accountability

7 Questions Sunday

2012-01-29T15:32:00.001-05:00

Happy Sunday, folks! We’ve made it through another week, and tomorrow we go speeding headlong and headstrong into another one. I can’t wait. Mondays are my favourite days, as they are the start of a brand new week; another chance to shine, to inspire, and to get things Done.

Today I would like to introduce you to someone who has played a HUGE role in my life. She’s known me all of my life, and in spite of that (and ALL of the trials and tribulations that this entails) still give me hugs, encouragement, slaps on the back of the head when needed, and laughs at my silly jokes. Yes, I am talking about my Mom. That’s her, waiving to the camera, as we got set up for the Inaugural Hartford 5k last summer. She and my Dad were instrumental in making the morning a success (I hope I can rope them into it again this year!). Below are 7 questions that I asked her recently, and her candid and honest answers. I hope you are able to find some insight and inspiration, just as I have over the years.

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Many new health-related terms have been popping up lately. Two of my
favourites are 'wellness' and 'fitness'. I tend to think of wellness as
holistic, while fitness relates more to ones physical being.
1) How would you describe your present level of fitness?

I try to walk 25 miles a week. I have been doing this for about 5 years. I have Trochanter bursitis and also trouble with IT Band (just diagnosted after 10 years of issues... doing PT for it). This is where the wellness impacts the fitness. I am 66 years old so you youngens' will understand in 30-40 years! I also do yoga a few times a week.

2) How would you contrast that with 5 years ago?

This is about the time I started the extended walking. I retired 8 years ago but it took me a while to get use to it! Slow learner. I had been doing some walking but became more consistant. I have also limited my gluten intake. More fruit and veggies!

3) Was there an "a-ha" moment for you? Would you care to share it, and is it
still a motivating factor for you?

I have a twin sister. We were both a bit overweight and although she had been a smoker for 40 years and I never smoked we have a serious history of heart disease in our family. A little over 3 years ago she was not feeling well for a few months and I nagged her into seeing a doctor. She was found to have three blockages. Two near her heart and one in her neck. During the angioplasty she suffered a stroke! It was a long recovery and she has many problems. The main one, of many, is her lack of speech. Her gait is not always the best, she lacks reasoning skills and is very depressed because of her dependency on others for just about everything.

Dolly was a selfless, lively lady, full of fun and devoted to her children
and grandchildren. I have lost my best friend, listening ear and wombmate. I love the Dolly I have now but I mourn the loss of her spirit. This event gave me a huge jolt! I had to do something about my lack of attention to myself. I lost 45 pounds and became more faithful about getting exercise and doing something to relieve stress.

4) Have you had any injuries or setbacks along the way?

I have moderate to severe arthritis in my neck, lower back, feet and hands
besides the IT band and trochanter bursitis. Some days I cannot get out of
bed without a lot of stretching first. I live in Florida and the weather is much easier on these maladies. Holiday weight gain can sometimes be an
issue as I love to bake and make desserts but I am able to keep it in check

5) How did you overcome them?

Hard work and a vision of where I want to be healthwise so that I can enjoy my family as much as I can.

6) What areas of your life have been most impacted by your improved fitness?

I think being retired and having more time for me has helped. We live in Florida most of the year and summer on our sailboat on Lake Champlain in New York during the summer months. This makes it possible to walk every day. This past summer I was able to walk 45-50 miles a week and I missed walking when it rained. Invest in some really good shoes and just go!

7) Any advice for others out there, searching for their "a-ha" moment?

They are all around you... do not wait for a tragedy to occur to open your eyes. It could be the birth of a child or grandchild, the death of a good friend or relative. Make it a positive reason for change instead of a negative one. And it is ok to be a little "selfish". Take time for you. The world will not come to an end if supper is a little late so that you can take a walk and unwind after work. Also.. do not think that getting a dog will force you to walk several times a day. Find a neighbor that has one and walk with them or volunteer to take an elderly neighbor's dog for a walk for them. Both the dog and you will love it and you will not have the expense and the responsibility of ownership. Win-Win!

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Thanks for stopping by! Are you ready for a great Monday????

-g-

not much for something

2012-01-25T15:21:00.000-05:00

I have been thinking a lot about trying to raise funds to send our oldest to Thailand. Don't get me wrong, I have also been thinking about raising funds to get him BACK from Thailand...sheesh. While doing this, I was looking around at the ways that other people were raising monies, and my endeavor was missing a key element; the "what's in it for me" factor.
You know the one. Girl Scouts want money, so you give them $50 for 2 boxes of cookies. Boy Scouts want money so you buy outrageously priced pop-corn. We've all done it in one form or another. Do you know how many millions of those yellow wrist bands LiveStrong has sold? Me, either, but I am sure that it is more than 28 Million (see what i did there?).
A coupla weeks ago I posted a letter from Mike, our son who wants to go to Thailand and give baths to elephants and pick up monkey poo. Or something like that. He went into great detail as to what the trip involves, but I was probably playing Angry Birds or updating myfitnesspal (let's see...how many cheese sticks DID I have today??) and missed all of the nitty gritty. If you'd like, you can read about it by clicking the link at the top that says, "elephant baths and monkey poo", or by clicking this.
Thank you for sticking around this post for so long.....NOW I am about to get to the title subject.

Yes, a t-shirt. I have created a shirt over at cafepress, along with 20 bajillion other people. Heck, if it works for them, it just might work for us.

Unlike most shirts out there, though, this one carries a more personal message. Don't get all mushy on me: this isn't about ME, but about YOU. Or someone you know. How so? Here's how: ever been involved in a training run or in the gym or just on errands, having a crap-tastic day? Sure you have. We ALL have. What do many of us do (no, no, I'm NOT offering free pints of Ben & Jerry's) in these situations? We hang our heads. We look toward the ground, searching for something to give us a reason to pick our heads up and get back into the game of life. It is exactly this action that lead me to create this style of shirt. Without giving it all away here, I cordially invite you to go to my shop and look at the shirts. I kept the selection simple and the mark-up low, and am very willing to add products. Simply send me an email with your request and after I have added it to the store I will send you an email letting you know that it has been added.

If you have already contributed, and would like a shirt, please let me know and we can make arrangements.

Again, thank you for sticking with me, and thank you for helping me help our son realize a dream.

Geno

Funny Friday (from email)

2012-01-20T08:12:00.000-05:00

I rec'd this in my inbox at work today. Seems that someone here has a bit of a sense of humor and wanted to share. Who am I to deny you some chuckles? He says he found it on the web, but can't recall where...
Happy Friday!

Dear Diary,

For my birthday this year, I purchased a week of personal training at
the local health club. Although I am still in great shape since being a
high school football cheerleader 43 years ago, I decided it would be a
good idea to go ahead and give it a try.
I called the club and made my reservations with a personal trainer named Christo, who identified himself as a 26-year-old aerobics instructor and model for athletic clothing and swim wear. Friends seemed pleased with my enthusiasm to get started! The club encouraged me to keep a diary to chart my progress.
________________________________
MONDAY:
Started my day at 6:00 a.m. Tough to get out of bed, but found it was
well worth it when I arrived at the health club to find Christo waiting
for me. He is something of a Greek god-- with blond hair, dancing eyes,
and a dazzling white smile. Woo Hoo!!
Christo gave me a tour and showed me the machines.. I enjoyed watching the skillful way in which he conducted his aerobics class after my workout today. Very inspiring!
Christo was encouraging as I did my sit-ups, although my gut was already aching from holding it in the whole time he was around. This is going to be a FANTASTIC week!!
________________________________
TUESDAY:
I drank a whole pot of coffee, but I finally made it out the door.
Christo made me lie on my back and push a heavy iron bar into the air
then he put weights on it! My legs were a little wobbly on the
treadmill, but I made the full mile. His rewarding smile made it all
worthwhile. I feel GREAT! It's a whole new life for me.
_______________________________
WEDNESDAY:
The only way I can brush my teeth is by laying the toothbrush on the
counter and moving my mouth back and forth over it. I believe I have a
hernia in both pectorals. Driving was OK as long as I didn't try to
steer or stop. I parked on top of a GEO in the club parking lot. Christo
was impatient with me, insisting that my screams bothered other club
members.. His voice is a little too perky for that early in the morning
and when he scolds, he gets this nasally whine that is VERY annoying. My chest hurt when I got on the treadmill, so Christo put me on the stair
monster. Why the hell would anyone invent a machine to simulate an
activity rendered obsolete by elevators? Christo told me it would help
me get in shape and enjoy life. He said some other crap too.
_______________________________
THURSDAY:
Butthole was waiting for me with his vampire-like teeth exposed as his
thin, cruel lips were pulled back in a full snarl. I couldn't help
being a half an hour late-- it took me that long to tie my shoes. He
took me to work out with dumbbells. When he was not looking, I ran and
hid in the restroom. He sent some skinny witch to find me. Then, as
punishment, he put me on the rowing machine-- which I sank.
_________________________________
FRIDAY:
I hate that jackass Christo more than any human being has ever hated any other human being in the history of the world. Stupid, skinny, anemic, anorexic, little aerobic instructor. If there was a part of my body I could move without unbearable pain, I would beat him with it. Christo
wanted me to work on my triceps. I don't have any triceps! And if you
don't want dents in the floor, don't hand me the darn barbells or
anything that weighs more than a sandwich. The treadmill flung me off
and I landed on a health and nutrition teacher. Why couldn't it have
been someone softer, like the drama coach or the choir director?
________________________________
SATURDAY:
Satan left a message on my answering machine in his grating, shrilly
voice wondering why I did not show up today. Just hearing his voice
made me want to smash the machine with my planner; however, I lacked the strength to even use the TV remote and ended up catching eleven straight hours of the Weather Channel..
________________________________
SUNDAY:
I'm having the Church van pick me up for services today so I can go and
thank GOD that this week is over. I will also pray that next year my
husband will choose a gift for me that is fun-- like a root canal or a
hysterectomy. I still say if God had wanted me to bend over, he would
have sprinkled the floor with diamonds!!!

This is just ME talking....

2012-01-13T15:16:00.000-05:00

I am NOT a dietician. I am NOT a personal trainer. I am NOT a therapist. I am a husband, father, brother, son, etc. etc.....I don't have expert advice on anything, but i DO have expert OPINIONS on a great many things. Some of these are fitness, eating, and societal trends. And America.
To wit:
Everyone has their own acceptable level of comfort. Some can't fall asleep until they are in the 'exact' comfort zone, while others can be fine sleeping on tank tracks. Some people can't be satisfied with their fitness levels until they look like a particular person, do better at someone at some event, or catch the eye of that certain someone. Others, well, we know them, too, who are simply content that they wake up each day, and are often surprised that they made it through another night. Still, they aren't moved enough by this to DO something to change their lives, they just accept that this is what it is, and hope for the best.
(side note: i am WAY off track again. i'll try to get back...)
Lemme address eating. Or diet. Or food choices. Whatever you want to call it. "things i put in my pie hole, including pie". I don't care. I am going to call it 'intake'. For those of us who struggle with the amount of intake being greater than the amount of our output, we may find ourselves searching for that be-all-end-all answer to better health/weightmanagement/body composition. I have done it. Sometimes I still do it. Life here in America is about choices. We all have the right to make choices, even bad ones. While I don't necessarily agree that vegan is the way to go, I'm not going to try to stop anyone from doing it. Same with paleo or any of the other diet trends that are out there. Unless i see it as potentially harmful or fatal (phen phen, anyone?), I'm content to just sit back and watch how things unfold.
One thing that I do believe, however, is that trying to make your new intake regime drastically different from your current one in order to lose weight (or obtain some other goal) can be setting yourself up for failure. What? Let's take ME as an example. I consider myself a true omnivore. Except for slugs, insects, and snakes, I'll pretty much eat anything in the 'normal' American (and, well, Japanese for that matter) diet. Ok.

lemme qualify that. i WON'T eat things like Little Debbie snack cakes, Hostess products, frozen entrees, cheezy poofs, pork rinds, etc. ok? clear on that? good. whew......LAST thing I need is SMART FOOD sending me a case of their stuff to 'try and review' for my blog. umm...no, thanks. ANYWAY.....

If, after reading some book or article, I come to the conclusion that I must change what I eat and limit myself to only 'beans and greens', as my office mate has done, I will FAIL MISERABLY in my endeavor. I tried it for a day earlier this week. Even though my salad made me feel full, it only had about 200 calories. I 'need' 1800 a day to reach my weight/composition goals. SO. if lunch was to be where i wanted to get most of my calories, i would be hard pressed to reach 1000 calories by eating salad. Even with pinto beans or black beans or garBANZO beans. That, and I'd supply enough natural gas into our room that we'd surely have to evacuate this wing of the hospital.

However, if i take a look at my usual intake trends (either in by using a food diary or by counting calories), I may (will) be able to identify certain trends, and can tweek THOSE to help me reach my goals. Oh, lookie here! I eat 750 calories AFTER dinner, in the shape of ice cream and cookies. Hmmm....maybe i should shift that to earlier in the day, when i am still burning calories. I mean, even if i eat 750 calories worth of salad (holy garden, batman) at 10pm, i am still not doing myself much good. That, and I'd supply enough gas under the covers that the blame would readily shift from the dog to ME, and that's not good. (So far, I don't think my wife knows about dutch ovens, and I hope to keep it that way.)

So what am i driving at here? Simplicity. If you make drastic changes to your current MO, you set yourself up to fail. Hello? Have you never seen Criminal Minds or NCIS? Once the criminal gets sloppy and breaks from their normal patterns, BAM! Busted. Don't let that happen to you. Unless, of course, you are my cousin. I don't think she'd mind getting busted by Derek Morgan. Just sayin!
Keep it simple, but keep it steady. (TWSS)

Which one are you?

2012-01-06T10:42:00.000-05:00

The English language is full of fun. I love it, and love how many words that we have to choose from. I am glad, though, that I didn't learn it as a second language. Woa. And punctuation? Yes, it matters. Consider these examples. Same arrangement of words, but the COMMA makes allllll the difference. Especially to a certain someone:

Let's eat Gramma!
or
Let's eat, Gramma!

See?

But that isn't why i am writing today. Here's why, actually. There are two words that are often used in ways that the person speaking doesn't intend (okok, YES, there are THOUSANDS, but...) to use them.
Sympathy and Empathy. More precisely, sympathetic and empathetic. Which one are you? I recently heard another nurse use empathetic correctly when talking to a patient, and I congratulated him, saying that the misuse of the word is one of my pet-peeves. He had this to say:

"When I was younger, and i'll never forget this, my uncle explained it to me this way: 'Imagine you are in a canoe with another person. Suddenly they fall into the water and begin so sink, as they can't swim. If you jump into the water to help them, knowing that you can't swim either, you are being Empathetic. If you sit in the canoe and toss them something that floats, you are being Sympathetic.'"

So I ask us, which one are you? When your friends come to you with a problem, either IRL or online, which one are you? Do you dive in with them and actually DO the extra workouts, eat better, and continue to offer support, or do you just sit back and tell them that they should be working out harder, and eating better?

This year, I will endeavor to be more empathetic.

Join me?

Elephant baths and monkey poo.

2012-01-03T20:23:00.000-05:00

My stepson loves animals. And he loves to travel. Well, he loves the IDEA of travel, as he really hasn't traveled much. But anyway, he has the opportunity to travel to Thailand this spring to help take care of elephants, monkeys, and other 'exotics' that we don't have here in New England. He's on a track at the University of Vermont to study animals in their habitats and such. He needs to raise some money for this, as neither his mom nor I are uber wealthy. I offered to let him plead his case here on my blog, as we all know that I have about seven ~~hundred~~ readers. He isn't looking for much. Just 5 bucks. So make your own coffee and skip that Starbucks treat for a day. Ok. Maybe just one of your cups.
Interestingly, he wrote it as if I wrote it.......here is the unedited version. Thank you.
Without further ado, here's Mike. My Paypal button is located over there on the right.-------> Thank you.

Guess who is going to Thailand?!

My step son Michael is headed off to Thailand (or hopefully) on May 24th, 2012. The
problem arises because he is a poor college student. haha :P. The Trip would involve
him going to Thailand to work with monkeys and Elephants. He would be conserving
their environment to ultimately help their well-being. He would be doing everything
from feeding them, cleaning their environments, protecting them, to bathing them and
cleaning up after them (if you know what i mean).
The next part of the trip that he is have opted for is after the two weeks of conservation,
he will be traveling different parts of Thailand doing what is called adventure time! Which
is essentially a ton of different events including rock climbing, snorkeling, and white river
kayaking for another two weeks.
The program is all together 4 weeks long. It is through "ISV" International Student
Volunteers. Their website for more on what he will be doing is posted here: http://
www.isvolunteers.org/
He had to apply to this program and was lucky enough to be accepted to go. Now He is
scavenging the money he can get to be able to go. He is doing everything from sending
letters to corporations to saving every dime that he can on a daily basis.
He has never been out of the country except for Canada, so this is going to be huge for
him if he is able to go!
He has to raise close to $5,200 to be able to go on this trip (this is including the airfare
he has to pay for outside of the program cost/ and a little more for spending money (like
$100))
To be able to pay for just the program fees it is about $3,695.
What he is asking of you is to spare $5 dollars or more to contribute to his funds to help
animals in Thailand, and to allow him to experience something more than he has ever
been privileged enough to experience before.
This can be given to him by clicking the Paypal button on the right side of Gene's blog.

Thanks again!!!!!

Yay, JANATHON, and New Year’s Double

2012-01-01T22:28:00.001-05:00

Off to a great start. Janathon, two half marathons. (win!)

A nice blogger lady who I don’t really know very well hosted a New Year’s Double event in Texas. The idea was that you run a race (distances varied) on New Year’s Eve AND New Year’s Day, and you got an awesome medal for each event, and then if you did BOTH days, you got this nifty-neato thing that held them together, kinda like those “best/friend” necklaces that all the cool girls wore back in the 80’s. (Do they still do that, of just get matching tramp stamps? I dunno…) Anyway…I really love the concept, but as we live NOWHERE NEAR Allen, Texas (north and slightly east of Dallas), I decided that I would try to complete my own New Year’s Double. On the treadmill.

Yesterday I didn’t eat much for breakfast (actually, I ate nothing. I had a cup of coffee). After a wonderful conversation with T about working out, nutrition, hydration, and us trying a schedule so that each of us could actually benefit from the treadmill, I set off to run a half marathon. Earlier in the week I did a half marathon for Operation Jack, even thought I had to split it into two runs (see posting below). How hard could it be, right? T had gone shopping and B and I were home alone. We’d been playing video games a bit earlier in the day, and he wanted to play some more by himself. He said to me, “Dad, today I want to beat ModernWarfare3.” I told him to go for it as I got my GenUcan, Nuun, and water ready. I also had some shot bloks and Honey Stingers ready to eat. I set off at a nice, manageable pace that I figured I could maintain for the duration: 6~6.5mph. The plan was that I would have enough in the tank to be able to do it again the next day. I plugged my headphones in to AudioFuel’s two hour long run tracks Run Wild 1&2. I said to B, “I’m going to have headphones on and won’t be able to hear you very well, so jump up and down in front of me if you NEED something, ok?” What I think he heard was, “Now would be a good time for you to try to talk to me about random things that aren’t very important to humans,” because I wasn’t ten seconds into the run when he started blabbing about something. So I stopped to listen. And then started running again. This went on for about 10 minutes until I finally gave up and got off the treadmill. I tried to explain to him what I was doing, and that I really needed to not be bugged for ‘silly’ things.

We compromised, and I used the treadmill’s speakers to hear the music and coaching. It worked out fine, and I only had to take a few potty breaks along the way. I finished up the 13.1 miles by doing the last mile as 2x6.5mph laps + 1 @ 7.5 and then the final lap and a half at 8mph. That made my last mile the fasted mile of the day. “Result”

Quite interestingly, at mile 8.7 the belt stopped (suddenly!) and the timer reset itself to zero. The mileage and calories stayed correct (thankfully!), but the time was off. Same exact thing happened on Sunday’s run, too. Any ideas?

See all those burnt calories? Yea. WELL….I didn’t replace them. After the run I ate a Clif Builder Bar and then some string cheese, and lotsa water. For dinner I ate 2 small-ish lobsters and a small piece of steak. NOT NEARLY enough calories to replace what I spent. I ended yesterday with almost 2400 calories in the bank still to spend. I didn’t. DUMB!

Today I ate some pancakes for breakfast with B, then some American Chop Suey for lunch, about 45 minutes before my run (I’ll bet some of you know where this is going….). I hydrated well, and set out to run at the beginning of the Patriot’s game. Not really a big fan of football, but I was luck to meet Rob Gronkowski early this fall, so I have been trying to watch him play. He’s set some pretty good records this year. Great to have him part of the ArcticEase family, which I also enjoy being a foster kid to. (hahahahaha….)

[Click here to watch an ArcticEase commercial featuring the GRONK. If you pay close attention, you can see ME tossing him the football. Yep. YAY!]

So today’s run wasn’t nearly as ‘easy’ as yesterday’s half. Wow. About 3 miles in my legs felt like cement. My mind just wasn’t into it, and after 8 miles I was mentally ready to check out. The glitch at 8.7miles surprised me, and I ALMOST finished the run after 9. But I was watching the CROSSFIT reruns on ESPN2. Man. Those ladies never quit. Not just in the competition, but in their training and contest prep. You CAN’T QUIT when it gets tough or you get BORED and still expect to attain your goals.

I didn’t quit. I kept on pluggin’ along and finished the 13.1 in 2 hours and 20 minutes. The last few miles were ugly, but I still managed to run the last mile as my fastest mile, redoing the speeds that I did yesterday.

So there it is, my own New Year’s Double and my FIRST run of JANATHON 2012 sorted. Short recovery run planned for tomorrow, then who knows after that? Not I. Now off I go to EAT SOMETHING. Wow….

Technorati Tags: Janathon,New Year's Double,GenUCAN,Nuun,Don't Quit,ArcticEase,GRONK

OperationJack Half Marathon Recap

2011-12-28T20:19:00.001-05:00

The plan was to run my half on the 26th, like everyone else, but family was in from Baltimore, and I wanted to spend some time with them….so I postponed my run until the 27th.

Then my MIL called and invited us over for dinner, to arrive at 6. That meant that I had to squeeze my half in less than 2 hours. I’ve done it before, but not for a while, and only after much more training.

I left work a bit early (shhhh) so that I could be ready to run at 4. MY parents called to say that they were going to be stopping by around 4, which was good, as they’d left some things at our house after Christmas. I got home, got changed, got all my stuff ready (Tracey had already filled my water botlles-THANKS!), and waited for my folks. They came not long after 4, and sadly I was only able to see them for about 4 minutes before they headed south again. Bad weather was predicted, and ice was already falling.

I hopped on the treadmill (I need to name that thing) around 4:20, and began to pound out the miles. I was watching Lord of the Rings (Fellowship of the Rings), but I really couldn’t hear it over the thump thump thump of my heart pounding its way out of my chest….with weather getting worse, and the time needed to travel over the river and through the woods, I stopped after 8 miles. My first 5k fell in 30:26, but I hit 10k at 64 minutes. ouch. it is very hot running on the treadmill, and I was tired, malnourished, poorly rested, etc.

I went to dinner, but not until after scarfing down a clif builder bar. gotta love that quick 20g of protein, especially knowing that dinner was spaghetti…Zach snapped this picture of me, a pre-emptive one, but I wasn’t sure if I’d have the chance to take one tonight. If you look closely, you can see the mon-chi-chi tucked under my right arm. Woah. I need a stylist!

My plan for today was to run my remaining 5.1 miles after I got home, so I tried to plan my eating and drinking accordingly while I was at work. This can be tricky, especially since I get really hungry around 3. I made it through, though, and got ready to run soon after I got home.

Today’s first 5k fell in 28:58, nearly half a minute faster than yesterday. Of course today I knew that I wasn’t gunning for 13.1 miles…..I started to tire a bit after that, and did fartleks to keep my mind occupied. With a big push in the last half mile, I crossed today’s line in 48:41. So? well….earlier today @iRunNewEngland tweeted that he did a 5.19 mile run in 48:47, and I wanted to beat it. I thought I had, until I just realized that his run was .09 miles FURTHER than mine. DAG-NABBIT!!!!!!

My total time for the half was 2:08. My goal for my “A” half is 1:40. Looks like I have some work to do in the next 6 months.

Bring it.

Fight the good fight....

