Dehydration

The last few days I have felt really good except for one common occurrence, dehydration. Not to the point of any serious side effects, but it has taken a drastic toll on my energy levels and thus motivation for training. Yesterday I had an energy drink, which I figure is a huge contributing factor to my lethargy. Obviously it bumps me up a little, but the negative effects of caffeine are quite annoying. I try to get enough water during the day, but lately it has been a lot hotter, and thus I need to incorporate even more water into my diet.

On a positive note, my diet has been pretty good, and I’m getting high quality sleep, though still going to bed later than I would like. I have been eating salad and taking vitamins every day. I just need to drink a lot more water.

The spinning class yesterday was good, but I was lacking due to feeling slightly dehydrated. I was going to take the yoga class, but I forgot my mat and then didn’t feel so great after spinning.

Today it was really hot and I was doing a bunch of yard work (5 hours), which intelligently I decided to do between 10am and 3pm, the hottest hours of the day. I got a lot done, but definitely didn’t incorporate enough water into my routine. It will all be worth it once the garden is completed and I am eating home grown foods. I figure it will be kind of equivalent to the marathon, around 4-5 hours of hard labor in fairly hot conditions(San Diego), though the marathon will be about 50 times harder. The only real comparison is the duration.

Tomorrow is a cross training day, so I will do some biking, abdominals and some other weight lifting. Maybe the yoga class in the morning, hopefully.

I really want to train hard the next few days, but not over train so that I am ready for this weekend, 14 miles. Passing the half marathon point and into the 2+ hour running length.

Thank you everybody that has donated to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society through my website.

If you would like to donate, here is the website:

http://pages.teamintraining.org/sj/rnr09/rgreenfield


As always, take care and have a great rest of the week,

Ryan

Beautiful Sunny Saturday

So I basically took another week off from training. I listen to my body and my mind when making decisions about my training, and this seemed like the right thing to do. This week just didn’t feel “right” and thus I relaxed. Hopefully it won’t be detrimental on my 14 mile run next week, but now that I am pretty well rested, it shouldn’t be a problem.

Today I decided to go on a run/workout that encompassed the long run and the Thursday track workout which I missed due to feeling not too great. I ran to the local high school (about 2.5 miles away) and then ran a couple laps. I hadn’t done any speed work lately so I pushed the will power to complete some hardcore training. I ran a fast lap, then jogged a lap, and repeated 4 times, so basically 1 really fast mile, and 1 at average marathon pace. After those, which by the end were very difficult, I ran another mile in about 8 minutes. I felt like stopping, and didn’t want to overexert myself, as I hadn’t ran since the 12 miles last Saturday.

After finishing up the running portion I wasn’t quite satisfied and decided to stop in at Reach and do some weights. I did a bit of chest and bicep work and abdominal, oblique, and lower back. In the coming days I plan to do my workouts in the morning so that I can be finished for the day and not need to worry about getting it in when the sun is blazing. I will also be incorporating more weight training into my regimen.

I traveled around Palo Alto the rest of the day stopping in on a rugby game, followed by a baseball game. It was too beautiful to spend inside, so I took full advantage.

I hope tomorrow is more of the same.

Ryan

The last few days

Before my run on Saturday I had a GU packet, which is basically a very strange textured packet of who knows what for energy. I nearly threw up from the texture, but it gave me some energy to progress with full efficiency. During the run I also ate a couple of times and it seemed to keep me going. We were eating pretzels and some caffeinated sugary snacks. I will start incorporating those into my regular regimen for the future long runs.

Yesterday consisted of a few miles of bike riding and then the spinning class at night. I didn’t feel too great going into the class, and attribute it to dehydration. After the spinning class I decided against doing the yoga because my mind just wasn’t right for it. I drank a bunch of water and just relaxed for the remainder of the night.

The spinning class was a little more fun. I had 4 friends in there with me. 2 of them were off to the side and talked to each other, and 2 were near me. It is much easier to workout with like-minded individuals. The instructor catered the workout towards our running goals by doing an endurance workout that was quite hard, but seemed to conclude quicker than the others. I finished exhausted as usual, and went over to Whole Foods and helped me friend pick out some healthy food.

I finished up the day watching the World Baseball Classic Championship between Japan and Korea. It was an incredible game and included exceptional pitching, situational batting, a come back, extra innings, suspense, and clutch hitting. Japan won in the 10th inning.

I got to bed around 12pm and woke up at 8 this morning. I’m not sure if I’m going to exercise today, other than a few miles of biking. My body feels incredible, but I think that after the spinning class I need to give myself some extra time to recover, because it is a really intense hour long workout. Maybe I’ll do something later this afternoon.

I failed pretty miserably last night at having a good meal, 2 cupcakes, some cake, chips and an orange for dinner. It was really good and I enjoyed it, but, wow, it just kind of happened. I really hope that was a one time thing, as this morning I don’t have quite the same energy level as normal.

Instead of continuing the trend and having some more unhealthy food I got back on track and have eaten this today:

My usual oatmeal, bran, and additive cereal for breakfast and for lunch I just prepared a really good pasta dish. Some diced tomatoes, onion, garlic, whole wheat pasta, and tofu. It’s quite good. Instead of eating the entire thing, I decided to save half. I am still learning to control my appetite. I’ll keep people updated on my progress.

Ryan

12 miles of beautiful scenery

Today marks my longest run to date, 12 miles. I was kind of dreading it because this week has been, well different. I did a weak workout on Tuesday, drank, did nothing Wednesday, couldn’t go to track practice and hung out Friday. Basically beyond rest, there wasn’t much positive. I was picked up by a very kind team member, and we made the trip to the beginning portion of the trail up in Portola Valley.

Upon arriving there were already a number of people at the designated starting point. We hung out there for a few minutes feeling the cold 8am overcast misty feeling. Carl our captain told us we would get hot and should shed our jackets and such. It certainly did not feel that it would be possible to be warm at this point, but we acknowledged his advice and stripped down to the essentials.

We started down the road for 1 mile, and then turned around to head back, this was the accommodation for the 12 mile running group. Continuing along a trail it was pretty easy until we reached the first big hill. It’s similar to the beginning of the left side of the dish, not too enjoyable. We tackled that and continued on up and down for numerous miles. There were a few people to talk with and we all chatted, I hadn’t talked while running before and it makes it so much easier. Usually I am out on my own focusing on going as fast as possible, that wasn’t the case today, just enjoying the beautiful morning and Portola Valley scenery.

The trail was well kept and fairly flat even during the uphill portions which seem to drag on for so much longer than the flat and downhill portions. We encountered a few fuel stations (food and drink) by Team in Training volunteers. All of the people involved in this program are so nice, it’s refreshing. We hopped over chains, logs, steps, tree trunks, looked over vast drops and untouched wilderness, passed homes, roads, horse trails, it was quite an adventure. 12 miles seems like a long ways, and it kind of is, but only took around 2 hours and 4 minutes, including the stopping at a few stations. So probably about 1:50 of running time.

