Fixing a Broken Back to Run Again

I've been having a rough two years. First it was cancer, a large tumor mass formed in the retroperitoneal space in my back and protruded into my abdomen. Then I was rear ended while waiting at a stop light before turning right. I've been getting regular massage therapy treatments twice a week from Bradley Clarke at Sports Massage Specialist (435) 760-2103.

I have received massage treatments before to help recover from over training at Lifetime Fitness gym. Deep tissue massage is not pleasant, it hurts. The benefits from it though, make it worth it. Bradley started the massage treatments with a simple goal, Let's get things back in balance. Stripping muscles felt like he had applied a hot poker. I was genuinely surprised when he released the pressure that the pain dissipated like a drop of water evaporating off a hot griddle. He worked the muscles along the spine with essential oils. I am also getting adjustments with Dr. Gunther at Hansen Hansen Chiropractor to align the spine. After two months of treatment, my back is feeling better and I notice small indications that the tumor is receding.

I learned first hand the impact that diet has on athletic performance. How food gives different results. It makes a difference in not only maintaining proper weight and muscle mass but in staying healthy and keeping degenerative disease at bay.

VO2 Testing

I scheduled another Cycling VO2 test at LifeTime Fitness. It has been two months since my last test. The purpose of the test is to determine if I have made any improvements in my VO2 and cycling strength. VO2 max is the maximum capacity of my body to absorb and utilize oxygen during incremental exercise. The name is derived from V - volume per time, O2 - oxygen, max - maximum. The test was performed while I donned a New Leaf Mask (breathe through my mouth), wore a Polar heart rate monitor + watch and cycled on a stationary bike.

The trainer (Casey) incrementally increased the wats or difficulty. He monitored a machine that analyzed my breathing for amount of oxygen and carbon dioxide. The testing computer recorded and used this data to determine my VO2 maximum and heart rate zones.

The test determined that my threshold increased by 2 points up to 162 bpm. What this means is that it is the last stop for burning fat and when I have reached my maximum oxygen uptake (it plateaus). This is where I start generating energy anaerobically. Lactic acid starts to build up and the muscles burn. The benefit from working out past this threshold are improved fitness and this threshold will increase but I won't burn fat. This is where I burn glucose stored in muscles and if performed for too long, I will eventually "bonk" or run out of energy and then it is really hard to continue running. It is the wall that atheletes face during a long endurance run.

I have attached my first cycling VO2 test performed in November and then my test performed on 1/2/2010. Notice that the test shows how many Fat Calories burned in each training zone. There is a significant improvement in V02 and heart rate zones. Casey was surprised at the amount of improvement and asked what I had been doing to achieve this increase. Who knows? I drank my MonaVie Active that morning, hehe.

Test performed 11/5/2009

Test performed 01/02/2010

MonaVie Fuels My Dream

MonaVie is my employer. I am on the corporate side of this MLM phenomenon. I can't sell or sponsor a downline but I can share my experience working for the company and using its products. I'm a seinor technical writer and I was skeptical at first of the health benefits of the MonaVie blends and the acai berry it contains.

MonaVie sponsors healthy habits. Twice a week during lunch breaks, employees may participate in a session of Yoga. MonaVie organized  a 5k run to raise money for the MORE Project. MORE is a foundation established with the mission to help educate, feed and clothe children in Brazil. It is another way MonaVie supports and gives back to the people who work to produce Acai berries. Employees are offered a subsidized membership at LifeTime Fitness in South Jordan. MonaVie sponsored my team to run in the Wasatch Back Ragnar Relay; six men and six women ran 188 miles from Logan to Park City! The experience was a triumph and made me proud to run under MonaVie's banner.

My fears, doubts and lack of confidence have been transformed and uplifting by the support I have received from MonaVie. I found inspiration by reading Henry Marsh's book, The Breakthrough Factor. He is one of MonaVie's co-founders. Henry represented the United States in the men's 3,000 meter Steeplechase in four Summer Olympics, from 1976 through 1988. His stories and advice in those pages helped me find my own breakthrough.

