Weight: 184 pounds. I am now training 5 days per week, doing swimming, biking and running along with weight training with my personal trainer. I definitely feel stronger and more in shape; since I returned from Panama in May I have lost 25 pounds! Not having to carry that weight with me in the Iron Man is definitely going to pay off. My planned weight for the competition is 180 pounds which at this point in time will not be a problem.
My doctor recommended me to do physical therapy which I’ve been going to; the therapist has been using ultrasound technology on my knee. He says that will heat up the interior portion of my knee doing more than a heat pad could do for me. I can’t say I feel a difference but it’s still better than it used to be. I’m also taking Glucosamine and MSM which some say that it works but you’ve see the statements as well as I have; they put on the outside of the bottle, “These statements have not been verified or endorsed by the FDA”. The last ingredient and most important for the healing of my knee is prayer; it really does work!
I’ve been riding my bike recently; the first ride was 35 miles and the seat is killing me! I told Mike Drury, the owner of The Pulse in Chula Vista that I needed a new one but he says I should get used to it…I guess it’s natural for the first few weeks you start riding…the padded shorts help out a bit but it sure doesn’t feel like it.
Ty at Body by Bobbie http://www.bodybybobbie.com/ is really getting me leaner with less fat and more muscle mass. He is always pushing me to do more…less rest between sets and packing more into an hour than we used to.
The competition is about 25 days from now and I will be starting to do multiple sport training days to get myself acclimated to how it will be on competition day. I believe that is it for now. I will keep you posted.
Friday, October 3, 2008
Monday, September 8, 2008
Week Ending 7- 8
Weight: 190 pounds. Still staying off the knee and not running, I have an appointment with my Doctor on the 28th of August to get it checked out; hopefully I can get an MRI and we can find out what’s really going on. I’ve been taking Glucosamine but they say that takes a few weeks to kick in, I’ll keep you posted.
I’ve started working with a personal trainer 2x per week and it’s amazing how much more you can get out of yourself when you have someone pushing you. This is great wisdom; I think we all need to be accountable to someone because it keeps us safe, protected and helps us to be more productive as well.
The place where I work with a trainer is called Body by Bobbi and they have worked me so hard I get dizzy. They say that is just lactic acid building up in me but I’ve been noticing that at every new class I get less and less dizzy. They’re really working my V02 and I definitely feel stronger, leaner and more tone.
I also bought my road bike last week; the brand is called Specialized and I also bought a whole slew of gear for it as well such as the helmet, arrow bars, water bottles, pedals, special shoes to lock yourself in when riding, a bike jersey, bike shorts, fix it pack (for flats), storage pack (for eating while racing), pump for flats or adding air, bike stand…and the list goes on (expensive, but if you’re going to have a habit this would be better than some of the alternatives out there.
I go on my first ride next Tuesday morning, a small 20 mile bike ride and can’t wait. So far I’ve lost about 19 pounds since I came back from Panama and only have 10 more to go before race time. I want to lessen the weight I’ll carry so that it doesn’t affect my knee so much.
That’s it till next time…see you on the road!
Friday, August 8, 2008
Week Ending 5-6
Weight: 192 pounds. I’ve been travelling almost the entire month of July; Brazil, Cabo San Lucas and tournaments for my sons Jiu Jitsu. Travelling and training has been a little hard as my schedule changes and is not routine; in addition, I find myself eating out more since we are without a kitchen. Despite the eating out more often I have still found a way to shed a few more pounds mostly by controlling what I eat; looks like I’ll be buying some new pants for my wardrobe.
The knee is still bothering me even though I haven’t been running on it; I should probably get it checked out with my doctor. Even though it hurts, it won’t bother me in the swim or the bicycle portion of the Iron Man, it’s the run portion of it that concerns me; I have always been one to finish what I started so I will have to work with the elliptical machine so as to minimize the impact to my knees, this way I can afford myself the best opportunity to be in the best condition come race time.
