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KA_JUN's Recent Blog Entries
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Thursday, May 12, 2011
So yesterday, our 3 year old, Mr. Tiny, says to me,
"Tatay, you have a fat tummy."
I respond, "Huh, what?!?!"
He patiently responds again,
"You have a fwat tummy, fwat, like a pancake! Not like the other Tatays!"
I swear, that boy. Nicest thing I heard all day.
Today is a rest day from Supreme 90 Day, yesterday was Ultimate Ball, so technically, I'm on Day 17. I've been pleasantly surprised with the program, especially when compared with the cost of the product vs. results. I've learned a few things, including that my cycling has resulted in a decently strong core, but underdeveloped back. My sense is that the program is helping rectify this issue, and I feel like my posture and carriage has improved. That in turn has made me feel more confident. Bonus. My sense is that there are incremental improvements happening that will have noticeable and positive effects on my weight to power ratio for cycling. If I am able to cut more weight, and increase my power generation and core (something I was hesitant to believe I could do without losing power) I could feasibly have a strong cycling season, maybe even improve my results for racing during the fall. I've read other blogs of people doing the program, and if you're doing it, I would strongly suggest pumping up your exercise/swiss ball well. Something I initially neglected to do. Assuming I do multiple rounds of this program (which I plan to do), the cost of the program is virtually nothing.
I was able to schedule in a nice ride, it's always nice to hear the response, "Whenever you feel like it." when asking the wife "When should I be back?" It was a bit hot today, sun was shining and it was pretty still and high humidity. Near the end of my ride, I ran over a (rabbit/hedgehog/groundhog) that came blasting out of the underbrush. I hope I didn't hurt it, but when I turned back, I didn't see it on the trail. Scared the beejeezus out of me, and probably that little guy, too.
Didn't feel like climbing the cobbles on the hill on the ride home, so I portaged the rig over some railroad tracks and climbed the doubletrack gravel path through the park that at least had shade and was noticeably cooler. It's times like this I am pleased with the utility rig, it can commute, run errands, haul gear, ride road, and probably do light singletrack, if I felt like it. Good sturdy all around ride.
Hope this finds you all successful, energized, and prepared to make your lives the best they can be!
Edit: And man oh man, getting sleep is awesome, I feel like a new man!
Saturday, May 07, 2011
Old school soundtrack for the day
www.youtube.com/watch?v=z33tH-JdPDg
So today, rain was threatening, yet again, but with interspersed periods of sun. Naturally, I thought, maybe I can bring out the grill.
I've had my mind on banh mi the last couple of days.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B%C3%A1nh_m%C3
%AC
A beautiful thing I've learned is that as long as you're tracking, and figure out how to make a lot of tasty eats at home, you will NEVER have a feeling of being "deprived" while on program. My dear wife brought home the whole wheat baguette, fresh cilantro & cucumber, and I went to town. Marinated the chicken for three hours, prepared teriyaki kebabs, did my Supreme 90 Day Shoulders/Arms while the flavors sank in, then lit the grill. Sprinkled a bit, but the rain never came down hard.
We had a delicious meal that stoked my metabolism, fueled muscle growth, and tasted vivid rich and savory. I have to say, there is some satisfaction knowing that we can make pretty much anything we want at home, with few exceptions. When I look back at how much we used to spend eating out, not knowing what was in the food, I just shake my head.
Our 3 year old, Mr. Tiny, showed that he takes after his mother after dinner. He went up to some neighborhood kids and said, "Do you want to have marshmallows with us?" Reminded me of the quality I noticed in my wife when we first met, what I can only characterize as a pure kindness of heart.
With all the stuff on the news, it was a good reminder of the good things, the daily kindnesses you see people perform that don't get reported on. The kid I saw offer to carry an old lady's groceries that he didn't know down the street. The guy on the bus I saw playing peek a boo with a stranger's baby. I don't live in Mayberry, I live in a good sized city. Stuff the suspicious cynic in me tries to play down.
Half empty, or half full?
A kindness to someone you don't know, paid forward, can have a great impact on the type of world we want to live in.
When it comes to our health, there is no magic bullet. Before P90X and the Eat Clean Diet there was Jack LaLanne. Make the decision that the future is important to you. Live it every day.
