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Wednesday, June 28, 2006

Priceless!


This is courtesy of Bantransfats.com and I will definitely be purchasing one!

We need to quit killing ourselves

I can remember 6 years ago, weighing 240 lbs and growing. The realization of my weight really didn't hit me intel I out grew my pant size and my next size was going to be a size 38. I said " enough is enough" and decided to loose some weight, a lot of weight. Toady I weight 165-170, that's 70 lbs of excess baggage I was carrying around. As I look back and just think of how I ate and what I ate just blows me away. All the fast food, restaurant food and un healthy store bought food. It is amazing how good I look compared to 6 years ago. I really was never taught how to eat, or the right foods to eat and when to eat them intel I really got into exercising and racing and a higher level. My first health book was Body for Life. This book changed my life. The way I ate and what I ate. My next book was on Trans Fat, or better known as partially hydronated oils. It is a small book and didn't take long to read but WOW! What and eye opener. Who would of thought the company's you trust and recognize as healthy foods to feed you and keep us healthy is really killing us. And to found out all because of money and greed. Its in almost everything you find in the grocer stores. Just look in your pantry and you will be amazed at how many products have it in it. Company are required to label it on labels know. But they don't have to if its under a certain amount. What's up with that? Like I said it all has to do with money and greed. My wife, Amanda, when we first met she always had stomach problems and would get sick all the time. But know since we changed a lot of what we eat and eat mostly organic foods and cook all our meals from scratch and not out of a box. She no longer gets sicks like that anymore. I tell you these big company's are killing us with all there toxic foods. Another book I've been reading is Natural Cures by Kevin Trudeau. Yes you have to take it with a grain off salt but I believe a lot of it is true and he has some good products that are all natural. Its amazing how good I feel and Im never sick. I wouldn't eat any other way today knowing what I know about the food industries and the bad ingredients they use in there products. And to think that there labels say how healthy they are on them is a big lie. I will use cereal as and example: You look at most top name brands like General Mills, Post , and look at there ingredient list. You will see partially hydronated oil in there, just blows me away. Here they are suppose to be healthy and good for you. People have been feeding it to there children for years, and eating it them selves. Again here we rely on company's to provide us will good stuff and not be so un truthful. It makes me so made that even the FDA allows allows all lof this, The agency that's suppose to be protect us. The company we pay to have protect us. Again its all about money and greed. Anyway that's my rant on that for today. As you can see I feel very strongly about my food, because who else is going to care, NOBODY. Take care.

Sunday, June 25, 2006

Another day in "Brian's House of Pain"

Saturday 6-24-2006

Thats right! The road bike ride was 158 miles with an estimated 12-14,000 feet of climbing. I started in Santa Cruz and went to La Honda, Pascadero, back up Alpine to Skyline and back to Santa Cruz on HWY 236. 9 hours and 15 minutes in the saddle and a total time of 10 hours and 15 minutes. Only 1 hour of stopping, which I don't think is too bad, you've got to eat sometime and it would be hard to carry that much food with you. My good friend, Miles Wadsworth, for some odd reason, decided to go with me. I bet he was wondering why the whole way! Funny thing is I wanted this weekend to be easy and not too much training, but when talking to Miles on Friday on the phone I joked with him that if he wanted to do a long ride with me, I would, and he said yes, so I wasnt going to pass this up. I bet he won't say yes for a while. It's always good to have strong riders ride with me like Miles so we can push each other harder than you normally would on a ride by yourself. There seemed to be a lot more riders out than normal - I guess the really nice weather has a lot to do with it. The temperatures reached well into the 100's in some parts of the ride and the some sections were in the low 80's by the ocean with some good humidity. The were three hard parts during this ride that I had to work through. It was the section heading on the way back. This climb is 2 hours long, with a small descent before climbing the rest of the way. It start almost right at Hwy 1 and you go up towards Skyline Drive. I'm not sure what the first part is but at one piont you turn on Alpine Road. This is where the temps hit well into the 100's. Last time Miles and I went up this road we ran out of water and suffered for hours. But this time we bought 4 16.9 oz of water to carry with us plus our bottles on the bike and this worked out good. I started to cramp real bad towards to the top, but I was expecting this anyway, so no big deal, just work through it. The next bad spot was coming back into the big redwoods on Hwy 236, about 9 miles before you get the camp ground an little sore. I really fely my suger level hit rock bottom, my vision gets blurry and just hurt really bad. And the final pain fest was at he end trying to hold a steady and consistent pace. Miles and I were having a tough time at this point and just wanting to get back and off the bike. So not a bad day. I feel I will be ready for the 24 hours MTB NAtionals in Wisconsin . The only competition I have seen so far would be Jeff Kerkove, he seems like an animal. He has been having a good season so far. Not sure who else will be there.

