All I want for christmas is some relief.

December has been a rough month. I am in training for a pharmaceutical job and today is the last day of that training. I'm tired, exhausted and ready to get out of Chicago and spend the holidays with my family.

I found out some things about myself during this month long escapade of training. There was 2 weeks of home study and than 1 week of training near the corporate office. Almost from day one my energy level plummeted and I became more irritable. My desire to workout went away. My Adderal basically stopped working.

I went to see my doctor before I left for training to see if he could give me anything that would get me through this stressful week. He basically said there wasn't anything to give me. My stress level was so high it was canceling out my medications.

I had no idea that stress could cancel out the kinds of medication I am taking. I guess I took for granted that these meds would always work no matter what. It was tough the first 10 days. I really wanted to go for a run or take a spin class but I just didn't have the motivation or energy to do so. I had to finally just let go and admit that I just wasn't going to workout this month.

It's actually not a bad thing to take a break from working out. It gives your body a chance to recover and relax. Muscle has memory. Bouncing back from a month off will not be difficult. I have to keep telling myself that I'm not becoming a shadow of Jaba the Hutt.

I admit I have terrible body image issues. Two days of not working out and I feel like it's been 2 months. As a personal trainer I know that it takes 14 consecutive days of eating crap to gain 1% of body fat. It's funny how you look in the mirror and see a totally different image than everyone else sees. If anything I have lost weight this week. I've been so consumed with work and studying that I forget to eat. Body image is such a messed up concept.

This after noon I have my final certification and then it's off to my sister's house for Christmas. I will be so happy when this week is officially over.

Gun control is a side effect not a cure

A few days have passed since the massacre at Sandy Hooke Elementary School in Newtown, CT. I don't have children nor am I really planning on it. I can't even imagine what the parents and townspeople are going through right now. It's so close to Christmas and that makes everything even worse.

The national debate about gun control has come up again. It took a literal massacre of 6 and 7 year olds to begin a very serious debate. The debate shouldn't be about guns. It should be about who has them.

Almost every mass shooting that has happened in recent memory has been by a mentally ill person. Mental illness needs to be addressed in terms of gun possession and in terms of locale to guns.

I've said it many times and I'm not afraid to say it again, I would not let ME have a gun. I have bi-polar and ADHD. That combination is not a good mix in the first place. Add in a gun and you have a recipe for a very bad day. My disorders are under control with medication. Not everyone with mental illness has access to medication. The cost of these medications are astronomical and unless you have some kind of insurance, there is no way the average person can afford them.

We can pass gun legislature to make it harder for people with mental illness to possess a gun but would that really do any good? The man who took out those kids in Connecticut stole the guns from his mom. She owned them legally. She broke no laws. The thing is, a mentally ill person will find a way to do what they want to do. We can add all the laws we want but nothing can stop these people from hurting us as long as they don't have their mental issues under control.

I thought maybe we should make laws that say if a mentally ill person lives in the same house as a gun owner, the guns have to go. Not taken away mind you. Maybe stored in another location or even just make it mandatory to have a gun safe with a fingerprint identification lock. A gun that only fires with the palm print of the registered owner. The issue isn't gun control. The issue is who has access to them. If we can actually make a gun "safer" to use maybe that would solve some problems. We have the tech now to make a new breed of guns that only allow certain people to use them. If the registered owner has no mental issues, they can purchase a gun, have it coded to their unique DNA and only they can shoot it.

Maybe the issue isn't just gun legislature. Maybe the underlying issue is really healthcare. Like I said before, it's too expensive for the average person to seek help for mental issues, let alone any medical issue. What do we expect to happen if all these people with mental disorders are obviously not getting the help they need ?

I propose Universal Healthcare ONLY for people with mental issues. Serious mental issues. At this point it is becoming everyone's problem. We can ignore the homeless guy on the corner who talks to himself and yells at you as you walk by. He's not hurting you. His existence doesn't affect you. Now if that homeless person was constantly going around killing adults and children, that person has now put you and your family in danger. Mental illness has now put all of us in danger. It can not be ignored any longer. It has now come into your backyard.

As long as our healthcare system only services the rich and people who can obtain really good insurance through their jobs, we will be plagued with more of these shootings. I can say that I did not have my disorders controlled for most of my life. It's only been recently that I have received help because I could not afford to see a doctor. If I didn't have a good job I would not be able to pay for my 4 medications.

Let me tell you how someone with bi-polar and depression sees things. Their brain tells them that everything is doom and gloom. Their anxiety levels rise for now good reason. Standing in line at the grocery store can set them off into a temper tantrum that would make the average person scratch their heads wondering what the hell is wrong with that person? The depression is exhausting. They're tired all the time, day or night, for no reason. Sleeping all day is a common occurrence. This is not something someone can just snap out of. This is about brain chemistry and electrical impulses and misfiring synapses. It's things we can can't control without the aid of medication and counseling.

