I want to thank all of you that have sent well wishes and prayers. I really appreciate the sentiment. Here is what is going on. My spine is waving like a snake moving along (see pic)and the last disk in my spine is bulging to the left causing irritation to the nerves, hence chronic pain. I finally found a chiropractor that has an x-ray machine to diagnose the problem. I have avoided medical doctors because I will not take drugs or go under the knife which is what the fix is for bulging disks in the medical community. He says he can fix the bulging disk, but not the wavy spine. So where does that leave me? Well the adjustments have relieved some of the pain. I am hoping to get enough relief to at least start exercising again. More than likely it will be mostly on my bike though I plan to continue modified WODs also. I just need to snap out of the depression from the chronic pain and hit the road. I love to ride my bicycle. Anyway there is my sob story. Thanks again to all my friends and family for the prayers. I need them.

Letter from my Christian Brother

Here is a letter from a brother that is part of IC3, the Christian cycling team I belong to. I cannot add to this incredible display of patience and love.
"Having four visiting family members, the wife was very busy, so I offered to go to the store for her to get some needed items, which included light bulbs, paper towels, trash bags, detergent, and Clorox. So off I went. I scurried around the store, gathered up my goodies, and headed for the checkout counter, only to be blocked in the narrow aisle by a young man who appeared to be about sixteen-years-old. I wasn't in a hurry, so I patiently waited for the boy to realize that I was there. This was when he waved his hands excitedly in the air and declared in a loud voice, "Mommy, I'm over here." It was obvious now, he was mentally challenged, and also startled as he turned and saw me standing so close to him, waiting to squeeze by. His eyes widened and surprise exploded on his face as I said,

"Hey Buddy, what's your name?"

"My name is Denny and I'm shopping with my mother," he responded proudly.

"Wow," I said, "that's a cool name; I wish my name was Denny, but my name is Steve."

"Steve, like Stevarino?" he asked.

"Yes," I answered. "How old are you Denny?"

"How old am I now, Mommy?" he asked his mother as she slowly came over from the next aisle..

"You're fifteen-years-old Denny; now be a good boy and let the man pass by."

I acknowledged her and continued to talk to Denny for several more minutes about summer, bicycles, and school. I watched his brown eyes dance with excitement because he was the center of someone's attention. He then abruptly turned and headed toward the toy section.

Denny's mom had a puzzled look on her face and thanked me for taking the time to talk with her son. She told me that most people wouldn't even look at him, much less talk to him. I told her that it was my pleasure and then I said something I have no idea where it came from, other than by the prompting of the Holy Spirit.

I told her that there are plenty of red, yellow, and pink roses in God's Garden; however, "Blue Roses" are very rare and should be appreciated for their beauty and distinctiveness. You see, Denny is a Blue Rose and if someone doesn't stop and smell that rose with their heart and touch that rose with their kindness, then they've missed a blessing from God. She was silent for a second, then with a tear in her eye she asked, "Who are you?"

Without thinking I said, "Oh, I'm probably just a dandelion but I sure love living in God's garden."

She reached out, squeezed my hand, and said, "God bless you!" and then I had tears in my eyes.

May I suggest that the next time you see a BLUE ROSE, don't turn your head and walk off. Take the time to smile and say Hello. Why, because, by the grace of GOD, this mother or father could be you. This could be your child, grandchild, niece, or nephew. What a difference a moment can mean to that person or their family.

"From an old dandelion."

Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply. Speak kindly. Leave the rest to God.

"People will forget what you said, People will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel."

Why I CrossFit part 2

“But I’m sore” said the voice. I heard this at the box (CrossFit name for gym) yesterday and Coach Justin replied “Crossfitters workout while sore”, which led me to a revelation of some sort. I have done some kind of training most of my life and when I was younger I had some aches and pain, but recovered quickly. These days the aches and pain seem to never go away (Especially the pain in my left knee due to Osteoarthritis). I had assumed it was because of my age, almost 52, and figured it was all part of the process of life. Like I said hearing Coach say that was a revelation. You see the average age at our box, heck the CrossFit community in general, is around 30 years old probably a bit less. I hear the athletes talk about soreness from time to time, but I thought “they are young they will recover by tomorrow.” CrossFit’s prescription for achieving fitness is constantly varied high intensity functional movements which means serious butt kicking workouts, each day. That leads to you will be sore.

