Triathlon and My Humble Beginnings

Today, as I prepare for my 11th triathlon in 2 years and my 8th sprint triathlon, I decided to look back at how it all started. My burst onto the triathlon scene was quite the spectacle... I mean it was epically hilarious!

I had a pair of friends who had just done a couple triathlons within the last few months of 2012 and early 2013, a few sprints and an olympic. They started to love it so much they wanted to share the enthusiasm with all of their friends and see who they could get to join in on the fun. An email was sent talking about the sport of triathlon, the high it provides, how flat the Redondo Beach Triathlon would be and why we would suffer so much FOMO if we didn't at least try it. And for those that don't know me... I constantly suffer FOMO!!!

(Photo credit: http://memegenerator.net/instance/60595864)

But triathlon sounded daunting, even a sprint. I mean swim 0.5 miles, bike 6 miles and run 2.5 miles? I could barely run 1 mile and I had never done those 3 things back-to-back-to-back, much less have done two of them! In fact, I didn't even own a bike because my college beach cruiser was stolen since living at the beach. Would I really succumb to FOMO with all that?

Initially I said no. There was just no way...

(Photo credit: http://memegenerator.net/AinT-Nobody-Got-Time-Fo-That/caption)

But somehow, I made a rash decision in the 11th hour. At first, I told no one. I showed up to packet pickup and made the call to sign up when I discovered spots were available. For an hour, I still told no one. To be honest, I was a little scared at what I just did. But soon enough, I came to my senses and had to tell one of my friends because I started to freak out...

(Photo credit: https://www.reddit.com/domain/troll.me)

I need a bike. I need some bike gear. Do I swim with anything in the ocean? What is this thing called transition? There were so many unknowns. With a little help from a few different friends, I scrambled together the most entertaining set of triathlon equipment for my first race.

Gear:
Tyr triathlon kit I bought at REI immediately after calming myself down
-They didn't even have my size in the same color so I had a red bottom with a green top LOL

Swim:
Surfing spring wetsuit that was so old it didn't really fit
Old Speedo goggles that probably cost me like $5 on clearance some time ago

Bike:
Friend's mountain bike helmet that fit somewhat awkwardly
Friend's mountain bike with platform pedals and gears/shifters I had no idea how to use
-Ridiculously enough, I unknowingly left the suspension unlocked so I was bouncing around like a fool (the picture below shows the ridiculousness and captures the pain I was in)

Run:
Nike sport sunglasses I had from college
Old mountain cross trainers
Sleeveless t-shirt I stupidly wore on the run

Nutrition:
One Gu pack
BCAA mixed drink (this helps for body building but didn't help at all for a sprint triathlon lol)

All-in-all, I was ill prepared and it's hilarious looking back. And I think the best part about looking back and laughing at yourself, is also realizing how far you've come! Much has changed in 2 years!

When all was said and done though, I had crossed that finish line just like everyone else, had an endorphin high and enjoyed the (first of many) post-race tradition of delicious, fatty food and adult beverages!!!

Pledge Week 2: Slowly Getting Easier

Times eaten fast food this week = 0
Total pledge amount this week = $35 (7 days * $5)
Total pledge amount to date = $65
Funds raised to date = $1000

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As the title of this post suggests, resisting fast food has been slowly getting easier. That definitely does not imply that I am over it. It's just been easier to let the craving happen, rationalize that it's not worth eating and moving on to healthier options. Although not all options have been healthy. There have been quite a few occasions at the office of choosing the bag of Pop Chips or Cheez-Its over bananas or peanuts. But for now, small snacking of this nature is better than a 1000+ calorie meal... Even if that meal is something you think is absolutely delicious...

(Photo credit: http://www.longislandfirearms.com/forum/topic/95391-forget-the-filet-o-fish-boycott-mcdonalds/)

Instead of fast food, my diet has since comprised of a protein shake mix for breakfast and 3 basic meals rotated for lunch and dinner each day. It's nothing special, but it's got several key features: 1) it's quick 2) it's easy 3) it tastes good enough 4) it's relatively healthy

Breakfast (cardio mornings):
1.5 cups of coffee
1 scoop Syntha-6 protein
8oz of Kirkland organic chocolate milk
1/2 cup coconut water

Breakfast (weight lifting mornings):
1.5 cups of coffee
1 scoop Gold Standard whey protein
1 scoop Gold Standard casein protein
8oz of Kirkland organic chocolate milk
1/2 cup coconut water

The breakfast shake on weight lifting days basically has extra protein and a combination of whey and casein protein. The casein is broken down slower than whey so it spreads it out through the morning as needed.