Why do all these guys commit suicide after they kill? They were planning on it anyway. This is how they are going out. I hate it when people say that suicide is selfish. It's not selfish, it's a necessity. People who are really suicidal can't help being suicidal. It's brain chemistry gone awry. You can say they are only thinking about themselves. But it's not the same as you think it is. They are thinking about how to make the pain and the depression go away. They are also thinking about the people who love them in a different way. They are thinking that with their death, the lives of their loved ones will only be better. They want you to be relieved of their burden on you. If anything is selfish it's stable people who don't understand the mental issue and that the person with the disorder needs help and then don't help them and afterwards wonder why the shit hit the proverbial fan. It's help that they don't know they need sometimes. It's that person who is negative and just seems mad at the world. They don't know they are ill. They just think this is life and life sucks.

You might say that if we give free healthcare to the mentally ill than we will have to give it to everyone. Last I checked someone with the flu or even cancer wasn't shooting up 1st grade classes with an automatic rifle. It has affected all of us now. If we can't get rid of guns, we have to get rid of the illness that causes these shootings. Let's start trying to cure the disease by taking out the symptoms that cause it in the first place.

I heard a young girl on the radio the other day say that she actually targets the loners and the strange kids at school to be extra nice to them. She says hello to them. She tries to converse with them. Why? She said because in the event those loners ever decide to go on a killing spree she hopes that when he points the gun at her, he will see her face and remember she was kind to him and maybe he will spare her life. That's not the kind of things a teenager should be worrying about.

13.1 is my new chapter and verse.

-Marathon #2-done and done.

Seattle Marathon, Sunday Nov.25, 2012

Beautiful crisp winter day 

I finished in 2:06, 30 minutes faster than my first half back in September 25th. 

I feel very very good about it.  I can't believe I finished it.  The first 4 miles sucked.  The middle was very hilly. Mile 10 got easier and my mile 12 I was on fire!

Thanks to all my friends and family who sent me congratulations.  Some of you were great inspirations and I get the chance to inspire you guys too.  For example: A friend of mine asked me what I did to train for my half-marathons.  This was my response.

"Well what I do is something very simple. I find a race I want to run and then register immediately. That way I've paid for it and that tricks my head into thinking I have to do it because I already paid for it. It's the only way for me to follow though on the commitment if I have already paid for it. I don't like to waste money.

Buy new shoes. Replace them every 300 miles. Buy a new pair right before your race. Throw your training shoes away.

It takes about 2-3 months to train for a half marathon. Pick a date and make that your goal.

Baby steps. Use that app, mapmyrun and it will help you by telling you when to run, how far and how long.

As far as losing weight goes. The running will help tons but as a personal trainer I can tell you that losing weight is 80% of what you eat. Eating clean is the only way to do it. Cut out sugar, bread, sweets, pop and eat healthy. The more you workout the more calories you have to eat. They should be healthy calories though.

Water, clean food and a steady, consistent schedule is the way to go. The best way to start is to find someone who is trying to do the same thing you are. Someone to run with make the training go by faster and is good for motivation and inspiration.

When it's shitty outside you gotta run. It sucks but you got to do it.

I would love to start a running club in the harbor. Train with people to do half marathons.

Start slow, start easy and make a goal. It will really set you on the right direction."

Easy squeezy.  Anyone can do this.  If i did it anyone can do it.  You feel like shit when you start this journey and then you feel like Superman when you complete each and every race.  It's euphoric!

Here are some pics of my Seattle Marathon race adventure.

view from my hotel room

 Goofy

Holy Crap!  All those people

My running partner, Ashley

Rebecca and Ashley and me

I liked my race chip on my shoe

They gave us cool medals

The Space Needle in the foggy morning after the race.

Ashley is a machine!

Day view from my hotel on my way home.

endorphins don't have fins but dolphins do

As most of you know I am running my second half marathon in a week from sunday.  My training is going pretty well.  I've broken the 10:00/mile mark and an average around 9:45/mile.  I'm hoping to bring it down to a 9:30/mile by the time of the race.

I'm still in shock on the my training days that I am actually out running.  If you would have asked me a year ago if I would have been doing this I would have told you that you were crazy.  I have people tell me all the time that they could never do what I am doing.  I tell them that I said the same thing and look at me now.

The secret is easy.  The secret is starting small.  The secret for me is a simple app.

iTunes app store link: Map My Fitness

You first have to have a goal.  Find something, anything in the near future that you want to accomplish as far as a running goal.  For me it was the date of a particular 10 mile run here in Gig Harbor.  After that race I found another which was a little longer.  Now I figure why stop now?  I can fun 13 miles so why not keep training?  It's a lifestyle change.  Fitness shouldn't be a temporary fix for anything.  It should apart of your life just like eating, drinking and sleeping is a part of your life.  

