Saturday, March 31, 2012

Day 33-Weigh-in Day: 354.8lbs


WEEK 5
Start Weight: 365.4
Last Week's Weight: 354.6
Current Weight: 354.8
This week’s weight loss: +0.2lbs
Total weight loss: 10.6
Miles biked this week: 34.18
Total Miles biked: 282.12
Miles to go: 7217.88

GEOGRAPHY (Where I'd be on the map having started at my house in Salt Lake City, Utah, heading for Tokyo):
LEEDS, Utah (I-15)

TODAY:
I had an okay week. I think I’m getting to the point where it’s easy to start slacking, and not giving 100%. So today is a day to recommit, and stay focused. I’m not bummed about staying the same weight this week. I think I had a break through yesterday and will just keep moving.

LEARNED:
Well, I think I discovered something yesterday. I’ve rode around on my bike here and there, but yesterday morning, I had the chance to ride and just focus. Most of my riding has been on little rides with my daughter. Yesterday I got to focus on my riding. I feel a burn that is not there on my stationary bike. I don’t think I am burning as many calories on my stationary bike. So this week, I have a challenge for myself. I am going to ride down to Liberty Park every morning including next Saturday, and start with 2 laps around, and increase by 1 lap every day. So by Saturday I will do 7 laps. Even if I get tired and have to walk, I will do the laps. Then bike home. This is a good challenge for me.

EATING:
I learned a few things that I need to watch. That sauce that I loved so much, the raspberry chipotle for Costco, well despite the low calories, it’s first ingredient is sugar. I put a tablespoon of honey on my oatmeal every morning. I guess honey is nothing more than sugar. So I see some areas that I can improve.

FILM:
I found a camera guy that can help me this week on interviews.

Friday, March 30, 2012

Day 32: I feel like such a fool!

This morning I had one of the most embarrassing experiences I've ever had...
Thinking back on it, this would be a good reason to hang up the spokes right now!!
While pedaling across a cross walk in the view of the public, my jogging pants leg got caught in the gears and I felt my pants being pulled down. I quickly pulled them up before too much damage was done, but was so embarrassed! I had to walk my bike, hold my pants up and fight against the gears pulling on my pants. Humiliation!



It was bound to happen.

Distance: 7.1
Time: 45 min

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Day 30: Concerned

Well, I got my workout in. I did 10 miles. I've been slacking a bit because I haven't been feeling well. I've had a cough and some congestion for about 3 weeks. I am getting tired of it. I want to feel healthy and happy, but am not the best. I can't tell if I'm not eating right, or if I simply just have a virus or something. I feel bloated and some times it's hard to breath.

When I did the construction a few days ago on our patio,  I was on my feet most of the time, and on my knees one of the days. It was physically exerting but I don't feel I over did it. I weighed myself and I was weighing 5 lbs heavier! I don't know if I'm retaining water or what. The body is freaking out a bit. Oh well.

 I was going to skip my work out this evening and just get some sleep, but I've only gotten down the road 20 miles so far this week, and I've got to get my distance in. It's a dilemma. I will give it a few more days and if I don't feel better I'll go see the doc and get some antibiotics. I hear though that somethings going around and it is hitting people for about 3 weeks.

Anyway. I had some Chinese food tonight with veggies and tofu...okay I had some General Tso's Chicken too. It tasted good, and I enjoyed it.

Well, it's late...go to bed!




Distance: 10:03
Time: 43:54

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Day 29: Month #1 is down, only 14 more to go

Well I'm a month into this adventure and I'm still alive. Overall things have been good. I know I need to work harder though, and that a lot more good pain is ahead of me.
My wife handed me a big bag of frozen chicken the other day. It was heavy. She when pointed out that that is how much weight I've lost. Wow! Tomorrow I plan to get a good bike ride in on my road bike.
Here is a picture of my stationary bike. As you can see it is limping along. Notice the duct tape holding the control center together, and hidden behind the pillows is a seat back that is broken in half. I smell a video tour of my exercise bike coming soon.

Distance: 10:04
Time: 45:42

Saturday, March 24, 2012

Day 26-Weigh-in Day: 354.6lbs


WEEK 4

Start Weight: 365.4
Last Week's Weight: 357.6
Current Weight: 354.6
This week’s weight loss: 3lbs
Total weight loss: 11
Miles biked this week: 59.68
Total Miles biked: 247.94
Miles to go: 7252.06

GEOGRAPHY (Where I'd be on the map having started at my house in Salt Lake City, Utah, heading for Tokyo):
Cedar City, Utah (I-15)

TODAY:
I was working with my brother on a little construction project and noticed that my left knee is very weak when it comes to lifting my body weight on my left leg, like going up and down a ladder. But, there will come a day when there won’t be an extra 155lbs to lift. I didn’t do any cycling today, but was on my feet for 13 hours.