2011-12-09T15:15:00.000-05:00

Although i try very hard to eat healthy food, exercise frequently, and try to maintain a positive outlook, there are days when i just can't seem to come up with the strength to do it. Ever get that way? No? Just me? Hm. Ok, change of subject then..
Today I wanted to go off station (that's what we call leaving the property here at the....at my hospital) and grab some food. Last week my splurge was lunch at the local Chinese Buffet. it was a complete protein fest, and it was very tastey. but i didn't want to plunk down another ten bucks, so i opted for Subway.
Seems reasonable. We eat there quite often, and I usually only get the same thing, so i had my mind all made up even before i closed my office door and headed out.
My usual is a 12" Italian Herb and Cheese Spicy Italian sub with provolone cheese, all ove the veggies except onions and banana peppers, and a squirt of chipotle sauce. on rare occasion I'll have the same thing except it will be cold cut (all turkey based!) combo. I never get chips or drink.
sometimes I will only eat half of the sub, but that is the exception not the rule. I just don't feel full after half. after the full, though, i feel bloaty and have a tough time bending down to tie my shoes. If only they made these in my size, i guess it wouldn't be a problem:

http://www.finishline.com/store/catalog/product.jsp?productId=prod675933

anyway, today when i went to subway, i ordered my usual. when i got back to the office, i ate it all up, like a good little doober. waste not, want not, right?
well....
i have been trying really hard to log all of my food (and if i worked out or ran, i would include those too)(note: no real place for #plankaday, but i AM doing that...)...where was I? oh, right. yea. i log my chow at myfitnesspal.com. i went there to put my sub in, and when i looked it up i saw that it came in right around 1400 calories. WHAT???? yep. i was amazed. i have something like 60 calories left for the day. i could earn more by running, but i don't have that chance tonight, so....yea.
woah.
when i tweeted it, a buncha people chimed in and said that they were surprised by the high calories, and for the love of God, just WHAT did I eat???? so i went to the subway page and looked it up. Here's basically how my lunch broke down:
2x 6" spicy italian with the works = 480
2x 6" italian herb and cheese bread = 500
cheese = 100
sauce = 100
WOW! i was at 1180 calories. a bit off from the one i found on myfitnesspal, but in the grand scheme, not very far off at all! looks like next time i go i will be dropping the bread and the sauce, getting my meal down to around 600 calories, which is acceptable to me. oh, wait. that one isn't listed here. I will likely opt for the grilled chicken and baby spinach salad. dry. Stats? cals=130. sugars=4 (????) fat=2.5, PRO=19 (yea, baby!)
Do you find it difficult to get quality calories when you dine out, either for a quick lunch or an actual meal? And really, if i am just going to get a grilled chicken salad, i may just as well bring one from home. That way i KNOW it will be fresh.
Keep fighting the good fight. It isn't easy, but it WILL be worth it.

thanks for stopping by,
geno

Re-Recap of Philly2011

2011-12-01T15:52:00.002-05:00

I set out from home early the friday before the race. I was to be driving solo, but I had set up my experimental copilot, and was ready to hit the road. I planned to take video every now and then, and at some point in time make one of those fancy schmancy sped up movies of my trip, like the

kids do over there on the ewe tube. I have no idea why sheep are involved, but whatever.

As I headed south by southwest, I came across this sign. I decided right then and there to take a picture of this sign ever time i came across a new one. As I would be travelling in 6 states, it might be a fun little project to occupy my time. This one, however, was the ONLY one that I got. The others are in areas that were waaaay to busy for me to stop in, so i changed my plan to photograph each one of the "welcome to" signs. I have none. Same reason. That, and I kept forgetting........

After a few hours of boredom interspersed with moments of shear terror (both for me and the driver of the semi who i cut off JUST IN TIME not to be smeared along a bridge railing) and moments of WTF? (garmin: "continue on this route for the next 16 miles." so i moved into the passing lane. 30 seconds later, Teri said, "take exit ### in 200 yards. Turn RIGHT NOW!" WHAAAAT? i swear it was 'mayhem' from those insurance commercials......). I took the next exit (300 feet later) and parked on a side street to compose my self, check my shorts, and recalculate. The next 15 miles were spent driving along some two lane roads that wove through some very nice neighbourhoods. I ended up getting back onto the highway somewhere near Princeton. At any rate, I was ahead of schedule, Pandora was playing some fun tunes, and life was good. If not lonely...

Later Friday evening I met up with Colleen (@tryn2bfit), Damian (@running2fitness), and Nicole (@nicolebshapinup) and we headed into town for the expo. Packet pickup was a breeze, mostly due to the fact that it took us 5 times around the block to find a parking spot. We managed, and spent some time looking at logo items and such. I should have made my purchases then, instead of on Saturday, as there were no lines at all at 8:30 friday night. (pro-tip:go to the expo LATE).

I must admit that I got a little....choked up when I got back to the hotel and took my bib out. I've never had one with my name on it, nor have I ever had one that included the word "marathon". Today, I had both.

I was to be helping out at the ArcticEase Kid's Fun Run on Saturday morning, so once back at the hotel I walked to the nearby grocery store, got some food, and tried to get some sleep. I woke up early and cruised back into Philly, only to be redirected because of the Rothman's 8k course. No worries. I just followed my instincts and ended up finding a parking spot about half a mile from the Start/Finish.

I'll put up pictures from the ArtcicEase Kid's Race in a future posting. Suffice to say the kids had a blast, the medals and shirts were top notch, and the parents had to be told more than once (more like 9 times) to back away from the kids and let them participate in the warm up. And the race. Sheesh. Check your helicopters at the door, folks! It is just a fun run. Something that kids do ALL THE TIME, without us asking them to. Relax....

After that was done I wandered around the city a bit, taking in some of the historic (and hysteric) sites that Philadelphia has to offer. Back at the expo, I managed to talk for a few minutes with this gentleman. It was weird, as I know he has no recollection of the event, but I thanked him for autographing and personalizing 2 books for me last December.

Mr. Hal Higdon

To his right I spied another running legend and chatted with him, too. He congratulated me on my first marathon, and said that one of the best things about a first time race is that you are "guaranteed a PR!"

Mr. Bart Yasso

Later that evening, after an hour of getting turned around and frustrated, I joined some of the other members of our ArcticEase group for a mini-tour of their offices. All I can say about it is...wait. There's a knock at the door. (Spy hole reveals some big, burly dude wrapped in black ArcticEase wraps and carrying a shovel. Nevermind. I'm not going to tell you anything.) OKOK, not really. They aren't like that. Let's just say that I was honored to have a tour, and am very happy for Carol and her company. They have done great things, and will soon be exploding onto the world scene. Mark my words.

Back at the hotel I layed out my "flat Gene" (sorry, duh. no pics), and got ready to sleep. I had to be up at 3:45, so i didn't want to waste a nano-second. I got up in time, ate, calmly got dressed, packed my bags, and went down to warm up the car. I was to be bringing Colleen to the start with me, and little did I know it at the time, Nicole and Damian. Anyway, I was warming up the car and resetting my garmin when Colleen called to say she was ready. I got in the car, drove to the portico, picked her up, and headed out into the darkness. About 100 yards after turning onto the main road (S. Trooper Rd.), we heard some thumping. She said, "what was THAT?" I said, "MY GARMIN WAS ON THE ROOF!!!!"

I pulled into a restaurant parking lot and we both got out to go look for it. Then Colleen said, "My garmin is back at the hotel!!!" Things happen for a reason, i guess, and we were unable to find Teri. As Colleen headed cross lots to meet me at the hotel, I walked back to the car, scouring the side of the road for any sign of Teri. Nothing. BUT! There she was, resting on the trunk! WAHOOO~. I yelled to Colleen, she came back, we went to the hotel, she got her garmin, and we were off again.

Quick swing by the airport to get the others, and we headed downtown. I parked in the garage at the Franklin Institute, and although it cost me $20, it was still cheaper than the $36 parking ticket i earned on Saturday. (RATS! I gotta pay that sucker!!!)

The job isn't finished until the paperwork is done.

There were mobs of people everywhere, and it was only about 545 in the morning. Chilly, but not too bad. The "disposable" sweats that I bought were doing just fine. Quick stops along the way to take care of some last minute paperwork, and we were all but ready to run!

Nicole was kind enough to take a picture of the group of us and even tolerated my craziness. Gotta appreciate that in a near stranger, especially at 615 in the morning.....

Colleen, Damian, Me

The race nearly started a bit late, due to some mysterious delay, but "thanks to the hard working city workers", we started on time. It took me nearly 20 minutes to cross the start line. A massive wave of humanity headed down the street and spilled into the city. I would have liked to have seen it from above: a multi-colored river flowing through the streets, bobbing up and down.
After a while I managed to take a few pictures, but nothing really spectacular. Lots of legs and butts, crushed paper cups, and a few signs. I wish I had snapped pictures of the signs, as some were quite creative. See my other report for how i felt during the race. I don't want to rehash it here for ya.....I know time is precious, and you've already squandered away plenty reading this post.
All in all, it was a fun experience! At the end of the race, I felt like the guy in the black shirt, pictured here:

c'mon, dude. seriously. GET YOUR ARMS UP!

I can't wait for the next race, though I don't know if it will be a destination race or not. I would REALLY like to have as many of my family members with me as possible, next time, even though I know it is tough to be a spectator at some of these longer events. But their great, and I couldn't really ask for a better support crew. Love you guys! (+1, me)

Thanks for stopping by.
Gene

NOTE: due to being interrupted several times while writing this (seriously. can't people see i'm working here? oh, wait...i was actually AT work when i did this....anyway...) I managed to leave out 3 other people. John and Josh, a father and son team, and EvaT, a lawyer from NYC, were also part of our group. John is a former Marine, he blogs here, and tweets via @dbltimeitmarine. Eva, as aforementioned, works in NYC. She's run several marathons, and has a dog who loves to chase bunnies when Eva takes the dog for runs. Eva blogs here.
Great people. Josh ran the half marathon, which was his first one ever! Congrats, Josh, and welcome to the 'family'.....

Only 3 different kinds of problems?

2011-11-28T15:01:00.000-05:00

One of the books that I am currently reading is "The Checklist Manifesto" by Atul Gawande. It is non-fiction (the only kind of book i read), and pretty much tries to convince the reader that everything can be broken down into a checklist, and this will make tasks more efficient, safe, etc. etc.

I won't bore you with the details; I am actually not far enough into the book to give it a fair review. I do, however, want to share a few ideas with you that are presented early in the book.

Gawande proposes that there are really only 3 different kinds of problems which we face: simple, complicated, and complex.

Simple problems are those akin to baking a cake from a mix. Simple and few steps, pretty much guaranteed success if you follow the recipe.
Complicated problems can be likened to launching a rocket to the moon. It can be broken down into several simple problems, and once success is achieved, you can pretty much follow the same steps with other rockets and expect success.
Complex problems are ones like raising a child: "Although raising one child may provide experience, it does not guarantee success with the next child". Outcomes remain highly uncertain.

Think about the problems that you face in your life. Can they be grouped into these categories? Can the more difficult ones be broken down into smaller problems?

If your problems are like mine, most of them can be hacked into smaller pieces. I will be looking to find which ones have the highest possibilites of success, and do at least ONE THING every day to move toward resolution.

I invite you to do the same.

"Worst Parade EVER!"

2011-11-25T14:07:00.000-05:00

That was one of my favourite signs seen during my first ever marathon. Last Sunday, me and 10,000 of my closest friends ran the Philadelphia Marathon. One of those people was Colleen, from The Fit Bee. You can read her report here. As she said, a big special THANK YOU shout out to ARCTIC EASE for helping to make this possible. They are a major sponsor of the event, as well as a big supporter of me and my running craziness. Their product played a BIG roll in my training and recovery from the event.
Imma start right off by saying that it was a great, wonderful, emotional experience. Sounds cliche, for sure, but for those of you who have been there, you'll understand. Sadly, my wife and kids weren't able to make the trip with me, but I am glad to have had some friends in attendance. One really cool thing is that I got to run into some family friends who I haven't seen in over 10 years. Talk about a small world!
The beginning of the race flew by; I was able to stay between 9-945 pace, which is what i had planned. My intent was to go for slightly negative splits over the second half, so if i had any chance of doing that, i had to go a little slower in the beginning. Good thing i did, too....
My main concern going into the event were my feet. One pair of sneakers makes my RIGHT foot hurt after 8 ish miles, while the other makes my LEFT foot hurt after only about 6 miles. I chose the former, and taped my left foot just in case. I was fine until near mile 10 when the right foot started to ache right where i thought it would. So far, though, the left was fine. The crouds were amazing; i did my best to pump them up as our little group passed them by. It was pretty cool to hear them come to life after i was raising my arms up in the air NFL style.
Around mile 15, i noticed that every time my left foot swung forward it felt like there was water sloshing around my foot. Strange. So of course i kept running, and around mile 17 (i think?) i finally stopped and took off my sneaker. My sock was soaked with sweat, and then i realized what the sloshing was; the tape had gotten pretty tight after my foot started to swell, and there was fluid trapped around the end of my foot. I quickly took the tape off, rubbed my foot a bit, put my sock and shoe on, and got back into the race.

Ah. sweet relief. for my left, but not right. the right continued to bother me the entire race, and by the end it was nearly impossible to run on. I knew that the funcitionality hadn't been compromised, so i pushed through the pain as much as i could. The real show-slower for me was the cramps in my left quad, specifically my VMO, indicated in this picture:

What was it doing? well, it was doing its own thing, actually. Sometimes, when i planted my foot, it would ball up, other times it wouldn't. Sometimes when i lifted my leg, it would flatten out completely; disappearing under my skin. Odd. So i stopped a few times to stretch it out, but then my hamstrings started to cramp, so i just interjected more walking into my pace. I watched sadly as the 4:30 pace group passed me and then disappeared out of sight. Strange.....I tried to drink some watered down gatorade, but almost puked it up, so i decided NOT to do that anymore and just gut it out. The last 3 miles were horrifically slow for me, but hey! I was moving forward and not passed out under blankets like a few people I saw off to the side.

As i climbed the last hill to the finish chute, people were cheering for us like banshees! It was great to see that many people still out there cheering, so late into the morning. The finish area was pure organized chaos. I've never seen a finish chute so long. the thing HAD to be 3 blocks long. well, maybe. i dunno. i ducked out early and headed to meet my pals.

The Expo was big, and fun, but not quite as big as I had expected. I met up with some other bloggers, albeit briefly, and that was pretty cool. What an intense group of young ladies I met!

Sadly, I can only remember Amanda (third from left). She has a better recap over on her blog. Their conversation started to turn to getting carded, etc., and I was all, "I've been OVER 21 longer than i was UNDER 21, so, yea. Nice to meet you, have a great race!" and I went back to my middle aged pals and probably talked about bunions, AARP memberships, and early-bird specials at Cracker-Barrel.

My (not middle aged) friend Colleen snapped this photo of me after the race. I am very greatful to have been able to participate in the event. As usual, my wife was UBER supportive, tolerand, and encouraging. ArcticEase was accomodating and helpful, too. Colleen, Dan (@cubicledad), and others from twitter and IRL were helpful in keeping me going and keeping my head on straight. I greatly appreciate all that they did and continue to do for me. I've set my sights pretty high for 2012, but hey. That's what we do, right?

2011 Philadelphia Marathon 4:40:56

Oops, I did it again....-Spears-

2011-11-09T10:25:00.000-05:00

Once, on travel to Hawai'i, I had rented a Suzuki Samurai. It seemed like a good, fun idea at the time. Of course, since I'd never driven in one, I wanted to go topless. Every morning, before I drove around to get coffee (this is also prior to my recent days as a runner), I would put the top down and hit the streets. One morning, my then new bride (not Tracey....and yes, she knows....) decided to come along with me. We parked in front of a coffee shop that had an elevated porch, and went in to get our goodies. Upon exiting, I climbed up into the driver's seat, but noticed that she had remained on the porch. At first I thought that she was just admiring me from afar, but when she didn't move in my direction, I said something like, "c'mon, let's get going!" Because, you see, I am ~~very demanding~~ always in a hurry to get to the next adventure. She didn't budge. I put the key in the ignition, but it wouldn't turn. I cursed the rental company, and tried again. I even checked to see that I had actually put the vehicle in PARK. Yep. All set there. Still no action on the porch, and the car wasn't starting, either.

Finally she said, "our Samurai is over THERE..." and indicated a twin vehicle 3 spots down, with the top off. The one I was in had the top UP. I am very much an attention to detail person, but considering that I probably had a large coffee and SEVERAL sweet treats in my sticky paws, I really didn't notice....

I hopped out of the wrong Samurai, got into the right one, and we drove off. That incident has always been a source of a smile for me.....

Then, just last week, something ELSE strange happened to me....(i know, SHOCKER.)

I went to the bank as part of my saturday morning chore ritual. No biggie. I parked, went inside, stood in line for about 2.5 seconds, handed over all kindsa ~~cash from my stripper business~~ checks and stuff (stuff? like what, exactly, do they take at banks that qualifies as 'stuff'? get over it....), then I went back outside.

I opened the car door, and as I sat down, I noticed the peculiar absence of a penny from the floor that has been there for months. Hmm...no penny. WAIT!!! WHAT THE???? NO FLOOR MATS??? WHO THE....HOW THE..? Just WHO STEALS RUBBER MATS??? I quickly looked over at the passenger's floor as my blood pressure begain to sky-rocket. WHAT....??? BOTH MATS ARE GONE?

From the bank parking lot? WHO DOES THIS???? I reached into my pocket to retrieve my

keys, and out of the corner of my eye i noticed blue gloves on the seat next to me.

Oops, I did it again.I had gotten into the WRONG car. I jumped out, looked around, and said, "SORRY!" then walked over to my car, got in (after double checking for mats), and swiftly drove away. Some of you may have seen the tweet that I sent out soon after this happened...Why not share my adventures, right? When I got home, I told Tracey about it, and of course she, in turn, told Bryce. Do you think that little stinker would let me off the hook? Not for a second. Later that day, he said, "Better check the license plate before we get in that car, Dad...."

Touche little man, touche...

PG13

2011-11-02T15:25:00.001-04:00

I found this on a facebook page. It is from the "Strong is the New Skinny" site. I printed it out and have it taped to the wall next to my desk. Please forgive the coarse language, but I believe that it helps make the point.
Over the course of the next two weeks I have to really focus on getting through the Philadelphia Marathon. It will be my first marathon, but not my last. I have not given as much time to training for this event as it deserves; it was easier to eat the pizza than to run on the treadmill.
Not any more. I have goals. I will achieve them. Pizza will no longer stand in my way. Either will chocolate chip cookies, brownies, or french fries (unless they are baked, then all bets are off.....).

After Philly, I will be gunning toward new goals which will be determined between now and then, and then ruminated on for most of 26.2 miles. Look out, 2012. I'm coming for YOU.

Dad of the Year I am not…

2011-10-30T22:32:00.001-04:00

We love us some Halloween up in here. Each year we have been the only house in the cul-de-sac to decorate. Until this year. One of our neighbors also made a graveyard in their front yard, which was really cool to see. We do up the deck, yard, and street-side windows. Inside, we hang ghosts from the ceiling, have craft-y pumpkins around the house, and a themed table cloth.

Somehow, though, we always seem to be behind the curve on pumpkins that we carve. This year we did them on Thursday. Bryce got into it, for about 2 handfuls, then was ‘done’. His face looks like we just played a game of ‘got yer nose!’

Mom did hers a bit less detailed than in years past, as she was feeling a bit under the weather Thursday evening. Z convinced Mom to do his, too, and B convinced me to do his. Truth be told, it was probably safer that way anyway….Mike is in college, so we are short one this year, but in case you can’t come see, here is our ‘offering’ for 2011:

So about the award? Yes, well….

Our town has a Egg Haunt and Costume parade at one of the downtown parks. This year was the 10th anniversary, and it is sponsored by the Parks and Recreation Department. I am on the Commission, so I thought that it would be important for me to make a showing. Oh, right, and I thought that B would have a good time. Primarily that. Really. So anyway…I knew that T would be out of town with M, and that Z would be,….well, I really had NO idea what he would be up to, but that is for another day. I did figure that he wouldn’t want to go, so it would be a great chance for B and I to spend some fun time together. When I told him about it on Friday, he was psyched!

Tonight we started to get ready at 530, in anticipation of the 6 pm start. I found some old plastic eye mask, and helped B get into his costume. We were in great spirits, and he posed for this photo before we left the house:

Darling, isn’t he? He’s never seen an Iron Man movie, but that was THE only thing he wanted to be for Halloween…So after some last minute adjustments (boots, mittens, hat), we piled into the car and headed off. There is something HYSTERICAL to me about having a mini-IronMan in the booster seat….no?

He looks like he’s ready to blast off somewhere!

So we get downstreet, and the park is EMPTY. It isn’t a big park, maybe half the size of a soccer field, so it isn’t like we can’t SEE the people. I whipped out my {droid} and pulled up the web site. WHAT THE……SATURDAY? THE PARADE WAS SATURDAY???? ARE YOU FLIPPING KIDDING ME???

how the heck was I gonna ‘splain this one? So I turned to B and said, “Dad goofed. The event was yesterday.” Dejectedly, the little Hero hung his head. He said, “that’s ok. we’ll do it next year.” I swear I almost cried. Instead, I thought quickly and said, expecting the answer ‘no’, “You want to have our OWN parade? Just you and me, walking up and down the street?”

“SURE!”, he yelled, and was opening the door before I could turn around. We met on the sidewalk, looked both ways, then crossed the street. We skipped up the street, hand in hand, laughing at each other’s lunacy. I said things like, “hey, that’s a great costume!” and “I hope you have a great time!” and he laughed along with me. Once at the end of the street, which serves as a parking lot for the courthouse and train museum, we went over to one of the static displays for more photos:

Good thing he came along, as a runaway train was about to crash into downtown, killing hundreds of innocent men, women, and children (and likely some guilty ones, too!)

One can never be too sure, and it is great to have a good guy on your side when the going gets tough!

Then, because Iron Man is such an iconic American Hero (I think. I honestly have NO idea of his story….), we took this opportunity…

Suddenly, the wind started to pick up and blow VERY HARD. Debris was flying all around town. Small cars were being tossed about like toys! A tree was just about to fall onto a small crowd of children who had gathered seeking an autograph! WHAT COULD WE DO?????

Problem solved!

Have a great and safe Halloween!!!

-gene-

Technorati Tags: Halloween,Iron Man,Not IronMan,Dad of the Year,my Hero

"I'm Just Lumpy"

2011-10-17T10:53:00.000-04:00

Today's post comes to me via email from a running co-worker in Montana. She's been a distance runner for much of her life, and is now works as an RN at a VA in Montana. We met at the coaching course that I took last spring. Here she shares a story that ties in with Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
Ladies and gentlemen, please give a nice, warm "Accountability" welcome to Tova! Take it away, Tova...

I’M JUST LUMPY

I would like to start out with a disclaimer before I dive into my story. Please be advised this is my own story I am sharing when I underwent “further evaluation” for a breast lump. While it will be seemingly entertaining for you to read, please understand breast cancer affects several women and men and it is something I don’t mess with. It is the most common cancer for women and is the second leading cause of cancer death for us too…over 40,000 women die yearly from it.

MID-LIFE CRISIS:

I had just turned the ripe old age of 30 and found myself rapidly falling apart. You could say maybe I was going through a midlife crisis because my young adult life was over. On the day of my birth, 30 years weighed heavily on my shoulders. I had just started running again, wasn’t eating well, and at the time was stressed over the fact that my life flashing before my eyes. I came down with a cold. Looking the polar opposite of “the picture of health” I sat in my doctors office. The nurse called me back and weighed me. Awesome. Let the humiliation begin. She escorts me to a room, takes my vitals, asks me why I’m there. Then leaves me to feel and look like death warmed over.

SURPRISE ATTACK:

I had thought I had an understanding with my doctor. I don’t get in his way. He doesn’t get in mine. I tell him what is going on. “I have a cold. Maybe cough too. I’ve had it for a few weeks-maybe six. I’m training for a marathon and I can’t run ‘cause I’m having a hard time breathing. What do you think about a Z-Pack and a rescue inhaler?” His reply: “Huh. Well let’s take a listen to you.” At this point I whine to him about not needing to…blah blah blah…and like a good doctor he tells me I have no choice and to get up on the table. While he’s listening to my lungs he says, “When was your last breast exam? Do you do self exams?” Hmmm. Not sure where he was going with this…I replied, “I’ve calved out four kids. My last breast exam was the last time I had a baby. A few years ago. I’ve felt some lumps but I think their just fibrous.” He removes his stethoscope from his ears, pauses for effect, then hands me a gown to put on and leaves the room. Oh no…

“I’M JUST LUMPY”:

After the mortifying experience of a breast exam filled with blushing, holding my breath, and gritting my teeth while I answered more of his questions, he suggests I have a mammogram. Oh. And he’ll give me the z-pack but I’m banned from running for 10 days to give my lungs a rest. “A what?!?!? I’m 30 years old! I’m just lumpy! And I can’t run?! Who are you?! The Grim Reaper?” Chuckling at my obvious dismay, he tells me there are two areas that don’t “feel normal.” While it could be nothing it could also be something. And he needed to know for sure. And he told me I needed to know.