It really is mind over matter.  The first couple of miles always suck.  When I first started running I was only running for about 20 - 30 minutes.  The first 10 minutes always sucked.  Now that I run 10 miles when training, only the first 4 miles suck.  The bright side now is that THE FIRST 4 MILES SUCK because I can run 10 miles easy now.  In any thing is life the first part always sucks.  My teenage years sucked. My 20's were a little easier.  My 30's were messed up but I learned so much.  Now I'm in my 40's and WOW things seem a whole lot better.  Knowing what I know now, I wish I could go back and shake the younger Rex and slap some sense into him.  Unfortunately the first part always sucks and you have to endure and get through it to get to the part where the endorphins kick in and life becomes a little easier to deal with. 

Muscle Confusion- Political Edition

If you are like most people you are constantly hitting plateaus when you workout.  You found a routine that works for you but after about 6 weeks or so you're not seeing as much progress as you have before.

Your body is becoming acclimated to the workout.  You body is adapting and getting used to the same old workout and, therefore, doesn't have to work as hard to keep up.

What should you do?

Muscle Confusion.

Muscle confusion is simply changing the workout.  When you change your workout every 6 weeks your muscles get confused and need to find a whole new way to adapt.

P90X works on the same principle.   It's no gimmick.  It really does work but you have to diligent and not slack.  It's a lifestyle change.  The reason why P90X works for so many people is because every workout is muscle confusion.  Every workout is different and constantly keeps your body guessing, "what are they doing to me now? I have to adapt."  Take it from the most famous P90X user.  VP candidate Paul Ryan.

U.S. Representative Paul Ryan WI (R)

Paul Ryan workouts out because his family has a poor health history.  His family has been plagued with illnesses and death.  He didn't want to become one of those statistics who died too young. You many not agree with his politics but you have to admit he's one of the most fit politicians ever.  He isn't the only P90X advocate in politics.

U.S. Representative Aaron Schock IL (R)

"It's got to happen early or it's not going to happen," says Schock, who on the cusp of his 30th birthday is the youngest member of the House of Representatives—and already in his second term. Schock, who represents Illinois's 18th congressional district (Abe Lincoln's old stomping grounds), is one of a dozen or so congressmen who make regular treks to the House gym for weight training and sessions of P90X, the video series created by Tony Horton.

"When I first saw it I kind of laughed," Schock says of Horton's training regimen. "I didn't think you could get a real workout from a DVD. But at 6:30 a.m., it helps to have somebody talking you through your workout."

Read more at Men's Health: aaron-schock-fitness

Muscle confusion is just one way to get over that fitness plateau.  You don't have to do a P90X workout.  It can be something as simple as changing from the treadmill to the elliptical.  It can be changing your weight workout from heavy weights/ less reps to a light weight/ more reps.  Whatever you do it's important to change it up. 

Change is good.  Change is important. Change is progressive.

Karma Kameleon

I've always been a fan of "what you put out to the universe, you get back."  Some people may call this karma, some may call it prayer.  No matter what you call it, the result is aways better for you and better for the world if it's positive energy. Put good thoughts out, good things will happen for you.  The reverse is also true.  Negativity breeds negativity.  

Can you imagine what the world would be like if everyone just put out positive thoughts into the universe?  Rather than war and violence we could all have a peaceful coexistence. It takes so much energy to generate hate and negative thoughts.  If you could turn that around and put the same amount of energy into generating positive thoughts, your life would be incredibly rich and healthy. 

I wish I could bottle all the negative energy during any fire-fight in any war.  I bet it could power a major city.

I've learned much about myself over the last couple of years.  My depression was making me anxious and bitter.  Granted, I didn't know I was depressed but now that I do know, I can control it.  I was always getting mad at stupid things.  I was very passive aggressive.  I had no respect for me or anyone else.  I was making the same mistake over and over again but expecting a different result. 

Which leads me to my big pet peeve.  This could be one of the biggest generators of negativity today.

Passive Aggression

Passive–aggressive behavior is an umbrella term describing certain types of behavior in interpersonal interactions. It is characterized by an obstructionist or hostile manner that indicates aggression, or, in more general terms, expressing aggression in non-assertive, subtle (i.e. passive or indirect) ways. It can be seen in some cases as a personality trait or disorder marked by a pervasive pattern of negative attitudes and passive, usually disavowed, resistance in interpersonal or occupational situations.

Passive aggressive behavior can manifest itself as learned helplessness, procrastination, hostility masquerading as jokes, stubbornness, resentment, sullenness, or deliberate/repeated failure to accomplish requested tasks for which one is (often explicitly) responsible.

Passive Aggressive is a big issue for me.  I think that for the most part I have kicked that habit.  I notice though that where I live there seems to be much of it.  For some reason, different parts of the country are more passive aggressive than others.  I don't know why but ask anyone not from Seattle and they will tell you that Seattle is polite but not friendly.  The natives don't notice it at all because they are used to it.  If someone from the west coast could just live in the middle of Illinois for one week they would find out how NOT passive aggressive mid-westerners are.  It’s always refreshing to visit my family in Illinois.  It’s a different world.