Running in the Wasatch Back Relay and completing it succesfully woke up within me the dream to compete in an Ironman Triathlon. I kept running after the race with enthusiasm and vigor. I kept drinking MonaVie Active to help ease the pain and swelling from sore joints, knees and ankles. It was as effective as ibuprofen for pain relief. As I tore down. and stressed the connective tissues, MonaVie Active provided a blend of 19 beneficial fruits with plant based Glucosamine and Chondroitin to build it back up stronger. It is easy to consume because it tastes so good and it comes in convenient single serving gel packs.

My heart has been a concern too. Electrolytes don't necessarily help build an athletes heart. MonaVie Pulse does. By drinking Pulse, I believe my heart has grown stronger allowing me to enjoy a lower resting heart rate and better fitness scores (VO2). My heart rate seems to slow down faster when pausing or resting during interval training.

So you see MonaVie fuels my dream to compete in an Ironman Triathlon. It has supported me through it's generous employee benefits and by hiring excellent staff. It's founders have inspired and motivated me.

Strength Training & Yoga

Okay, I caught the 5:30 am bus and started strength training at LifeTime Fitness. I performed opposite arm leg raise, prone runners, inch worm, reverse fly, hamstring curl (one leg raised), pull ups, box jump, butt kickers, one leg arm curls, lat press. I appreciate how much personal training taught me several new routines.

I found Yoga to be much easier today. I feel more flexible, little by little I feel like I'm improving. There was concern expressed from a few members of the class about posting photos. I immediately removed them and sent a notice of the action with a promise of no more paparrazi during Yoga class.

I dropped below 200 lbs and my waist is getting smaller. I am feeling stronger and successful. I used 2 MonaVie Active gel and 2 Pulse gel as part of my recovery nutrition. I believe Pulse helps build a stronger heart and Active helps keep knees, ankles and joints from clicking and creaking. MonaVie fuels my dream!

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An Ultramarathon runner Among us

Vince Romney has helped me to start and continue running. I met Vince in an interview for a position at Monavie as a Seinor Technical Writer. I got the job and this has opened up to me opportunities to meet and persue some personal goals and dreams.

For most of the last 18 years Vince has been running to fulfill fitness requirements as a member of the military Guard and Reserves. He became interested in Ultrarunning two years ago when the timing and calculations company he worked with was contracted by Karl Meltzer to time the second annual SpeedGoat 50K footrace at Snowbird, UT.

Up to that point, he had assumed that distance running was running a marathon with 10,000+ of your closest friends on dirty city streets; which held no interest to him whatsoever! He had run in the "Ragnar" relay series, but never in any individual events. However, watching the SpeedGoat unfold that day, and chatting with Karl throughout the race sparked an intense interest in participating in "a nice walk in the mountains".

Vince started training by running every day a little further than the day before. After a few months, he was running 6-12 miles a day, with a run up to 17 miles on a Saturday... but at that mileage he was "bonking".

He started researching supplements and tried several options but settled on Hammer Nutrition. Their Endurolytes electrolyte replacement pills, and Perpetuem glycogen supplement combination made it possible to extend a Saturday run into the mid-twenties, and NOT BONK! Vince consumes two MonaVie® Active Gels after each workout. Made up of a blend of fruits with plant-derived glucosamine, it gives an energy boost and aids in the recovery and healing of sore joints.

He felt confident that he was ready to try a 50K race. His first attempt at the SpeedGoat was cut short at mile 11 because of a knee injury from all the hammering running downhill and an injury caused by sliding down a hill on Dutch Flat. Limping four miles back to the Peruvian lift at Snowbird, he officially attained the status "did not finish".

It was at this point that he was training at Lifetime Fitness, and heard Troy Robertson was looking for a pacer for the Wasatch 100. He paced him from Millcreek Canyon to Brighton Ski Resort which was about 15 miles. Vince learned a LOT about running and listening to the body's feedback during the race, maintaining a low-but-consistent pace, and general attitude.

Taking that knowledge and applying it, he ran his next 50K in Goblin Valley, about 33 miles, and finished in the middle of the pack, despite tearing a calf muscle at about mile 22, he still felt great finishing.

