12hourhalfday's Spent Being Healthy

S.R.A - Stop Rest and Assess

2010-01-29T11:30:00.001-08:00

At my Weight Watchers meeting last night I learned a really cool mnemonic for helping to eat presently, mindfully, and slowly-
S - Stop - About half way through a meal stop eating. Put your silverware down
R - Rest - Sit and rest, breath, enjoy the moment.
A - Assess - Think consciously about how you feel. Are you full, satisfied, still hungry, thirsty, is it time to pack up the food and have it later.

This is awesome! I have a reminder in my calendar around my meals to start practicing this. When I eat I will Stop, Rest, and Assess.

Weight Watchers is Working

2010-01-22T18:44:00.001-08:00

Weight Watchers is working so far. I started off at 275.6 and after two weeks am at 272.
What is good:

I feel better - After having to give up Gluten because of Celiac disease I find that my general state of well being is much better. I never feel uncomfortable after eating anymore and my energy levels have spiked. It is definitely good to be me right now.
I am enjoying eating a lot more. The system has freed me to eat what I want; with planning I can fit the food I desire into my meals. I am encouraged to be more creative with my meal planning which is cool because it gets me excited about food rather then dreading it.
I am a whole lot more active. With the added energy of having a diet that works for my body I have been riding to work, going for walks, and just adding a lot more fun activity to my lifestyle. A cool new thing I have found I like to do is going for a swim at the gym with my fiancee after a work out; we get to spend some time together and get some exercise.

What isn't good

With the Celiac, if I forget to plan correctly or end up in a situation where I haven't eaten enough carbohydrates I feel not so good - light headed, a little nauseous, just a general feeling of - ugh. It forces me to have to be very careful and plan in advance especially at work where if I am not well rested and well nourished I am not at my best performance.
Weight Watchers is a Point system and part of the system requires me to eat all my points for the day. Since I don't eat Gluten and have filled my diet with a lot of zero and 1 point foods (veggies mostly); this can be really tough and I fall short of eating all my points quite a bit.
It has been a hard adjustment growing accustomed to a slow weight loss. In the past when dieting I loved the high associated with quick weight loss. In the past 5 years I have lost 50 and gained back 50 pounds 3 times. If I lost 5 or 6 pounds a week it would feel good. The problem was, I couldn't maintain the amount of work it required to lose weight that fast and maintain it. I would generally burn out after 8 to 12 months. Also, losing weight that quickly and gaining it back stuck me with gall stones; I joined Weight Watchers to learn and practice a healthy weight loss and maintenance plan. It is frustrating to not get the instant gratification of a quick fix weight loss but I feel that the best choice for my health is to focus on a longer range solution. Besides, if I maintain the average weight loss I have already begun I will have lost 93.6 pounds by the end of the year!

Where am I at?

2010-01-18T06:25:00.000-08:00

Here I am.

It has been a while but I am still here and working towards a balanced and healthy life. The Holiday season proved rather chaotic but I survived it and am back with some updates on where I stand.
Events effecting my path to being balanced and healthy:

I was recently diagnosed with gall stones and Celiac disease; I had indicated before that I struggle with my weight. In the last 5 years I have lost and regained 50 pounds and this physical abuse I have done to myself has taken its toll and given me gall stones. I was struggling with severe abdominal pain; enough to convince me to go to the doctor. I not only find out I have gall stones but also Celiac disease (Gluten intolerance).

What I am doing about it:
After finding out the news that I can no longer eat gluten I gave it it up; bam, pain gone and I come to find out that the gall stones aren't severe but were aggravated by the other condition. Now finding out that I add "can't eat gluten" to my already restrictive diet (I am a fish, dairy, and egg ok vegetarian) and my destructive habit of losing and gaining weight is probably going to kill me I took action, I have joined weight watchers.
So this is what I am doing to stay balanced and healthy:

• practicing Iaido - not doing this daily but am still using Iaido as a path to a grounded state.
• practicing yoga - slowly but surely bringing yoga back into my life after overdoing it almost severely injured my shoulder.
• Going to weight watchers - I am in my second week now and have list 3 pounds, if I maintain 2-3 pounds a week I should see around 100 pounds of net loss this year.
o Ride my bike
o go to the gym
o practice martial arts
o practice yoga
o Cook and design new recipes

Fallen off the wagon again, what am I going to do?

