BaycitywalkerBaycitywalkerTribulations and triumphs of a lung challenged marathon walker and wannbe racewaker. Articles
The evil candy
2007-05-15 14:43:00 Thanks everyone for checking up on me. I'm fine! ( well,... almost)I've been out of the hospital for 5 days now, and while I'm finally breathing pretty good, the party has just begun. Thankfully, I'm already well into my steroid taper ( the worse part) and hope to be off it completely by next week. This is once subject I know a lot about because I been there and done it! .... over and over and over again.You see, there are two parts to a severe asthma episode. There's the acute phase ( the emergency part) and then there's the steroid taper phase . Let me tell you.... the latter is no picnic.Although prednisone( the evil candy) can save your life , you pay a hefty price in the form of nasty side effects.For those of you who've ever had the pleasure of taking high-dose prednisone for any length of time , Im sure I don't have to tell you how fun it can be. In my case it's the insomnia, the bloating , the skin bruising, the muscle cramps, the rapid weight gain ... More About: Candy , Evil
#85
2007-05-12 03:49:00 I don't know if walking 26 miles had anything to do with this, but what started as a simple chest cold the day after the marathon, turned into : 27 hours on a ventilator , five days on bi pap, 72 hours on continuous albuterol, 6 arterial punctures, one arterial line, eight IV insertions , two chest x rays, one CT scan and a team of 8 doctors scratching their heads again.On a scale of 1-10, I'd rate this attack a 6 or 7 - a moderate attack. I've had much worse. The hard part is weaning off the drugs so I can feel human again.Thank You Critical Care Nurses: Pat, Kathleen,Donminic,Sue,Loren, Ruth, Mylee,Thank You Doctors: Fang, Kwan, Wolfstat and all the attendings.Thank You Respiratory TherapistsThank You CT TechniciansThank You BrandonThank You Dave Mc GovernThank You Walking Faster ClubThank You fellow bloggersThank You Barry ManilowThank you to my dear Douglasand finallyto the Worlds Greatest Nurse- CathrineIf you want to see how I really feel ...click the pic.I remain out of ...
#85
2007-05-11 13:50:00 I don't know if walking 26 miles had anything to do with this, but what started as a simple chest cold the day after the marathon, turned into : 27 hours on a ventilator , five days on bi pap, 72 hours on continuous albuterol, 6 arterial punctures, one arterial line, eight IV insertions , two chest x rays, one CT scan and a team of 8 doctors scratching their heads again.On a scale of 1-10, I'd rate this attack a 6 or 7 - a moderate attack. I've had much worse.Thank You Critical Care Nurses: Pat, Kathleen,Donminic,Sue,Loren, Ruth, Mylee,Thank You Doctors: Fang, Kwan, Wolfstat and all the attendings.Thank You Respiratory TherapistsThank You CT TechniciansThank You BrandonThank You Dave Mc GovernThank You Walking Faster ClubThank You fellow bloggersThank You Barry ManilowThank you to my dear Douglasand finallyto the Worlds Greatest Nurse- CathrineIf you want to see how I really feel ...click the pic.I remain out of commission until my body heals.
Time out
2007-05-04 15:57:00 Sorry for not keeping up on all your blog posts lately. I'll be out of commission for a while , as my lungs are punishing me for my recent success. I'll post again when I'm able.For those of you with up coming races ( Lia this means you) GOOD LUCK out there! More About: Time , Time Out
Eugene 2007
2007-05-03 03:50:00 Warning: this is a very long postPre-Race I had planned on leaving my house on Friday at 7 am for the 8 hour drive up to Oregon, but as is the norm for me, I was too wired to sleep and ended up leaving at 3 o'clock in the morning. I made it to Eugene by mid afternoon, checked into my hotel and made it over to the Expo just before they closed. I collected my bib, goodie bag and shirt. Then I got something to eat, went back to my hotel and passed out from exhaustion.Saturday morning I woke up short of breath just to discover that my new portable nebulizer wasn't working properly. Douglas had warned to me to take both machines with me, but of course I didn't listen. No biggie I thought, I'll just increase the dosage on my inhalers ,which seemed to work for a while.. Later that morning I went back over to the Expo to check out the exhibitors more thoroughly. I bought a cool Nike running cap and a few other souvenirs. They were also passing coupons for a free Steve Pe...
