Show Me What You Got

Foccacia . . . Fascitis....I Got a Foot Problem

As many of you know that I am training for the Las Vegas Marathon in December. This past Saturday I was scheduled to run 16 miles. I did the usual pre-run prep that I do -

Have breakfast which consist of a slice of cinnamon raisin toast with extra crunchy peanut butter.

Drink Water.

Take Two Advil.

Drive to Training.

Take a Gel (mainly Tri-Berry or Strawberry Banana Gu).

I did all this and was prepared for the long mileage. Before the run I noticed a feeling in my right heel. I attempted to run but then I felt a pain in the heel of my foot so I ended up stopping. I didn't want to risk anything by having whatever I had get worse by running 16 miles.

I asked my Coach what it could be. He said it was mental which isn't an answer I was going to accept. That day I had a positive outlook for that run prior to feeling the pain in my foot so it wasn't mental.

I went home, rested, and iced my foot. I figure I should do this to make the situation better and try it again on Sunday.

Well Sunday came and did the whole regimen again and attempted to run. Same thing happened. So I stopped running again.

On Monday I decided to go to the doctor and see what was happening. He examined me and thinks I am developing Plantar Fascitis.

According to WebMD Plantar fasciitis (say "PLAN-ter fash-ee-EYE-tus") is the most common cause of heel pain. The plantar fascia is the flat band of tissue (ligament) that connects your heel bone to your toes. It supports the arch of your foot. If you strain your plantar fascia, it gets weak, swollen, and irritated (inflamed). Then your heel or the bottom of your foot hurts when you stand or walk.

They list a bunch of causes but one that is obvious of what happened is:You walk, stand, or run for long periods of time, especially on hard surfaces.

So as of right now I need to rest my foot and stop running. I swear if it's one thing it's not another. I really hope that this doesn't affect my marathon training. I've done so much to reach the point to where I am. Send me good thoughts and hopefully I'll be crossing the finish line of my marathon race.

4 Miler

Who's up for a 4 mile run today?

In Memory of Pamela Rudin

Many people come into your life and touch you in a different way. Being the Director for Train to End Stroke many do. It’s a gratifying job seeing people doing great things for other people by raising funds for the Stroke Association but also seeing the changes physically by completing a full or half marathon.

Majority of the people doing the program are people who have never done a marathon before but just want to get into shape. Others are doing it because they want to honor a loved one who has been affected by stroke. Then we get the special ones as I like to call it who have been affected by stroke themselves. We give them the title of Stroke Hero.

Pamela Rudin was one of these heros. Pamela came to me in August of 2004 to train for her first marathon in Honolulu. Having aphasia it was hard for her to communicate and carry a conversation which probably made her a bit shy coming to a group like Train to End Stroke. However with her involvement I saw her warming up and even becoming friends with other participants. You knew with her bright smile and laughter that she was having the time of her life at training and at the marathon events.

Pamela didn't stop at just one marathon in Honolulu. Last time I checked she has done Train to End Stroke 6 times raising over $14,000. What would motivate Pamela to do this. Pamela is a stroke hero. She had her stroke as a baby. From a baby to adulthood I am sure she had to go through many obstacles and she wanted to make Train to End Stroke another obstacle that she would overcome.

There was one obstacle that she couldn’t win. Pam had been diagnosed for melanoma for 10 years and doctors recently discovered she had two inoperable brain tumors. For the past month or so, she was undergoing radiation and treatment. Unfortunately she passed away on Thursday of last week.

This news of Pamela's passing has saddened me. She was a great inspiration to myself and to many that had the honor of being on the same team as her.

I have decided to dedicate the marathon I am doing in Las Vegas to Pamela Rudin. It is the least I can do as she has done so much for the American Stroke Association.

Support me by making a donation in her honor. If you would like to make a donation click the link on the side bar.

This Weeks Jamz

What I'm jammin to right now . . .

The Greatest

We have now completed one week of the Olympics with one one more week to go. Many of you just as I was have been glued to the TV watching the different sports. Of course the most watched is swimming dominating the coverage. Why? To see if Michael Phelps can set a record of getting 8 gold medals. He did it. Congratulations to him and to all of the Americans who competed this week.

P.S. Why wasn't tennis as heavily televised? Dangit. For those of you who know me - I'm a Tennis junkie. Oh well. Special shout out to Venus & Serena for winning Gold in the women's doubles and the Bryan Bros. for winning Bronze.

Ice Pantabulous!

Frozen Desserts have skyrocketed in popularity especially with Pink Berry and Pinky Berry wannabes. There's the new place called Ice Pan at the West Hollywood Gateway where Target, Best Buy and other stores are located. Trevor and I first discovered this place a couple weeks ago after dinner at Rockin Sushi. To order you need to pick out the flavor, then the type of milk, and the topping you would like.

Once you have ordered is where the fun begins. They make up their special concoction in a cup and pour it over this pan. As soon as it freezes the worker folds it and hits it and continues. It is quite a physical undertaking for him or her. It could be a good way to get your aggressions out if you're mad. haha.

They work on the ice cream for a good 5 minutes until it is the consistency of ice cream.

With my first bite I was surprised how good it was. I skeptical at first but it is really good ice cream. They claim for it to be healthy as well.

If you're in the area I suggest you try it.

My favorite - Strawberry Ice Cream made out of Low Fat Milk with Bananas.

Tonight we did the same thing however I was too full from dinner to get any but Trevor got the flavor above. However, they were working on a sample flavor and we are able to taste it. The flavor is - Cucumber.