Soreness to a certain degree is a good thing because it means you are teaching your body to perform. Our bodies are smart and when we tax ourselves physically we break down muscle, but the body rebuilds so we get stronger to be able to handle the workload. We never know what life will throw at us and is not this perfect little paradise (that comes later). So if we are constantly asking our bodies to perform, we achieve fitness. CrossFit defines fitness as “work capacity across broad time modal domains.” I know what you’re thinking, huh? Give it some thought. Life is physical in all aspects we walk, squat, reach, twist, well you get the idea and even in our sleep the body rejuvenates (works) itself to be ready for the next day. So the greater our “capacity” to “work” (perform), the better our fitness.

From now on I will carry my soreness as a badge of honor and won’t let age be an excuse, though you young folks still recover faster. Life doesn’t take excuses. If a dude with stubs for arms and legs (Kyle Maynard) can CrossFit, in fact he owns a CrossFit box named “No Excuses”, just about anyone can have a go. So lace up the shoes, chalk up your hands and go out and do what your coach tells you regardless of what you think because it won’t be easy. However it will be satisfying and improve your fitness. BTW click on Kyle's name to watch a video about him. There are videos of him competing at the CrossFit games also.

Day 2 started with a lecture on technique which is for safety and performance. Once again the information was great. Then we were hit with an early workout. It was teams of 4 and we did a 12 minute metcon. About a 100 meter run, rest, kettle bell swing, push-ups. We rotated each time the runner came in. It was a good workout. The only problem is we all had to go through the rest of the day all sweaty. After the workout we went into nutrition which was timely as it was before lunch.
Then we did a review and followed up with scaling workouts and programming. Then it was time for “The Test”. I had studied and took notes on all the lectures, but I was very nervous about the test. There were a lot of people that felt the same way. In fact the head trainer found it strange that most were more nervous about the test than the workouts. We had 45 minutes to answer 50 questions. It took me less than 30 minutes to complete. When we were finished we had to go down stairs and wait. It took the trainers additional time to grade our tests and make out the certificates. Finally they brought us back upstairs for a final debriefing. The whole time my stomach was in a knot. He was stalling and said as much. They were not quite ready. You could tell a lot of people were getting restless. Then the trainer told us you will find a file folder out on the table with your name on it. Inside there will be a certificate that says either level 1 trainer or certificate of completion. If it says level 1, you passed. If it says completion, you did not. It was torture!! I felt I did OK, but there was a lot of doubt. I grab my folder, hesitate and then opened it to see Level 1.
I learned a couple of other things this past weekend. One is what a good coach Coach Justin is. More than one trainer at the cert said as much. He trains us well. I also want to thank Justin for his encouragement. I would have never done this without his suggestion. Another thing I learned, or better put reinforced, is the CrossFit community is a tight group. I love the way we all compete against each other then turn around and cheer on the very people you are trying to best. BTW that is Jason the owner of CrossFit Santa Clara, HQ trainer for certifications, and 2008 CrossFit games winner doing a 2:44 "Fran" right after another hard WOD. He apologized for it being slow. Really???

CrossFit Certification Day 1

Ok what an incredible day So far this cert has exceeded all my expectations. The speakers are dynamic, very informative, funny, and serious Bad Asses all of them. The way the information was presented, demonstrated, and applied was excellent. I have learned so much and I have all this info rolling around in my head. Went through the 9 functional movements in the class room and then went outside and practiced what we learned. The 9 movements are squat, front squat, OH squat, straight press, push press, press jerk, dead lift, sumo dead lift high pull, mb clean. We covered “What is CrossFit?” and “what is Fitness?” and once again tons of great information.
And of course as Coach Justin said, we got "Franned". There are 56 of us and it was a crazy new experience working out with so many people at once. We went in three waves so there were about 18 us at a time. I chose to go in the first to get it over with. The scaled version was jumping pull-ups, also a new experience as I usually use the band. My “Fran” time was about 4 minutes faster than my last, but the jumping pull-ups seemed much easier than banded pull-ups.
All and all it was a great day. And though we did a bunch of squats and held most of them and “Fran” I am not too sore, a bit worn out, but not sore. I am sure it is due to Justin’s advice to take the 2 days before off. I am not quite sure what is in store for tomorrow and I can hardly wait. I do know we have a test. Well I need to study some and hit the rack. Tomorrows update will not probably come until Monday. See ya at the box. BTW that is my backside in the picture right before "Fran". Very flattering shot and nice posture!!

