4 weeks of Vegan-ism... done

So I survived my 30 days of of going meat free..


Allergies are acting up today, allergies have been in check for the past 4 weeks, woder what it could be?

5 reasons I should keep going..

Top 5 Health Reasons To Go Veggie

1. Reduce risk of the No. 1 killer – Heart Disease

   Vegetarian diets are naturally lower in saturated fat, and cholesterol, and higher in plant nutrients than most meat-based diets. Vegetarians have been shown to have a 24% lower risk of dying of heart disease than non-vegetarians.¹ New Harvard research has shown high consumption of red meat and heme iron may increase the risk of heart disease by 50% amongst diabetics.² World-renowned physician Dr. Dean Ornish found that patients on a low-fat vegetarian diet actually reversed coronary heart disease.³
   Back to top

2. Cancer prevention

   “Studies have shown that significant reduction in cancer risk among those who avoided meat…Meat is devoid of fiber and other nutrients that have a protective effect. Meat also contains animal protein, saturated fat, and, in some cases, carcinogenic compounds such as heterocyclic amines (HCA) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) formed during the processing or cooking of meat. HCAs, formed as meat is cooked at high temperatures, and PAHs, formed during the burning of organic substances, are believed to increase cancer risk.
   In addition, the high fat content of meat and other animal products increases hormone production, thus increasing the risk of hormone-related cancers such as breast and prostate cancer….Vegetarian diets and diets rich in high-fiber plant foods such as whole grains, legumes, vegetables, and fruits offer a measure of protection.”⁴
   Local Hawaii legend Ruth Heidrich is another great example of the power of a vegetarian diet. Following the advice of Dr. John McDougall, Ruth switched to a vegetarian diet after she was diagnosed with breast cancer. Ruth not only overcame the cancer, she went on to become an award-winning, record-breaking triathlete. She tells her incredible story in the best-selling book, "A Race for Life." ⁵
   Back to top

3. Lose excess weight and keep it off

   On average, vegetarians tend to be slimmer than meat eaters. Obesity rate in the general public is extremely high, while in vegetarians, obesity rate only ranges from zero to six percent.⁶
   A vegetarian diet low in fat and rich in vegetables, fruits, whole grains and legumes accompanied with daily exercise is the perfect formula for healthy weight loss.
   Back to top

4. Live longer, slow the aging process

   A 12-year Oxford study published in the British Medical Journal found that vegetarians outlive meat eaters by six years.⁷ Plant-based diets are generally rich in fiber, phytonutrients, antioxidants, vitamins and minerals, which in turn strengthens the immune system and slows down the aging process.
   Back to top

5. Avoid toxic food contaminants

   Flesh foods are loaded with dangerous poisons and contaminants such as hormones, herbicides and pesticides, and antibiotics. As these toxins are all fat-soluble, they concentrate in the fatty flesh of the animals. Not to mention the viruses, bacteria and parasites such as salmonella, trichinella and other worms, and toxoplasmosis parasites.

i think im dying

Not feeling so hot...  apparently, im in detox!  headaches have gotten more intense over the last 3 days.  this sucks

day 3 of experiment

3 days into being vegan/ vegitarian..  yesterday i had a bad headache!  started at around 1400 and didnt go away till i ate dinner.  Really odd because i wasn't hungry, but i ate because i knew i had to.  Here's a break down of what i ate:

Breakfast:  Superfood Smoothie
Kale
Banana
Silk
Superfood Powder
Carrots

I felt great afterwards..  almost feels like my body absorbed everything quickly.  This didn't seem like such a big feat because i woke up feeling fresher than ever.  Usually im groggy when i wake up and feel that way until i finish my morning workout.  Yesterday, like today, i woke up refreshed and ready to start the day. 

Lunch:  Stirfry
Zucchini
Snow Peas
Carrots
Onion
Garlic
Coconut oil
w/ Hummus

Had a very hard time getting this all down.  It wasn't much but i felt like i ate the equivalency of a 18oz steak. 

Dinner:  Vegan Stirfry (Got this recipe off the internet)
Vegan Whorchester (sp?) Sauce
Soy Sauce
Flour
Water
Snow Peas
Green Beans
Carrots
Onion
Broccoli
Zucchini
Mushrooms
w/Couscous

Had a headache but it immediately went away once i started eating.  Felt energized again but again, this was ALOT of food to take in.

All in all this experiment is going quite well.  I've dropped 4lbs, i'm not hungry and i'm barely working out.  I'm starting to run again but it's nothing compared to what i did leading up to Ironman or any other race for that matter.  So far so good.
     Side note, i'm not longer getting heartburn and i feel more energized than normal.  ok.. thats all..

