I finally figured out how to use the Lifecycle today. Is there a reason they can't have the instructions be a little more specific?

After doing the 5/5 thing on the treadmill for 35 minutes, I did 10 on the bike. I would have done more, except my butt keeps slipping off the seat. I tried lowering it, but I still have the same problem. Not sure how to avoid that from happening.

If I continue to have the same problem, I'll just have to do the treadmill longer. It seems to be getting a bit easier with the jog, so maybe extending it 10 minutes or so is in order.

Also, while jogging it seems like I'm not going all that fast. I'm doing what I physically can, I don't want to overdo it, but looking at myself in the mirror it still seems like a fat guy shuffling around. Not really, but that's my internal perception.

At least I was able to watch an entire DS9 episode today. :)

The 2006 Explore Yuba Sutter Visitor's Guide has finally been published. Last year's was published in November 2004. I sent my final images to them in August of last year, but they didn't publish until a few weeks ago.

At any rate, here's how it turned out. Last year, I had one picture published; this year, three. I had hoped I would be on the cover, but they chose someone else's motocross picture over mine. No big deal, this is great exposure.

So here's the cover. It's not my image.


Here's the first page with my image, page 28. Ducks alongside Ellis Lake in Marysville.


Page 29. I drove to Spenceville specifically to shoot people outdoors for the Visitor's Guide, when I ran into two people riding horses. They were gracious enough to let me photograph them, and I told them if they got into the guide, I would send them a copy. They were, and I will.


Finally, page 34. From the 2005 Bok Kai parade.


I'm pretty satisfied with the way it turned out, but I probably would have picked different images. But I'm not the editor!

If you'd like to view the pictures in their context with full-size pages, you can. I scanned all 4 pages to PDF format, which can be downloaded here.

Two days in a row jogging; boy, who would have thought in high school that the thing I hated the most would be something I'm actively trying to do at 36.

I think that's what part of the problem was. Growing up as a geek, not fitting in, people making fun of me for my lack of athletic ability. It caused me to therefore dislike activity, to the point of not doing it. You know the rest.

I suppose being 80 pounds too heavy is better than going Columbine. That may sound like an excuse, but really it's not. I had a difficult time growing up, as did we all, and in my case, it was all related to not being good at athletic activities. Little League? They forced me to quit because I wasn't as good, and then made fun of me for quitting. Jr. High Basketball? The same thing.

I was even interested in track when I was in high school, but was scared to death to even try. So what did I do?

I dug into computers. Computers, where you sit in front of a keyboard for hours a day, days on end, week after week. Computers, where you can make $ and gain weight at the same time.

No more. I'm tired of it. Today I did 35 minutes on the treadmill, alternating 5 minutes walking at 3.5mph, 5 minutes jogging at 5mph. It's still not great, but it's better than I was a year ago. I'll get better. Watch me.

It took most of the weekend, but my doomsday prediction came true: I was up 2 pounds this morning, 190. Scale be damned: I jogged on the treadmill today!

Yes, you heard me right, jogged. Not the entire time, but still a jog/walk. I was using the treadmill's programmed setting for "jogging 3 miles", but when walking it was 2mph. After the pace I've been walking every day, 2mph is a snail's pace. 2mph is the pace I walked when my daughter was learning how to walk...

The programmed jog settings were a fast walk! So I upped that as well. When the treadmill switched to 2mph, I'd set it to 3.5. When in jogging mode, the treadmill switched to 4mph, but I changed it to 5.

So at 3.5mph walking pace and 5mph jogging pace, I actually went for 35 minutes. That amounted to 284 calories burned, which smokes the 192 or so I was burning with walking alone.

Eventually I want to work my way up to jogging the entire time, and for an hour. We'll see how long it takes to work up to, because this is fine.

And thank goodness for the Sci-Fi Channel. I was able to watch classic Battlestar Galactica while working out. Geek paradise!

When I came into work this morning I had a message from my boss that he had sent at 2:30am... he and his wife were on their way to the hospital so she could have her baby. She finally had it at noon today.

The boss being gone is always a good opportunity to have Mongolian BBQ for lunch, so we did... I tried, really tried, not to overeat, but it sort of happened.

Now, my overeating wasn't anything bad, it was just a general "I ate too much" thing. My carbs for the day aren't over, but I just have a feeling the 188 that I've been at the past few days will be 190 by morning.

Saturday's my church's Men's Breakfast, and again, I know I'll be good. But now I'll spend the rest of next week trying to get back to 188! And next week is the 4th week of regular weight loss, then two weeks of metabolic adjustment.