It was interesting, this week I actually felt stupid after the night of semi binge drinking. It played a serious toll on my productivity and mood. During the night last night I woke up a few times in anticipation of the run, and it is amazing how quickly I managed to be ready for running this morning. I had a small meal replacement shake and then a piece of toast with peanut butter.

When I finished the run I had an antioxidant bar, and an oatmeal raisin bar, and then a salad, and 2 pieces of toast. The first piece I cut in half and had one half peanut butter and the other half avocado spread, fresh from the tree outside (aged about 10 days). I didn’t have them as a sandwich as I’m not sure how that would taste. The second piece I used the rest of the half of the avocado and had it on the whole piece of toast. It might be my favorite snack now.

That’s all for today, catch you later,
Ryan

St Patrick's Day and then the really unproductive next day

Today has already been an incredible morning and early afternoon. I am writing this right now because I will be golfing in the afternoon and then going out to dinner and then out with friends at night so I might not get back to it until tomorrow morning.

I went to a friend’s house to visit and hung out there for a little while catching up and having a good time. While there I set up a tee time for around 12:30, before which I was going up to Foothill Park to go on a hike.

After leaving their house I went up to Foothill and enjoyed the morning breeze in the car with my windows open. Everybody else had them closed, I figure that I only drive about once a week so anytime I’m in the car I enjoy the windows open, plus it was just an absolutely beautiful morning and it wasn’t too cold.

I made my way up to Foothill, hitting every single red light, but it was an incredible ride, one I hadn’t been on in quite some time, since January probably. It was well after the rush hour so no problems getting up there. However, there are way too many cars in this area, we’re beginning to have LA traffic all over, not as extreme, but ridiculous.

Upon reaching Foothill Park it was relatively empty, which makes sense because it is a Tuesday morning and the only people that would be up there are those without jobs, retired, or people like me who have a pretty open schedule. It was absolutely gorgeous, few clouds, and a view unmatched for this time in March, well I guess it could have been a little clearer, but the clouds added some beauty. After the rain last week EVERYTHING was green, it constantly reminded me of St Patrick’s day,

I kept looking for signs of the day, and was constantly reminded by the totality of green. While on the Bobcat trail I saw some deer tracks, and had heard rustling in the area, really hoping it wasn’t a mountain lion looking for an easy meal in early Spring. I continued on and finished that trail and decided to go onto another trail. I went along, jogging and walking the majority, just basking in the perfect surroundings. At this point I was only planning to stay out a few more minutes so I kept looking for the point where it couldn’t get any better. Finally it hit, there was a deer some 25 feet away, quickly making itself safe up the guarded hill. I turned back, and saw another one about 30 feet to my left. It was satisfying to see some wildlife, and that it was no danger was a plus. On my walk back towards Vista Point I saw a lone California Poppy. It was beautiful, just alone, along the path.

I made my way back to the car and came home, gathering my golf clubs and heading over to the course. It was pretty busy, but I got on with no problem. My game was definitely not on, but it was really fun, the weather could not have been any nicer. I had to leave early and head back home to go out to dinner.

Dinner was really nice, and after that it gets interesting, and the life changing experiences begin.

It had been decided that drinking would be included in my routine just for St Patrick’s Day. Though 4 drinks was the limit it was tossed aside as the night continued. It began at my friend’s house where I had a few Sierra Nevada’s, one of my favorites. We waited for some more people to stop by before going downtown. When the cavalry arrived we walked to one of the local bars and began, I was treated to a Guinness. I had that one over a long period and then left to meet some other friends at another bar. Again I was treated to a huge nice beer. After we all finished we met some other friends at another bar, where I was treated to an Irish Car bomb. For those unknowing (glass of Guinness, shot of Jameson, shot of baileys). We left there and went to another bar where I decided against drinking anything. After that we went back to the original bar and met up with the friends I first came downtown with. They had been occupying a pool table for quite some time, so I hopped in on a game and magically started pulling off a few ridiculous shots in a row, and then failed the easy 8 ball finish. We won that game handily, and then the drinks pretty much instantly hit me and I was worthless in the second game.

We left and arrived back at our final destination, where I immediately from habit ate some food to get at least something in my stomach. I laid on the couch and fell asleep for the night.

In the morning, let’s just say that I was pretty much worthless. I was completely dehydrated and could feel my brain functioning at about 60% of capacity. It continued on for the rest of the day, not really accomplishing anything of physical substance except biking 4 miles. I knew everything would be fine the next day, but I was pretty annoyed that an entire day had been essentially thrown away. I still managed to have a nice night, winning a baseball game and then having an incredible dinner of Fred Steak, fish and salad.

The lesson learned, alcohol really does lead to dehydration, and dehydration leads to lack of motivation and ability to cognitively function at levels deemed normal. I won’t be drinking anymore throughout this training, unless I sneak 1 beer just for taste and carb loading post race or really long run.

I’ll write another post for today, as this one was for March 17 and 18. Parts of it were written on March 17, which is why some of the wording is in present tense and such, just so you know.

Ryan

The realization of stress and self

Today was an interesting day. Didn’t sleep too well last night, second night in a row I fell asleep on the couch, woke up around 12 and then woke up around 7:30am. I went to work, and then had a bunch of stuff I hoped to accomplish.

Then it hit me, stress. I HATE stress. I lead a relatively stress-free life, except for maybe once a month or so, and it seems to compile into an unproductive disaster. Usually it goes away, but before I knew it 3-4 hours were gone and I was off to try and de-stress in the spinning and yoga classes. In addition to the stress I just didn’t feel too great or motivated, and almost sick to my stomach. I gutted it up and finished the spinning class, but my stress levels were still above normal, and at the beginning of yoga I was tempted to leave and go home and try to resolve some issues, but I stayed and am glad for it.

Towards the end of yoga I realized that the stuff I had been freaking out about were mere petty issues in comparison to what people I know are going through this very moment. And it hit me; I have no reason to be stressed. I live an awesome life with my health, family, friends, lots of activities, safe from war, poverty, hunger, and so many other issues that face the majority of the world.

The mind is a very interesting thing and tends to ponder strange thoughts that may or may not be of any relevance whatsoever. Most of the time it is for the better, but every so often, just useless thought babble.

One thought that has been reoccurring over the last few days is that I miss my old life, drinking nice beers, having some unhealthy meals, not working my ass off on Saturdays, I guess, just being a little bit less insane and more like the average person. Also, after talking to a few of the other team in training members, it has dawned on me that I have been working way too hard. I think part of it is a malfunction of needing to prove to myself that I really am capable of certain feats.

