Training for the 7 Mile Bridge Race

The 7 Mile Bridge Run is steadily approaching and although I have cut 10 minutes off my time I am still nervous. I am cutting it close. I know that most of what I will be battling is psychological but still.

I am a slow runner. I know I just have to be patient and give it time but right now I am running an 15:00 min mile on my regular runs and not getting any faster. Once I ran a 13:00 min mile in one of my long runs followed by a couple of 13:30 min miles but after that it jumped right back up.

I'm nervous because you only have 90min to run the 7 miles and I really want to finish!

What is an Athlete?

What is an Athlete, you ask?

Well, Wikipedia defines an Athlete as:

• An athlete is a sportsperson in a general sense or specifically a competitor in track and field athletics (track and field) events. Also, a person who competes in general sport competition.

To me, an Athlete is someone who is confident, strong, willing to take on any challenge ... and that is who I want to be.

To become an athlete, my goals will be:

• Run a 5K
• Run a 10K
• Run The 7 Mile Bridge
• Do a Half Marathon
• Do a Marathon
• Do a Duathlon (which will be difficult because I don't know how to ride a bicycle)
• Do an Iron Man
• Do a Triathlon (which will be difficult because I don't know how to to swim)

I will continue my Personal Training but with these goals in mind.

Cleanse?

Well, the cleanse stunk.

By the end of the second day I had to stop drinking the Pineapple-Cucumber concoction because I was becoming nauseous and was well on my way to becoming ill.

That will teach me a lesson (one I thought I already knew) that crazy diets that seem too good to be true ... ARE TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE.

Weight loss is about eating right and working out and that's it. You get out what you put in. End of story.

New Diet

Well, I should have expected this but upon my arrival at the personal trainer I was informed I would begin a new diet.

Now, just to be clear, I don't eat badly. I eat rather healthily in fact. I avoid sweets, as much as I can. Eat low sodium and don't drink coffee. So I was surprised when my trainer said my diet was all wrong and that I would be doing a 3 day Pineapple-Cucumber Diet Cleanse.

The concoction was prepared for me, but from what I could tell it was a half gallon worth of Cucumber Juice (prepared with fresh cucumbers in a juicer) and a half gallon worth of Pineapple juice (prepared with fresh pineapple in a blender). The reasoning is to keep the pulp in it for extra fiber. I was instructed to drink one gallon of the mix a day for 3 days. No breakfast (other than the juice) lunch and dinner were to be 5 to 6 oz of white meat (chicken or fish) and green vegetables.

I am concerned but willing to give it a shot.

First Day of School

Today was my first session with my new personal trainer.

Now, this is not my first rodeo (I have had personal trainers before) and it's not even my first time taking on a personal weight loss/athleticism challenge. But since I have been on a plateau weight-wise for over a year ... I am beginning to question exactly how much I know about weight loss and athleticism to begin with.

To set the stage, I will admit I have a pretty sordid back ground.

I have always had problems with my weight and the first time I became serious about losing weight came in the form of an accident. I signed up for a Judo class at Florida International University not knowing that it would absolutely change my life.

I was a wall-flower at the time and had very low self-confidence. The class turned things around and by the second semester I was in front leading warm-ups and teaching the beginners new techniques (under the careful eye of the Sensei of course).

Within a couple of semesters, I had signed up for Army Reserve Officer Training Corps. During which I discovered running as an activity for life improvement. I am convinced that running is a key part of living a full and healthy life, although my theories are still being developed.

I was running twice a day. Two to three miles in the morning with my R.O.T.C. compatriots, then spent most of my day at Judo class (which can be confirmed by my low GPA during my Junior year in college), a one mile run in the afternoon before the Adult Judo class with a 260 pound Refridgerator of a man I called my practice partner (he was a mover and is was rumored to be able to pick up a redriferator on his own) and then a 2 hour adult class of Judo/Jujitsu/Atemi/Akido.

After college, I ceased all exercise and bloated to a disturbing 232 pounds on my 5 foot, 6 inch medium build. I was highly depressed and physically ill. I suffered from Migraines almost on a daily basis. I was obese and technically still am, but over the next year I proceeded to lose 60 pounds using Weight Watchers.com program. I was quite happy with my results until I hit the plateau I have been currently riding for over a year. I have been working out (albeit not as regularly as an OCD Taurean like myself would approve of) for the entire year and have not managed to lose weight. Infact, all I have managed is to gain 20 pounds and be in my current state of frustration.


So I am setting aside the desire to do this one my own and am accepting help. For the next 6 weeks I will try something different and see what results will come.