Meal 1: Egg White Quiche
Egg whites
Spinach
Chicken sausage
Flaxseed

Baked to crispy and topped with ketchup and pepper

Meal 2: Chicken and carbs
Baked chicken breast
Organic marinara sauce
1 of 3 carbs
-Brown rice
-Quinoa
-Sweet potatoes

Bake the chicken breast and heat the carbs at the same time, prepare in bulk, top with marinara sauce before eating

Meal 3: Spinach and Turkey Meatballs
Spinach
Trader Joe's Turkey Meatballs
Organic marinara sauce

Meatballs come precooked so just pop in the microwave for 3 min

The benefit of these meals is that they are either easy and ready to go (meal 3) or they can be baked in bulk and stored into the fridge for warming up later (meal 1 and 2). As I move forward, hopefully I'll discover more of the same types of meals and there will be some variety. But for now, I'll stick to what's working, keeping me full and just tasty enough! :D

#DoIt4Ava

Earlier this week, I was paired up with an NF Hero! I'd like everyone to meet the beautiful, energetic and always smiling little Ava Lowell!!!

Ava is a feisty little 6 year old who was diagnosed with NF1 back in 2009, when she was just 6 months old. Since her initial diagnosis, Ava has persevered through a tumor wrapped around her C1 and C2 nerves in her upper spinal cord, a tumor in her spine, a plexiform neurofibroma underneath her scalp which extends throughout her neck and clavicle and also an optic glioma in her right eye. It's a mouthful just reading and writing it, so I can't even imagine what life is like living with all these challenges.

Despite these challenges, Ava really is a feisty little one and has continued to fight for a normal life and refuses to be seen or treated as different from other children! Ava is part of a competitive swimming team and has been swimming since she was 4! And she's done so well, that she's participating in a big championship swim meet! It's very exciting and I'm hoping that she enjoys the wonderful event this weekend!

Ava also has the loving support of an amazing family! Her parents Andrew and Dawn have provided her loving care and support through numerous MRIs, tons and tons of doctor and specialist visits and have built a great team of doctors to keep an eye on Ava and her health. She also has a loving older brother in 9 year old Reef. Reef is also a competitive swimmer and will be swimming and supporting his younger sister this weekend!

The Lowell family is amazing and Ava's courage is so motivating! I'm really glad that my support and fundraising will help to support this family! I can't thank CTF enough for giving me the opportunity to pair with Ava, my NF Hero! I hope you'll consider donating to my fundraising cause for Ava! Every little bit helps!

http://ctf.kintera.org/nfeironmanflorida2015/daizbiz

To learn more about Ava, you can also checkout her Facebook page, Ava's Army!!!

https://www.facebook.com/AvasArmy

CTF Swag Came in the Mail Today!!!

Wanted to also quickly throw up a picture of my CTF Triathlon Kit that came in the mail today!

Thanks so much to Team NF Endurance! I'm so thankful to partner with this group and the Children's Tumor Foundation! It really is such a blessing! I'm happy to help bring awareness to NF through racing and social media!

If you're interested in learning more about NF, you can visit the CTF page here:

http://www.ctf.org/Learn-About-NF/Learn-About-NF.html

Also, if you'd like to join me and support my cause, you can visit my fundraising page here:

http://ctf.kintera.org/nfeironmanflorida2015/daizbiz

Pledge Week 1: Success, but Not Without Cravings

Times eaten fast food this week = 0
Total pledge amount to date = $30 (6 days * $5)

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Week 1 of Ironman Florida training has come to a close. It's been a pretty solid week both in the eating and exercise department!

Not only did I also bike 15+ miles to and from work, but I also got in all the workouts I wanted and even set a half marathon PR on Tuesday morning!!!

(Snapshot of my Garmin Connect PRs)

While getting in all my workouts and the lengths/distances was tough, eating relatively clean was probably a MUCH bigger challenge!

I'll say that I immediately had cravings for McDonald's on Sunday evening after getting a big win in my baseball game! I had the go ahead RBI single late in the game and was just so pumped to keep our team undefeated, that I really felt like a reward was well-earned! Alas, I stayed strong on the drive home and avoided McDonald's.

But each day during the week, all I did was crave some fast food. One day it was McDonald's. The next day it was Pizza Hut. A couple days later my roommate came home with Jack in the Box and I just about cried. There was just so much temptation and an almost willingness to put it in my system! But I stayed strong. I thought about how lucky I am to be able to eat almost anything I want and so I must learn to be responsible.

(Photo credit: https://educpreneur.wordpress.com)

So here we are on Friday evening. I feel pretty happy that I was able to resist temptation for the week and keep up the right amount of workouts. It'll be important to keep things going for long enough to make this a good habit. I'll write about this on a future post, but studies have shown that you can form habits by doing it daily for about 3 weeks straight. And this habit of avoiding bad foods will be critical for keeping up my training and lowering my weight. Because it's tough enough to do an Ironman, but it's even tougher to do one significantly overweight and...

(Photo credit: http://memegenerator.net/instance/53428057)

The Key to Keep Going: WWUBD

Being part of the LA Tri Club has many benefits, but last November, we had a very special event hosted for us. The club had a pre-screening of the 2014 Ironman World Championships in Kona which was to air on national TV weeks later. In addition to the broadcast, there was food and drinks as well as speeches by Hall of Famer Bob Babbitt and legends Julie Moss and Kathleen Hearst. It was really a special event!

However, the most memorable part of that screening was the participant stories. Every year, the broadcast highlights various participants' stories in addition to the bios and commentary from the various pros doing the race. There was a tear-inducing story about the wife of a soldier, the inspirational story about the Boston Marathon director, a brief segment on Apollo Ohno and a piece about one of the many challenged athletes participating.

