Random Picture of the Day

Picture: Mandi standing on a pier in Upstate NY.

Captions?

No Excuse for Missing Treatments

8:00am: I slept in this morning and it felt oh so good. I slept like a rock and didn't have to correct my oxygen too many times last night. I naturally woke up at around 6:15, but I forced myself to go back to sleep cause I have been feeling a little worn down lately. I realize how important it is to rest when my body needs it and I know that I need to back off when my body calls for it.

Mandi planned a little day trip for ourselves so we knew that the exercise and walking schedule was going to be thrown off. I wanted to get at least the dog walk in though, so as soon as I rolled out of bed I took Jezzabel for our normal 2.1. I felt really good this morning lung wise and my feet felt great. I was wanting to run today, but I couldn't squeeze it in. We were traveling most of the day, so the morning walk was all that I got in. That, I can deal with, I don't like it, but I can deal with it. The other thing that suffered today were my treatments.

I only managed to get in my morning and night treatment. I brought my travel neb and medicine, but for one excuse or another, I didn't do it. Let me tell you, I could tell throughout the day that I wasn't on top of my treatments. I was much tighter today than normal and just felt like it was harder to get in breaths. The one thing I want to do in all of this is not miss my treatments. I've done really well so far, and today was an anomaly, but I'm still mad at myself for not getting them done. There is just no excuse not to take another 30 minutes out of my day and puff on a nebulizer. I wish I could give you one, but I can't. They would all seem pretty small compared to my desire to take full and deep breaths.

Total Distance: 2.1 miles Time: 36'55"

Total Distance Walked for Day: 2.1 miles

Return of the Coughing Attack

6:00am: Man, this morning was full of coughing! The stuff I was bringing up wasn't as dark as it usually is first thing in the morning, which I guess is good, but I just couldn't shake the tickle that was making me cough. Most of my mucus was a bright yellow, almost as if somebody had used a highlighter and went crazy in my lungs. On my walk I was coughing so much that I had tears running down my face. I'm sure fellow dog walkers must have thought that Jezzabel and I were in a pretty bad fight. All I know is it looks like I built a yellow brick road going from my house around the neighborhood, but of course instead of bricks, I used my spit.

My legs felt good this morning and the heaviness from last night wore off. I did feel a slight shin splint coming on and my left foot started to hurt, but I'm hoping that it is just temporary. I REALLY want to run tomorrow. I've tried to do the right thing by not pounding my foot for a while and I just hope it pays off. My lungs need to get a good run in. They haven't been challenged for a while in the way that a run challenges me. Let's just hope that come tomorrow, I can pull it off.

Total Distance: 2.1 miles Time: 37'59"

3:00pm: Before I headed to the gym today I devised a new workout plan to start with the first of the month. I want to keep my body guessing and hit other small muscle groups. I put together a new workout for my chest and back that I pieced together using some sources on the Internet. The new back work out focuses a lot on lats which is good because I haven't worked them hardly at all over the past couple months. In my new chest work out, I don't even do a regular bench press. I noticed that the bottom portion of my pecs weren't really getting hit so I switched it up to a decline bench. I also added more fly type of motions for both chest and back. Most importantly however, I added push-ups and pull-ups. Those two things are a very simple way to get some sort of shape back and they definitely make you do some deep breathing. If you're thinking about starting a workout, I'd start there. Just do some push-ups when you wake up and before you go to bed. It's all about baby steps. Current Weight: 188 lbs.