One of the ways it manifests itself in my daily life is in the car.  Day in and day out there is a constant need for drivers to show their self-importance over everyone else.   Some drivers like to play “traffic cop” on the freeway.  You know the ones. It’s their job to keep you under the speed limit so they will camp out in the left lane.

Parking lots become Hunger Games arenas where people feel the need to drive around you as you are pulling out of a space or they will walk slowly up the middle of the lane in front of your car to make sure to show you that they are important.

Crosswalks are the new passive aggressive playing turfs.  It seems that people in crosswalks like to show their dominance by walking as slow as they can so you know, that they know, you have to wait.

What does all of this mean?  It’s plain and simple arrogance.

 What causes it?  Negativity and the need to show people that YOU are in control and you are NOT wrong.

There are passive aggressive people who will use this trait to manipulate other people such as co-workers, family, friends, anyone who that person thinks can help them get what they want.  It manifests in snide comments under your breath that you know that the other person can just barely hear.  It also manifests in making sure you get the last word in and it’s always hurtful.  My favorite is when you are stubborn and petulant to someone just so to make their life harder because you have no real reason to dislike them.  I call this the “girl who hates girls” syndrome. 

It usually, eventually comes back to bite you in the ass.  The problem is that all this passive aggressive behavior gets you nowhere.  Passive Aggression can alienate you from your family.  It can drive a wedge in relationships.  It makes you look like a dick. 

Remember, that person you cut off or tailgated is going to be the one person who pulls into the same place you were going.  Then confrontation ensues and guess what?  You’re always wrong.

Basically, if you are being passive aggressive, you are wrong.  Channel that aggression into something positive.  When you feel the need to be aggressive, that situation will never turn out the way you want.  You have to figure out a way to make the situation better, not make it worse.  If you have to be wrong, that own it!  If the other person is smug about it then they are the dick.

Don't hang out with passive aggressive people.  It's like having overweight friends.  Chances are if all your friends are overweight than you will be too. Why? Because you take on the bad habits of people you see on a daily basis if you're not careful.  Hang with negative people, you will become negative as well.

What’s the meaning of failure again?  It’s making the same mistake over and over again expecting a different result.  

My 10 Commandments of weight loss

If I here of one more person talking about the latest weird-ass diet they are on I'm going to have fit and die.

People diets do not work.  A diet is a temporary solution to a what could be a permanent problem if you keep dieting.

Wanna lose weight?

1. Start thinking of food as FUEL.
Yes it's nice to have delicious food that's bad for you, IN MODERATION.  Think of food as a fuel source and not what will make you happy if you eat it.

2. Stop weighing yourself.
The numbers of a scale mean nothing.  You can be 50% body fat and weigh 250 lbs but so can a bodybuilder who has 3% body fat.  Your body fat % is what is important.  If you are 50% body fat the last thing you need to worry about is the scale.  The way your clothes fit is the way you tell of you are losing body fat.

3. MOVE
It doesn't matter if you walk, run, crawl or jump.  You have to move your body consistently everyday for at least 30-60 minutes.  You don't have to run a marathon.  Once you start a daily routine you will see that your time exercising will increase as well as your distance.

4. Have a goal
Start small.  Pick an event such as a wedding, class reunion or a holiday.  I picked a half-marathon date and worked towards that day.  What ever the event or date you picked, work towards that goal and once you reach it, pick another date or event.
I ran my first half marathon this past September.  I trained since May and thought, "Well hell.  I trained for all that time and I'm just gonna stop after this first race?"  Once I ran that race on September 25th I set my next goal for a half marathon in Seattle on November 25th.  After that my goal is Arizona in January.

5. Stop drinking sugary drinks.
Start small.  Switch to diet.  Diet is still not as good as water but it's better than sugar.  What's bad about diet soda is that it's still sweet and it trains your brain and taste buds to crave sugar.  If you cut out soda completely you will lose those sugar cravings.  It takes about two weeks.
If it's not diet, don't drink it.  Newsflash:  Gatordade is AWFUL for you.  It's just sugar water.  Sports drinks are not good for you unless you have exercised rigorously for at least an hour straight.  You need to replenish your fluids, sugars and electrolytes if you have exercised that long. Otherwise you are just drinking a soda that doesn't have carbonation.

6. Drink water.
If you drink water you will not only hydrate yourself but you will also have better skin and hair.  Water also helps with energy.  Hydration = Energy.   If you dehydrated you will become sluggish and tired. Your body needs water.

7. Stop eating out.
Restaurant food is horrible for you.  Eating out in MODERATION is great!  If you eat out for every meal you will gain weight quickly, especially if you're not working out.  Restaurant food isn't made to keep you healthy.  It's there to make you want to come back again and again.  That's not a bad thing except look at people who eat out alot.  Usually they are overweight.

8. Don't plan your day around food.
If you wake up and your first thought is, "what am I having for lunch and where?" than you probably have an eating disorder.  If you plan your destinations around where your favorite restaurant it or you won't go our of your way because you won't be able to eat lunch where you want, food is ruling your life and affecting your weight.