THE SKIN SCRAPER:

With a sickly feeling in my stomach I arrived at the hospital for my mammogram. What was going to happen? I may have had four kids but I have “little going on up top” if you catch my drift. How were the jaws of life going to produce any discernable images of cancer when I had little to offer to the machine? After much manipulation and stellar range of motion on my part, I felt as though any excess skin starting at my wrists was scraped up toward my breasts. Excess skin under my chin was scraped down. Concerned my nose would be included in the image because I didn’t realize EXACTLY what was considered breast tissue at this point, I relayed my concerns to the tech and nurse. They were wonderful, got my humor, and assured me only my ears would be included in the films and not my nose.

WAKE-UP CALL:

I ended up having a normal mammogram. During the whole experience I began to reflect on what I had done and what I still needed to do…as a mom, as a daughter, as a sister, as a wife, and as a nurse. Scares like a lump, a bump, a bleed, or an abnormal lab value really put life in perspective for us. This is good-the silver lining. The normal mammogram for me was a get out of jail for free card. The event wasn’t to be ignored-I considered it a wake-up call.

Thank you for allowing me to share your story, Tova! And now, back to my regularly scheduled mindlessness.
Be Well,
Gene

GET OUTSIDE! (please)

2011-10-14T14:59:00.000-04:00

See that picture over there? Yea. I need to attend a workshop on taking self portraits with my {droid}. I stink at it....and no, i don't have gas (at least not in this picture).

I took myself out for another trail run on wednesday while my wife and youngest son were gone to watch our middle son and his Freshman football team whoop a$$ on a team that beat them earlier in the season. I missed the game, but was very happy to hear the results and the highlights as acted out by Bryce in the living room. Good times!

Wednesday was streakday #11 for me. A new record. Such a great feeling to get a run in every day. Pretty much my only criteria was that the run needed to be a minimum of 2 miles. Some days were exactly that, but mostly because of time constraints, and not energy or fitness levels. I do, though, need to get more GenUCan. Could always use more of that, so if you are looking for stocking stuffers, etc....hint hint........I like Lemonade, Chocolate (who wouldn't?), and the blueberry...

Anyway, I ran on a trail system in Lebanon, NH. Pretty darned hilly (1328ft elevation gain over the 10k loop), but I really like it out there. It is one of the first systems that I ran on when I started back on this running thing. The 'out' loop runs along the ridgeline, and the original plan was to run the same trails on the way back, but due to some concerns about the darkness on the trail (no light with me!), I chose the 'lower' trail that stayed just downhill from the ridgeline. I'd never been on that particular trail, and found that i really liked it! At one point I ran pretty much straight into a bog (luckily, I didn't fall and die, because that sort of thing actually happens....here). As I tried to scramble out along a rock, it turned out to be a FAKE ROCK (piles of leaves), and my feet got muddy anyway. Normally I wouldn't care a bit, but I had to go get some items at the grocery store on the way home.....as it was, my lower legs were splattered with trail mud and sticks, so that was cool. oh, and I had TWO hitchhikers. yep, TICKS. thankfully I felt them before they started digging into my flesh.

Here's the trail, about 1.5 miles from the car, on my way back. I must say that I really enjoy running in areas like this, and wish that I could make a living at it, because I would love that. Just sayin'....if someone wants to pay me to just run around the woods every day, testing things, writing about them, etc...well, pop a note in the comment section! HAHAHAHA...yea, well, i know that isn't going to happen, so i'll stick with my day job! In the mean time I'll keep going back out into the woods as often as I can, huffing and puffing like a mad man, trying to outpace myself.

I've thought of some pretty cool things for 2012 on my recent runs, but need to run them by my training/events manager (Love you +1) before I go public with them. You know how it is....

I leave you with a thought:

Do what you like to do, as often as you can do it, because there WILL come a day when you can't. For me, that day will suck, so I am going to try to do the little things more often. (Heads up.....)

Be Well,

Gene

My Longest Run...so far!

2011-10-11T13:41:00.000-04:00

See what I did there?

Yesterday I ran the greatest distance that I have ever run. I had planned to run 18 miles. Up until I left the house, I wasn't quite sure where I would run. I had two options in mind: 1) run the CHaD Half Marathon course, then do one of the loops twice to make up the extra miles, or 2) run along a rail trail that I have heard about in a nearby town. Not being very fond of running in traffic or on boring roads, I opted for the unknown; the rail trail.

I knew that started near a community style gym in Lebanon, NH, so i drove over there around 9. I found a little trail out back, so after getting my shoes on, making sure that my hydration packs were all set, and starting my Garmin....((*#&*$^(#$(*& GARMIN!!! WTF???? seriously???? WHY WHY????? you were on the charger ALL STINKING NIGHT and when i double checked, you said "Battery Charging Complete" on your cute screen!!!! WHAT DID YOU DO IN MY GYM BAG THAT DEPLETED YOUR BATTERY?????

oh. wait. press POWER, MODE, and ENTER button all at the same time....right. i recall having done that before...now if i can just contort my fingers....oh. duh. take the flippin thing OFF first....ok, ok, ok. no stress. just an 18 miler looming......

ok. Thank you, Teri (GARmin) for joining us today.....BEEP!

So off i trotted....for about 1/4 miles, then....heap big pile of debris blocking my way. I peered around the pile....no more trail. WHAT? ugh....so i back tracked and went into the gym to ask about the trail. Oh! the OTHER side of the parking lot. yes, by that BIG SIGN announcing the rail trail....duh....

So off i (finally) went. I had set Teri to beep at me at 4.5 miles, at which point I would turn around, go back to the car, restock my water, drink some GENUCAN, and run back and do it again for a total of 18 miles. Seems simple enough.

The trail is hard-packed gravel. Mostly. There are some places that are a bit wet and therefore muddy, but that was ok with me. The morning was still chilly and foggy in parts. This made for some interesting scenery along the trail, and helped to keep my mind occupied. I tried very hard not to look at Teri until the turn around BEEP. I was happy to learn that I covered that first 4.5 with relative ease!

Beautiful morning for a run!

One thing that I did notice was that it was a bit of a challenge for me to keep an even pace that was where it should be. I am not used to running long distances, and I know that I should keep the longer distances at a slower pace than usual. I decided that a 10:00 mile would be 'good', and bounced around that for most of the trip.

give me pain in my right foot! :(

When I got back to the car I noticed that Teri hadn't beeped for the second leg, which was a bit confusing...but I drank my drinks, took some gels, and swapped my shoes. I had been running in my Asics Gel Speedstar5's, and as ususal, right around mile 8 i started to get a pain in the ball of my right foot. I switched to my trusty Adidas something or others, and off I went.

About half a mile from the car, Teri beeped. Confused, I plodded on. The day was warming up, but I decided to keep my clothing the way it was. Long sleeve tech tee topped with an ArcticEase sleeveless tech tee. The same one I am wearing in this photo. Yea, that's me, chatting it up with Gronkowski. Hohum...ahahaha...

Where was I? Oh! running along the trail. Yea, my mind was all over the place during the run. I was listening to Marathon Talk, specifically the episode with Bart Yasso. It was very entertaining and informative. I got back to the place where Teri first beeped, and of course, no beep. So i went a little farther (further?) along and came to a really nice spot along Mascoma Lake. This reminded me of one of the best reasons to live in New England. (I keep wanting to say "live in Vermont", but the picture was taken in New Hampshire, so....anyway, I decided to keep going and see how I did. I tweeted something like "longest run ever! at 14 miles and the car is at least 5 miles back!" and kept going. I sent Tracey some messages letting her know that I was indeed still alive. Off I went.

The next few miles just rolled along, and before I knew it, I was at 16 miles. Only two miles left to reach my goal!!!! THIS WAS SOOOOO EXCITING....but wait, there's MORE!!! yep. Car was now at least SEVEN miles away....silly, silly math. (This, my readers, is why you need to pay attention in Algebra class!) So I turned around at the 16 mile mark and headed back. Nothing really special happened on the way to the car, except that I ran out of drinks at around mile 21. I musta been a bit delusional, because I kept thinking things like, well, looks like this will be right around 23 miles. why not just keep going until 26.2, just to say that I did it? Luckily I have a lot of common sense, so i stopped when i got to the car. Distance? 23.35 miles in 4:03. The last mile and a half were TOUGH. I'd run 100meters, walk 25 or so, repeat. The heat was getting to me, and my hips were aching.

But I DID IT~! I did my 18 miles, and then some. And i lived. And i felt alive! What a great feeling. Of course, as the day wore on, my legs got a bit stiff, but I wrapped with ArcticEase, took a 30 minute nap with my legs up, and then moved around and stretched all evening until i fell asleep.

And I slept through the night.....

Today, my legs feel great! A little knee soreness, but otherwise they feel great! 2 mile shakout planned for after work, then back into some medium distance tomorrow morning!!

Anyone figure out why Teri didn't beep when I thought she would?

Thanks!

Be Well,

Gene

We don't need no stinking shots~!

2011-09-28T13:58:00.000-04:00

Yes, FLU season is right around the corner.
Yes, I think that you should get a shot, ESPECIALLY if you are older (than me), a small child (could you read this if you were?) take care of small children (yes, Home Day Care Provider, I am looking at YOU....), take care of older people, work in health care, care about health, etc. etc. etc.
In short, get your Flu shot.

But that's not the immunization I am looking for.

The one I am talking about, at least for me, doesn't exist. Which can be good, and bad... Have you ever gone to a museum, for example (that's those buildings where they keep old stuff for us to look at. Just think, some day (next month?) the iPhone5 will be in one...) and gone home wanting to look up all kinds of things, just to learn MORE about them? Anyone, Anyone? Beuller? Ok, maybe just me. But what about that time you took your wife, her grandfather, and the two youngers to see monster trucks? Didn't you want to run home, sell all of your running/climbing gear, buy a piece of crap truck and fix it up so that it could stomp all over the new school buses parked in a field not too far from your house???? Anyone? No???? WHO ARE YOU PEOPLE????

Fine. Let's keep it more realistic. (and by realistic i mean far-fetched)

In 2010 I went to Boston to watch the Boston Marathon. While there, I was overwhelmed by the support, the engergy, and the determination of the people running as well as the people watching. So in 2011 I went back, this time dragging my wife and youngest son with me. Well, I brought them to the Expo. Once again, I was bit by the energy, etc. The next day I went back down for the race, and then hung out with some people after the race. During that time, I managed to talk myself into running MY first marathon in Philadelphia this coming November with some other people who i hadn't even met. Seems reasonable, right?

I had caught the fever.

This past weekend I was fortunate enough to crew for Sarah Stanley as she ran in the Vermont50, a very tough 50 mile trail Ultra. I like to think that I am in pretty decent shape. HA! I was ever so humbled by the people who ran this race. Just milling around the Expo on Saturday was enough to make me want to ~~curl up in the fetal position, suck my thumb, and rock back and forth~~ take a serious look at my training schedule. So I steeled myself for Sunday, knowing that I was going to see these people in action, and that I would likely get bitten again. I must have some sort of crystal ball or something.

I caught the fever again.

What was the clincher? I gotta say, it was the running of that last 3 miles with Sarah. I was running in the woods, I was running up hills, over mud, through mud. Trees all around, except when it was fields. Bugs, bees, flowers, trees. I won't go into details of the course; I'll let her tell you all that stuff. Heck, I saw less than 10% of it. I WILL share, though, that if you run with someone who has just done 47miles, don't be surprised if they start talking about elephants, monkeys, deer shaped ferns, and waterfalls.

In conclusion, get your FLU shot. As for the other 'disease'...too late for me! I am fully ready to begin the journey to early evening hallucinations!

I have a fever....

What have you gone to see that has infected you?

Procrastinate Later....

2011-09-19T11:15:00.000-04:00

I am SO FAR BEHIND in my training for my debut in the Philadelphia Marathon. Does this surprise me? No. Am I paniking? No. Although i typically like to be a planner and list checker-offer, preparing for races has always taken a back seat. Time to step it up, though~!

Yesterday I went out for a long run. According to most of my #runnerd pals, the long run is meant to be done at around 2 minutes per mile slower than your regular pace. This put me right around 10:30 per mile, which I tried really hard to maintain. When I look at my garmin stats, the first loop (5 miles) averaged out to be 10:16 (moving pace). so...BAM! pretty good. I think that the things that saved me from going too fast were the walk breaks that I took (with increasing frequency toward the end), and the hills. Yep. This long run included some hills. Why? I live in Vermont. Kinda tough to map out that kind of distance without hills in there somewhere.

Oh, and since I really don't like the monotany of roads, I included some trails, too. One of which includes a nice, long (you guessed it) hill. On the map below, I started and finished at the red dot-thing. I parked in Bryce's school's parking lot, and the plan was to do 3 5-ish mile loops. This was to be the lower loop on the map. Course starts out running north along a road then turns east (right....) under the highway, then south (right again) into the parking lot of the Montshire Museum. I continued south along the trail that i love so much, the Hazen Trail. Because I am such a good sport and know that Adam can't get enough of it, I snapped a picture of my Uranus and sent it along to him.
Back on the road, I ran back to the car to grab some water, text Tracey that I was still alive, and update her on my change of plans. Why the change in plans? Well...lemme tell you. I was running in my...ummm....Asics something-or-other road shoes. I will say that they, for the most part, feel great on the road. Just enough cushion, light weight, etc. BUT....they are SO not meant for the trails around here. Perhaps on a rails-to-trails place, or a paved path along the river masquerading as a trail, but not in a trail that is narrow, rooty, rocky, and sometimes muddy. I felt every rock, pebble, stick, and twig. My oringinal plan called to do the loop 3 times. FRAGO! (FRAGmentation Order, meaning a sudden change in plans. The Army is famous for them....) I decided to go north this time, and loop around Norwich village, staying mostly on part of the course for the CHaD Half Marathon, my first ever half.
As I came back into town (near the 5, where I turned East (left), i developed a sharp pain on the ball of my right foot, between the Roast Beef piggie and the hungry piggie. I stopped for a bit to massage it out, but the pain never really went away completely. Hurray....anyone have any suggestions?
The run from there back to the car is pretty lonely. Not many houses, not a lot of traffic. Ho hum...left, right, left, right...an on back to the car. For the last two miles I daydreamed of these chicken fingers dipped in bbq sauce. When i got home, i put some in the oven while i showered and wrapped my aching calves in ArcticEase. The run was great; i am very greatful to Tracey for allowing me the time for the run. She rocks.
Lessons learned? I need to NOT eat sweet sausages with onions and peppers the day before. Not because it was nasty, but it just didn't give me any energy. Carrying my water bottle without my holders is not fun. I need a longer playlist on my mp3. Trails need trail shoes. It is ok to open up the pace every now and again, just to keep things from getting dull. (it is also ok to close it up a bit to balance it out....) Most important thing learned? GET OUT THERE AND RUN!!!
Here, then, is the map. Link to the deets here.

Never mind the hairy arm.....

2011-09-16T07:51:00.000-04:00

ANOTHER REVIEW??? yes. get over it.

I am pretty sure that we have all heard of or even have a wrist or shoe tag identification thing-y. I don't want to use the other company's name, but if you look over there on the right......OK! that's long enough. I believe in CHOICES, not monopolies (i don't even like the game!). But until lately, there was no choice for a safety band. I was either (those other guys) or Sharpie. As you can see by my forearm, a Sharpie really isn't a great idea for me.....

Then on twitter one day (go figure, i was on twitter!), a NEW COMPANY announced that they have a new product coming out that will be BETTER than the....other guys. Stop looking over there! So i jumped at the chance to enter a contest to win one to try out.

Annnnnd I won. Don't get me wrong, I am happy abou this. Still waiting to win that college loan repayment contest, though.....but i digress....often.

SO....I must admit that it is much smaller than I expected (TWSS). I wasn't sure if I would put it on my Garmin or my watch, but rationalized that since my watch goes just about everywhere (sorry, Tracey) with me, I should put it there. So I did. Took me some time to figure out which way it should face, but I eventually worked it out.

The inscription contains my name, town, two contact numbers, and still had 2 lines left over for something else. I added #nomorebs and #noexcuses. In retrospect, I might have added DNR/DNI (just kidding, T!), but I don't think it would have carried any legal weight anyway.

Because I have this attached to my watchband, I was able to eliminate the 'other' band from my arm. When I first got that one, I would often forget to put it on while running, etc. So i just started to wear it all the time. I went from forgetting to put it on to forgetting to take it off. It scratches other people. Not good for morale, if you know what i mean.

1BandID, however, fits stealthily on my watch band. It washes easily, and hasn't rubbed me (or anyone else) the wrong way.

If you are looking for an alternative to those other guys (who are great, by the way. I like both of them equally, for different reasons!!!!), then 1BandID is worth looking into. Check them out on Twitter or FB. Check back to their website often, as at the time I am writing, it is not quite ready for prime time! Go with 1BandID!!

**this just in! communication with 1BandID last evening suggests that their site will be operational TODAY! Check them out......!!**

1bandID

Long overdue SPIbelt review.

2011-09-14T11:27:00.000-04:00

Hey, I'm a poet, and didn't even know it! (but my feet do show it;, they're Longfellows.....ahahahaha)
Not really. 8.5 or 9, depending on the brand...

A bit of back story, if i may. Ya'll remember that I coached a running class this summer, right? During our 4th class, we decided NOT to run around the football field, as the grass was soaked from rain earlier in the day. We stashed our keys/waterbottles in the usual place (end of bleachers), and took off to run around on pavement. We got done with the class and went to collect our keys. But they were GONE. While we were out improving our health, someone was playing a joke on us. The cars were still there, and a quick check revealed that the contents hadn't been disturbed. We contacted the town's police who eventually sent an officer. I jumped (climbed) the fence to the pool to look for keys at the bottom (half hoping to be able to take a dip!), and even climbed onto the locker room roof. No keys. We searched the football field. No keys. After about 45 minutes we found the keys under the stairs on the opposite side of the bleachers. If i hadn't been impacted, (by the joke, not as in bowels...) I would have thought it very clever.

Later that evening I wrote an email to the great folks at SPIbelt, asking if they could do anything to help. They offered me a choice of belt to trial, and then a nice discount for my students. I was psyched! Not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, I requested the water resistant energy belt. The narrative said that it was a good choice for those who are in the rain a lot, or for those who SWEAT a lot (raises hand...). I was very happy when it arrived in the mail, much sooner than i expected. I brought it to my next class, and put EVERYONE's keys in it. Then we ran. I must say that after some minor adjustments, I forgot it was there!
Honestly. 5 sets of keys. No bouncing. No rubbing. Just....comfort.

SPIbelt Energy Belt, Product Code: 7BL-A001-001-ENERGY

On my solo runs, I'd put some GU packs on the belt, keys and {DROID} Incredible in the pouch, and off I'd go. No worries! I did get caught in some rainy weather, and everything stayed dry! And sweat? yep, I sweat. Inside contents remained dry.
Then there was the time I got caught in the IRENE mess. I brought my SPIbelt with me. While we were working on our camp's road DURING the storm, I was drenched from head to toe. If I had been wrapped in the material used for the SPIbelt, I would have been bone-dry, much like the keys and phone in my pouch.
I was pleasantly AMAZED by this.
AAAANNNNDD another thing. SPIbelt is MADE IN THE USA. That's right. ANOTHER great product (the other is ArcticEase, see review earlier this week!) that I enjoy that is made RIGHT HERE!
So take a few minutes; follow them on twitter (@SPIbelt), check out their website. And not just the products. Get to know the Company, the owner/inventor. Sure, there are good products out there, but if the company isn't personable or the owner/marketing people are stupid, I just won't use their stuff. THIS company, SPIbelt, and the owner/inventor, Kim Overton, are the real-deal.

Ok class, time to pay attention.....

2011-09-13T15:02:00.000-04:00

"Learn from the mistakes of others. You can't live long enough to make them all yourself." -Eleanor Roosevelt-
Here, then, is my mistake gift to you:
Daily, I take medication. The why isn't important. (no, not hormone pills for my upcoming gender change....) (wait! i'm not having a gender change. i'm not even due for an OIL change in my car...)
Anyway, I should have said that I am prescribed to take medication daily. To say that I actually take it every day is a bit of a stretch, but i would say that i miss maybe 4 doses a month. I am mostly ok with that, because a year or so ago i would be lucky to TAKE 4 doses in a week. But things changed a few weeks ago.
Remember when Irene hit, and I was stuck out of town for 2 days? That's when i started to forget. I missed a total of TWELVE doses. The medication warns NOT to stop taking it suddenly, and NOT to do so unless under the close supervision of a Doc. (MD, not PhD.) In reality, when people are taken off of this med, they are tapered down to nothing. Huh? Let's say that the dose is 20mg per day. You might taper down to 10mg per day, then every other day, then every 3rd day, etc., but you SHOULDN'T go from 20mg per day to NOTHING. Why did I do it, then?
Because I am forgetful. I have discovered that keeping the pill bottle on my headboard, next to where i put my coffee in the morning, has helped me to remember to take it. Apparently I knocked the bottle off of its place, and therefore didn't see it. No visual cue, no med. Dumb.
Then last week (remember the tweets about PVC's?) i started to experience Premature Ventricular Contractions. In a nutshell, your heart is supposed to beat like this: lub-dub, lub-dub, lub-dub. MINE was going lub-lub-dub, lub......lub-dub, lublubdub, etc. Not constantly, but probably twice every five minutes. Very annoying, very scary. Very fun, actually, to watch on an EKG while you are having them. Totally cool.....See?

http://www.colorado.edu/intphys/Class/IPHY3430-200/image/figure9i.jpg

It wasn't until i received an email warning about a high dose complication for the same med I take. The warning stated that people should NOT be given more than 30mg per day, "as higher doses have lead to abnormal changes in the electrical activity of the heart". Hmmm....my inquisitive mind started to wonder that if high doses caused this, might not suddenly LOW or non-existant doses cause the same? Well, the literature from the drug companies doesn't say that, but I can personally attest to the fact that it does. Common listed withdrawl symptoms include: "dysphoric mood, irritability, agitation, dizziness, sensory disturbances, anxiety, confusion, headache, lethargy, emotional lability, insomnia, and hypomania". Good times!
So I found the bottle and started taking it again. After 4 days, the PVC's have all but stopped. As for the other things, well, i THINK that they are better.
Why did I tell you this? Because I don't want you to make the same mistake that I did. Yes, after i came back from being stranded I should have started taking the med again. I would have only missed 1 day, and not experienced any withdrawl effects. But i completely blew it off. dumb, dumb, dumb.
I promise that my next post will be more FUN!
Be Well,
Gene

Arctic Ease new REVIEW!!!!!

2011-09-12T09:13:00.000-04:00

To those of you who follow me on twitter or even here on my blog, it should be no secret that I am a HUGE fan of a revolutionary product called ArcticEase. Their tag line, "Bag the ice...ease the pain" is very descriptive. We've all been there-done-that with bags of frozen peas, corn (though not frozen corn on the cob...just sayin'), crushed ice, or, heaven forbid. a frozen BAG of water. Yep. Essentially a cold brick that you have to try to figure out how to balance on your body while doing difficult tasks such as lie on a couch or the floor. Oh, and let's not forget the towels. OH!, the towels. Water, water everywhere.
Every tried to SLEEP with an ice pack? I have. It usually ends up either on the floor or waaaaaaaaaaay down in the bottom of the sheets. In either case, it is nowhere near the affected body part, and turns into a big waste of time.
"But Gene, what about those wonderful creams? Don't they work, too?" I suppose they do. If you like to be all gooey, stinky, and sticky. Perhaps you'll get it all over the inside of your jammies. BE CAREFUL getting in and out of them, though. YOWZA!
Enter ArcticEase. It is a wonderful, re-usable, eco-friendly, EFFECTIVE, and (and this is very important to me...) MADE IN THE USA. Wraps can be applied all over the body, but I find that I use them more often on joints than anywhere else. My knees aren't what they used to be (yes, they are still KNEES, but i guess they don't have the same resilience that they used to...) Recently I was sent a new version of thier wrap to try out. I was very excited to hear the news, and anxiously checked the mailbox every day. Neighbors must have thought I was waiting for ~~the SI Swimsuit Edition~~ a letter from Santa or something....
After my little run this morning (hill sprints), I couldn't WAIT to Arctify (a term one of us conjured up after trying these out) my right knee. As I was running short on time, I decided to wait until I got to my office to wrap up. Since there is no need to refridgerate the wraps, I had no worries about it still being effective. Once in the comfort and privacy of my office, I wrapped my knee in the classic "figure 8" style recommended in the product's literature.

CHECK IT OUT!!!! BLUE!!!!!

Wrapping like this gives the knee the flexibility it needs to perform normally. Here it is as seen from the back of my knee:

I have it on under my pants, and no one can tell! I can walk normally, even run up the stairs! I don't smell funny, my pants are dry, and my knee is COOOOOOL. Can you tell which knee is wrapped? No? Then I'm not going to tell you....