5:30pm: It was actually a bit humid out for our walk tonight. Now, just to give you a heads up, I can't stand humidity. Don't get me wrong, I was probably at like 10 percent humidity, but I could feel it. It feels like somebody put a five pound weight on my chest when it's like this outside. Not a huge difference, but I could certainly feel the affects. The walk went well, but I did have some foot pain. I'll have to just make a call tomorrow as to if we attempt to run or not. I really want to run, but I don't want to further any damage. I guess I'll just have to play it by ear.
Total Distance: 2.1 miles Time: 36'35"

Total Distance Walked for Day: 4.2 miles

Don't Be a Comfortable CFer

6:00am: I had another good night of sleep last night, although it took me a little longer than usual to actually fall asleep. I think the reason for this was two-fold: I laid down yesterday on my bed from about 5:30pm to 5:45pm. I know it's not much, but I generally NEVER do that unless it's the weekend. And the second reason would be that I ate pizza last night and it felt like someone poured gasoline on my heart and lit it on fire (thanks a lot Tim and Gina). Oh, not to mention the spaghetti calzone that I also shoved down my pie hole. Tim, I know you read this, next time instead of gummy LifeSavers for dessert, I'm going to bring a bottle of Pepto Bismol. Just give me a heads up! I'm of course kidding and just grateful that I get to spend time with my cousin and be confused together by watching LOST...not to mention they feed me. What more could a guy ask for?

So besides waking up this morning with a bloated belly (which I have since taken care of...twice) and burping up the last bit of fire, I felt like a rock star. My lungs felt better this morning than they have for a while and I wasn't coughing up that nasty dark stuff like usual. It started out on the dark yellow side this morning and not dark green. Maybe my TOBI killed off some of the infection? Or maybe I'm not getting up the crap that's way down in there? I can tell you one thing: I'll work like the answer is the latter of the two. Everyday that I wake up, I'm committed to working out with the mentality that if I don't, it could be the last day that I feel good. I never want to be comfortable with how I feel or get complacent. Believe me, it's happened before and I won't let it happen again. The minute you let up on your treatments or exercise is the minute that you open the door to infection. CF is lurking in the shadows waiting for you to slip, and as soon as you do, boom, it seizes the opportunity. I for one always want to stay one step ahead of this disease, who knows, maybe one day I'll be two or three steps ahead.

The walk went well and my feet feel great. If this keeps up I'll for sure be able to run by Saturday. Keep your fingers crossed!

Total Distance: 2.1 miles Time: 37'28"

5:30pm: Mandi and I headed for the gym after she got off of work. Today was legs and shoulders, which is generally a tough day. We ended up doing legs all at once using back to back to back exercises. We didn't lift calves because I think that calf raises are at least partly responsible for my foot pain. I seemed to have more foot pain the days that I would lift on my calves, so I have decided not to lift on them for over a week now. And because I had such terrible shoulder pain the last time I lifted my shoulders, I decided to do exercises today that would strengthen the ligaments and tendons that encapsulate the shoulder socket. I'm hoping that a month or so of doing these type of exercises will help with the pain. Current Weight: 185 lbs.

6:30pm: We took off for a short 1.1 mile walk right after we were done at the gym. Because of the lifts at the gym it felt like I was dragging around a couple of weights that were attached to my hips. Each leg felt like it was moving in slow motion. Our pace was pretty slow and at one point I turned to Mandi and said, "I literally can't get my legs to move any faster". Which she of course replied, "Step it up son!". Isn't she just a ray of sunshine? (I'm kidding Mandi darling, you are just what I need)

Total Distance: 1.1 miles Time: 22'37"

Total Distance Walked for Day: 3.2 miles

Does that Fire Burn Inside of You?

6:00am: When my alarm went off this morning I ended up talking to every single one of my body parts. And after doing so, this thought was confirmed: Not one single part of my body wanted to get out of bed this morning. But as I've always said, these are the days that it is MOST important to pull yourself out of bed. Cause if you can get out of the sack when every part of you says no, then how much easier will it be when maybe just half of you says yes? I can't stress that enough. Anybody can wake up early and go hit the pavement when they're fired up to do so, but can you do that when there is no desire inside of you at all? That's what I was facing this morning, so I did the only thing that I know how to do, I pushed through it.

The walk itself started with plenty of coughing. My prayers however were answered in that my junk came up a lot easier this morning. I think that really concentrating yesterday on fully breathing in all of my meds helped as well. There were points at my walk today though that because of the coughing, I couldn't even muster the oxygen to yell at Jezzabel. Sometimes she needs to be reminded that I'm walking her and it's not the other way around. She is improving greatly though and I know that she is trying really hard to please her daddy. My foot felt good this morning, so I'm hoping that continues and maybe I'll be in a position to run this weekend. Man, I would love that.