9. Eat every 2-3 hours.
Small meals every 2-3 hours will jump start your metabolism because your body is constantly digesting food.  If you only eat once or twice a day, your body just sits there between meals and your metabolism slows to a snail's pace.  Eating 2-3 hours plus exercise will elevate your metabolism and you will lose weight.

10. Stop buying magazines.
Stop buying fitness magazines, fashion magazines and tabloids mags. Those people in those fitness and fashion mags are not the regular normal person.  Those people are usually genetically blessed.  They are models because they look different.  A model has to be incredibly thin because the designer wants the clothes on a model to hang as they would on a hanger.  Most people are not built like hangers.  The images in those mags are deceiving and not anything to aspire to.
What about tabloids?  Tabloids usually talk about just the beautiful people or who had the latest plastic surgery or what crazy workout some celebrity is doing.  They are PAID to workout.  They have to look that way. That is not a normal goal to aspire to unless you plan on becoming a fitness model or an action star.

Ok those are the top 10 ways to lose weight.  They aren't hard. They do take time.  Once you start you will have a "lightbulb" moment and see that it all makes sense and you'll wonder what you were thinking for all those years when you were overweight and unhappy.

- Fat parents = Fat kids.  Think about it.

Super depressed to super healthy

I'm feeling a little super lately.  I've got my body to the point where I can pull off this Underarmour Superman shirt without looking too flabby.  For a 42 year old who a year ago didn't think he could get back into shape after a back surgery, I'm doing ok.

My meds have been failing lately and it started to really scare me.  I could feel the "old me" coming back and I didn't want him around.  I call it my Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde mood.

My doctor changed my Adderal script last week.  My Adderal was starting to wear off too soon and I was crashing between doses.  I was up to 2 1/2 tabs a day.  I found that around 3 PM I was crashing pretty hard.  It was making spin class tough.  I would be too tired by the time class started at 5 PM and my classes were suffering.

He switched me to Vyvanse.  It's just like Adderal but it's "long acting."  That means I take one pill in the morning and it slowly keeps me level all day.  It's so nice only having to take one pill a day.

The thing about ADHD and Bi-Polar is that when your brain is working overtime and always telling you to lay down and sleep, it's very difficult not to comply.  Even though I know that it's "not real," I still can't help but do what my brain tells me.

I can always tell when my meds are failing.  For no reason at all I will become lethargic and very irritable.  I basically become an asshole.  People without depression don't understand that people with depression go through when they are depressed.  They think they know because everyone gets depressed at one time or another.  The difference is that "normal" depression is usually caused by an bad incident that happens in life or maybe a bad day at work.  When someone with clinical depression is depressed, they can't help the way they feel.  They have no particular trigger that causes the sadness.  It's just always there.  It will not go away unless they receive medical attention.  Picture your worst day and now picture that worst day happening every day.

I guess what I want people to know is that if you know someone with depression and they are cranky, sad, irritable or just not themselves, know that they can't help it.  They can't just snap out of it.

Too all those people who are depressed and don't think anything will help or feel they don't want to be on pharmaceuticals to feel normal, it's not optimal but it gets your mind to a point where you can think clearly and make it easier to come up with a game plan to find another way.  I don't want to be on meds for the rest of my life but for the time being I need to be so I can focus and get back on track.

One more thing.  Everyone out there who says someone who commits suicide is "selfish" has to remember that if that person is truly suicidal, their brain is telling that person that everything is awful, life is horrible and the pain will go away if they just go to sleep and never wake up.  I say that people who have lost someone to suicide and get mad about it are selfish because they want that person to still be alive because they can't stand the pain, the mourning process is too inconvenient to endure.  That person who died of suicide could not help what their brain was telling them.  It's like being possessed.  It's not selfish if you can't help it.  That person needed help and for whatever reason they didn't get it.  Be kind and save the "selfish" argument.  You don't know what you are talking about.

Run for your life.

The next half-marathon I will be participating in will be November, 25 in Seattle.  The one after that is the Rock N Roll Marathon in Phoenix in January.  I have decided to work my way up to a full marathon which I intend to run in Paris, France.

I never thought of myself as a goal orientated person.  Since last spring I have come to realize that having a goal is what has been keeping me motivated to workout, run and stay fit.  I need to have a structured program that tells me how many times I should workout, when I should workout and how hard.  So far the apps I have been using are helping out in ways I could never imagine.

My original goal of running the Race of a Soldier Half Marathon was achieved so I figured why stop there?  Most bodybuilders I know usually do a bunch of contests all in a row because they worked so hard to get to competition ready that it would be a waste not to do as  many as you can at once.

My goal is to do a half-marathon every other month.    This is a very big deal for me.  I never would have guessed in a million years that I would ever be a runner.  I think it just took a clear mind to make me realize my potential.

