Yes, Merry CHRISTMAS to you and everyone near your heart, regardless of your religious affiliation. I will also want to wish you a Merry _____ (fill the blank according to your own religious affiliation).
Its been awhile since I wrote something on my wall, but its because I switched to the easier format of Facebook. Yes, a blog is for the more creative minds, but it also takes more time.
Today, as I ponder upon the last 12 months I am very happy to report so many blessings and successes have been laid at my feet that I know I won't talk about all of them here, but nonetheless I will talk to you about a few of them.
First and foremost and even without proof of HIS existence, I believe in GOD. It is by His will that I am still here today. He has given me the tools to build my life, and it has been my decision to use (or not to) those tools. Sometimes I use them for the benefit of humanity, sometimes just for my own.
I continue to enjoy a very happy and loving relationship with my wife and kids. One of my Facebook posts went like this:
"One cynic described marriage as one year of flame and forty years of ashes. I believe he thought this because he related love to feeling, not to a daily decision. The feeling of love comes and goes and comes back again, like your appetite. The commitment of love is unrelenting and sure. Loving commitment is an act of... the will - a self-disciplined lifestyle. Love your spouse and love God."
In 2009 I lost 40 LBs. I am sooooo very happy to announce that I have kept most of it off. Except for 3-5 LBs during the past few weeks where I eat all the holiday food, but since I now know the formula for success, I amnot worried.
Right now I am on a training break. Instead of training 5-6 days a week I am only doing 2-3 but come January 1, hang on to your socks 'cuz I am going to get back on track. This coming year I have a couple of half Ironmans. I never would have dreamed of doing this in 2010 but I feel that he base I have built in 2009 will allow me to complete the distance. Just don't expect any top-10 finishes but just completing the event will be satisfaction enough.
My children are all in Advanced Groups in school. We have been so blessed with not just healthy children, but intelligent and ambitious kids. The sky is the limit for them, and I want to make sure they live that idea each and every day.
The only drawback of 2009 has been the capital value of our house has declined about 35%, however, I give thanks to our Lord each day for letting me have a roof over my head each and every day. There's so much despair and frustration around us these days that I am not concerned about this too much. Also, my professional life is at an all-time highest - I have been reaching milestones and bridging huge gaps at work. At the end of the day, it's all GOOD!
This is it my friends. Merry Christmas to you and so long 2009! Follow my daily comments on facebook (Olman Castro). If you're already on FB, send me a friend request.
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Time flies when you're having fun
My last blog was over a month and a half ago (July 13th).
There has been a lot going on since, but nothing more important than meeting with my manager and getting an excellent performance review. Even on this down economy, my numbers (total sales as well as volume) have been consistently doubling up. I am very optimistic that my “high-expectations” budget will be met and hopefully exceeded by the end of our fiscal year.
To date, my weight continues to be well managed even if I have eaten a few carb-rich meals. But once I do that, I immediately return to my low-carb lifestyle and manage to keep it off. This morning the scale read 180.5 LB What an accomplishment this has been for me.
Last weekend – Aug 22, I completed another triathlon race. This was the first race I did last year, so it was very important to gauge my improvements. Last year, my time was 1:27:48, this year it was 1:09:59 (official time) That’s the official time, but my own stopwatch indicates 1:07:10 - can't argue with the officials.
There has been a lot going on since, but nothing more important than meeting with my manager and getting an excellent performance review. Even on this down economy, my numbers (total sales as well as volume) have been consistently doubling up. I am very optimistic that my “high-expectations” budget will be met and hopefully exceeded by the end of our fiscal year.
To date, my weight continues to be well managed even if I have eaten a few carb-rich meals. But once I do that, I immediately return to my low-carb lifestyle and manage to keep it off. This morning the scale read 180.5 LB What an accomplishment this has been for me.
Last weekend – Aug 22, I completed another triathlon race. This was the first race I did last year, so it was very important to gauge my improvements. Last year, my time was 1:27:48, this year it was 1:09:59 (official time) That’s the official time, but my own stopwatch indicates 1:07:10 - can't argue with the officials.
I broke 1:10:00, and took almost 18 minutes off my previous time. This time was good enough for the following standings:
14th place out of 34 in my category and 130th place out of 500 in the race.
Needless to say, this is a great improvement in my speed, my fitness and my well being. Last year’s time got me to the top of the slowest 25%, yet it got the motivation engines started, and here are the results of 12 months of training and consistency.
During the weeks since my last blog, I completed two other mock tri’s with some friends. This I feel has been the best kind of training and motivator. Back in PRico (vacation) I did some Run Intervals in a slight hill, which REALLY helped with my speed and handling pain. This combination of workouts have allowed me to improve hugely as well as fast.
Right now I have no scheduled races for September, but a Labor Day weekend vacation at the beach with family and friends. I will bring all my exercise gear (bike included) so I can train in a different environment. My next scheduled race is October 10th. However, I am considering forfeiting it for an Olympic distance race on the 11th. The Olympic distance is pretty much double the distances of the races I have been doing so far. We’ll see how that goes.
The next event in my schedule after October 10 is my first half marathon, in November. I’ll let you all know how that goes. Stay tuned…
14th place out of 34 in my category and 130th place out of 500 in the race.
