Tour De Pierce 2008

So today, I joined Steve, Brandon, Chuck and Scott on the 50 mile Tour De Pierce bike ride. We did this ride unofficially last year, but this year we did it on the actual ride date. It was just shy of 50 miles, my GPS says anywhere from 49.11 - 49.3 miles depending on which report you look at. I felt pretty good for the entire ride. We did the whole thing in 3 hours 15 minutes (moving time) and just under 4 hours total. I still suck at hills. Last year I had to walk the two big hills. This year I stopped twice on one, but rode the whole thing. And on the other, I walked half and rode half. So I did better, but still ticked I didn't ride them both.

I burned over 5,500 calories, Average speed was 15.2 MPH and my max speed was just over 38.0 MPH. (sweet) My average heart rate was 138. Other than the two big hills, the ride is fairly flat and it's a good way to see a good portion of Pierce county.

After the ride, we stopped at the Powerhouse for some lunch. All in all, it was a good day, even if the mercury will top 90 today. It's HOT! And it's NOT a dry heat either! As soon as Steve e-mails some pictures, I'll post them as well. There were three of us in FatCyclist Jerseys, which was kinda cool.

Here's the official route:

298.5

Woke up this morning expecting to see over 300 on the scale again as Teri and I had Thai food last night. High in salt, so I figured for sure I'd be holding onto some water weight at least. But after weeding in the yard for an hour or so, I weighed myself and I was down to 298.5! Sweet! Also, Teri and I went to Kohls last night looking for some new dress slacks for me. I tried on the size 40's in Dockers and they fit! Those are a full 4 inches smaller in the waist than the ones I'm wearing now. Unfortunately they didn't have the right length, so I'm still without new better fitting pants, but I'll likely order some online today. That means there is a good chance I'll fit into my size 38 jeans now. (For some reason my jeans size is always 2 inches smaller than my slack size, even though both my jeans and slacks are made by Levi's??) I think there is a good possibility that I will be at or below 295 when the triathlon comes up in 15 days!

This morning in Mens Health, I read about a guy that was 6'1" tall (same as me) and weighed 290 8 months ago. He's now down to 210. Reading those little tidbits every month gives me hope that I can do this, that I can finally beat my weight and keep it off. Steve has been a big inspiration for that as well. I think he's down 60 or 70 pounds from his high and has done a good job of keeping it off for the better part of a year now.

Today is hydrate day. My goal is to drink between 5 and 7 liters of water today. The Tour De Pierce is tomorrow and the forecast is for bright sun and 90 degree high temps. We're starting at 8AM to have the better part of it done by the time the temps get too high, but still by the time we're half way through it should be in the upper 70's to low 80's. EEEKS!

Update: I was just going through some of my blog posts from last year. Starting in March and going through about July. I was picking out weights that I had posted and updating the Daily Plate so I could see how my weight has fluctuated over the past year. I noticed something as I went through (besides how damn cute Taylor was as a puppy!) the posts. I set a some goals last year that either I hit, or I have a good possibility of hitting. One was to make $50,000 the last half of the year last year. Bringing my total commission to $125K for the year. I did that. Sweet. AND the other goal I set was to be under 290 pounds by Mastermind this year. As I'm at 298.5 today, I think there is more than a strong possibility that I'll be under 290 by August 21st. I'm not going to Mastermind this year, but I know when it's happening, so I know I can reach that goal too.

While this blogging thing isn't much a replacement for journaling, IT IS a really cool way to see where you've been and where you're going.

Mount. Si GPS Data

So on my hike Tuesday, I wore my Garmin Forerunner 305. It kept giving me funky readings, so basically I just used it to keep track of how long I was on the mountain. When I got back it said that I had gone something like 6 miles when the trail is actually 4 up and 4 back. Today when I downloaded it, it said that I had gone 9.31 miles. But the track actually looks pretty accurate and the elevation is definitely there. I put the elevation proflle below the map . . . as you can see, it's a pretty good workout! Now I just hope my legs recover enough for the Tour De Pierce this Sunday! Click on the map below to be transported to Motionbased to see the rest of my workout details. Unfortunately I forgot my heart rate strap, so that wasn't recorded.