LEARNED:
Despite being a little discouraged last week for a low weight loss amount, I just moved forward doing my thing. I think despite missing a 15-mile workout mid-week, I made up a little mileage when I could, and kept eating like a good boy. It’s about weight loss, but it’s not about weight loss. As long as I am doing what needs to be done, I can’t be sad with the results.

It’s been a little over three weeks since I started my journey. I look at the almost 250 miles I’ve biked this month, and as a beginner, that is amazing to me. I’ve got to double that each month to get to Japan…remember it’s only 7500 miles away. I’ve had a cough that I’m trying to get over, but despite that, I feel better, my clothes are getting a little looser, and I am excited about the direction I’m heading. It hasn’t been easy, but I saw a little quote by Mike Tyson saying something about pain being just a temporary thing. I thought about that. Some times it’s not fun to jump on the bike and start pedaling, but once on, half the battle is over. Then you push yourself to have a good workout. The pain only lasts a short time, but the satisfaction of having done a good job stays with you far longer! Every little pedal, every little veggie placed in my mouth, etc., is a step closer to where I will be on June 1, 2013.

EATING:
I need to introduce more beans into my eating. I need to up it on the veggies too. I think I need to go visit with a nutritionist, as I might need some help to tweak things. I find that I can chow down on a meal and literally 30 minutes later my stomach has burned through it and it starts growling. Most of the time I’m fine, but I’ve noticed that there have been some times when I feel hungry and I’m not prepared to eat. I’m still learning and I’m sure I’ll get a good rhythm going. I know that when you’re working out this much, you need to feed the body differently.

FILM:
I’ve got to do some sit down interviews this week because I’ve already lost 11 pounds and I haven’t gotten the kick off interviews done where I get to explain what I’m doing. Some of it I have on “Photobooth, and my iPhone, but I need to get a camera guy over to interview me and a few others. There are some other things that are in the works but I can’t share them on the blog or it will spoil the surprise in the final documentary. I’m curious as to what you think of the videos I’ve posted so far. We’re just getting going, but is there something you’d like to see me put up? Please feel free to comment…I’d love to hear from you.

Friday, March 23, 2012

Day 25: Another day of biking...



Morning
Distance: 8:04
Time: 33:37

Bike Ride with Daughter
Distance: 3:00
Time: 30:00


Evening
Distance: 9:08
Time: 38:30

Thursday, March 22, 2012

Day 24: Lap at Liberty Park...pulling a Tag-a-long

I consciously made a decision to not ride my bike Tuesday night. I had to edit until 2am. Then I came home feeling terrible and went to bed last night.

But my persistent daughter had me up nice and early so we could go biking at Liberty Park this morning. We got 3 laps in which is 3.75 miles. We put her Tag-a-long on the back of my bike and so that's pulling an extra 75 pounds! That should count for something. I could feel a good burn in my legs this morning, something I don't feel that often on my stationary bike.

I've included a fun little clip for you from a few weeks back.

Enjoy!

http://youtu.be/VYHegtIVT4Y

Morning
Distance: 3.75
Time: 30 minutes




Evening
Distance: 12:41
Time: 53:13








Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Day 22: Chompin' at the bit

We'll it has snowed for the past few days and it's cold outside, but should be warming back up. I'm chompin' at the bit to get on my road bike. It looks like the rest of the week will be good.

Doing two shorter workouts seems to be the charm right now. I feel great during the day, although I was a little wound up last night and laid awake for an hour after my workout. Also, I've had a little congestion over the past week or so. I think my body was over doing it and caused a little head cold to come on. Since I'm not pushing so hard now I think it's getting better.


A beautiful dinner I had at home recently!