To be perfectly honest it has been hard to stay motivated lately.  The weather here in Washington has changed to rain and that comes with doom and gloom for nine months.  It's very hard to stay motivated to run outside when it is constantly raining and windy.  I was supposed to run yesterday but it was raining so hard I just couldn't bring myself to do it. The fix?  Rain gear.  I have to go find some good rain gear for my runs.  This is an obstacle I have to overcome because this is where I live and it's like this every winter.  The blessing is that is rarely gets too cold to run outside.  We rarely get snow and when we do it doesn't last too long.

The fix for the doom and gloom is to schedule half-marathons in warm states throughout the winter.  Pheonix, San Diego, LA, Las Vegas, etc.  Not only are they great places to run races but it's a valid excuse to get the hell out of the rain and into the sun.

My motivation and inspiration has it's ups and downs like everyone else.  I think if I have a goal to focus on than it will be easier for me.  It's a no brainer I know but if you have had depression for as long as I have, it's a "lightbulb" moment.

Wickedly inspired

I saw the best theater production I have ever seen.   I received WICKED tickets for my birthday and the show was today in Seattle.  For those of you, both of you, who haven't heard of this musical, it's the back story behind the life of the wicked witch from WIZARD OF OZ and how she became "wicked."

I have never been to a production that left me in tears TWICE! Now I know why the two main songs in the musical are the most popular.  I believe GLEE has even performed them both, "Defying Gravity" and "For Good."

If you have never seen WICKED and have the chance, even if you hate musicals, you will love this.   The weaving together of the story that explains the movie WIZARD OF OZ is genius and the plot twists leaving you saying, "what, what?"

Here is "Defying Gravity" from the 2006 Tony Awards.

I was inspired today to start taking voice lessons again.  I took them last year and stopped because I got too busy with work.  I have been cast in CABARET this winter and I believe my character, Cliff, has a song.  I figure if I can get the sheet music now than I can get started and have this thing nailed down by rehearsals.

Doing musical theater for me is like running a half-marathon.  I never really thought I could do it. I've done both and I'm ready to move on to the next step.  More half-marathons and then on to full-marathons.  I did one musical last year.  I'm doing another next year.

Here's to teaching an old dog new tricks!

All job interviews should be this fun.

Ok as some of you may or may not know I am a huge Sci-fi GEEK.  I love all things science fiction. I didn't read too many comics as a kid because I had no access to them but I did watch alot of saturday morning cartoons.  Give it up for the Superfriends!

As I got older I still continued to watch cartoons old and new.  I know, I know I'm adult.  Screw you.  I don't have kids and I can be one as long as I want.  If I did have kids you can rest assured that they would have the most awesome toys on the planet.  So would I.  I started collecting Superman comics and toys in my 20's and am still doing it today.  I also have Star Trek, Star Wars and other geeky memorabilia.

Today I had an "audition" to be the spokesperson for the Emerald City Comicon here in Seattle. 

emerald city comicon

 I answered the casting that came to me through my email from Performers Callboard on Yahoo.com.

Emerald City Comicon is looking for an actor and actress for the roles of

the superhero characters Crusader and Crusaderette. Candidates should

reside in the Seattle metro area (i.e. actors planning an LA move should not

apply), be in good physical shape and have a basic literacy in comic book

media and pop culture/geek culture. Must be willing to don the costumes for

at least four public appearances each year (including Emerald City Comicon,

March 1-3 2013). Also must have dark hair or be willing to color hair.

These roles are part host, part branding, part photo-op, part public

outreach. The two performers who are cast will be representing not only the

largest comic book media event in the Pacific Northwest, but be ambassadors

of Seattle geek culture to the world. Compensation includes an hourly or

daily stipend (depending on the event/appearance) as well as interaction

with celebrity guests, photo and video material for portfolio and/or demo

reel, and free event admission.

I was interviewed by 4 Comicon employees.  I went in there (wearing my tightest t-shirt mind you...I'm not stupid) and just started talking and talking and talking.  Just being myself.  It worked! I received an email a couple of hours later saying it was a unanimous decision and offered my the gig.  BTW why can't pharmaceutical job interviews go the same way?  

This is going to be me in March. The Crusader.

This is one of those cool opportunities that I just could picture myself doing.  It is a mix of acting, public speaking and comic books.  This screams ME.

The other welcome bonus is that I'll need to stay in excellent shape and this is going to be my motivating force.  If I have to wear skintight spandex you better believe my abs will be showing!  Bring on the spin classes, half marathons, yoga and plyometrics!

I have heard many many times, "Do what you love and the money will follow."  This doesn't make a whole lot of money.  It's only about 4 or 5 appearances a year.  I don't care.  It's a great side gig and it gets me exposure and is a resume builder.  

One of the guys who hired me told me his buddies are getting parts on GRIM alot lately.  GRIM is shot entirely in Portland, about 2 hours away from me.  I asked him how and he said they all had agents in Portland.  He asked me why I didn't have an agent in Portland.  I told him I don't have a "reel."  Meaning I have no footage of my acting.  Now I will.  Much of these public appearances will be on the net. 