Blogging - An Online Journal? Hardly

You know, when I started blogging so many years ago, it was an answer to my coach saying I needed to journal. The thought was that I was a geek and a blog was a sort of geek's journal. As I blogged and blogged and blogged, I was content in the knowledge that no one was reading it. No one except those I gave the URL to. In fact my blog isn't even linked from my home page. It was private. Or so I thought. Then one day a prospective client contacted me off my blog. It really threw me for a loop. I honestly didn't know how someone would have found me through my blog. Since then, I've felt somewhat censored in what it is I write. Knowing that potentially someone may read it that I don't want to read it, or not wanting someone to misinterpret what I've said. So while everything I post in my blog is a true account of what it is that I'm feeling, thinking or doing, there's a lot I don't put in here as well. I guess it's time to dust off the ol' journal and get out the pen . . . . [sigh]

Happy Birthday Taylor!

Hey puppy dog! I'm pretty sure you won't be reading my blog anytime soon although you are awfully smart . . . I just wanted to wish you a very happy 1st Birtday! You are really a joy to have in our lives, even if you do shred the occasional bar of soap box. We love you and couldn't picture our lives without you! Trip to PetSmart tonight?

Mount Si Hike

So yesterday it was beautiful. I didnt' have a whole lot to do at work, and I wanted to just get away and clear my head a bit. So I decided to go for a hike on Mount Si. For those of you that have never been to Mount Si, it's a wonderful hike, but definitely not for the out of shape. It starts at about 700 feet elevation and climbs to just over 4,100 feet in 4 miles. It's pretty steep and it probably was NOT the best choice for my first hike of the season. But it was my choice and off I went. I arrived at the trailhead around 2PM and started up. Now a few years ago, when I was training for Rainier, the goal was to be at the top in about 2 hours. It took me over 3 hours yesterday. My legs are in much worse shape than they were when I was training every weekend. Mount Si is one of the most popular trails in the Seattle area, so I would NOT recommend going on a Saturday or Sunday, or you may as well wait in line to get to the top. Yesterday was surprisingly busy as well. There was a church group of about 40 people on the mountain. We kept passing each other on the way up and finally at about 2 miles they left me behind. I was REALLY hoping they were on their way back down when I got to the top, but no such luck.



The views on the way up are very sporadic, but when you get a view, it's stunning (see pic above)! You're mostly under the canopy of trees and following switchbacks all the way up. At about the 2.5 mile mark, I could feel cramps forming in my quadriceps, as is normal with me on any strenuous workout. At the 3.5 mile mark, cramps started in my hamstrings. This was new for me. But I was bound and determined to make the top. With the cramps in my quads, I knew coming down was going to be a LOT of fun. Just before you scramble through the boulder field approaching the top, if you look back, on a clear day you can see Mount Rainier. Yesterday was cool as there were a ring of clouds around Rainier.



As you come through the boulder scramble at the top, you're greeted by the Mt. Si Haystack.



At some point I want to be in good enough shape to scramble up the haystack. Yesterday was definitely NOT that day. Once you come around the bend at the top, there are some nice benches that you can sit on and contemplate life. (As long as there is not a group of 40 nuns, brothers, fathers and bishops hanging out there too) And the view of the Snoqualamie valley is not to be missed! You can see all the way to Seattle on clear days. Yesterday it was just a bit hazy, but you could make out the skyline in the haze.



I sat on top and enjoyed a sandwich, some nuts and fruit for about a half an hour before heading down. All tolled, my time on the mountain was 6 hours. Definitely not any land speed records, but I'm happy to have accomplished this very tough hike as my first of the season! One more thing I can check off on my Summer to do list!

Another Two Fer . . . 299.5

Yesterday afternoon I went BACK to the YMCA with Teri. She ran while I did the SMFH and lifted. After our workout last night, I weighed myself (before dinner of course) and I was 300 pounds on the nose. This morning when I woke up, I was back to 301.5. Dinner, etc. had helped out with that. So I headed back to the gym. Since I did two workouts yesterday, I just took it easy with a swim and a soak in the hot tub this morning. When I got back, I was 299.5!! WOO HOO! Under 300 again! And I did it prior to the Tour De Pierce! It really feels good to hit that goal! Now to stay under 300 and hopefully be 295 or less by the 12th of July for the Ocean Shores Triathlon.