My diet in the States has been mostly products from GNC such as Myoplex, meal-replacement shakes and fruits and vegetables.
A friend of mine Armando once told me that being healthy is just about making healthier decisions; not only do you reap the benefits of feeling and looking better but you add years to your life. I want to be able to run with my grandchildren not say, “Pass me my cane Junior”.
That’s it for now, see you next week.
The knee is still bothering me even though I haven’t been running on it; I should probably get it checked out with my doctor. Even though it hurts, it won’t bother me in the swim or the bicycle portion of the Iron Man, it’s the run portion of it that concerns me; I have always been one to finish what I started so I will have to work with the elliptical machine so as to minimize the impact to my knees, this way I can afford myself the best opportunity to be in the best condition come race time.
My diet in the States has been mostly products from GNC such as Myoplex, meal-replacement shakes and fruits and vegetables.
A friend of mine Armando once told me that being healthy is just about making healthier decisions; not only do you reap the benefits of feeling and looking better but you add years to your life. I want to be able to run with my grandchildren not say, “Pass me my cane Junior”.
That’s it for now, see you next week.
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Week Ending 4
Weight: 196 pounds. Very soon I will be looking for a nice bike to use for my training in the competition. I can’t believe how light these bikes are and how fast you can go. I remember once when I was 16 living in Whittier, CA my friend invited me to bicycle with him to Huntington Beach, the only problem was I had to use his “other, heavier” bicycle that only had two gears. It was not a great experience which is why I think I never took well to the sport of bicycling. This time with a new more modern bike I think I will have a great time especially since it is for a great cause.
At the beginning of the week I started running and felt that same pinch in my knee so I stopped immediately. I thought the injury was gone as I could not feel it when I walked. I must find something to do for my cardio.
I also bought a 32” flat screen TV and wall mount for the garage. The idea is to buy a treadmill and stair climber so I can work out in my garage and increase my work out times to morning and night, I will keep you posted.
At the beginning of the week I started running and felt that same pinch in my knee so I stopped immediately. I thought the injury was gone as I could not feel it when I walked. I must find something to do for my cardio.
I also bought a 32” flat screen TV and wall mount for the garage. The idea is to buy a treadmill and stair climber so I can work out in my garage and increase my work out times to morning and night, I will keep you posted.
Week Ending 3
Weight: 199 pounds. I had a small injury this week as I was running I felt a pinch in my knee area which I decided to keep running and felt more and more pressure on it as I was running so I didn’t want to cause further aggravation so I stopped running and just stuck to the swimming and diet. When I went to bed that night my knee was in real pain but got better during the weekend.
This week I went to Mike’s bicycle shop again taking my son and buying him some running shoes and shirt as he also runs on his own, training and competing in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. One day he’s going to be a UFC fighter so remember his name, “Lantz Ferguson”.
This week I went to Mike’s bicycle shop again taking my son and buying him some running shoes and shirt as he also runs on his own, training and competing in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. One day he’s going to be a UFC fighter so remember his name, “Lantz Ferguson”.
Week Ending 2
Weight: 202 pounds. I am improving my swimming technique and the hill running is getting easier as I only stopped twice during the last run of the week.
I went to a bicycle store (Pulse Endurance Sports) www.pulse-es.com that caters to athletes that compete in triathlons and one of the owners Mike Drury was very informative and helped me to pick out good running shoes, socks, shorts, shirts and I told him I’d be back once I was further along in my training.
I’ve heard it said that, “A journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step”. This is what I’m doing taking small steps getting closer to the final destination.
I went to a bicycle store (Pulse Endurance Sports) www.pulse-es.com that caters to athletes that compete in triathlons and one of the owners Mike Drury was very informative and helped me to pick out good running shoes, socks, shorts, shirts and I told him I’d be back once I was further along in my training.
I’ve heard it said that, “A journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step”. This is what I’m doing taking small steps getting closer to the final destination.