Needless to say, this is a great improvement in my speed, my fitness and my well being. Last year’s time got me to the top of the slowest 25%, yet it got the motivation engines started, and here are the results of 12 months of training and consistency.
During the weeks since my last blog, I completed two other mock tri’s with some friends. This I feel has been the best kind of training and motivator. Back in PRico (vacation) I did some Run Intervals in a slight hill, which REALLY helped with my speed and handling pain. This combination of workouts have allowed me to improve hugely as well as fast.
Right now I have no scheduled races for September, but a Labor Day weekend vacation at the beach with family and friends. I will bring all my exercise gear (bike included) so I can train in a different environment. My next scheduled race is October 10th. However, I am considering forfeiting it for an Olympic distance race on the 11th. The Olympic distance is pretty much double the distances of the races I have been doing so far. We’ll see how that goes.
The next event in my schedule after October 10 is my first half marathon, in November. I’ll let you all know how that goes. Stay tuned…
Monday, July 13, 2009
July 13
First I want to encourage you to go near the bottom of this blog and click on Tony Dungy's video I posted. It is brief but speaks volumes. Tony is a major role model.
Wow - lots of things happening. First my 40th, then 4th of July, my family went on vacation and I completed another triathlon.
July 12 was my last race thus far. After getting up at 3:30AM I headed to Clearwater. It turned out to be a majestic and blessed day. Temp was in the low to mid 80s, water about 85.
There were 1,100 triathletes at this race. That's the biggest race I've done so far. My swimming went really well, and so was the bike, except for climbing hill/bridge #1. It was the run that set me back after I thought I had this race "in the bag". Nonetheless I made great time even on the run with a 9 min per mile pace.
The calm waters of Clearwater bch were a great setting. Now, there were over 100 people in my wave, meaning that everyone is trying to get to the same point so, there is a lot of kicking, and hitting going on. I got out of the water feeling fresh and later on I learned that I even cought up with some of the folks from the previous wave. I basically focused on being relaxed and getting from one buoy to the next without stressing too much.
Once out of the water we had to run over sand and gravel quite a long distance and this only got me tired but as soon as I changed into my bike gear, I was out of there and passing people. The route was rather technical with many turns and those "hills" I mean, bridges. But there were people guarding at every one of them. In the last straightaway, while I tried to get my garmin on my wrist I dropped it and had to stop and U-turn. This cost me some time, but I learned my lesson. T2 was really fast.
I took off running and though I felt I was going at a good speed, my legs would not move faster, my knees would not come up higher and lots of people were passing me. I realize that I must now work on gaining speed on my run.
At the end I finished with a time of 1:20:25. This was basically 6 minutes off from my mark. 38th in my group of 79 athletes and 336 overall, out of 1,100. I have to admit that this is not bad at all.
Analyzing the standings I realize that if my running pace would have been 8:00 I would have completed the race within the 175 best times. So, that's my new goal. I have to set my bike aside and work on running speed.
Regarding my weight I was up 4 lbs but mainly because this week I rested for the race, my body was craving more times. As soon as I resume my regular exercise routine, this goes away.
Let's see what I log for my next race.
Wow - lots of things happening. First my 40th, then 4th of July, my family went on vacation and I completed another triathlon.
July 12 was my last race thus far. After getting up at 3:30AM I headed to Clearwater. It turned out to be a majestic and blessed day. Temp was in the low to mid 80s, water about 85.
There were 1,100 triathletes at this race. That's the biggest race I've done so far. My swimming went really well, and so was the bike, except for climbing hill/bridge #1. It was the run that set me back after I thought I had this race "in the bag". Nonetheless I made great time even on the run with a 9 min per mile pace.
The calm waters of Clearwater bch were a great setting. Now, there were over 100 people in my wave, meaning that everyone is trying to get to the same point so, there is a lot of kicking, and hitting going on. I got out of the water feeling fresh and later on I learned that I even cought up with some of the folks from the previous wave. I basically focused on being relaxed and getting from one buoy to the next without stressing too much.
Once out of the water we had to run over sand and gravel quite a long distance and this only got me tired but as soon as I changed into my bike gear, I was out of there and passing people. The route was rather technical with many turns and those "hills" I mean, bridges. But there were people guarding at every one of them. In the last straightaway, while I tried to get my garmin on my wrist I dropped it and had to stop and U-turn. This cost me some time, but I learned my lesson. T2 was really fast.
I took off running and though I felt I was going at a good speed, my legs would not move faster, my knees would not come up higher and lots of people were passing me. I realize that I must now work on gaining speed on my run.
At the end I finished with a time of 1:20:25. This was basically 6 minutes off from my mark. 38th in my group of 79 athletes and 336 overall, out of 1,100. I have to admit that this is not bad at all.
Analyzing the standings I realize that if my running pace would have been 8:00 I would have completed the race within the 175 best times. So, that's my new goal. I have to set my bike aside and work on running speed.
Regarding my weight I was up 4 lbs but mainly because this week I rested for the race, my body was craving more times. As soon as I resume my regular exercise routine, this goes away.
Let's see what I log for my next race.
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