Total Distance: 2.1 miles Time: 38'21"

Side Note: A little side story here about J Bell. This morning as I was making my breakfast sandwich I had some meat left over that wouldn't have been enough for my sandwich tomorrow. So, I called Jezzabel over and had her sit. I through the piece of turkey at her that flew right past her snout as she chomped at it in mid-air. The piece of meat fell directly on to her back and stuck to her. She was SO confused. She was sniffing around all over the place and just didn't realize the meat was on her back. Eventually, she gave up and went to lay down in her doggy bed looking depressed about the meat that was gone forever. About 2 minutes later she heard some sound and got up to see what it was. With that, the meat fell onto her bed. She then proceeded to lay back down not noticing the turkey that was no more than 9 inches from her face. About 3 minutes later she got up to go and get a sip of water, and finally, when she got back to her bed, she found the slab of meat. Needless to say, it provided a good 7 minutes of entertainment for me this morning.

1:30pm: I was extremely weak at the gym today. I couldn't do some of the same weight that I did last arm day, so it was kind of strange. My body may be just a little fatigued or something. I really need to focus on getting to bed earlier consistently. I've been sleeping better as of late, but maybe those couple nights that my sleep was bad finally caught up to me.

In May, I'll be changing my routine a little bit in order to target other muscle groups. I'll still be doing arms, chest, back, legs, and shoulders, but I'll switch up the lifts. It will also help me to not get in a habit of just going through the motions. I'm looking forward to the change, and I'll make sure to update you guys on how my body adjusts.

My legs were still sore from my workout on them two days ago, but I decided to hop on the stair stepper cause I wanted to work up a sweat. And working up a sweat is exactly what I did. I put it on the same program as the last time, which is called "Fat Burner". Not that I'm trying to burn fat, but I like how it is constantly changing up the resistance during the workout. I did 40 floors again and everything felt real good when I was done. Current Weight: 184lbs

Total Distance Walked for Day: 2.1 miles

Total Floors Climbed for Day: 40

Running for My Life

**I recently submitted the following post to a contest being held by the company Nature Made. They were looking for stories about overcoming hardship, helping others, or making a difference in the world. I probably don't qualify, but I thought I'd give it a shot**

Two months ago I came to a fork in my life’s road. I had a choice to make: Continue on my current path, watch my lung function plummet, and die; or make a drastic change to take my life back.

Spending fifty days in the hospital can have many affects on a person. For me, it meant a total reevaluation of my life. I knew that I was going to have to make a change, and I knew that it would have to happen immediately.

I was born in 1980 with Cystic Fibrosis, a chronic illness that is the number one genetic killer of children today. When I was diagnosed at 6-months old, my mother was told my life expectancy was 19 years. This meant I shouldn’t plan on going to college, I shouldn’t expect to have a wife and kids, and I certainly shouldn’t count on living an “ordinary” life. She took that to only mean one thing: Raise me to live an “extraordinary” life.

I began living life at full capacity. I played sports in high school, obtained a college degree, and devoted much of my time to be a blessing to others. In a sense, I felt I needed to pack 90 years of living into 19. I figured the more life I could squeeze into the time I had, the better.
This meant pouring my time into activities that I found most rewarding. I began working with various non-profit organizations and trying to be a help to those in need. Over the course of a few years, I co-founded a non-profit clothing and jewelry line that donates its proceeds to various children’s charities; established a not-for-profit coffee shop at a local homeless shelter; and worked hard to raise money and spread awareness for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.

My life, however, was turned upside down at the start of 2009. I began coughing up blood; enough of it to send me straight to the Intensive Care Unit for a week, and hold me in the hospital for an additional 40 days. My doctors and nurses were dumb-founded with my drastic decline. My lung function was low enough to put me on the transplant list, and I was unable to get enough oxygen into my system without the aid of a machine. My doctors became visibly concerned after I had been in the hospital for nearly fifty days, and had not yet reached my typical lung function. The doctors said there was not much more they could do. I began to realize that I was at an impasse. As a 29-year-old CFer, 10 years past my expiration date, I needed to take my life into my own hands.