Will I feel foolish?  YES.  Will I feel like a dork? YES.  Will I have the freaking time of my life?  YES!

Would you like a little cheese with that whine?

I am 42 years old and have just finished my first half-marathon.  I'm doing another next month and slowly I plan on working my way up to a full-marathon.  

I was inspired to run my first Half because of a local woman who lost her veteran son to PTSD. I empathized with her son because of my own depression issues.  Little did I know I would become hooked on running.  

The problem is motivation.  There are days when I just sit and whine about not wanting to run because either I have other things to get done or I'm just plain being lazy.  My first name should have been Procrastination. Procrastination Davison.  Nice ring to it.

Well yesterday I heard about this guy who has a hereditary disease that slowly makes him go blind.   In order to bring attention to the disease and to raise money, he decided to run marathons to do it.  He is running 12 marathons in 12 months in 12 cities....BLINDFOLDED. 

"I'm running 12 marathons in 12 states in 12 months and I have to do it blindfolded because the sunlight is really bad for my eyes and will make me go blind faster. On top of that, I'm really sunlight sensitive so it would be painful to even try and run one of these in the daylight."

Here is a link to the article: 12-Marathons-12-Months-12-Cities: Blindfolded

Sidebar: He is dating a movie star..he can't even see!  Not too shabby.

EJ Scott & his girlfriend, True Blood's Deborah Ann Woll 

So once again I see someone who is overcoming real obstacles and I'm sitting here complaining about running for 40 minutes because, "it's just so nice outside and I'd rather be watching tv outside on the deck."  Would you like a little cheese with that whine??

I am inspired once again to go out and train and get my second Half under my belt.  I do, however, have a hidden agenda.  Running Half Marathons in winter means going to Phoenix, San Diego and Palm Springs in the middle of our crappy, grey, wet, depressing winter.  It's my excuse to see the sun.

So stop your whining, get off your ass, take the fork out of your mouth and MOVE!  Life could be much worse.

PTSD: Permission To Start Dreaming

Well last Sunday, September 23 was the Race for a Soldier.  It was my first half-marathon.  I finished in roughly 2.5 hours which is good for my first ever half.

bib number:	2196
age:	42
gender:	M
location:	Gig Harbor, WA
overall place:	694 out of 834
division place:	74 out of 85
gender place:	372
time:	2:34:12
pace:	11:46

I started this journey on June 19th with a 3 mile run that took me 35 minutes to complete. Four months of training for something I thought I would never do is something that I'm very proud of.  I'm famous  for not finishing anything I start.

One thing that kept me going all summer was my friend Katie.  She was so inspired by the story behind the Race for a Soldier that she wanted to run it with me.  We motivated each other, me here in Washington State and Katie in New Orleans.  She flew in for the weekend and we ran it together, at times shuffling together, but we finished.

Having someone to share an experience with is very important.  I've found that it made my training a heck of alot easier and I wasn't nervous about race day when it came up.  I knew Katie was suffering through the training with me and suffering through 13.1 miles on race day.

We were using the same app and it had us running on the same days and the same distances.  We would text or call each other on the days of our training runs and either complain or celebrate the run.  It really really was a wonderful experience to share with such a great friend.

The moral of the story: If you have something you want to accomplish and you're not sure you can finish it, ask a friend to do it with you.  It may be a whole new experience that you will never forget.

Thanks Katie!

I want a new drug

I took some time off from blogging.  I have been having some ups and downs.  Mostly ups and downs in mood and motivation.

I few weeks ago I felt my meds slowly wearing off.  I would go in stages of really good highs and then crashing lows.  My doc prescribed more adderal.  It seems to be working.  I'm on a road trip right now and it's going great.

I have found though that I seem to get really really cranky around 4 or 5 pm.  Sometimes it's because I forgot to eat lunch or sometimes it's because I'm stressed.

I have been without work for 9 months now.  It's longest I have ever been unemployed.  I'm not worried about paying my bills or anything but I don't like not having any secure finances.  I have this immence feeling of not being in control and it's killing me.

I think there comes a time when even the best meds can be over powered by life's little challenges.  I know that I want to someday be off meds completley but until then I have to keep playing with dosing and keeping track of when they don't work and why they aren't working.

I'm eager to head back to Washington tomorrow.  I miss my dogs and I miss working out.  I took the last 7 days off and I'm feeling it.  I can't wait to get back to spin class!

H2Ohhhhhhh....

Great article on bitrebels.com about water and how important it is to our bodies and how too much can be harmful.

Cracking myths about water

I don't drink enough water.  I drink the most while working out.  I run with a "camelback" water backpack which is very helpful in keeping hydrated while out running for long distances.  

It not only holds my water in a bladder but it also holds my iphone/ipod and my I.D.  I like to run with an I.D. incase something happens.  With the way drivers drive here in Gig Harbor, I think it's a safe thing to do.  