Products are available on their website, some Walgreens locations, and I hear tell that they will soon be available in many, many more places. I invite you to get to know the company, the owner/inventor, and their product by checking out their web site, FB page, or by reading their latest press release. VERY COOL things happening for this great AMERICAN company.....

FCC: I recieved the product free of charge, but the review and opinions are entirely mine.

Be Well, ARCTIFY!!!!!

Gene

First Day of School

2011-09-06T20:48:00.001-04:00

Today Bryce started kindergarten.

Last night we got clothes out, got his backpack all ready (change of clothes, towel for rest time (me, either), and talked about lunch options.

This morning he was up right on time, didn’t even need to go in and wake him. Mom helped him get dressed, but he didn’t really need it.

The morning was actually a little chilly, so we changed into jeans before leaving. Bryce and I sat at the table together and had breakfast. That was pretty cool. I remember that when I was a young warthog, my family would eat breakfast together, too.

After a quick round of FDOS pictures, we were ready!!! As you can see in the last photo, I DID put his jeans over his boots…that other kid is his older brother, Zach. He started high school today……let the gray hairs begin! As we were about to all walk to the bus stop, we saw neighbourhood kids already headed down. B and Z headed down the driveway, then started to RUN…the bus was EARLY!!!

Off we all ran, and barely made it to watch little man get on the big bus…No, he isn’t lost, looking around for the bus. I had called his name….sheesh…

All day long I found myself wondering what he was doing, if he was having fun, if he was causing trouble….

Then we all went down to the bus stop when he was supposed to be coming home. The bus was almost 20 minutes late!!! But there he was, trying to get his bag all situated…

That other dude is our neighbour, Austin. Almost looks like the bus is smiling…anyway, we called his name and he came RUNNING across the road, jumped into my arms, then started to cry!!!Doesn’t that tag around his neck look like the ones the kids wore in London during WWII, as they were shipped out to the country for safe keeping?? Seriously. Turns out, they have an image of a bus, with the student’s name, address, and bus number. WELL…this would be a good idea, BUT….they had Bryce’s WRONG bus number, so the poor kid got put on the wrong bus….but he was ok with that. why was he crying? he left his boots on the ‘wrong’ bus…..we calmed him down, called the bus garage, and made a plan to get his boots back tomorrow.

In the evening, he was very excited and animated while telling us about his day, and was able to recall the names of 7 of his 15 classmates. Very cool. Before bed, we got his clothes ready for tomorrow. I think that it will benefit him to get into a routine early in the school process…..at least the routine will help ME….

Be Well,

Gene

just a little update…

2011-09-01T15:22:00.001-04:00

Thank you, all of you, for your kind, supportive words during this past week of flood and disaster recovery. I am trying to keep my head on straight, so that i can help maintain sanity here at home, try to stay in touch with friends and family who have lost everything and need help, and still keep the little guy entertained.

If you recall, this past winter/spring i posted photos of ice that had backed up along the river nearest our home. I am posting photos of that same bridge that were taken today, and am trying to get them side by side with the ones taken during the ice jams. Never ever disrespect the power of water. It will win, every time.

Well…HELLO! these aren’t from the same angle, but they are the same bridge. I thought that the ice was high. See the logs within the structure on the left? wow. holy water. the river is still a little higher than normal, but VERY low compared with during the storm.

Looking upstream, the river looked like this….but NOW, it looks like this…

Again, thank you all for your support. Stay tuned for updated photo albums online, too.

Be well,

Gene

Random Facts Friday (BAM!)

2011-08-19T11:02:00.000-04:00

in keeping with my buddy Red, I am stealing Katie's meme and doing a Random Friday Facts...BUT, as Red pointed out, it should be Random Facts Friday, as not all of the facts are about Friday.....
So here you go:

1. the human head weighs 8 pounds. (well, not actually)
2. i often carry my back pack from home to work and back again without ever opening it. this could go on for days. the only thing i 'really' need it for is a standardized place to put my ID badge.
3. i recently discovered Edith Piaf on Pandora. i find her music pleasant to work by.
4. this halloween will be 4 years since i have had candy. and NO, chocolate chips in ice cream don't count.
5. the Chinese character that the Japanese use for Friday is the same one they use for Gold. and friday is usually pay day.
6. i love maps. i could have a room wall-papered with them and get lost for hours. days. i also have an incredibly keen sense of direction and rarely get lost, even in strange cities at night (trip home from OBX?)
7. RAN is one of my favourite movies ever.
8. i keep a picture of my Dziadziu (grandfather) on the wall near my desk. He's looking at the camera over his glasses. That picture has helped me get through some ridiculous times and sour moods. I miss him dearly (he's been gone 10+ years).
9. i don't understand why you can't buy glass front fridges for home use.
10. +1, me

The Nooner (not what you think!) #DoBCx !!

2011-08-17T22:26:00.002-04:00

A few months back i was introduced to some extreme boot camp exercises that had been created by Bonnie and Steve Pfiester from Longevity Max Fitness Club. They are gym owners in south Florida and really nice folks. I met them during a twitter chat called #Fitstudio. They are very personable, answer questions from us little people, and listen to what we have to say. All that having been said, one thing still remains true:
They love to kick your azz. And I mean that in the best way possible. They’ve developed an Extreme Boot Camp program (you’ll see me tweet with the #DoBCx hashtag) that, for the most part, uses only your body weight against you. Sound easy? Here is a sample of PART of Week One, Day One of BCX Boot Camp over at Sears FitStudio:
Step 2: The Bomb

20 Alternating Forward Lunges
20 Squats
10 Burpees
1-minute Jump Rope
20 Alternating Forward Lunges (Reverse in direction)
20 Jumping Jacks
10 Burpees
1-minute Wall-Sit

Complete 3 sets and record your time at the end!
Go ahead, try it. I’ll wait. But just like Towlie says, “don’t forget to bring a towel".
I went through several days of the program, but because I have a tough time sticking to any schedule, I didn’t stay with it the whole time. I should have. At any rate, I am still a big fan of the workouts (especially since they require NO equipment!). Every so often I’ll toss one in there for a cross training day.
So when I saw a tweet last week (?) suggesting that some people give a new program a try, I printed it out and got ready to do just that. It is called “the Nooner'” because it can be done during your lunch hour, or more accurately, during your lunch half hour. Trust me, you’ll need the second half to shower. Holy. Sweat-fest. It is broken out into 3 sections: Thrash it (5 rounds), Hurry Up (1 round), and Happy Ending (5 rounds). The last one is not named accurately, IMHO. It should be called Happy that-it-is-finally Ending. Curious? Here’s the other kicker: all rounds/exercises/happymarchesthroughPurgatory are done for TIME. Yep. Against the clock. Which is kinda cool, actually. You do the workout for the first time and establish a baseline. Then you come back to it a few weeks later to see how much you’ve improved. Pretty cool, and the number comparisons are right up my alley. Alright. Here’s a peek at one of the sections. I’m not going to tell you which one it is….
100 butt kiks 25 sit ups 25 pushups 25 burpees 25 high knees
Go ahead, try it. I’ll wait. Lemme say that the whole thing kicked me to the curb. And except for the FLIPPIN BURPEES (Satan’s Revenge), I loved it. I was dripping with sweat by the middle. How long did it take me? 20:20. Yep. Here’s the link.The Nooner. Enjoy. Let me know how you do!!!!! Seriously. Give it a try. The only thing you have to lose is sweat. If you live in the Vero Beach, FL area, stop by MaxFitness and say hello to Bonnie or Steve. Tell ‘em Gene sent you!
Thanks for stopping by. #nomorebs #noexcuses
Be Well,
Gene

Hartford's Inaugural 5k, part the second

2011-08-10T14:36:00.000-04:00

The Monday before the event the class and I ran what I intended to be the course for the event. Math told me that the start and finish of the out and back would line right up, and so would the 1k/4k marks. TOPOGRAPHY, however, made it so that they didn't. The road is twisty...whoops.

So the day of the event I hopped in the vehicle with my Mom and we re-measured the course, hoping desperately that the place i wanted to start and place i wanted to finish would be a good 'fit' with the place i wanted to turn around. (ya still with me?)

I think it did, within maybe 30 meters? but hey! free event, right? Next year's course will be measured MUCH more accurately. I swear. I had gotten to the parking lot without my chalk, so I called and Mom brought it down. Little did she know, she brought the same colors that are used by another little known race held annualy in Boston....

As people were milling around the registration tent, we took the opportunity to snap this picture of our "team". Here are 6 of the 9 members of the class. One had to leave early for personal reasons, one left early because of an injury (not sustained during the classes), and one was on a scheduled vacation. Why am I not standing up straight? I dunno. I am very happy to say that all of them crossed the finish line with big smiles! I'd post the pictures, but haven't gotten their permission yet.....ahahahahahha....so this is all you get for now.

(Back to race day) After the safety brief we all walked up to the start line as a group. There was a young boy talking with his mom, saying that he wasn't sure if he could do it. I said to him, "Man, you've GOT this. 5k is nothing for you! OWN IT." (he did. he ran his little legs off and finished in great form!) We all milled around the start line, making sure traffic was clear, and people were still running up from the registration table, having arrived a bit late...

During the safety brief I told everyone that there wouldn't be a starting gun, just my big mouth yelling "GO". I made sure they were all paying attention and yelled...."GO". They went. Of course, not everyone was paying attention. As you can see, several people started to run on the WRONG SIDE OF THE ROAD. We yelled out to them and they promptly moved over. See my Mom in the mauve-ish tank top on the left? The person carrying the pack is my sister, carting around her 2 year old and 2L of water. She's training for an upcoming Army event where she'll have to carry a 35lb ruck sack over some un-Godly distance in heat that would make Mephostopheles ask for an extra serving of swee'tea. They acted as sweepers on the course, keeping in communication with my Dad at the turn around and me at the finish line. Worked out GREAT!

The first finisher crossed the line in 23:47, the second in 24:13. The second place person was a young woman, and she was upset that she had come in second. I said, "No, you came in first." With a smile she replied, "yea, i LIKE that...."

My sweepers crossed in 51:53. What does this mean? It means that EVERYONE finished in under an hour. I was super psyched! From a personal POV, the ladies who i coached through the summer, the same ones who at the beginning of the summer struggled with 3 consecutive laps of a football field, FINISHED a 5k in less than an hour. I am very happy for these ladies!!!!

In a few posts, I'll write about the whole organization process, lessons learned, and aspirations for next year's event. I already have an inkling that next year's is gonna be much bigger!

Thanks for stopping by again!

Be Well,

Gene

Hartford, VT Inaugural 5K Fun Run/Walk Event (part ONE)

2011-08-08T13:11:00.000-04:00

This past Saturday a vision I had that turned into a dream that turned into action came to fruition as Hartford, VT's Inaugural 5k Fun Run/Walk. Seen here is our registration station, staffed by volunteers from the Friends of Hartford Track organization. What luck it was to have them show up to pitch in!

Before I get into the nitty gritty, I want to take a few lines to thank people who made it possble.

First up, of course, is my wife. I couldn't have done this without her support and putting up with me and my zany ideas, last minute schedule changes, and time spent lost in my head while she keeps the ship afloat. I just wish that she could have been in town for the event. Next year, perhaps!

My parents, sister, and nephew pitched in to help, too. Thanks, guys!

The ladies at Up&Running Online were great with helping me get the class together, and this race was the culmination of a hot summer at the track! Way to go! The class was the first of its kind sponsored by the Hartford Parks and Recreation Department, and was also the first time I had done anything like this. All in all, it was a success!

The generous people at RoadID (see link at right) donated race bibs, fliers, and coupons for participants. It was great to have real race bibs for first timers; added to the legitimacy of what they were doing!

GuEnergy supplied the students with sample packs, and this lead to good discussions about eating, timing, bodily functions, and good laughs. Oh, and of course we enjoyed the products!!!

Don from RSD Companies let us use one of their parking lots for registration and, ummm...parking!

I would also like to thank members of the online community who offered words of encouragement and tips along the way. #nomorebs #ownit

Ok...the nitty gritty....

Going in to last week, only THREE people had signed up for the event, not including the 6 members of the class who said that they could make it. I gotta tell you, I was very discouraged with these numbers. Still, I was determined to make this the best FREE event that they had ever signed up for, as well as make it memorable for the students. Mid week I met with the Rec Director and others to finalize our list of items and firmed up that I would be picking up some things from them on Friday evening.

Friday I picked up caution signs for the road, cones for one of the bad corners, the PA system (circa 1970), a tent, and some banners. I also learned that nearly 20 people had signed up at the Rec office! My parents and I went to HomeDepot in search of grade stakes for signs, but came up empty. Thankfully I have a tough time throwing away wood scraps, and was able to reuse some that were under our deck. We managed to grab some oranges, and headed home, after a brief stop for an ice cream cone...

Once home, I set my Dad to work filling out the registration lists and my Mom to work getting the bib/registration packets ready while I wandered around the house trying to make sure that I had everything that I needed. (note: this would have been a great time for me to have had a physical LIST....)

After a mostly sleepless night, I set out around 7 to meet up with the Parks/Rec Director to place road signs, the water station at the turn around, and the tent. Sheila and Chris, from the aforementioned Friends of Hartford Track were there to help out as well. They are both runners, so I tasked them with the registration area (which also allowed them to drum up interest for their organization!) My Mom and I went out to remeasure the course and to plant signs at the 1,2,3,4k points. My Dad agreed to man the water station at the turn around, which also meant that he was in charge of traffic control at that end of the course. Lemme tell you, if you want traffic controlled with runner's safety at the top of the requirements, put an Army Command Sergeant Major (Ret.) in charge. No one gets through.....

Mom helped get the admin stuff ready as people started to show up, and she acted as my reassurance that everything was going to work out fine. I kept texting Tracey and sending her pictures, and she expressed happiness for me and wished that she could have been there, too. (+1, me!)

My sister and nephew showed up, having driven 2.5 hours to get there, and we were just about ready to go.

I gathered the participants near the tent and gave a safety brief as well as thanked our supporters and volunteers. (ALWAYS important to thank your volunteers. Always.) A funny thing happened during the briefing that bears mentioning.

Have you ever been to a race where you take off (always too fast!), only to have some dolt drop to his/her knees about 50 yards in, having just realized that their shoe wasn't tied tightly enough? BAM! you stumble, others stumble. yea. I didn't want that to happen, so I encouraged everyone to double check their shoes and their knots. AND THEY DID. It was like they all were jenuflecting in front of me! I almost laughed aloud, but managed not to. Oh, also....remember to put your phone on silent. Yea....right in the middle of it all....>RING RING RING....good times.

Alright...that's enough for now. Tomorrow, the RACE! and some pictures......

Thanks for sticking around.

Be Well,

Gene

Back to the woods.

2011-08-04T21:19:00.001-04:00

Most of my family is in Baltimore until Sunday. This leaves me plenty of time to do chores to (hopefully) impress my wife, as well as get some running in. As I type, I have a load of laundry in the dryer AND one in the washer. I still have dishes to do, but I will get to them after this.

Tonight, after work, I went for a trail run. The Appalachian Trail comes fairly close to our house, and I’ve been running a section of it for a few years now (not constantly….), and have really come to enjoy this little section of the Trail. I run south, toward Georgia. Typically I turn around at the Happy Hill Shelter and make a nice 10k out of it. Click this link to go to a google map that, if I did it right, will show a mark in the middle of the woods.

During the run out, I snapped a few pics:

the trail goes down and to the left, just beyond those trees. I took this one looking back, having just come up.

This next picture is looking along the direction of travel. Gets flat for a little while at the top, but is never really ‘flat’. Running the ‘out’ portion, there are spots where you think that you are running flat, but when you are on the ‘back’ portion, it is clear that you are running down ~~a dream~~ hill.

At the trail junction, there are several signs. I just came from Elm Street. What a nightmare! I have never run the whole section out and back, but I have run it from w. hartford to norwich. in the snow. it was great! this has got to be one of my favourite places to run.

Back at the trailhead, my efforts are shown on my shirt: I was soaked. shirt, shorts, visor. yep. drenched.now if I could just get rid of that extra skin on my neck.

thanks for hanging with me this evening. mebbe I’ll have more tomorrow. I have been trialing a SPIBELT, so I’d like to share my thoughts…

Be Well,

Gene

JULY DIY5K

2011-07-22T08:40:00.001-04:00

Today’s post is dedicated to the DIY5K, created by Jaemie over at www.diy5k.com. This month we were tasked with a scavenger hunt. I ran 5.75 today, in conjunction with Colleen over at www.thefitbee.com, as part of our training for Philly2011. whew. tired already….so here are the pics!!!!

Green AND wheel(s).….

Arrow:

Numbers:

Closed

Fire

Shadow. very faint, on the left.

Round

Man Made

Path

Group

Foot

TheEnd

It was a fun project! Being an early morning in an area that I don’t know much about kinda forced me to look around and not just run. Thank you, Jaemie, for the fun idea!!!!

Be Well,

Gene

On the Boardwalk...

2011-07-21T15:18:00.000-04:00

Check it out....In the photo below, our son Bryce (5) is driving a go-kart. He barely met the height requirement, and when he got into the seat, it was all he could do to press the pedal. But press it he did, for 4 of the best minutes of his little life! Round and round he went, only grazing the barrier once or twice. It was the first time he had ever been behind the wheel of anything like this. We have big-wheels and such at home, but none of those motorized toys.

Poor kid can barely see past the steering wheel, yet he leaped at the chance to ride a go-kart. He had no idea what he was getting into, only the basics of what needed to be done.

And he rose to the challenge.

And he was happy.

And so were we.

How many times have you been faced with something that you wanted to do, but never really knew what you were doing? You had the basics, but couldn't quite see where you were going. What did you do? Did you stand off to the side watching others try it out, or did you jump into the driver's seat and take charge of your dreams

My advice to you (and as importantly, to myself) is to jump in! Strap on those safety belts and GO FOR IT!

Who knows, you might just be happy. You might just smile.....

Be Well,

Gene

And we’re off!

2011-07-16T00:39:00.001-04:00

No, this isn’t me. But it IS where we are going. Wildwood, NJ. Apparently there is an ocean, some sand, a whole buncha people, and not many dollars left in our pockets. And yes, most likely, corn dogs on a stick. What is perhaps even more disturbing than the intended subject of this photo is the person just over his right shoulder. Check it out. Scary.

Perhaps the beach will be like this, though, and all will be right in the world…

I have a sinking feeling, though, that they will be more like this:

Which will roast my coconuts. Then I’ll do this…

(oops. excuse me!)

and then the beach will look like this…

And all will be well in the world. Well, at least in mine.

JUST KIDDING. Sheesh. I am going at this vacation with new eyes, and a new attitude. Wish me luck. Tweet me. Email me.

Or don’t.

Be Well,

Gene

Run, rest, repeat.

2011-07-12T08:27:00.000-04:00

At class last night we did repeats. I try to send out the next week's schedule ahead of time, and have not made this goal only twice, i think. This past week, I was certain to send it out in time, you know, just to give the students the chance to get psyched up to run half mile (800M) repeats.

Mother Nature must have hijacked the emails, because she was doing repeats, too; only hers weren't negatives. As the evening wore on, the breeze went away, and the temps went up. We probably finished 5 degrees warmer than when we started, and we were at the track for less than 45 minutes.

This isnt' the track that we use. Ours only has 6 lanes, and the 6th lane, especially in front of the bleachers, is usually littered with hurdles. ANYWAY, we are thankful to be able to use the track at a rival high school, so you generally won't hear us complain.

The ladies did a great job! I was very happy for them; some tried to beat some personal bests for time, others for distance running versus walking. I tried my best to run/walk with everyone, but that gets tough to do. I am never quite sure if my being there is helpful or hinderful....but I am there, just the same!

Overall the class is going very well. Ladies still seem motivated and challenged. We were talking about running the route of August's 5k in the week between the end of class and the event. I think that it would be a great idea!

I am really glad that I decided to do this!!! Thank you for your encouragement along the way.

Be Well,

Gene

What would it take?

2011-07-07T11:44:00.000-04:00

In April I attended some wellness coach training sponsored by my employer. It was a good coupla days, and I got to spend some time wandering around the Mall of America during the off hours.
During the coaching sessions, one of the tools presented was the old "scale of 0 to 10" questions. We've all heard them, right? But what caught my attention was the follow up question, that I'd never heard of....but I'll get to that in a moment.
What brough this to my mind was a posting that I read yesterday over at http://www.counselormusings.blogspot.com/. I really like her site, and she is very personable on Twitter as well. She introduced me to a Wheel of Wellness, created by Myers, Sweeney, & Witmer. It takes the notion that wellness isn't just about fitness, or spirituality, or food choices, or...any one thing, really. To quote the Counselor Musing blog:
"A wheel doesn't function well when a part is broken. It gets lose, wobbles, and eventually can no longer function properly. Overall wellness is important, and is made up of many smaller parts. Even if some of these parts are working well, if there's a part that's broken, that will decrease the overall wellness of the whole."
Here is what it looks like:

If you can't see the spokes, they say (clockwise from top) Cultural Identity, Sense of Worth, Sense of Control, Realistic Beliefs, Emotional Awareness & Coping, Problem Solving and Creativity, Sense of Humor, Nutrition, Exercise, Self Care, Stress Management, and Gender Identity. It is easy, even for ME, to see how different things can impact the whole. I don't necessarily agree with the naming of the spokes or the parts, but that isn't what's important. The idea that if you need work in any area and chose to IGNORE it, eventually the wheel will break. I printed the wheel and then grabbed a pencil. My first instinct was to rename the parts, but I didn't. I kept it as is, and did the following: I shaded in each spoke to the level that I thought I had reached. Huh? Let's take Gender Identity. I am secure with that, so I shaded in the entire spoke. Emotional Awareness & Coping? Let's just say I didn't need to sharpen my pencil after shading that one! This exercise gave me a visual sense of where I think I am with respect to these components of wellness. I love it!

How does this tie in to my original thoughts about the 0 to 10 scale? Simply. Here is my suggestion:

Take an aspect of your life. For my blog's purpose, I'll use running as an example, but it could just as easily be work, golf, bowling, underwater basket weaving, whatever. Yes, "running" is a broad topic, so...let's narrow that down to...consistency of training. Ask yourself, "on a scale of 0 to 10, where would you rate yourself on consistency with your training?" I will answer 4. Here's the amazing follow up question: What will it take to get you to a 6? Amazing, isn't it? Think about your answer, and then...DO IT.

Implement the changes that will get you to that 6!! And then, when you get to 6, ask yourself both questions again! Repeat as necessary.

Wow. Amazingly simple, but I think that you will find it very effective, if used with HONESTY and no BS.

Hit me up with some comments. I can take it!

Be Well,

Nomorebs,

Gene

First EVER guest post

2011-07-05T15:39:00.001-04:00

Today was supposed to be the day that I posted all of the wonderful pictures that I took on the 4th. A slice of small town America: parade with loads of tractors, kids' baseball teams, out of step marching bands, and some cool lookin' hot-rods. Oh, and fireworks. But last night I didn't feel like loading/cropping the pictures, so I didn't post them (clearly).
Instead, I invite you to read a guest post by my long-time friend and confidant Job Bisgachi. Job (pronounced JOBE) and I go waaay back, back to the times of Snoopy lunchboxes, folded up paper football games in the library, chopping wood, and even my turbulent past. He and I were talking about blogging and such a while ago, and he thought that it would be 'fun' to guest host for me.
I am not certain that he was the BEST choice for my first guest spot, but here goes.....
And so, I give you, Job.

Hey all! Job Bisgachi here. As Gene has probably already said, he and I go way back. It is so much fun to be writing here for him, i just can't tell you how much. I won't bore you with stories from Gene's past, and I'm not here to say what a great guy he is (or can be...). I do, however, want to offer some of my own insight into this whole fitness/wellness lifestyle.
I have never been the fittest person in the room. I have often tried to be; dabbling in mountain biking, water aerobics, rock climbing, hiking, 'speed hiking', and running. I love food. For me, eating is (or should be as often as possible) an event. An experience; not just something that you do because it is 'time to eat'. If it is noon and i am not hungry, then i won't eat. unless, of course, there is something really tasty or interesting to be had, then, well, all bets are off! I pay attention to textures, to temperatures, to taste, to smell, to presentation....all of it. I should have been a, what does he call them? oh, a 'foodie'.
Then one day i just decided that I had had enough of this half assed ness, and set my mind to improving my health status. Even though this has been a tough decision for me, it has been the right one. Like a quotation that has been buzzing around lately says, "I didn't say it would be easy. I said it would be worth it." Amen..... I am still not looking to be the fittest person in the room. But i sure as heck don't want to be the LEAST fit person, either. The only person who has control over that is ME. Since I am not being fed through a tube, and am not limited in my physical capapbilities (no, i cannot lift a car. today. but if i wanted to, i could make that happen.).
The change must begin within. If I want to be a rocket scientist, I have to do the work. If I want to someday hike Aconcogua, I have to be the one to do the preparations, etc. I cannot sit back, in my nauga-hide barka lounger and wait for it to happen. Because it won't.
Why am I preaching? Well, to be honest, I am hoping that Gene will read this with fresh eyes and do what he knows he has to do. Also, well, if I can inspire others (what, he has like 5 readers, right?) to grab the bull by the horns, that'd be great. So the next time you are thinking about making a change (for the BETTER. ALWAYS FOR THE BETTER) remember that it HAS to begin with YOU.
And now, back to Eugene. ahahahaahahah...that NEVER gets old.....get it? you, Gene? ahahah....i crack myself up...