From the moment I exited the hospital doors, I was on a mission. I began a strict routine which consisted of revamping my diet, exercise and treatments. I started excising daily, both lifting weights and running. As for my treatments, I committed to being more faithful with doing them than ever, ensuring that I do four, thirty minute treatments a day. And my diet began consisting of six, smaller, more nutritious meals, and adding several supplements and multivitamins to my daily pill schedule. I wanted to put my body in the best position to succeed.

In the 7 weeks since my release, I have logged more than 150 miles on my legs and 60 hours in the gym. It has paid off. I recently had my lung function re-tested and my lungs are now at over 75% capacity. That’s an increase of over 40% in 2 months! I feel better than I have for a long time, and I’m finally getting my life back.

The most incredible part of my transformation, however, was the unexpected opportunity that stemmed from it. I started this journey to help myself. To help myself, so I could help others. What I didn’t foresee, however, was its immediate potential to help others. I began to blog about my journey on a Web site called runsickboyrun.com. And in 2 short months, I have attracted several other CFers and their families, who have commented that through my story, and watching my improvement, they have been motivated to take on my mission as well. They have committed to fighting their decline and prolonging their lives.

Random Picture of the Day

Picture: This is Mandi and I hoping we don't fall off the overlook at Pratt Falls in NY.

Captions?

22.9 Total Miles for the Week of April 20th, 2009

Week of April 13th: 18.75 miles
Week of April 6th: 20.95 miles
Week of March 30th: 31.7 miles
Week of March 23rd: 24.48 miles
Week of March 16th: 34.85 miles
Week of March 9th: 23.6 miles

Getting Tougher to Clear the Crap

6:00am: So I wasn't as eager to capture the morning like I was yesterday, but I did get a MUCH better night of sleep. I only woke up a couple of times during the night to adjust my oxygen, but other than that I slept like a rock. It did take me a little longer to fall asleep, but by that, I'm talking no more than 15 minutes. Sometimes I have trouble turning off my brain from whatever was consuming me right before I head to bed. Last night, that was my problem. Luckily, it didn't keep me up for too long.

When I woke up, my legs still felt like they weighed 500 lbs. I think I worked them out harder yesterday than I even realized. They felt completely useless last night during my walk and I was afraid that they would be the same during this morning's walk as well. Fortunately, they didn't feel quite as dead and surprisingly I made REALLY good time all things considered. My lungs felt better than yesterday and I was moving a lot up this morning. The first have of my walk I was constantly coughing, but bringing up crap every single time. As usual, it started out pretty dark but lightened up quickly. By the time I was half way through my walk, it was clear. It is getting slightly harder to clear, so I really need to concentrate when inhaling my Pulmozyme. I also need to get my butt in gear and get some HTS. I usually only do it in the hospital cause my insurance won't cover it and it took so long to do at home. With this new compressor though, I really have no excuse.

Total Distance: 2.1 miles Time: 34'03"

3:00pm: At the gym today I lifted my chest and back. It was a very good day as I was able to increase the weight on every lift that I did. I've definitely been able to get stronger much faster than I thought I would, but, with that said, I am still very weak. I'm trying to obtain some mass for backup in case one day I need it to fight off an infection. I've always figured that it's good to have something in the reserves. At least that's always been my excuse for my buddha belly. I was planning on running a little bit at the gym today, but my foot was still sore and I didn't want to push it. I think I'll let it fully recover before I try to run on it again. Current Weight: 188 lbs.

I wasn't able to get another walk in today due to having to leave my house early to get to my Bible study in time. It will mostly be like this on all Tuesday's, which could turn out to be a good rest day for my foot in the upcoming weeks.

Total Distance Walked for Day: 2.1 miles

Random Picture of the Day

Picture: My buddy Wong pointing out that we only roll in SUPER nice cabs!