But for me, a kid born and raised in Hawaii, the story of Big Island Mayor Billy Kenoi stuck out in my mind. Widely known as "Uncle Billy," the mayor is a BIG man! You definitely would not mistake him for an athlete, much less an endurance athlete, and he looked slightly uncomfortable in his spandex triathlon suit. But when he crossed the finish line with just 6 minutes to spare before the course cutoff of 16 hours, he became the first mayor of Hawaii to complete the dreaded course. But during his interviews, he talked about promoting healthy lifestyles in Hawaii. He wanted to finish the race and show the people of the great state of Hawaii that if you put your mind to your health, you can do anything!

As I watched and paid careful attention to his interviews, I started to realize that this daunting task of completing an Ironman shouldn't be that far off. I mean Uncle Billy did it, why can't I? He pushed himself, he struggled through training and injuries and illnesses and he persevered. He kept going in the race and pushed hard to cross that finish line before that time limit. He never gave up. And so the seed was planted.

So in my training leading up to Wildflower ("only" a half Ironman), I thought back to this screening. I thought back to the words of Uncle Billy. And I just kept coming back to one thing that I always asked myself whenever the times got tough or I didn't want to hit the pavement: WWUBD - What Would Uncle Billy Do.



Some videos for reference:

http://www.ironman.com/triathlon/events/americas/ironman/world-championship/ironfan/2014-oct-11/live-video.aspx#axzz3fvWqdf4o
(Video credit: Ironman)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zfKAbs6913c
(Video credit: Big Island Video News)

The No Fast Food Pledge

As referenced in my first post, I'm going to do a "No Fast Food" Pledge. There's 118 days until Race Day which gives me just over 100 days to meet my donation goal. In those 100 days, I will be attempting to give up fast food from my diet for as many days as possible.

For each day that I'm able to avoid fast food, I will contribute $5 towards my cause.
For each day that I cave and eat fast food, I will contribute $10 towards my cause.
The goal is to track my status/progress weekly or possibly biweekly depending on my schedule.

The "fast food" category will include traditional fast food chains with unhealthy menus. Some examples include:

McDonald's (my favorite and #1 guilty pleasure)
Jack in the Box
Panda Express
Taco Bell
Pizza Hut
In-N-Out
Carl's Jr
Subway
KFC
Chick-Fil-A

The one fast food restaurant that will not count is Chipotle. Chipotle is exempt only if I get a bowl with no cheese and no sour cream. Adding either of those or sides like chips will count.

It'll be a tough challenge for those that know me. While I love and enjoy tasty and delicious food, having fast food is my guilty pleasure. If you camped out near the McDonald's in Hermosa late at night, there's a pretty decent chance you'd see me there once a week.

But training for an Ironman requires discipline not only in training, but in diet as well. You must respect the distance by committing to your training. Yet the training cannot be effective without the proper fuel. And well, this meme just sums it up perfectly:

(Photo cred: http://www.quickmeme.com/meme/3rtaje)

Racing Ironman Florida with CTF Charity!!!

Hi friends and family,

I hope everyone is doing well! It is with great excitement that I'm writing to you today! I've officially partnered with the Children's Tumor Foundation (CTF) to race in Ironman Florida while raising money to support individuals and families affected by Neurofibromatosis (NF)!

NF affects 1 in 3000 people and affects approximately 2 million people worldwide. Those with the genetic disorder suffer from tumors that affect nerves, bones and skin all over the body. CTF uses funds raised to find effective treatments for NF and do research which has shed light on NF as well as cancer, brain tumors and other disabilities, therefore benefitting the greater medical community.

I chose this race and CTF not only to support the charity, but also because I will be partnered with an NF Hero in the coming weeks as my application continues to get processed! The funds I raise through the support of my friends and family will be used to help this hero and their family. I think it's great to be able to touch the life of a child and their family!

If you're interested in supporting CTF and an NF Hero, please visit my fundraising site below:

http://ctf.kintera.org/nfeironmanflorida2015/daizbiz

CTF is also connected with several corporate matching programs, so if are you able to give, please consider checking your matching programs if you have one!

If you're curious to learn more about CTF and NF in general, you can also visit the website below:

http://www.ctf.org/About-the-Foundation/Mission-Statement.html

And last but not least, I'm going to take a shot at blogging about my training experience! We'll see how well that works out since training might take up a lot of my non-work time. But I'm gonna give it a try below:

http://daizbiz.blogspot.com

One thing I'm going to track and try is a "No-Fast-Food-Pledge" challenge. As you may or may not know, I am a huge fan of fast food, with McDonald's being my #1! Since there's about 100 days left until the donation deadline, I will be pledging to donate $5 a day for every day I don't eat fast food at a traditional joint like McDonald's, Jack in the Box, Taco Bell, Panda Express, etc. On days that I do succumb, I will donate an additional $5 penalty! If you're interested in joining the pledge for any amount you like, I'll try to post to the blog once a week reporting on my eating out habits.

Thanks and Best Wishes!

Josh