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Im Moving
2008-01-19 14:49:00
In a few days, I'll be moving my blog from blogger over to Wordpress at my own domain www.Baycitywalker.comWhile blogger has worked fine for the past 2 1/2 years, I've kinda outgrown it .See ya there!
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Over doing it...as usual
2008-01-17 23:48:00
I see I'm not the only one getting way ahead of myself... (Rick)This past Saturday I was supposed to do my first in a series of long slow walks ( 15 miles maximum )... at least that was the plan. I was kinda dreading this walk anyway because Id been experiencing a lot hamstring and knee pain for the previous couple of weeks .Well despite my better judgment, I did the walk anyway and sure enough , at around mile 9, I could feel my right knee start to stiffen up .When I would stop and try to bend and stretch it out, the back of my knee hurt like hell ( a sure sign of a hamstring strain and/or weak quads) Oh great..Just what I need in the middle of marathon training.OK, so I'm limping my way through the remainder of my walk, when at around 2 miles from my finish, I run into a friend who was just starting his walk in the opposite direction. He's kinda new to the whole walking thing and is training for the Rome marathon as well ( plus he's my Dentist), so I figured I'd ...

Hot off the presses.
2008-01-11 21:46:00
(click to read article)OK....This one took me totally by surprise. Your's truly on the cover of WALK magazine along with my partners in crime, Brandon and Mike ( all Dave Mc Govern alumni) .Two years ago, the thought of walking a marathon was wishful thinking at best, now I'm on the front cover of a walking magazine...walking my third one.Who would've thunk!I have to admit, it's a pretty cool to see yourself in print, but it's even more meaningful when the author is someone you really admire.... Thanks Dave !(click to read article)And then there's this one , an article published in the AARC Times (American Assoc for Respiratory Care). The AARC Times is the professional trade journal for the Respiratory Therapist community with over 20,000 members and even more readers.This article means a lot to me because it was written by, and for my peers in the Respiratory Care profession. (I'm actually a much better Respiratory Care Practitioner than I am a racewalker:-) Yup....

LSD's for the next 7 weeks
2008-01-07 17:20:00
Jan 12th------15 miles Jan 19th-------8 milesJan 26th------18 milesFeb 2nd------12 milesFeb 9th-------20 milesFeb 16th------10 milesFeb 23rd------8 milesThese are my long slow distance days ( LSD's) for the next two months.I "G-Mapped" some of my routes in case you ever find yourself in the SF area and want to do some fantastic walks.
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First 14 of '08
2008-01-02 16:24:00
With the holiday madness finally behind and my 4th marathon staring me in the face, I told myself this weekend...No more Excuses ! Bad weather or not, Bad lungs or not..Achy joints or not.. ...You committed to do this marathon, so now you need to get out there and start your long distance training walks, so that's what I did.I started off the new year with 14 mile walk on New Years day. It was beautiful out there along the San Francisco waterfront, but I over did it and walked way to fast for an LSD ( 14 miles in 3: 18) Now I'm sore as hell and I'm wheezing big time---(I almost forgot how fun it was to train for a marathon.)There's only 10 weeks left until Rome , so basically, I have 6 weeks to get the rest of my LSDs in. That's the least amount of time I will have ever spent on training for a race....full or half!Two years ago when I began training for my very first full marathon, I was so obsessed with racking up enough weekly mileage, that I didn't give my legs (o...

Congrats are in order
2007-12-28 16:21:00
For a stellar 2007Allan....for becoming an international racewalker.Annette...for becoming a personal trainer.Bob.....for pulling a pair of crazy 50 mile stunts.Brad....for running over 1600 miles.Cris......for never giving up.Dan.....for being simply a great racewalker.Dave....for having the best job on the planet .Francis ....for edging ever closer to Boston.Lia......for becoming a certifiable "Marathon Maniac"Lora....for surviving the Chicago marathon.Marshall....for racewalking AND trail running!Perry....for Joggling 1800 miles and countless marathons.Rick.....for giving new meaning the words " Ultra Athlete".Roxlyn...for being one incredible person!Tammy...for loosing over 100 lbs and walking up a storm.Phillip.....for winning the Portland Marathon Nordic Walking World Championships Here's to an even better 2008!
More About: Athletes , Order