Here are my two workouts:

Last night:

• SMFH (Stair Machine From Hell): 20 minutes Level 7 (my highest yet) on the Fat Burning program
• 3 X 10 @ 135 Lbs Bench Press
• 3 X 10 @ 110 Lbs Lat Pull Down
• 3 X 60 Lbs Triceps Extension
• 3 X 75 Lbs Pectoral Fly
• 3 X 10 "7 Ups" @ 20 Lbs

This Morning:

• 3 Sets of 100 swim, 100 kick, 200 Pull
• 1 X 100 IM
• Total 1,300 yards

I think the lifting has really helped my Butterfly because even after the 1,200 yards this morning, my IM felt REALLY good. There COULD be a 200 IM in my future.

301.0 - RIP George Carlin

So this morning, I got up and headed to the gym . . . I'm still not completely over my Summer cold, but at 5:30, I was wide awake and figured I had nothing better to do. I hadn't been on the treadmill in a few days so that's what I did. I started out at 5.2 MPH and increased to 5.3 MPH at about 2 miles. I kept that pace until I hit the 3.1 mile mark at 35:49 (new record?). I cooled down a bit and then did 100 crunches. I was planning to lift this morning as well, but the weight room was packed, so I skipped it. Maybe I'll try to get in there tonight. When I got home I weighed myself and was pleasantly surprised to find a reading of 301.0 on the scale. I think I've got a REALLY good shot at being UNDER 300 for the Tour De Pierce this Sunday! Now to just maintain my focus and keep up the workouts and eating healthier. I've only been to the drive thru once in the past 2.5 weeks and only had two sodas during that time. One was a coke at the same drive thru trip and the other was a sprite (caffiene free!) at the movies on Saturday night. I've learned too, that I can be satisfied with two slices of pizza and don't have to eat half a large to feel full. Also, when Teri and I went to the Flying Tomato the other night, I was happy with half my entree. We did have a salad and bread before the entree arrived, but in previous visits, I still would have eaten the whole thing. It's just so dang good! But it felt even better having leftovers. It's all mental folks. Just gotta keep the motivation.

In sadder news, I heard this morning that one of the world's funniest men has passeed away. George Carlin, dead this morning at 71. The bearded, pony tailed counter culture comedian was one of my all time favorites. Even to this day, I'll be late to an appointment if Carlin is on XM comedy doing one of his famous routines. I was fortunate to have seen him twice in his career as he passed through Tacoma. I remember being introduced to George Carlin by Davie when we were around 15 or 16. Hearing those 7 famous words was like finding a pot of gold to a teenager. Maybe it wasn't so good to be influenced by George at such an impressionable age, but I'd like to think he gave me the freedom to know that it's OK, American even, to question authority. (Sorry Mom & Dad, I know High School was painful for you!) George, we'll miss you and your unique brand of humor. And boy oh boy, if the little kids could hear what was REALLY on Thomas the Tank Engine's mind . . . go in peace sir. I'll be listening to you all day I'm sure on XM comedy.

Related story on MSNBC: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25322638/

Head in the Sand

Head in the Sand
by John

Head down in the sand
My life passes by close at hand

I missed your screams for help
Now I feel I miss a piece of myself

I stand up and look around
I can see you standing in the distance

Wiping the grains from my face
Your arms outstreched for embrace

I walk closer now you come into view
Now it's I who scream for you

You pretend not to hear
Hoping I'm not sincere

I'm closing the distance now
Stretching out my hand

But now it's you with your head in the sand.
I’m standing here by your side

When you come back for air
It’s me who’ll be standing there

Taylor Swims

Teri and I took Taylor swimming a couple nights ago at American Lake. After getting her over her initial trepidation of the water (fear would have been too strong a word), Taylor was all about retrieving a stick about as far out as you wanted to throw it. She's an awesome swimmer and it seems she even likes to retrieve in the water! Go figure!



Sorry, this was shot with Teri's cell phone, so the quality is less than great.

SMFH Workout Last Night

So last night I was feeling somewhat better and Teri and I headed to the Y for a workout. As I had just run the day before, I didn't want to run again, but wanted a good leg workout. So I hit the Stair Machine from Hell. I decided to take it up a notch and set the level at 6 for 30 minutes. My previous high was 5. And so I started climbing. By the time my 30 minutes was up, I had climbed 112 floors and gone 2.35 miles. My average heart rate was in the 150's, so I know I was working good. I joined Teri on the track for a couple of laps and that was that. I don't think I'm going to make it there today, I'm still feeling crappy . . . better, but crappy.