Shouldn’t I just strive to finish each practice and the marathon, make a bunch of friends, have a great time, fund raise for an incredible cause, and just be my newer self. I think I lost my mind for a while thinking that was a good idea to train for the Boston Marathon, yea it would be an awesome experience, but instead I could run 15 half marathons in different states and actually enjoy the training and event more. It’s a goal that I can do when I’m 35 or something, not right now. I need to be enjoying my life, living like I’m in college without the binge drinking and staying up way too late. Plus if I exert myself a little less I’ll have more time and energy to work on my other interests: coaching baseball, becoming certified in personal training, reading more, yoga, gardening, building things, and so many other activities.

Since the training started I have gone through a bunch of phases, vegan, vegetarian, hardcore exercise, no alcohol, and some stuff that’s probably in my other journals and not coming to mind. It has served some purpose, but ultimately, just a bunch of small phases in my life. I’ve been too caught up in the marathon training to realize how much I’ve changed, and not all for the better, I have secluded myself from social activities, and trained so hard that I physically and mentally needed to take a multiple day break.

Lesson learned:
Be a more fun person and don’t take activities so seriously.
The activity itself doesn’t define me, it is how I change and adapt as a result of the journey towards the activity.

I hope you gain something from this journal. It is the first one that really reaches in and forces change.

Keep it real,
Ryan

Easy Sunday

Today was nice and easy, not sore from yesterday and not too many plans for the day. The last few days I have woken up around 7:30, and I’m loving it because I have so much time during the day to do whatever. I go to sleep pretty early now, and I truly believe that we should be sleeping at sundown and rising at sun up.

I biked around town for my various events, totaling about 8 miles. Before bed I will do a little stretching and prepare myself for tomorrow’s spinning and yoga classes. Those 2 classes have become a staple in my exercise routine and I believe is one of the reasons that the training has been successful thus far.

My diet has been about normal, eating nutritious food 90% of the time, and including a lot more fruit. I haven’t had a salad in a few days, so I’ll have to get back on that.

I don’t have too much to talk about right now, or at least not much is coming to mind.

Here are some basic tips for better health:

Make sure you’re drinking enough water
Get at least a little exercise everyday. Once you start, you won’t want to stop.
Be sure to sleep, it’s when the body recovers.
Eat good fats and whole grains.

Goodnight,
Ryan

Stanford Dish times 2

As of 7:48pm this is one of the most tired I have been in a long time. I began the day at 7:30, 6:30 a week ago, and had breakfast. After breakfast I got my running stuff ready, and began the journey towards the Stanford Dish.

I left my house at 9am, and let me tell you, it’s absolutely freezing wearing only shoes, socks, running shorts and a long sleeve shirt (I didn’t bring stuff because I didn’t want to carry it on the run and didn’t want anything stolen). It would have been a great way to get warmed up if it were above 40 or so degrees, but it did the job and got some of my muscles some pre-running work. I parked my bike about 1.5 miles from the dish and began my warm up jog towards the venue. It took me 14:32 minutes to get to the dish, stopping my watch for stretching and a little walking. I decided to walk the introductory portion because my legs weren’t warmed up enough yet. I walked the opening part and then pondered the route to take, left or right, up or down.

Because I wasn’t fully warmed up I decided on right and down. I started my watch with pacing in mind, knowing that 2 loops would be completed within about an hour. There were a few people who I had followed on my way up that occupied the space about 100 feet ahead of me, and I had to keep telling myself not to race them or worry about their pace. My goals for the day were to not stop, and try to go the same pace the entire time (up down or flat), and finish each loop in the same time. After the long downward opening I climbed the steady incline and made my way towards the mid way point and the dish view. It seemed to take longer than I had remembered, but enjoyed the view as I strolled by. At the conclusion of the first loop it had taken 31:27.

I took a short break, drinking some water and eating half of my oatmeal raisin bar, and then trekked on, going the left and up route. Within the first 50 feet I wanted to weep and turn around, but that faded as soon as the incline had ceased. After the initial incline it is really easy, a gradual decline for the next mile or so, and then a decent gradual incline, then a really long decline and then finishes on a gradual and then pretty steep incline. The first ¼ mile at the beginning of the left route would be a horror scene at the end of a marathon, I’m sure the San Francisco and Seattle marathons have comparable and worse hills.

I finished the second loop in 30:44, 43 seconds faster than the first one. I think they were even because I took the first one pretty slow at the beginning due to my initial warm up. It felt incredible to finish the second one, as though I had fulfilled something magnificent, though it was only 7 miles. In total today I ran approximately 8.5 miles, and biked a total of 7 miles.

During the course of the run I made 2 goals for myself: to run at least 500 miles per year, and bike at least 2,000.

Tomorrow will be one of those days where I can either dread my life (due to soreness) or feel absolutely incredible and want to go out running, though I definitely won’t.

That’s all for tonight, my brain is beginning to shut down and I will be asleep in about an hour or two.

Anybody interested in the San Jose half marathon October 4, 2009?
Half marathons aren’t too bad; 13 miles would take about 2-3 months of preparation.

Goodnight
Ryan

Friday the 13th, yesterday's and tomorrow's runs, and biking thoughts.

Today was a rest day for the running program. Instead of doing nothing I decided to work out. I’ve been lifting for the last week and it feels incredible. I used to be a weight room junkie in high school, so it’s all coming back to me.

I worked out my back and biceps today, as I did my chest and triceps on Wednesday, and the importance of rest cannot be stressed enough. One interesting piece of knowledge I have picked up is that if runners work out their shoulders it helps for long runs. I used to notice that running long distances would put an annoying fatigue on my shoulder muscles, but since I began increasing muscle tone in that area it has gone away.

Last night for the track workout we did a pacing drill which was actually pretty fun. We started by running 1 lap, with the condition that every lap should be run at the same pace. Here is my breakdown for the laps
1 lap: 1:49
2 laps: 3:40
3 laps: 5:35
2 laps: 3:47
1 lap: 1:47

All of my laps were approximately +-5 seconds of my original first lap. I’m happy with these results as I have never really tried to pace myself. Those times will definitely not be for an entire marathon, and the end of each interval I was slightly tired, but regained my energy for the next interval fairly quickly.

Tomorrow I will run about 8 miles in the morning, I’m trying to think of what I want to do, maybe run the dish 2 times, or go find a good trail nearby.

Tonight I was in complete awe of something that I was brought to my attention. A friend told me that he has ridden over 150,000 miles on his bike over the last 40 or so years. He is in incredible shape, and I can only assume that his dedication to biking is a large contributing factor.

I hope to bike at least 2,000 miles per year for the rest of my life. It has dawned on me that bicycling is the greatest way to incorporate an incredible exercise, transportation and enjoy the ever-changing scenery all in once.

One additional thought that correlates with my biking patterns, liking to stay safe, and the annoyance of motorists and their feelings of being the sole owner of the road, I think the government should allocate specific roads for ONLY bikes. There are bike lanes, but biking down a road at night with possibly drunk drivers is not a settling feeling, or on the same path as a car that could easily be driving 35-45 mph in a 25 zone. Some days I feel like just biking down the center of the lane and seeing if somebody would actually hit me, I don’t do it because I certainly don’t believe that everybody deserves a driver’s license, and because I like my body functioning as is.