24 hours into my experiment...

over 24hrs w/o any animal products... first and foremost, i slept better!  No sleeping pills and i woke up fresh.   Very odd.  Woke up, had a Kale, Banana, Silk, Superfood Powder and Almond Smoothie.  I could get down with this, it's quick and filling plus i almost feel like im absorbing all of it right away.  Could be in my head but from what i've learned, as long as i believe it, thats all that matters.  My mind controls some odd shit. 
     Just finished "Finding Ultra" and aside from the inspiration, i read something really interesting about microbes.  Without going into too many details, it stated that research has shown that microbes (Living breathing crap in your belly) could actually influence your brain and what types of food it craves.  They cited (Cited, gotta love how college is fucking up my vocabulary) the movie supersize me and how the main character ate mcdonalds for 30 days straight. 
     Well at first he hated eating all that junk food and within the first few days got sick to his stomach, couldn't sleep and constantly puked all the garbage he was injesting.  After a few days all these symptoms subsided and instead he began to crave bigmacs and all those other foods from mcdonalds.  Eventually he'd feel like crap and only felt better once he ingested that garbage.  MicroBiologists somewhere in the UK or Switzerland.. i dunno man, somewhere out there..  explained that it was due the growth of new microbes in his body that fed and thrived off the new junk food he was feeding himself. 
     Apparently, microbes that grow in your belly thrive off of certain foods so with changing his eating habits, he grew new microbes that needed mcdonalds.  These microbes supposedly play on your neurotransmitters...  i dunno man..  and tell your brain what to crave.  The old microbes that hated mcdonalds, died off.  SO in a nutshell...  microbes controll what you crave and you control what microbes grow in your gut.  you crave shit because the microbes tell you to crave it.  you don't NEED IT!  like i feel i NEED Milk and Meat...  thats a whole nother blog i'll expand on as i further get brainwashed into this plant-based diet. 
     all in all so far so good.  Thank god i have such a supportive GF.  All i could ever hope for i have..  A GF who supports all my crazy ideas, lord knows without her, i couldn't do anything i do.  Love you sally!

First step... Training Plan

Primary focus for now will be to build my run back up. 

-  I will run 5 times a week for a month, just as a prep phase.  Nothing hard, just gotta get my body use to all the pounding again.
-  Meditate everyday with the same training plan i used last year.. 8 mins at a time
-  Document everything i eat for a month.  Gotta get back in the habit of doing this if i plan on getting back down to 180lbs.

Over the course of the next month i will be designing a plan based on what has worked for me and what needs to be worked on.

Short term goal: 
Get thru the first month as planned

Long Term Goal: 
American Triple-T Triathlon
Ultra-Marathon
sub 20 5k      @6:25  PR:  20:15@6:31mm
sub 45 10k    @ 7:14  PR:  47:45/7:41mm
sub 1:45 HM @ 8min miles Never ran one.. officially  shit never ran anything till i did a marathon

Did Ironman work?

     People have asked me how hard it was to complete an Ironman Triathlon?  Truth be told, it wasn't hard at all.  Racing is easy, it's the training that kills you.  I honestly believe that if you train properly and suffer enough thru thraining, the race will race itself.  The race just becomes another day at the office with a few thousand new friends and training partners.  The training was tough, but what i've soon come to learn is, what you do after Ironman, is even tougher than the training itself. 
     I set out to do an Ironman to help cope with my depression and to pay tribute to Sergeant Alexander Gagalac.  My loving girlfriend Sally (God bless her heart for allowing me to deal with this my own way) often asked me "So what happens after Ironman?" "What is you cross the finishline and you still feel guilty?" I didn't give it much thought leading up to the race but as i started racing, the thought continually crept into my mind.  What if the Ironman doesn't help with my depression?  What will i do if i cross the finishline and i still feel like i caused my friend to die?  What if Ironman wasn't all I had hoped it would be?
     Lets first address what i thought Ironman would mean to me.  I had hoped that Ironman would finally help me sleep at night, that i'd feel a tremendous wieght lifted from my shoulders and that atleast, i'd have something in my life to be proud of.  I spent so much time making this about my friends death that it wasn't till my actual race day that i said this was for me.  This would teach me that anything is possible, that no matter what i was going through, i was physically and more importantly mentally prepared to face anything.  To that effect it has.  I know if i want to do something, i can do it.  But has it helped with my emotions?  That i'm not sure of.
     Over the course of the last year i've taken up Yoga, Meditation and visualization training in hopes of calming my nerves, making myself whole (still trying to figure out what that means).  All with the idea that Ironman would cap all of these tools and hel me cope with depression.  Still not sure if it has?
     All i know is that training makes me feel better.  When i train, i feel better.. i'm not as sad, training has become somewhat of an active-meditation for me.  I am alone in my thoughts and at times i actually feel as though i can talk to Alexander this way.  This may sound wierd but training was somewhat spiritual to me. 
     Since becoming an Ironman, i've lost the desire to train and am starting to feel depressed again..  i kept saying monday i will start again.  I will find a race, i will train my ass off and i will get my head right.  Life feels like it's been getting in the way as college has been kicking my ass lately but tomorrow is the day...  I will get back to how i use to be.
     I'm hoping this blog keeps me accountable to myself...  Tomorrow, we start training..  back to swim, bike, running, yoga and meditation.  Lets see how this works out!  Alexander i miss you bro, please help me get back to the old me.

