Here I go again!

If you can see the previous post, you'll notice that I haven't done anything since 2008 on this blog. No reason for it, just didn't.

If you're curious as to how my Dell Ubuntu experiment went, well let's just say that I've recently upgraded to Lucid Lynx (Ubuntu 10.04). That's a Long Term Support version and that puppy is going strong. It's become my primary pc. I'll jump onto my newer Win7 box when I need to get on iTunes or something proprietary like that.

But we're not here for that . . .

A couple of years ago, I had a bit of a scare. For several weeks I had been feeling pressure in my chest. It got so bad that I actually thought I may have some sort of heart problem. After one night of terror, I went to see a doctor. He gave me a physical, drew some blood and installed a portable EKG on me to monitor my heart for 24 hours.

I went back the next day and found absolutely nothing on the EKG. The blood work was done wrong because I hadn't been told to fast. So I didn't eat anything that day and the morning after I had my blood drawn once more . . .

Let me go back a bit . . .

My diet before all this hadn't been all that great. I was still eating like I was some sort of high school athlete. I wasn't really an athlete because my grades were never that great. But I loved to go on training runs with the wrestling team and the coaches would have me spar with the team because I was good. Not bragging, I just was.  The coaches were pissed that I would put the effort to train HARD, but not the effort to get my grades up. I was 5' 6" and probably 170 lbs of hard muscle.

Like every kid in high school, I had problems that couldn't be resolved. Thinking back now, I was just lazy. Yeah, I did have problems. But I could've focused that energy into schoolwork. But as I've heard it said, hindsight is 20/20.

Whenever the wrestling team was done for the season, I kept training.  From junior high to high school.  15 mile runs were warm-ups before the sprints and hill runs. Uncountable push-ups, sit-ups, pull-ups . . . and all the variations of those. I made up my own workouts just to keep moving.  I think I was doing Cross-fit before there was Cross-Fit.

I never watched what I ate because I couldn't afford tot. I just threw shit together at home and wolfed it down. Which back then, was pretty frickin smart. We could only afford shopping for groceries at the flea market. Which meant lots of fruit, veggies, and cheap meat, poultry or fish. All the basics a growing boy needs, along with all the other mexican staples of beans, rice, tortillas . . .

The whole point of this is that I kept on keeping on even after high school. But the training tapered off. Slowly a first, then full stop when I got to Phoenix.  It's was too fucken hot there to do anything physical for too long.  But I went to live on my own (with roomates) and study.

17 years later, I'm still 5 foot 6. But I'm tipping the scales at over 290 lbs. I know how I got here, I just didn't realize it until it was almost too late.

When I went to see my doc for the results, he wasn't there but another was doc was there. She asked if I was fine with a female doctor. Nervous as I was, I said only if she was qualified. That broke the ice some and we both had a chuckle. What she told me was that my blood work showed that I was at near diabetic levels. She told me that if I wanted to begin taking meds and eventually start using insulin, to keep doing what I was doing.

I was like, uuuuuum. No. What do I have to change?

No sugar.
No fruit juice (fruit was better)
Stay away from processed foods. . .

Wait, this is all starting to sound like the way I used to eat when I was a kid! I also had to start moving. That pretty much came as no surprise.

I walked out completely sobered. I was going to have to change my life DRAMATICALLY. I had one last binge and another restless night.

And then one more with my friends. Because I wasn't just gonna stop hanging out with them just because of a little diabetes. That night was the worst. And then I got to work.

I took all the crap in my cupboards and fridge and asked people if they wanted any of it before going in the trash.

You wanna know what I had left? A gallon of milk, kraft singles, some lettuce, eggs, bacon (she didn't say anything about greasy foods!), corn tortillas and I think that was it.

I went to the flea market that weekend and I learned another thing that day. I couldn't walk for SHIT! I was winded after 10 minutes of wandering around the flea market! I got a bunch of veggies and some fruit and went home.

The next day at work, I began walking during our lunch hour. That first month was an experience I never want to go through again. Too embarrassing to have gotten so winded on such short walks there.

I work in an ag lab that has it's facilities on a farm that used to be part of a county park. As such, the fire trails are always kept clear and people use them for walks and runs. All nice and hilly. A little over a mile and a half on one of the trails (good walks, awesome runs).