Week Ending 1
I came back from Panama about a six weeks ago weighing close to 209 pounds. When I knew I was going to be in a Half-Iron Man competition I immediately changed my diet and started exercising lightly every day. I was down to 205 but knew I had to lose more weight as I want to be around 180 during competition; in addition, the more weight I’m carrying, I know the harder it’s going to be.
I started out swimming as that was the easiest since I have a pool in my backyard. Just getting into the routine was hard as I was accustomed to working hard all day and taking clients out to fine dining restaurants as part of a daily routine.
It was a change of lifestyle for me; I had to make healthier food choices, reduce my calorie intake and maintain my discipline during my training. Since I’ve started training I now eat less, sleep less, have more energy, look forward to exercising and the competition. I also started running about 3 miles a day and you might think that three miles is not that much but you have to understand where I live. I live in Eastlake, Chula Vista about a block from the Olympic Training Center where there is nothing but hills; so during my run I am constantly running these hills which are close to being like that one street in San Francisco called Lombard Street.
Honestly, I didn’t know how I got through it during the first week; I had to stop a lot as I was out of shape. The good thing is that I expected it to be like this and know it will only get easier. I love this quote by Lance Armstrong:
“Pain is temporary. It may last a minute, or an hour, or a day, or a year, but eventually it will subside and something else will take its place. If I quit, however, it lasts forever.”
I started out swimming as that was the easiest since I have a pool in my backyard. Just getting into the routine was hard as I was accustomed to working hard all day and taking clients out to fine dining restaurants as part of a daily routine.
It was a change of lifestyle for me; I had to make healthier food choices, reduce my calorie intake and maintain my discipline during my training. Since I’ve started training I now eat less, sleep less, have more energy, look forward to exercising and the competition. I also started running about 3 miles a day and you might think that three miles is not that much but you have to understand where I live. I live in Eastlake, Chula Vista about a block from the Olympic Training Center where there is nothing but hills; so during my run I am constantly running these hills which are close to being like that one street in San Francisco called Lombard Street.
Honestly, I didn’t know how I got through it during the first week; I had to stop a lot as I was out of shape. The good thing is that I expected it to be like this and know it will only get easier. I love this quote by Lance Armstrong:
“Pain is temporary. It may last a minute, or an hour, or a day, or a year, but eventually it will subside and something else will take its place. If I quit, however, it lasts forever.”
Introduction
On October 13th, 2008 I will be running a Half-Iron Man competition which consists of a 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike ride and a 13 mile run all done consecutively at La Jolla Shores on the same day. A good friend of mine Carlos Gutierrez of Paradise Found Realty Consultants www.paradisefoundsd.com got me into it through the Challenged Athlete’s Foundation. I initially thought it was only going to be a 13-mile run which I knew I could power through it as I have a lot of will power. Then, Carlos and I were talking and he said, “Hey that’s great you’re going to be on my team for the Half-Iron Man”. I didn’t let on to Carlos that I thought it was only a 13-mile run I just thought I would macho my way through it. Afterwards, I was thinking to myself you’re really going to do this aren’t you? I got to thinking about the Challenged Athlete’s Foundation www.challengedathletes.org and these kids which compete in similar sporting events and yet they are double amputees or are in wheel chairs and I said if they can do it I can.I think here in the U.S. we take almost everything for granted, our health, family, friends and everything good we have. Did you know that just by being born in the U.S. you are more blessed than 99% of the rest of the world? One of my personal beliefs is that a life lived unto itself is really a boring waste of life. Someone who doesn’t give back to society truly hasn’t lived life to the fullest. This is one of the reasons why I decided to give $5,000 to the Challenged Athlete’s Foundation which is only the beginning. Whenever you see an athlete wearing a special prosthetic leg, keep in mind that one of those legs costs around $36,000. If you’re one of my friends or Investors I want you to seriously consider clicking on the link below to donate; don’t think about it too long as people tend to talk themselves out of something when they think too long. I’ve included some information on the organization below so you can check them out and make that donation. mdc2008.kintera.org/carlosg (CLICK HERE TO DONATE NOW)
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