2010-01-04T05:45:00.000-08:00

Fallen off the wagon again, what am I going to do?
It is time to take a breath and fess up to it, I have fallen out of my practice. No Yoga, No Cardio, No Iaido. Not since the end of October. 2 months of nothing.
Excuses:
* Yoga - Really bad shoulder pain
* Cardio - Really bad cold
* Iaido - Busy with work so I couldn't focus
I am a failure.
Ha ha, I had you going there huh? I am not a failure, I am a perfectly normal human being that responded to what was happening in his life; did I respond appropriately? My first reaction is no because I love my practice - The daily yoga practice and yoga classes I was taking really helped me with my back pain which still hasn't returned since I started the daily practice, Cardio does wonders for my mood and I feel better when I am doing it, and Iaido helps to keep me disciplined and centered.
Dropping the yoga practice worked, the shoulder pain did not return. Should I quit for good? No but I feel like it is time for a reevaluation of my practice. I will see a private instructor and try to find ways to help that shoulder (maybe even see a doctor).
Dropping cardio for a while worked too. The cold lasted a long time and it was good to get some rest. I am adding it back in slowly and am actually joining weight watchers as well, it is time I got some community support for my weight .
Iaido - I want instruction so bad! but I don't have it right now and will continue to practice. I have started my daily practice again. (If you know where I can get instruction in the Inland Empire of Southern California please let me know.)
When it comes down to it my life doesn't stay static. The solutions for what has my attention in health change and I am paying attention and keeping my plans dynamic in response to it.

Too much or just a start?

2009-10-24T14:39:00.001-07:00

As mentioned before I have fallen in love with cardio again and it feels good but is it too much?
On the elliptical cross trainer I do a high intensity run (I will get model information soon from the cross trainer) at level 18 which according to it's readout (which is questionable but gives me a good measuring stick) I burn around an average of 1200 cal/hour. Today I took a break after 31 before doing another 36 and ended up burning 1600 calories and on 10/22 I came back in the afternoon for another hour and did another hour for a total of 2500 calories burned that day!

I have been posting my readouts to twitter and in addition to a lot of encouragement I have gotten a few comments from people that I am doing too much and this isn't normal. I am not going to accept that and choose to believe that those kinds of comments are another form of resistance because I don't have the symptoms of addiction; I am not running instead of other important things, I am not neglecting my friends and my family and I feel great when I do it.

Another good measuring stick is I am sticking to my minimum; if I have commitments that make it hard to do an hour I don't push it, I just do my 30 minute mininum and I am still maintaining my iaido and yoga practices that helped me start up with cardio in the first place:

Iaido Status - Some heavy duty practice today before cardio including some fighting style development in a shadow boxing type environment, it was very enlightening. I also tried adapting my circle drill to an unarmed style. I also discovered a stretch that is really helping me to relax my left shoulder.

Yoga Status - I went to class Tuesday but not Thursday, I ended up with some work to do but i have been maintaining my sun salutations every day as promised and I am making huge progress. I can touch my toes again, I can almost get my feet flat in down dog, and I found some twists that are really helping with my back.

In conclusion, I can do as much cardio as feels right as long as I am aware of my body, in a present state and I am not harming myself or others. I really want to do another 5k in January so I am thinking of planning a day where I do 2, 3, or even 4 hours on the cross trainer in 30 minute sets. I think that will be a good way to measure my training progress towards a competitive run.

Running is coming but will it ruin everything?

2009-10-19T19:54:00.000-07:00

I walked in the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure 5k yesterday. Near the end I jogged with a friend and I don't know if it was the spirit of the event, the pink hair, or the fact that I have been running on the cross trainer every day like I am racing my own soul; I fell in love with running again.

My Answer to my reclaimed love - I am signing up for a 5k at Diamond Valley Lake here in Hemet for January. My training is going to consist of:

Daily Minimum
Iaido practice - 1 circle
Yoga - 1 set of sun salutations
Elliptical cross trainer - 30 minutes

"*gasp* Brian! you aren't changing anything!"

