So when I feel like quitting.....

I have a lot of heroes in my life people who I look up to for strength and inspiration. Like many people I admire several sports figures: Jackie Robinson for his courage, Michael Jordan for his consistency, John Elway for his toughness just to name a few. However the athlete who inspires me most of all at this point and time in my life is Lance Armstrong.

When I'm on the elliptical at the gym I pretend I'm Lance on the mountains of France. I bounce up and down like a cyclist out of the saddle on a 4 hour climb. I can hear Phil Liggett's voice narrating my progress, reading the determination on my face. The sweat drips down my face onto the cobble stoned roads of the Champs Elysees. Over and over again there is a Lance Armstrong quote that repeats itself in my mind. Because believe me there is not a day where I don't think to myself "eh that's enough for today, maybe I'll quit early. Just today. Then this quote pops into my head:

"Pain is temporary. It may last a minute, or an hour, or a day, or a year, but eventually it will subside and something else will take its place. If I quit, however, it lasts forever. That surrender, even the smallest act of giving up, stays with me. So when I feel like quitting, I ask myself, which would I rather live with?”

So I push on. I push past the pain. First I ache, then I sweat, then comes the pain. Once you've pushed past the pain then the numbness sets in and you can ride the numbness till you've reached your goal for the day. When it's all done the sweet euphoria of having pushed yourself past pain into numbness is the best feeling in the world and I chase that everyday I'm at the gym.

Okay just wanted to share that with you guys. Oh here check this out!

Training For San Diego

So some of you may know already but for those who do not. I have registered myself to participate in the San Diego Rock N Roll Half Marathon being held on June 3, 2012. Yes a half marathon is 13 miles. Well it might be 13. something but I'm focusing on just finishing.

Up to this point the most I have walked/jogged is about 6.2 miles and this took me about 2 and 1/2 hours to accomplish. This marathon has a time limit of 4 hours. So right away the numbers are not in my favor. But that's cool because I dig a challenge! But I really think 13 miles may realistically be out of my reach. So I was curious 'what would happen if I could not complete the course in the required time?' I went to their website and found this:


If a participant’s pace falls below the course time limit, they have a few options:

• Increase their pace to stay within the event minimum pace


• Board a “sag wagon” shuttle to move forward on the course, where they may continue to participate in the event, maintaining the minimum pace required


• If the participant cannot continue, they may board a sag wagon to be dropped off at the next shuttle location, at a nearby medical station. The participant will be seen by a Medical Team captain to be cleared for the medical shuttle to transport the participant to the finish line.

Well here is my promise to all of you right now: I will finish this race. I might not do the full 13 miles. Matter of fact I've set my training goal at finishing 10 miles. I think this is a respectable number and I will be very very happy when I cross the finish line in 4 hours having completed 10 miles of the 13 mile course.

This means in training for this course I'm really looking to step up my bodies endurance over a long period of time versus training to set any kind of speed record. I know where I am at in challenging my body and I'm sure there will come a day when I will be finishing within the course time limit but not this first one. This first one I just want to finish. So my training is going to be all about pushing my endurance.

I started January being able to last 30 minutes on the elliptical at the gym with a goal of 60 minutes 6000 strides by the end of the month. I hit this goal today! My next step will be to hit the bluffs sometime this weekend and walk for 2 hours without stopping. I should be able to do just under 5 miles.

At the end of February I will step up the walking to 3 hours then 4 hours by the end of March. Not exactly sure what my distance walked will be in those time frames but I just need to be able to move for 4 hours without stopping because this is what I will have to do in San Diego.

With the ability to walk for 4 miles under my belt hopefully by the end of March I will then spend April and May maintaining this endurance of 4 hours and just keep trying to increase the distance. Now, don't get me wrong. If in March I realize that 13 miles is doable in 4 hours then I'm stepping my game up and going for it. Always be ready to adapt!

At the gym I'm doing cardio 4-5 times a week and weights 3-4 times a week. Using the weights to strengthen my arms and back while the cardio on the elliptical should be toning my legs. I'm drinking a lot of water and eating tons of chicken from Fresh & Easy and Freds Bar B Q (on Rosedale) and plenty of 1/2 Cobb Salads from Sequoia (Downtown).