Winstons first Christmas
2007-12-25 22:54:00
Happy Holidays from San Francisco
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Didn't care for Xolair
2007-12-23 21:18:00
After taking Xolair injections for a full 12 months, the verdicts in.....It's not helping me.In fact, I've been sicker this year than in most.We gave it a good try, but at a thousand dollars a pop, I can't really can't justify continuing the injections. It's one of those drugs that seems to work wonders for some and nothing for others.Oh well, just have to wait to see what's next to come down the asthma treatment pipeline.
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Thank You Kirsty Mac Coll
2007-12-22 00:05:00
I heard one of Kirstys songs on the soundtrack of a Brittish movie that I was watching the other night. Had such a great Latin rhythm. I liked it so much, I went out the next day and bought one of her CDs. " Tropical Brainstorm" brilliant.How on earth did I ever miss this genius!(Here are a few of my favorites)It's funny.... I stumbled across this wonderful singer/songwriter just 3 days ago on December 18th.... Turns out she died on the very same day 6 years ago! Weird huh?
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Multi-tasking
2007-12-19 18:00:00
When you spend as much time behind a nebulizer as I do, you learn to put that time to good use.A back massage, reading a racewalking book and/or catching up with emails seems to work for me.
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Post op
2007-12-14 17:41:00
As promised, here are two of the lesser gross pictures of yesterdays bone graft surgery. You can see how swollen the gum is around the implant .After scraping out the area, he filled it with synthetic bone and tightened it all up with 12 sutures.As soon as the local anesthetic wore off , it hurt big time; but it wasn't nearly as painful as when they originally placed all the implants.One thing that's still bothering though, is that 24 hours later, my face is still completely numb on the effected side!I hope the numbness goes away soon, because it's very difficult to drink from a cup when half of your lip muscles don't work.This is where I'll be parked for the next day or two. I hope to be out walking again by this weekend.
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Take care of your teeth !!!
2007-12-13 16:38:00
Just as my marathon training is getting into full swing again, I'm already forced to take an unexpected break. No, it's not asthma this time.... it's my teeth.To give you a little background on my dental woes; about 5 years ago they reconstructed my entire upper mouth by installing synthetic teeth attached to dental implants. It took almost 2 years to complete and cost somewhere around $30,000 .Well, it seems I've developed a pretty severe pocket( bone loss) on the side of one of my implants and it needs to be repaired or I'll loose that implant. I found all this out just last week and TODAY .. I go under the knife.They're going to cut back the gum around the implant post, pack it with synthetic bone material and then suture the gum back tightly around the post.If that's not fun enough, this particular implant supports several of the teeth which are visible when I smile. There can't be any pressure on the area following the surgery, so basically I'll look like a ...
More About: Care , Teeth

Picks for 2008
2007-12-10 17:02:00
1) Maratona Della Citta Di Roma (March 16th) A beautiful ancient city and a marathon together? What more could you ask for!2) E.T. Full Moon Midnight Marathon (August 17th) "Running along the fringe of the mysterious Area 51, this stretch of highway (375) has an overwhelming number of reported UFO sightings. So much so, that in 1996 the federal government officially named highway 375 the "Extraterrestrial Highway". The ET Highway has become a gathering place for UFO enthusiasts and nature lovers alike. With elevations ranging from roughly 4000-5600 feet, the high desert will enchant you with gorgeous vegetation, surrounding mountains, and stunning vistas. An additional treat is the cooler temperatures. Rachel, NV is generally 15 degrees cooler than the Las Vegas Valley; coupled with a midnight run, temperatures should be in the 60's in August! "Oh yes......this one's definitely for me!3) Portland Marathon (October 5th) Where I caught the bug.4) Trail of Two Cities Marathon ( ...
More About: 2008

New asthma action plan
2007-12-05 23:41:00
After a record number of admissions to the intensive care unit this year, (5 so far), it was pretty evident that my current asthma action wasn't working anymore. So, at last weeks pulmonary clinic follow-up visit, we (they) came up with a new asthma action plan that will hopefully reduce that high number of ICU admissions.For those of you who don't know what I'm talking about; an asthma action plan is basically a set of instructions agreed upon by the patient (me) and the physician (my lung docs), on how to best manage one's asthma on a daily basis. It includes such things as, how to interpret peak flow readings, when to increase or take certain medicines, what to do if your symptoms get worse, when to contact the your doctor...that sort of thing. The goal for most people of course, is to keep your asthma under control so that it will never escalate to the point where you have a crisis and need to seek emergency medical care.Well with severe or brittle asthmatics, thing...
More About: Action , Asthma , Plan

