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.