Taking a knee today . . .

As my lovely wife so eloquently puts it, I'm taking a knee today. I'm sick. I was hoping the change in weather just triggered some allergies or something, but I'm sick. So no workout today. [sigh] I'm hoping I can feel better by the afternoon so we can workout together, but we'll see.

Workout This Morning

AGGGH! Don't you hate it when you forget to push the Add Item button on your blog, close out your browser and realize at the very last second that you forgot to post this incredibly intelligent crafty post!?

So here we go again . . . I promise you, it won't be nearly as funny or crafty.

So this morning I felt like crap, but got up at 10 after 5 anyway and headed to the gym. I wondered what it would be like to blow my nose on the treadmill? My goal this morning was to run 3.1 miles (5 Kilometers) without stopping. So I hopped up on the treadmill and started walking at 3.5 MPH while I was entering my weight, age, etc. A few seconds later, I cranked it up to 5.0 MPH (12:00 minute mile) and started to run. Well maybe lope, or trot, or jog, but definitely not a walk! And I just kept going and going and going. I felt like I should have been beating a drum in front of me and wearing really cool Tom Cruise Risky Business sunglasses. (I think the pink rabbit ears would have been a bit much though) The first mile went by pretty quickly and without much effort. The second mile, my left quad started tightening up, but nothing major, so I just kept on going. After I hit 2.1, 2.2, 2.4 and 2.5, I knew when I got to 2.6 miles with only a half left, that short of stumbling and being ejected off the back of the treadmill, I was going to make my goal. When I do longer runs like this (for me anyway) I envision how many laps of the Curtis track I have left to run.

Back in High School, in Sophomore PE class, we were required to run a mile for time each week. Back then, I was in pretty fantastic shape, even for a big kid. I was consistently running a 6:05 mile. But the problem was, our PE teacher was like 63 and ALWAYS ran a 6:00 mile. The competitor in me took over and I thought there is no way I'm letting some guy old enough to be my grandpa beat me. So my times started to inch down. 6:04, 6:03, 6:01 . . . and finally on the last mile of the year, I ran a 5:55! Victorious, I celebrated! There was much wine, women and song. OK, really I just did a little dance around my room at home. My celebration was short lived however, the following week we had to run "The Pit". Now the Pit is about 4.2 or 4.3 miles. Our PE teacher ran a consistent 6:00 mile throughout the whole thing. He absolutely CRUSHED me! But I had my mile . . .

So having run so many times before on the Curtis High School track, I can pretty well envision where I am on that 1/4 mile oval while I'm running. It's kind of a nice escape. Even though I'm running half as fast. In my defense though I am 50% heavier too. And ahem . . . more than twice as old. But I digress . . . so this morning as I crossed the finish line at 3.1 miles, I looked down to see 37:22 on the timer. Not too shabby! OH, and blowing your nose isn't so hard on a treadmill, assuming you have something to blow into. (Sorry guy that has to pick up the used towels at the Y)

AND, as an added bonus, I was down to 304.0 this morning!

Now I'm going to press "Add Item"

Swim This Morning

I hit the pool this morning. Just an easy workout, nothing too serious.

• 1 X 100 Swim
• 1 X 100 Kick
• 2 X 100 Pull
• Repeat for a total of 3 sets or 1,200 yards

Almost 42 miles - Puyallup to South Prairie

So this morning around 8, I met Chuck, Steve, Scott, Erick and Randy just behind K-Mart on River Road. The plan was to ride the Riverwalk trail over to Mama Stortinis, jog through Sumner and pick up the Orting (Foothills) trail out to South Prairie. This would add 5 miles in each direction to the ride, making it 40 miles instead of 30. Scott, Erick and Randy only planned to do the 3.5 miles from K-Mart to Mama Stortinis and back.

Having never ridden the Riverwalk trail before, we weren't sure what to expect. It, like the Foothills trail is nice and level and paved. However, coming down to Valley Avenue (5th St) there was no clear indication where the trail went, so we ended up on surface streets to weave our way over to the blue "flash cube" buildings off Main street before we picked it back up again. Turns out what we did is the right course of action as the trail starts again there. They should post signs or something showing where to go.