Be the best you can....with what you have
2007-11-30 17:53:00
**Video courtesy of Roxlyn (who's pretty amazing herself)**

Bass Ackwards
2007-11-27 20:36:00
Was checking my registration on the Rome Marathon website ,when I came across this blurb......And you thought racewalking or joggling looked a bit odd!Makes me wanna do the Rome marathon even more......"On March 16th we are running backwards!The 2008 edition of the City of Rome Marathon will be the first big world marathon to hold an official competition for the category of backward runners. Italy is the leading nation in the promotion of backward running (running in reverse) and the AIRR (Associazione Italiana Retrorunning-Italian Backward Running Association) holds more than 20 races a year.No other nation has witnessed as great a development in backward running, and in the last few years Italy has become an important reference point also for many foreign backward runners.The best backward runners will meet in Rome on March 16th 2008; among them there will be Claudio Conti from Rimini, who gave the best Italian performance (5:50.07 Rome 2007).On the streets of Rome many backward r...
More About: Bass

Racewalking for Science
2007-11-21 23:42:00
As part of the shortness of breath ( dyspnea) research project that I'm involved in over at UCSF, every 3 months I have to go into the lab where they check my pulmonary functions and then have me do a series of physical fitness type tests. Sometimes they have me get on the treadmill and basically walk till I puke. Other times they 'll test me to see how many arm raises I can do in one minute and that sort of thing.One of the tests that I have to do during every follow up visit, is called the "6 minute walking test". (Kinda weird they would have me do this if you consider , that on a good breathing day, I can walk 9 hours non-stop) .Anyway ,this is kind of the standard test they administer to people with lung disease , to see how short of breath they become when they exert themselves. Basically , you walk as far as you can in 6 minutes , and then they check your vital signs and you oxygen level . They also ask you to rate how short of breath you feel during and after t...
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Discouraging
2007-11-18 20:21:00
Felt pretty good for a few days , even racewalked during a research follow up visit ( more about that later), but now I'm starting to slide back . I don't know if it's the steroid taper ( I'm still at 40mg) , or if I'm rebounding, or if I starting exercising too soon, but somethings not quite right.Today's test walk was very disappointing. I was so short of breath, I couldn't racewalk..at all! The best I could do was some regular walking with an occasional sprint thrown in so I that wouldn't get bored.My Peak flows are all over the place as well. Today before my walk they were 375, after my walk...240 (almost my red zone). Even when I'm not exerting myself, they're dipping 100-200 points without rhyme or reason. In addition, my shortness of breath has been near constant, which makes me very irritable and quite bitchy. I havent been able to break through to my green zone in weeks now.My lung doctors have been expressing their frustration as well. Not so much abo...

What a difference
2007-11-17 03:10:00
......last week This week.........I'm gradually starting to feel somewhat normal again( normal for me that is...) , but it's still a one-day-at -a time kind of process.As my docs always tell me....."It's pretty amazing how fast you seem to bounce back after a serious attack". Well, I don't know if it's amazing, but I'm sure thankful for it. There have times where it's taken me MONTHS to recuperate after one of these flare-ups.Actually , this recovery hasn't been as easy as it sounds...there's been a lot of bumps along the way. Tapering off the steroids is always a tricky affair, and I have a long way to go before I wean down to my baseline dosage of 20mg.Starting tomorrow I'm going to attempt to begin walking again on a regular schedule. It'll take me several weeks , if not months, to regain what I've lost , but I don't have any pending races, so I guess that's cool.
More About: Difference , Diff

