BaycitywalkerBaycitywalkerTribulations and triumphs of a lung challenged marathon walker and wannbe racewaker. 
Articles
What is it?
2007-08-21 23:41:00 Saturday I did my alternate week 10 mile LSD, and for the 2nd long walk in a row now, I had knee problems. Only this time...it was much worse.I'm assuming it's ITBS , but having never experienced this type of injury before, I can't say for sure. All I know is that pain develops after about 7 miles into a walk, and seems to be located on the outside of my knee about 2 inches below the joint . When I press there , I can feel either a muscle or a tendon bulging out. I don't have any pain above my knee or along my thigh, but the lateral shin muscles are sore.Could it be some sort of shin splint or compartmental syndrome? My calf and shin muscles are over developed,but I haven't had any problems with circulation of tingling in the toes.I'm sure I didn't help matters by racewalking on it after it was already hurting, but I was breathing well that day and I just couldn't resist racewalking a few hundred feet every now and then.Anyways, after I drove home I had a hard time...
These walkers can WALK!
2007-08-18 18:47:00 Womens 20K in RynekMens 50K in Italy More About: Walk , Walker , These
Back on track with 16
2007-08-16 17:09:00 After trashing my legs and my lungs at the SF marathon two weeks ago, I finally felt well enough this past Saturday to continue with my mileage build up. I took that short, but significant leap, from 13.1 miles to 16.25 miles , and because I wasn't in a big hurry, it actually felt easier on my lungs than the half marathon.I did my usual bridge to bridge walk ( from the foot of the bay bridge, along the waterfront, up and over the Golden Gate bridge and back.) This was an LSD walk , but I still finished in a decent time of 4 hours flat.Usually on these longer walks I have problems with leg cramps, but this time I had a problem with my left ITB . Every time I racewalked a little, my knee would starting throbbing, but as soon as I would transition into regular walking, the pain would diminish, so I'm assuming that this has something to do with my leg landing in a locked position. Anyways, by the time I got past the 12 mile mark, the pain was pretty much constant and I had t... More About: Back , Track , Trac
New Reseach study
2007-08-10 22:39:00 Next week I'll be taking part in yet another clinical research project at UCSF. This time it's a study about "dyspnea" ( perceived shortness of breath), related to chronic lung disease , and the efficacy of various self -management techniques , including exercise. They want to find out whether it's better to teach patients these techniques face-to-face, or if it can be done effectively over the internet . The study will last a approx one year.On Wednesday , they're going to do a bunch of pulmonary functions tests , including the standard 6 min walking test and a full blown exercise stress test on the treadmill to get some baseline data on me. If you've ever done an exercise stress test, you know it's not fun. You basically exercise until you puke or pass out!After that I'll be assigned to either an internet group ,or a face to face group , in which I'll be interviewed and/or taught something once a month.What makes me a unique guinea pig this study, is my ext... More About: Study
Dave and Loretta Tie the knot
2007-08-09 22:41:00 My coach and racewalking legend , Dave Mc Govern and his beautiful bride Loretta Schuellin. Now that's classOther world class racewalkers present at the ceremony were, Steven Pecinovski, Tim Seaman, Carl Schueler, Mark Fenton and Mark Varsano. A racewalking match made in heavenCongratulations!( photos courtesy Steven Pecinovski) More About: Knot
New Blog Title and Address
2007-08-06 19:03:00 Same old blog, new a title and new address.Baycitywalker is now BreathinStephenThe new Address is http://BreathinStephen.blogspot.com or www.Breathinstephen.com More About: Blog , Title
New Blog Title and Address
2007-08-06 19:03:00 Same old blog, new a title and new address.Baycitywalker is now BreathinStephenThe new Address is http://BreathinStephen.blogspot.com or www.Breathinstephen.com More About: Blog , Title
Paying for it
2007-08-05 22:43:00 Let's see....Do a three hour 13 miler, get sick for three weeks. Do a six hour marathon, get sick for 6 weeks. Do a NINE hour marathon , and don't get sick at all. What's going on here?That's right ...It seems every race that I've ever done fast ,or PR'd, I've paid a hefty price afterwards. On two occasions I was actually hospitalized as a direct result of "over exerting" myself . Of those races witch I did very slowly ( for whatever reason , Portland for example), I had no significant breathing problems afterwards.Hmmm ...there seems to be a pattern emerging here.I don't know if my disease is getting worse or if I'm flaring up because I'm pushing myself too hard. If in fact, I'm making myself sick by walking too fast , then it must have something to do with intensity, not distance. A possible explanation, is that the faster I breath (due to increasing exertion), the more hyper inflated my lungs become. Because I can't exhale completely like a norm...