Anyway, at Mama Stortinis, we said good bye to Scott, Erick and Randy and headed into Sumner. We weaved our way through Sumner and over to the Orting Highway. We followed the Orting highway to Military where we picked back up the Foothills trail. At the 10 mile mark, we arrived at the McMillan trail head. My left crank arm was loose, so we spent a couple minutes getting that fixed. When we got into Orting, at the Safeway, my lovely bride Teri was waiting for us and she joined the ride.

I don't know what it was today, but I felt AWESOME! All the way out to South Prairie, we were cruising. Maybe it was the fact I drank two big glasses of water and had a Zone Perfect bar before I left, I dunno, but I just felt REALLY good! We rode out to the South Prairie Firestation and turned around and waited for Teri at the espresso stand we usually stop at. We kept waiting and finally I called her. Seems as though she had some mechanical issues too and was waiting for us down the trail. After a quick drink, we hopped back on and headed back. Teri was only about .1 miles away from us. I got her bike running again and we headed down. She was still having issues shifting, so we pulled over to the side of the trail and I at least got her bike in a moderate gear so she wasn't spinning out all the way back.

At the McMillan trailhead, we said good bye to Teri and I again had to tighten my crank. Looks like it's time for a trip to the bike shop for some tuning up and repair! We followed the foothills trail back to Pioneer and cut over to the Orting Highway again. Zig zagged through Sumner and back onto the Riverwalk trail. We finally got back to K-mart after nearly 42 miles on the trails. AWESOME ride! I think we're going to make it a staple. And whenever they connect the two trails, that will be sweet. No more cutting through Sumner. Just one contiguous 20 mile trail.

Oh, and when we got back I was down to 305.5. Sweeeeeeeeeeet.

Below is a map of our ride. Click on it to go to Motionbased to get all the details.

Gym - 309.0

So yesterday I missed the gym. Thursday night I took a couple of Advil PM so I could sleep and slept in too late yesterday to make it to the gym. The plan was to go after work. I ended up in Federal Way notarizing a document for a client. I thought the Y was open until 10 on Friday, but turns out they're open until 9:30 and kick everyone out of the pool at 9. As I was planning to swim and didn't get home until 8:30, it just wasn't going to work. Bummer.

However, I did make it this morning. I got up at 5:30, and was out the door by around 6:20. ON A SATURDAY! I started out on the treadmill. I ran 2 miles at 5.5 MPH. Then I did 0.25 miles walking at 3.5 MPH. Then 0.25 miles running at 6.0 MPH. Another 0.15 miles walking at 3.5 MPH. Another 0.25 miles at 7.0 MPH and finally 0.2 miles at 4.0 MPH. 3.1 miles. I can't remember my exact time, but I think it was somewhere around 35:40? All I know is it was likely my best 5K yet.

After a quick walk around the track to cool down a bit, I hit the weights. I did:

• 2 X 10 @ 135 lbs Bench press
• 1 X 8 @ 135 lbs Bench Press
• 2 X 10 @ 100 lbs Lat Pull Down
• 1 X 10 @ 90 lbs Lat Pull Down
• 3 X 10 @ 55 lbs Triceps Extension
• 3 X 10 @ 70 lbs Pectoral Fly
• 3 X "7 Ups" @ 20 lbs
• 100 Crunches

As of this morning, my weight is down to 309.0. And that's after drinking 40 ounces of water at the gym during my workout. So I'm feeling pretty good that I'm headed in the right direction. In another hour or so, I'll have made it one full week without drive thru food or soda. (I have had one Rock Star, but I told you that might happen!) While I didn't make my goal of every day this week in the gym (M - Sa) I did do 6 workouts, so I'll call it a wash. :-)

If Teri and I don't go to Eastern Washington tonight, the plan will be to ride 40 miles with the boyz tomorrow morning.

Love of my life . . .

