Running the Streets of Hollywood
2012/04/08 at 7:36 pm | Posted in Exercise, Health, Inspiration, Life, lifestyle change, Motivation, Photos, weight loss, weight loss blog | 2 CommentsTags: 5k, california, Exercise, hollywood, running
I’m pretty sure my Facebook friends are tired of hearing about it with all the stuff I’ve posted there, so here’s the last time they will see anything about it – until next year, at least.
I had the pleasure of running a 5k in that ran along the streets of Hollywood, CA. Well, down Hollywood Boulevard and back at least.
The inaugural Hollywood Half Marathon and 5k/10k took place this Saturday and despite its problems (as I will detail later), it was a great time. How often is it that you can run down Hollywood Boulevard with thousands of others and not be a part of a mob of angry citizens up in arms about [insert source of frustration here]?
But as I said, there were some issues that were outlined by some runners later, including:
Parking: Not an issue for me because I rode the MTA trains to the venue and to Universal City Hilton to pick up my bib and timing chip on Friday. Once there, though, I witnessed what other participants would later complain about: traffic going in and coming out of the hotel was disastrous. Not only that, even if you took the train to the hotel, you had to walk up a massive hill to get there. And I heard that finding a spot was next to impossible and leaving the hotel as well as the event itself was almost impossible. Again, I thank [insert appropriate deity here] for the MTA.
Cups: Again, this was an issue that I hadn’t dealt with personally but read about on Hollywood Half’s Facebook page. Apparently there was a serious lack of cups along the half marathon route which did not sit well with many. Being I ran the 5k, I didn’t have the need to hydrate as often as the half-marathoners so I didn’t even notice the problem. Water was handed out at the end of the run as were bagels and bananas.
No Electrolytes: Lack of what your body needs during a long run was also a strike against the organizers of the event. Again, not an issue for the 5k runners. In fact many of them reported no complaints about the event.
All in all, I did have a great time and even set a new personal record for a 5k:
Is it the best? Of course not, but it’s my best and that’s all that matters to the guy who used to be 300 pounds. For comparison, here’s what I logged on Fitness Tracker.
Honestly, the way I finished, I’m considering a 10k later this year.
Like all inaugural events, it was a learning experience for the organizers to improve upon for next year’s event which I am already looking forward to.
And by then, who knows? I might be running in the half marathon.
For more pictures from the event, click here.
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Kickboxing Class
2011/11/16 at 11:26 pm | Posted in Discipline, Exercise, Health, Inspiration, lifestyle change, weight loss, weight loss blog | Comments OffTags: Exercise, Health, weight, weight loss blog
Before I get into this post, I want mention a few things.
First, to thanks Fat2Fit Radio for once again mentioning my blog on their podcast! You can give it a listen here.
Second, where I am with my maintenance. Believe it or not, I’m still hovering around the 205 range and, not surprising to me or probably any other readers, still nowhere near the illusive goal of 190. I think I need to make peace with the fact that I may not ever reach that goal or if I do get close, it won’t be for very long if I want to build up some more muscle and kill the fat.
Third, the domain has finally been mapped to the blog! I know, it took me some time to do but at least I got around to it. Working all that overtime definitely paid off 
Okay, now to the meat of this post. I took my first kickboxing class last night and let me tell you, it was definitely something. How intense was it? I can’t lift my arms above my head very well at the moment and class was over 24 hours ago. I worked muscles I didn’t even know I had, I sweat like mad, and also learned some handy martial arts moves that will come in handy the next time someone decides to get all up in my grill.
The first half consisted of some simple stretching and exercises which then led into the more intense stuff: medicine ball, running on all fours, and learning the aforementioned defensive moves. Probably the most surprising part was how doing something as simple as outstretching your arms to your sides and raising them slightly for 5 minutes can really work your arm muscles — and make them as sore as anything the following day. Well, that and holding an 8 lb. medicine ball above your head for a few minutes. Either way, my arms are grimacing and can barely be raised above my head at the moment, but it feels so right.
Another exercise involved working with a step: hopping on and off and keeping one foot on it all times. Not too bad until the trainer asks you to speed up.
Then there was the punching. The trainer stood in front of me with a punching mitt on each and and told me to start off slow then go hard. As my punches continued to get faster and harder, I really began to feel my upper arms turn to mush and the punches started to slow and had less intensity. I was almost to the point of throwing in the towel but my trainer insisted I keep going, pushing me and encouraging me along the way.