Captions?

Oxygen Problems

6:00am: Alright! Time for a fresh new week. Not that I was feeling fresh this morning, but I'm hoping my energy level starts to pick up. I didn't sleep well last night and woke up about a dozen times or so to mess around with my oxygen tubing. I would wake up with the cannulas blowing into my eyes, around my forehead, or one cannula in my nostril with the other out. My nostrils were also extra dry last night and possibly starting to crack on the inside cause I had a sharp pain inside of my nose every time I woke up. I guess it just comes with the territory. Sometimes you just have to take the good with the bad. The good being that I usually sleep like a rock at night now and I think the o2 has a lot to do with it. The bad being the bloody noses, pain, and oxygen tubing choking me out in the middle of the night. Oh well, gotta keep truckin!

The walk was alright this morning. I was coughing more than normal, but I was getting a lot up and it was clear in color. I still feel kind of tight so I need to really focus this week on opening these airbags up. My foot is becoming the bigger problem. Even with taking the day off yesterday, besides the morning walk, my foot was already in pain this morning. I really need to nip this in the bud, cause it will be tough to run a mile on one foot. I'm not sure what it's going to take, but I'll figure it out. Who knows, maybe by this afternoon it will be fine and dandy? I'll just have to wait and see. It did slow me down a bit on my walk, so it better shape up or I'll just cut it off.

Total Distance: 2.1 miles Time: 39'13"

3:00pm: I finally got to the gym today after a full day of working on some different stuff on the computer. It was legs and shoulder day which is never very fun. Today was no exception. My shoulders hurt from the very first lift, especially my left one. By the time I got to my last lift it hurt to put my arm over my head. I decided not to push it and only lifted the bar for my last lift to hopefully stretch it out a little. I'll be changing up my routine in May, and for my shoulders, this will include lifts that will strengthen the tendons and ligaments. I won't worry about the muscle for a while. It's getting to the point that I think I'm going to start to do damage.

I blasted my legs today. They were feeling pretty weak from the first lift on, but I challenged them on every lift and increased the weight. When I was done with my last leg lift, I literally had to catch myself on a railing when I tried to walk down some stairs. My legs completely gave out. They were absolute jello. It was such a strange sensation and in some kind of sick way, I enjoyed it. Current Weight: 188 lbs.

6:00pm: My legs never recovered from the workout early and by the time it came for Mandi and I to walk/run they still felt like they weighed about 500 pounds. I didn't want to just sit on my butt though, so we decided to do a quick mile. By quick, I mean, just a mile. We didn't walk it faster than normal, and in fact, took our time. The weather was gorgeous and we just enjoyed eachother and conversation. My left foot still feels a bit strained, so I'm really hoping that it recovers soon.

Total Distance: 1.0 miles Time: 18'17"

Total Distance Walked for Day: 3.1 miles

Jezzabel's Pool Parties

7:00am: I felt really refreshed and ready to hit the ground running this morning. I think my little cat nap helped yesterday coupled with getting to bed early. My lungs are still feeling a little tighter than normal though. My mucus seems to be thicker but I am still able to get it up and out. The good news is that it is mostly clear with it being yellow occasionally. I'll just have to keep my eye on it and make sure that the color doesn't get darker or the crap gets harder to get out. I'll also really focus on doing activities this coming week that really make me deep breath. If my foot holds up, I really want to try and run .6 miles straight. I haven't been running consistently for a while now because of my foot. It seems to feel great for a couple days in a row but then feel strained for four days after that. I may have to look into making some changes with my shoes or inserts.

My walk went well this morning though and my foot had little pain. It was perfect weather without a cloud in the sky and a cool breeze. I must also point out the J Bell is becoming a better and better walkee (is that even a word?). She doesn't try to sniff every 3 feet and responds well to a little tug on the leash. She still has a tendency to pee about 8 times, but I'll continue to work with her on that.