Not changing anything? I am running a 5k in January!? Isn't that a big enough change? I may do more but the important thing is I won't do less. I am maintaining the habits I committed to and I am committing to improving myself one habit at a time! The momentum I create through positive habits will take me through this run.

Big Giant Planning Session

2009-10-11T09:00:00.000-07:00

I just finished a huge analysis of my fitness project and improving maintaining it's process. It includes a lot of tables so the formatting didn't really work in Blogger so I printed it as a PDF.

View the PDF here.

Cardio!

2009-10-10T23:25:00.001-07:00

OMG Cardio feels good! I am still maintaining my Yoga and Iaido practice but I have done 30 minutes or more of cardio each day this week and I feel freakin great! I am going to try to maintain this daily because it feels really good and I want to maintain it.

Back from being sick

2009-10-06T07:32:00.001-07:00

My cold still lingers a bit but I feel a lot better, at least I am not coughing any more. There were a few days there that I missed out in my routine but does this make me a failure? No, I have not failed, sick happens, lazy happens, and lapses happen.
Today I plan on some cardio after Yoga, I am recovering from a mild shoulder injury as well (yoga related probably) and will be taking it very easy today.

My cold recovery

2009-09-29T21:21:00.000-07:00

I have learned over the last few days that it is sometimes better to let go of routine and decide the best action for the moment. I have been sick for the last three days I spent the first day struggling to get better, the second day sleeping, and the third day recovering. I purposely chose to let go of some project in order to work on relaxing and recovery. I felt a little guilty for this at first but afterwords realized that this is one of the keys to being in the moment; make sure that the thing you are doing is the best thing to be doing in that moment.

Being Sick

2009-09-27T19:02:00.001-07:00

I am glad I practiced Iaido and Yoga early this morning because what started with a light cough turned into a cold with cough and feeling like hell. I am sick.

My affirmation: My body is relaxed and focused on healing, I am breathing evenly, which each breath in antibodies move through my bloodstream taking care of everything that ails me, with each breath out I get closer and closer to restful, rejuvenative sleep.

Footwork

2009-09-20T23:24:00.000-07:00

Miyamoto Musashi write's about footwork in The Water Book, the second part of The Book of Five Rings:

Floating your toes inward, dig your heels in firmly. The use of the feet should be as usual, whether you move quickly or slowly, or with large or small steps. You should use a normal walking movement. I do not approve of jumping, floating the feet, or inflexible steps.

This is amazing advice for life or swordwork. Movement should be natural, it should not be forced or exagerated. In swordwork this translates in movement the way we naturally learn it, we lean forward, relax and swing the leg forward to catch ourselves through natural movement; natural, not a glide, weave or anything in fancy. We learn this through practice and studying proper body mechanics rather then the bad habits we have learned. This is illustrated very strongly in Iaido: e.g. the Kamae stance (warrior one in Yoga) is the natural stance for moving a heavy object or pushing against a wall, the hips, back, and shoulders are aligned perfectly to project force forward.

In life, this translates into "be yourself". Do not put on an act, to try to be funny, professional, a winner, confident, etc. We learn this by being more self aware, learning to be in the moment and studying and learning about who we are by focusing on values and long term goals.

Musashi really hit the nail on the head: The use of the feet should be as usual: Walk, don't jump, don't bob, don't weave, just step, and move.

Does missing 2 days make me a failure

2009-09-20T23:08:00.000-07:00

Does missing two days of Iaido practice make me failure? No. I do not fail by missing days, I fail by breaking the habit and I still have it and I am still working on maintaining it. I practiced today and it felt good, the ground under my feet was solid and I am still working on my habits to live healthier, live centered, and learn to know myself.

Don't forget the original purpose of a plan

2009-09-15T06:38:00.000-07:00

This morning I had a BFO during my Iaido practice. I was working through a drill with my heavy bokken and I became aware of some discouragement. My thought process was;

"Everytime I practice this, I just becomes slower and slower and the harder I push the more I feel that my muscles just can't do it. I feel like I might even hurt myself if I keep pushing"

Then it hit me, "This is a heavy practice sword and I am judging myself based on a standard I can't reach with it".

I picked up a really light bokken and walked through the drill and it came smooth and easy.