It worked. I made it, despite there being little to no kicking involved. But our legs did get a workout with some of the other exercises er did. I have to give a shout-out to the facility, The Fitness Mecca in Signal Hill, CA, and to Dana and Rich who are both good people and were glad to have me there. I enjoyed it and will definitely be returning very soon.
I’d also like to mention this. I was able to get these classes through a deal with Amazon Local/Living Social, which is kind of like Groupon in that it offers ridiculous discounts on local restaurants and services. In my case, $20 got me 20 classes and 5 smoothies at The Fitness Mecca. By comparison, individual classes run $10 each and smoothies are somewhere between $3 and $5. I was also able to score a 45 minute session with a personal trainer as well as 4 classes of my choice at another local facility for the same price. The offers seem to be much better than anything Active Schwaggle offers, even if you are a Active Advantage member (which I am). Sign up for the Living Social 1-Day Deal and you won’t regret it. Saving money and getting in shape — does it get any better?
Despite my soreness, I am definitely going to kickboxing again next Tuesday and also interested in taking something else like spinning or even yoga. I’ve got 19 classes and 5 smoothies left so I think I’m in pretty good shape
Long Beach Marathon Bike Tour – Track Me Live!
2011/10/08 at 7:11 pm | Posted in Discipline, Exercise, Health, Inspiration, lifestyle change, Motivation, weight loss, weight loss blog | Comments OffI will be riding in the Long Beach Marathon Bike Tour tomorrow morning at 6 am PST and this year, you will be able to track my progress live thanks to Endomondo.
If you really want to do this, check my weight loss Twitter feed at @200by40 for a post that says something like, “200by40 Just began a cycling workout using #Endomondo. Follow me live: http://bit.ly/otuxqp”. That link goes to last week’s ride but when you see the one for tomorrow at about 6 am PST, that will be the bike tour.
So go ahead and cheer me on in the manner people seem to do everything from having sex to engaging in political activism these days – online!
See you at the finish line
Wet&Wild 5k is Done!
2011/08/27 at 10:03 am | Posted in Discipline, Exercise, Health, Inspiration, lifestyle change, Motivation, Photos, Victory, weight loss, weight loss blog | Comments OffTags: 5k, california, Discipline, Exercise, irvine, weight, weight loss, wet&wild 5k
This was taken before the run and will post a few more taken with an actual camera (not phone) later.
Summary: finished in about 42:00 or so but I’ll post my official time when I get home. Right now I’m relaxing with the family at Wild Rivers where we had to run through a wading pool of sorts.
Had a great time and looking forward to doing it again!
UPDATE 8/28/11: Alright, since I’ve got some time to do it, here are some highlights/memorable events from the run.
The day started at 5am since I had planned on leaving by 6am to get there in plenty of time for the start at 8am. Irvine isn’t exactly a long drive but when you go to events like this, you just never know what the traffic will be like so it’s always best to plan for any unexpected delays.
We did get there in plenty of time so we checked out the few exhibitor booths that were there. I tried a sample of a drink called Body Armour and it wasn’t too bad so I need to look for that the next time I’m shopping. We sat around for about 30 minutes before I had to get in line according to my anticipated finishing time, do some pre-race stretching, listen to some of the rules, etc.
This is a shot of the field from where I was standing, in the “29:00 – ???” group:
After the National Anthem and a prayer (more people seemed attentive to the former than the latter), the horn sounded and we were off. We trudged along through the parking lot of Wild Rivers and out onto the sidewalk the made a u-turn, where the first water station was. It was poorly manned and most of us had to wait for our water to be poured which is not good.
Despite that, I have to admit that I felt pretty good as I started on my way and at about the first mile, I was in my zone as I usually am. The run came back into the parking lot and started to wind through Wild Rivers itself for the first of two laps. During the second lap, we had to run/walk/wade through this (photo was taken after the run):
This was a most welcomed break from the rest of the course which at times was rather narrow and definitely blocked with walkers and people with strollers, who should have been kept at the rear of the field. Not only that, the wait to get into this Lazy River was just ridiculous as some people removed their shoes before entering.
