The 2017 Los Angeles Marathon

Comment

The 2017 Los Angeles Marathon

In the 8th grade I ran an 8 minute mile during PE class one time. That was my highlight as a runner up until my 30's. Running has long been a graceless exercise in frustration for me. I looked like a mythical Orc headed into battle when I ran. All I was missing was an axe. I never really enjoyed it and my weight and my frame did not lend itself to endurance running.

Comment

Read More about The 2017 Los Angeles Marathon
38

Comment

38

Birthdays and New Years are good markers to reflect upon what you have learned. To assess what works and what doesn't work and adjust accordingly.

I don't subscribe to the belief that "age is just a number". I also don't feel like someone's age is the be all end all of who a person is and how they should behave. I feel like I'm getting the best of both worlds. At the same time I have become wiser I have also become more positive and vibrant, dare I say youthful?

Comment

Read More about 38
Rage Against The Dying Of The Light

Comment

Rage Against The Dying Of The Light

Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Though wise men at their end know dark is right,
Because their words had forked no lightning they
Do not go gentle into that good night.

Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright
Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,
And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,
Do not go gentle into that good night.

Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight
Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

And you, my father, there on the sad height,
Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray.
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Comment

Read More about Rage Against The Dying Of The Light
2016 - Enter the Arsonist

Comment

2016 - Enter the Arsonist

2014 changed my life. 2015 nearly ended it. 2016 was the year I was going to change other people's lives as well.

I insisted that it was going to be free. Free with donation if people were so inclined. I was tired of people getting scammed, I was tired of the weight loss industry taking advantage of people. I was going to include only the information that people needed to stop the endless cycle of crash dieting and systemic illness due to excess insulin production.

Comment

Read More about 2016 - Enter the Arsonist
2015- Down But Not Out

Comment

2015- Down But Not Out

My last post was pretty heavy. 2015 started out with a lot of conflict, but I wasn't going to use the injury as an excuse to slip back into old bad habits. I struggled to get my act together but eventually got back into my diet and exercise routine. I am going to post my progress photos from April to the end of 2015 with my weight, goal weight and additional notes in the captions below each photo.

Comment

Read More about 2015- Down But Not Out
January 16, 2015- Every Day Is A Gift

Comment

January 16, 2015- Every Day Is A Gift

Two years have passed since my mountain bike accident. I go through oscillating versions of reality where it doesn't seem real and settle into the fact that I almost died. 

"I'm tough, a little bike accident couldn't do me in."

"No, you almost died."

"..."

"No, Phil. You literally came a centimeter away from being paralyzed for life and a little further than that and you would have severed your spine, killing you instantly. Leaving your wife without a husband and your son without a father. Devastating your family and those friends and family who love you. You felt the icy chill of death against your neck. When people say 'you're lucky' you have no idea how right they are."

And I relent to fact.

Comment

Read More about January 16, 2015- Every Day Is A Gift
April 2014-August 2014- The fifteen pounds I thought I'd never lose

Comment

April 2014-August 2014- The fifteen pounds I thought I'd never lose

In this post I will continue with my fat loss progress for the remainder of 2014. Every Wednesday I took a shirtless picture of myself on my iPhone and emailed the picture of myself with my goal weight, actual weight and other details like my belt loop and activities I was doing. The text of these emails will be in the caption below each photo. I went through ups and downs, successes and failures, wins and losses but I came out on top. It's really great to see these pictures again and revisit this dramatic change I made in my life. I hope you get something out of it.

Comment

Read More about April 2014-August 2014- The fifteen pounds I thought I'd never lose

Comment

Febuary 23rd 2014- April 2014

This is an interesting bit of a post. It was hard to keep going with this story because I got derailed. I got derailed in a way that changed my life. This blog post was supposed to chronicle my next steps and all the information I learned from Rick. That changed when I realized that it would take several blog posts to complete and wouldn't be suitable for a blog format. So, I started writing a book instead.

Comment

Read More about Febuary 23rd 2014- April 2014
The first few months and the first 20 lbs. November 2013 - February 2014

Comment

The first few months and the first 20 lbs. November 2013 - February 2014

I was highly motivated to kick this cholesterol thing. I made it through Thanksgiving and started a fitness program in December. It's a program that I had done several times in the past and had some success with. It's an ipod workout program called Fitter U and it's designed by a guy called Yuri Elkaim. The program is three months long and it starts you from a zero base level of fitness and progressively gets you into competent condition. The download to your ipod and the pdf files is $99 dollars and I feel like over the years I got my moneys worth. 

