Work In Progress

Category: Health & Fitness

  • My New Year Resolutions 2010

    Evidently Charles Barkley sets goals. He said so in an interview with Conan O’Brien a few weeks ago. Me and Sir Charles have that in common. Not that I’m comparing myself to “The Round Mound of Rebound”, just saying. Both regular people and big sports stars make resolutions. Either that’s my point or I just wanted to spice this post up with a blurb about an eleven time NBA All Star. You can decide. Anyway, let’s get to it. Here are my resolutions / goals for 2010. Assuming anyone cares.

    1. Finish a half marathon. This is really sort of low hanging fruit, I will admit. I’ve spent three months of last year training, am already signed up, and paid my money to run in the PF Chang’s Rock and Roll Half Marathon January 17th. My goal is to finish.

    2. Record all of my workouts in 2010. I have my spreadsheet all ready to go and this afternoon’s workout to record. If I can pull this off it will be the first year I’ve actually written down my workouts in any real detail.

    3. Finish the Swedish Rosetta Stone course Level 1. This will make my wife very happy. The in-laws bought it for me last year for Christmas. If I can get thru it just once, we’ll both be happy.

    4. Lifeguard & Swimming Instructor certifications. This is something I started out to do in 1993 and never completed. I was going to lifeguard at an adventure camp that summer. I settled for camp counselor instead. However, it’s always been in the back of my mind that I’ve wanted to do this.

    5. Complete an olympic distance Triathlon. I’m 99% sure I’ve picked the race out already. It’s in Flagstaff, AZ in August 2010. I actually had this on my 2009 list of resolutions but decided to conquer a half marathon first, do a few more sprint distances, and then go for the olympic distance.

    6. Take a photography class. Over the past year or so I’ve really gotten into taking pictures. It was a bit out of the blue really but that’s how a hobby hits me sometimes. I believe it mostly started with my iPhone; taking pictures because it was there. Then I bought a little point and shoot for my trip to the Grand Canyon earlier this year. Lately, I’ve bought a tripod, my wife gave me a monopod for Christmas, and I bought a really nice Canon SLR on eBay a few days ago and can’t wait to start improving my skills.

    That’s it. Just six things. There may be more later on in the year as I don’t feel I have to wait until the new years to set goals. It’s just fun to make them, write them down, and then look back and see how far you’ve come during, and at the end of, the year. Happy New Year!

  • My Wife the Fotograf

    It has been a little over one year since my first (sprint) triathlon. I’ve since done five more since and my wife has been with me at each taking pictures. The ones she took this past race on Thanksgiving Day are her best yet and so I thought I’d share them with you.

    This was a reverse event, meaning the run comes first, and the swim last. The shots progress from the run start to end, transition, a bike shot, and then to the swim.

    Each was taken with a Canon PowerShot SD790 IS without the aid of a monopod. Before our next big trip I plan on upgrading the camera and the accessories. I had a nice film camera when I was in school but haven’t made the upgrade to a digital SLR (single-lens reflex) camera yet but that’s around the corner. By the way, Fotograf is Swedish for Photographer. I hope you enjoy!

  • Death By Fast Food?

    As we get older, and finally realize that we no longer have the metabolism of a teenager, we make changes. Some of us start by going to the gym. What others of us neglect in our quest for a slimmer waistline is a healthier diet. I found, in this regard, fast food to be enemy number one. My favorite is pizza. Bad news for me as I can do some serious damage to a pizza buffet.

    Deciding not to hasten my end this way, I stopped eating fast food. My biggest challenge? How to give up pizza! Solution? I started making my own on the weekends. Result? While this is going to sound distinctly Un-American, I haven’t eaten fast food in over a year. (Unless of course you count those Veggie Burritos from Chipotle.) Here’s what you need and how (besides a little will power).

    1. 1/2 cup whole wheat flower
    2. 1/4 cup water
    3. 1/8 cup corn meal
    4. 1 cup sauce

    Mix the flour (one key to this is whole wheat) and water (another key is no oil). For ease, skip the yeast step and go right to rolling the dough. Take a wood chopping board, rolling pin, lay down the corn meal, and get to rolling. This is going to be a thin crust so if you get holes the first time, ball your dough back up and try again.

    IMG_0416

    Next comes the sauce. Like spicy? Add Sriracha (Rooster Sauce). Like savory? Add a dash of soy sauce. I even sometimes mix my pasta sauce with the healthy kind of refried beans.

    Next are toppings. I use soy cheese (the third key). My other favorites are black olives, mushrooms, and onions. However, I have been known to top with tuna, avocado, tofu, tomatoes, peppers, jalapenos, wheat germ, shrimp and pineapples.