Sunday 6-25-2006

It has been an easy day. 50 minute run and a 4000 meter swim. The sets were 4 x 1000 ( 1000 swim, 1000 paddle, 1000 swim, 1000 paddles) each set faster than the other. And now the rest of the afternoon laying around getting some rest. I will be taking my Recover-Ease to help with my recovery, man this stuff is good. I will post some thoughts on my New Pasta sponsor Fiber Wise Pasta when I get to order my first shipment. Happy training....

Friday, June 23, 2006

Tuff week

It has been a tuff week. I feel at this point my body wants to peak and get a little rest. All I have to do is keep this up 5 more weeks intel 24 hour National Championship at the end of July. I can do it but its going to be tuff. Plus I have to be careful and not to burn out at this piont. I havent been exercising much and trying to recover for the next and final push into the ultimate fitness to kiss some ars. Yesterday I took the hole day off and today will be light with an hour swim and 45 minutes running. The days here are sure getting hot. The last few days have been close or right at 100 deg. So looks like I will be getting some good heat training in. I have a triathlon I will be doing on July 9th. Its an Olympic size triathlon. I get a free entry because Granite Construction co., the company I work for, supplies them with signs and cones.

Some new news is that I have picked up another products sponser, mmmmmmm pasta, I eat pasta about four times a week so its going to be very nice of FiberWise to help me out.

Monday, June 12, 2006

Weekend of 6-12

SO after a nice week of resting up I wanted to upon it up with back to back big cycling day's. I was hoping it was hotter but it wasnt. I head to Santa Cruz on Saturday to get in alot of longer climbing. I start from Santa Cruz and head north on HWY 1. Then go Rt on Boony Doon road all the way to Empire Grade. Lt on Empire GRade and then Rt on JAmisin Creak, Lt on HWY 236, lt on hwy 9, Lt on SKy line, Rt on 84 in La Honda. Not sure about the road but I made a right at the bottom of 84 to hit page mill back up to sky line.lt on sky line, rt on hwy9, rt on hwy 236, rt on Jamison, lt on Empire GRade, rt on bonny doon, lt on hwt 1. In all 140 miles with 12000 feet of clibing. Nothing exiting to report. There was alot of fog at LA Handa so I had to change my route some. Didnt have to stop much and took alot of food with me. Im really liking the burito thing know. I will make potatoe and a litler bit of egg whites in a butito to eat on the way and all I have to do is stop fpr water and maybe some food but not much.

Sunday I decided to back it up again and go for it. So I went to king City to park And head to Coalinga and see if I cant find some heat. The route is Bitterwater rd, Lt on hwy 25, rt on Coalinga rd witch turn into Los Gatos Rd,rt on derrick, 1 lt, rt on HWy 198 into Coalinga to re fuel. Sam route on the return. It was foggy fro the first hour and then cleared up nicely. There is fire station 25 mile after leaving KIng City where I fill up on water for the last stop to Coalinga. I like this route because very little to no traffic. The road are a bit rough. Some little 5-10 minute climb but nothing to bad. ONce I got 30 mile from Coalinga I have found what I've been looking for, 90 deg +, oh ya. By the time I started to head back it got in the upper 90. Not as hot as I would of liked but beggers cant be choosers. Overall a good ride. It was real hard to get my heart up except on the hills but still didn't get that high. I was real tired towards the end of the ride and could barley muster up 130 bpm on the heart rate moniter. Glad I didn't take my power meter, man those would off been some low numbers. But the overall picture was just to make it. It took a little over 8.5 hours with a 30 minute stop in coalinga for lunch and refule and a 20 minutes stop at the firestation on the way back to bullshit with on of the firefighter boys. My confindence and morale are real high when I do stuff like this. So I will be taking alot of recover ease the next few days to help me recover and get back to traing hard and heavy.