Fun Friday Evening

2011-07-01T22:03:00.001-04:00

Tonight I brought B with me to the track for class. On Wednesday there was baseball practice and a few ultimate frisbee games, and i figured he could watch them while we did our thing. As SOON as we got there, he decided to run a lap. He just took off running. In his Lighting McQueen flip-flops. ZOOM, off he went. I was talking with the students and missed a photo op, so i had him run an extra 10M or so to catch this shot...

It was a great night to run. I kinda wanted to stick around after class and do some running on my own, but that wasn’t to be tonight. And that is OK. After class B and I went over to the playground and he cruised around the play set (is that what they are called? I don’t know!). This one has a tower that is very high, and he went right up it without hesitation. Me? I was all puckered up on the ground, waiting for him to go down the slide…

Once he went up and down enough times to make…well, let’s just say he went up and down a lot…we ordered some pizza and brought it home for dinner. Timing was good, I think, because this was the sky as we left:

All in all, great time at the track this evening! Have a great Saturday, everyone. We’ll be running around the upper valley, getting doors, plywood, antique beds, and who knows what else. See you later!!!!

Be Well,

Nomorebs.

Gene

Final 2011 Juneathon(g) post...

2011-07-01T13:14:00.000-04:00

remember juneathon(g)? i posted about it a few times at the beginning of the month, then just stopped using in my titles, but still posted about (mostly) running all month.
this month was my best ~athon(g) month so far!! did nearly 60 miles. not a lot, to be sure, but i consider it a win. (and so should YOU. bah.)
Along the way I have had some interesting experiences (classes), participated in a virtual race (SYTO5k), read some fun blogs, and was egged on by several people from across the Pond. All in all, an entertaining month of running/biking, logging, and blogging.
Big thank you to Cathy for hosting and organising the event. Are shirts available??????

My last run of the month was last evening. It was only 2 miles, but here's how it really went:
Warm up:
25 butt kicks
25 jumping jacks
(2 sets)
25 squats
25 2-step Heismans
(2 sets)
these were performed in the back parking lot of a local bank. cars came through to use the ATM, and lemme tell ya...i got some ODD looks. especially while doing the Heismans...
After warm up...this:
1 Mile Run
25 burpees
50 sit ups
25 push ups
25 pull ups (I only managed 15!!!)
1 Mile Run
on the clock. my first mile fell in 8:31. the other stuff took me around 3 minutes, not including 15 second break between exercises. second mile lasted 9:30. i walked. 3 times, but for less than 50 yards total. I was sucking wind big time.
I couldn't figure out why....UNTIL....i remembered that on tuesday i donated 'double reds', which is to say instead of donating a pint of whole blood, i donated 2 pints of RED BLOOD CELLS. you know, the ones that carry oxygen to our cells, so they can use in to burn energy? yea, those. so I'm low, which CAN explain why I was beat. Let's go with that, shall we?

Running class continues to move along well; we went to a local track on Wednesday, and will go back again tonight. Good times!

Have a great 4th weekend, all!!!! Maybe I'll be back during the weekend....dunno.

Be Well.
Nomorebs.
Gene

SYTO5K Race Report

2011-06-26T22:34:00.001-04:00

I will try to get a Juneathon( g ) update tomorrow, but suffice to say that my Juneathon( g )-ing hasn’t been what it should, although it is statistically better than last year’s event.

Special shout out to my home crew for allowing me to spend time doing this update as well as the race.

Pre-race, I was able to get away from the crowds and photogs long enough for my personal photographer to snap this candid shot of me in front of one of Tracey’s gardens. (seems as though I need to do a little maintenance on the road side of the fence…..)

When I pinned on the #1 bib number Bryce said, “why are you wearing a number 1? did you win a race?” Cute, little man, cute. No, I haven’t won a race since I was in 5th or 6th grade…. I drove to the start area, turned my .mp3 player to some jammin’ tunes, and started my warm up (this consists of making sure that the garmin is ON (check), that the car key is secure in its pocket (check), and that my shoes are tied (double check).

I chose to run this race on trails. Woods running is in my blood. I feel free…blah blah blah blah blah….I like the woods. I ‘belong’ there….The trail waswell marked, and I had no trouble finding the start line:

I ran this same course for the Fyto5K, back in January 2011. I love this local trail. I would run it every day if I could, just because. It is a nice out and back, or if you’d like, when you reach the other end you can run on roads to make a loop. I prefer NOT to do that. This view is of the trail this winter, and the one after it is the same trail section last evening.

Just a little different, eh? BOTH are very fun to run. As I was running along I tried to concentrate on being ‘light’ on my feet. I was trying to focus on my running, breathing, and how I ‘felt’. The scenery was nice, as usual, and as it has been rainy lately, the rocks and roots were especially slick. I almost went down in a heap a few times, but managed to stay upright. Didn’t even pull a muscle!

The terrain varies, as does the condition of the trail. There are places where you have to dodge mud and slick rocks, and also wide open sections like this:

As I mentioned, I felt great during this race. There were times when I walked, in places that I usually walk, but I find that on this trail the little walks help. Here’s the elevation profile from the Freeze AND Sweat Your Thorns Off 5k 2011.

Almost looks as though I should have brought along some climbing gear!! Teri (Garmin) tells the tale:

Not to disappoint the race director, I leave you with a final picture. What would this trail be without a picture of Uranus?

Boobs to men....

2011-06-23T12:42:00.000-04:00

gotcha!
i once heard a saying that "breasts are to men what shoes are to women: even if you have a pair at home, you still can't help but look at more." Of course, this doesn't apply to me, so no worries. (i mean, i have some at home (shoes, too!), but i don't really look at others. honest...) ANYWAY.....
Last night's running class was great. It was raining decently at the beginning, and even harder in the middle, and then lightened up by the end. I was very happy to see that just about everyone showed up ready to move! Gotta hand it to these ladies: they are motivated!
Last night went like this: 5 minute brisk walk with arm circles, 3 mins streaching, then a skipping/walking cycle X 5, then jogging/walking/walking x 5, then 1km free running x 2. (not going into the details....if you'd like to see them, head on over to http://www.upandrunningonline.org/)
Monday was the same, and there were some grumbles from the group about having to do TWO 1km free running sessions. Remember, these are beginners (mostly....ahem!), so to do 1km at your own pace at the end of a session can seem daunting. But they do it. Not for me, but for themselves. Last evening, 2 very cool things happened:
2 of our students, during their SECOND 1km, ran for the longest that they have run yet in the class! Holy smiles. It was WONDERFUL to see the smiles on their faces as they finished up. I ran with one for the first 1km, then after our prescribed 5 minute break, ran the 2nd 1km with the other. Very cool to be a part of that!
Oh. the boobs....well....there were 2 other ladies who talked about boobs (theirs and others) almost the entire time. It wasn't awkward for me, as I am a (male) nurse and have worked around mostly women for the past nearly 10 years. it just struck the rest of us as funny that the conversation lasted as long as it did. One woman remarked, "hey, i like talking about boobage just as much as the next person, but wow....!"+
As part of Friday's class, I plan to talk about hydration, SPIBELTS, fuel, electrolytes, and BodyGlide....THAT conversation should be a hoot(er).
Be Well....

Water my choices?

2011-06-20T14:08:00.000-04:00

I drink a buncha water. probably close to 2L per day, just in the form of WATER, not including coffee. (and yes, i balance it out with electrolytes....) I rarely drink fruit juices, I don't drink cola/pop/soda. Rarely iced-tea. I typically don't buy beverages at gas stations, and when we go out to dinner, it is "coffee and water, please". Insider tip: DECLINE THE LEMON in your water at restaurants. They are typically the MOST HANDLED FOOD in the place. NOT everyone washes their hands as well as you would like to think they do....and then...PLOP! right into your beverage...mmmmm....cesspool.....
But where was I? oh, right. Water. Short version: chose TAP. At least it isn't medicated.
What????
Yes.
I drink water from the tap. not the britta/whatever, but straight from the tap. sometimes, because i am a REBEL, i will drink from the GARDEN HOSE!!! yep.
but this past weekend, at Mike's graduation party, I drank a bottle of Nestle PureLife water. It went down fine, i didn't get any in my nose, and things were good. Until i read the ingredients. Yep, that's right; ingredients. FOR WATER.
I expected to see "two parts hydrogen, one part oxygen", but was AGAST to see the following listed as being ADDED to 'purified water':
Calcium Chloride
Sodium Bicarbonate
Magnesium Sulfate

what what WHAT??? seriously? yep. So today i went to their website to try to figure out WHY these things were added to my water. I found this:
(this space intentionally left blank), accompanied by the sound of....no, not crickets. it was a sucking sound. what was making it? the sound of $1.29 per 500mL bottle being SUCKED out of our pockets under the guise of WATER. I CALL SHENANIGANS!!! The label states that these are added 'for flavor'. Ummm....water doesn't HAVE flavor. Further exploration of their site helped reinforce what I thought: it isn't WATER, it is a BEVERAGE. but it is masquerading as water. With MEDS added. yep. meds.
I took the liberty of googling the ingredients. here is what i found:
MAG SULFATE:::
www.thefreedictionary.com/magnesium+sulfate
magnesium sulfate n. A colorless, crystalline compound, MgSO4, used in fireproofing, ceramics, matches, explosives, and fertilizers. {{{{{{CERAMICS????? exPLOSIVES????? no, thank you.}}}}}
http://www.everydayhealth.com/drugs/magnesium-sulfate
What is Magnesium Sulfate?
Magnesium Sulfate
Magnesium is a naturally occurring mineral. Magnesium is important for many systems in the body especially the muscles and nerves. Magnesium sulfate also increases water in the intestines, which may induce defecation. Magnesium hydroxide is used as a laxative to relieve occasional constipation (irregularity). {{{oooh! THAT's a PLUS.....I feel healthier already...}}}

SODIUM BICARB:::(a salt)
http://kidshealth.org/parent/medications/sodium_bicarbonate.html
Is it safe for my child to take this medicine? Not if your child has an allergy to sodium bicarbonate or any other part of this medicine. Be sure to let healthcare provider know if your child has any allergies or reactions to medicine, food preservatives, or dyes. Make sure to tell about the allergy and how it affected your child. This includes telling about rash; hives; itching; shortness of breath; wheezing; cough; swelling of face, lips, tongue, or throat; or any other symptoms involved.
Not if your child has any of the following conditions: High bicarbonate levels, high sodium levels, low calcium levels, unexplained belly pain, or water in the lungs.
{{{how often do we check WATER to see if we may be allergic to the INGREDIENTS??????}}}

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/meds/a682001.html
What side effects can this medication cause?
Sodium bicarbonate may cause side effects. Tell your doctor if any of these symptoms are severe or do not go away:
increased thirst {{{WAIT, WHAT??? increased thirst after drinking this??? OOOH! what a great marketing plan!!! "drink our water. we bet you'll want more!!!!"}}}}
stomach cramps
gas
CALCIUM CHLORIDE::(another salt)
http://www.oxycalciumchloride.com/
Calcium Chloride
OxyChem is the world's largest producer of calcium chloride, a premium salt with a variety of beneficial uses. OxyChem's calcium chloride products are used for snow and ice control, dust suppression, road stabilization, agriculture and in many other applications including oilfield services. {{SAY WHAT???? 'sure' it isn't quite the same as what is in my bottle, but, but....is it???}}

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calcium_chloride
OtherCalcium chloride is used in concrete mixes to help speed up the initial setting, but chloride ion leads to corrosion of steel rebar, so it should not be used in reinforced concrete.[12] The anhydrous form of calcium chloride may also be used for this purpose and can provide a measure of the moisture in concrete.[13]
Calcium chloride is included as an additive in plastics and in fire extinguishers, in wastewater treatment as a drainage aid, in blast furnaces as an additive to control scaffolding (clumping and adhesion of materials that prevent the furnace charge from descending), and in fabric softener as a thinner.

SO....i'm not going to tell you NOT to buy bottled water (even though I would like to), but PLEASE, PLEASE read labels. Not just on your cereal. Not just on your canned soup. Even on your water.

#nomorebs.

Be Well,
Gene

Stuck on you….

2011-06-19T21:41:00.000-04:00

Thank you for sticking around….I have had a very emotional and psychologically stressful past 7-10 days and haven’t had the chance to post to the blog. My mind is full of several topics that I hope you will find interesting, and I plan to post more frequently this week.
In the mean time, here are some hints as to what’s cookin’:
Race announcement, more on (moron) water, running class, Juneathon( g ), finding your passion, and a few other things.
Please stick around.....
I appreciate it!
-gene-

Humidity and Hydration

2011-06-09T15:33:00.000-04:00

Hotter temps are here, all over the place. Well, unless you are reading this from the Southern Hemisphere. In that case, you'll have cooler temps, but perhaps drier weather, which still plays a vital part in hydration status...Hmm. Only took me TWO sentences to get off track....
Alright. We've all heard it: drink plenty of water! drink more water! thirst is often confused for hunger. drink water instead. Drink, drink, drink! Never be more than an arm's length away from some refreshing water! Drink smart water. Drink skinny water (seriously?). Drink vitamin water.
Ok. Not really. that smart, skinny, and vitamin stuff is just BOGUS. One of my favourite commercials on tv now is one where there are a buncha girls playing soccer and the coach tries to get them to drink some sugary crap-laden beverage. one smart ~~alec~~ says something to the effect of "if we lose water when we sweat, why not just drink water?" GENIUS AWARD!!!!!!
except that it isnt' that easy.
we've all heard about dehydration. who has ever heard of over-hydration, known medically as 'hyponatremia'? Although not as big a problem with the general population (think: chip eaters), athletes can be prone to this condition. Let's take some time here to learn a bit about it, how it can impact you, and what you can do to help prevent it. (short version: balance).

The most basic definition of hyponatremia is 'low salt levels in the blood stream'. Salt is essential to live. It serves many purposes in the body from transporting water into and out of cells to nerve conduction. Water 'follows' salt, too. What? Yep. If salt leaves your body (urine, sweat), water goes, too. If you take in too much salt (Chinese food, bar snacks), you drink more (or at least your body wants you to drink more). This is one reason that people with high blood pressure are often told to limit salt. It willlimit water (fluid) retention and thus lower blood pressure.
Let's assume that you, as an athlete, eat the 'proper' amount of salt for YOU. With your normal intake of nutrients and water, your body enjoys a nice balance. Now you workout/run/whatever. Sweat your thorns off. Just drippin' wet all over the place. You drink water. Lots of it. But then you don't feel so good later. Kinda spacy, maybe a little clumsy, disoriented. Not a dehydration headache (ouch! been there!), but just not right. So you drink more water. Why not, right? Welll.....
If you replace water without replacing salt (and other electrolytes like potassium), you run the risk of hyponatremia. You create a dilution in your blood that has a very low concentration of (let's say) salt. Not good.
I learned about this the tough way. I was on a training exercise with the military at Ft. Somewhere, and we got a call for a medivac for a soldier who had gone down in the field. We all suspected dehydration, so we pumped him full of IV fluids. FAST. he was disoriented, slow to move; we were getting a bit nervous. then after we found out that he hadn't eaten ANYTHING yet that day, and had been drinking water by the gallon....we put the two together. yikes. a tough lesson all around, but especially for that Joe. he'll not make that mistake again in a hurry.
So how do we avoid or prevent it? Balance. Experiment. There are almost as many 'sports drinks' out there as there are readers of this blog. ok. wait. maybe that should be reversed. anyway, there are only a handful that are actually WORTH anything to your body. Mostly they are worth something to the company's bottom line, and not to your health. shame, but true. I am not going to badmouth any specific brands (Powerade would get really mad at me if I did. So would vitamin water.) (whoops). and they aren't the only ones. Here's my most basic tip. READ THE LABELS. Electrolytes are important to replenish here, NOT things like HFCS, SUCROSE, SUCRALOSE, ORANGE DYE #5, etc, etc....just DON'T do it.
I have found that a product called NUUN works well for me. My son (5), loves it. I dilute it a bit for him, but he really likes the lemon lime and triberry flavors. I don't work for Nuun, but i do like their product, their company, and their engagement with amateur athletes, so i don't mind talking them up.
I also like GU Chomps, but if i eat while running, i tend to choke, so.....i need more practice.
CLIF Bar makes a CLIF SHOT that is pretty good, too, and comes in all sortsa flavors.

Optimize your intake for maximum output. Simple. The more you know about the way your body works and what works for your body, the better off you will be. I welcome suggestions for other topics as well.

If you want to watch a video from Web MD on the topic, click here.
Thanks for reading.
Be Well,
Gene

U-sain in the membrane....

2011-06-08T14:45:00.000-04:00

I am no sprinter. Heck, i am barely a runner. But I like to sprint. It is fun. I like to see my legs pumping out in front of me, feel the wind moving across my balding head, and to feel my legs cramp up in rebellion against the sudden demands. Well. They have, in the past. Not so much now.

Last evening I blitz-kleaned the floors at home and then set out for my run. During the last half hour at home I drank a Vanilla #GenUCAN shake mixed with soy milk and ate a chocolate chip cookie. Yes. I did. I grabbed some water, Teri, and off we ran.

As you can see, the first part was down a big, long hill. I hate that hill. Very unsafe. No real shoulder, blind corners, fast drivers. But I survived. Nice quick climb up through a cemetary and onto the football field (flat spot). I ran 8x100yard sprints, walking back to the beginning after each sprint. There were times when i could feel my shoes slipping on the grass, which was interesting. It meant that I was pushing off harder than my shoes could grab. Cool.

The sprints, except for the last three, were 14 seconds. You can see one up there where i failed to push the button to start the timer. Duh. I am very ok with 14 second 100 yard sprints for a 42 year old slightly out of shape male. I am going to make it my bench mark for the season. This fall I'll do it again and see where I am.

Juneathon Day 7 'sorted'.

Be Well,

Gene

New whys...

2011-06-07T10:58:00.000-04:00

I've been running for a while. Not in the Forest Gump way (I shave every now and then), but in the "throughout the course of human events" kind of way. My reasons have fluctuated and evolved over the years, but have basically remained the same:
I enjoy it.
I like the 'freedom'.
I relish the thought that if it is a good run or a bad run, it is entirely up to ME. I OWN it.

Last evening I coached my first ever running class. Followers will recall that I had approached the town with the idea of teaching an adult (not THAT kind....) running class as part of the Rec Department's summer offerings. The idea was accepted, and here we are! I have received fantastic support from the folks at http://www.upandrunningonline.org/. GU Energy (link) has also provided me with some product samples for participants. Yes, it is only for a 5k, but part as part of the class i want to talk about fuel options that are alternatives to Snickers bars.
During the first part of the class last night, while we were doing introductions and other small talk that typically makes my skin crawl, some of the people started talking about why they decided to spend 3 evenings a week learning how to run. I thought I would share them with you, as perhaps you, too, are looking for reasons to start running or exercising or stop eating so many chalupas or...whatever.

"I have always wanted to run, but never thought that I could. I am tired of thinking that I can't do things that I want to do."
"I used to smoke 2.5 packs a day. I quit last fall, cold turkey. I told myself that if i could quit, I would start to exercise. Here I am. I don't know if I'll be able to even get through the first class, but I am going to give it a try!"
"I am volunteering with Habitat for Humanity this summer, and am hoping that this helps me get into shape!"
"My sister needs to do this for her health. The only way I can be sure that she does it is if I do it with her."

See? Many different reasons to attend the same class, perform the same workouts, and ultimately achieve the goal of running their first 5k this Aug. The journey is going to be quite a bit of fun! Last evening we all completed the training, which will be repeated W and F evenings.

We walked 2.2 miles, with some very light jogging mixed in. Everyone came away smiling, and the one lady who wasn't sure if she'd make it was VERY happy that she had, and is already looking forward to the next session.

Me, too.

Be Well,
Gene

Care to join us?

2011-06-06T09:57:00.000-04:00

This evening is my first class of my first class of 5k Beginners Programme, developed by Julia and Shauna over at http://www.upandrunningonline.org/. A pair of super ladies, both of who, interestingly, are not natives of the countries which they now call home. And then there's me, over here in the USA, running one of their courses. A true international collaboration!!!

Here is the letter that i sent out last night to the 6 participants. Wouldn't you want to come out and play, too?

Greetings!
My name is Gene, and I will be working with you to get you ready to run a 5k event by the end of the summer! I am very excited to get this rolling, so I wanted to touch base with the participants before tomorrow's class.
Here are some things about me that you might want to know:
My cell number is NPA-NXX-XXXX. If you need to get in touch with me before class or have questions, please feel free to give me a call. While I am at work the phone is mostly off, but please leave a message and I will call you back. Alternately you can reach me at this email address just by replying to this message.
I am an RN at the VA Medical Center, and have been a nurse for almost 10 years. Prior to that I worked in the telecommunications department at Mass General Hospital. Before that, a cook, before that.....well, the stories go on and on. I have been a runner for most of my life, but have only in the past few years really been bitten by the bug. I enjoy it so much that I want to get as many people involved as I can. I am sure that sounds pretty corny, but I really do!
I can't wait for tomorrow so that we can start this journey together. I'd like to meet over by the football bleachers, near the pool, at Hartford High School. We can talk about alternate places to meet tomorrow. If it is raining, let's meet there anyway and see what develops.
I have attached a brochure that introduces the program and and lays out the training for the first week. If you can't download it, please let me know and I will see what I can do to get you one. I will have some tomorrow either way.
Please make sure that you have a water bottle, perhaps a towel, and running shoes. If you don't have running shoes, we can still train, but your feet will be much happier if they are wearing comfortable, supportive shoes meant for the activity.
Alright! Again, feel free to hit me up with any questions by phone, email, or even Twitter (@boutdrz) !!
See you tomorrow!
Be Well,
Gene

Juneathon(g) day 4 #fail

2011-06-04T23:08:00.002-04:00

See the activity on RunSaturday

Type:	Cross - Hot Air Ballooning
Duration:	0:00:00
Distance:	0.00 mi

no, I didn’t ride in a balloon. nor did I really do any ‘workout’. I moved earth, I moved mulch. I shot hoops solo in the driveway, I rode around the cul de sac with 5 year old on our bikes.
for all of you non-juneathoners out there, I will be doing a ‘regular’ post soon. perhaps tomorrow. I dunno. morning is busy cheering at a half marathon, afternoon will be at a family gathering.
see you soon!
Be Well,
Gene

Junathon(g) Day 3.

2011-06-04T00:37:00.001-04:00

I ran on trails today. There is a system not far from where I work that offers many hill challenges. As you can see by the graphic, it starts out pretty steep, then gets steeper right before it hands you your lungs and thighs on a bed of fresh raspberries. Glorious. This time of year I can’t make it to the top without stopping. By the end of the season, I ~~still won’t~~ will be able to make it. Fun to watch my progress. At the top is some sort of tower. It isn’t very tall: the fence around it only 8 feet tall. I think that it has something to do with the local airfield, but I don’t know that for sure.

Anyway, it was great to get back out into these trails. Not much had changed, except that I have never seen water in the reservoir. Today, it had water in it, about half full. There was an older man with his dog, who was very obedient, playing at the water’s edge. They were the only two creatures I saw on the run. Bliss.

Made it back to the car without incident and then came home. Day 3, done and done.

Be Well,

Gene

Juneathon(g) Day 2

2011-06-03T11:59:00.000-04:00

late, and a dollar short.
Day 2 included a planned event. The company I work for (Feds) staged a "VA2K" event at nearly all of our facilities (Veteran's Hospitals) across the country. The purpose was two-fold: 1)collect supplies for our homeless Veterans 2)get people outside during the day to walk/run/roll for 2k. As i mentioned on Day 1, i had to map out a(nother) 2k course. so i did.

Yesterday morning I walked the 'tough' course with one of our RD's, planting grade stakes and stapling logo'd arrows to them: We called it the tough course because it included the most elevation changes via stairs and roads. The other two courses were simple loops around two different parking lots.

We handed out visors and pins to people who registered and provided them with water and fruit for 'recovery' from their walk.
Just before we closed up shop, one of my friends from the OR came down and i walked the course with her. She's getting ready for a half-marathon this Sunday. I didn't get in, but will be there to cheer her and some other co-workers' on to their finish.
So that made 4k of walking for the day.
Until i realized that somebody (me) had to go pick up the grade stakes that we had planted earlier. So I did. YAY! 6k walked for the day.
Juneathon(g) day 2 sorted.