So in the end it's looking like for this particular 6-week period once over (3 more weeks) I'll have lost 2 pounds. WHOA! I know, I know, there's 3 weeks left, but still. I need to get back on track.

The van's in the shop today so I commuted with a couple people. I wasn't able to get soda this morning, so I turned my daily walk into a trek over to AM/PM. Same distance, but slightly different view.

3/4 of the way back it started raining, and I was only wearing my polo shirt. Well, pants too. And underwear. And of course, shoes.

It was a nice change of scenery though. I'm back down to 188, which is great, hopefully I can maintain the momentum... AND, I haven't had any sugar today. So I'm happy.

Greg

On March 29, 2003 I hiked to Feather falls, and wrote about it here. It wasn't the most pleasant experience of my life, because I took on something I wasn't prepared for, either mentally or physically. I weighed close to 250 pounds, and took my camera gear with me.

I repeated it with a buddy on July 4, 2003, but again, I had a rough time due to my weight, and being out of shape. That particular time, I was also dealing with just being diagnosed with diabetes, and not being sure about things like sugar crashes. I had one on the way back from the falls that day, and didn't realize that by eating even a small amount of sugar, I would have been fine.

Why am I mentioning this? Well, on Saturday, after just shy of 3 years, I went back to Feather Falls, and this time it was a much more pleasant experience.

Interestingly, it snowed the night before, so the white stuff was everywhere at the trailhead. I almost didn't even drive in because of all the snow. Once I saw a small car come out though, I knew I wouldn't have a problem, and in I went.

The trailhead temp was 46 degrees. I went in and noticed the difference right away. I weigh less, I'm in much better shape, and the time went by much faster. I had the same amount of camera gear as my trek in 2003, but didn't have a problem at all. When I got to the footbridge at Frey Creek, I took some pictures.

This is from underneath the footbridge.


As I was shooting, two women came across the bridge. I think the temp at this point was 42, but I really didn't feel cold. Good thing I didn't wear my jacket, like I almost did!


After about 45 minutes of shooting I went on down the trail. When I got to the 2-mile marker (which indicates 2 miles from the trailhead, not 2 miles from the falls), my thoughts were completely different than before. On the other trip, all I could think of was nursing my poor blistery feet. This time, all I could think of was my prior trip and how different this was.

At the lookout for Bald Rock Dome (see my entry for that hike here, I met up with a couple in their mid-40s. We had a chat for a bit, they told me they had just started hiking to get in shape and were having difficulties. I told them about my previous trip, and about how perserverence can get them to where they want to be. They're probably a bit farther along than I was, actually.

When I reached the fork a half-mile before the falls, I rested and drank a little water. It's also interesting to note that I hadn't drank much at this point. The couple I met earlier came up the trail and I joined them.

At the view of the rivers, I shot some pictures for my church, named oddly enough, The Rivers (funny how that works).


Once at the falls, I sat down, relaxed, and ate lunch. I chatted with the people at the top as usual, and watched the idiots at the top of the falls. In this picture, you can actually see the memorial plaque that mentions a boy scout in the early 70s who fell over the falls.


Here's a view of the falls themselves. I didn't take the trip to the top this time, since I was running short on time as it was. I think this was 2:30pm.


Finally, here's a slightly different view, showing snow on the peak behind. I had hoped for some snow at the falls level, but this late in the day it had probably melted.


I made it back to the van around 5pm. I didn't have to walk in the dark, but even if I had, I had a flashlight this time. It helps to be prepared, doesn't it? Anyway, thanks for reading, the hike was fun. I'll be doing it again very soon. For the rest of the pictures, go to http://www.thechances.com/gallery/FeatherFalls030406/.

The candy came out yesterday.

It wasn't too bad yesterday, but today I found myself eating at least three bite-sized pieces, in addition to the 5 or 6 peanut M&M's from early this morning. It all adds up! I gotta work on that self-control.

Now about that walk. I'm at 34 1/2 minutes for a 2-mile walk, which is great for me. When I started, it was 50 minutes, so I've improved tremendously. Today, about a mile and a half in, my stomach started bothering me. When I stopped I couldn't believe how much it slowed me down... 36 minutes! I did the duty in the restroom and have felt fine ever since.

It's supposed to stop raining this weekend! Perhaps I'll get to fit some hiking in. That'd be nice, but we'll see what the family's doing.

Enough of this for now. :)