Eugene
2007-05-02 11:12:00 Warning: this is a very long postPre-Race I had planned on leaving my house on Friday at 7 am for the 8 hour drive up to Oregon, but as is the norm for me, I was too wired to sleep and ended up leaving at 3 o'clock in the morning. I made it to Eugene by mid afternoon, checked into my hotel and made it over to the Expo just before they closed. I collected my bib, goodie bag and shirt. Then I got something to eat, went back to my hotel and passed out from exhaustion.Saturday morning I woke up short of breath just to discover that my new portable nebulizer wasn't working properly. Douglas had warned to me to take both machines with me, but of course I didn't listen. No biggie I thought, I'll just increase the dosage on my inhalers ,which seemed to work for a while.. Later that morning I went back over to the Expo to check out the exhibitors more thoroughly. I bought a cool Nike running cap and a few other souvenirs. They were also passing coupons for a free Steve Pe... More About: Gene
Mission Accomplished
2007-04-30 05:41:00 6:56:082 hours faster than my last race! Details to follow in a few days.... More About: Sion , Mission , Missi
Mission Accomplished
2007-04-30 03:51:00 6:56:082 hours faster than my last race! Details to follow in a few days.... More About: Mission , Missi
I can dream can't I ?
2007-04-26 17:06:00 Meet the USA racewalking team that recently competed in the Pan American Cup in Brazil . Most of my hero's are on this single clip! ( courtesy Racewalkplanet TV) If you like fast........ check out this Women's 20 K(Imagine walking 12.4 miles in 1:25) More About: Dream
Final systems check
2007-04-24 17:59:00 I've put in the miles, I've done the training, and my legs and stomach seem to be pretty much.... cramp free. Now , all I need is to stay in my green zone through next Sunday, so that I can walk my little ass off.The reality that I'm actually going to do this....AGAIN , is finally starting to sink in. I'm excited , but at the same time, a little nervous. Have I forgotten the hell I put my body through trying to finish the Portland marathon? Wasn't it me who swore I would never pull such a crazy stunt again?Even though I've "technically" completed one marathon already, this one feels like the first. This is my redemption walk! I have to do this one to set the record straight and to prove to myself that when I'm having a good day , I can walk with the best of 'em. Hey..I'll be happy just to finish again, but if by chance I come in under 8 hours, I'll be elated.Barring any last minute breathing problems, I leave for the 500 mile drive up to Eugene Oregon, this Fri... More About: Check , Final , Systems , Fina , Stem
For your amusement
2007-04-21 03:49:00 In between my scheduled LDS day, I do 4 to 5 miles of racewalking intervals at least 3 times a week. Because, racewalking is a lot like running ( as far as exertion goes), I can only racewalk 50-100 yards a time before having to slow down to a regular fitness walking pace and catch my breath. If I'm breathing well on a particular day ( and this is a BIG if), I will string a bunch of these intervals together, and can usually knock a full minute or two off each mile ( 11-14 min/mile. ) Of course , there's a limit as to how many of these intervals I can do in a row. On my best day ever, I covered 10 miles in less than 2 hours, but it took everything I had and I haven't been able to since .I will try this method out on my next half marathon.Anyways, here's four more shorts clip of me taken over the last six weeks ( after Dave's clinic), doing my typical 100 yard intervals .They probably all look pretty much the same to a non- racewalker, but actually, there's a noticabl... More About: Muse , Amusement
Taper Time
2007-04-17 02:58:00 So, with this mornings last 10 miler out of the way....it's all down hill from here.. All I have left on the schedule is a handful of 4 milers and a couple of short tempo racewalks , which I may or may not do, depending on the weather. For the next week and a half, I'll rest up as much as I can and try to avoid any stresses which might trigger breathing flare-ups .All n all , I feel pretty good about this upcoming marathon walk. I'm not in any better shape than I was last time around, but having already done one marathon (and a painfully slow one at that) , I believe, has toughened me up and made me a little more marathon savey . After all, there's a lot more to walking/running 26 miles and 384 yds , than just moving your legs.If I can just stay in my green zone for the next two weeks, I think I have a good chance of achieving my goal of finishing in under 7 1/2 hours. I know it sounds incredibly slow, but remember , that's an hour and a half faster ...than the la... More About: Time