It would be really nice if there were a real push towards living without cars, or at least limiting the usage of cars. More exercise for all, less road rage, more practicality, smarter shopping, greener world, lots of money to be spent on alternatives, less government expenditure on roads, less death,

That’s enough of a tangent for tonight. It should be fun running about 8 miles tomorrow, exhausting, but short compared to recent runs. I think I’ll run the dish 2 times, if anybody would like to join me I’ll be over there around 9. Though I doubt many people will read this tonight or before tomorrow morning, but if you’re up for a really good run you should head over there in the morning. I’m going to bike over there, so if you’re up pretty early, some company would be nice.

Have a great weekend,
Ryan

Tennis, Running, Hiking, Thursday Track Workout

Yesterday was a great and really productive day from start to finish. Ate healthy foods, lots of good exercise, made plans for future exercise, saw family, had an awesome salad, overall a success.

I used to play tennis when younger, but because I was so short it was really hard to serve and I had quite the hot head, it wasn’t a great combination, and I unfortunately quit. I stopped until college and then began playing with a few friends every week for a few months, and occasionally throughout the four years. I was so close to beating my friend for the first time ever (he played in high school and has beaten me in all but 1 set). Unfortunately we will probably never finish the match because it started on clay, and thus must be finished on clay. Soon my friend, soon. This morning I went to my Dad’s and we hit balls for a while. We’re going to keep it up and I plan to continue playing and when I have more time getting involved in a league. If anybody is interested in playing once a week let me know, I really want to start getting back into it.

Tennis is a great game because it combines cardio and quick bursts of strength, concentration, and composure. It’s a great game and can be played with 2, 3, or 4 people, or I suppose by yourself if you have lots of energy and happen to be a little crazy. Plus there are courts everywhere, and the balls are relatively cheap.

Running is also a great workout, once you learn to love it you’ll never want to stop. I’m having second thoughts on training to qualify for the Boston Marathon, it’s just too ridiculous, id rather have fun doing half marathons a bunch of times each year, and work on duathlons and maybe a triathlon here and there.

Run outside if you want some serious results. It’s easy to find great routes. Just the other day I ran to the Stanford Dish, ran the dish, and ran home, it was a solid 10 mile run. I don’t expect most people to run that much on any given day, but just being outside was an incredible experience and set up the rest of the day for noticing the intricate details of the world, and not just staring blankly at a television or glancing around a weight room to see who else is there. On my running days I plan to start biking to the Stanford dish and then running the dish once or twice. It’s also great because it has hills, and time spent declining, which is a great recovery. I’m going to time my next one and then see where I am by marathon time.

Another great way to exercise is at a track. Interval training is the way to build endurance and is the key to athletic success, jog the curves, run the straightaway. It is workouts like these that trick the body into working harder and ultimately lead to a better workout and improved results.

Or simply go on a hike with a friend, challenge yourself to jog portions of it, or the entire thing, who’s stopping you? I’m going to use my old running shoes as my trail shoes, maybe putting some screws into the soles for traction. I heard to do this in icy conditions or for trails.

These suggestions are all under the assumption that you are in the shape to go out and jog, or get a solid cardio workout, if you aren’t ready for that, walk around the block until you’ve gained the stamina to tackle a local hill, and then make a goal to dominate a harder one. Any region that has a mountain or foothill area will have a park or trails nearby, 99% of the time they are free and have public access.

I believe in enjoying the workout, for some that means staying indoors and listening/watching the news during stationary biking or treadmill, for others it means seeing the green of nature, for me it’s both. Some days I need to be in a gym to really function properly, other days it’s running around town visiting friends, enjoying the beautiful spring days that are now officially here.

Learn to love the outdoors, and find exercise while being there. Too many people are stuck in their family rooms watching television when they could just as easily be at a community event or hanging out with other people. Walking with a group of friends to the event, having a great time, safe in numbers and ultimately being out of the house enjoying life.

In about an hour I’ll be at my Stanford track workout, hopefully feeling the great workout. The weather is perfect, and I plan to take full advantage of it. I’ll probably head over a little early so that I have plenty of time to warm up and be fully stretched. The coaches recently started ramping up the workouts, which makes the running that much more interesting and challenging.

Exercise is the greatest sleep aid in the world.

Thank you to all the people who have donated to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. It really means a lot to me to have your support, and you’re helping out a great cause. Here is the website for anybody that would like to donate.

http://pages.teamintraining.org/sj/rnr09/rgreenfield

Just throwing it out there, if there are any companies looking for cheap advertising, I am offering space on my running hat and shorts in return for donations. Keep in mind that there will be thousands of runners and just as many spectators in San Diego, plus you can write it off.

Anyway, have a great night or day.

Take care,
Ryan

New routine, Goals, Join me in October for SJ RNR Half Marathon

A new routine. For this next week I plan to wake up around 6am and get my exercise done during the early morning, then I can feel great the rest of the day, and choose to work out later if I want. This also forces me to go to sleep earlier than usual.

There are some obvious trends for healthy individuals. Getting enough sleep, eating healthy foods, exercising daily. This means getting to sleep at a reasonable hour, having a good idea of what’s to eat during the day, having a schedule, and having enough energy to exercise efficiently each day.

My new routine will include spinning on Wednesdays and weight training on Monday and Wednesday. I did spinning today for about 45 minutes on my own and it was incredible, being able to dictate my own results. It seemed much easier than the hour with the teacher on Monday’s, and it is nice to be in charge of one’s own workout. After the spinning I stretched my legs and then started on an upper body routine that lasted about 45 minutes. Today was chest and triceps, nothing too extreme as I don’t want to overload my body with muscle, just make sure that all those muscles don’t disintegrate from non-use.

This morning I had my oatmeal with some shake and fiber powder, for snacks I consumed an orange, apple and half a bar before working out and then the other half after finishing. When I got home I had 2 pieces of toast with peanut butter and another shake that included 2 scoops of shake, 1 of fiber, some oatmeal and a banana all blended together with some soy milk. It was really good and filling.

One other interesting thing I’ve noticed as a result of exercising all the time is that I only marginally enjoy music during exercise. It used to be a necessity, but since Team in Training has outlawed mp3’s and headphones it’s become natural to avoid excess distractions. It’s nice when there is music in the weight room, if it helps you, but bad music is detrimental to any workout, and often leads to a lack of caring and wanting to plainly get out quickly. This is why personal mp3’s are nice, but also only if the headphones and cords are tolerable, and don’t provide too much distraction. Time spent shuffling through songs is precious time to be exercising and ultimately traveling home after a great quick workout. Shuffling through songs is horrible and should be avoided at all costs, get a play list and leave it alone. Maybe skip to the next song, but don’t worry about choosing.