My problem was, I started practicing with the heavy sword for a purpose but in time I forgot about that purpose -
"To build muscle memory in order to better perform with lighter weapons."

If a project, exercise, practice starts to become frustrating ask yourself; "Am I forgetting about the purpose of this practice?", remind yourself of the purpose and adjust accordingly.

Rocky

2009-09-14T21:17:00.001-07:00

It has been a little Rocky these past few days, I missed a few days of practice. Failure?

No, just an indication that it is time to regroup, and renegotiate. I have chilled down on a few other things and made the focus of my daily exercise practice Iaido and Yoga.

The committment 1 circle drill and 1 set of sun salutations each day. Remember this is a minimum. This is my ball rolling minimum.

I learned a new sun salutation set in class last week that I have been practicing. It starts off in aquward chair and vinyasas (Please correct my spelling) into warrior 1, then vinyasas into warrior 1 on the other side, then vinyasas into a long down dog following by ending in aquward chair.

My back feels great which was the main goal of this practice. I have to thank my yoga instructor, she saved me $50 on a massage.

Early morning Practice

2009-09-08T06:43:00.000-07:00

I got out the door to practice at around 4:30 this morning. The moon was still out. I want to clarify my thoughts about the moonI stated in my last post; I don't believe there is anything mystical about the power of the moon. I just think it is energizing because it is beautiful and a really cool way to be in the moment and it was just like that this morning. Beautfiul blue moonlight clearing an area for me to walk through my Iaido drills. I feel the same way about any beautiful natural surrounding, moonlight is one of the neat ways for me to spend time in something natural at home.

For Yoga practice I had a warm glass of water and walked through my sun salutations and the exercises listed in Darla's post on Yoga poses to aid digestion - http://shareyoga.com/blog/body/3-yoga-poses-to-improve-digestion/
All of the poses in the article are complementary to Iaido, the lunges are similar to Iaido Kamae stances, Thunderbolt is identical to Seiza seated position, and sit and squat helps strengthen the hips which is one of the core strengths needed for any sword work.

Moonlight Practice is Addicting

2009-09-02T21:13:00.001-07:00

The moon light is bright tonight; it is around 9:15pm PST and I just came in from a fabulous practice session. A few sets of out door sun salutations and some Iaido practice. It felt so good that after I finish some writing I am going to head back out and practice a few Katas. Moonlight may just be reflected light but I swear I can feel it on my skin going through me and energizing me, beauty can do that.

I have a lot to be joyful for. I had a tremendously chaotic day, meetings upon meetings and a short brownout created a very busy day for an IT professional but did that mean I had a bad day? No, it was joyous and I am thankful for it.

Is there a better way to end a day like this than walking my path of practice in the moonlight?

Bad Food Habits and Developing a Plan

2009-08-31T22:07:00.000-07:00

Today I managed to eat

Breakfast - 1 bowl of muffin top cereal with milk
Lunch - a swiss sandwich on rye
Snack - Bowl of soup
Dinner - A swiss sandwich on rye, a nectarine, and some jam with peanut butter on bread

Once again, I am eating way too much for my last meal. My theory is this is a combination of things:

Eating because I am tired
Eating because I am bored
Eating because I can

Brainstorming some habits to help me deal with this:

drink tea instead of eating
Don't eat after 7
Plan my dinner in advance
Go to bed earlier

Eat less, live more

2009-08-29T06:32:00.000-07:00

I have been consistently practicing Iaido every day and I added the habit of doing my sun salutations. I would like to add the habit of eating less at my meals, eating to satisfaction might be the best way of putting it. I think to make it measurable I would say.

always leave something at the end of a meal
eat concsiously
Finish at 80% full

My previous two habits are daily actions but how do I use my system to enforce a lifestyle change?

Sore Back but not a bad thing this time.

2009-08-26T21:52:00.000-07:00

My back has been sore today but not hurting; a good sign I think. I have been working it really hard in Yoga so it is time to relax. Too bad my next massage isn't schedule till 9/18 (can't afford it anytime sooner) but I will keep up yoga and Iaido and I will improve over time. Items I have to work on:

Core Strength
Lower Back
Hamstring flexibility

Items I feel stronger in - All of the above.

I think I am on the right path.