Paying for it
2007-08-05 17:00:00 Let's see....Do a three hour 13 miler, get sick for three weeks. Do a six hour marathon, get sick for 6 weeks. Do a NINE hour marathon , and don't get sick at all. What's going on here?That's right ...It seems every race that I've ever done fast ,or PR'd, I've paid a hefty price afterwards. On two occasions I was actually hospitalized as a direct result of "over exerting" myself . Of those races witch I did very slowly ( for whatever reason , Portland for example), I had no significant breathing problems afterwards.Hmmm ...there seems to be a pattern emerging here.I don't know if my disease is getting worse or if I'm flaring up because I'm pushing myself too hard. If in fact, I'm making myself sick by walking too fast , then it must have something to do with intensity, not distance. A possible explanation, is that the faster I breath (due to increasing exertion), the more hyper inflated my lungs become. Because I can't exhale completely like a norm...
SF Marathon
2007-08-01 01:21:00 Well, I managed to squeak past the finish line in just under 3 hours, but boy I'm paying for it today. My lungs and body are totally trashed!I went into this race with the cocky attitude ,that since I had done this race twice before , and that since this was only a half marathon, that I could pull it off with just a single training walk and no hill work....Boy was I wrong!You might not know it by looking at these pictures, but this was not a good race for me.I felt fine at the starting line and was even able to jog a little bit during the first mile, but all the moisture in the air from the dense morning fog really exacerbated my asthma, and the seemingly endless hills made my leg muscles cramp up almost instantly.. (You know, I've done this same race three times , and I swear ..they added a few more hills!)By mile 3 , I was so short of breath, I pretty much walked the rest of the way. My legs and lungs just couldn't handle it .After only the first 6 miles, it was evident tha... More About: Marathon , Mara
SF Marathon 2007
2007-07-31 22:44:00 Well, I managed to squeak past the finish line in just under 3 hours, but boy I'm paying for it today. My lungs and body are totally trashed!I went into this race with the cocky attitude ,that since I had done this race twice before , and that since this was only a half marathon, that I could pull it off with just a single training walk and no hill work....Boy was I wrong!You might not know it by looking at these pictures, but this was not a good race for me.I felt fine at the starting line and was even able to jog a little bit during the first mile, but all the moisture in the air from the dense morning fog really exacerbated my asthma, and the seemingly endless hills made my leg muscles cramp up almost instantly.. (You know, I've done this same race three times , and I swear ..they added a few more hills!)By mile 3 , I was so short of breath, I pretty much walked the rest of the way. My legs and lungs just couldn't handle it .After only the first 6 miles, it was evident tha... More About: Marathon , Mara
Race Weekend is Here
2007-07-27 22:46:00 I always say race WEEKEND , because it's not just the race I look forward to, it's the expo, the crowds, the hype, the preparation , the meeting up with friends and bloggers, the pre-race jitters....it's all those things . This will be my third time at the SFM, and my fifth half marathon in total.As for the race itself , I plan to introduce my own style of marathon walking, what I call ... interval racewalking!Ironically, as I get better at legal racewalking, I've come to the realization, that you not only need good form, you need to go fast ....and stay fast! Obviously I'll never be able to do the "stay fast" part , so does that mean that I'm not a racewalker?Not at all... it just means that I have to break it up in small chunks... hence the term "interval racewalking ". Kinda like run-jogging a marathon, but in this case, walk-racewalking a marathon.If I'm back in the green by then, I plan to do a 1:3 ratio of regular fitness walking to fast racewalking.... More About: Race , Weekend
Race Weekend is here
2007-07-27 17:36:00 I always say race WEEKEND , because it's not just the race I look forward to, it's the expo, the crowds, the hype, the preparation , the meeting up with friends and bloggers, the pre-race jitters....it's all those things . This will be my third time at the SFM, and my fifth half marathon in total.As for the race itself , I plan to introduce my own style of marathon walking, what I call ... interval racewalking!Ironically, as I get better at legal racewalking, I've come to the realization, that you not only need good form, you need to go fast ....and stay fast! Obviously I'll never be able to do the "stay fast" part , so does that mean that I'm not a racewalker?Not at all... it just means that I have to break it up in small chunks... hence the term "interval racewalking ". Kinda like run-jogging a marathon, but in this case, walk-racewalking a marathon.If I'm back in the green by then, I plan to do a 1:3 ratio of regular fitness walking to fast racewalking.... More About: Race , Weekend