Have a goal and then find a new one, before you even finish the first one. Most recently I’ve been talking to a friend I used to work out with almost everyday, and we’re going to start getting into duathlons (biking, running events). I by no means have completed the marathon, and still have about 10 weeks of training, but now I’m getting better at cycling and as stated before will be doing it twice a week, not including the daily biking I do as transportation. I also have a friend who has offered to train me to ride a century ride (100 miles biking) which I plan to complete in the near future. Then maybe from there do a duathlon of half marathon and 50 miles biking. Who knows, the point is, keep striving to better yourself and the results will continue to pile one. The other day some people thought I was in high school, which is a complement since I am 5 years out of high school. I feel like high school was yesterday and I’m in way better shape now than then.

If anybody is interested, I will be running the San Jose Rock and Roll Half Marathon on October 2, 2009. I have a cousin who I’m pretty sure is running it as well, and I will be doing my best to persuade a bunch of family to join us. A group of 10 people would be absolutely awesome. I encourage anybody who wants to change their life to just do it, you have about 6.5 months to train which is way more than enough, even if you start next month.

I can promise you that it will be the best you’ve ever felt in the last 20-40 years once you complete it (assuming no injuries and other problems). You’ll love yourself, and you will be hooked to exercise, which is the most important thing as the years tack on.

Give it a thought, and make the decision in the next 2 months, it will be a good time.

Have a great day,
Ryan

Offday today, productivity tomorrow

Today will be considered an off day. I was going to do my 60 minute run, but walked around for around 3 hours instead, seeing old friends and parents while distributing some fund raising fliers. I think the long run this weekend and the spinning class last night caught up with me. The legs aren’t sore but my motivation was down today, and when it doesn’t feel right, I trust my instinct and take it easy. After the walk I took an hour long nap, and then almost decided to work out, but still didn’t feel quite right, so I lounged around and watched Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.

Today was just one of those days. It seems that days in which I am really busy with other activities are the days that are most productive with my extra time. Maybe it’s because of squeezing every bit of time, and being efficient, so that relaxation can be enjoyed at the end.

In any case, I’ll be back on the grind tomorrow, biking at least 7 miles, and doing a workout for an hour, definitely devoting some time to the core. The core has become a routine that is very enjoyable because my muscles have developed enough to the point where they want to be improved. I’ve stated before, without a properly trained core, endurance athletics are impossible.

Another thing that has been lacking in my diet is water. I get enough to be marginally hydrated, but for the amount of activity, I don’t think it’s enough. I want to drink more, but I’m also afraid of over-hydrating and diluting my sodium levels.

I think what has really boosted my performance during these last few weeks has been the nutritional products by Usana. I have been drinking a shake before each of the long runs, and the bars almost everyday after workouts or as snacks. I take the pills (vitamins, minerals, calcium, fish oil, grape seed extract) everyday and they are great for recovery. I’ll add the shake or fiber mixture to my cereal in the morning and being low glycemic it helps keep my hunger at bay for a few hours. Some have said I am a walking billboard, but it’s only because I believe they work and want others to try them. If it works for a marathon, it works for everyday activity.

I’d love to hear how people keep themselves motivated or dedicated towards specific goals. There are the obvious long term benefits of obtaining one’s goal, but what are the secrets to your everyday success?

I hope everybody is able to get out and enjoy these first days of Spring.

Take care and have a great day,
Ryan

The rest of the weekend, spinning, yoga, biking, the garden

It’s been a few days since the last journal, sorry for keeping you in suspense.

After I wrote the journal on Saturday (the 10 miles) I coached the little league game and then promptly fell asleep on the couch until 1am, then not being fully rested, slept until 8am (7am with daylight savings). In total I slept from 6 or 7pm until 7am, with a gap of consciousness from 1-2.

On Sunday I woke up and was eating breakfast when I turned on the tv, forgetting about daylights savings I noticed that it was a little after 9 and I had work at 10. It took a second to register, but I finished my meal in peace and got ready.

I biked to work, hung out there for a few hours and then sped over to the little league field for our Sunday practice. It’s a little over 3 miles, and I timed myself, arriving in 13 minutes. It’s really easy to reach faster speeds on well paved roads and lower chances of being struck by vehicles is quite a peaceful feeling, and well, not stopping at everything, just slowing.

At work I was talking to a friend about how I didn’t have a car. In the last few months I have begun loving not having one. No payments, maintenance, traffic, parking, road rage, it is a bit harder to transport oneself or others and objects, but that’s what friends are for. Just buy them lunch or something. There’s a pretty good book my brother bought a while ago called “How to live well without a car.” I highly suggest reading it if you’ve ever thought about cutting back on the amount of driving.

The rest of the night was spent with family, eating a really good salad with lettuce, peppers, artichoke heart, feta, ahi tuna, mushrooms, cucumber, avocado, tomato, and some dressing. After that I had some chips and salsa (healthy brown rice chips) and some whole wheat bread. I got home pretty late and then went to sleep.

Today was about the same as most Mondays except I went to Ace hardware and picked up a circular saw, which is so much fun. I used that to work on some raised beds, I made 2 this afternoon, the garden is going to be awesome. We have 5 raised beds completed now, and maybe one or two to come. I highly suggest growing food, it’s a really good way to spend a few minutes each day, it’s like a pet, you nurture it, and it rewards you, except less expensive and no poop duty.

In about 10 minutes I’ll be heading off to spinning class and yoga for the 5th time. I’m pretty excited, though my legs are still sore from the long run Saturday. It should be a good time. I just had a shake with 2 scoops of protein powder and 1 scoop of fiber powder. It should keep me full until well after the spinning.

Anyway, I may have an update later tonight, but I’ll probably be too tired to do anything productive.

Have a great rest of the night or morning,
Ryan

9 miles of fun, 1 that sucked

March 7, 2009

Today marks the completion of my second longest run of my life.

It began at 7am waking up drinking 2 glasses of water and then having 2 scoops of meal replacement shake an orange and a ½ cup scoop of “Ryan” cereal blender together as shake. My coffee grinder broke yesterday from overuse, so the hand held blender didn’t quite do the magnificent job I expected, leaving a bunch of stuff at the end to eat, but thankfully it just tasted like cereal.

At 8am I warmed up by walking with my mom for about ½ a mile and then jogged 3 miles to the Dish. The dish is a spot near the Palo Alto foothills that is a 3.5 mile loop that hosts about a mile of uphill, 1.5 miles of flat and a mile of downhill terrain. It’s paved, and has a jogging path. However, due to the week of rain, the path was a bit muddy, forcing all joggers onto the paved path.

Getting to the dish was an experience in itself, dodging little mini lakes and avoiding muddy areas, side stepping and it was quite fun until reaching the areas you have to stop and actually find a way around. Other runners and exercisers are very friendly, courteous and seem to be nice in general. I really respect the people out running at 8-10am on a Saturday morning, it takes some willpower.