Be Well,
Gene

Juneathon(g) day 1

2011-06-01T23:28:00.001-04:00

Yes, we’re back at Juneathon. And today, the first day, which coincidentally is also World Run Day, I ran.

Twice.

Ok, well, they were both rather short runs (a mile each) but they served two masters. The first was to map out a 2k course (the THIRD ONE) for a 2k event that we are having at work. I don’t know why the other two that I created weren’t good enough, but I am just a member of the team, not THE team….. I ran 5 figure 8’s around one of our parking lots before I got to 2k. Done and done. except for the map, which I have to create and then put in .ppt format so that I can email it to work so that I can go in early and print it out and make copies that are just going to blow away at the empty registration table and then the Police (yes, Police, not security. PAHLEEEEZE don’t call them Security…) will want to throw me in Levenworth where I’ll be somebody’s b!tch and my legs will get all itchy because I won’t have a chance to shave them in jail and then welll….I guess I’ll just find a rock and put it on the papers.

The next run was for ME. kinda. it felt great to be out there, sweating, heart beating, getting odd looks from coworkers. good times. I mapped out that 3 laps around the parking lot’s outer loops is .5 miles. so I ran those three in negative splits, then walked a lap while I chatted with a colleague, then ran three more before heading home. good way to end a day. should do it more often….maybe.

I’d wanted to get out on the trails today, but it just wasn’t in the cards.

Perhaps next time.

Be Well,

Gene

Tools. Use them wisely.

2011-05-31T21:01:00.002-04:00

I have been reading more recaps of #fitbloggin, and I must say, I am saddened by much of what I have read. Why? Because there are people out there who want to be part of the fitness movement (see what i did there?) so desperately that they attend things like #fitbloggin with, i imagine, the assumption that they will learn many, many new ways to become more engaged with their fitness ‘journey’, will perhaps learn new ways to find motivation, and become better bloggers (whatever that means to them. i mean, I think that i am a better blogger now than when i started, but i don’t really care if YOU think i am a better blogger. because, well, on my blog, it is ALL about what i think. right? are you ok with that?)
Let’s look at the first point i tried to make: the masses (paying customers) wanted to know (acknowledging assumption here, since i didn’t really interview anyone for this post) how to become more engaged with their fitness journey. I’ve attended conferences where i had goals that were inline with the topic only to walk away with an utter sense of having wasted my time attending the conference. For the purpose of my goals. Did I meet lots of great people? Yes. Did i get to exchange business cards and deepen a connection? Yes. Did i get really tipsy and sing karaoke songs in Japanese? Yes. But did I learn what I hoped to learn, in ways that i could actually apply it? No. I did learn that Tustin, CA is NOT pronounced TOOSTIN. We sang “Santa Monica” by Everclear loudly and poorly on the way to the airport in the shuttle. We tipped the driver well. But the instruction given was unsubstantiated. The presenters were had personal experience with the topic, but were not subject matter experts. I left feeling energized, but not to do the ‘right’ things.
Ah, motivation. I’d be lyin’ if i said i never struggled with it. I have. I do. Sometimes daily. But I think that it is important to remember the tools that we have at our disposal to help keep us motivated. I say ‘help’ because I believe that all of the external motivators in the world will not cause you to change if you are not ready to change. You must first accept motivation from yourself before you will fully accept it from others. There are items out there in the world that people use as motivators, some as a crutch, and some think of them as the devil. One in particular that comes to mind is the SCALE. You know, the one that weighs us. Medical staff use it to help determine if we are getting heavier or lighter versus our last visit. It helps them (us) better predict health risk categories, determine treatment options, and get a quick sense of overall health. It is A tool, not THE tool. Just like (the often unreliable) BMI, body weight is a TOOL. an indicator. Another one could be VO2Max. Yet another could be a person’s resting heart rate, or the time it takes to go from a high rate to a normal (for the subject). I think it is called recovery time or something like that. There are many of them. Tools. They all serve a purpose. All of them. Some you may need more often than others, or for reasons that they weren’t intended, but they still should be kept clean and serviceable. AND IN USE.
The better blogger part? I don’t know much about that, so…whatever. Social media is an interesting topic, that’s for sure. My wife says that she has no use for it, but….if I didn’t have an electronic social media venue to express my wack-o ideas and such, SHE would have to put up with all of it. Her use is an indirect use, but she still uses the tool. (Adam….really? yea, i kinda laughed, too…) BUT ANYWAY….tools. use them wisely. Don’t discard them. Embrace them for what they can offer you, don’t abuse them, and for the love of goodness, please put them back where you found them. (long story there involving a bow saw, a pine tree, a tractor, and my Dad’s forehead).
I’m off to rest my head. Seems that the aforementioned (via twitter) poison ivy is attacking my right eyelid.
#nomorebs
Be Well,
Gene

*****it seems that BLOGGER is BUSTED AGAIN. feel free to email me your comments, and i'll post them as a separate post, unless you ask me not to, in which case i'll just print them out and eat them. Live. In my office. boutdrz AT bigzigonline DOT com ******

How’s that working for ya?

2011-05-28T23:42:00.000-04:00

With respect to Phil, I’m sure that we’ve heard that phrase enough times in the past decade to stop paying attention when it is spoken. Kinda like when a song by Timberlake comes on the radio: you just tune it out…
But when was the last time you took a look at the way you were doing something and then asked that question of yourself? ~~You~~ I made a decision to stop eating candy because it has no value nutritionally, and ~~you~~ I discovered (not so intuitively at first) that dark chocolate (the ONLY chocolate worth eating) causes things to speed up a bit (and I’m not talking about my pulse). So I went cold turkey. Three and a half years ago. In the beginning, there were times when I missed it. Eating it was a social thing. As RNs, we had candy around all the time. People would give it to us (CANDY, Adam, CANDY….) at the drop of a hat. And I stopped. On Halloween.
How’s it working for me? Wonderfully. My wife keeps forgetting that I don’t eat candy anymore and will offer me candy every now and then (and by candy I mean candy…although….). It is kinda funny, so we laugh when it happens. I don’t miss the candy a bit. The smell of it makes me a little whoozy, too. And it is amazing how sweet a banana tastes after you haven’t had other sweets for a long time. So it is working out well so far. I can’t foresee ever going back to eating it. So I had a plan, tried it, stuck to it, and it worked.
Was it easy? No. Did I struggle? Yes, but I didn’t falter. It took hard work and determination. Why was it hard? I LOVE DARK CHOCOLATE. But I gave it up for my health.
I heard some one say, “It is easy to say ‘no’ when there is a bigger ‘yes’.” I love that quotation. It can be applied to so many things, and really has the same impact. I told you the candy story so that I could tell you this: not everything is going to work the first time you try it. You will need to be flexible with your journey, but steadfast on your goals.
People along the way (no matter what your goal is) will try to derail you. Not always intentionally (here, try this and that. it worked for me!), and sometimes subtly, but it will happen. BE AWARE OF THIS, learn to adapt your methods to fit your destination, and you will be fine. You need to ask yourself, and answer honestly, “How is this working for me?”
Figure out the honest answer, try something else if you need to, but never take your eyes off of the final goal. It will be WORK, but you CAN do it.
Be well.
-gene-

Using your Intuition

2011-05-27T14:40:00.000-04:00

in·tu·i·tion noun \ˌin-tü-ˈi-shən, -tyü-\
1: quick and ready insight
2a : immediate apprehension or cognition b : knowledge or conviction gained by intuition c : the power or faculty of attaining to direct knowledge or cognition without evident rational thought and inference

The above definition was taken from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/intuition. Let's take a look at it a little closer, shall we, as I am a bit confused. And I love to share my confusions with others (don't I, Sweetie?). To me, "quick and ready insight" means that it takes little or no time or thought to figure something out. Like when you walk into a room and open the door REEEEEAAAALLLY wide because you just know' that your little sister is there, ready to ~~pounce on you like a panther~~ sprinkle you with glitter. With all of the 2a-c, that part of the definition is really lost on me (i am from the backwoods of Vermont, remember) and it doesn't really impact my ~~rant~~ explanation of my confusion. Just wait and see...
I bring this up because of some recent attention to "intuitive eating" (IE), both in the blog world and IRL. Seriously. Strange tie-ins like that have been happening all week. I overheard some people at the grocery talking about it, read the transcript from #fitbloggin, and have had some personal experiences with intuitive eating. Or so I thought. The name is catchy, for sure, but i've oft wondered if it was the best term to describe it. As my lovely wife can attest, i am a stickler for the correct use of vocabulary, (especially by others!), so I have been mulling this over for a while now. The time, i feel, has come to investigate. All in the name of #nomorebs.
My understanding of IE is that you eat what you know agrees with you so that you don't feel sluggish, bloated, hyper-motile (not hypermoBILE. that's ok. hyper-moTILE isn't always good), etc. etc. I first heard about it while running through the woods listening to @twofitchicks podcast about a year or so ago. Miz and Shauna were talking about it, and I sensed some apprehension at the name from Miz, but I'm not going to speak for her on that. It was just my take. I started to think about MY food intake and how it made me feel, and came to the realization that I had been eating intuitively for a while without even knowing it. Amazing! Here's a brief version of my story with food:
Growing up I ate whatever was put in front of me. Dinner was dinner. We all ate together, and we ate the same food. We had a "take what you want but eat what you take" mantra. This meant that you didn't get up until you ate it. All of it. Even if that meant that you were still sitting there long after the dishes were done. Was it the right thing to do? I dunno. Worked for us, so who am i to judge? In '86 I went to Japan as an exchange student. I ate all kinds of things that most people wouldn't: at least not most Americans.
There was eel, octopus, umeboshi, seaweed, so many different fish, veggies (yama imo!), and other things. I don't think that I ever refused to eat anything that was presented. Including ram and beef tongue. One thing that I learned about their food culture is that they consider it rude to leave ANY rice in the bowl at the end of a meal. Their reasoning, I was told, was that the farmer worked very hard in all kinds of weather to get that rice to your table, and that it was very disrespectful to waste it. WOW. I had never looked at it that way, and it changed the way I have looked at food ever since. i went from being 'afraid' of not finishing my food (and anyone elses' at the table) to finishing it to avoid disrespecting the 'farmer' or even the cook. But then something happened when i hit my mid 30's.
Stress. Anxiety. Bad personal decisions.

More Chins than....you know the rest.

Mostly self-induced, but my life became very stressfull. And my eating went haywire. I gained a buncha weight. This picture is bitter sweet. It was taken on one of the most fun days of my life, and i look like CRAP in it. This crapiness is magnified by the fact that I am in Uniform. Disgraceful. It hangs on my office wall as a reminder...but I digress. IE is the topic here....SO.....during this epoc, my...ummm...'system' kicked into overdrive. like 4-5 times a day. TMI? read on. I eventually went to see a gastroenterologist who I worked with, but not until my late 30's. I just couldn't take it any more. I thought it was a parasite. I thought I had some disease. As an RN, i have just enough knowledge to be dangerous, as they say. At one point during the exam the doc said, "well, I don't think that you'll need a colonoscopy, THANK GOD!" we both had a good laugh. He said that many of his collegues would diagnose me with IBS, but he wasn't going to do that.
I asked him point blank, "Do you think IBS is BS as a diagnosis?" He replied that he felt that it was becoming an overused diagnosis, but that it did have its place. I then said, "Do you think most cases, like mine, are more mental than physical?" He made some smartass comment about yes, for me, it was mental, because i was a bit 'off' anyway, but that also yes, symptoms can be aggrivated by both stress and DIET. Well....i didn't think that i could control the stress in my life (still working on that, actually), but i could control what i put in my pie hole.I started looking at what was going on food/drink wise on the days when i was most 'active'. I noticed a trend. Milk, candy, coffee, and chocolate were all big culprits. I have eliminated all but the coffee. (don't touch my coffee. seriously. if that ever gets taken away....) Except for chocolate chips in some ice cream, I haven't had ANY candy since OCT 31, 2007. I rarely eat ice cream. Creamies/SoftServe on the other hand, is different. yes, yes, yes, all chemicals, but...NO REAL MILK, so...no worries! yum. I have also identified other foods that work 'wonders' on my body in some way or another. My discovery of those things, going by the definition above, was not at all....intuitive. So the PROCESS leading to IE is trial and error, introspection, journaling, investigating....and the RESULT is INTUITIVE.
so....
again. Cave Lector. and of course, #nomorebs

#nomorebs

2011-05-25T23:14:00.001-04:00

Those of you who follow me on twitter may have seen this hash tag on some of my recent tweets. I will attempt to explain what is is all about. I was in email conversation with Sarah Stanley earlier today, and this is what I told her:

Some tweeps who i respect recently attended a blogger conference and were appauled at what they saw. People who represent themselves one way online turning out to be completely different in real life, people who seemed honest and trustworthy online hawking products to people who really didn't need them....on and on.

I was unable to attend, and now that I have spoken with them and read some reviews, I am glad that I didn't waste my time or money.

The hastag #nomorebs grew out of a twitter conversation that we were having about honesty, accountability, social responsibility, and business sense.

As you are well aware, there is a HUGE need in this country for people to be healthier. You are a part of this movement toward health, and I commend you for it; I am a big fan of what you do. Not speaking for the others, my concern is that this movement has opened up a huge demand (albeit too often short lived) for products, tips, and knowledge about how to improve health and wellness.

Accompanying this demand is a seemingly endless supply of bullshit products, tips, and 'knowledge' spewing out from all areas, some of which I never would have expected it to come from. We are really hoping to send out a message to people not to be so gullible; to really look into things before they make big purchases, follow a 'diet', or be mislead by quacks.

One huge thing that comes to mind is the show "biggest loser". when it first came out i was instantly put off by it, but then went through a period of morbid curiosity about the show, and have now come (in the last 3 seasons) to really dislike it. bad info, bad ideas, bad....expectations being 'set' for the general public who doesn't know any better than to blindly follow these goofballs on TV just because they are on tv.

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

You may or may not agree with me, and, admittedly, I was not in attendance. But as Tommy Boy so eloquently said, "You can get a good look at a T-bone by sticking your head up a bull's ass... I'd rather ask the butcher. “

So I am calling for an end to the BS. Granted, I am no expert. I have no degree in fitness, nutrition, or business. But I investigate. I don’t take things at face value. I am a HUGE devil’s advocate, and love looking at popular things from the unpopular side.

I encourage you to do the same. Not just with fitness/wellness, but in your LIFE as well. Am I advocating that you tell your boss to “take this job and shove it”? Well, no….but if there is something going on that you think shouldn’t be, feel empowered to call ‘shenanigans’. Remember, there are creative ways to show your disapproval. Use your mind, use your brain. Get things done.

No More Bull Shit. #nomorebs. Know it. Love it. Live it.

YOU have the power to do it. YOU have the power to make changes.

What are YOU waiting for?

cave lector (kah-vay lek-tor)

2011-05-23T17:08:00.001-04:00

Someone close and dear to me mentioned in an email that they (let's call this person GENE, so that i don't have to say s/he through the whole blog, mmkay? and no, it isn't me. honeslty) had met recently with their doc and the doc (he? prolly) suggested that he (Gene (again, not me)) follow a "low purine diet". I had an idea what that meant, but I have begun to try to look at things from the perspective of "i know nothing about healthcare, so i need to look everything up on the web." Let me tell you, this has been an interesting experiment. It has really opened my eyes, and has made me almost sick to my stomach. Allow me to use Gene's advice as an example:
I googled "low purine diet". I got quite the interesting list of options:

Not one to always follow the top of the list, i chose a link from www.myrtuemedical.org, indicated by the red circle. Remember, I am an 'average Joe' looking stuff up that my doctor told me about. SO i went there. Here are some highlights (the document is a .pdf file, and i don't know how to just copy and paste those files):

"WHAT IS IT? A low purine diet means eating foods that do not have many purines in them." (umm. seriously? wow. NOW i know what it means. how could i have been so NAIVE??? Next I suppose they'll tell me that a 'no smoking area' means an area with no smoking. Or that 'peanut butter' is butter made from peanuts. Or that baby oil is oil made from......wait! What IS baby oil made from? And has anyone ever SEEN a CANOLA? (not a canolli...i've seen plenty of those!)

ok. the paragraph goes on. are you ready to be edu-ma-kated? Gud.
"Purines are found in some foods." Such as? I still don't know wtf a purine is, but i know that it is found in some foods. So is HFCS. So is soy lecithin. So is...Prestone Anti-freeze. Seriously. It is. every see "polyethylene glycol" in the ingredients list? I have. In one of my favourite things. Now, I'm not so sure..... Thus far, i have not learned anything useful from this web site. Ever the optimist, i continue reading:

Turns out (which i really already knew, but again, play along here....) that uric acid is formed from the breakdown of purines. The body doesn't use uric acid, so your kidneys filter it out, and excrete it in your urine. (some people (Madonna is one of them, so it HAS to be true) say that peeing on your shower curtain will reduce the amount of moldy build up. Presumably the uric acid kills it. Hmm.... Anyway, Uric acid buildup in the body can cause pain and swelling known as GOUT. (not "the gout", as a lot of old-timers call it. kinda like "the twitter" and "the facebook". sheesh. Old timers are fun.) Build up of this acid can also cause kidney stones. Hmm....That i didn't know. I know kidney stones as "renal calculi", which get their name from Calcium....but hey. this site is 'myrtuemedical', so who am I to argue?
** RN NOTE: Uric acid is heavy. It takes quite a bit to move it along the blood stream. In relatively healthy people, this isn't usually a problem. As we drink water, the uric acid concentration goes down, and the kidneys can handle the processing, and we just pee it out. Yay, Pee!. However, in not so healthy individuals, or those with poor circulation (sub-set of not so healthy individuals), the uric acid may build up...and end up lodged in the more distal (far away) capillaries (tiniest of blood vessels) of the fingers and toes. This is why most people who suffer from GOUT are older or overweight. And if you look at their diet, they have a tendency to be people who drink a lot of COLA/SODA/POP. End RN NOTE**

Under the heading "CARE", the information goes on to state "Eat a diet that has at least 50% of calories as carbohydrates. Do this by eating 6 to 10 servings of bread or starchy foods, and 5 fruits and vegetables each day." WHAT?
"Drink plenty of non-alcohol containing beverages. 8-12 cups per day." (ok, i'm no English major, but.....)

Then they list some sections for low, medium, and high purine foods. Curious, aren't you? Heck, if you've read this far, you might as well keep reading, right?
"Low: Eat or drink the following things as often as you like while following an eating plan for staying at a good body weight:
breads: low fiber, white flour
cream style soups
eggs (limit 3 to 4 per week)
nuts and peanut butter (limit if trying to lose weight)
past and macaroni
SODA POP"
"Medium: Eat only one serving per day...when gout is under control. Avoid when gout is flaring up:
asparagus
dried beans, peas, lentils
oats and oatmeal
spinach
wheat germ and bran
whole grain foods"
"High: Avoid these foods all of the time:
anchovies
broths bouillons, consommes
gravies
some fishes
mincemeat
organ meats
scallops and mussel
WILD (that's all it says, i swear! 'wild')"

Seems like they are advocating a diet high in unrefined carbs and low in fiber. Isn't this pretty much the OPPOSITE of what most of the rest of the world is saying?

I am hoping that your take-away from this is that you will consider your sources while seeking information, either on the web, in print, or in person. Just for example, and i was JUST DUPED, go back to the top and re-read the name of the website that I am talking about. Carefully.

Are you done? Did you learn anything? I thought it was myTRUEmedical, but really it is myRTUEmedical. ahhh....my eyes deceived me. Twice.
Anyway, here is the link to the document, if you'd like to actually read it. But please, don't pass it along as advice. It was last updated in 2008. Things have changed in the past 3 years in the medical field. Heck, they've probably changed since you sat down to read this.

DISCLAIMER:: though I am a Registered Nurse, this blog is purely MY COMMENTARY, and I am not diagnosing, suggesting treatment, or selling anything. I am simply expressing my thoughts as I try to navigate life. –gene-

First, perhaps, in a series…

2011-05-19T22:52:00.001-04:00

see those little dudes? have you seen this picture before? no? ok…they were taken almost 35 years apart. I tried to recreate the right one exactly, but someone wasn’t being very cooperative that day…hey, it MIGHT have been me. you just never know.

why am I showing this picture? because even though we may look alike, I don’t want us to BE alike. sure, there are things about me and the way I am that I sincerely hope he takes on as his, too. but then there are things that I don’t. because of this, the good and the bad, I really need to pay closer attention to my words, actions, and just who I ‘am’.

and that doesn’t just mean to watch my temper and watch my language. it means everything. too many things to list here, but they include how I talk to my elders, how I treat my wife, how I treat the other kids, how I open doors for people, how I complain about chores, how i ….the list goes on and on.

time for me to cut bait or fish. shit or get off the pot. whichever. both.

this has been TOOO long in the making, though I have tried before and failed, I will try again. because that, too, is important.

“it doesn’t matter how many times you fall; only how many times you get back up” –someone smarter than I-

“always forward” Basic Training Company’s Motto

“if you don’t like it, change it. if you can’t change it, change how you see it” –seen on a twitter profile-

Be Well, Gene.

Pandora's Box

2011-05-18T15:05:00.000-04:00

I get myself into trouble quite a bit by not communicating very well the things that are racing around in my head. Am I the only one? Sure seems like it on most days. Either that or i am just not reading the right blogs. Or maybe I am not listening very well.
At any rate, I need to communicate better, especially in real life. Twitter and this here blog are not the appropriate venues to mention, for the first time, certain things. This won't be one of those times.
FEAR NOT, intrepid reader. I TRUELY HAVE NO ANNOUNCEMENTS.

Except that I am going to try to focus more on positivity, less on negativity, and pursue those things that make me happy. For if i am happier, my family is happier (i don't really get this connection, but i am working on that, too).

I will be taking the rest of this week to get my head back on straight. It is just about there. Over the weekend, I will work hard, play a bit, and run. Starting next week (no, really.) I will begin some things that I will discuss with T before I mention them here.

A new Gene is on the horizon. If all goes as I plan, he will look very much like the old Gene that Tracey and Weeb have been looking for. Thank you, both of you, for your patience.

Have a great Wednesday evening. See you back here, tomorrow.

Where did i go?

2011-05-09T16:40:00.001-04:00

Greetings, again. Have some of you been wondering where I have been (please humor me by just smiling and nodding, mmmkay)? To tell the truth, I have been all over the mental map lately. I am generally really good with maps (need to fold it back up to fit in the glove box? i'm your man...), and have some old ones that i treasure. (side note for people under 30: Maps are graphical representations of objects or places on Earth (or wherever) that we (the over 30 set) use to help navigate from place to place. just sayin').
anyway, i have been giving it quite a bit of thought lately, and i think that i have my map re-oriented to my direction of travel (KEY when reading/following a map. even if it means that words are upside down or sideways. if you keep your map oriented in the direction of travel, it will help TONS). "recalculating"......
so.
right.
We all have many irons in the fire, don't we? Kids, spouses, school, work, community, Church, relatives. Very easy to get caught up in all that, and I would argue that it is GOOD and WORTHY to get caught up in all of that. One thing that tends to get overlooked, at least with many of my IRL friends (and i can only assume my virtual friends as well) is OURSELVES. Yes, there are people out there (you know who ~~you~~ they are) who's satellite radio only tunes into WIIFM .....but this isn't about them. (it is actually about ME! see what i did there???)
There are some who think, maybe because I don't talk much, that i don't consider others in my daily routines or future plans. To them I say....***crickets***......ahahahahaah.....from my point of view, I don't place much weight on things that impact only me. I try to strike a balance that favors others. but this isn't about that.
Having reoriented my map, I am deciding on new routes to reach the same destination. Or at least somewhere near my original destination. In the neighbourhood. #cryptic I say that only because I don't know exactly what i want my destination to be, i just have a general idea that it ISN'T living in a van, down by the river. A place that I was once told is where i would live if i didn't take a certain described path. Ok, it wasn't a van, but it was a trailer, in a mobile home park. but this isn't about that, either.
In the coming weeks I will be deciding how i want to tackle some challenges that lie before me, most of them are in my head and (seemingly, for me) don't really impact other people. Don't worry, i don't plan on changing jobs or moving or doing anything like that.
A few years ago, during a particularly rough time in my life, my sister said to me, "I want my brother back." Well, Weeb, I'm working on it.
Last weekend (not Mother's Day weekend, the one before that), my wife said, "you just stopped mid way through the project and moved on, leaving stuff all over the yard. that isn't your usual self. what has happened? where did you go?"
No where, just had my map askew.
Working on it......
How about you? Is your map oriented in the direction of travel, or are you mistakingly making right turns when you really should be going left?

Generation UCAN product review

2011-05-03T12:46:00.001-04:00

Some time ago I recieved a package from GenerationUCAN. I won it by being one of the first ~~200 callers~~ people to reply to a tweet that they sent out. Yes, while I am at work i am often camped out on Twitter. I have a dual monitor system, which is a pretty sweet set-up. ANYWAY....