It seems as we are at our most raw state when communicating through our respective blogs. Proclaiming for all the world to see how we feel, how we hurt, how we love. I'll never be the poet you are, but others are very good at expressing how I feel lately. I'll forever have the memory of dancing at our wedding to these words:

Love of my Life
Santana with Dave Matthews

Where you are, that's where I wanna be
And through your eyes, all the things I wanna see
And in the night, you are my dream
You're everything to me

Chorus:
You're the love of my life
And the breath in my prayers
Take my hand, lead me there

I can't forget the taste of your mouth
From your lips the heavens pour out
I can't forget when we are one
With you alone I am free

Bridge:
Everyday, every night, you alone
You're the love of my life
Everyday, every night, you alone,
You're the love of my life

Outro:
We go dancing in the moonlight
With the starlight in your eyes
We go dancing till the sunrise
You and me we're gonna dance, dance, dance

To Teri . . .

With Love, John

Where are you Going
By Dave Matthews Band

Where are you going
with your long face pulling down?
Don’t hide away like an ocean
But you can’t see, but you can smell
And the sound waves crash down

I am no superman
I have no reasons for you
I am no hero, oh that’s for sure
But I do know one thing
Is where you are is where I belong

I do know, where you go, is where I want to be
Where are you going, where do you go?
Are you looking for answers
to questions under the stars?
If along the way you are growing weary,
You can rest with me until a brighter day
You're okay

I am no superman
I have no answers for you
I am no hero, oh that’s for sure
But I do know one thing
Is where you are, is where I belong
I do know, where you go
Is where I want to be

Where are you going, where do you go?
[interlude]

Where do you go, where are you going?
Where do you go?

I am no Superman, I have no answers for you
I am no hero, oh that's for sure
But I do know one thing, is where you are,
is where I belong
I do know where you go, is where I want to be.
Where are you going, where do you go?

Tell me where are you going, where do you go?
Where?
Let's go.

Day 4 Gym

Here it is Thursday and I've just completed my 5th workout this week. I know I'm getting somewhat tired, but I also know that's just partly me getting back into the routine. A couple weeks of this and I won't even feel it any more. It'll just be what I do. I just have to get past that point a few weeks/months from now where I feel it's good enough. But I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.

So this morning I got on the Stair Machine From Hell (SMFH) and started out at level 5. I set the machine for 30 minutes. I think my previous best was 99 floors in 30 minutes. I wanted to break that, so at 10 minutes in, I increased the level to 6 for 5 minutes and alternated Level 6 and 5 on 5 minute intervals. At the end, I had climbed 2.15 miles, 103 floors, and had burned nearly 500 calories. It actually felt really good. My arms are starting to get sore from yesterday's lifting. I'm hoping to lift again tomorrow, but I suppose that'll depend on how sore I am then.

After the SMFH, I did a couple laps on the track (1/3 mile) walking to cool down. Then I did 100 crunches.

Not a record workout by any means, but a good one none the less.

Day 3 - Back in the gym . . .

So yesterday I started tracking my daily intake on The Daily Plate again. I'm trying to get back into the habits that made an impact the first quarter of the year. I'm trying to eat right, work out, dress professionally at work, do all the things that I know make me feel good. Tracking my food on The Daily Plate was a good part of that. It let me easily see where I was, where I wanted to go and gave me a good idea of how to get there. If you click on those links, you'll be taken to my profile.

Last evening, I spent with Brandon at Lady Lucks Cowboy Up in Spanaway/Parkland. I'd never been there before. It's a pretty cool bar. The premise is something like Coyote Ugly, where at certain points during the evening, the waitresses do a little dance on a long table. It's kind of annoying cause during the songs they do that, the music is almost unbearably loud. I met Brandon there for dinner. I had a mushroom burger with swiss and grilled onions, a side salad with bleu cheese and some potato chips. It was pretty good, but I'm pretty sure it blew my calories for the day. I had about 1,600 left when I went in, but it had to be close to that. I also had a shot of Jack Daniels and about a gallon (nope, not kidding) of water. You get strange looks in a bar when all you do is order water after water after water.

This morning, I was back in the gym. My legs were (are?) still tired from Monday's double workout, so I took it a bit easy. I did a mile walking on the treadmill at 4.0 MPH, then a mile jogging at 5.0 MPH, then a quarter mile cool down walking at 3.5 MPH. After that I decided that I needed to start lifting again, so I worked on my upper body. I did:

• 3 X 10 @ 115 lbs Bench Press
• 3 X 10 @ 100 lbs Lat Pull Down
• 3 X 10 @ 50 lbs Tricep Extensions
• 3 X 10 @ 55 lbs Butterfly
• 2 X @ 20 lbs "7 Ups"
• 3 X 20 Crunches