Weekend of 6-3-2006

So its was a tuff week last week. I was really tired and decided to take it easy.. Hell who am I kidding, it was a forced rest week. I was blown out. Its funny because I really never had a planned rest week that I could remeber. Its always go hard and go long intel my body say's "please no more Brian"..lol. Although I have a funny story of last weekend before I go into detail of this weekend. So me and Amanda went up north for the weekend to her sisters graduation dinner. We usually stay at my Mom & Dads, wich they live in Madison. SO on Saturday I was going to do A road ride that I have done before but never finished, not because I couldn't but because I ran out of time. The ride took about 10 hours and is about 140 miles.. Its a long day. This route is pretty and very out in the middle ofno where. The route: I leave Madison and head south towards winters. In Winters I take a right on HWY 128. You will past right by Lake berryessa on your rt. Cant rember what road it is but you will make a rt and head towards lake berryessa. You follow that for a while and instead of going to the lake you will go straight like your going towards Napa. And then at this little lake you turn rt on POe Valley RD. This road is so gorgous and theres pratically no traffic. The first part you climb is unbelivably senic. Its in a narrow canyon with a creek right next to it. Once you get to the top it faltnes out for a long time. After going thru Pope Vally I startd this little climb and herd a horn beeping constinly. My first thought was a car being broken into but then realized in was someone trap in a car down a short cliff. I got off my bike and headed toward the car and there was a girl in it in the back seat. She was honking the horn with her foot. I couldn't smell any gas so that was a good thing and she was not bleeding. She could talk and was very consciuos but shook'n up pretty good. After seing everything was ok I went to the rod to get help. I stopped this nice man who had to drive back down the hill to find a house to call help since our cell phones didn'y work. So talk to women some more to keep her calm and make sure she didn't go into shock. Well help arrived so I took off. Im not sure how she was but I hope her well. Then I was of again. The weather was smoking hot so this was good. I need to get some hot days in for the 24 Nathional MTB race in Wisoncin in the end of July. After you get past Pope VAlley it rolls along and you go thru a pretty big city intel you run intio HWY 20. MAke a right and just keep going, and going, and going. I bet the temp hit a 100 deg easy. After a while you come to HWY 16, go rt and its 40 more miles and Im home. I had somwher to be so I had my dad drive me 5 miles from Davis to run the rest of the way. Man it was smoking hot. It was only a few minutes after running that I already was cramping. BUt I had no choice to finish since my Dad was already heading home. Good Day.

ON Sunday we drove home and I felt prettty good so I figure some more good torture. I jumped oN the bike with my running gear and headed to the pinnacles for sone trail running. The bike ride is only 25 miles but has 3200 feet of climbing. Once I got to the pinnacles it was 2.5 hours in the inferno. 100+ deg. OOps I forgot about the 1.25 hours swim before heading out.

Friday, June 02, 2006

No Gas

SO I head out for my Thursday bike ride. I will usually do intervals and hill work. The intervals will last 20-40 minutes. But not today. I got half way thru the first set and my legs are toast. So decided to skip the intervals and just ride. I ended up with 3 hours and 56 miles. Its really hard not to ride hard in this area because of the north wind that blows 30+ mph everyday in the afternoons. So the last section was real tuff. I decided to call it a day after that.

On this ride since I had some time to think about what deos it take to to be an elite athlete. I know for me its real hard with a full time job working 40-45 hours a week. The amount of work and hours one has to put in are pretty scary to think about. The interval work, the hill work, long staedy stat work, and all this not just on the bike but running and swimming too. For me I know I have to keep going day after day and woprkout after workout. I know if I dont get 4-6 workouts in each discipline each week I will start to loose that fitness. Yes there are weeks, like this one where I dont get the folume Im looking for. But I keep the same amout of workouts. I always do this kind thinking on my slow weeks. I rember when I started working out and the gains were huge. I was was gaing minutes from year to year. BUt know to even gain a few seconds is real hard because the amount of work invilved to increase those few seconds hurts like hell. BUt Iknow for me i will have to keep going and try to push the body to the next level, what ever that will be only time will tell.

On another thought Im always get told how crazy or insane I am. I dont think Im that crazy just that I work real hard at what I want in life. I look at it like Im only going to get one chance at this and you have to go for it when you can. And Im going for it, giving it 110%. But one thing I will have to say for the people that say Im insane or Im going to kill my self. I just have to laugh because if you look at what people eat or there health stile really who killing them selves. They smoke, drink, and eat all the wrong stuff and dont exercise. So to all those people who think Im insane you might want to look at your own life and see who's really killing themselves. Just some random thoughts. See ya!