Their product makes this claim:

"While traditionally fast acting carbs have been denounced by many nutritionists, SuperStarch has been deemed revolutionary because of its unique time release characteristics. Protein advocates like Dr. Jeff Volek have called it an innovation."

What does that mean? I dunno either. Luckily, their page is VERY comprehensive, and it goes on to say that amazing things like poo-flinging monkeys from Panama were involved (but not harmed) in the discovery of this product. Seriously. (OK, FINE. NOT seriously. please don't sue me. you can't get blood from a stone.)

The idea for this product came about because of a special dietary need for one of the founders' kids. See their website for the grand details, test results, industry input, acclaim, and of course...

SHOPPING!

There are so many flavors to choose from, your best bet is to get at least one of each packet. My favourites are the Lemonade and Vanilla. I actually find that the lemonade, when combined with plain yogurt, is AWESOME. I mixed vanilla and chocolate (not together) with both soy and rice milk (again, NOT together), and they dissolved very well. NO gritty feeling, no chalky textures. Just pure goodness.

While on their site, i recommend that you pick up one of their blender bottles. A what? yep. this is a FABULOUS idea. I don't know if it is their idea, but i haven't seen it anywhere else, so.....I'll give them credit. The bottle is nothing special, but you place this little whisk-ball inside when you shake the b'Jeezum out of it. Definitely helps with the mixing process.

Seen here is the contents of the box of goodies that I received. The shirt is great. I wore it to every basketball game i went to this winter. Now, of course, I just have to flippin' get off my ar$e, pick one, and DO IT.

As their slogan says, UCAN!

I should probably include here that I did, in fact, feel great during the runs I took after using the GenUCAN products. NO upset stomach (which is one of their big claims, so WIN!), no crash (another claim-->WIN). The energy didn't seem artificial, didn't induce a fuzzy buzz, like some products have (5 hour engergy, anyone? no, thanks.)

We met with and talked to some of their people at the Boston Marathon Expo, and they were very open, receptive, and personable. I enjoyed chatting with them! Hit up their website, check out their product line, hit them up if you see them at an expo!

UCAN!

Wordless Wednesday (kinda, not really)

2011-04-27T10:04:00.001-04:00

OKOKOK. it is ALL words. and a few numbers. and part of a picture. but SEEEE?????

At the bottom? Yep.

Me. (camera angle slightly obscures the spelling error in my last name, but i can assure you that it is me!)

Twice famous.

I'm gonna have to talk to the folks at Headsweats....

where is this? Let's say.....

Runner's World UK! (because it would be true).

Big thank you to Cathy for shipping ('literally') this over to me, and to Julia Buckley, author of the article. And of course to Tracey (no online references available...not even @twitter...ahem!....) for putting up with me shoving the magazine in her face yesterday while she was trying to deal with kids and parents and cats and all those other things.

I love her.

#thatisall

-g-

Nearly Famous…..

2011-04-25T22:22:00.001-04:00

Just a week later, and I am still talking to people about the Boston Marathon. Imagine if I actually participated in the darn thing! As it was, Tracey, B, and I attended the expo together and I went to the race solo. Met up with some other bloggers and online pals, had a blast, took a buncha pictures, and got on TV about a gazillion times.

Seriously.

Here's how it happened:

we were standing between Trader Joes and some bar. Riz, i think? I dunno bars. Anyway, we were all having a good time when the wheel-chairs went zooming by. The dramatic pass by the Japanese athlete Soejima happened right in front of us. It was a blurr of men, muscle, and machinery that got us even more pumped up.

Here's the picture that I took:

I am sure that most of you saw this on TV, from the perspective of the camera on the motorcycle. See it? I've circled it in this photo....

See it? yep. SO….if I captured IT, that means….logically…~~it weighs the same as a duck~~ IT captured US. Allow me to submit exhibit B:

Even though the camera is obscured, it is clearly the same video delivery system in the other picture. (how they ride backward like that without HURLING all over the place is beyond me). In exhibit C (below), take from the TV coverage, I have indicated our relative place in the crowd. We were right up against the barriers, so there should be no mistaking us. We are clearly distinguishable among the throngs….right? I placed a yellow arrow in our general location. See???

How could you NOT recognize us! Of course, that black blob is my backpack, and we are all to the right of it. I couldn’t get the still shot right, but suffice to say that our entire crew was ON TV!!!!!

well, when I was thinking up this post in my head, it was hella funnier. seeing it now, though, it feels like a dud. well, you’ll have that, right?

thanks for enduring with me!

be well,

gene

cheap and easy

2011-04-21T10:31:00.000-04:00

Hey, that's me!

Not that i really wanted to do it this way, but here is a slideshow of the photos I took in Boston on Monday.
I'll add them to their own page (tabbed) in the next few days....I promise.

Is it Monday again? Already?

2011-04-20T12:57:00.000-04:00

Sooo…hello. Here’s how the conversation unfolded…

Ring, Ring…

Gene (g): Hello, this is Gene.

Kevin (k): Hi, Gene. Kevin here from the Chief of Staff’s office. I just wanted to touch base to make sure that you got my email about the CEB meeting tomorrow. We anticipate that you will be presenting progress and new items for the BCE/BCMA Multidisciplinary Team. Typically ~~some other schmuck~~ some other schmuck gave the presentation, but he retired..

[G: *crickets, accompanied by the sound of my heart pounding…

K: Hello? Are you still there?]

Snaps back to reality, scrolls through the 150 emails from yesterday......

G: I don’t see that email, but I’ll look into it.

K: thanks, I can resend it if you like, that way you don’t have to search through a week’s worth of emails.

G: that would be great, thanks!

K: no problem. Let me know if we should defer to May, ok?

G: I sure will. Thanks again

K: ok. [click]

G: *thud, as head drops down onto up-side-down metal book case used as my standing desk* *sounds of disconnected phone line echo through the office*

Chris (office mate): Gene? Gene? Are you alright?

G: get those defibrillator pads away from me! I’m not dead…yet.

So i have to get to work on some charts, pretty bar graphs, and TPS reports. I love how numbers can be ~~skewed~~ presented in such a way that you can tell your story any way your boss wants to see it. Yay, numbers!

In other news, I have pictures from spectating in Boston on Marathon Monday, and might get my act together in the next few days to post the better ones here......in the mean time:

Peace, yo! (but don't touch my stapler!)

-gene-

Hob-nobbing….

2011-04-17T08:21:00.001-04:00

After much internal and some external deliberation, I am bringing my wife and youngest son to Boston this morning.We are going to the Expo for the Boston Marathon. I hope i don’t pee myself with excitement. At this point, it is a real possibility.I have never been to a race that had an expo. I guess, and pardon me for using the football in this analogy, it is like never having been to anything more than a Pop Warner football game, then going to the Super Bowl. I have no idea what we are in for, except that i am prepared to be amazed, hooked, and over-stimulated.yep, for sure.

Looking forward to meeting up with the folks from Arctic Ease (@arcticease), who i really enjoy. We’ve been actively communicating on Twitter, which is fantastic. Little ‘ol me, chatting it up with the CEO and all that. A very personable company with a great product and great customer service. Love it!

We’ll also be dropping by Nuun, Gu, Adidas, Brooks, Fila (?)…i dunno. i’m just listing off a buncha folks who i hope will be there! hahahaha….like a little kid creating his Christmas list (no red-rider bb gun, so no worries. go ahead, i dare you to lick that pole!) anywhoo….

I am certain to be tweeting and sending out pics. I’ll also likely post tonight about the experience, unless i wet myself. Tomorrow it will be up and out the door by 0500 so that I can get a great spot near the finish line like i had last year. This year, though, doesn’t look like it will be as warm or dry….but that’s ok. I won’t be in a singlet….

You can poke them with a stick!

2011-04-13T23:25:00.000-04:00

Yes, this was the first time that I have met up with tweeps. I kinda tried last year at THE marathon, when Red was in town with Spike, but ~~i saw a squirrel~~ i was kinda doing my own thing (surprise) and didn't get to meet up. Maybe this year......
But this evening, I met Kris from http://www.krisgetshealthy.com/ (@krisgetshealthy) and James from http://www.priorfatguy.com/ (@jpnagan. It was very cool. Here's how it evolved:
I learned of an opportunity to go to Minneapolis (Bloomington), MN for work related training. So i hit them up on twitter, wondering if they knew where i was going to be, and if it was anywhere near them. Kris was like, ummm..YEA! of COURSE i know where that is, and JP was all....oh yea, i know that area! (turns out that the venue (hotel) is 1 mile away from the Mall of America. Cool.
Then i was denied my application to go.
So then we called the meet-up off.
Then i lobbied my boss to let me go.
And the meet-up was back on.
Thennn we had to pick a date and time, which we did. then they asked me where i wanted to go and i said, ~~"anywhere that servers pitchers of Quervo Gold Margaritas"~~ "i'll eat just about anything, so you pick." we decided on the economical and convenient Chevy's that is behind the MOA. JP brought his wee one with him, as his wife was finalizing a hostile takeover of some huge corporation. Seriously.
Oh. wait. so i'm here at the conference, and people are ~~being nosy~~ asking about each other's plans, and i told them that i was meeting with people who i only knew from twitter and they said that it sounded dangerous but i had no fear since they seemed really nice and genuine and such.....
and i was right!
Kris picked me up a the hotel and we headed over to Chevy's. On the way we talked about her plans and progress along her C25K journey; that girl has it figured out! She's getting a bit...well, head to her blog to hear her story, but lemme just say that she is, IMHO, on the right path, and also has the right attitude for success.
JP and wee one showed up, and we went inside. Food was good, conversation was great, wee one lost a small piece of lego. Seeing James and wee one interact reminded me A LOT of Bryce and I; it was heartwarming to see. JP had an impromptu photo shoot while at the gym today. Head over to his blog to check it out. This man is driven, determined, and actively working toward his fitness goals, all while keeping his priorities at home in line (IMHO).
Wee one was getting a bit antsy, but still holding it together pretty well. we decided to head out while he was still good, and i was even able to get him to take this picture of us, rather than poke them with a stick....maybe next time.....
Thank you, Kris and James for taking the time to get together! Very cool.....

Thankful Thursday

2011-04-07T14:14:00.000-04:00

What am I thankful for today? No surprise, I am thankful for my wife, my best friend, my soulmate. Some of you know her as Tracey, some of you know her as "anonymous". She is my lighthouse, my rudder, my raison d'etre.
I am ALSO thankful for you, my readers. I was very....hesitant to publish my last post. Since then, however, I am very happy that I did it. I have received many comments, and it received more hits than any of my other posts. And it was just about me. I find that odd, but hey! s'all good.
There were many good, thoughtful comments. I even received some emails on the topic. I am humbled, honoured, and thankful for your words of support and encouragement.

That's about it for today.
Oh, wait.
Next week i'll be in Bloomington, MN, for 3 days of training. I'll be attending courses to earn myself the titles of "Wellness Coach" and "Smoking Cessation Counsellor" for our hospital. I am pretty excited about this 'collateral duty'. I was very interested, and applied, but was denied by my supervisor. Lemme tell ya, I was wikkid bummin' that day. In true Tracey/anonymous style, though, she encouraged me to persue it. "if you really want this, which it seems you do, you have to GO AFTER IT."
So I did.
And i convinced my boss that I was the right person (the ONLY) person who we should send to this training. She (Tracey) rocks.
So I am going. There are a bunch of us (perhaps 100?), and I sent out an email to the group, suggesting that we convene sometime Monday afternoon/evening for a walk/jog/run to help loosen up our legs after having sat in airplanes all day. Within 10 minutes I had a dozen or more replies, all wanting to join in! How cool is that? Very.
I won't have computer access while i am away, but i will have my phone, which means i will be tweeting....

AND....Boston is just over a week away!!! woot! I asked Tracey if mebbe we could go to the expo on Sunday....hopefully see the peeps from @ArcticEase and Arctic Ease. That'd be awesome. AND the folks from @GenUCAN and GenerationUCAN. Ok, enough name dropping for today.

Have fun, be well....thanks for stopping by.
-gene-

Allow myself to introduce…..myself.

2011-04-03T23:55:00.001-04:00

I have been planning and editing this post in my head for almost a month, and now that I am sitting in front of the computer, it is all a blank. I am starting this at almost 10pm on 4-3-11. I write that because I am interested to know when I will be finished with it. Time will tell, right?

Well, eff it, I am just going to type…..if you are looking for a break from posts about running or planning for races, then read on. I might suggest a nice fresh cup of tea or coffee first. We might be here a while.

Has anything you’ve done or said forced you to take a long look in your mental mirror, even if you didn’t want to at the time? If not, I believe that one of two things is true: 1) your time is coming, or 2) you aren’t being honest with yourself. I had one of these situations a few weeks ago, and have been stewing on it ever since. In doing so, many, many things that I have always wondered about have fallen into place.

Let’s examine a few things, and how I believe they apply to me:

• Lack of managing appropriate social conduct I have a tendency to hide or avoid social interactions. You may be thinking, “but Gene, you do so well here and on twitter….” Here’s my reply, “it is because I can’t see you, and I can walk away from the conversation at any time, and that is acceptable in these realms.” Imagine if we were eating dinner together and I just got up and left. Not quite as acceptable, which makes me feel strange, and I don’t like that, so I have always tried to avoid those things. Knowing that we have an event to attend (even a sporting event) causes me to be edgy for days in advance.

Problems engaging in "small talk" I am not good at social hours or cocktail parties. I can’t engage with others at conferences before the speaker starts. I sit there, either writing, playing some logic-based game on my phone, or categorizing people in the crowd. I don’t mingle….even at family gatherings, and this has become a problem in my life.

• High intelligence While I have never been accused of this, and it is uncomfortable for me to talk about, I agree. Or at least high on the average scale.

• Anger management problems Oh, yes. This is ME! I have a tough time managing my anger and frustration. I am nearly always at the boiling point, and I don’t really know how to control it. I tend to pound my fist on a table, or my cell phone, or the fridge, or…..once I kicked a concrete pillar so hard I had to be on crutches for a week. Dumb.

• Controlling feelings such as depression, fear or anxiety Depression can either sneak up on me or ambush me in the middle of a great day. I rarely see it coming, as many of you can recall from some tweets that I have sent out. Fear? not so much. Anxiety? mostly as it relates to being in large spaces (I don’t like to go shopping. WAAAAAY too much stimulus…)

• Lack of empathy I can be empathetic, and I think that I am fairly empathetic. Thing is, I don’t always express it in such a way that other people see it….

• Inability to listen to others I’m sorry, what? I listen well, I think. But part of being a good listener, I am told, is being empathetic. See above…

• Inflexible thinking Black/white. That’s it. Moving on…

• Repetitive routines provides feelings of security Not in the sense that I have to check the back door 15 times before I leave the house, but…I will re-arrange items on a table at a restaurant, straighten out the sugar packets, align items on our shelves so that all labels face the same way, etc. All of the screws in my light sockets are straight up and down. At least they were when I put them there. Hang on, I gotta check….yep.

• Stress when their routine suddenly changes Oh, Lordy this is a big one. Going grocery shopping? cool. ummm….WHY are we at Khol’s???? there are NO grocery items in that store. Shopping list? cool. ummmm….strawberries aren’t on the list. why are they in the cart? Just ask my wife about this one. yea. shopping with me is NOT fun.

• Inability to think in abstract ways Au contraire, actually. Sometimes my thinking is so abstract, I can’t get anyone to understand me.

• Specialised fields of interest I have had several. Read many books on Everest. Many on climbing techniques. Other things, too. I love music. Can sing along to almost anything prior to 2002. After that, I just pretty much stopped listening to the radio.

• Visual thinking I like to, prefer to, sketch things out. I love, LOVE maps. I have a few full sketch books, and even have one for small carpentry projects from around the house.

If you have hung on this far, you might be wondering what I am getting at. I’m taking lists of criteria and characteristics and seeing how I feel (think, actually. I FEEL with my fingers, etc.) that they apply to me. Many of you are certainly bored at this point. others may not be yet, but are getting there. others have gone for a second cuppa coffee. what’s better than reading about someone do this to themselves online? not much.

Friendships are usually formed through mutual interest areas or activities Check. Runners, hikers, climbers. While I am very interested in Z’s athletic endeavors, I am not friends with the other ‘team dads’. My wife has had a daycare for nearly 5 years. Some of the parents have been with her since day one. I know them, but wouldn’t consider hanging out with them. (see small talk, above).
Some individuals have extreme hyper or hypo sensitivity to light, noise, touch, taste, or smell yep. at night, if one of the cats fart, I’m awake. overhead lights drive me nuts. I sometimes wear a baseball cap at work. contrasts between light and dark are very distracting. when in stores, I have a tough time blocking out all of the ancillary conversations and announcements around me. most of the time, light touch is uncomfortable. most of the time…
Sensory and social demands of life make more downtime essential When I come home from work, I crave alone time. sometimes it is a run. sometimes it is playing video games, or reading, or just lying on our bed. this doesn’t always happen. when it DOES, though, I think that I am much better. at family gatherings, I often will drift away from the party. I need to let things quiet down in my head. this has often caused problems, because people have felt that I didn’t want to be around them, or that I was mad, or whatever. nope. just need some quiet.

Thing is, for all of these categories listed, I could never actually group them or understand them like this. I just always thought of myself as odd, as the one to blame, as, well, as just the way it was. and I struggle to change it. I have tried on several occasions, in this marriage and my first, to be more….’there’ at gatherings. So far, it hasn’t worked. But I will keep trying, especially now that I have a ‘reason’ for my aloofness.

My enlightenment came after a text message from one of my cousins. I had sent out a tweet saying something about ‘why do my weekends always fall apart, even after a good week?’ She replied, “it is because you are Autistic.” whoa. what? when I asked her, she said, “dude. you totally have Asperger’s. look it up.” And so I did. And, after reading article after article online and taking 3-4 online ‘tests’, I agree with her.

I am a self-identified (not self-diagnosed) “Aspie”. The bullet points above are characteristics of people with Apserger’s Syndrome. As a syndrome, it is not a disease or a disorder, but by definition it is “a group of signs and symptoms that occur together and characterize a particular abnormality or condition.” When I look at the criteria for diagnosis with Asperger’s Disorder, I don’t quite fit, which is good.

Asperger’s is on the Autism Spectrum. Is there a cure? NO! It isn’t a diesase. Autism is a neurological condition, and this holds true for all other conditions on the spectrum.

Ok. I am drained. Time check reveals 11:37 on the same night I started this. I did better than I expected. cool.

Thank you for reading this far. I wish that I had a chunk of cheese for you, or a finisher’s medal. All I have is my gratitude for having an ‘audience’ to talk to. even if my hit counter stays below 5.

-gene-

Light It Up Blue 2011

2011-04-03T09:37:00.001-04:00

It has only been in the past few months, say since October or so, that I have really taken any notice to Autism. As a 42 year old, and a health care worker, of course I had heard of it. Of course I know people whose kids have it, or they, themselves, are Autistic.

But I never, honestly, gave much thought to how it might impact me.

Then I started to pay more attention to things, and causes, and decided to join in on the Operation Jack virtual run and fund raiser right after Christmas. It was fun, but I didn’t raise much money or awareness. But I became drawn to something that I hadn’t been in the past, which gave me an opportunity to learn more about something that I hadn’t known much about. So I chalked it up as a win.

As many of you already know, April is Autism Awareness Month, and the 1st and 2nd are Light It Up Blue days. For more deets on that, go to www.lightitupblue.org. I mentioned to Tracey that I wanted to get blue bulbs for our two exterior lights, and she readily agreed. But I failed to make it to the store in time for Friday, so we went out yesterday and got 2 bulbs.

Then we went to her parents’ house to celebrate Bryce’s 5th with the family. I should have known better, but I didn’t assume that we would stay until nearly 9pm. On our way home we could see that a local hotel had lit up their entry blue:

When we got home, I promptly put in the bulbs. Here’s our front door, which we never use:

The other entry has a motion sensing spot light, so the blue didn’t show up in the picture. I left the lights on all night (power company can thank me later). Earlier in the day, Bryce and I took some time to make some blue pancakes. My cousin in North Carolina made some, too, so it was ALMOST like we had breakfast together, which would have been pretty cool had it actually happened. She sent me some pictures, but I can’t figure out how to get them from my phone’s text messages to the web….. rats.

Here are our pictures, though. For those of you who support any foundations or movements that are important to you, I humbly give thanks. For those of you on the fence about such things, I can appreciate that, too. Have a great Sunday!

Funny Friday

2011-04-01T10:35:00.002-04:00

copied and pasted straight from an email from my Dad. too good NOT to post here.....

STELLA AWARDS:
It's time again for the annual 'Stella Awards'! For those unfamiliar with these awards, they are named after 81-year-old Stella Liebeck who spilled hot coffee on herself and successfully sued the McDonald's in New Mexico , where she purchased coffee. You remember, she took the lid off the coffee and put it between her knees while she was driving. Who would ever think one could get burned doing that, right? That's right; these are awards for the most outlandish lawsuits and verdicts in the U.S. You know, the kinds of cases that make you scratch your head. So keep your head scratcher handy.
Here are the Stella’s for this past year --
*SEVENTH PLACE*
Kathleen Robertson of Austin, Texas was awarded $80,000 by a jury of her peers after breaking her ankle tripping over a toddler who was running inside a furniture store. The store owners were understandably surprised by the verdict, considering the running toddler was her own son
Start scratching!
* SIXTH PLACE *
Carl Truman, 19, of Los Angeles , California won $74,000 plus medical expenses when his neighbor ran over his hand with a Honda Accord. Truman apparently didn't notice there was someone at the wheel of the car when he was trying to steal his neighbor's hubcaps.
Scratch some more...
* FIFTH PLACE *
Terrence Dickson, of Bristol , Pennsylvania , who was leaving a house he had just burglarized by way of the garage. Unfortunately for Dickson, the automatic garage door opener malfunctioned and he could not get the garage door to open. Worse, he couldn't re-enter the house because the door connecting the garage to the house locked when Dickson pulled it shut. Forced to sit for eight, count 'em, EIGHT days and survive on a case of Pepsi and a large bag of dry dog food, he sued the homeowner's insurance company claiming undue mental Anguish. Amazingly, the jury said the insurance company must pay Dickson $500,000 for his anguish. We should all have this kind of anguish Keep scratching. There are more...
Double hand scratching after this one...

*FOURTH PLACE*
Jerry Williams, of Little Rock, Arkansas, garnered 4th Place in the Stella's when he was awarded $14,500 plus medical expenses after being bitten on the butt by his next door neighbor's beagle - even though the beagle was on a chain in its owner's fenced yard. Williams did not get as much as he asked for because the jury believed the beagle might have been provoked at the time of the butt bite because Williams had climbed over the fence into the yard and repeatedly shot the dog with a pellet gun.
Pick a new spot to scratch, you're getting a bald spot...

* THIRD PLACE *
Amber Carson of Lancaster, Pennsylvania because a jury ordered a Philadelphia restaurant to pay her $113,500 after she slipped on a spilled soft drink and broke her tailbone. The reason the soft drink was on the floor: Ms. Carson had thrown it at her boyfriend 30 seconds earlier during an argument. What ever happened to people being responsible for their own actions?
Only two more so ease up on the scratching...

*SECOND PLACE*
Kara Walton, of Claymont , Delaware sued the owner of a night club in a nearby city because she fell from the bathroom window to the floor, knocking out her two front teeth. Even though Ms. Walton was trying to sneak through the ladies room window to avoid paying the $3.50 cover charge, the jury said the night club had to pay her $12,000....oh, yeah, plus dental expenses. Go figure.

Ok. Here we go!!

* FIRST PLACE *
This year's runaway First Place Stella Award winner was: Mrs. Merv Grazinski, of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, who purchased new 32-foot Winnebago motor home. On her first trip home, from an OU football game, having driven on to the freeway, she set the cruise control at 70 mph and calmly left the driver's seat to go to the back of the Winnebago to make herself a sandwich. Not surprisingly, the motor home left the freeway, crashed and overturned. Also not surprisingly, Mrs. Grazinski sued Winnebago for not putting in the owner's manual that she couldn't actually leave the driver's seat while the cruise control was set. The Oklahoma jury awarded her, are you sitting down?
$1,750,000 PLUS a new motor home. Winnebago actually changed their manuals as a result of this suit, just in case Mrs. Grazinski has any relatives who might also buy a motor home.

review of Kay’s Naturals.

2011-03-30T00:14:00.001-04:00

In true @boutdrz fashion....wait just a tic...it just came to me that some of you may not know what 'boutdrz' means. In fact, i am willing to bet ALL of the lint in my belly-button that you don't. (Mom, Tracey, etc....you are exempt. Unless of course you want to win some lint. In which case, just ask. I make it all the time. Like now....)