When I teach spin I always go through an entire water bottle. Sometimes I go through an entire bottle AND a gatorade.  Sports drinks are very overly used.  They are as bad as soft drinks as far as sugar content and calories.  However, if you are using them during a strenuous workout they can be good for you.  They replace electrolytes and keep you hydrated.  If you're not working out very hard or not working out at all, sports drinks shouldn't be consumed.  Think of it as a bottle of soda.

Here is a few charts from the article at the beginning of this post.  I'm a very visual person and I like charts.  The information is easier to remember for me.

I'm should be drinking about 3 liters of water a day.  I consume that much on days when I am working out alot.  On an average day I know that I'm not.  Sometimes I just don't want water.  It's because I have programmed myself to want a fizzy, sweet drink.  I drink tons of diet soda.  I know it's bad but at least I'm staying hydrated.  I do notice, however, that when I am consuming more water, my skin and hair are alot healthier.

My goal is to drink more plain water and not so much diet coke.  I also drink sugar-free kool-aid.  Once again, it's not the best but it is mostly water.

I am Aquaman

Today I got my bodyfat tested with Bodyfattest.com which is a mobile hydrostatic body fat testing clinic.  www.bodyfattest.com

The important thing to remember about body fat testing is that the only true way to know your body fat is to do it hydrostatically.
Quoted from bodyfattest.com website:

Body composition analysis through immersion in water has long been the single standard for measuring body fat. Legend has is that Archimedes jumped from his bath naked and ran through the street shouting "Eureka" when he figured out how to determine the mass of an object by using water displacment. You see the king had tasked him with measuring his crown to tell if the goldsmith was cheating him by replacing some of his gold with silver - a metal having less mass and much less expensive. The basic theory hasn't changed since then.

By volume fat weighs less than muscle, and pound for pound fat and muscle each displace a known amount of water, they have a known mass. Basically fat floats and muscle sinks! If you know how much someone weighs, then you can determine how much water they would displace if they were all muscle. Compare that to how much they actually displace, and you can figure out how much of their body composition is fat, and not muscle. (Note: Although we keep using the term "muscle", it's really "fat free mass” or everything but fat).

Isn't it hard to figure out accurately how much water they displace? Well yes, except that you don't measure how much water is displaced exactly, you measure their weight in water, and knowing how much water weighs vs. fat and lean-body-mass, you can figure out the exact amount of body fat.

There are a lot of other methods out there, some of them good, some of them really useless. It's worth noting that whenever anyone describes how accurate their method is, it is always "as compared to hydrostatic". That's right. Every competitor accepts the supposition that hydrostatic body fat measurements are exact and thus they strive to be as close to the hydrostatic measurements as possible.  Admittedly, some even come reasonably close, but there is only one standard.  Hydrostatic weighing to determine body density, or hydrodensitometry, is the single accepted standard for measuring body fat.  And now it's being made available, outside of medical clinics and universities. Why would you use anything else?

It is a little weird because you are lying on your back in a tank and you HAVE to expel all your air out of you body WHILE UNDER WATER.  You're not going to drown but it feels like if you wanted to drown, this must be what it feels like...HA! 

I was getting bioimpedance testing because it was the only method available at my YMCA.  I knew it wasn't accurate but it's usually consistent.  It had my body fat 10% higher than what hydrostatic had me.  I was relieved to find out today I am at 19% and not 28%.  

I have 37 lbs. of fat on my body which means 19% of my body is fat.

I have 157 lbs. of muscle on my body.  I weigh 192lbs.

My target body fat % is around 10%.  I need to lose around 20 lbs of fat to reach that goal.

My Resting Metabolic Rate is 2038 calories per day.  This means I burn 2038 calories just going about normal daily activity WITHOUT working out.

My body fat is in the "good' to "healthy" range.  I'm in the 65% percentile for men of my age in the "good" range.   To be in the "healthy" to "essential" range I need to be between 7% - 15% body fat range.  I think I'm getting close.

This list is Calories Burned in 30 Minutes if you do one of these activities.  I do alot of running so 3 times a week I burn around 500 calories running every half hour.  I run for at least an hour so that means I'm burning close to 1000 calories when I run.  

I teach spin class at least 4 times a week.  Some classes are an hour.  Some are half hour.  I'm burning between 400 and 800 calories depending on the length of my class.  

Add those numbers to my RMR of 2038 and that means I'm burning a shit ton of calories.  That is probably how I've gone from 220 to 190 so fast and easily.  I try to eat healthy but for the most part I have been eating what I want but with just smaller portions.  All the food is being used as fuel and not converted to fat.  

Downside: I've stopped lifting weights and so I'm losing muscle mass.  I have to start incorporating more resistance training into my workouts.  Building muscle burns fat.  I don't want to get too big but at the rate I am doing cardio, it should all balance out.

Yah for hydrostatic testing!