I know it sounds gross but it was actually good. It's a flavor I could see being served at spas. It was really refreshing but then again I couldn't take another bite. Not sure if the flavor would be popular but if they do happen to have I'm sure I'll have it.

If any of you want to head out to Ice Pan let me know and I'm sure myself or Trevor would accompany you.

Found

Found the ipod. Whew! It was under my seat in my car. Unfortunately I got a parking ticket because my meter ran out in West Hollywood. Argh! I swear I was only a minute off. If it's not one thing it's another.

Where Are They?

I can't find my ipod. I left my house key inside my apartment. Where is my head today? Argh!

Don't Drink and Run

My training for the Las Vegas Marathon in December is well under way. This past Saturday I ran 14 miles with my team in Long Beach. It was a great run and most of it was along the beach. I also ran into my friend Brian who ran about a mile with me. He was doing 19 miles that day.

Today was a maintenance run of 3 miles. Before the run I drank a whole can of Diet Coke. Bad mistake! I kind of felt gassy and full the whole run. This also made this run a lot slower.

At least I am learning this now and not at the race. No more Diet Coke before running - just water & gatorade.

Philippines Takes the Title Back

The Hip Hop World Championships were held in Las Vegas this year and the Philippines All-Stars took Gold, Eclectik from Trinidad & Tobago took silver and Kaba Modern from the U.S. took Bronze. Congratulations! Holla!

St. Louis Steel

Here's a sign that I thought that was funny when I visited Trevor in St. Louis last year. Must be a lot of upright steel structures in St. Louis

Steak Fries

This happened years ago but it's funny.

Another night of drinking and another post meal after drinking. We sit down and order food. My one friend orders steak fries. You know - the fries that are cut thicker and wider than normal french fries. The order comes and he looks at his plate puzzled. He turns to the waiter and asks "Where's the steak?" Hahahaha!

Shows you what alcohol does to the brain.

Yes!

Yes! Yes! Yes!

Doing Laundry

Today's Sunday so it's laundry day. I gather my items and head to the laundromat down the street from my apartment. As I unload I look in my car for the detergent. I know for a fact I always leave the detergent in my car. Guess what? I realized this is what they stole from car. LAUNDRY DETERGENT!!!

Whomever broke into my car stole my laundry detergent. Kind of pathetic. Rather than breaking into my car, having me shelve out almost $200 for a new window I'd rather buy whoever laundry deterget.

Broken Glass

So today sucks. It was a normal morning and I was ready to head off to work. I get into the car and start driving for a little bit and notice my doors won't lock. I look back and see that the back passenger window is broken. My car got broken into!!!! I notice papers also sticking out of my glove compartment. I decide to drive back home and report it to the police. They said since nothing was stolen they can't really do anything but increase patrol on the street. Great!

Luckily I had nothing valuable in my car nor did I have anything in my trunk. Still sucks.

Here's the damage that was done.


**UPDATE
The window is now fixed. It cost me a pretty penny though. The guy who was fixing my window noticed a cut and said they used a screwdriver to break the window. Also what's disconcerning is that he said he was here last week fixing somebody else's window but somebody threw a brick through that person's window. I guess my neighborhood isn't as safe as I thought.

Cleaning the Grill - Barbecue Grill not Teeth

July is almost to an end but it was quite the birthday month. Many of my friends turned 30 this past month. Here's a memory for you to enjoy from Andrew's Birthday.

Friday after my chriopractor appointment I went to Andrew's house to help him out with some setting up before his party on Saturday. He gave us a list of stuff to do. What I was assigned was cleaning the chairs that were going to be used and the barbecue grill. The chairs went fast since Trevor came to help.

What I was dreading was cleaning the grill. I asked Larnie if she had metal brush and all that good stuff that is needed to clean a grill. She gives it to me and I get into it, brushing the inside grill, getting my hands all dirty and in the end it was nice and clean. Ready to be used.

Party day comes. We head to the back and I see the grill in the corner of the backyard. I asked Andrew if they used the grill for the food.

His answer - No. Ummm...no? He said it was more for show for the backyard. He didn't expect me to clean the inside. Andrew just wanted it wiped down.

Pretty funny, eh? Andrew you owe me!!! (AGAIN!)

Another Dance from the Philippines

Earlier this month I posted a video of a dance called spaghetti. Well here's another one called giling giling. Which one do you think is better? I know - I'm a fob at heart. hahahaha.

You Donate . . . I Run

This year marks a special year for me as I celebrate my 30th birthday in October. I do have many things planned for the upcoming 30th birthday year. As part of my plans I plan on participating in the Las Vegas Marathon in December. However, prior to that I plan on participating in the Start! L.A. County Heart Walk on September 27th.

Everyone knows someone affected by heart disease or stroke. For those I love, I will be participating in this year’s Heart Walk on September 27th. I have set a personal goal of $2000 to raise funds for the American Heart Association and need your help to reach my fundraising goal. We are raising critical dollars for heart disease and stroke research and education.

I would be honored to participate in the Heart Walk and my marathon in honor of anyone you know who has been affected by heart disease and stroke. Make sure you send me a note.

You can help me reach my goal of $2000 by visiting my personal website at http://heartwalkla.kintera.org/lacountyca/lustina08. You can also send a contribution by check - just email me and I can send you my address. Although the event is September my plan is to have my goal reached by August 30th.

You can do the easy part by making a donation while I do the hard part by training and pounding the pavement!

Your donation will help fight our nation’s No. 1 and No. 3 killers—heart disease and stroke. You are making a difference. Thank you for your support.Your donation will help fight our nation’s No. 1 and No. 3 killers—heart disease and stroke. You are making a difference. Thank you for your support.

Why Does Joe Keep on Hugging Me?