Upon arriving at the dish I scaled the very vertical climb to the fork where the trails begin and end, and then decided to keep up the vertical fun and ran the left version of the trail which hosts a good quarter mile of continuous uphill. I took a slight break at the top, but then quickly proceeded on. To my left was a beautiful view, the slope off the small hill, southern Palo Alto, and Northern Los Altos. Though I don’t really agree with suburban sprawl, it was well planned, leaving plenty of greenery. The rest of the trail lasted around 20 minutes, down, down, down, down, flat, up, flat, down, flat, up, up, up. Then it was done and I took a slight pause and descended the vertical opening pass. I had stopped a couple times for brief moments to have a snack or part of the shake I brought along.

I felt absolutely incredible upon leaving the dish and continued back towards my house. I stopped by Paly to see if my friend’s team was playing, they were so I stopped and talked to him for a few minutes, continuing on home. At about the 9 mile point my body just kind of shut down and needed to be forced to continue. I’m assuming that’s when the glycogen stores are beginning to become depleted (around 1:30 of exercise). I finished and walked around the park, came home, stretched, dowsed my legs with really cold hose water and began writing this journal. I wanted to take a slight break before taking a shower because I’ve read a lot about how hot water messes with the muscles after intense physical activity.

It’s been about 15 minutes since the hose, I’m going to do some more things, and make another raised bed before I go coach little league baseball. I was able to finish the one I started yesterday in 45 minutes. I’m going for 40 minutes today. Our garden is going to be awesome.

Anyway, I’m pretty tired from the running and have a few things planned for the rest of the day, maybe bike the 4 miles to the baseball field each way, eat some really healthy food, and sleep a lot tonight.

Take it easy,
Ryan

Spring Is Upon Us

Last night I went to sleep absolutely exhausted and slept through the entire night. Often times I awake from slight sounds or just from simply not requiring an entire night’s sleep, falling back to sleep, but not at high quality. On those days, I awake refreshed, but know it could have been better had I been tired upon entering the sleeping realm. Last night was an interesting dream, we were celebrating New Years Eve and I was barely drinking. I suppose I have engrained in my thoughts my refusal of drinking alcohol enough that even in my dreams I obey these thoughts. I feel incredible having not drunk in the last 2 months, other than 1 shot that made my stomach turn, which further engrained the self imposed command.

I will be having a few drinks on St Patrick’s Day, but don’t really want too many, because I know that anything will hinder my training performance. I’m limiting my consumption to 4-5 drinks, sorry to anyone that wants to buy birthday drinks, I am willing to accept rain checks upon marathon completion.

I woke up early again today and am really starting to enjoy it. Hopefully I can keep it up for well, the rest of my life. It’s also important that I continue because the marathon will begin at 6:30 AM. Meaning I need to either wake up before and eat some food, or go to sleep with a full stomach, and have less than optimal sleep. And of course be ready for the 26.2 miles at hand.

For anybody that has recently joined my journey towards the San Diego Rock and Roll Marathon, I am running my first marathon, and fundraising for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. It’s really fulfilling to have a good cause to support, and makes my hard work even more worthwhile. Team in Training has done an excellent job in the training program, though I would suggest they do more for nutrition standards and recommendations. I am currently in the best shape of my life due to drastic lifestyle changes and an incentive to finish the race happily, and enjoy the rest of the day’s festivities. I am sticking to my own health standards, varying only slightly and for brief moments, which is the trick, making huge changes, but not eliminating everything, otherwise cravings ensue and questioning occurs.

During my quest for marathon immortality I have really taken a liking toward helping people change their lives towards a healthier body and mind. I have lots of support from family and friends and anybody that I mention the event. If anybody wants to become healthier I am very open to helping. It’s not necessary to adopt the same standards that I have taken on, as some of them are just ridiculous and take some serious will power to maintain. But if you’re willing to make some changes, better health is only a few small steps away.

There are a couple things I have missed during this training regimen:

Being out with friends socializing and drinking into the wee hours. However as a result of not doing it I have recognized the amount of money spent on alcohol, poor quality of sleep, lethargy the next day, and there are simply better and more productive things to be involved within.

Another is indulging in foods that I know are not entirely necessary, or fully nutritious. It’s alright in small doses, but I have learned through books and first hand experience how good nutrition fuels the body properly, and aids in greater energy and concentration levels. Plus I am saving so much money not eating out, and knowing what is in my food is a great feeling.

Sitting around doing nothing is another thing I used to miss, but now that I am really productive in a wide variety of activities I can’t imagine a sedentary lifestyle. I don’t really watch tv, only recorded shows without commercials, and even these are only done at the end of the night, though I often don’t because it is time that sleep could be useful for my next productive day.

I don’t have much else to say except that looking outside my window I know that Spring is really upon us.

We planted a Peach tree about 3 years ago and it has begun growing leaves and there are a number of flowers opening up. As I’m writing this an olive colored bird perched on one of the Peach tree branches for a few moments until a Blue Jay swooped down and scared it away.

Before work I think I’ll make another raised bed. The weather is supposed to be incredible the next week and I plan to spend a good amount of time working on the garden so that we really have a great harvest this year.

Take care, thanks for reading,
Ryan


If anybody is willing to donate to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and support my marathon effort, here is my fundraising website:

http://pages.teamintraining.org/sj/rnr09/rgreenfield


My daily diet can be found online at this website:

http://fitday.com/fitness/PublicJournals.html?Owner=nutritionfitnesshealth

The up and down day, but oh so fulfilling

I don’t even know where to start with today. It had portions that were great, others that utterly sucked, but battling through them made me feel incredible. There were lifestyle changes, and also portions that resembled the lazy times. Also, new implementations that are awesome but need to be honed.

Here it goes:

I woke up at around 6 and heard my mom preparing to exercise, which made me feel great because she is actively pursuing her own physical goals, and had said she was going to do it before work. I slept for another 30 minutes and then got up and talked to her, had a glass of water and began preparing my breakfast. This is about an hour or so before I even wake up on regular days, but the first hours of my day are usually the most productive. Anyway, so I began my new breakfast routine, 2 scoops of meal replacement shake, and a blend of my home made cereal. I have a half cup of a mixture of the following: oatmeal, grape nuts, almonds, raisins, cranberries, coconut, flax seed, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, and barley grass. I take the ½ cup and blend it with a coffee grinder and then add it to the meal replacement shake and have it all together. It tastes kind of weird at this point because I haven’t perfected the recipe, but I know that it has to be good for me.

After breakfast I began doing some stuff that had been put off the day before, cleaning up my room, sweeping, organizing a bit, and putting the information in my diet journal which can be reached here:

http://fitday.com/fitness/PublicJournals.html?Owner=nutritionfitnesshealth

I completed a few other projects and then it was around 10am and I was hungry again. That’s a plus and minus to hardcore training, you get to eat all the time, but the food isn’t always so awesome. I’m learning to love it because it makes me feel great, gives me incredible energy and keeps me healthy. After finishing a few more tasks, eating more and sitting around at times doing nothing but listening to music, I realized that I was really tired and it was only about 2. I was going to coach baseball at 4 and had track practice at 6:15, so I would certainly need some rest before taking both of those on. I began my first day of power napping, and tomorrow I’m waking up early so that I can do it again. If you haven’t noticed by now, I don’t spend a great deal of time working, it’s because I have so many projects going on that take little portions of my time, and I love it this way. It’s always changing and I can pretty much do what I want, I just need to keep working on my procrastination and be productive 75% of the time.

