Thursday, May 29, 2008
Diet Book Author Advocates New 'No Food Diet'
Lurking around the web for weight loss information, I stumbled across this video that nails down the best way to lose weight. Watch and Learn!!!! Why waste hours of your own time doing research, reading articles, and listening to others when this 3 minute video will tell you everything you need to know about losing weight, burning fat, and getting lean... Enjoy!
Thursday, May 22, 2008
OSCAR PISTORIUS - Blade Runner
Today was an especially difficult day to wake up and train. My schedule indicating that I was supposed to be out the door and on the saddle of my bike at 4:30AM, which means that my wake up alarm was set for 3;45AM. Yes, very difficult and I almost skipped it. "Almost" I say. Before retiring for the evening, last night I was watching some videos of sprinters on youtube and happen to come across a guy name Oscar Pistorius who is a Beijing 2008 hopeful. Now, there is nothing out of the ordinary here, yet, except that Oscar doesn't have legs and runs on blades. Right when I opened my eyes, Oscar came to mind and my motivation went through the roof. Whether the blades give him an edge or not is a whole different topic... but the guy is in the process of qualifying for the Olympics. How many double amputees do you know who have the will and the determination to compete in the 2008 Olympic games? Watch the video of Oscar above.
Monday, May 19, 2008
Weekly Transformation Emails and Blog Updates
Would you like to get the details of my transformation? Fill out the form in the upper right hand corner to find out.
I am starting a FREE weekly email list where I will trace my steps back to my obese years and reveal step-by-step, little-by-little of how I transformed my body and my health from FAT and unhealthy to IronFit. Some of the topics I will touch on is nutrition, fitness, how to overcame hardships & barriers, and eliminate excuses to a healthier you. Tom Venuto, my fitness mentor has been a major influence on my athletic success. I will also discuss on how I integrated his famous Burn the Fat program in my lifestyle and continue to do so (with my own tweaks to satisfy my endurance needs). Lastly, by signing up, I will also keep my readers updated on my blog. I will send out a message as soon I have a new entry. If you're worried about spam, STOP WORRYING. I will never send you commercial emails, I will never advertise ANYTHING, never have you click on useless affiliate links, and NEVER mention a program and/or service if I don't believe in it. Just honest, valuable, informative, entertaining, and inspirational emails and advice to start off your weekend. The weekly non-biased email will be sent every Friday starting May 23, 2008. Once the form is filled out, you will receive an email where you'd need to confirm your subscription. Please check your spam/junk folder if you don't receive this.
Thursday, May 8, 2008
2008 Wildflower Long Course Race Report
Wildflower 2008 was definitely a very interesting event. A golden gem of triathlons, as some put it, draws competitors from all over the world. All the big names were there, including Chris McCormack, who by the way, ended up winning the event, and coincidentally, was racked only a few bikes away from me. Here I am, a beginner Ironman athlete, transitioning by a distance of only a few feet from a world champ. You don't get to see this in any other sport. The Wildflower Long Course featured a distance of 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike ride, and a 13 mile run.
Swim
The swim portion was fairly straight forward. No waves, no "sharks", and a semi-clean water. Swimming, being my weakest sport, went well. While there were a lot of people for my wave start, I didn't feel cluttered, maybe because I became aggressive at first and claimed my territory right away. It wasn't that bad.
Bike
Onto the bike... This was a different story. Obviously, Wildflower has one of the toughest bike courses in any half-ironman distance triathlon, but this just wasn't my day. The bike leg was horrible. No matter how hard I pedaled, I wasn't going and people who were not supposed to pass me, were zooming by me like it was nothing. Very disappointed, nevertheless, a learning experience.
Run
Onto the run.... Tough run course, no doubt... but I felt very strong during the run. As soon as getting off that disappointing bike ride, I started jogging out of the transition area. Upon passing the sensors, my legs didn't feel like they just came from a 56 mile bike ride. As a matter of fact, they felt fresh... I absolutely enjoyed the run. With putting out only about 60-70% effort, I was able to run the hilly 13 miles in about 1:53. I could've kicked it up a notch or two, but realizing that I wasn't going to meet my initial goal of finishing the event in 5:30, I decided to enjoy and savor the moment.
General Thoughts
It seems like all the training up to this point had paid off. I felt very strong during the event (even though I bombed the bike portion). I was only mildly tired afterwards and felt like I could've probably stretched the event an extra few hours.
Wildflower 2008 Long Course had many military members participating, in which many of the athletes were veterans injured in Iraq and Afghanistan. It was very touching to see them right before the swim and throughout the event with missing limbs, blind, and with many other disabilities. But again, I realized that these people are the reason that I am able to stand in front of Lake San Antonio, with my wetsuit on, alongside thousands of other athletes, living in peace and not being in an imminent danger of being shot at. To take this one step further, these brave Heros are about to embark on the most difficult half-ironman distance triathlon and not let their handicap stand in the way. One of my favorite quotes from one of my favorite people, "Stop Whining" Arnold Schwarzenegger, is as prominent as ever.
I would like to thank everyone who supported me and continue to do so in all my athletic endeavors. A special thanks goes out to my wonderful coaches (Paul, Rad, & Brad), my special lady Cynthia, mom, dad, brother, grandparents, teammates, mentors, everyone who donated to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, and of course Tom Venuto and Fitness Renaissance, LLC.
Some Pictures:
Glad to have it Over
Struggling up a Hill
Me, my buds Carlos (aka running machine), Jake (aka all around cool guy)
No, I don't normally smile when I run.