Iaido is definitely helping as well. My focus has improved and I am dealing with stress much better lately. Cardio is a weak point right now so it will be time to add something in soon.

Succeeded in the minimum

2009-08-25T14:53:00.000-07:00

I completed my committment to the circle drill today. When I was originally going to write this I was going to state that I completed the bare minimum today, 1 circle drill and 1 set of sun salutations but this isn't the case.
The fact is I succeeded. I completed what I committed to do and it is a success. A good thing, not a bad. I am going to complete more at the gym today but not because I have to in order to feel successful but because I want to because I am successful.

I Love Iaido and Yoga and I plan on practicing it.

Without a sword

2009-08-23T23:11:00.001-07:00

On Friday and Saturday I practiced Iaido in a Hotel room without a sword. THe neat thing about it was the focus was different, I found myself focusing more on my core and my foot work. It is interesting how this slight shift in perspective added to the practice and shows how katas go deeper and deeper no matter how simple they are or how long you have been practicing them.

What is something you can do to shift the perspective of your practice? If you don't have a practice can you shift your perspective to think of something you already do as a practice?

Habits blossoming

2009-08-18T23:45:00.000-07:00

I feel good at my progress. Yoga today went great, we did some twists and ground postures and I felt thing open in my back and core, I am so happy I did this and resistance dogged me the entire way to the gym!

After Yoga I practiced my Iaido at the gym with a hollow weight bar and followed up with 30 minutes of Cardio. What I kept on telling myself was, my habit was met for the day, everything else was for my enjoyment - I didn't have to stay at the gym, I didn't have to do cardio and i wasn't a failure if I left early or didn't do more and more and more, I did my 30 and left feeling great about the entire package.

I am working on one habit at a time and will continue that practice.

Iaido

2009-08-16T20:47:00.000-07:00

On this blog I have talked a little bit about my Iaido practice so I thought I would elaborate a little bit.
Iaido is a Japanese sword drawing martial art. It has very precise movements and has a focus on mindfullness and specific precise movements. From an outside perspective it could look a lot like a soft internal martial art like Thai Chi or a form of meditation. It definitely helps me as a form of meditation since when I walk myself through the various forms I practice attention to breathing, relaxation, and mindful attention to everything around me.
While practicing I find myself experiencing benefits including:

Improved Focus
Improved metabolism
Less body pain
Improved discipline in whatever else I am practicing.
I am happier

Won the battle with resistance!

2009-08-13T23:32:00.000-07:00

After work today I convinced myself I was skipping yoga but about have way home I thought,

"I am really resisting this hard, I have to go no matter how hard I don't want to."

I have to tell you I had the most rewarding yoga session today! The twists relieved soooo much tension in my back! I am on the right path and resistance is my guide!

I also practiced Iaido with the bar and did my circle drill 3 times focusing on deliberate slow movements, I need to train my muscles again and I will!!! I also practiced figure 8s in the mirror. I am keeping it up.I weighed in at 283lbs now to keep on working on those habits.

And before bed I got some bo staff in! That sucker is iron wood; what a work out!

Yoga and Iaido move me forward

2009-08-12T07:05:00.000-07:00

I am happy to state that I was active yesterday! My decision to start with baby steps was the right way to go. I am still practicing Iaido every day as my minimum - One circle drill each day.
As I thought this brought with it other healthful activity -

I went for a 15 minute walk yesterday before work
I practiced Iaido at the gym - I did the circle 3 times but I used the heavy bar, my heavy bokken, and my light bokken to build muscle memory
I took a yoga class and added the class to my calendar to attend Tuesday and Thursday - this is a part of my Fix my lower back pain project. Other elements are:

A 30 minute massage when I can afford it
the iado practice
regular chiropractor sessions (I haven't set this up into my schedule yet)

I feel good that I am on a path to some new habits and I believe I am making the right decision easing into it.

Renegotiating broke commitments through the Natural Planning Model

2009-08-08T07:07:00.000-07:00

What do I write when I haven't been keeping my committments to myself? I guess I admit failure because I hve failed in individucal committments to myself, I haven't ingrained the habits I wanted to grow by first, riding my bicycle every day and going to the gym every day like I promised myself and second riding every other day and going to the gym every day.

excuses? I can think of plenty.