A Record of Sorts
2007-07-23 22:47:00 Last Thursday I took my 500th walk across the Carquinez - Al Zampa Bridge !The bridge sits basically, in my front yard, so I include it in my daily 5 mile walk. It also has a wide and secluded pedestrian lane, making it ideal for racewalking.Undoubtedly there are many people have who driven over it hundreds of times, but I'm pretty sure I hold the record for walking it !These bridge crossings alone , represent over a 1000 miles walked, of which at least half was racewalked !In fact, if it wasn't for this bridge, I don't think I'd be where I am today...and I certainly wouldn't be racewalking as much as I do.Click on the bridge , and when the image appears , drag your pointer over it to see what I see, when I'm walking across it!( You'll need Quicktime to view it) More About: Record , Cord
A record of sorts....
2007-07-23 16:20:00 Last Thursday I took my 500th walk across the Carquinez - Al Zampa Bridge ! The bridge sits basically, in my front yard, so I include it in my daily 5 mile walk. It also has a wide and secluded pedestrian lane, making it ideal for racewalking.Undoubtedly there are many people have who driven over it hundreds of times, but I'm pretty sure I hold the record for walking it !These bridge crossings alone , represent over a 1000 miles walked, of which at least half was racewalked !In fact, if it wasn't for this bridge, I don't think I'd be where I am today...and I certainly wouldn't be racewalking as much as I do.Click on the bridge , and when the image appears , drag your pointer over it to see what I see, when I'm walking across it! ( You'll need Quicktime to view it) More About: Record , Cord
Dr. Dougs Big Fat Baseball Adventure
2007-07-19 23:50:00 I'm not a huge Baseball fan , but my Dentist certainly is. He recently became the first ever "Fancaster" for the SF Giants. Back on July 4th he spent two or three days walking all over San Francisco , streaming live video from a webcam that was mounted on his cap. ( courtesy of Justin.TV) And I thought I thought racewalking fans were weird.Click his mug to check it out.(He's not live anymore, so you'll have to check the archives, July 4th -onward, to view his cam)PS... I'm trying to get him to walk a marathon with me and capture it live on his hat cam. More About: Adventure , Ball , Vent , Doug
Dr. Dougs Big Fat Baseball Adventure
2007-07-19 22:48:00 I'm not a huge Base ball fan , but my Dentist certainly is. He recently became the first ever "Fancaster" for the SF Giants. Back on July 4th he spent two or three days walking all over San Francisco covering the SF all star games and streaming live video from a webcam that was mounted on his cap. ( courtesy of Justin.TV) ....And I thought racewalking fans were weird.Click his mug to check it out. (He's not live anymore, so you'll have to check the archives, July 4th -onward, to view his cam)PS... I'm trying to get him to walk a marathon with me and capture it live on his hat cam. More About: Adventure , Vent , Doug
Ready or Not
2007-07-16 22:49:00 Preparation for the upcoming San Francisco (half) marathon , has been pretty much non existent! Other than a few bridge walks , I haven't been able to do any serious speed training-- my lungs have just been too messed up . I did manage to get a 10 miler in on Sunday, and while I was breathing OK at the time, it took still took me 2.5 hours to finish, and today....... I'm right back in the yellow zone again.I'm really starting to wonder if it's the long walks themselves , that are triggering all these exacerbations? Looking back through my own blog archives, almost every severe exacerbation Ive had in the past 6 months , has been preceded by a walk of 10 miles or greater. Coincidence? I don't know..Let's see what happens in SF in two weeks. More About: Ready
Ready or Not