Monday, March 19, 2012

Day 21: Back in the saddle

This week I'm going to do 2, 30-min workouts/rides everyday and see how that goes with my energy level. Let me know what sort of a workout you're doing.
Morning
Evening

Distance: 15:37
Time: 65:37

Saturday, March 17, 2012

Day 18-Weigh-in Day: 357.6lbs


 WEEK 3

Start Weight: 365.4
Last Week's Weight: 358.4
Current Weight: 357.6
This week’s weight loss: 14oz
Total weight loss: 8
Miles biked this week: 63.82
Total Miles biked: 188.26
Miles to go: 7481.74

GEOGRAPHY (Where I'd be on the map having started at my house, heading for Tokyo):
Manderfield, Utah (I-15)

TODAY:
It is sure nice to be resting today. I look back at this past week and it has been a lot of work. Also, I got on my road bike and started riding and that has taken an adjustment physically (Sorebum Syndrome.) Yesterday I snuck on the scale and noticed that for all my work I lost a measly one pound. I admit I had a pity party and was feeling very discouraged. I’ve been faithful on my eating, averaging 2000 calories a day, and I exercised faithfully everyday. I will say that my clothes are feeling looser, and that I could pull up a belt loop. That counts for something. I have to believe that I have been building a lot of muscle in my legs. I won’t dwell on it. On to next week…

LEARNED:
I’ve been doing these hour-long/15-mile workouts on my stationary bike and I feel tired the rest of the day. Mid-week I had to leave home early and could only fit in a 30-min/7-mile ride. I felt fantastic the rest of the day. I suspect that at my weight, pushing hard for an hour straight may be a little too much. This week I am going to try splitting my workout into a morning and an evening workout, and see how I feel. When I do 30-min, I can give it some good gusto without dying at the end. It’s a satisfying effort, as opposed to an exhaustive effort.

EATING:
I’ve been eating a lot of grilled chicken…and I need some variety. I think it’s time to start getting a little more creative with meals--maybe some smoothies and juicing. BTW, there’s this sauce you can get from Costco called Raspberry Chipotle sauce that is 40 calories per Tablespoon. It is the best. I tastes like it is 200 cal per Tbsp! It brings chicken to life!! I might add that yesterday when I was having a pity party I was at Subway and I rebelled by eating one of their sugar cookies! Take that body!


FILM:
I am hunting for some sponsors to pay for the film and expenses of this production. I have approached 2 potential big name sponsors and have been told they don’t sponsor individuals, athletes, etc. (I had to laugh thinking that I could be considered an athlete…Me?) I know that there is an individual, or entities out there that I will find. Next week I will be shooting some interviews with myself, family and peers. Let me know if you have something you want to say on film! Look for a clip on biking Monday morning.

Saturday Lunch:
Egg white omelet, broccoli, chicken breast and Cholula!


Friday, March 16, 2012

Day 17: This is hard!

It's all I could do to get to 15 this morning. Gee I thought it would be easy by now. ;)

Morning
Distance: 15.00
Time: 66:13

Evening
Distance: 3.00
Time: 30:00

Thursday, March 15, 2012

Day 16: Bike seats and sushi

Spring is upon us. This week it's been in the 60s and little by little is getting warmer.

My daughter and I went for a very short bike ride around the neighborhood yesterday. It was fun but I realized that a recumbent bike and a road bike are two different creatures the stationary bike has a soft seat...at least compared to the road bike. That's gonna take some getting used to. Kind of like sushi...sometimes it takes a little time to develop the taste.

Also, when you think about it, a fat man on a bike riding around has got to be a sight to see, oh well. I've seen this larger guy in my neighborhood out walking his dogs over the past 3 years. I noticed a while back that the dogs look about the same, but he is fit and trim now. I guess you just do it.
7 miles this morning, the balance this evening.


Morning
Distance: 7.03
Time: 30:21


Afternoon
Distance: 1.5
Time: 30:00

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Day 15: Outdoor Biking

I was so excited to pick up my road bike today from the bike shop. My daughter and I had to go for a quick ride. I immediately could tell that if I didn't lower the seat, there would never ever be another chance at having children again...ouch!!!!

This morning I had time for a 7 mile ride on my recumbent bike. This evening I'll get the other 8 miles in outside.


This morning
Distance: 7.09 miles
Time: 30:21

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Day 14: What knocks you off track?

Last night I had some late night editing to do. I discovered that at about 10:30pm, I hadn't had dinner. I had an activity this evening and so by the time I got home, it was time to edit. I knew I needed to eat to finish up my nutrition for the day, but I jumped right into editing.

I made a couple of open face turkey sandwiches, chewed on some carrots and drank a little soy milk. Then I continued my editing activities until 1am. I knew I wasn't following my plan...2 errors here. 1) Eating late at night, and 2) Going to bed late. In the past, every time I get going good and consistently on a weight loss effort, late night editing, or very busy days knock me down in the end. I can look back on a former blog of entires and see as clear as day that when I let things like that creep into my schedule, sooner or later, I start skipping workouts, eating late, etc., and before you know it, I'm down and out.