My work schedule
the heat
Stuff to do around the house
had to spend time with my family
my back hurt and I didn't feel like it.

Excuses don't work. The fact is I made a committment and I broke it so this is going to create guilt etc. What is the best way to deal with a broken committment?

Renegotiate

What is my current reality?

Health and fitness negatives -

I am 280 lbs - this is about 60 pounds over my ideal body weight.
I suffer from back pain
I have some bad habits including

overeating
eating junk food and sweets
stress eating
going to bed too late and not getting enough sleep

My quality bike needs repair so I am riding a backup bike that has a problem with the gears so I can't go too fast on it.

Health and fitness positives

Other than the back pain I actually feel pretty good and I can handle a good amount of cardio without tiring. My knees are in good shape
I am vegetarian
I don't drink soda
I have a gym membership
I have a bike I can ride
I recently started my Iaido practice again which helped me lose weight before.

What is my purpose and principles?

Why am I doing this? What would on purpose really mean?

The purpose of this project is to help me become healthier, happier, thinner, and more balanced in my habits. Principles: Work on 1 habit at a time

What is my desired outcome? What would wild success look like?

I am tempted to say my desired outcome would be to lose 60 pounds but this has ran me into trouble before. Being focused on the results can create dissapointment when things change or circumstances change. Let's focus on habits instead. What would wild success look like?

I have developed positive habits to help me lose weight and feel better

Brainstorming

What are some positive habits I can work on?

Don't finish large meals, ask for a box
Don't eat after 6
eat more healthy snacks
keep healthier foods around
Drink less coffee
Drink more water
stretch after waking up
exercise daily
practice Iaido
Join a yoga class
Keep an eating journal
Manage negative self talk
Meditate regularly
Go for walks
go for jogs
Fill free time with physical activity

What might I need?

Books on building habits, losing weight, healthy habits
A daily list of things I can do to help build habits - I already have an !daily list, I can sparingly add some daily activity on here.

Organizing

Since I want to work on one habit at a time I will keep this outline as project support material and include it in my weekly review.

Which habit do I want to start with?

The iaido - I can't hurt myself here. I love it. It is something I can do anywhere (because I can walk through the katas without a sword).

When and how much? my committment here for the habit is to practice daily Iaido so let's say at least 1 drill a day for three weeks and then I start working on a new habit in addition to this one. I will also be journaling every day and reviewing this project plan each week. I will journal what positive behavior and negative behavior I have accomplished in addition to journaling my experience with Iaido

Next actions -

Add Iaido to !daily - it takes less than 2 minutes so this is done

Add build positive habits one at a time to Project list with this review as project notes - it takes less than 2 minutes so this is done

Add habit journal to ! daily - done

I HATE THE HEAT OF HEMET!!!

2009-07-29T06:08:00.000-07:00

Current status -
After a long dry spell I made it back to the gym!
7/26 - Rode to the gym and I engaged in some Iaido practice, stretching, and a 18 minute session on the elliptical cross trainer.
7/27 - Rode to work but no gym. This is a good 40 minutes of riding.
Right now I weight in at 283.4 lbs. Thinking about working out and riding is becoming more depressing than inspiring. What's the next action for dealing with the HEAT!?
I spent 8 days riding and going to the gym but the weather was perfect for this, the heat is cranked up and I suddenly can't handle the resistance any more and I stop going.

Desired outcome -
oh, I am not clear here. WHat should my desired outcome be? A weight goal, or an exercise routine. LEt's start with a new committment, I am finding that Daily gym is too great of a committment and resistance is pushing me out of that. Let's renegotiate:

3 days a week? That doesn't sound like a lot but it is better than nothing; let's try it.

So this week I went to the gym on Sunday and rode on Monday, no riding or gym on Tuesday so that leaves us today - Wednesday -

Ride bike to work and ride to the gym from work regardless of the heat

Thursday - Rest

Friday - Ride Bike To work and ride to the gym from work regardless of the heat.

