A day with Mickey

Shot at various locations while visiting Mickey.

Stress Relief

Went to the dentist yesterday. More bad news. Dental occlusion. Well I have occlusal problems, the way I bite and my teeth fit together is not quite right. I guess I'm not perfect after all :-) Of course this has caused some serious problems in my jaw bone. Is not just that though, all the junk food I ate prior to changing my eating habits has done me in. I'm not a big burger and fries eater but I understand how white bread and such can form this nasty plaque on your teeth (another reason no to eat refined sugars, flour, white rice, etc.), which will eventually make you loose your teeth.

I wish I would have paid attention when I was younger, much younger. So after talking to the dentist, which was a very nice experience by the way (well as nice as it can get when you're being told you have a serious problem). He is very straightforward and reassuring. His staff is also really nice. I think I'll stay. I'm getting a teeth guard to soften the clenching of jaw and hammering on my teeth during the night and perhaps unconsciously during the day.

Now I need to think about getting surgery and getting on with my life, better eating habits, etc. A new beginning.

I was a little depressed most of the day and could not work out during mid day as I usually do, the amount of money I have to dish out is doable but it's going to hurt as well. In any case, I regained my composure and worked out in the evening. I had leg work to do so here it is.

I had Squats and dead lifts scheduled so this is what I did. First things first, I put to cotton balls in my mouth with soaked in natural mouth wash. This would be my jaw clenching buffer during the workout. I started by doing squat warm-ups first using the 45lb bar by itself for 1 set of 15 reps. Next I added a 10lb plate on each side and did another 15 reps with that weight. Following that I added a 45lb plate on each side and did 15 reps of that. Warm-up completed.

Here comes the real deal. I added another 45lb plate on each side of the bar. That makes it 240lbs including the bar. I proceeded to do 3 sets of 8 repetitions each. Ok on the last set I only did 7 reps (hey I was tired). Next came the dead lifts. That was 3 sets of 10 at 150lbs total. That's it. Felt much better after that. Had a soft dinner. This is the way I have to eat for a good while. I'm grinding my almonds, juicing my apples, chopping my meats, etc. Have to keep a good attitude about all of this though. There is someone else in worse condition than we are at all times (sorry to say).

I'm doing some last minute checking before moving on with surgery (finances, alternatives?). In any case here goes my saying: 'God gives me endurance, when I run long, I experience his patience'.

Charity walk

Well this weekend I'll be doing a short (5k) walk for the March of Dimes. Walking has become part of my lifestyle (it was for a long time, I enjoy walking really fast now). One of my younger sisters was a primy. I'm glad she is with us today.

It's either a 5k (3miles) or 5miles, not sure yet what the deal is. It's not a race but I'll have to have fun and see how fast I can walk on some stretches. I'm fully recovered from the La Marathon so this should be fun.

April 21, 2006

Jack is back. But first today’s daily reading is located at Galatians 6:2.

Talk about burdens. This week was horrible (my tooth ache thingy). The good news. I put into practice some natural treatments (mouth wash with sea salt and using tea bags to draw out the infection). It seemed to work, I never did take any pain medication and I actually started taking the anti-biotic medicine just Wednesday. By then most of the pain was gone and now I feel compelled to take the rest of the medicine just because I was told to. In any case I feel much better, I was able to chew on raw almonds yesterday and I had a great breakfast this morning.

At 8:45am, heading out the door for a nice trail run, I'm weight in at 227 this morning. Let's see how much water I loose after my run. This should give me an idea on how much to dring during longer runs. So off we go...

Sobering thoughts!

As I've chronicled here, my running and weight workouts plus my new eating habits have worked wonders for me. So far I've been involved in three LA Marathons (1 bike ride and two walk/runs). I would say my training and changed lifestyle have been positive and permanent (four years). I am eating healthier everyday, I ate healthy today and will eat healthy tomorrow.

As I've stated before, there are bigger things in the universe going on than our little (sometimes big) battles with weight, bad hair days, how we feel etc. But it is the local and immediate things that grab our attention foremost. Take for example this past week. I developed a tooth ache. Funny huh? Well I knew that I had to visit the dentist any way so the throbbing pain made it possible to go see the dentist once and for all.