I need to be in bed a lot earlier than I was this morning, and last meal no later than 7pm.

So I ask you this question: What has it been in your own life that "knocks you off track" when you're trying to stay healthy? What is it time and time again that seems to creep up into your own life.  I'd love to know.

This morning
Distance: 15 miles
Time: 64:41

I've noticed if I push just a little more, that I can get to 15 miles every morning.
I've got a friend that pedals 20 miles every morning. I want to be able to do that!

Monday, March 12, 2012

Day 13: The ascent to Fuji

The other day I took a drive up Emigration Canyon taking the route that heads to Little Dell Resevoir. The route isn't too bad (yeah right) until you get into the hills that lead to the summit. Remember, I'm driving, not biking. Then there are big steep hills that lead to the summit. The distance from about 1300 East in Salt Lake City, up to Little Dell Reservoir is about 7 miles. The distance from the base of Mount Fuji half way up the mountain (as far as you can bike) is almost 15 miles. So, if I do the Emigration Canyon route twice, that's the ascent up Mount Fuji. Easy! (cough cough)

My bike is being brought back to life up at a bike shop right now, and I should have it back by Wednesday to begin riding outdoors. Though the miles are coming along indoor on my recumbent bike, I'm getting tired of the scenery.

I've provided a picture of what I see every morning.

Notice duct tape holding on parts of the control panel. I bought this exercise bike off KSL.com a few years ago for $90. It is falling apart, but duct tape will keep anything together!


Distance 15:20
Time: 63:47

Saturday, March 10, 2012

Day 11-Weigh-in Day: 358.4lbs

WEEK 2
Start Weight: 365.4
Last Week's Weight: 362.4
Current Weight: 358.4
This week’s weight loss: 4 pounds
Total weight loss: 7 pounds
Miles biked this week: 70.06
Total Miles: 124.44

THANK YOU:
The first thing I want to broadcast out there is a big thank you to all the people that are following my adventure and have offered their support and encouragement! You don’t know how much it means to me to know that I’m not in this alone. I even had a personal phone call come in from a good friend who got word from a third party about what I’m embarking on. It sure made my day, along with all of your comments in the social media network.

I believe that success in achieving a weight loss goal, and maintaining a new healthy lifestyle has a lot to do with support and encouragement. Just know that I equally support you and love each one of you!

I intend to be successful. There is no doubt in my mind that I will be on top of Mount Fuji next summer. But knowing that there are people cheering this big boy on helps fuel that desire. Thank you again!


GEOGRAPHY (Where I'd be on the map having started at my house, heading for Tokyo):
6 miles passed Scipio, Utah (I-15)

TODAY:
I am happy that I’ve stuck to my eating and exercise. This is the longest in my life that I have exercised on a consistent daily basis! I’ve found myself thinking I could skip a round due to the late hour or because I was not in the mood, but I quickly made a choice to do it.

LEARNED:
My body talks to me…it tells me what it needs. I just need to listen. On Wednesday at the Treadmill heart test, I had a concern about injury. The day after the test, my left foot outside heal/ankle area hurt. I need to make sure I stretch well…all the time. The heel’s feeling better.

EATING:
The most I ate this week was 2500 calories/day. The least was 1700/calories. I had many opportunities to “just have a nibble” here and there, but didn’t. There are Girl Scout cookies everywhere! My daughter just finished selling them. All these bland veggies and chicken caused me to crave something sweet. A smoothie sounded good, but a lite yogurt did the job nicely. Last night I was craving “something”(again, my body talking,) I had veal parmesan and spaghetti. I scooped most of the cheese off the top. It was perfect, and fit in with my calories.

FILM:
Finished getting clinical tests shots at my clinic and at Utah Heart Clinic. The cardiologist told me he’s climbed Mount Kilimanjaro! What an inspiration! I might need to track him down for another interview. It’s time to prepare for peer interviews, stationary bike and road bike footage. I have some other surprises for the film that you won’t see until the documentary is finished. ;) I’m purchasing some HD equipment so my wife can film too. 

Friday, March 9, 2012

Day 10: I am proud of myself!

I had it in me this evening and so I gave it a little extra and got 15 miles in. I had spaghetti and veal Parmesan for dinner, so I needed to burn some of that off. I think the noodles helped me.