    IMG_0485

    Last are seasonings. Without all the fat they become very important to taste. Put them right on top. I use sea salt, rosemary, pepper, basil, oregano, cumin seed and garlic powder to name a few.

    Cook at 425 degrees for 15 minutes and enjoy!

  • Triathlon Redux – 35 Versus 34

    In a way, winter is our “summer”. The way it gets too cold to go outside during the winter on the East Coast is, in many ways, the same as the way it gets too hot to go outside during our summer. Better still, winter means we’re back to the races!

    Last year I did my first sprint distance triathlon. I’ve done a few since but I was really looking forward to doing my first for the second time. None of the guys I did the race with last year came back for another go, so it was just me, and I couldn’t wait to see how 35 year old self would stack up against my 34 year old self. I’d been looking forward to this for a whole year. For me this is the baseline for how much I’ve progressed in my training in the last twelve months. Maybe that’s no completely fair to hinge it all on one race but it’s a baseline.

    Sunrise_Cropped

    Race days start early. Revile was 5:30 AM to hydrate, shower, eat a banana, cliff bar, and drink coffee. The race was in Casa Grande, Arizona, about half way between Phoenix and Tucson. Arrived at 6:45 AM, got a good spot in the transition area to setup for my transitions. My grocery list of items included my bike, helmet, socks, bike and running shoes, sunglasses, gloves, shirt, cap, heart rate monitor, and water. Once setup was taken care of I checked in to get my race number and timing chip. Then onto line up for the swim with the other hundreds of folks racing.

    Lining Up

    The race starts with a swim, transitions to a bike ride, and is topped off with a run. A pool start can be the trickiest. Four or five folks get in the pool at a time. The first swimmer goes and someone else gets in the starting area of the pool. We take off ten seconds apart. It’s a “four, three, two, one, go” countdown. Yes, there are nerves. Finally, it’s my turn to go. I push off the edge of the pool and my goggles immediately filled up with water. I ended up doing the entire quarter mile unable to see very well. Makes it interesting at least.

    Swim down, goggles off and drained, it’s a mad dash to the bike. Transitions are fun. Try putting all of your gear on soaking wet from the pool. Also, it’s a little chilly since it’s just 8:00 AM and here I go down the road at 20 mph. Fun!

    No flats! The bike finished with, it’s time take off the helmet and swap the bike shoes for running shoes. Take one pair off, put another pair on, tie them up, and get to running those three miles. No goggles to fill up with water at least.

    Finish

    So, in the end, I finished and wound up beating my 34 year old self in each discipline. We’ll see how another year of work helps my 36 year old self do next year. My times were as follows for each. Swim (400 meters) / Bike (10.2 miles) / Run (3 miles). 2008: 9:49 / 43:31 / 27:25 (Total 1:20:45). 2009: 8:20 / 37:54 / 26:36 (Total 1:12:50). I have a few more of these scheduled for this year but you never forget your first. I can’t wait for next year!

  • Fat for Fuel

    I learned a lot about making my workouts more efficient last weekend. This new wisdom came courtesy of a Metabolic test done at Lifetime Fitness in Tempe, Arizona. What is a Metabolic test? It’s measures how your body (uniquely) responds to exercise. Evidently, your metabolism is uniquely yours. Want to burn more fat during your workouts? The key is finding your metabolic base.

    My test began with facilitator Amy hooking me up with a heart rate monitor, strapping a VO2 mask on my face, and putting me on a treadmill. With heart rate monitor and VO2 mask hooked up to a laptop running software created by New Leaf, the test began.I started with a walking warm-up. The speed increased to a good jogging pace. At that point the software began to crunch the numbers; the input being presented via the VO2 mask and the heart rate monitor.

    Then the fun began. Once my comfortable speed was reached, the incline was increased by 2%. This repeated again and again until my incline reached 10%. At the end of the test I was running for my life up a steep hill and sucking wind. Turns out that’s the point. Simple as that. The data captured showed me my personal metabolic zones and the distribution of fat to carbs I burn in each zone.

    I will use this information during my workouts, monitoring my heart rate to keep my body operating in the zone at which it burns the most calories while still using fat for fuel.

    In conclusion, I was happy with my results. Turns out my baseline is 163 BPM. That’s a bit higher than I usually work out at so I have some room to make my workouts more intense. Also, and I’ll admit up front that I’m bragging a little, I learned my estimated maximum heart beats per minute is 200. The average is 180. Bottom line, I can’t wait to see the results during the next twelve weeks armed with this intel.