Without Limits
2007-04-14 21:03:00 OK this is kinda weird......Last night , while clicking through the TV channels, I stumbled upon this movie on HBO, called "Without Limits ". Most of you hardcore runners have probably seen it , but this was the first time I'd ever even heard of it. In fact, the only reason the movie caught my attention in the first place, was because there was a scene showing a bunch of runners on a college track , and the sign above the bleachers read... "Hayward Field --Eugene Oregon."What makes this weird, is that in two weeks... I'll be there. The Eugene Marathon starting line is located at .....Hayward Field!OK, no big deal, probably just coincidence right? Well, the strangest part, is that we normally don't get... HBO.You see, earlier in the week we were getting free HBO for a 3-day period , but that particular preview had already ended .Well it turns out, we had a power outage during the last few hours of that free preview and our cable box never reset ....so, we were...
More Winston
2007-04-11 04:03:00 My little kitty/thug, help'n out in the kitchen .... Watch Video More About: More , Wins , Winston
Ultra's for Racewalkers?
2007-04-10 16:23:00 The USA Centurion 2007 Run Walk Ultra As far as I know, this is the first time a usatf judged racewalking division has been added to a hundred mile-24 hour ultra run.Hmmmm....... More About: Walker
Taming one of the Beasts
2007-04-08 17:37:00 Out of the last 32 days, maybe 7 of them were good breathing days. This is a bit of a downward trend compared to this time last year. It seems like the ratio of good, to bad breathing days, is narrowing, and that depresses me a little. Oh well....such is life! How does the saying go. "God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change-- blah,blah,blah" Well, here's something I was able to change:If you've ever read my training posts or race reports , then you know that I've always had a problem with severe leg cramps, especially calf cramps. For whatever reason ( and there are many), they occur before, during, and/or after, every long walk. Heck .. I even get them when I yawn and stretch! Many times they occur during the middle of the night and can be quite excruciating.Even more so than my lungs, these painful muscle spasms have pretty much dictated the finish time of every race I've ever done. And if that's not bad enough, the medication that I ha... More About: Beast , Ming
The goodies just keep coming
2007-04-06 17:34:00 This came in the mail today ( I like the part where it says.....and 385 yards) So far, from this one race, I' ve received:A pre-filled goodie bag full of USEFUL stuff.A pre-race write -upA post race-write upA finisher shirtA Portland tree seedlingA Portland RoseA finisher medalA certificateFree PhotosA Poster of the eventA Souvenir programA Race Results BookSelf ConfidenceI guess everyones first ...... is there favorite. More About: Keep , Good , Goodies , Ming , The Good
The big one before the Big one
2007-04-04 01:40:00 Isn't it funny that you essentially have to do a marathon---- before you do a marathon?Anyways...... The deed is done. On Sunday I walked 19.89 miles in 4:48 minutes . Total time with stretching and bathroom breaks was actually 5:16. Not as fast as the 10 miler I did a week ago, but certainly my fastest 20 mile walk ever ( the last 20 miler I did, took me 6 1/2 hours.) I think what helped me the most , was choosing a flatter course for a change. Instead of doing my usual loop around the city with all the hills, this time I did a simple out&back along the SF waterfront. A little more monotonous, but much easier on the legs.Thank goodness this was the last long walk ( excluding the marathon). All I have left now, is a 12 and 10 miler which I might have to delay by a week until Im feeling better. I'm very pleased with my time,but last night I started coughing and today I'm really short of breath. This seems to happen every time I do a long walk in preparation for a marathon... More About: Fore
A special day on the Bay