The bad news: I'm having surgery on my mouth. My problems are much worse than a few crooked teeth and one ailing molar. I had an inkling about this before the marathon but I thought I postpone the whole thing till after. Well here it is. And just as I expected, the insurance will not cover everything. So the pain has made me focus on my teeth and nothing else matter right now. Oh and now I I have to grind those almonds, cause I can't eat them whole for a while. My wonderful wife has for years been telling me to slow down when I eat. Well, she wins. I can’t eat slow enough now, it is excruciatingly evident every time I chew my food.

Yes I know, not the end of the world, but not necessarily how I envisioned loosing some of my body fat. So this silly grin you see here is gone for a while.

Below is what awaits me.

Till next time!

This past weekend.

April 17, 2006

The weekend is gone and things went well. My workout consisted of some functional exercises.  I built a swinging gate for the side of my house (with the help of my twin boys). Cut wood, drilling framing and the whole honey do project thing. After that I did some trail running for about three miles.

Among the other things that I experienced this weekend was this little episode. I went to put some gas on my car at the local gas station ($2.79 a gallon). As I was getting ready to pump the gas an old woman arrived at the gas station. She got out of her car and I noticed that she used a walker. She slowly made her way to the ATM machine to put her money in to pay for the gas. As I observed, the money was not being accepted by the money machine at the pump. At this point I had this sudden urge to go help her. The thing is that in a just a few seconds this big debate went on in my mind. If offered to help would she take it as someone trying to steel her money (I�ve read about such jerks). What if she refused the help and told me to bug off. What if�?

She finally put her money in the second money machine and she struggled back to her car I could not stand it anymore. I mustard the courage and offered to pump the gas for her. Why I felt so nervous is beyond me.  But alas! I tell you she was so appreciative, her smile was more than any reward I could hope for. She thanked me, I pumped the gas on her car and she went on her marry way. Sometimes satisfaction comes from small things.

This little incident reminds me of a scene from a Marx brothers� movie. The jist of it is that thinking negatively before letting the other person respond and imagining the worst, a war got started. That was my little struggle, what if�I�m glad I helped.

In other news, the Boston Marathon was run today. Winner at 2 hours and around 7 minutes. Just amazing. http://www.bostonmarathon.org/

Plateau #1001

I have finally broken another plateau. I'm below 230lbs consistently so 225lbs looms in the horizon. This is the last week of my current recovery program and I'll be switching my workout to a different format for the next three months. I have been splitting my routine into upper and lower body routines and it has worked well. I hit a max of 100 squats with 90lbs on my back (endurance training). I hit a max of 270 lbs bare grip dead lifts and 290 lbs with squats for up to 12 reps.

In the clothing department I have gone down from a 48 inch to a 41 inch waist. I can fit on a 40 but it's just a tad bit tight. Nevertheless progress has come slowly but surely. There was a time when I wanted the weight to come right off but I'm settled and happy with the way things are going. My mid area still has some fat to get rid of and it is happening as I write this. I've been complemented at lest three times in the gym about my weight loss and it's sure reassuring. We are sometimes are own worst critics.

Some folks still think I'm crazy because I have not touched a donut and sodas for over three years now. I use to miss my root beer but not anymore. I occasionally still have my cheat meal and include Ice Cream with it (although it's a kid's scoop for me). The aches and pains of working out and doing without ice cream most days of the week (six days actually) are the sacrifices that one has to make for healthier living. I'm not talking about injuring one self, just growth pains and recovery. It gets better as time goes by and I can attest to the fact that I feel so much better. I can actually drive longer distances without experiencing pains on my abdomen and other weird symptoms. I can hit 10 mph on the tread mill for short bouts and survive to tell about it. My kids have followed my example and at 17 years of age they are more informed about healthy eating than I or my contemporaries were at that age.