Let's see how this works and renegotiate from here if it doesn't

Support City Kids through the Fresh Air Fund in the NYC Half Marathon (no, I am not running it)

2009-07-16T10:30:00.001-07:00

I received an e-mail from Sara Wilson representing the Fresh Air Fund who asked me to put a link to their page requesting sign ups for the NYC half marathon. I had not heard of the organization before so I took a look.
From their Site -

Since 1877, The Fresh Air Fund, a not-for-profit agency, has provided free summer experiences in the country to more than 1.7 million New York City children from disadvantaged communities. Each year, thousands of children visit volunteer host families in 13 states and Canada through the Friendly Town Program or attend one of five Fresh Air Fund camps.

Wow! what an awesome organization and I would like to support it. Here is Sara's request:

The Fresh Air Fund is still looking for runners and sponsors to join our Fresh Air Fund-Racers team for the NYC Half-Marathon on August 16th. This is a great way to participate in NYC's premier summer road race while helping Fresh Air Fund children.

Take a look at this site for information on how to support them: http://freshair.org/racers

Last summer's NYC Half-Marathon was a huge success and the Fresh Air Fund-Racers raised more than $125,000. We are also still in need of Friendly Town hosts for next month. Host families open their hearts and home to a NYC child who would not otherwise have the opportunity to escape the hot, crowded city streets.

If after reading about it you would like to support the Fresh Air Fund's effort's please take a look at their site.

the guilty post

2009-07-14T18:11:00.000-07:00

Well I failed at my committment to ride every day but I can accept my failure and get back on the horse. The heat has cranked up in Hemet and once again I have used it as an excuse to stop exercising. It was a good excuse being that the high today was 102°F but excuses are excuses and if I am to be true to myself I must get back on the horse. It is 7/14 and my last day riding was 7/2, my last day at the gym was 7/6 I ran for 30 minutes on the elliptical cross trainer and burned 620 cal. I weigh 276 lbs
I was reading Michael Hyatt's blog today and came across this great quote:

Every morning in Africa, a gazelle wakes up. It knows it must outrun the fastest lion or it will be killed. Every morning in Africa, a lion wakes up. It knows it must run faster than the slowest gazelle, or it will starve. It doesn’t matter whether you are a lion or a gazelle—when the sun comes up, you’d better be running.”
— Roger Bannister
First man in history to run a
mile in less than four minutes

I am inspired and will be riding and going to the gym but i have to renegotiate with this heat. Any suggestions?

Great ride home but my back is stiff

2009-06-15T17:07:00.000-07:00

I think it will be important for me to integrate some stretches into my ride and gym schedule. I don't want to turn this into a big time consuming pre-ride ritual but a littl yoga (Cat and Dog tilts, sit in squat, and down dog) will help do away with some of the lower back stiffness I am currently experiencing.

I had a good ride home, the way to the gym from work was nice and the weather is pretty good. One of hte things I am integrating into my days on meditations on an optimal ride especially for when it gets hot. I think these mental preperations will help me stay motivated. If I have trouble concentrating on a whole ride in meditation I will write some out. That always works.

I got 30 minutes on the cross trainer. Listening to a podcast helped the time go by but I found in order to get anything out of the slow pace I ended up in while listening to people talk I had to crank the level way up.

Back to work and back to riding

2009-06-15T11:09:00.001-07:00

It is 6/15 and I rode today. I got an early start and should be riding to the gym from work. I didn't do any over the weekend; this is ok but it won't turn into the rule, just a time when I am allowed to take a break. Tomorrow I have to go to the DMV so I will be going to the gym in the morning (riding there of course) and riding to the DMV from work so my afternoon will have a longer ride. My normal ride is almost 7 miles and tomorrow total distance ridden tomorrow will be about 10 miles. Time to have a great week riding!

My week Spent Riding 6/12

2009-06-12T15:31:00.000-07:00

I made it through day 5 and I rode every day! I was able to muster up enough courage to post my weight on here. Let's see if I can muster up enough to put up a before picture.