Anyway, so I took the power nap for about an hour, not wanting to wake up because it felt absolutely incredible. I finally rose and went and had some more food, knowing that I couldn’t eat for the next 5 hours, and the track practice was going to be difficult but nothing compared to what I would actually face.

So I biked a couple miles to baseball, did that and then biked over to the Stanford track to meet the team.

We started our warm up which consisted of about 2 miles jogging and then a bunch of exercises that were much more demanding than past practices. We probably did about 6 laps of exercises and jogging and then they really put it to us. Our next exercise was to steadily increase our pace during the 100 meter straightaway and then jog the round portion of the track. I haven’t mentioned that the entire practice my stomach was hurting really bad, and forced me to walk a few times during the warm up. My guess now is that it could be the barley grass doing weird but productive things to my body, because it’s way too natural. Anyway, we went on our task of running and for some reason that is not apparent, I decided to start almost sprinting on the first couple straightaway runs, thus leaving me exhausted as the exercises continued. We completed about 6 laps of this and it really tested my endurance and will power. I was really tired, my stomach was killing and I had no idea when the suffering would commence.

Finally we finished and did the core exercises that everybody was really excited about. After my ranting and raving about how I hated the core, I LOVE exercising them now because muscle has developed and is showing, and because of their importance in endurance events. When people took breaks I just continued doing the exercises, one in particular, the plank. I think it’s a lot of fun, and is a great test of will power; I used to do it all the time, sometimes up to 20-30, 45 minutes at a time. Not by personal choice, fraternities tend to push limits in physical exercise, at least mine did. It’s safe to say that I’m pretty well versed at that exercise.

We finished our workout, listened to one of the team members who has been free of cancer for over a year, and is now participating in one of the events. It was a great story, and certainly gives incentive to help fundraise for the cancer research that helped save her life and will continue helping anybody whom has unfortunately been afflicted.

Post exercise and being showered and almost fed again, this is one of the best workouts I’ve had in a long time. Pushing through the pain of some sort of stomach annoyance, and doing numerous exercises outside of my comfort zone are things that I don’t wish to experience often, but certainly put a satisfied feeling on my slate for tonight and until the soreness subsides. There’s a quote from the US Marine Corps, I’m not a military buff in the least, but it’s a good quote “Pain is weakness leaving the body.” Hopefully not too much pain, but if you can deal with some discomfort, you become that much stronger and makes the next time you attempt a similar experience easier.

This turned out to be longer than expected, hopefully it served and you gained something.

Have a great rest of the day, whenever you read it.

Again, if you’re interested in getting into the best shape of your life and willing to make some sacrifices in order to lose 20-50 pounds, or feel fit, sleep better, increase energy, concentration, stamina by Thanksgiving let me know, it might be the best decision you’ve made in years. Actually I can guarantee with 99.98% certainty.

Take it easy,
Ryan

This week thus far and a health offer.

March 4, 2009

It’s been a few days, here’s the updates.

Monday’s yoga and spinning were awesome, it really does get a lot easier with experience. The combination can’t be beaten. A hardcore cardio workout for an hour, leaving a completely soaked shirt, and then a meditative yogic stretch right afterwards for 75 minutes. I highly suggest it to anybody that has the opportunity even if you can only do one of them, go do it, each workout is amazing on its own.

Tuesday I took it easy because my legs were still sore from the run, and then accumulated soreness from the spinning workout. I went out to eat sushi at night with some family, which was nice, but really expensive. I had somewhat of an epiphany where I decided that I should be more productive, or at least more efficient. My biggest problem is getting started, if I know it needs to get done, no problem. I suppose I have a knack for procrastination. From now on I have a list of things that need to get done during the day, and anything left over needs to be finished before doing anything the next day. I made a list of everything to accomplish today with timing and everything. I've done pretty well thus far, substituting various activities.

Here's my day today:
Biked to Reach at 8:10, did yoga from 8:20-9:20, then worked until 1. Biked back home and ate lunch, and completed some other listed activities. I decided against working out in the afternoon because the yoga acted as my cross training for the day, and overworking my body is what led to becoming burnt out. I biked back to reach and taught my friend some exercises, everything is coming along and she should be feeling the results the next morning and beyond.

I’m going to keep these shorter so that there’s more of a readership. I’ve heard that some of the old journals were a bit long and I can understand that, being 2-3 pages single spaced with general margins. I could barely write this much during college, but lets just say that health is a lot more interesting than other people’s money or the accumulation of money (finance), though some would argue that point.

I have been using products by a company called Usana for the last 3+ months. I became aware of it from a friend and his family. They are really helping during my marathon training and there are a wide variety of products, aiding in various aspects of health. After workout snacks/recovery, daily vitamins, weight loss, healthy energy drinks, even skin care. They are dedicated to providing the best possible nutritional standards to their products and I believe it. If you’re interested in learning more let me know, I’d be happy to share any knowledge with you.

I posted an article about a Japanese doctor, aged 97 who is still actively practicing medicine. It can be found as the blog right before this one. It's a good read.

One more thing, if anybody is interested in getting back into optimal health I’m working on a plan to help change peoples’ lifestyles and am looking for some help. I would love to see if this really works for other people, it's been going pretty well for me thus far. I’ll reiterate that I am in the best shape of my entire life physically and mentally. If you haven’t felt your best in the last 1, 2, 5, 10, or longer years you should talk to me, I think I can actually change your life, make you feel and look healthier, and save you some money (seems like it’s worth a shot).

Email me if you’re interested.

One thing, make sure you’re willing to make some sacrifices, not too many, are willing to save some money, dedicated to a few month program, and can follow directions with about 75% rate. I don’t expect people to adopt my plan fully, but even 75% would provide awesome results. This is the perfect Spring growth period to have that beach body they advertise on television.

That’s all for tonight, here’s my email ryanygreenfield@gmail.com

Take care, keep it real and most importantly, eat some oatmeal. Not really that important, but it can be really good if you make it taste good, and it lowers cholesterol. I have a new breakfast. I'll expand on it in tomorrow's journal.