Tomorrow morning is Saturday morning weigh in. If I lost 5 pounds since last Saturday, I'll celebrate with a banana split!!

Just kidding.

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Day 8 cont.: Blood results-Treadmill test

I just finished my hour bike ride. I got in 13.5 miles. I have been exhausted though...long day running around everywhere. Well, I sat down with my doc this morning and she went over my blood test results in detail. I am at the pre-diabetic stage as far as my blood sugar levels. I have high cholesterol. My HDL is 42. Normal range is 40-63. But my LDL is 183. I should be below 130. So I have some work to do.

Some good news is they had me weigh in again, and I weighed 360.6! Since last week I've lost 5 pounds. So, I consider that a move in the right direction. My camera guy caught all the details on video.

Then we packed up and went over to the heart clinic for my treadmill test. I basically had to take my top off and bare all my glory for the camera so they could put heart leads on my chest. I wasn't embarrassed for the 3 guys in the room...I'm sure they've seen a lot of blubber before, but when I got home and reviewed the footage, it was embarrassing to see how big I am! Oh well. I've got to decide whether that stuff makes it in the final cut of the film or not. I think if it's compared to what I will look like at 210 lbs, then there is some redeeming value to it.

Anyway, I had this uncomfortable feeling during the treadmill test...I felt like something was up with my heart and that this test was going to reveal it. I feared that they would discover something wrong with my heart, etc. Anyway, they put me on the treadmill and I started at a 10% incline walking slow for 3 minutes. Then 3 more minutes at a higher incline and faster speed, and then they turned it up even higher! They got me up to 97% target heart rate for the test which meant my heart was beating at 175bpm. Wow, I don't think my heart has pounded like that in a while...a long while.

The two techs that helped me were cool and there were some humorous things we got on video. Anyway, the test lasted 7 minutes, just long enough to record my heart pumping at different stages of stress.

Then we went down and I had the cardiologist read my results to me. He said for a guy my age I need a better exercise regime, but the fact that I am doing what I am doing was a good sign that we're doing something about it. He said that there was nothing on my test that indicated that I had any arteries that looked blocked, and that there was no indication that I can't do this challenge!

So, there we are...I have no excuses.

Afterwards, my cameraman came over to my house and he taped me pulling my road bike out of a pile of junk on our back patio. Both tires are flat and one had rubber hanging out of the inside of the tire...I got to show my dusty, and nearly dead bike off. So now I get to go get it repaired and brought back to life so I can start riding it outside.

I just finished my hour our of pedaling and I am so dang tired. I'm sitting here typing this with sweat all over me, so time to hit the shower and go to bed. I'll be up at 6am to ride another hour!!



Day 8: Treadmill Test

This morning I have a follow up appointment with my doctor to read the results of my blood tests from last week. I actually have seen the results and they are not the best...but that's why we're doing what we're doing, right? My camera guy will be meeting me over at the clinic to film my doctor giving me my results.

This afternoon we'll be heading over to a heart clinic where I will be getting on a treadmill to do a heart stress test. Again, my camera dude will be there to capture all the excitement.

I've had a little concern about the test. I hope I'm not expected to run as fast as I can for 30 minutes. I think I can handle the stress to the heart, but I'm wondering about my left knee...

A Little Story...

Last summer, when I was "trying" to lose weight, I had a good consistent regime going by walking 2-3 miles every day. One day I got a little cocky and thought, "Hey, I'm superman now and if I start jogging, I'll bet I'll be all skinny and fit by next week!"

So for 30 seconds of every lap that I walked around the track, I jogged. By the second day I felt a slight irritation in my left knee. By the next day I couldn't walk. I don't remember hearing anything snap or pop, but I do remember that the pain was so severe that I was popping 800mg of Ibuprofen multiple times a day.

I begged my doc to see me ASAP so she could put me out of my misery. Soon I was in her office getting a steroid shot to my knee...talk about freaking me out.

I was convinced that needed surgery. In fact I had researched what my problem was, convinced myself that I was going to get some ortho-scopic surgery on my knee. My physical therapist, an excellent doc and an avid biker in Park City, told me that if it didn't heal, that he had a nice crew up the street in Park City that would do surgery for me...in fact the same surgeon that did Tiger Wood's knee surgery.

After about 5 weeks of PT, my knee all of a sudden got better! I could start to walk without pain.