Up until this point, according to my Endomondo app, I was averaging 11:30 per mile but my lap time for the last mile dropped dramatically as I “ran” through the river: 16:40. If not for that, I could have finished in about 34 minutes or so but considering the wait time and the conditions (but especially the wait time), this was not unexpected.
I crossed the finish line at 42:29 with an average pace of 13:14 according to my chip results. And in case you’re wondering what 5k looks like, here’s the course as recorded by Endomondo:
That seems like a good distance but once you’re up and running, it’s really not. Here’s the portion of the course known as the Lazy River, as noted by the dark blue line:
And although I didn’t finish anywhere near the Top 3 in my age group, that didn’t stop me from pretending I did:
So despite the event’s flaws, I had a good time participating as well as hanging out at Wild Rivers afterward. Next event: the Long Beach Marathon Bike Tour on October 9, 2011. I started my preparation by buying new tires today so I’m ready for that one.
Oh, and those Asics running shoes I’m wearing? I bought them at Savers a few months back for a mere $3.50. They were practically new and half price on the day we were shopping, so that saved me some money for sure
By the way, part of the run is a challenge to “Beat the Cow” or someone running in a cow costume since the Chick-Fil-A is a huge sponsor. And if you do beat the cow, you get a free meal.
Did I beat the cow?
No, I didn’t. I got beat by a dude in a cow costume. But at least I wasn’t a sore loser about it:
I told the bovine I was disappointed for not beating them but there’s no shame in that. The cow consoled me with a friendly pat on the back. We’re cool.
I’m done for the night. My legs are starting to feel the effects of the run and I need to relax!
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Upcoming Events
2011/07/28 at 9:38 pm | Posted in Exercise, Health, Life, lifestyle change, weight loss, weight loss blog | Comments OffTags: 5k, active.com, cycling, diets don’t work, weight, weight loss, weight loss blog
First, I want to say that I’m posting this as a way to take my mind off of a recent personal event. My cat Ozzie was euthanized yesterday and I’m still trying to move on from the shock of it all since we had him from the time he was a kitten and his illness truck him rather quickly. He was a great cat and the family will miss him.
As far as my weight goes, I’m still hovering around 205 with the chances of reaching my goal weight of 190 by September not looking very promising. I’ll try but honestly, I’m getting comfortable with where I’m at, even if it’s a little over the 200 lb. mark. Again, I’ll try but won’t be terribly disappointed if I don’t make it since I’m still happy to have reached the point I’m at now.
But regardless of what I weigh, whether I’m running or cycling or whatever, I’m staying busy and loving it. And just last Sunday, I did something different to shake up the routine instead of the regular ride to the beach and back (about 20 miles): I rode to the local park and ran 5k on the track and let me tell you, it felt great. I once rode there and walked 5k but never ran so this was definitely a challenge but in the end, it was fantastic and something I need to do again.
Speaking of staying busy, I’ve added a new column on the right side entitled Upcoming Events. It’s just a simple schedule of events that I have registered for and will be partaking in and includes links to the event’s site and registration page via Active.com.
So far, here’s what I’ll be doing:
- August 27, 2011: Wet-N-Wild 5k, Irvine, CA. Register via Active.com
- October 9, 2011: Long Beach Marathon 26.2-Mile Bike Tour, Long Beach, CA. Register via Active.com
- October 15, 2011: Del Mar Mud Run 5k, San Diego, CA. Register via Active.com
- November 2011: Run Like It’s Recess 5k, a local fundraising event for my son’s school.
Awaiting Registration/Considering:
- January 27, 2012: Never Land Family Fun Run, Disneyland Resort, Anaheim, CA. Register via Active.com
I will keep adding to these and once the events are done, I will post comments and pictures if I have any. It should be a lot of fun and a way to remind readers that even though I’m active now, it doesn’t mean I always was.
Need some proof? How about this picture?
Some scouring turned up this photo from 2001. Yeah, uh, that’s me in my Big Mac/3-item combo Chinese food days. Strangely I didn’t think there was anything wrong with my personal appearance or health and could very well still be this big – had I chosen to be.
But I didn’t. Here’s a more recent picture with my boy, enjoying the day at Disneyland:
I’d say there was a slight difference, no?
Remember, folks, it’s possible. You just have to want it bad enough and work hard to get it.
I may have a post for tomorrow as well so hang in there. Thanks again for reading and I hope you get motivated into doing some active events of your own
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