Total Distance: 2.1 miles Time: 36'58"

Mandi and I discussed taking the rest of the day off of working out. One, to rest my foot, and two, to rest her knee. After church we headed to Dukin Donuts for our breakfast sandwich and coffee and then up to her place, well, her parents (sorry Nancy) place to lay out by the pool. Nancy, if you are reading this, we saw 3 dead mice and one dead bird in your pool, not sure what you want to do about that. One of the mice looked like he died after taking a dip in your hot tub, he was just chillin on the ledge in between the tub and pool. First thing I'll do is tell Jezzabel to stop inviting her friends over for pool parties when you're not home and you'll have to tell us where to go from there. Anyways, so far it's been a very nice and relaxing Sunday. Later on, we will head to Wrigley Mansion to listen to some of our friends play with their band. There is a chance that we'll walk later, and if we do, I'll add it to the blog.

Total Distance Walked for Day: 2.1 miles

Random Picture of the Day

Picture: That would be me spending my 29th birthday in the hospital. Little did I know that was only day 16 of a 50 day stay! Also pictured are my brothers Andrew (left, 19) and Grant (right, 16).

Great Strides 2009- Phoenix

7:00am: I got to sleep in a little bit this morning in preparation for the Great Strides walk in Phoenix. It's generally the biggest walk in Arizona so it always has a good buzz and is very exciting to attend. After I woke up, I immediately got on my treatments. I ended up saving my TOBI for after the walk, figuring that my lungs would be even more open to take it. I was certainly tired this morning, but the thing that was keeping me going was knowing that I was within an hour of getting some Dunkin Donuts. It's almost sad how much I look forward to consuming their products.

The walk itself was a big success. I wish I could show you with pictures, but being the moron that I am, I forgot to bring the camera. You'll just have to trust me that the turnout was great and I know for a fact that the money raised was better than expected. How do I know that? I have my sources and unfortunately can not share those with you or I would be taken out. They mean business at the CFF. But it was great to hear that this years expectations were exceeded, especially given the overall attitude about our economy. So a big THANK YOU to everyone who donated or gave their time to help out.

Mandi and I were put in charge of collecting all of the route markers on the path. We waited for everyone to take off on the walk and stayed behind a bit to give them a big head start. Unfortunately, we didn't give everyone a big enough lead and ended up having to walk VERY slow to stay behind everyone. Their was a family ahead of us that had 6 kids walking with them that needed potty, shade, and "looking at dead fish in the pond" breaks every couple of minutes it seemed. I didn't even start my watch timer to see how long it would take us cause I don't think it can count that high. It was great though to see whole families participating so I was more than happy to just take it easy and make sure to get all of the route markers. These walks are such a great way to get more exercise and meet other CF families. I really enjoy them and kind of sad that "walk season" is winding down.

Total Distance: 3.1 miles

5:00pm: Today's workout was just like any other, except Mandi and I REALLY didn't want to be there. I think all of the activity this past week plus being out in the sun today just zapped us of our energy. We knew that we were getting the day off of the gym tomorrow though so we pushed through it. As usual, it ended up being a great workout and I really blasted my arms. My left bicep and right tricep actually felt ripped during parts of the workout. For whatever reason, those two areas were really getting targeted. We sped up our workout to get our hearts beating and so we could get out of the gym faster. We still had a dog walk to get to. Current Weight: 188 lbs.

6:15pm: It was a perfect night for a walk. The sun was setting and there was a cool breeze blowing. I did have issues with my foot, but it was easy to ignore because of the weather. I was also coughing up really thick mucus during today's walk. I think the reason for that is two fold: One, I took a little cat nap this afternoon, and whenever I do that I seem to produce more mucus. Two, I had some chocolate milk followed by a protein shake. I think that can definitely have an affect on the thickness of the sputum. The whole walk I was spitting really thick chocolaty glue balls all over the sidewalk and street. I'm sure my fellow neighbors really appreciate every bit of it. I'm really glad we got in two walks today cause my lungs have felt a little tighter than normal and I need to step it up.