Cardio, weights, protein, carbs and the support of my amazing family and wonderful friends. This is how I'm training for San Diego Rock N Roll Half Marathon. If anyone has suggestions or wants to join me one of these days on the Bluffs HMU!

The Abby Roadies, Live at Fishlips Bar

When I was in young I used to get home from school everyday at about 2:30 in the afternoon. My brother would get home from High School at about 3:30. So this meant after I put away my stuff and got settled I had about 45 to 30 minutes alone with his stereo and his record collection.

There was some Santana, Moonflower was my favorite. War-The World Is A Ghetto. Then there was The Beatles and my favorite Beatles record was Abby Road, my favorite song Maxwell's Silver Hammer. Over the years every song on this record would take it's turn as being my favorite song of the album or the moment and The Beatles of course as with every other red blooded American would over the years accompany me as I grew up and tested the boundaries of life and reality.

So you can only imagine my excitement about a month ago when I saw a flyer on the Fishlips bathroom wall for The Abby Roadies Beatles Tribute Band: Performing Abby Road in it's entirety and other Beatles selections. I did all I could to get to Fishlips on time last night but as luck would have it. I missed the first two songs and showed up just as Maxwell's Silver Hammer was serenading the Bakersfield night air.

The Abby Roadies pretty much being a Bakersfield All Star band tore through the rest of Abby Road and worked the crowd into a sweaty dancing frenzy by the end of the night. The Abby Road stuff was received in awe as most of the bars patrons sat at their tables with band friends and random shiny happy people milling about the front of the stage swaying to and fro singing along.

The party really started when Abby Road was done and the band returned from their break and sprent the rest of the night ripping through everyone's favorite Beatles tunes: Paperback Writer, Help, Sargent Pepper, Twist and Shout just to name a few. I was in Beatles heaven for about 45 minutes last night as time stood still and I along with a bar full of Bakotopians sang and danced our asses off! It was great to relive those childhood memories of first falling in love with the Beatles it was good to be out and having a good time.

When live music is done right it makes time stand still and you forget all about the world outside. You forget all about your bills, your job, your struggles and all the other ruckus of the daily grind and you just get lost. I want to thank the Abby Roadies for helping us all get a little lost last night. Hope you guys find your way back to a bar soon because I can't wait to do it again.

The Abby Roadies are:
Chris Carton
Joey Romley
Tyler Evans
Therese Muller
Nick Romero
Paul Jacob Cartwright
Rob Ruiz

Here is the incredible setlist:

First Set
Abby Road-
Side 1
Come Together
Something
Maxwell's Silver Hammer
Oh Darling
Octopus's Garden
I Want You
Side 2 (they even took a little pause here to recreate having to get up and turn the album over)
Here Comes The Sun
Because
You Never Give Me Your Money
Sun King
Mean Mr Mustard
Polythene Pam
She Came In Through The Bathroom Window
Golden Slumbers
Carry That Weight
The End
Her Majesty

Second Set
I Should Have Known Better
Wait
Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da
Lady Madonna
She Said She Said
Please Please Me
Fool on the Hill
Abbey Road (17 songs)
Dear Prudence
Paperback Writer
Drive My Car
This Boy
Help!
A Hard Day’s Night
If I Fell
Can’t Buy Me Love
And I Love Her
Sgt. Pepper
With a Little Help From My Friends
Lucy
Getting Better
Don’t Let Me Down
Michelle
We Can Work it Out
Eleanor Rigby
Tomorrow Never Knows
Twist and Shout
While My Guitar Gently Weeps
Yesterday
All My Loving
Rocky Raccoon
Birthday (Thank you Amy!)
Ticket to Ride
Taxman
Strawberry Fields Forever
Penny Lane
A Day in the Life
Revolution
Helter Skelter
All You Need is Love
Got to Get You Into My Life
I Am the Walrus
Hello Goodbye
Day Tripper
Eight Days a Week
I Wanna Hold Your Hand
Hey Jude

So, it's been about a year...

....and what have I learned since that day I fell and could not get up?

I've learned there is a lot wonderful people in my life who love me and will give me all the support I need to succeed. I've learned the only thing holding me back from accomplishing what I have yet to accomplish is my own mind. I've learned my heart is strong though it was once very week. I've learned I can walk a mile sometimes two or three. I can workout and push my limits past what I once thought possible. I've learned I can eat healthy food and still enjoy it. I've learned to love myself and try to change the things about me I haven't liked in the past.