Today's Workout:

Warm-up: 5 min on treadmill at 3.3 (raised it to 3.5 while he wasn't looking)

Stretches: 5 min

• Squat Stretch
• Runners Stretch
• Hamstring Stretch
• Jumping Jacks

Exercises:

• Run/Jog 25 meters, then lunge 25 meters (repeat 6 times)
• Step up/knee up (20 left/20 right)
• Jog for 3 min
• Step up/knee up - high step (20 left/20 right)
• Step up/knee up with bicep curls (20 left/20 right)
• Medicine Ball Squats
• Medicine Ball Free Throws (without actually throwing)

Cool Down: 5 min on Bike

... and I will run 500 miles .... and I will run 500 more

I've decided to set a new challenge for myself.

I will run 1000 miles in 2009.

Now I'm starting at a disadvantage being that I am starting this a little late. Not that I am starting at zero. I have run at least occasionally over the last couple of months but not enough to create any real dent into this challenge.

Currently I have run 85.5 miles to date.

Leaving me 914.5 to go over the next 9 months.

I think it's do-able!

UPDATE: 5/12/2009
Due to a minor injury and the fact that I started to run a few months into the year, I am adjusting my goal of running 1000 miles in 2009 to 500 in 2009 and will leave the 1000 miles for 2010.

UPDATE: 9 /15/2009
Today I have reached my 500 mile Goal but I still have 3 months left of running. I am going to go for the 750!

About Me

For most of my life I have been over weight.

I wasn't born overweight and made it to somewhere around 7 years old as a healthy child with a healthy weight.

Then that year, my Private school closed and I was transferred into the Public School System. And after that, I don't recall being a very active as a child nor was I very involved in anything.

I would spend my summers in Puerto Rico with my father's family but I don't remember much of anything.

Actually, after that point all I recall is sitting in front of the TV, playng Mario Brothers on my Nintendo or going to get Malta and Mazareal's with my grandfather.

Something changed.

I'm not entirely sure what (and I am not venturing to accuse the Public School System).

After that, I did not become active until I started college. At which point I was quite overweight (Obese on the BMI scale) and my first year I decided that I would signed up for a Judo class.

I surprised myself.

I was never a brave soul and I half expected to walk in and have the class be canceled due to lack of participation.

But to my surprise it wasn't ... and that's where it all began.

I even started to compete (Here you see me after a Sunshine State Games Competition where I got 2nd Place. Top Row 4th in from Left to right with a Brown Belt.)

I started to lose weight.

Not a lot but enough for me to find the bravery to sign up for the FIU ROTC Program. This is where RUNNING and I were formally introduced and started our on-again off-again affair.

I wasn't very good but I managed some 8 minute (first) miles in my PFT Test runs. I was able to keep up with my designated "Slow" group and I occasionally went on runs with other JUDO members when they wanted to pump up their training.

I SAW RESULTS.

I set goals and started to realize my dreams. I became a Judo Instructor, a Firearms Instructor and Substitute Teacher. I picked up several hobbies including but not limited to: Photography, Running, Working Out and overall fitness, Traveling, Writing the All-American Novel ... and so much more.

Then I graduated from College. Got a SLACKER JOB at the Gun Range and a second Job as a Cyber-Journalist for a local TV Station. I moved out. Made some mistakes and ended up MARRIED!

Three years later.

I had a couple of bumps in the road and I ended up back at the beginning, actually much worse than I ever thought possible. My top weight was 242 pounds on my 5'6" frame. My doctor told me I was putting my life at risk being so overweight.

I didn't know where to begin.

So I took some sage advice from a childhood movie:

"When it all goes wrong, go back to the beginning"
- The Princess Bride

I started with what I knew. I joined WeightWatchers.com and diligently tracked all the foods I ate along with my workout (a session of Billy Blank's Tae Bo every morning, even Sundays).

After a year and without really noticing, I had lost 50 pounds.

My life really turned around.

But as time passed, I seemed stuck.

Now a year has come and gone and I've been stuck at the same weight. I've had multiple personal trainers and never managed to lose more than 10 pounds which I quickly gain back once our training sessions are over. Not that any one of the personal trainers wasn't great but I think my problem is something that a personal trainer can not fix. I've been working out albeit not consistently or regularly or even to the degree that I should be working out.

So I am pressing the reset button.

In 2009, I've started learning to play guitar, learning to play drums, learning to play the piano, returned to my hobbies of Photography and Running and even starting to write again.

I am determined to kick-start and start reaching my goals again.

In March of 2009 I started training for the Seven Mile Bridge Race.

I started running longer and longer distances and I got hooked.

I started signing up for Races.

• Mercedes Benz Corporate Run 2009

• Tour of the Gables 5K

• J4★5k

I wasn't going out to set any records but just to be other there with other people running is a wonderful feeling!

Then I took the plunge and went for a half-marathon at 13.1 Fort Lauderdale

Next, I'm signed up for the ING FULL MARATHON!

Wish me luck!