Total Distance: 2.1 miles Time: 39'23"

Total Distance Walked for Day: 5.2 miles

NY Times Article on CF

Good article. Check it out....

http://health.nytimes.com/ref/health/healthguide/esn-cystic-fibrosis-ess.html

Strange Day

4:30pm: So as you see from the time of this entry, today was just a strange day. I slept in because of last night's event and knowing that I would have to get up early tomorrow for the Great Strides Phoenix walk. And before you even think it, no, I did not sleep in until 4pm! It would be nice though. I only slept in until 7am and got up immediately to eat some breakfast cause I was starving. I also had a bit of a headache so I needed to get my caffeine fix. After inhaling my breakfast (ham and turkey meat with egg and cheese on an english muffin), I was planning on doing my walk. The problem was, I couldn't shake the urge to throw up. I knew that if I walked J Bell, I would be being blowing chunks all over the place. I was talking to Mandi over IM and she suggested that I just take it easy and wait to walk until the sun went down; So that's what we did.

We went to the gym after Mandi got off of work. She got off a little early again because she went in at 5am a couple of days ago. You got to love strict 40 hour work weeks! We lifted chest and back at the gym and although I was pretty tired, and unmotivated, I was able to get in a good work out. That's the thing with this exercise plan, sometimes when I deviate from it, my body and mind just feel off. That's exactly how I felt all day today. Current Weight: 185 lbs

6:00pm: We were thinking about eating some dinner before the night's walk, but I didn't want what happened this morning to repeat itself. So we decided to just get it over with. Jezzabel was definitely excited that she was going to be walked and bolted out the door as soon as I opened it. The walk went well for the most part. I brought up some stuff, but not too much, and my lungs felt good and open. The only problem was my left foot and back. My foot started acting up again and I had to limp a little bit at times on my walk. My back has been hurting for about a week from doing overhead lifts at the gym. J Bell made matters worse today when she lunged after a cat that was hiding in the bushes while I held on to her leash. I wasn't expecting the sudden shift and I tweaked my back even more. Other than that, the weather was absolutely perfect to walk in and there was a nice cool breeze!

I veered off my "diet" a bit by eating at Taco Bell tonight, but when you have the craving there's nothing much you can do. Now when I say diet, I only mean that I try to eat smaller portions more frequently cause it helps my digestion. Also, I try to avoid fast food cause I rarely feel well after I'm done eating it. Last night wasn't too bad, but I could definitely tell that I had some Mexican food in my tummy. To cap off my night, I soaked my back in the bathtub. Ahhhhhhhh, just what I needed.

Total Distance: 2.1 miles Time: 38'26"

Total Distance Walked for Day: 2.1 miles

Buckin' Bonanza Pictures!!!

Pics from last night's Buckin' Bonanza!!!!

Mandi and I chillin out at the event

Josh (Mandi's brother) and his girlfriend Christine supporting the cause. Thanks guys!!

There was a great turnout for the event and everyone was having a good time.

That is, until they had to hear me speak. Who's that creepy guy behind me on the tv screen? Oh wait, that's me.

The crowd is absolutely "captivated" by my speech (*fart noise with mouth*).

Mandi and I with the band Metalhead which rocked out at the event!

"Scratching" My Lung Itch

7:30am: I slept in a little bit today cause I know that tonight will be a later night than usual. It felt VERY good to do, believe me. J Bell wasn't too happy about it and had been panting at my door for about an hour. I felt well rested when I got out of bed and my lungs felt more clear than yesterday. I got a lot of gunk up initially but it then subsided until I was about half way through my walk. My lower lobe is a bit sore today but I think it may have to do with coughing a bit more than normal. I have had an "itchy" lung the last couple of days, so I've really been focusing on getting it out of there by "scratching" that itch, aka coughing. I have a powerful cough as it is, but it's REALLY strong when I'm forcing them out. I'm surprised I haven't broken a rib at this point.
My walk went well. It was definitely hotter than usual, but I kind of like that cause I break into a sweat sooner. Something about sweating really makes me feel like I'm working hard. I'll really feel like I'm working when the Arizona summer hits! My feet and legs felt great and I had a really good pace. By the time I got back home I felt wide open and was taking in some really deep breaths.