Friday, May 06, 2011
I was thinking today that our journey can be compared to a race. We face daily hurdles when (work/school/family) responsibilities must be dealt with. Sometimes we have to deal with factors like (spouses, kids, pets, bosses, etc.) that can (help/hinder) our progress on our respective programs. I like to think that these are just challenges to see how much we want to achieve certain goals. We can look at them as things we can anticipate, grow from, and use to strengthen ourselves both mentally and physically. We can address them in different ways, leaping over them to finish
www.youtube.com/watch?v=01DaMyrys20
or conversely, we can attempt to push through.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Su1ozG3WPUM
Either way, we should attempt to make the decision to participate, and to finish what we start.
Today was a high allergen day, left me feeling drained and tired. It would've been easier to just blow it off and mope around miserable, but it was a beautiful day outside, and we've been dealing with long periods of no sun and steady rain.
Got the weed-whacker out, felt like I've been mowing the lawn nonstop for the last 2 weeks, got that done and made the conscious decision to ride today. Chose road vs. a light XC ride because I felt like I wanted to feel a bit of distance and speed vs. grinding through technical climbing today.
I always said that I wouldn't let any program I was on limit or affect my cycling, but today, I'll admit that I held back a bit because I knew I was going to do Supreme 90 Day - Tabata Inferno and I would need a little bit to put in a decent effort. Allergies and that reserve made for a quick errand run to the post office and library, followed by a light rec road ride.
20.47 miles on the day; roughly 97 minutes ride time. Had to increase caloric intake to defend against the "bonk". Been using a pedometer to count steps and entering mileage on
Plus 3 Network www.plus3network.com/home
to help raise money for World Bicycle Relief. You log your miles/exercise minutes and earn money towards charities. Free. Pretty cool, you can win swag, too. I've gotten a set of Avid Shorty 3 cantilever brakes, a shirt, socks, some other cool stuff. Check it out, if you're so inclined.
Tomorrow is free comic book day www.freecomicbookday.com/
Check it out.
Yesterday I had a yearning for fish tacos. I had them hard shell, with whitefish with a squeeze of lime, some Drew's organic salsa www.chefdrew.com/ , and fresh cilantro. I should've prepared some mango salsa, but I was lazy.
This blog is all over the place, but that's what happens when fatigue and the histamine gets to you, I guess. Perhaps I should try a neti pot.
Hope this finds you all well and jumping the challenges you face, daily. We all make the choice whether or not to line up, and whether or not to finish what we start, get to it!
Edit: Homemade breakfast sandwiches fuel my day, if you like a hearty breakfast sandwich to start out, check this out.
www.menshealth.com/nutrition/best-br
eakfast-sandwiches?cm_mmc=Twitter-_-Me
nsHealth-_-Content-Nutrition-_-3Breakf
astSandwiches
Tuesday, May 03, 2011
Spinning the current track of the day
www.youtube.com/watch?v=xNEz3_yzIUY
So the rain has pretty much been steady for the last two months. Time to man up and put on the rain gear I picked up at Big Lots (waterproof, but not cycling specific, so no pit zips or ventilated back). I used the old trick my friend taught me when you don't have booties. Slid my cycling socked feet into some plastic bags, secured with rubber bands, slid on my cycling shoes and voila, dry socks! I had a dental appointment and some other errands to run, and, surprise surprise, it's raining out.
May is National Bike Month, what better way to kick it off than going out in the rain?
www.bikeleague.org/programs/bikemont
h/
The roads here are still in pretty bad shape after winter. Lots of rain filled potholes. Part of the reason I love mountain biking so much, in contrast to road cycling is that when I ride trail, I feel like I can operate largely on instinct. I don't worry about getting tagged by some pick up truck's wide sideview mirror. Don't have to worry about getting doored. Don't have to worry about peds jumping out in front of me. For me, riding dirt is 1) learn and practice the skill 2) turn off conscious thought and find flow. Road cycling is heightened awareness and sharp skills. You need to be on, constantly scanning, high operational awareness of the things surrounding you at all times, using all your senses to navigate through safely. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy it, but to me, it's a different animal.
The rain was steady, but not torrential and not so severe that it would've limited visibility. I was running full lights, anyway, but fog and heavy rain make me antsy.