2007-03-31 19:06:00 (Dan, Millicent, and yours truly at Aquatic Park) Usually , I do my City walks alone, but yesterday was special because I got the opportunity to walk with two very very cool people. PLUS...I was back in the green!Fellow blogger and racewalking enthusiast Daniel Fort , who came all the way up from the Los Angeles area with his wife and nephew for a mini vacation, met up with me and my good friend Millicent over at the Palace of Fine Arts on the San Francisco Marina.(What a Beautiful place to start and finish a walk)For nearly two hours , we walked, talked and laughed non-stop. Due to time constraints ,we were only supposed to do 4 miles, but because we had racewalked a good portion of the distance , we had extra time and ended up doing an additional 3.5 miles.Time sure flies when you're Racewalking the Marina! Dan's a great guy! very laid back , and in my opinion,... and excellent racewalker. He certainly kicked my ass.Dan ....you're the MAN ! and Millicent.... you'... More About: Special
My Little Marathon Tree
2007-03-29 00:40:00 This is the little seedling they gave me at the Portland finish line. I brought it home and Douglas potted it for me . Now after 6 months, it's starting to look less like a stick and more like a tree. More About: Marathon , Little , Tree , Litt , Mara
Too fast for my own good
2007-03-26 17:31:00 Ok.........I've had a stellar walking/breathing week. Actually... make that 3 stellar weeks! I've been green lighting ever since I got out of prison last month, and to prove it, I even did that sub 2 hour 10 mile walk three days ago.Well, it's pay back time, because now I'm suffering the negative effects of going hog wild on that racewalking stunt . I'm back in yellow zone and my lungs are hyper- inflated! I don't feel that bad , just enough to put me in a bitchy mood cause I'm too short of breath to do much of anything.When will I learn, that just because I'm feeling invincible during a string of good breathing days, that it doesn't mean I've sprouted a new pair of lungs. When I'm lucky enough to get these good days, I tend to develop temporary amnesia for all the bad days that proceeded it. I have this nasty habit of pushing myself hard when I'm feeling well---shame on me!As ridiculous as it might sound, when I walk ,I have to continually remind myself not to wa... More About: My Own , Fast , Good
Born again racewalker
2007-03-23 23:45:00 Thursday, I had my best medium range, mixed- walk day ......EVER!I walked/racewalked 10.2 miles ( 16.5 K) in 1:56 . That's an overall pace of 11 min/mile with the racewalking portions in the 7s and 8's .......Not bad for a walker , and not bad for a 10 mile walk ...with hills.Even more important than the pace though, is the fact that I was able to racewalk about 25% percent of the distance, or more concise , I maintained a racewalking / regular walk ratio of about 1:4 for the ENTIRE distance.Besides lucking out with an extraordinary breathing day, I think what made this particular walk so special, is that everything clicked into place--It just felt right!The drills that I've been practicing religiously, are starting to paying off.Thanks to the coaching skills of , Dave Mc Govern and Steve P , I've also begun to focus more of my training on the one physical advantage that I have over a lot of other racewalkers---my short powerful legs! By increasing my cadence a... More About: Again , Walk , Walker , Born Again
18 in 6 minutes
2007-03-17 00:06:00 ....don't I wish!Actually, I didn't want to spend the time writing a big report on a routine training walk, so I recorded it instead.The video is kinda lame, but it shows off my favorite LDS walking routeI followed everyone's advice. I hydrated, took E-supplements, energy gels , a recovery drink and massaged the heck out of my legs ....and guess what? I'm a little sore, but NO CRAMPS! More About: Minutes , Minute , Utes
The 18 miler -- To cramp or not to cramp
2007-03-13 17:38:00 This past week I've been breathing pretty good ,but just like last year when I was training for Portland, I'm plaguedagain with these damn calve cramps. Aside from the prednisone ,which I recently weaned off of, I don't think its so much the amount of walking that's causing my cramps , but rather the type of walking and the drugs I'm taking.Lately , I've been doing a lot of racewalking , and now that I'm doing it "correctly," my calves are taking much more of a hit than usual. You see , I have huge calf muscles and when they decide to cramp...........they cramp BIG TIME! (yeah that's a robot in my kitchen)For example, a few nights I awoke with a severe cramp in my left calf . It hurt so bad that I had to scream into my pillow so that I wouldn't wake up the neighbors. Thankfully, Douglas was there right away, but it took all of his strength just straighten my leg out, and hold it in that position long enough for t... More About: Mile , Cram