Total Distance: 2.1 miles Time: 35'16"

3:30pm: Mandi got off work early today (she went in at 5am) so we were able to go to the gym together earlier than normal. It was a good thing cause we have a CFF event tonight that I'll be saying a couple words at. I posted the event video a couple of days ago, definitely check it out if you haven't seen it. We still had to be on the ball at the gym and couldn't fiddle fart around though if we were going to be ready for the event in time. I still had to do my treatments and write this post.

We both did legs and shoulders today. Mandi had to back off a little cause her knee was bothering her, but she just lessened the weight and increased the reps on her lifts. My legs felt great on the other hand and I was able to increase the weight or reps on every lift. My shoulders hurt today while I was lifting, so I didn't get too aggressive with them. Overall though, I felt strong and got a great workout in.

To finish up the workout we each did 15 minutes on the stair climber. We really wanted to finish our legs off and figured that would be a good way to do it. Let me tell you, the stair stepper did it's job. I was sweating like a pig and it was forcing me to take some big ol' breaths. I felt good all of the way through and kept the same pace throughout. By the end of our time I had done 40 floors and I felt great about it. That is, until Mandi yelled out from the machine next to me, "80 floors! Boom!". I hate her. Current Weight: 186 lbs.

Total Distance Walked for Day: 2.1 miles
Total Floors Climbed for Day: 40

Random Picture of the Day

Picture: Me at the Great Wall this past January. Otherwise known as, "The trip that almost claimed my life".

Captions?

Better than Expected

6:00am: I ended up getting to bed a lot later than usual last night after I got caught up doing some work on the computer. Surprisingly, I wasn't that tired this morning and my lungs felt much better than yesterday morning. I ended up pointing the stand alone fan towards the lower half of my body last night, so I think that helped. I didn't cough up nearly as much mucus this morning and my lungs didn't feel as tight. After the bleed yesterday, I had no idea how I would feel when I woke up. Thankfully, it was better than I expected.

J Bell was chomping at the bite this morning ready for her walk. It's funny, when my alarm goes off I'll always hit snooze at least once. It almost feels like I'm cheating the system somehow by getting 5 extra minutes. Anyway, when that first alarm goes off, you can instantly hear Jezzabel's collar clinking down the hall way as she sprints to my door. She then lays there whining until I let her in. Some people have wondered why she doesn't sleep in my room. The reason is because when she did sleep in my room in the past, she then thought that she could lay on my bed while I was gone. I would then end up with a big dark circle on my comforter in the spot she would lay. So I nipped that in the bud by banishing her from my room at night and making her sleep where dogs were created to sleep: On a big fluffy overpriced more comfortable than my bed "doggy pillow". Excuse me while I go barf.

Total Distance: 1.9 miles Time: 32'45"

6:00pm: We took off for our walk first today in the hope that the after-work crowd would thin out at the gym. The walk went well and I wasn't coughing all that much. There was a stretch when I did have a slight attack, but that was after we got a whiff of this strong scent of charcoal. It literally took my breath away and it felt like it caused my lungs to itch. It was a very strange sensation. Anyway, that was about it as far as the lungs went. My foot felt good as well and we were able to keep a pretty good pace. At the end of our walk I was breaking into a good sweat and my legs were tingling. It was a very good feeling! I'm hoping to run tomorrow even though it's leg day at the gym. My feet and legs are feeling good and I need to take advantage of that.

Total Distance: 3.0 miles Time: 51'30"

7:00pm: We left for the gym right when we were finished with our walk. You know that after-work crowd that we were trying to avoid? Yeah well, we didn't. It was hard to workout today because it was arm day and half the time there were no dumbells racked. Well at least the girly weight that I do. We were also on a bit of a time crunch cause we still needed to eat and get our American Idol fix. We really powered through the gym. We often did exercises back-to-back and even combined two tricep lifts into a super set. It absolutely kicked my butt. I definitely got a good workout in, and Mandi was enjoying the pain I was in. Current Weight: 185 lbs.

Total Distance Walked for Day: 4.9 miles