Today I hit the tread mill and bike in the gym. My workout consisted of a five minute stationary bike spin. From there I walked to the tread mill and for twenty minutes I incrementally went from 3.5 mph to 5mph, then 6.5 mph, slow back down, hit 8.5 mph, slowed to a walk and adjusted the incline to 7, lower the incline to 3.5 and went all out at 10mph for about 45 seconds. That's it. Cooled down and called it a day.

My breakfast, snacks and lunch consisted of egg, vegetables, skim milk cheese, almonds. A home made smoothie with strawberries, blueberries, papaya, raw milk, green tea, cinnamon, vanilla whey, and almond butter sandwich and an apple. Still under my 2500-2600 calories per day allotment.

I think I'm fully recovered from my Marathon experience and looking forward to my next adventure which is coming up in a couple of months. The top of half dome in Yosemite. I'm really looking forward to this hike, run. Everyday I say to myself "I am lean, strong, healthy and happy!" And my new saying is this: "God (yhwh) gives me endurance, when I run long, I experience his patience"

Tuesday Trail Run

April 11, 2006

I found out yesterday that the gym would be closed (the men's lockers to be specific). It motivated me to get up earlier and do a trail run this morning. I have adopted an abandoned rail road track that will someday be converted into a bike path. Hopefully the qualities that make it so fun to run on now will not be lost.

There is loose gravel and lots of spread out tree bark and other soft materials which make running a complete joy. There is always the fear of a twisted ankle but from what I've read and experienced this the opposite of what is happening.

Running on this uneven surface creates a tough workout. As you run, one has to use more energy to propel forward. As you're air borne, landing on the soft uneven surface (which feels like a very thick rug), strengthens the lower leg muscles and smaller muscles in the ankle area. I have done this four times now and can't wait to go do it again. When I first began I was apprehensive about my footing. I'm a little more relaxed now and able to concentrate on my surroundings. The attached photo was taken this morning while doing my warm up walk before running. I can't believe I had not noticed this before. I'm now going back with tripod and bigger DSLR to photograph the cacti. I found some very interesting patterns, plus some flowers soon to decorate the prickly beast.

Among other things I wore my heart rate monitor and my perception of how having a hard workout was not unfounded. I hit an average of 130 bpm and a max of 160 bpm. I burned 899 calories in about 45 minutes (take 20% off, heart rate error, body weight etc.). I had a wonderful breakfast after that and now I'm just planning for the next run. I'm glad I brought my camera with me. This will be the beginning of a good relationship with the surrounding flora.

Do you sometmes feel like you're all tied up in knots?

Today's Activity (April 6, 2006)

Let's see today I had a great morning. Did not need coffee at all. Sometimes it takes a little longer to get going but not today!

This is my food log for today plus I hit the weights hard again today, split my workout finishing in the evening (squats).

Up above coming up on the 10th rep of 220 lbs afte having done 15 reps of 130 lbs squats. After that I hit 275lbs but did not do that many reps (2 two be exact).

Amount Item Calories
Breakfast 1/2 Cup Oat Meal 150
1 Oz Raw Chocolate Chips 80
1 Oz Raw Trail Mix 150
1/4 Cup Raw Milk 40
1 1/2 Cup Green Tea 3
1/2 Teaspoon Cinnamon Powder 4
1/2 Oz Vanilla Whey 60
1/2 oz Flax Seed 70
557

Snack 1 Oz Skim Cheese Mozarella 90
1 Apple 100
190

Workout Weight Set Reps
Dead Lifts 130 1 15R
220 1 10R
270 1 10R

Leg Press 130 1 25R
250 1 10R
290 1 10R
350 1 10R

Step Ups BW + 30lb 1 each leg 10R
Squats
Romanian DL
Calves


Amount Item Calories
Snack Post Workout
1 Cup Egg Whites 80
1/2 Cup Raw Milk 120
1 Oz Vanilla Whey 120
320


Lunch 3-Jan Beef Frank* 120
3 Eggs 60
25 Raw Almonds 175
.3 Table Spoon Coconut Oil 40
3 Egg whites 90
1/2 Cup Mixed Vegetables 60
545

Snack 2 Summer Rolls 240
240

Dinner 1/2 Cup Brown Rice 220
Chicken 3 legs ???
1 Sandwich Almond Butter 380

Today I ran for a about 25 minutes on dirt and grass at a nearby park during lunch. It was great. The weather was kind of cold and windy but I prepared for it. I also ran with my brand new all terrain running shoes. Running in the park was just what the doctor ordered.