Comment

Read More about The first few months and the first 20 lbs. November 2013 - February 2014
2016- A recap of these last few years

Comment

2016- A recap of these last few years

I lost 50 lbs in 6 months. Since then I have hovered around 190 to 185 comfortably. I've never been this healthy or happy with my physical well being in my life. I have become an avid cyclist and try to get out every weekend. I never saw myself living this way or being a "health nut" as Monica calls me. The reasons I got as big as 235 (again, mind you. I was as big as 245 in my 20's but that's another story) were the usual ones. Busy life, work. Being a parent and that first year of sleep deprivation and trauma. That first picture was at Julian's first birthday party. His first year of life is what I call "the lasagna year" What we ate was primarily frozen food that had to be thawed and delivered loads of calories in short order. I was not happy having my picture taken. My reaction to my self image was "I don't care. Who am I trying to impress?" These were just excuses that I gave myself, I realize now. I knew I could do better but was not willing to make the lifestyle changes necessary to positively make a change. 

Then, the doctors visit. This was in November around his first birthday.

Comment

Read More about 2016- A recap of these last few years
Happy 4th Birthday, JP! A Superheroes Origin Story

1 Comment

Happy 4th Birthday, JP! A Superheroes Origin Story

My life can be split into a pre- November 12th 2012 phase and a post November 12th 2012 phase. My entire perception of life, love and family shifted on the day I became a father. I used to hold value to things that are actually worthless and now I treasure things that I used to take for granted. Little moments, subtle phrases, nuanced idiosyncrasies give me the greatest joys and the biggest laughs. 

1 Comment

Read More about Happy 4th Birthday, JP! A Superheroes Origin Story
The 2nd Annual Trick or Tri Triathlon October 29th 2016

Comment

The 2nd Annual Trick or Tri Triathlon October 29th 2016

I have been inactive on this blog and on social media the last few months due to the ramp up leading to my first triathlon. I wanted to eliminate all distractions and focus purely on training. Now, with the event five days past I am ready to turn back to whatever state of normalcy I had earlier in the year. This was my big physical goal for 2016 and I have been preparing for my triathlon since the beginning of the year. Here's a somewhat complete story of how I accomplished the tri.

Comment

Read More about The 2nd Annual Trick or Tri Triathlon October 29th 2016

Comment

The Art of Dealing With Trump

I have come to a place of clarity as of late. It was tough going for a while, I was worried and wasting tremendous amounts of time on Youtube and news articles studying the Trump phenomenon. It was worrisome, scary, fascinating and a waste of time that could have been spent on other more constructive things. Then it recently hit me once I listened to a podcast on NPR's Fresh Air called "Trump Revealed". It hit me like a wave of calm because I could finally put my head around the guy, compartmentalize him and deal with his persona.

Comment

Read More about The Art of Dealing With Trump
Overriding the Narrative- Mindfulness and Meditation

1 Comment

Overriding the Narrative- Mindfulness and Meditation

A soothing voice enters my ears via my bluetooth headset connected to my phone.

"GRADUALLY BECOME AWARE OF THE PROCESS OF BREATHING. NOTICE WHERE YOU FEEL THE BREATHE MOST DISTINCTLY."

Okay, I feel it in the center of my nose and in my torso. Back feels a little sore. Maybe it's because I hit the pull-ups too hard this week. Maybe I should skip it today?

 

1 Comment

Read More about Overriding the Narrative- Mindfulness and Meditation
Louis Johnson "The World is Out of Balance"

Comment

Louis Johnson "The World is Out of Balance"

I have been shuffling a heavy workload lately and have been basically burying myself in my cave to catch up. All in all, good problems to have. Since my last blog post, news of the world outside of my cave has been catastrophic.

Civil unrestterrorist attacksmass shootings. I choose to employ a tactic of disengagement from social media the last month but I couldn't get away from all the bad news. Things are looking very grim in the world at the moment. Louis missed all this, he would have been saddened by the state of the world right now. I often think of him and the things he taught me. I am constantly meditating on one thing he told me in particular.

Comment

Read More about Louis Johnson "The World is Out of Balance"