Back by popular demand
2007-03-11 23:05:00 It's funny, the first thing people ask when they meet me in person is ........How's Winston doing?Well, see for yourself.............. More About: Popular , Back , Demand , Pula
How cool is that
2007-03-08 17:09:00 While I was in prison last week, my friend Brandon, who knew that I was a fan of Phillip Dunn (Olympic racewalker extraordinaire ) , apparently sent Phillip his own photo along with a letter about me , and then put my return address on it. Anyways, this is what I got in the mail last Saturday... Is that cool or what?I met Brandon at Dave Mc Govern's clinic last year and we've been good friends ever since. This guy has a heart of gold. Brandon is the kinda person that would do anything for you. He's constantly sending me cool stuff in the mail. He's also one of the most intelligent people Ive ever met and has an opinion on just about everything . Thank You Brandon! and Thank You Phillip! More About: Cool , That
I'm a real racewalker now
2007-03-05 16:41:00 Meet the Carmel class of 2007.... Yeah, that's me in the center Can you tell there are racewalkers in the house? and what a beautiful house it is..... and what a beautiful host.....( Vickie)Dave and I with some really tall racewalkers OK...so I'm a little spoiled.What a wonderful , but exhausting weekend. My lungs held out fine and I was able to participate in every aspect of the clinic, except the lactate threshold intervals. I even walked 26 laps around the track ( 6 miles) .This years class was nearly triple in size and boasted some of the best female masters racewalkers from all over the country. In addition, we were lucky enough to have not one, but two coaches - --- both national Champions!Even though I wasn't completely recovered from my last prison stay, Im so glad I made the decision to go this clinic anyway. I learned so much from these guys, and of course, made a whole bunch of new friends.Steve and... More About: Real , Walk , Walker
#84
2007-02-28 23:58:00 Wednesday I was discharged from my 84 th incarceration for the crime of asthma.I hadn't been breathing well for most of last week, and by the time Monday rolled around I just couldn't tolerate it anymore (even Superman has his limits.) So at 10:30 on Monday night , Douglas convinced me that it was time go in and promptly drove me to the ER. Soon after arriving, I was evaluated and admitted directly to the hospital. The only problem was , the hospital didn't have any critical care beds and I ended up staying in the emergency room for 22 hours. Finally at 8 pm on Tuesday evening, they found a bed for me and I was transferred upstairs to one of the ICUs. Later that night , and without the need for the ultimate intervention ( intubation), I broke through the exacerbation. My symptoms were reversing , my airways were becoming more patent and I was finally starting to breath easier. By Wednesday morning I was well enough that they agreed to let me go home.Damage Control....
The University of Racewalking
More articles from this author:2007-02-24 20:36:00 Yippie !!!!!!!!! Next weekend is Racewalking School in Carmel California!Along with 35 other people from all over the country , I will eat, sleep and breath every aspect of this "not-as-easy-as-it-looks", Olympic walking sport. For three days, we will be huddled and completely immersed in this strange but wonderful sub culture . We will attend indoor class rooms and outdoor track meets. We will be analyzed, scrutinized, drilled and critiqued. We will be taught by some of the best racewalkers in the world!Whether we are National Champions or just starting out , we will all emerge from this camp........... better and faster racewalkers.Being the rather solitary and non-competitive walker that I am, I don't get very many opportunities to be around or critiqued by other racewalkers , so this is a big deal for me. I look forward to it all year long. (Crossing my fingers that I'm breathing better by then..)Last year I developed close relationships with so many wonderful people and... More About: University , King , Univ , Walk , The U 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 |
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