Am I done learning? Never! The day we stop learning is the day we die. I know I still don't have all the answers yet, but at least I've started asking questions and the only place I'm looking for answers is within myself

I've come a long way in a year and I can't wait to see where this determination will take me in another years time. I hope everyone who's on board sticks around to see where we are a year from now because we all know where I was a year ago.

So, I'm just going to keep doing what I've been doing and see where this roller coaster ride called life takes me. Don't worry, you know wherever I go. If I don't blog it, I'll Instgram it and if I don't Facebook it you sure as hell know I'ma Tweet that shit!!!

Thanks everyone, I love you all!!!


Desparation
Dislocation
Separation
Condemnation
Revelation
In temptation
Isolation
Desolation
Let it go!!!!!! I'm wide awake....I'm not sleeping....oh no....

This is what The Bluffs look like

I was sitting around perfectly happy with my last post when I realized not everyone lives in Bakersfield and knows what the hell I'm talking about when I refer to The Bluffs. So for those who do not know here are some pictures I've taken while walking around The Bluffs enjoy the visual stimuli!

I know right?


Since The Bluffs are at the edge of town the sunsets there are amazing. And there are plenty of trees for shade.


These little dudes are everywhere and they will come right up to you for a piece of bread.


Flowers!!!


...and you just might see this guy. If you do see him give em some water or if your a pretty girl take him on a date!!!

This is going to be so random.....

....so random because right I now I am just missing the therapy of putting my hands to the keyboard and letting the sound of the keystrokes be my musical therapy.

Writing has always been a form of therapy for me. It started in high school only back then I used to love the smell of the fresh ink on a piece of notebook paper. The way it smudged if you brushed against it too soon after you had just written something. But then notebooks gave way to Blue Books at BC and writing in Blue Books always seemed forced and I would always be so nervous about it because I knew I was going to be graded. But now notebooks and blue books have given way to key boards and pixels. I no longer write to be graded but still find solace in my scribe.

So much has been going on. So much so that I can't share it anymore with just a status update or a tweet. This will take more than 140 character's.

The eating habits. Are soooooooo much better today then those of years gone by. But most important it all seems to make better sense to me these days. I pay attention to everything about food these days and more important to how my body reacts to or better yet how I want it to respond to what I'm about to eat. I'm learning more and more about how food is just really supposed to be fuel for my body not a roller coaster ride for my senses of smell and taste. Just get it in my belly because I feel weak and need strength for the long day ahead. Refuel constantly because I'm always on the go. A lot of chicken, a lot of greens, a lot of water even had some lamb this week that was pretty good too.

The exercises. I remember the first session I had with a trainer...lol.. dude told me to 'get on the ground' I looked at him and said 'dude if I get down, I'm not gonna be able to get back up!' He shot me a look and said 'I'll help you back up, if it takes both of us' he said referring to the other trainer dude who was helping out. Ever since then I've had a sort of blind faith in my trainer. Believing they will not ask me to do something they didn't know I couldnt handle. I leave the thinking up to them and just do what they tell me. I even bought a bike a few months ago...but I've only ridden it a couple of times. What I have done is started walking.

The Bluffs. Have become a sanctuary to me, almost a home a away from home I've spent so much time up there the last few weeks. It started out very simple. Park my car and walk in a big circle but then curiosity got to this cat and I had to start getting techy about my walking. So I downloaded a couple of Aps for tracking my walks and it took off from there. 1 mile turned into 1.5 miles then 2 miles then 3 miles then I made a goal with myself that I would hit the 5 mile mark before the end of May....I hit 5.21 miles yesterday.

The Cardio. I started walking because I think the next big weight lose phase is going to require a lot a lot a lot of cardio and well cardio at the gym is pretty damn boring to me. Now, cardio in this beautiful state of California...not so boring. So I'm digging the walks and next week after my 5k I will buy a bike rack and start hitting the bike paths in June.

The Music. Right now I can't stop listening to the new Beastie Boys and the new She Wants Revenge. I can't remember the last time there were two amazing new records released in such a short time span!

There I talked about everything I wanted to talk about in a few short paragraphs and got a lot off my chest.