One reason I CrossFit. I have been riding bicycles for more than 20 years completing all sorts of different events from triathlons, centuries, runs, rock climbing and just putting in miles with friends. My training philosophy has always been volume, volume, volume. This past winter I decided to attempt a 200 mile ride. My longest one day ride had been about 130 miles so I wanted a new challenge. I picked the Davis Double because it is a fairly flat ride. Shortly after making this commitment I joined CrossFit VictriX because all I was doing for training was riding about 300 miles per week, but did nothing else. Needless to say my fitness was very imbalanced. I could jump on my bike and hammer out 100 miles without a second thought, but I could not do a pushup or any upper body exercise.
Hello CrossFit, my arrogance and training history told me I could just jump in and catch up in no time. Well that notion was crushed quickly. My butt was handed to me with a vengeance each WOD. My training took new shape as the main focus was CrossFit and the riding was supplementary. As the Davis ride got closer I started to worry that I was not putting in enough miles, but time and my passion for CrossFit kept me from logging the miles in the saddle. My fitness had improved in so many areas, but the “old” philosophy was always in the back of my mind. What would happen?

3:30 am Saturday May 15, 2010 I get up with much apprehension a bit later than I wanted. I had prepared the night before for the most part, but I forgot some stuff. Now further behind apprehension turned to panic. I was able to pull it together and get to Davis on time. Here we go!
The first 50 miles was hard as it was windy (head wind), dark, and I was not very confident. In fact my mind was really messing with me. And to add insult to injury my butt was already starting to complain. Not good!! I rode on thinking I may not finish. Finally the lunch stop came and I rested my poor bootay and refueled. Then we head back (with the wind) and am thinking how fast I am riding. All the doubts disappeared as I flew down the road. Well soon the euphoria of speed gave way to the pain of the saddle. With 30 or so miles to go I could not find a comfortable position in the saddle. All the self doubt took over once again as I struggled with, “will I make it?”
It got dark again and with my lights back on during the last miles which not only took a long time, but felt twice as long. My main motivation was two things; a) Fitness wise I felt good, b) If I could finish a WOD, I could finish this ride. I would ride hard for as long as I could and then rest for a bit. Repeat for another round. Once again the lack of time in the saddle really played havoc on getting comfortable (when you ride a lot you get used to the saddle and it doesn’t hurt). Lessons learned:
a) CrossFit prepares you for life
b) Sport specific training is important (especially on a bicycle, OUCH)
c) Mind over muscle really works
d) I will include more riding in my training
It was a good experience in so many ways. My time was a bit slower than my goal of 14 hours (15:48:00) and the entire trip was about 18 hours. Next year my goal is the California Triple Crown which is three double centuries in a calendar year. Whish me luck, wait, just push me in the daily WOD and I can do just about anything. Now I can do at least 20 pushups, power lifts, Olympic lifts, and many different exercises thanks to CrossFit VictriX. The CrossFit philosophy works. All you have to do is commit. Simple- yes. Easy?-NO. There is nothing easy about CrossFit or training, but it is simple. Just do it!

PERFORMANCE AND SPORTS

I have been swimming, running, and cycling for many years. I started competitive swimming at 10 years old, ahem, some 40 plus years ago. I have that competitive spirit that drove me to race. I love to compete to this day. My goals and abilities are a lot different, but I still give my best effort. The following post is a few years old and still timely. I am not sure if I buy into his drug opinion, yet he does have a point. I definitely agree about the level playing field part as I used to whine about the top athletes that had "more time to train" than I.