A taper of a differnet kind
2007-11-16 07:33:00
Funny how many parallels you can draw between the endurance sports and severe asthma exacerbations. Though I never actually walked one until I was 52 years old, in many respects I've been training for marathons my whole life.These are the thoughts that were running through my head while I was suffocating in the hospital last week;A severe asthma attack is like the "ultimate" ultra endurance event, only this race starts in the ER, you cant quit or stop to rest, and the finish line is never determined until after the race starts. Could be 20 miles... could be 200. Once you start, you're in it, till it's over....If you just can't go anymore, they knock you out and put you on auto-pilot with the help of a ventilator. Regardless, you never cross the finish line until after your lungs finally open up. Sometimes this race can last for several days. Oh..and you're not allowed to walk this event..You have to run as fast as you can or you're disqualified.... ...PERMANENTLY ...
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This is why I couldn't race this week.
2007-11-10 14:34:00
I really must get a new wardrobe. Doug took this picture with this phone cam right after I came off the breathing machine... Hey, I have a blog to maintain failed multiple attempts by medical student to place an arterial line artery. I'm actually allergic to steroids? they make me crazy Years and years of IV steroids use have destroyed my veins. The only one they could find was in my foot. Have you ever had an IV in your foot?.... ouch !So anyways, this is what my "red zone" looks like when it gets out of control. Sorry if I don't look my best.I had a pretty severe attack last week which almost did me in. Because of that, I had to withdraw from the Trail 2 Cities half Marathon in Clovis this weekend... My very first DNS due to asthma ! Oh well, I guess it was bound to happen eventually. I hope this is not going to be a trend. Thank you to all the wonderful Doctors , Nurses , Respiratory Ther...
More About: Race , Week

Does your cat do this?
2007-11-03 16:28:00
Winston's favorite room has always been the kitchen. I remember the first day that he showed up at our doorstep, he went directly to the kitchen and plopped himself on the floor next to the stove. Now he spends most of the day ( and night) there.Crazy like the occupants of this house.

Farewell Megawalk
2007-10-31 17:52:00
A great time was had by all this past Sunday , as racewalkers of all ages and abilities merged on the town of Seaside California to compete in this prestigious and USATF sanctioned 10K racewalking event. (Though Kelly appears to be airborne, her front heel is actually touching the ground.To a racewalking fan, her racewalking form... is a thing of beauty!) ( more pics)The Megawalk race is a tribute to my friend Hansi's father, and racewalking legend, the late Giulio De Petra .The event was conceived and put together by Hansi and her Monterey Peninsula walking club " The Walk Walk Walk Club" back in 1981 . It's been a must- do annual race ever since.In addition to organizing this event, she also competes in it!This women is amazing. She'll be out there setting up tables, coning off streets and making sure everything gets done...then she'll join the race herself!As this that's not enough, after the race... she...
More About: Farewell , Fare , Well

It's a Racewalking Weekend.
2007-10-26 17:56:00
(photo courtesy of Jeff Salvage)This weekend is filled with all kinds of racewalking events throughout the world.Here are just a few of my friends who will be competing this Sunday.Dave Mc Govern and Steve Pecinovsky will be competing for a slot in the 2008 Olympic trials at the 30K National Racewalking Championships in Hauppauge New York.Allan of Racewalker55 fame, will be racewalking the Suwa Ko Half Marathon in Suwa, Nagano Prefecture, Japan .Elite runner and racewalker, Hansi Rigney will be hosting her famous Megawalk 10K racewalking championships in Seaside California ( yours truly will be there helping out)To everyone racing this weekend GOOD LUCK!!
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New asthma toy
2007-10-23 17:37:00
There's a small subset of people with severe asthma, who often don't sense that they're asthma symptoms are getting worse until it's to late -- I'm one of those people.In an attempt to keep better tabs on my constantly fluctuating peak flows , and to identify what the critical values are for me, the clinical airway research folks at UCSF gave me this electronic peak flow meter . I'm supposed to blow into it 4 times a day on a set schedule ; morning, afternoon ,evening and night. In addition , I'm to use it before and after exercise or whenever I start to feel more short of breath than usual.The device displays and records my peak flows and other pulmonary function data, then stores it for analysis at a later time back at the clinic.The hope is that by keeping a constant and close tab on my pulmonary functions numbers throughout the day, that I'll be more likely to recognize the warning signs and symptoms of an impending severe attack, much earlier on. Even a few ho...
More About: Asthma