For those of you that don't know what "7 Ups" are, Carl introduced me to these a couple months ago. They're killer on the biceps and shoulders. Basically you take a bar at whatever weight you're comfortable with (20 lbs is about the most I can do, my biceps are pretty weak) stand with feet shoulder width apart with the bar hanging down at your quads. Pull the bar 1/2 way up so it's parallel with the ground, lower back to your quads. Repeat 7 times. Next, start with the bar parallel to the ground and raise to your shoulders, then lower back to parallel. Repeat 7 times. Finally start with the bar back at your quads and raise all the way to your shoulders and back down. Repeat 7 times. That's one set. I wanted to do 3 sets, but I also wanted to know that two days from now, I'd be able to lift my arm to scratch my nose!

Overall it was a good workout. It feels good to be back at it again. Even if I do hate being up at the butt crack of dawn.

OH and yesterday I registered for the Tour De Pierce, the Dam2Dam and the Ocean Shores Tri. I'm committed now!

Two a days - 310.5

So back in high school on the swim team, if you were good enough, you got "invited" to morning workouts. This meant that you'd be in the pool for up to an hour and a half before school and two hours after school. You'd burn a S*** load of calories and be a walking zombie. Well, I don't know if I'll make it a daily habit, but yesterday I did a "two a day". As previously posted, I did 3.5 miles on the treadmill in the morning. Then I joined Teri at the gym for a quick 1/4 mile swim in the pool and a 6PM spin class. According to my calculations, we did about 12.5 - 13 miles in spin class. SOOOOOO Technically I completed our sprint triathlon yesterday. Although, again, it was spread throughout the day.

This morning I had intended to sleep in. But I was restless around 5:30, so I headed BACK to the gym. That's right, 3 workouts in 24 hours. I just did a half mile in the pool with a 100 IM to finish it up. (3 X 100 Swim, Kick, Pull + 1 X 100 IM) Even after the workouts yesterday, it felt pretty dang good. I'm going to try to be in the gym every morning this week and stay out of the drive thru every day this week. No soda (But I can't guarantee I won't have a Rock Star or two) this week either. I've gone without caffeine since Saturday morning.

As mentioned yesterday, returning from Puerto Vallarta last month, I was at 321.0 pounds. As of this morning after my workout, I'm back down to 310.5. 10.5 pounds in a couple of weeks. I'm pretty happy with that.

I've got three events scheduled for the summer:

Tour de Pierce on June 29th - 50 mile bike ride around Pierce County
Ocean Shores Sprint Triathlon on July 12th - 1/4 mile swim, 12.4 mile bike and 3.1 mile run
Dam2Dam on September 27th - 50 mile bike ride in Wenatchee

My goal is to be back under 300 by the Tour De Pierce, around 295 by the OS Tri and around 285 by the Dam2Dam. If I can finish up the year at around 280 or so, I'll feel REALLY REALLY good. It's going to take a lot of hard work and dedication, but it seems like that's the theme this year. In my job, my physical fitness and my marriage. Hard work and dedication. I'll pull out the ol' motto we had my Junior Year of swim team . . . PBA . . . Perceive, Believe, Achieve. See yourself doing something, Believe you can accomplish it and then go ahead and Achieve it!

Meanwhile, back in the gym . . .

So since DaBoyz triathlon, I haven't worked out much at all. In fact for about a month prior to DaBoyz Triathlon, up until now, I haven't worked out much at all. Much of the weight loss I achieved throughout the first of the year has evaporated. I've been on a couple bike rides with the guys, but really, not much working out since March. I really need to figure out how to break out of this cycle once and for all. It's mentally draining to yo-yo like this. I was hoping that by the time we went to Puerto Vallarta last month, I would be around 280 pounds. Instead, when I returned from 5 days of all you can eat for free, I was back up to 321. Sometime in March, I think I actually went under 300 pounds. As of this morning, I've lost 8 pounds from my post PV weight and am at 313. Still 16 pounds lower than when we returned from Jamaica. I feel like it'll be easier to lose that 13 pounds if I can get back on the bandwagon and get into the gym and eat somewhat correctly. I think I can have most of it gone by the end of the month.

Yesterday, I made myself breakfast instead of going to Jack in the Box. I only had an apple for lunch, and a salad for dinner at Applebees. I did go grocery shopping yesterday, so I have the fixins for lunches, etc. for the next couple of weeks.