2007-07-16 16:34:00 Preparation for the upcoming San Francisco (half) marathon , has been pretty much non existent! Other than a few bridge walks , I haven't been able to do any serious speed training-- my lungs have just been too messed up . I did manage to get a 10 miler in on Sunday, and while I was breathing OK at the time, it took still took me 2.5 hours to finish, and today....... I'm right back in the yellow zone again.I'm really starting to wonder if it's the long walks themselves , that are triggering all these exacerbations? Looking back through my own blog archives, almost every severe exacerbation Ive had in the past 6 months , has been preceded by a walk of 10 miles or greater. Coincidence? I don't know..Let's see what happens in SF in two weeks. More About: Ready
My Friend Hansi
2007-07-12 22:50:00 I finally got a chance to hook up with my good friend, and elite runner/racewalker , Hans i Rigney.I met Hansi at one of Dave Mc Govern's racewalking clinics back in 2006 , and we quickly became close friends.With family and race commitments all over the world , she's rarely in the country, so when she told me she'd be here for two weeks, I jumped at the chance to visit with her. I picked up my Mom in San Jose and we drove down to Carmel where Hansi has a home.What can I say....except that I adore and admire this women! She's traveled the globe and has run and racewalked in more races , in more countries, than anyone I've ever met. More important though, she's a super person with an unmatched enthusiasm for life. I'm so lucky to have a friend like her.She recently placed at Quad Dipsea ( her first trail race ) and will be doing the Berlin marathon followed by Chicago and New York. She's place 1st at Boston two years in a row, placed 1st at Big Sur several tim... More About: Friend
My Friend Hansi
2007-07-12 18:05:00 I finally got a chance to hook up with my good friend, and elite runner/racewalker , Hans i Rigney.I met Hansi at one of Dave Mc Govern's racewalking clinics back in 2006 , and we quickly became close friends.With family and race commitments all over the world , she's rarely in the country, so when she told me she'd be here for two weeks, I jumped at the chance to visit with her. I picked up my Mom in San Jose and we drove down to Carmel where Hansi has a home.What can I say....except that I adore and admire this women! She's traveled the globe and has run and racewalked in more races , in more countries, than anyone I've ever met. More important though, she's a super person with an unmatched enthusiasm for life. I'm so lucky to have a friend like her.She recently placed at Quad Dipsea ( her first trail race ) and will be doing the Berlin marathon followed by Chicago and New York. She's place 1st at Boston two years in a row, placed 1st at Big Sur several tim... More About: Friend
My Jelly Belly
2007-07-08 21:20:00 Went to the Jelly Belly Factory for my sugar fix. ( The steroids made me do it!)Hmmmm....... and I wonder how I got MY Jelly belly!Well, I only live a few miles from the factory and you can't em any fresher. But you know what? They're cheaper at the supermarket! There $8.00 a pound at the factory and only $6.59 a pound at Safeway.There's only 4 little calories in each bean, but but before you know it, you've eaten 300-400 of them.Core strengthening or not, I guess I gotta lose the Bellies if I want to loose the Belly!(This place is sugarholic's paradise!) More About: Jelly Belly
Orange is groovy
2007-07-05 16:44:00 Not all is doom and gloom....These arrived while I was in the hospital . My new orange Loco Bandito racing flats! I'm the first kid on the block to get this new color.OK, First it was the new neon orange New Balance rc152s, and now these ! What's next for me , orange shorts..?I've worn Loco's at my last two full marathons , and while I can't racewalk really well in them , I didn't suffer a single blister! That says a lot , because were talking about walking 7 to 9 hours in racing flat ...with sweaty feet!For fast and legal racewalking, nothing beats my 5.5 oz, bright neon orange NB 152's. Unfortunately, they're designed for sprints and get a little uncomfortable after about 8 miles.This new singlet sums it up:(I requested a blue one) More About: Orange , Groovy , Range
In a holding pattern
2007-07-04 23:06:00 Update:Race plans are uncertain for the time being. Though I'm doing a little better than a few days ago, I'm apparently not out of the danger zone, as evidenced by the following:This morning I was feeling pretty good and thought I would test the waters by doing a short walk. I walked about 2 miles , when all of a sudden.... I went into severe bronchospasm! ( acute attack) When I finally made it home my peak flow was only 150! The inhalers and nebs didn't help, so I had to use the Epi-pen. I don't like using epinephrine because it makes your heart pound really hard and fast, but sometimes it's the only thing that can open up my airways. Luckily it did the trick and I avoided a possible to trip to jail.Lesson learned: It's way too soon to start walking again!Besides the physical limitations, I'm an emotional Zombie from lack of sleep,and my mood swings are driving everyone crazy. I'm up at 3am futzing around the house and analyzing my stock portfolio---ju... More About: Pattern , Holding , Hold