This is what's next
2007-10-20 01:50:00
Well, I got my long distance/fun fix with the Portland marathon, but now I'm really itching for a faster, shorter and more serious race that I can do with less preparation and expense. Thanks to my friend Brandon who did Portland with me, I think I found a good one.I signed up for the Trail of 2 Cities half marathon in Clovis California on Nov 11th. Clovis which is located in northern Fresno county, is about a 3 hour drive south from where I live, so I'll spend the night before the race down there.I've never done this race before, but I've heard many good things about it .From reading the reviews, it seems to be well organized and you get lots of bang for your buck. We're talking pre & post race hot food, not one, but TWO shirts, finish medal, goodie bag, etc . All this for $40.00 ...Can't beat that! The event is getting so popular in fact, that next year they're going to introduce a full marathon.More reminiscent of trail race, than a big city marathon , they cap...

Reflecting
2007-10-16 01:11:00
It's weird, but when I look at my marathon photos, it's almost like I'm looking at a stranger . It's as though someone else did this race for me and I just went along for the ride. I always seem to look healthier in race pictures than I actually feel. Maybe it has something to do with the fact I love what I'm doing , and the camera only captures that.Well, like most people in the days following a marathon, I've been doing a little recovering and a lot of reflecting. From a physical stand point, I'm now totally healed, mentally though, my mind is still in Portland thinking about that 7.5 hour walk and all the extraordinary people I met a long the way.I've tried to do a little self-critiquing on my performance, but other than walking slower than I had hoped ( and loosing my inhalers), I think I did the best I could , with what I had to work with at the time. I know for sure that I trained properly , because I didn't suffer a single leg cramp throughout the entire ...
More About: Portland Marathon

Slow.......but worth every extra second.
2007-10-11 06:16:00
I did it.....Again !(Two of a kind)(Mile 6)(mile 13)(St Johns Bridge mile 18)You probably wouldn't know it by looking at my slow finish results, but today, I'm a very ...very happy and lucky person . I know this wasn't my fastest marathon, nor was it my slowest , but it was by far... my Favorite marathon !Having been in the hospital just two weeks earlier, and judging by how rocky my recovery had been , I decided that I would not push myself too hard, and that I would deliberately keep my speed down and my racewalking sprints to a minimum.To summarize briefly.... I'm proud of my performance in this race and that of my friends. For the first time ever, I think I did more things right, then I did wrong . That doesn't mean I didn't do any stupid things (more about that later), but I started the race with a positive attitude, finished strong, and I had a whole lot of fun in between.And get this... I didn't have a single leg cramp--not even a twitch during the enti...
More About: Portland Marathon , Worth , Extra , Slow , Wort

Rain or Shine.....Bring it on PORTLAND!
2007-10-04 17:48:00
The Portland Marathon festivities have officially begun . Let the good times roll!I'm just on my way out the door to catch my flight to Portland. Gosh.. I can't believe a whole year has gone by. Seems like I did this marathon just a few weeks ago!It'll be interesting to compare this years experience, with last .I'm breathing fair, but with these persistent calf cramps, walking a full marathon is still an iffy proposition. We'll see what Sunday morning brings. Either way, I plan to have a good time.I was invited to attend a luncheon put on by the Portland Marathon Race Committee. A guy name Bart Yasso, of Runners World, will be speaking and showing funny videos. Should be fun.I'm not bringing my laptop with me , so I'll post the outcome of this weekends event, when I return next week.To everyone else who is racing this weekend.........RUN/WALK STRONG!(This is where I hope to be at 6:30 on Sunday Morning)
More About: Rain , Shine , Bring It On

It's that time again
2007-10-03 17:29:00
Well, Friday I'm off to Oregon to hopefully take another stab, at this, my most favorite walking event on the planet...."The Portland Marathon"I say hopefully, because I'm still not totally sure if I'll be able to walk it. Though, I'm breathing OK, I've been having major problems with calf muscle pain/cramps . I'll make that final decision on race morning.The weather forecast also looks a little sketchy, but they say in the past 25 years, it's only rained one time during the actual marathon--- and that only lasted 10 minutes; gosh... I hope so.While in Portland, I'll be hooking up with a few friends from my Walkingfasterclub racewalking group who are also doing the marathon.We'll be hanging out over the weekend, but will split up on race morning. All but one of them, that I know of, has major health problems or other physical disabilities, so just being able to finish this race will be a victory to many of us.We decided that the first one in the group to finish the ra...
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