I knew they were going to snap a photo.
FINISH
Swim
The swim portion was fairly straight forward. No waves, no "sharks", and a semi-clean water. Swimming, being my weakest sport, went well. While there were a lot of people for my wave start, I didn't feel cluttered, maybe because I became aggressive at first and claimed my territory right away. It wasn't that bad.
Bike
Onto the bike... This was a different story. Obviously, Wildflower has one of the toughest bike courses in any half-ironman distance triathlon, but this just wasn't my day. The bike leg was horrible. No matter how hard I pedaled, I wasn't going and people who were not supposed to pass me, were zooming by me like it was nothing. Very disappointed, nevertheless, a learning experience.
Run
Onto the run.... Tough run course, no doubt... but I felt very strong during the run. As soon as getting off that disappointing bike ride, I started jogging out of the transition area. Upon passing the sensors, my legs didn't feel like they just came from a 56 mile bike ride. As a matter of fact, they felt fresh... I absolutely enjoyed the run. With putting out only about 60-70% effort, I was able to run the hilly 13 miles in about 1:53. I could've kicked it up a notch or two, but realizing that I wasn't going to meet my initial goal of finishing the event in 5:30, I decided to enjoy and savor the moment.
General Thoughts
It seems like all the training up to this point had paid off. I felt very strong during the event (even though I bombed the bike portion). I was only mildly tired afterwards and felt like I could've probably stretched the event an extra few hours.
Wildflower 2008 Long Course had many military members participating, in which many of the athletes were veterans injured in Iraq and Afghanistan. It was very touching to see them right before the swim and throughout the event with missing limbs, blind, and with many other disabilities. But again, I realized that these people are the reason that I am able to stand in front of Lake San Antonio, with my wetsuit on, alongside thousands of other athletes, living in peace and not being in an imminent danger of being shot at. To take this one step further, these brave Heros are about to embark on the most difficult half-ironman distance triathlon and not let their handicap stand in the way. One of my favorite quotes from one of my favorite people, "Stop Whining" Arnold Schwarzenegger, is as prominent as ever.
I would like to thank everyone who supported me and continue to do so in all my athletic endeavors. A special thanks goes out to my wonderful coaches (Paul, Rad, & Brad), my special lady Cynthia, mom, dad, brother, grandparents, teammates, mentors, everyone who donated to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, and of course Tom Venuto and Fitness Renaissance, LLC.
Some Pictures:
Glad to have it Over
Struggling up a Hill
Me, my buds Carlos (aka running machine), Jake (aka all around cool guy)
No, I don't normally smile when I run.I knew they were going to snap a photo.
FINISHThursday, May 1, 2008
ALL EYES ON WILDFLOWER 2008
The time has finally come, I will be competing in Wildflower half-Ironman distance triathlon in two days, May 3rd, 2008. Now, being that this is a half-Ironman, it is among the most difficult halfs. Many of my friends and colleagues, who competed in the course, along with other full Ironman events, say that they would much rather do a full than the Wildflower half. I will put my body to a test and see if all this hard work will pay off. The race will take place in California's beautiful central coast, near Paso Robles in Lake San Antonio.
Swim
The 1.2 mile swim is probably the easiest portion of the course. Nice and calm lake swim. Nothing more to say.
Bike
The 56-mile bike ride is very difficult. Wildflower is notorious for having head-wind in virtually every direction. The course has almost 4500 feet of climbing and 80% of this effort is distributed in the last 10 miles of the ride. This wouldn't be that bad if it wasn't followed by a 13 mile hilly trail run.
Run
The 13-mile run course isn't going to be any easier. During the first 6 miles of the run, runners are expected to climb almost 1400 feet. The rest of the run also has plenty of rolling hills which amounts to another 1000 feet for a grand total of nearly 2400 feet of elevation gain during the 13 miles.
I don't have any set specific time range to finish the event. Instead, my body will be my guide. Being that this is my first Ironman, my goal is to finish the event. Depending on how I feel during, either I'll haul ass or take it easy. Nutrition will be the key for this race considering that the temperature may reach in excess of 90 degrees ... Good luck to me :)
For more information on Wildflower, please visit: http://www.tricalifornia.com/index.cfm/Wildflower2008-main.htm
Full race report with pictures will follow early next week.... Stay tuned
Swim
The 1.2 mile swim is probably the easiest portion of the course. Nice and calm lake swim. Nothing more to say.
Bike
The 56-mile bike ride is very difficult. Wildflower is notorious for having head-wind in virtually every direction. The course has almost 4500 feet of climbing and 80% of this effort is distributed in the last 10 miles of the ride. This wouldn't be that bad if it wasn't followed by a 13 mile hilly trail run.
Run
The 13-mile run course isn't going to be any easier. During the first 6 miles of the run, runners are expected to climb almost 1400 feet. The rest of the run also has plenty of rolling hills which amounts to another 1000 feet for a grand total of nearly 2400 feet of elevation gain during the 13 miles.
I don't have any set specific time range to finish the event. Instead, my body will be my guide. Being that this is my first Ironman, my goal is to finish the event. Depending on how I feel during, either I'll haul ass or take it easy. Nutrition will be the key for this race considering that the temperature may reach in excess of 90 degrees ... Good luck to me :)
For more information on Wildflower, please visit: http://www.tricalifornia.com/index.cfm/Wildflower2008-main.htm
Full race report with pictures will follow early next week.... Stay tuned
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