I was on time, inbound to my appointment, when I made the turn to climb Locust Street. It's a climb, so I'm in granny gear. A big guy on a smoke break was watching me thread my way up and said, "Wow, are you tired yet?" about mid-way up the hill. I smiled and told him no. It's nice to have someone appreciate your work. There was a time, not so long ago, I wouldn't have been able to clean that hill.
The beautiful thing about conquering a hill, is that if you're lucky, you get to ride down that bad boy! I sailed down, the warm rain pelting my face. Couldn't get that self satisfied grin off my face. 
Did my second round of Supreme 90 Day Chest/Back, felt like it went better because I inflated my Swiss/exercise ball higher and had the weights dialed in this time. I have nice feelings towards this ball because it's my wife's pregnancy ball we used for both the boys. My glutes are sore and so is my chest from my workouts. I'm pleased so far with how the program is making me feel.
My wife prepared fennel the other day because we were talking about how we need to switch up our veg. You can only eat the basic french-cut green beans, carrots, broccoli so much before you get bored. It had an anise seed/licorice flavor, not bad, different, but in this case, different is good. I've been working hard at getting my 5+ of veg, kimchi (cabbage/peppers/ginger/garlic/radishes/le
eks), collard greens, bok choi, broccolini. I want to try some of that kohlrabi and maybe celeric, though we're unsure how to prepare them so they are tasty. I'd prepare ampalaya/bitter melon, but that's the one vegetable, aside from okra, that I have trouble with.
Oh, almost forgot that it's Asian American Heritage Month, so Happy Asian-American Heritage Month!
asianpacificheritage.gov/
Good luck to you on achieving all your goals! At the end of your journey, don't let it be said that when faced with adversity, you balked in the face of struggle. Fight hard!
"If you always put limit on everything you do, physical or anything else. It will spread into your work and into your life. There are no limits. There are only plateaus, and you must not stay there, you must go beyond them." - Bruce Lee
Monday, May 02, 2011
Today's soundtrack (I was singing this with the boys in the car with the window down today, though I didn't sound like this)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=bPvAQxZsgpQ
So today was Supreme 90 Day Legs. I timed it and it was 35 minutes including warm up and cool down, thank God. It was tough, but after donating blood, I couldn't hit super hard today.
I was watching and trying to follow "Sally" on the video. Imagine an Amazonesque virago who is ripped and you'll have a general idea of what I'm talking about. Today, she outpaced the 2 dudes, who are ripped in their own right, and made them look like lazy slackers. She was like Arnold Schwarzenegger in the Terminator, circa 1984. Ripped to the bone and in the zone. Very motivating to try to follow along.
I worked out about 3 hours after donating blood. I find that as I get older, I get a slight headache after I donate. I hydrate aggressively after donation, but it doesn't seem to really affect the headache thing.
Just for fun, I looked up how much blood I've donated since the Central Blood Bank started keeping records online, in 2002. Since then I've donated 36 pints=18 quarts=4.5 gallons of blood. Positing that each donation helped the maximum number of people per donation (3), then in a best case scenario, I've been able to help out 108 people.
This guy is a real mensch. In 2002, he was at 28 gallons. Talk about hardcore.
articles.cnn.com/2002-04-23/health/r
ecord.blood.donor_1_blood-donor-blood-
bank-regular-donors?_s=PM:HEALTH
I donated sporadically when I was younger, but got serious after I met my wife. When she was a young girl, she was in an accident where she was on a moped/scooter and she rear ended a car whose driver slammed on the brakes. She was in the hospital for a long time and used up a number of units of blood. I thought that I would "repay" that debt, if that was possible, on her behalf, because she has a permanent deferral due to the fact she lived in the UK for a period of time. In my thinking, someone gave their blood and helped her so that eventually, I would meet her, we would have our family together, and all our fun adventures. Had they not, I wouldn't have had the life I live now, and wouldn't be the person I am. So, anonymous blood donor, I thank you for your sacrifice and pledge to pass on your kindness to others so that maybe they can meet and be with their loved ones too. Having adventures is cooler when you have cool people to share them with. So if you haven't thought of blood donation, give it a thought. I'm sure the people who are helped by your blood appreciate it.
Don't take your health for granted.
Best wishes to you on your pursuit of your personal goals!
Carpe Diem!
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I did a short ride but also 2 walks so it's not too bad today.
