the Cervelo Soloist. In case you don't know, Cervelo is a Canadian company that makes top-notch bikes for both cyclists and triathletes.

Based on the advice of a friend that also rides, I went with the aluminum model and not the carbon frame. I had a heck of a time finding a frame in my size (58cm) but when I did, I hit the jackpot! I had a very good salesman that went hunting down a 58 in the warehouse - he came back and told me that they had one but it was red. "Red? Cervelos dont come in red!", I replied. So, he left to get it and show it to me. While he was gone, I realized that I was wrong - the limited edition color for the Soloist is indeed red. It also has a special decal design distinctly different from the standard Soloist. So, not only did I get a beautiful new Cervelo, I have one of the limited edition models and it's awesome! I know that the NY Met sometimes puts ordinary objects in its collection, based on design; the Herman Miller Aeron chair is one of them. I'd love to see them consider the red Soloist - it's truly a work of art.

Given that it was 10% off the standard retail price, I had to have the bike. I picked it up today and they ran me through a pretty good fitting. All of the sales guys were admiring the beauty of the bike and were surprised that it was a Soloist since everyone is so used to seeing a Soloist in black. This is my "Pee-Wee Herman bike" - if something happens to it, I will go searching the ends of the earth for it.

It's probably more bike than I need, but I want to make a solid investment and have something that I'm going to enjoy riding . . . just call me Fred :)

Why Athlete 395?

I know that this blog has a unique name and it's in no way intended to be a mystery. In fact, I'm quite happy to share why this blog is called Athlete 395.

On September 17, 2005, I weighed in at my all-time highest weight of 395. Don't believe me? That's me in the picture on that day.

I had a hard time comprehending my weight and it made me realize all of the downright horrible habits that lead to that weight. So, through an online program, I put myself on a strict liquid diet program to completely transform my body. I managed to lose over 165 pounds - I've been as low as 219 and currently weigh in at around 225. Needless to say, this is quite a difference for me and how it makes me feel.

One of the horrible habits that I had was that I was much too sedentary; I simply didn't move my body enough. I was the stereotype of the fat computer geek that loved to eat pizza. Now, I focus on leading an active lifestyle and eating whole foods. I'm back into running and I have managed to rediscover my passion for cycling.

The bottom line for me is that I must keep active and keep myself exercising. I've changed my eating haits quite a bit, but the most important part remains my physical strength and activitiy. On top of that, the new weight allows me to partake in a variety of new activities that I simply couldn't do or wouldn't feel comfortable doing at 395. That's what the closing picture shows. This picture is of me in Colorado while on a crew team for RAAM 2006. I had always wanted to participate in RAAM and I finally had that chance in the summer of 2006 and it was a fantastic experience.