Date	Ride	Gym	Caloric Burn	Weight
6/8/2009	01:00:00	0:30:00	1,766	280
6/9/2009	01:00:00	0:30:00	1,826	281
6/10/2009	01:00:00	0:30:00	1,866	274
6/11/2009	01:00:00	0:30:00	1,726	275.2
6/12/2009	01:00:00	0:30:00	1,866	278.6
Totals	05:00:00	02:30:00	9050	Avg 277.76
Caloric calculation on		http://www.healthstatus.com/calculate/cbc

Riding replaces Jogging

2009-06-11T09:42:00.000-07:00

In an effort to to contribute to a balanced and healthy state I have started riding to work. I have made a committment to do this for the entire summer (with a plan to keep going after that but the goal is to make it through the summer). Being that I live in the desert in Southern Cali you may think to yourself,

"Why is he starting in the summer? Wouldn't it make more sense for him to start in the winter?"

The reason is easy: it is going to be really really hard. I could start in the winter but that just increases my chances of quitting when it gets hard in the summer. I figure if I can make it in the summer this can be a long term committment.

So here is my formal committment,

I, Brian Darnell commit myself to riding to work and going to the gym for 30 minutes every day.

I started on 6/8 and I am on Day 4 today and I did ride to work. I have to ride to the gym after work and do my 30. I got a late start today which is unfortunate but I am still going to do it. I am going to bed at 7:30 tonight so I can do a pre-dawn ride to the gym (My plan hinges on a lot of pre-dawn rides because it is cool, the hard rides are home from work at 15:30 and 16:30 when it is hottest.)

hahaha, making plans

2009-03-16T21:49:00.000-07:00

Well I heart my self in cardio today. Spasm in my left lower back, close to the lumbar. That's what I get for making plans. Now I have to renegotiate. I will go for a walk if I can't run tomorrow and see where it goes from there. Hope the chiropractor can make a morning adjustment.

not jogging - getting motivated

2009-03-16T05:38:00.001-07:00

My last post is the last run I went on. Is this falling off the wagon? My active mind wants to say yes because I have been doing a lot of inactive pummeling myself about this but is this true?

what's the data?

I feel very good - I am happy and possess decent energy, I spent the last week and a half focusing on prayer, and attention to 2 crisis at work.

So what appeared to be falling of the wagon was really renegotiating with my schedule in order to provide the right amount of energy for appropriate focus and i did this intuitively. Thank you intuitive conciousness! Heck, I went 12 days without jogging. If I hadn't thought about it and looked at my calendar before writing this I would have told you it was 3 weeks! Conclusion, always analyze reality before applying lashes to my self. :)

Now for appropriate restructuring based on current demands.

What's my desired outcome this week?

I love how I feel now that I have regular runs. I am a runner and can feel confident with that title! I am training for an athletic event therefore I am an athlete! I feel confident and am affected greatly by that realization! I am an athlete and claim it proudly without any clarification or apology for using the term! I am ready to run!

Current exercise schedule:

Monday (today) - no run scheduled but I am open for a jog after work. Cardio kick-boxing tonight at 6:30 followed by self-defense training. I am open to jog after class. Also seeing the chiro today which will definitely help my training. As usual pushups and crunches in the morning and on breaks as needed.
Tuesday (tomorrow) - Open to a jog in the morning but that is not written in stone. Scheduled for a no time limit run between 16:30 and 18:00. Meeting with pastor after and we will definitely pray about my training, komen, and future causes to run for.
Wednesday - Another big cardio and self defense day. I might walk to class tonight just to loosen up. Instead of running before class I am scheduling a warm-up involving yoga, iaido, and intention meditation. It is not scheduled but am open for jogging after class.
Thursday - This has been my big fall off day because my schedule is so different on this day then the rest of the week and I haven't been planning it. Plan - Bring workout clothes and towel to work and dress after work and drive straight to the college. Go for a light run at the college and cleanup before class.
Friday - Dress after work and go straight to gym. My workout will include 30-60 min on the cross trainer, no committment towards specific resistance
Saturday - 6-8 are free for 1 hour run. This will be 15 min slow paced jog, 30 minute medium jog, 15 minutes of sprints, 15 minute slow jog. Followed by stretching rest of the day is free but I am open for the gym some time in the afternoon
Sunday - Gym 7-8. Open for a run in the afternoon

Dancing in the street

2009-03-04T18:15:00.001-08:00

I started off slow today still feeling a little sore from the last couple of days but by the time I got through a few blocks I was really kicking up dust. A few times walking to ease into it but it was all in all good. A little fatboy slim got me really moving.

I would label my end state as relaxed, and energized.