I think the hardest part for me to change was the coffee. Not the pain of atrophied muscles being used again, but the coffee. I used to load up that cup with 8 packs of sugar and and so much cream, you'd ask if I wanted some coffee with that.  But there was someone who helped me transition from crappy store bought coffees, to better local roasted ones. Unfortunately, it also twisted my tastes in beer. I couldn't drink the fizzy yellow stuff anymore. So I started experimenting with different beers. Now I'm a die hard Arrogant Bastard / Stone Brewery fan!

So I was eating healthier and taking walks. I wanted to elevate it some more. I wanted to run again. I tried it during a lunch hour once and tore a muscle in my calf. I still don't remember how I got back to the lab.  I had to stop walking for a while so it could heal. A bit depressing.

I still wanted to do more, be faster so I researched and bought a Surly CrossCheck. It's a cromoly steel cyclocross bicycle. A cross of road and mountain bike. Steel for strength and flexibility. Won't pound you like aluminum or titanium.  It's much heavier, but a much more comfortable ride.  Also much cheaper than carbon fiber which would give a similar ride.

I wanted a comfortable bike. And she still is! Love that bike.

But it wasn't running.

I would ride for hours and I dropped weight. I'm at 240 lbs now and have been floating around there for a while. People tell me I should be proud of that.  I am. Sorta.  But I wanted to RUN!

Last year around early spring, I was working at my moms taqueria when I read in The Californian (local Salinas paper) that the YMCA was going to have a free training program for anyone who signed up for the inaugural Salinas Valley Half Marathon.

I signed up and began the program. It was a great program! Once a week, you'd meet up for either a track session or class sessions where we'd get training tips or guest speakers. I highly recommend attending if you're near. The informational meeting for this year is March 30th, 2011.

With the program, I got up to four miles non-stop. But always ended in pain by the time I stopped. Horrible shin splints. They felt like I was going to break something if I kept going. Walking hurt. I was told they'd go away. To through them.  My muscles would strengthen.

During one of the class sessions, we had someone from Fleet Feet come in. It's a great little shop.  We were told that we needed to get properly fitted to maximize our running efficiency and comfort.  They were talking about pronation, stabalization, motion control . . . whoa.  Also not to buy running shoes at Big 5 because those shoes they sold were old stock from the manufacturers and the cushioning was aged and brittle. So that weekend I visited Fleet Feet.

I was made to walk and got checked out by a hottie.  Unfortunately it was just to find out what my strut was like to get fitted.  After saying some stuff about pronating and motion control and more cushioning because I was a big boy, I was fitted into a pair of Saucony Progrid Omni 8's. A huge, heavy shoe that stabilized my foot. I needed the cushioning because I was a "big boy". 36 years old here.

They felt great in store. My first run was good.

Then the run got BAD. My shin splints would get worse. My feet felt as if I was standing on a ball. You know, like I was balancing on a ball and my feet were tilted oddly. I think I used them for about 30 miles.  I never used them again.

I went to a local shoe store and bought some Nikes. They were lighter and what could be considered a neutral shoe (no arch support). My feet are relatively flat. I ran my half marathon in those.  I completed 6 miles non-stop.  I ran/walked the rest for a 3:30 time.  Too. Damn. Long.

But I still hurt.

I kept running for a while after just so I wouldn't lose it.

But I still hurt.

Winter came around and my running tapered off so that I would run about once every couple of weeks. Usually for about two miles (20minutes).

But I still Hurt.

During this time I was looking for things that could be causing my shin splints. All I kept finding was explanations as to what was happening and remedies like taping, different shoes, deep tissue massage and some other shit I can't remember.

Until I clicked on a Running World forum about barefoot running.

There was a bunch of info there about why people did it.  But one member had posted something that came up in my search and had similar experiences as I did. And then there was mention of a book that possibly explained and had a good argument for barefoot running. A book by Christopher McDougall called Born To Run.

I went in search of it and found nothing locally. No one had it in stock. I wanted a physical copy, but ended up purchasing an ebook for my Sony Reader. Not to sound like nutcase, but that book literally changed my life. Only one other book has done that to me, but another story for another time.

I did a lot more reading online and started using the tips mentioned in the book and forums. Now I'm completely convinced I'm doing the right thing.

I haven't gone full monty yet, but I believe I may get there. What I have done is pick up some minimal shoes (Merrell Trail Glove and NB Minimus Trail) and used the techniques described everywhere on the Internet.  And I'm running more.

But I don't hurt.

Not one bit. I mean other than typical soreness you'd expect from using muscles you are using for the first time.  And I'm having fun running again. Can you imagine a 5'6" 240 lbs fat guy running by you on a dirt trail with a smile on his face?

I can't.

And I'm the one doing it!

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(0.o)
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GD