In his own words, "There's nothing like the feeling of going past the traditional limits of our species, and proving that neither age nor traditional perceptions can limit your personal performance. I don't ever envision a time when I won't be running... even at 80, I expect to be participating in ultramarathons. Because it both challenges and rewards me, I believe it makes me a better person, father, husband, employee, etc. I continue to question my personal limits, disregard society's preconceptions about "normal" and push for the exceptional in my pursuits."

As Alfred Einstein stated: "The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a faithful servant. We have created a society that honors the servant and has forgotten the gift." I push myself, and encourage others to honor the gift, and ignore the servant when exploring personal limits.

My Triathlon Training Thoughts

I started thinking seriously about competing in an Ironman triathlon while I was in the Wasatch Back Relay Ragnar 09. The race inspired me to want to fulfill a dream I held since I was 18. I wanted a coach or trainer to help me stay motivated. Ironman requires extraordinary endurance and strength to finish.

I started out by taking swim lessons at my local Recreation center. Becca and Britany helped me improve all of my swim strokes: free style, breast stroke, back stroke and butterfly. They had both participated in triathlon competitions. I asked for strength training routines And was shown a simple routine for building upper and lower body strength.

At work, we had a gym benefit that would pay most of the membership fees at Lifetime Fitness. I visited the gym and was impressed with the facility. I was introduced to Robby who told me about their triathlon class. The class met on Monday (swim), Wednesday (run) and Friday (cycle). I signed up immediately.

I was introduced to Polar exercise systems, a watch, heart rate monitor and foot pod. I was told that the systems worked with the treadmills, eliptical and stationary bikes to display heart rate. The watch can also download information to the computer and analyzed with polar pro trainer.

Vince told me about his plans to test his VO2 maximum. The test measures how much oxygen the lungs absorb and maps it to heart rate to determine exertion zones. The zones are described on a scale from 1-5. Zone 1 being active recovery, zone 2 base, zone 3 aerobic training, zone 4 anaerobic training and zone 5, peak training. I retest every 3 months to adjust training zones and to provide a report card of how I'm doing.

The Polar system measures key performance indicators, i.e. heart rate.

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Triathlon Class at Lifetime Fitness

Triathlon class meets Monday for swim instruction, Wednesday for running and Friday for spinning. The class is offered through Lifetime Fitness for $160/month. There is a 7 am and a 5 pm class. I chose the morning to be home in the evening with my family.

I regularly work out with Jim, Meghan and Jared.

Jim started working about 3 years ago. He disliked running at first and started out lifting weights. He lost 35 lbs in his first 6 months and then started cycling and swimming. His wife joined him after he gifted her a LifeTime Fitness membership. She immediately took to it and quickly lost weight and looks much younger than her years. Jim joined the triathlon class to keep motivated to work out. His greatest work out motivation comes from participating in the calorie contests that are held at LifeTime. He said he didn't know how competitive he could be until he started working out to log more calories burned.

Meghan started training after a friend invited her to Women of Steel triathlon and was surprised how hard swimming was to complete. She said triathon training is like ADD of sports. You have lots of variety and it is easier to avoid burn out. She had trained hard for cycling and found it difficult and a little boring with spinning every day. She joined the triathlon class to help stay motivated and to strengthen her swimming skills. Meg works for a nutritional supplement company.

Jared is the owner of Papa Murphy's Take and Bake Pizza.

Eating like an Athlete

I am much more aware of the effect foods have on my athletic performance. I've noticed that cheap pizza or donuts doesn't make good fuel or raw materials for rebuilding stressed muscles and ligaments.

I don't feel like eating much at 4 or 5 am. I usually just drink a Young Living's Protein Complete with water or Soy milk and take 6-8 tablets of Spirillina.

After my first workout, I like to eat Dee's Cereal (multigrain). I also like to take 20 drops of a mineral supplement called Aryze from Gifts of Nature. It helps to reduce pain and swelling. MonaVie Active also helps to reduce painful inflamation in the joints, e.g. Knees and ankles.

I've given much more consideration to having a test of how many calories I need to burn. The test requires a fast before and then a test determines how many calories you need to keep moving. This helps to determine how much food is needed in an endurance race such as a marathon or triathlon. I have been much more careful to make sure meals have enough carbs and protein.