My PT convinced me that biking is the way to go to avoid injury to the joints, etc. When you think that 8x your body weight is applied to your knee joint when running. That  is 2880 lbs! There is a place in my future for jogging and running...but not today, and not for a while. That is why biking works so well for me. In fact when rehabbing my knee last year, ridding my recumbent bike for an hour everyday played a big role in it's healing. When you're a big man like me, you need to be careful and wise.

__End of my story__

So, you can see why I don't want to stress my knee out today.

I'll be doing my 1 hour bike ride this afternoon after my heart test.

Here's a video of my check up with my doc last week.

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Day 7: Head/body buzz gone

Yesterday I have to admit I was feeling a little buzzed all day. I felt like I could have laid down and taken a nap at any second of the day. I pushed myself to get to 15 miles in just over an hour...but I think i pushed a little too hard. This morning I didn't push so hard and I'm feeling better. I think my body is a little confused. I've been eating between 1800-2200 calories for the most part. My bod's probably looking for a Big Mac, but hasn't seen it in a while. Fruits, veggies, chicken and fish is a stretch in some ways...but every day is a step to Mount Fuji.


Saturday, March 3, 2012

Day 4-Weigh-in Day: 362.4lbs

WEEK 1 (4-day week)
Start Weight: 365.4
Last Week's Weight: 365.4
Current Weight: 362.4
Weight loss: 3 pounds
Miles biked this week: 54.38
Total Miles: 54.38

GEOGRAPHY (Where I'd be on the map having started at my house, heading for Tokyo):
Payson, Utah

TODAY:
What a feeling of satisfaction to have put in 100% biking this week, 4 out of 4 days (since I started on Wednesday.) I will take Sunday's off.

LEARNED:
Even though I was tired today, and legs were sore, get on the bike anyway.

EATING:
I've been eating an average of 2000 calories every day and have felt pretty good over all. My body tells me when it's ready to eat.
Japanese Meal today: Teriyaki Salmon, Miso Soup, Alaskan Roll
Got really hungry between lunch and dinner and a dozen little carrots squelched the growling.

FILM:
First cut of Kick-off trailer v1 ready to put up. Look for it on Monday at the head of this blog.


Friday, March 2, 2012

Day 3-Feeling better each day

Again, I'm glad that the future comes one day at a time as it freaks me out to think about riding 60 miles on a single bike trip next year. Today I kept my caloric intake at about 1800 calories, eating some Oatmeal and turkey for breakfast, a Black Forest Ham Subway sandwich (12") for lunch, and a salmon dinner. Low calories, but when I got on the bike today, I got in this groove that just kept going. The body like quality food and rewards you for it.

Film details:  I confirmed my crew coming to videotape my treadmill stress test over at the heart clinic on Wednesday. Did some editing this evening on a little trailer to put up on YouTube and Facebook. Coming soon!

Thursday, March 1, 2012

Day 2 of 210again.

Got a great work out in went almost 13.5 miles at half resistance. Today I ate just over 2000 calories...and ate real food! Another step taken!

Day 1 of my 7500 mile journey

Welcome to my blog! I've decided to do something really crazy. After many attempts at losing weight over the past many years, I've decided that this time I will succeed. I weighed in today at 365lbs at my doctor's office. I went in with a camera crew to videotape my check up and blood draw because I am going to document this journey over the next 15 months. On June 1, 2013, I will weigh 210lbs...AGAIN! 

So what exactly am I doing, and how am I going to do it? Well, I am going to ride my exercise/road bike 7500 miles, the distance from Salt Lake City, to Tokyo, Japan. Every day I will log on this blog how many miles I pedaled. Next, I am eating real food. No more trips to the fast food joints. And no more processed, high carb, sugar loaded foods. We're eating lots of fruits, vegetables, fish, chicken, turkey, and very rarely eating red meat. Soy milk is my friend along with beans, nuts, and whole grain wheat bread. I'm not going to the extreme, just taking advantage of what God put on this earth for us to enjoy.

I will be training to enter some road bike events along the way, topping it all off late summer of next year by biking from Tokyo to Mount Fuji (90km). I am also planning to climb to the top of Mount Fuji with my father-in-law. My personal pilgrimage to Fuji-san represents my finish line for this exciting challenge.

So follow me daily on this blog and watch my progress. I'll be posting a lot of great videos of my adventure and in the fall of 2013, I'll be releasing a DVD of the entire journey caught on video.

Today's entry:

Well, a long journey begins with the first step. Put on the first 13 miles of my 7500 mile journey to Mount Fuji over the next 18 months.
Got my check up with the doc and blood draw all caught on video.
It's late. My ride I just finished started on Leap year.