Below is my food intake including dinner. I skipped my last snack beacause I was not hungry.

	Amount	Item	Calories
Breakfast	1/2 Cup	Oat Meal	150
	1 Oz	Raw Chocolate Chips	80
	1 Oz	Raw Trail Mix	150
	1/4 Cup	Raw Milk	40
	1/2 oz	Flax Seed	70
			490
Snack	1 Oz	Skim Cheese Mozarella	90
	1	Apple	100
			190
Lunch	1 Cup	Cup of Vanilla Yogurt	190
	6	Stawberries	60
	1 Cup	Cup of mixed berries	80
	1	Tea Spoon of Bitter Cocoa Mix	20
	2 oz	Vanilla Whey	240
	1 Cup	Egg whites	120
	1 Cup	Raw Milk	120
		*	830
Snack	1 Oz	Skim Cheese Mozarella	90
	20	Raw Almonds	140
	1	Orange	80
			310
Dinner	1 Cup	Black Beans	200
	1/2 Cup	Brown Rice	200
	3	Eggs Scrambled w/ onions	180
			580

* Drank smoothie in two sessions to limit caloric intake.

A tale of a trail!

Last Saturday (April 1, 2006) I race walked on my tread mill for about 45 minutes. I walked at speeds of 5.5 mph for short bursts and various incline settings of 4, 6, and 9. After that I went to run on the bike trail which is slowly taking form through the back of my property. From my doorstep to the end of the block and back is .7 miles. I ran on the wood chips and stumps scattered on the edge of the trail. I'm really beginning to like this stuff.

I thought that I had finally begun trail running last week, but it really begun on the trail to Punch Bowl falls in Oregon. The photo you see here and others I have posted on this blog are from that same area. I had visited the area one day before with my family and got there around noon. It was full of folks enjoying the cool running water and the wonderful sunlight filtered through the tree canopy up above. At that moment I decided I needed to come back and experience the falls all by myself.

On the following day, I woke up at the crack of dawn. Ate my oatmeal breakfast and packed a few things to munch on the way. I had my camera gear ready and my fanny pack firmly strapped with tripod on hand. I drove to the trail head and ran 2 1/2 miles if I remember correctly up the trail. It was about 6:00 AM. I had the entire trail to myself. Well the birds and other critters accompanied me on this run. I was exited and somewhat apprehensive. Would I meet some bigger wild life, a mountain life perhaps? As I ran and more light cleared up the trail, the whole experience was beyond belief. The green foliage had this shimmering glow and everything looked different than the previous day.

After a slow ascent, I finally got to the Punch Bowl falls. And I was rewarded for my effort. I was there all by myself. I still remember it as if it were yesterday. This shot is the lower Punch Bowl.
In order to get the shot, I had to position myself at the edge of the river bed which is about 10 feet off the ground (maybe at this height it is called something else). As I precariously balanced myself with my tripod and camera, my heart was pounding rapidly. I took as many shots as could until I ran out of digital space on my flash card.

Once done, I packed everything up, put my shorts back on (yes I had to take my regular shorts off and use my Speedos in the water, Ok, no comments about that). I was by myself in any case! So now I ran up back to the trail head and all the way back to the car. By this time other folks were starting to come up the trail.

The switchbacks afforded me a slower pace and a time to reflect on my run. The unfortunate thing for some folks was that I put a the fear of God in them. Most did not expect someone coming back that early and on the switchbacks where you're not seen at first, it can be startling to come up all of a suden facae to face with a teddy bear like me :-)


I was trail running, except I did not know it. Bottom line, I'm into trail running for sure now! I will be looking for some good trail running shoes soon. I have most everything I need. A light carbon fiber tripod, a good pack with hydration system, my hat and the desire to experience the feeling I had all over again. Enough said! Perhaps....well more later.