Some people just don't understand that weight is something I've delt with ALL my life. They think it's just a matter of flipping a switch and "POOF!" you're skinny. It's really hard when one of those people is someone very close to you, whom you love very much. When they don't understand and aren't there to support you, it makes the challenge infinitely harder.

So this morning, I was in the gym. I did 3.5 miles on the treadmill. 3.1 (5K) I did in 39:42. I ran the first mile at 5.0 MPH, did intervals between walking and jogging for the next 2.1 miles. I did do one quarter mile stint at 7.0 MPH which I thought might just kill me. But I survived. Even if my heart rate did hit 190 bpm. Interesting article in either Men's health or Bicycling this month that talked about interval training. It mentions bursts to 110% of your max HR. I thought that might just send you into cardiac arrest, but apparently not. So we'll have to see if I can work up to that.

KISW Rock Girl Gala

So last night Teri, her friend Kate, Kate's beau Chris and I all went to the KISW Rock Girl Gala held at the Tacoma Dome. I think a good time was had by all. Teri and I really wanted to go just to hear Candlebox play. All of the other stuff was just extra. They were crowning the 2008 rock girls and two other bands, Chevelle and Another Black Day were also playing. Of course Candlebox had to be the last act of the evening, so we didn't arrive back home until nearly 1 in the morning, but it was AWESOME to see Candlebox in concert again.

I'm sure Scott will remember the EXACT date (Scott I'd like to know if you remember) but he and I and a few of his other friends ended up out in Bremerton or somewhere at a fairgrounds in the early 1990's and one of the bands we saw in the pouring rain and mud was Candlebox. From that date on, I've been a fan. I also had the opportunity to see them play at the Fillmore in San Francisco when I was in town for a Photoshop conference. I had landed at SFO and gotten my rental car. While flipping through the stations to try to find some music to listen to, I heard "Candlebox tomorrow night at the Fillmore". I just about (radio edit) myself! I mean at that time (Probably 1995 - 1996) Candlebox was one of my favorite bands. And to have the opportunity to see them at the Fillmore was unbelievable. For those of you not familiar with the Fabulous Fillmore, the likes of Jimi Hendrix, The Doors, Pink Floyd, Jefferson Airplane, and just about anyone in the who's who of rock and roll history played at the Fillmore. So when I checked into my hotel room, I called them. Apparently on the day of the show (then, don't know if they still do) they released like 30 tickets 2 hours before show time. I asked how long before that do you think I should be in line? They said to show up probably 30 - 45 minutes before that. Well, the show was at 7, the additional tickets went on sale at 5 and I was there at 3:30 and 5th in line. (Yes, I left the Photoshop conference early, sue me) It ended up being a packed house and I was about two people from the stage the entire night. I had the time of my life. It (and they) were awesome. So I have very fond memories of Candlebox.

Last night was no exception. The crowd couldn't have been more than 1,000 or so at the T-dome. I think most of the people there were there to see the rock girls, Chevelle and Another Black Day as most everyone had left by the time Candlebox played. Being a local band, they really thanked the fans a lot, talked about their new album coming out next month and played a couple tracks from that. (They sounded pretty good, so I'll likely pick up the CD when it's released) But of course their monster album was their self titled debut release, Candlebox, and the majority of their set was played from that album. The crowd knew all the words to many of the songs and were encouraged to sing along. They played a couple tracks off Lucy, their follow up release and I think just one track off Happy Pills, their last studio album.

Candlebox can still rock a crowd, even after 17 years of doing it. I'm looking forward to hear what they have coming. If last night was any indication, their next album should get some airplay on terrestrial and satellite radio alike.

Also, I was getting into Another Black Day and may see if I can't find some of their stuff on line. They reminded me of a young Metallica and their drummer was nothing short of incredible. I enjoyed their vibe and hope to hear more from them in the future. It seemed as though the majority of the crowd was there to see Chevelle. However, I wasn't much a fan of their music. It just didn't resonate with me the way the familiar sounds of Candlbox or the fresh, raw sounds of Another Black Day did. Overall, I enjoyed myself. My ears are ringing like they haven't in a long time and eventually I'll catch up on the sleep. But it was good to feel 25 again, even if it was only for one evening.