In a holding pattern
2007-07-04 16:00:00 Update:Race plans are uncertain for the time being. Though I'm doing a little better than a few days ago, I'm apparently not out of the danger zone, as evidenced by the following:This morning I was feeling pretty good and thought I would test the waters by doing a short walk. I walked about 2 miles , when all of a sudden.... I went into severe bronchospasm! ( acute attack) When I finally made it home my peak flow was only 150! The inhalers and nebs didn't help, so I had to use the Epi-pen. I don't like using epinephrine because it makes your heart pound really hard and fast, but sometimes it's the only thing that can open up my airways. Luckily it did the trick and I avoided a possible to trip to jail.Lesson learned: It's way too soon to start walking again!Besides the physical limitations, I'm an emotional Zombie from lack of sleep,and my mood swings are driving everyone crazy. I'm up at 3am futzing around the house and analyzing my stock portfolio---ju... More About: Pattern , Holding , Hold
# 86
2007-06-30 00:11:00 Wednesday I went in for a scheduled meeting with my parole officer and ended up back in the slammer for a few days. I'm home now , but I'll be out of commission for a while.Thanks to all the cool Doctors and Nurses who took care of me this time around--- there wasn't a mean one in the bunch!Sorry, if I 've missed out on some of your posts , I'll play catch- up next week.In the meantime, everyone have a Great 4 th of July week!I only have 30 days to get well and to train for the SF marathon... Will I make it?
# 86
2007-06-29 23:08:00 Wednesday I went in for a scheduled meeting with my parole officer and ended up back in the slammer for a few days. I'm home now , but I'll be out of commission for a while.Thanks to all the cool Doctors and Nurses who took care of me this time around--- there wasn't a mean one in the bunch!Sorry, if I 've missed out on some of your posts , I'll play catch- up next week.In the meantime, everyone have a Great 4 th of July week!I only have 30 days to get well and to train for the SF marathon... Will I make it?
The Yellow zone ...in detail.
2007-06-25 23:15:00 On Saturday I was supposed to do a 10 mile walk along the SF waterfront (one that I've done countless times before) , but was I was too short of breath , and was only able to complete 7.5 miles .I probably shouldn't have even attempted the walk in the first place , as I'd been having problems the previous week. It was a beautiful day though, and I thought that once I got moving, I'd press on and get through it. Instead, I got tired and frustrated and just gave up. It's not so much the fact that I was unable to finish the walk that worries me, it's that I gave up so easily. For the first time, I had absolutely no desire in torturing myself over a silly walk. Two years ago, I would have never referred to this as a "silly" walk. It's the curse of yellow zone again !If you've ever read through my posts, no doubt you've seen the little blinking lights at the top of each post, but did you ever wonder what they really mean? Do you really care?Because this blog is as muc... More About: Yellow , Zone , Yell , Tail , Yello
The Yellow zone ...in detail.
More articles from this author:2007-06-25 16:17:00 On Saturday I was supposed to do a 10 mile walk along the SF waterfront (one that I've done countless times before) , but was I was too short of breath , and was only able to complete 7.5 miles .I probably shouldn't have even attempted the walk in the first place , as I'd been having problems the previous week. It was a beautiful day though, and I thought that once I got moving, I'd press on and get through it. Instead, I got tired and frustrated and just gave up. It's not so much the fact that I was unable to finish the walk that worries me, it's that I gave up so easily. For the first time, I had absolutely no desire in torturing myself over a silly walk. Two years ago, I would have never referred to this as a "silly" walk. It's the curse of yellow zone again !If you've ever read through my posts, no doubt you've seen the little blinking lights at the top of each post, but did you ever wonder what they really mean? Do you really care?Because this blog is as muc... More About: Yellow , Zone , Yell , Tail , Yello 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 |
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