Huh? oh, right. yes. Boutdrz is something that I came up with years ago for a vanity plate for my vehicle at the time. I love the outdoors, and love to BE outdoors, so i came up with boutdrz=Be Outdoors. At the time my friend Ron thought I was so clever that he decided to 1 up me, and got POUTDRZ for his plate. yea. jerk. ahahaha. it was good fun. did i ever tell you about the time he spit on my head? i'll do it some other time.

THIS post is about me, a Mizfit, and someone named Kay, who is very natural. Dunno about naturALE, but natural none-the-less. So i was on twitter (no surprise), and there was talk of a contest hosted by Mizfitonline, sponsored by Kay's Naturals. I entered. I won (surprise!). Or was one of the lucky winners. I don't think that I was the only one. Come to think of it, i wasn't. Others tweeted about having received a box like this, too:

Those of you with youngish boys may "reconnize" the comforter underneath the box. Yes, it is from "CARS". And no, it is not on Bryce's bed. it is on ours. my wife LOVES that.....

When I got home and opened the box, i was AMAZED to find all of these things in there:

Cookie bites, pretzels, protein chips, protein cereal.

What? you live under a rock and have never heard of Kay's Naturals? Allow me to educate you (using their words, from their site).

"A recent study from Harvard Medical School found that most gluten free products currently available in the market place are high in starch and that many gluten-free formulations lack essential nutrients.

How is Kay’s Naturals different?

Kay’s Naturals has chosen to focus on a healthier balance of ingredients:

100% gluten-free
30 - 35% natural soy protein
10 - 18% healthy fats
10g - 12g fiber
20 - 40% carbohydrates
Every 1-ounce (28g) serving has:
9 -10g natural soy protein

100 - 110 calories
9g -13g carbohydrates
1g - 3g fiber

Low saturated fats/no trans fats

I have never been a fan of fad diets or fad ways to eat things, I decided that I would give these GF snacks a try. Why? My Mom stopped eating gluten almost 2 years ago, and it has done amazing things for her. We kinda suspect that our middle guy may be intolerant, so i thought it would be a nice gesture to sacrifice myself in the name of science for my family: if they pass my test, then we might just stock up on the snacks to have around the house. why not, right?

My only regret, honestly, is that the sample packages were so small! "LOVE, LOVE" this product!! They did leave a little bit of a detectable after taste, but no greasy feeling in my mouth, no strangeness in my belly. I am not big on cereals, but i tried theirs anyway; i used rice milk. Verdict? More, please!

Their site goes on to say:

"We are dedicated to bringing to you the very best gluten free snacks and cereals. All Kays Naturals products contain a superior balance of protein, fiber, carbohydrates, and good fats. Our products are delicious and uniquely satisfying snacks and cereals that you will enjoy at home, work, play or travel.

Try them today and tell your friends! "

So there you have it. I have tried them, AND I am telling my friends. The spicy varieties were the right kind of spicy for me; enhancing flavor without burning my mouth or belly. Crunchy snacks, which i crave, that are healthy, which I want and need. Kay's, where have you been all my life????

do it for the cheese, do it for the cheese...

2011-03-29T13:55:00.000-04:00

(anyone get that obscure reference? hit me up in the comments if you do!)
i have just spent entirely TOO much time working on my blog while at work. yep. this isn't anything new, actually, but i am trying to get away FROM doing that, instead of getting away WITH doing that.
the post was actually getting pretty good, and i was ready to wrap it up and hit PUBLISH.
but when i checked it out in preview or whatever it is called....BOGUS! the pictures were in the wrong place, text was everywhere except where i wanted it. ugly, ugly, ugly.
So i have it saved, and will try again using LIVE WRITER at home tonight. Have you every tried Live Writer? Neil had a tutorial about it on his blog yesterday. Check it out here. Neil's a great guy, fun loving dad, supportive husband. Oh, and he's my 2nd favourite Canadian, eh? My Uncle Allen is number One. (sorry, Neil). He's also trying to sell his fabulous house. If you are looking to live in the Calgary area, check it out!

Alright. Back to work that pays the bills.

Cupcake Marathon Part Deux.... (pronounced "duh") (not really)

2011-03-28T09:31:00.000-04:00

See that face? one that only a mother could love? See those double chins? yea.

and, for the record, i do NOT part my hair in the middle. i am more into the dude-going-bald-combover than anything else these days....

this is the picture of me that the elliptical saw last week while i was waiting to use the treadmill to start my venture along the cupcake marathon journey. i was just trying to figure out the controls, and to work out how i could use this thing without knocking myself out with those handle things. one of my big fears in the gym. i am ok with it if i try to lift a dumbell and rip my shoulder apart. no problemo. just don't fall of the 'mill (been there, done that!) or get knocked unconscious with an elliptical handle.

Here i am again, after about ~~35 seconds~~ 10 minutes on the thing. It must work wonders, because my chins have gone away. (see Uncle Sam back there? Maybe he took them!) I went a mile, which took me an eternity. I don't think i'll ever use that machine again. I was only able to get one mile on the 'mill that day, too, which totally sucked (the wind out of me).

A few days later, my mind re-resolved to get this thing done, I hit the mill again. Intervals this time, as I get really, really bored on the dreadmill. Yes, the little gym has a tv, but it is usually tuned to FOODTV. I am happiest on the the mill when Giada at Home is on. ~~I imagine here in my kitchen, smiling away, cooking all kindsa strange things....~~

ok. not really. (yes, really). anyway, back to the intervals. I imagined i was running the Big Sur marathon, cruising across that bridge that is in all the ads. I was running very fast then, as i tend to pucker up around heights. I slowed down, as if I was in the LVRNR marathon, taking in all the sights and lights. Then back up to speed, running in the Chicago marathon, as it is just windy there and I want to be done.
Slowing again, I am in Bryce Canyon, and even though they only have a half, i am running it TWICE today, taking in the sights, the 'feeling' of connecting with the environment.

But then, like for almost every other virtual event I have signed up for, i have to post a great big DNF for the Inaugural Cupcake Marathon. Life got ahead of me this week, and running got behind. All kindsa crap-tastic things happened at the domicile these past two weeks, and mentally i couldn't get out to run.
Sad part is, though, that if i DID go out to run, i would most likely have been better off mentally. Stupid viscious cycle.....
So I leave you, intrepid reader, with a picture. It is from this past Saturday night. This scene unfolded about 5 minutes after, "I"M NOT TIRED! I DON"T WANT TO GO TO SLEEEEEEP" was yelled out by the same person in the picture.
I hope he dreampt of running in the Bryce Canyon Half Marathon with his Dad someday, because it is one of my dreams, too. Sleep well, little man....

Cupcake marathon race report, phase ONE.

2011-03-28T07:25:00.000-04:00

When i first heard of the CupCake Marathon, how could i NOT sign up?

When I heard that there was an option do to a half or a full, how could i NOT sign up for the full??? seriously? I get to do it over the course of TWO WEEKS! certainly i could set a PR!!!

Dutifully, I tried to print out the bib. Below you can see the result. I tried it from three computers, using 2 different printer options.

what did i get?

Boobies.

Yes, boobies. Honeslty, though, I enjoy those more than I do cupcakes, so it almost seems fitting (sorry Mom) (and Tracey....even though your cupcakes are yummy, i would rather.......nevermind. (Sorry, Mom!) )

where was I?

OH! right.

needless to say i didn't run with my bib on, nor did i take a picture with my bib.

what did I do? tune in to the next installment (soon!), and you'll find out. I leave you with a picture of ~~boobies~~ cupcakes....

(niiiiiiice)

CupCake Marathon Race Bib. Or IS it???

arctic ease review (overdue)

2011-03-22T23:31:00.000-04:00

One evening, while I was on #fitblog chat (on twitter....), a 'new' company called Arctic Ease was there. Their product uses some Harry Potter type chemical reactions to cool some fabric down and keep your injury at just the right temperature for healing. Or something like that. More or less. Here's what the company has to say about themselves:

"The optimal temperature for effective cold therapy is above 59° F (15°C).* When skin temperatures go below that, tissue damage such as frost nip and frost bite can occur - it's one of the biggest risks associated with traditional ice therapy. And it's why you have to put ice on, then take it off - over and over again. Arctic Ease eliminates this inconvenience, reduces the risk and discomfort associated with temperature extremes and makes it easier to get relief from pain and swelling so you can get back to doing what you want to do." (bolding added for emphasis by GENE @boutdrz)

*Lee, Pardun, Buntic, Kiehn, Brooks, Buncke, ORTHOPEDICS, “Severe Frostbite of the Knees After Cryotherapy”, January 2007;30(1):63.b Cheng, Thompson, Yakobi, Dermatology, “FROSTBITE”, Updated: May 13, 2009

Somehow or other I entered a contest to win a sample pack. I think, and of course i am right, that it was from Carla over at http://www.mizfitonline.com/. I tell ya, she is a JEM. Or is it GEM? either. both. moving on...

So, as luck would have it, I won the contest, and a box that was chuck-a-block full (technical term) of Arctic Ease products showed up at the house one evening. It was a beautiful thing. Tracey was suffering from stress-induced muscle pain in her lower back, so she agreed (somewhat reluctantly) to test out the product that very night. She's awesome that way. Sometimes. (See my Orbana Review.)

Anyway, i ~~slapped that puppy on her side~~ gently placed one of the pads (sample came with pads AND rolls. sweet!) on her side. After she got done howling from the cold (she gets cold easily) and settled into bed, she said that it actually DID make the pain go away. Every time she rolled, however, it got chilly again. Even though i felt sorry for her, i knew that it was working! YAY!

Next morning, she reported that her pain had gone away a bit, and she was thankful for that. Thank YOU, Arctic Ease!

I tried it, too, on my knee, which i seemed to have tweaked a bit stepping off of a curb or something. Who knows. Anyway, I used one of the roll kits, since I am so hairy that there is NO way the patches will stick to me. Since I am a guy, I didn't read the instructions and just wrapped my knee and then went to bed. When I woke up in the morning....well....the wrap had basically turned into a CAST. It was as hard as a rock. And not a bit cold....I cut it off with a pair of scissors, bagged it, and brought it to work. I called the customer service line, and told my tale of woe.

I SO wish that I had written her name down, but the woman who helped me was WONDERFUL. She even laughed a bit when i told her that the product had turned to stone. She then asked how I wrapped it, and when i told her, she said, "did you read the directions?" HAHAHAHAHAAH. what? Um, no.

I should have wrapped in a figure of 8, at least twice around, to help keep the product moist. In fact, she suggested that i take the remenants that i had cut off and put them in a bit of water to revive the cold. It is STILL chilled. Amazing.

She also said that she would send me a new roll. She actually sent two. (please don't fire her!)

Arctic Ease has hired social media GURU @lisajohnson as their Director of Social Media. A very wise, strong move IMHO. Lisa is personable and brings great enthusiasm for fitness and overall wellness to the table as well.
All in all, I highly recommend Arctic Ease. Great product, great support, great people. Trifecta!

2011 Shamrock Shuffle 5k RR

2011-03-20T09:33:00.000-04:00

This past Monday I registered for the 10th Annal Shamrock Shuffle 5k in Lebanon, NH. It is typically a very family friendly late winter event. I have heard really good things about it in the past, but have never participated. I hesitate to say "raced", as none of the events that I enter are 'raced'. They are run, but let's face it, I am never going to be...ok. Maybe 'never' is the wrong word. Shall we start over?
This past Monday..blah blah blah....
So i trained as hard for this event as i do for all events. Wednesday night I had a HUGE bowl of mint chocolate chip ice cream with caramel syrup. Friday morning, as many of you know, I had a nice, healthy breakfast at the golden arches. If you hadn't heard, feel free to scroll down and read all about it.
Saturday morning we went to a pancake breakfast fund raiser for Z's class trip to Quebec City. It was good fun, decent coffee, and too many pancakes. Yea. So i only ate 4, and was done eating by 945. Should have been ok, even for a 5k.
Since i am a man of science, I went with what i know works and took 2 immodium about 45 mins before the race. I prolly won't have to use the bathroom for a week. But when i do....YOWZA! anyone planning to strip paint or wallpaper in their throne room soon? I'll be right over.
Due to some unfortunate circumstances, my cheering section couldn't make it to the race. Lemme tell you, it is not much fun for me to race alone. I almost didn't go, actually. I hemmed and hawed about it, and finally Tracey basically kicked me out the door to go. Good thing they couldn't go, too, as it was FREEEEEEZING cold. Ok, maybe not as cold as that, but hey. FRIDAY we were in the 50's. Race day was closer to 30. And windy.
When i got to the locale, mobs of people were hanging out near city hall. As it turns out, they weren't hanging out, but rather waiting in line for bibs and shirts.

It took me at least 15 minutes to get in the door. Brrr.

Once I got inside, there was still a mob in the lobby. Eventually they split the line into A-K and whatever the next letter is through Z. That simplified things a bit, and we moved rapidly along. From outside, we could hear a megaphoned voice announcing that there would be about a 15 minute delay for the start of the race. After I got my bib and shirt, i saw signs letting us know that the bag drop area was on the 5th floor. I imagined a logistical nightmare (in keeping with registration) for retrieving my bag after the race, and dutifully left my bag in the room. I considered running in my warm up pants, but as i deliberated, i started to get too hot, so i stripped down to shorts, a thin long sleeved base layer top, and my bright yellow Brooks jacket. Oh, and of course, let's not forget my hat!

Like those chins? yea. i have been working on those, but not in the right direction.......I wish that someone had told me that the hat was a bit off center. pooie. Anywho, I followed the herd across the street to the park in the middle of town. Lebanon (pronounced NOT like the place in the middle east. Accent on LEB, substitute an 'i' for the 'o'. Some locals pronounce it "LebaDIN", which makes my skin crawl.) where was I.???? OH, RIGHT! Leb (as others of us call it) has a green or a common in the center of town. this is very typical of many towns and even cities in New England. It is something that i really like about our region of the country. So the mob walked across the green and then stopped. I don't know why. Herd mentality totally took over. It was a psychologists DREAM situation.

Off to our right, about 100 yards away, maybe less, was the intersection that served as the START. A smaller mob had gathered there as well, but our tribe seemed content to just stay put. It was odd. I half expected one group to start chanting, "We've got the Spirit, yes we do! We've got the Spirit, how 'bout YOU?!" and back and forth we'd go...

Are we there yet???

But that never happened. What DID happen, though, is that I met up with a friend of mine who I blame for getting me into these things in the first place. it was she who got me to run a leg of a half marathon relay, and then it snowballed from there. we chit-chatted a bit, and then suddenly our group was moving! YAY! we were on our way!!!!! Or so we thought.
All we did was jog over to the actual start line. Not knowing that at the time, I snapped this pic of Suzan and I, glad to finally be moving and on our way.

Can you see that rectangular thing, almost in the middle of the picture? It says "start". It is on a pole attached to a wooden base, plunked in the middle of the road. Yea. Ever watch the Tour de France highlights where cyclists smack into similar poles? well, the only saving grace here was that since it was at the start, we were barely moving when people tripped over it. HELLOOOOO!! put the sign in the air next time....

The first mile went by waaaay too fast, but it was still fun. I have to learn to start closer to the front, thought. lots and lots of pinballing around other runners took some extra energy, and caused met to nearly step in potholes and puddles and such. The course took us around some neighborhoods. Volunteers were available at each turn making sure that we didn't get flattened by traffic, and there was a water station at mile 1.9. I could have used one at mile 1.7, but it was worth the wait....

I did walk during the 3rd mile. I just didn't have it in me. I walked for about 20 yards three times. I owe it all to my extensive training regime.

Here's the elevation profile from garmin. not very impressive, is it?

But when you change the scale, it looks like this. WOW! Good thing i have some rock climbing experience! On belay!!!

Even though i am not really all that fast, my first mile was much too fast. The average shown includes the first quarter to almost half mile of pin-balling.

There were some times that I looked at Teri (Garmin) and noticed that I was running close to a 7:10 pace, which is waaaay too fast for me. I tried to slow down, but found it tough not to get caught up in the fervor of the race. I really need to run more often.

Congrats to everyone who ran this weekend. So cool to be part of this community.

breakfast (aka funny photo friday)

2011-03-18T14:35:00.000-04:00

A few weeks ago someone gave me a coupon for a free cuppa oatmeal from the golden ~~boobs~~ arches. I carried it around for a while, then one day, in desperation, I went to that 'place' on my way to work one day. I was really, really anticipating a bowl full of crap, to be honest. I mean, have you seen the way Subway advertises their subs? And have you ever bought one that was even remotely similar? Me, either. So my expectations were looooooow. My decision to try it may have been inspired by a news story from the night before. Or from just pure hunger.

All in the name of science.

So i ordered one of these:

Cute, innit? see all that cruchy fruit on top? I was getting pretty psyched as I waited in line, looking up at all of the delicious looking food-products. Imagine my surprise and dismay, then, when I got back out to the truck to discover this in my bowl:

That's right. Slop. It appears that they plopped all of the wholesome goodness right on top of the steaming hot oatmeal somewhere behind the couter. Given that I also stopped in the vestibule to look at tourist guides for the area (in which i have lived a total of around 30 years, so...why, again?), the little apple chunks and whatever else was in there began to cook. Yea. In hospital, we refer to this type of diet as a "mechanical soft diet". Yum.

Needless to say I was disappointed. My advice, if you are still willing to give the oatmeal a try, is to ask if they could NOT put the fruit on, and let you do it when you are ready to eat. Maybe that would help.

Today I stopped at the same place and had one of their $3 specials: TWO bacon, egg, cheese sammiches on a biscuit. Lemme just say here that you can save a TON of money on special cleansing diets by ordering this breakfast instead. I don't suggest that you eat it at work, unless you have your own bathroom in your office, or if it is like right across the hall.

Have a smooooth afternoon!!!

BEEFCAAAAAAKE...

2011-03-16T08:57:00.000-04:00

umm. what? how did THAT get up there? it was supposed to say:
"my happy results thus far for the Cupcake Marathon"
must be something amiss with my keyboard. stupid Dell. at any rate, here is what happened to me on Monday when I tried to log some miles....
It was beautiful and sunny out, and I was VERY tempted to run on the roads. I had even brought my Brooks running jacket, as the temps were only in the low 40's. After a brief walk outside, though, I decided that it would be safer if I ran on the dreadmill. Egdes of the roads are still slick, muddy, and narrow. Plus the dust blowing around would be horrible to breathe. So i just went to our 'gym'.
The 2 treadmills were in use by people I have never seen in there before. Ever. Huzzah! for them, though, because they looked to be enjoying themselves as they walked along, watching the Food Network. Don't get me wrong, I love me some (eye) candy every now and then (Giada!), but not while I am huffing and puffing on the 'mill. Gimme some "American Pickers" or "Hoarders" instead. But I digress. (focus, focus!)
So I hopped on the ~~3-Dimensional Torture Device~~ elliptical, punched a few buttons (cardio, level 10/16, 20 mins) and tuned in to the latest podcast by Two Fit Chicks and a Microphone. Good times! Letmetellyounow,misterman, that 3DTD (see above) kicked my butt for 20 minutes while those two nice ladies strolled along at 3mph. Not that there is anything wrong with 3mph. Heck, that's pretty much what i averaged on the 3DTD; it took me 20 mins to go 1.2 miles. I imagined that the ladies would be done at 30 minutes. Nope. That time passed while I was still on the 3DTD, praying for one of them to get off so that i could just RUN!
Since it didn't happen, I got onto the stationary, recumbant bike. You know, the one that is supposed to be more ergo-whatever? Yea. Apparently this one wasn't made by AFLAC. Comfortable? Not exactly. Friendly? Not exactly. Fun? no.
So i spent 3 miles cranking away on that thing. Hurrah! it didn't take me long, but the ladies were still on the mills! I totally understand the need to get your burn on and all that, but when there are people waiting (3 more people had come in), and you are walking directly under a sign that says, "30 minute time limit".... c'mon, now....
FINALLY, when there were only 15 minutes left in my 'window of opportunity', one of them stepped off. YAY! SALVATION! wait. what are you doing? are you seriously spraying the machine, wiping it off, allthewhilestilltalkingtoyourcompanion????? YOU NEVER SWEAT. I should know, as I have been watching like a HAWK....waiting, waiting, waiting.....
so when she got off the thing, and was a safe distance away, i clambored aboard and punched quick start, incline twice, and then increased MPH to around 7.5. hey, I only had about 10 minutes at this point, and i wanted to get in at least ONE MEASLY MILE!!!!

so yes. there it is.

first day of ~~BEEEFCAAAAKE~~ Cupcake Marathon. ONE MILE.

second day? NO MILES. had to run errand to post office, then to bank before they closed. This lead to many other things, which eventually found their way to Bryce falling asleep on my chest on the couch. Seems like a nearly perfect ending to me.

Ice, Ice Baby

2011-03-13T23:28:00.000-04:00

Took a little walk down the hill today and shot some pictures of ice around the big bridge that spans the White River, just north of White River Junction, Vermont. For you fellow nerds, it is 'roughly' here:
43.659256° N 72.340550° W

Sign on south side bridge landing.

Standing underneath north side. See that middle trestle? yowza!

In this picture, see that little half moon shape in the lower right? It is the top of the cement part of the trestle. For reference, it is just as high from the water as the next one that you can see. Note that the ice is only about 18" from the top of the cement. I was able to walk right up onto it. I can't wait for summer time, so that I can take another picture of it from the same spot. Amazing.

Here we are, standing on the above mentioned concrete, looking upstream. The ice has got to be 12-15 feet tall. River level is a little high today, but not by much.

Time to get a little creative and artsy. I love taking pictures of nature and structures, using available light and occasionally playing with shutter speeds and such. Here is what jumped into my lens today, with a little bit of finishing done. B/W, and then a soft focus on one of them. What do you think? Please "hit me up" in the comments! Thanks, and have a GREAT MONDAY!

Perspective

2011-03-11T21:45:00.000-05:00

Just the other day my wife was talking on the phone with someone, and they began to tell her all of the things that their family was going through:
surgery for the dad, possible CA diagnosis for one of the kids, headaches for mom, trouble with basketball for the other kid.
when she got off the phone, she had a strange look about her. i asked why, and she said something along the lines of 'here we are, stressing out over what to do about the $ we got from the insurance company, and these people are worried about surgeries, CA, and other 'real' problems. just doesn't seem fair.'
today is typically fun foto friday. i was looking forward to getting on the web and finding some obscure photo to post, and if i could make it poke fun at one of my fellow bloggers at the same time? WIN/WIN.
Then i started seeing tweets about the jishin (earthquake) and tsunami (tidal wave) in Nihon (Japan). One of my first thoughts was, 'I need more coffee.' Another, more pertinent one, was 'i hope our basement doesn't flood.' Yet another involved thoughts of not posting a picture for fun foto friday. But THEN i started thinking about perspective.
Just because someone is having a bad day, does that preclude YOU from having a GOOD day? I don't think that it should. Sure, it isn't ok to flaunt your ~~greatness~~ good fortune in front of others, but i think that it should be ok to share some good news with those less fortunate. It might just turn on that light at the end of the tunnel for them!
It is often easy to fall into a mindset of over-commiserating: you just make yourself feel just as miserable as someone else. I see this as LOSE/LOSE.
SO. in keeping with that.....
One of the tweets today said that Japanese officials found 2-300 bodies washed up on shore. Can you imagine? I can't. But I CAN imagine several people washING up on shore....

Head Spins (another non-running post)

2011-03-08T14:28:00.000-05:00

(but you've come to expect that, right? maybe even accept it?)
My head has been spinning since, well, since I can remember. There's never 'nothing' going on in my head. That blank stare off into space? Yea. Inside the neurons are firing at breakneck speed. But you can't tell. Unless I let you. Sometimes when I let you, it isn't what you want to see, or expect to see. It just is what it is. Most of the time I can control what you see. Other times, I can't. I hate those times.
Most recently, though, the spinning has been as a side effect of a conversation (not a REAL conversation, but one via text message and email) with one of my besties. She's a cousin, and we were close while growing up (aging). Then we kinda drifted our own ways, then were brought back together by a 'significant life-changing event'.
At any rate, I am being cryptic here for a reason; i am not ready to discuss details. I apologize for this, but I need to start somewhere, and since this is my blog, I am starting here. (okokok. i started with my wife, AFTER about 24hours of self-inflicted isolation). I'm good at isolating. In fact, i excell at it. I think that this is one reason why i like to run alone, and why i like to run in the woods more than on the road or on a treadmill: "in space, no one can hear you scream." -aliens-
over the course of the next few days, or maybe week, i'll get to the crux of this and start going over some stuff. Please bear with me. Want to stop following along because it doesn't relate to running or physical fitness? meh. your choice. I call this blog "accountability" for a reason, rather than "gene's rants about running".
so be it.
We are at the tail end of a small ice storm here in East-Central Vermont. The sun is out today, and the inch and a half of ice on the trees is glistening in a way that cannot be described, only experienced. See you (I hope) soon.
-g-