This brings me to my point. At CrossFit more training (volume)is not better! In fact, CrossFit Endurance preaches more rest is better. It is all about quality and intensity. From the years of training and racing I suffer from osteoarthritis in both knees. Essentially I have no cartilage left it is literally bone on bone. Two orthopedic surgeons have told me I will need a knee replacement, but because of my age and activity level it is not in the near future. For the time being I get a series of Euflexxa shots about every 8 months. At least I don't have heart problems or a pace maker like the athletes in the following article. I know a few triathletes myself with hip and knee replacements. Read this post from Mark's Daily Apple, part 2 is the most interesting to me.

CrossFit is training for life which is fitness for us all not just elite athletes. So not only train hard, but rest!

BUSTING THE DIET MYTH

CrossFit promotes the Zone or Paledo diets to improve health, fitness, and performance. For years we have been told low fat, high carb for our nutrition intake. The food pyramid is the way to go. Umm NO! Read this post about nutrition from a local CrossFit affiliate CFC’s Very Comprehensive Diet Page. It is really long (but worth the time) so get your Zone or Paleo snack and beverage ready and when you are finished if you are not convinced (once you're revived from the catatonic state), well fire up the ice cream and the couch. Here are easy descriptions for each that were posted at CrossFit VictriX:
Zone – adequate lean protein, healthy fats, and low carb with most of carb from vegetables and fruit but anything is allowed.
Primal – same as above no grains
Paleo – same as both above but also no dairy

You should avoid any type of sugar, NO SUGAR!!

Train Hard!!

CrossFit NorCal Sectional

First of all let me say what a performance by the athletes. Our CrossFit Victrix athletes, Stacey, Faith, Darrin, Patrick, EJ, and the instigator of it all Justin were all amazing. The chipper on the final day was brutal. It went like this: 6 minutes to max rep Clean & Jerk. Then 25 burpees, 100 yard walking lunge, 5 rounds (15 DB overhead press 40lb/25lb and 100 yard farmer’s walk with DBs), 25 more burpees, 500 meter row, and finish with a 400+ meter run all for time. It wears me out just writing about it!

I discovered CrossFit about 3 months ago and bought into the logic and philosophy about fitness, training, and nutrition, but I was not quite sure about the CrossFit culture and community. That was until this weekend. There was love and passion for the sport everywhere. With around 400 athletes competing from too many different gyms to count, there was cheering and encouragement for all competitors. No one was above a “come on, you got it” for a passing athlete.

It was a long hard weekend for everyone involved from the event organizers to the dudes that had to clean the bathrooms every hour or so. I want to say here that the organizers did a great job in spite of many throw backs. The venue owners were very strict about certain things and kept threatening to shut the competition down. They probably had no idea what a CrossFit competition would bring, “Oh some people lifting weights, doing lunges, and running around the track?” The athletes were strong, fast, and brought their “A” game.

It was an incredible experience for me and I will do it again. I will drink the kool-aid and continue to train hard, eat clean, and get plenty of rest. Because next year I won’t be there as a volunteer, I will be there to compete (masters of course!). My only regret is that I was too busy as a judge that I didn’t have time to take pictures. I only took a quick video of VictriX’s trainer/coach Justin Arnest nailing the overhead squats. We had a good turnout for a smaller gym with 6 athletes and 4 volunteers (Duffy, Denise, Janelle, and me). Thanks to Faith and her parents for their hospitality. It was fun to hang out with you all away from the gym.

The motto for the CrossFit games “The unknown and the unknowable” fits life perfect. We never know what’s around the corner. Could you pull an unconscious body from a burning car, lift it on to your back or shoulders and carry the person to safety?? A CrossFitter could!

Through the Valley

“Think with me here…everybody wants to be on the mountaintop, but if you’ll remember, mountaintops are rocky and cold. There is no growth on the top of a mountain. Sure, the view is great, but what’s a view for? A view just gives us a glimpse of our next destination – our next target. But to hit that target, we must come off the mountain, go through the valley, and begin to climb the next slope. It is in the valley that we slog through the lush grass and rich soil, learning and becoming what enables us to summit life’s next peak. So, my contention is that you are right where you are supposed to be.” (from The Noticer, Andy Andrews)