PIDS... i need a new goal

Post Ironman Depression Syndrome... 

So i've been stuck in a rut for awhile.  I rode the Ironman rush for about a month and since then i've been struggling to get back into working out.  I just don't feel like it.  What the fuck is wrong with me?

Mourn through Endurance

     On 9 Sep 2007, i lost one of my best friends.  SGT Alexander Gagalac died in Iraq when his Hummer was struck by an Rocket Propelled Grenade.  I didn't believe it when my friend Arvin (Also a Soldier) delivered the news.  Once it sunk in I was crippled with guilt.  I joined the Army in 1999 and immediately after completing my training i returned home to become an Hometown Recruiter.  I knew Alexander and his twin brother were interested in joining the Army so they were the first to be recruited.  A few months later, they left for Fort Benning Infantry Center.  If i had never joined the Army things would have been so different.  We might have still been in Hawaii drinking beer and partying, yeah we may have all ended up becoming losers but atleast everyone would still be alive.  This guilt haunted me for a long time but i kept it bottled in.  At his funeral I barely shed a tear.  I tried to stay strong for all my friends.  It wasn't till I finally put on his memorial braclet on a few weeks later that I finally broke down.  Just seening his name engraved on this military braclet was too much for me.  I cried my eyes out for almost a week and have cried almost every other day for the next year.
     At his funeral I took a few moments and reevaluated my life.  I was alive but was I really living?  If i died tomorrow, would i be satisfied with what I have done so far  and would Alexander look down at me and be proud of how I've lived so far.  The answer to all these questions and more was NO.  At that moment I decided to take control of my life.  I would do everything I said I couldn't do and I would live a life that Alexander would be proud of. 
     A few months before my friend died in Iraq my GF and I volunteered to hand out water at a local Marathon.  I had no idea what a marathon was.  All i knew was there would be a bunch of crazy folks running for a long time.  As i smoked my newports and handed out water I couldn't help but feel so inferior next to all these marathoners.  They came in all shapes and sizes and some were old enough to be my grandparents.  I was a Soldier but there was NO WAY i could do that.  I could barely run 2 miles for my PT Test.  As diverse as all these runners were, i kept wondering what they all had in common?  It's gotta be something special to drive you to run 26.2 miles.  I was in shock and awe and embarrassed that i was even on the same road as all these people. 
     At the funeral I kept thinking about that race.  My promise to do all everything i thought i couldn't began with that marathon.  I quit smoking and decided I would run a Marathon in Alexanders Memory.  Once that was done, I'd move on to the next thing i thought was impossible.
     I finished the Battle Field Marathon in Georgia the following year on my birthday.  I was the hardest thing I've ever done in my whole entire life.  I wore a shirt with Alexanders name on so people would know his name.  Because it was a Military related race there were many verterans there.  Each time i passed by a vet, they saluted me and I cried.  You have no idea how hard it is to run and cry at the same time.  Through those 26.2 miles I felt closer to Alexander.  I apologized for helping him join the army.  I told him of my future plans for my life and that I would somehow  live my life in his memory.  The marathon changed my life.  I showed me that I was as strong as I thought I was and if I put my mind to something, i could definately make it happen.
     Once my body finally healed from the Marathon, the depression sunk back in and i began looking for another event to race in Alex's memory.  I Learned about Triathlons.  I didn't like to run, I just like how it made me feel.  So I transitioned over to triathlons.  Over the next year i kept learning more and more about triathlon.  I eventuall learned about Ironman.
     Ironman was supposedly the toughest one day endurance event on earth.  The race seemed impossible.  2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike and a full MARATHON at the end of it.  Just the thought of the race scared me.  I Told myself i have to do it in Alex's memory. 

This started my journey to become an Ironman.