Ryan

97 year old Japanese doctor, It's a pretty good article

Author/physician Shigeaki Hinohara
ByJUDIT KAWAGUCHI
At the age of 97 years and 4 months, Shigeaki Hinohara is one of the world's longest-serving physicians and educators. Hinohara's magic touch is legendary: Since 1941 he has been healing patients at St. Luke'sInternationalHospitalinTokyoand teaching at St. Luke'sCollegeofNursing. After World War II, he envisioned a world-class hospital and college springing from the ruins ofTokyo; thanks to his pioneering spirit and business savvy, the doctor turned these institutions into the nation's top medical facility and nursing school. Today he serves as chairman of the board of trustees at both organizations. Always willing to try new things, he has published around 150 books since his 75th birthday, including one "Living Long, Living Good" that has sold more than 1.2 million copies. As the founder of the New Elderly Movement, Hinohara encourages others to live a long and happy life, a quest in which no role model is better than the doctor himself.
Doctor Shigeaki HinoharaJUDITKAWAGUCHIPHOTO


Energy comes from feeling good, not from eating well or sleeping a lot.We all remember how as children, when we were having fun, we often forgot to eat or sleep. I believe that we can keep that attitude as adults, too. It's best not to tire the body with too many rules such as lunchtime and bedtime.
All people who live long regardless of nationality, race or gender share one thing in common: None are overweight.For breakfast I drink coffee, a glass of milk and some orange juice with a tablespoon of olive oil in it. Olive oil is great for the arteries and keeps my skin healthy. Lunch is milk and a few cookies, or nothing when I am too busy to eat. I never get hungry because I focus on my work. Dinner is veggies, a bit of fish and rice, and, twice a week, 100 grams of lean meat.
Always plan ahead.My schedule book is already full until 2014, with lectures and my usual hospital work. In 2016 I'll have some fun, though: I plan to attend the Tokyo Olympics!
There is no need to ever retire, but if one must, it should be a lot later than 65.The current retirement age was set at 65 half a century ago, when the average life-expectancy inJapanwas 68 years and only 125 Japanese were over 100 years old. Today, Japanese women live to be around 86 and men 80, and we have 36,000 centenarians in our country. In 20 years we will have about 50,000 people over the age of 100.
Share what you know.I give 150 lectures a year, some for 100 elementary-school children, others for 4,500 business people. I usually speak for 60 to 90 minutes, standing, to stay strong.
When a doctor recommends you take a test or have some surgery, ask whether the doctor would suggest that his or her spouse or children go through such a procedure.Contrary to popular belief, doctors can't cure everyone. So why cause unnecessary pain with surgery? I think music and animal therapy can help more than most doctors imagine.
To stay healthy, always take the stairs and carry your own stuff.I take two stairs at a time, to get my muscles moving.
My inspiration is Robert Browning's poem "Abt Vogler."My father used to read it to me. It encourages us to make big art, not small scribbles. It says to try to draw a circle so huge that there is no way we can finish it while we are alive. All we see is an arch; the rest is beyond our vision but it is there in the distance.
Pain is mysterious, and having fun is the best way to forget it.If a child has a toothache, and you start playing a game together, he or she immediately forgets the pain. Hospitals must cater to the basic need of patients: We all want to have fun. At St. Luke's we have music and animal therapies, and art classes.
Don't be crazy about amassing material things.Remember: You don't know when your number is up, and you can't take it with you to the next place.
Hospitals must be designed and prepared for major disasters, and they must accept every patient who appears at their doors.We designed St. Luke's so we can operate anywhere: in the basement, in the corridors, in the chapel. Most people thought I was crazy to prepare for a catastrophe, but on March 20, 1995, I was unfortunately proven right when members of the Aum Shinrikyu religious cult launched a terrorist attack in theTokyosubway. We accepted 740 victims and in two hours figured out that it was sarin gas that had hit them. Sadly we lost one person, but we saved 739 lives.
Science alone can't cure or help people.Science lumps us all together, but illness is individual. Each person is unique, and diseases are connected to their hearts. To know the illness and help people, we need liberal and visual arts, not just medical ones.
Life is filled with incidents.On March 31, 1970, when I was 59 years old, I boarded the Yodogo, a flight fromTokyotoFukuoka. It was a beautiful sunny morning, and asMount Fujicame into sight, the plane was hijacked by the Japanese Communist League-Red Army Faction. I spent the next four days handcuffed to my seat in 40-degree heat. As a doctor, I looked at it all as an experiment and was amazed at how the body slowed down in a crisis.
Find a role model and aim to achieve even more than they could ever do.My father went to theUnited Statesin 1900 to study atDukeUniversityinNorth Carolina. He was a pioneer and one of my heroes. Later I found a few more life guides, and when I am stuck, I ask myself how they would deal with the problem.
It's wonderful to live long.Until one is 60 years old, it is easy to work for one's family and to achieve one's goals. But in our later years, we should strive to contribute to society.. Since the age of 65, I have worked as a volunteer. I still put in 18 hours seven days a week and love every minute of it.

Saturday Run and Gardening

After taking three days off and then running for 53 minutes, my legs are so sore today. It felt incredible having a few days off because I had begun feeling a little burnt out on training. But now that I felt the time off I am even more dedicated to staying on track so that my body continues its maximization of efficiency. The 53 minute run was kind of hard, I didn't go as fast as the 8 miles we ran at the Baylands last week.

Tomorrow will be a spinning and yoga day, which I am looking forward to. A new part of my training regimen will be going to sleep earlier and waking up and doing my workouts in the morning. I’ve always been really efficient in the mornings and then I begin to tail off as the day progresses. It’s been bothering me going to sleep at 12 and then waking up at 8. Even though I’m getting my allotted hours of sleep, I do not feel rested. Tonight will be the beginning, going to sleep at 9.

My diet has been about 90% of optimal. Eating some brownies and other small snacks, but I’m still sticking to my oatmeal and salad diet. Another change to the diet is consuming small amounts of meat. It really is a great source of complete proteins, and as long as it’s not ground beef, hot dogs, or other meats that are accumulations of various parts, and for the most part grass fed organic I’m good. Tonight I had a Chinese Chicken salad, and then a small bowl of oatmeal. I really like grinding up various seeds and then adding them to the oatmeal. I’m almost out of my first batch which consists of: Flax seeds, pumpkin seeds, black sesame seeds, and sunflower seeds.

I’m really excited for our spring harvest. We planted about 100 Fava beans (for nitrogen in the soil) in the winter and they are just starting to produce pods. I also built a raised bed yesterday while it was still sunny, and my brother and I double dug the soil for optimal root growth. I’m going to build a couple more when the weather clears up a bit. They are really cheap to build if you follow some simple steps: Find used redwood on craigslist or other free sites. If you own a drill, awesome, if not, use nails. It also helps to have a power saw, but I used a handheld saw for portions of construction. The screws or nails are cheap, and old redwood is really durable, so I’m expecting it to last for 10-20 years. Not a big hit in time or financially because it took about an hour to build and cost about 2 dollars. We’ll recoup those expenses when the lettuce, onions, and other things are ready in a few months.

Growing your own food has some major benefits:
• You know how it’s grown
• You see the entire process
• It’s very satisfying
• Tastes a lot better
• Really cheap
• Most things grow well in the Bay Area’s Mediterranean climate
• It takes us back to our roots (unintentional play on words)

That’s all for today.

Have a great week,
Ryan