You don't need vision to be a Visionary

Memorial Day weekend,  I took my 9 year old Beau to the USA Para-Triathlon National Championship which was run in conjunction with the Capitol of Texas Triathlon.  We did the Expo Sunday and then watched the race Monday.  The whole experience was wonderful. 

The event sold out with 3000 participants registered.  Professionals, amateurs, first timers and the para-athletes, it was amazing.  But the best part by far was watching my son as he cheered on the para-athletes, running up to high five and hug them as they came across the finish line.

First the expo, Sunday May 26th

Extra Extra Extra Extra Extra Large

The biggest size I ever bought was a 5X-L.  At my top weight (335lbs) in 2005.  It was a t-shirt from, where else, Walmart.  It actually fit nicely.  It was one of the many last straws.

America loves them "Extra Large".  'cause that's 'merica man!  We like everything writ extree large!

In my case it was writ extra, extra, extra, extra, extra large.  That's crazy.  What

must the 97lb garment sweat shop workers think?  But to be fair my usual size was only extra extra extra large.  Extra extra extra large is conveniently annotated at Walmart by a black plastic ring on the neck of the hanger.   I drifted between extra extra large and extra extra extra large most of my adult life.

Baby steps across the pool

I've been told I was made to swim, like a Manatee. I'm buoyant in the water.  It's now my favorite exercise because I don't sweat; In the water I mean. I sweat constantly during exercise but swimming is wonderful.   No sweat just cardio.

I started swim training today and it was a big hit.  No knee pain, no back pain, no sweat; Just good old fashioned fatigue and some welcome soreness that says I was working hard.

“Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food” Hippocrates

America is a country of addicts there is no other way to see it.

Food was a drug I abused.  I was an addict.  I used food to feel better.  It's a short term fix with horrific side effects.  Most of the people I know see food that way.  Food is not fuel to run the body or a source of nutrition for care and repair of the body.  Food was just a drug used to change how I felt in the moment.   A junkie who needed a fix.  Food was my drug of choice.   It's actually a lot of peoples drug, especially in Mississippi.

"Food is the most widely abused anti-anxiety drug in America, and exercise is the most potent and underutilized antidepressant."  - Bill Phillips

Trading short term pleasure for long term pain.

My son Beau is 9 years old.  He likes chicken nuggets, Cheetos, Koolaid and Sour Patch candy.  He also can get down on some veggies.  He eats carrots and broccoli by the pound, (dipped in ranch but still).  He'll put a hurt on some spinach, he digs almond milk on his oatmeal; Loves him some grapes, kiwi, asparagus, all different kinds of fruits and veggies. 

At 9 he eats a better variety of nutritious foods then most of the Mississippi adults I know.   He's ahead of the game in many ways.

Oh oh the Wells Fargo Wagon's comin' down the street, oh please let it be for me.

Oh a simpler time, waiting for the stage to bring that big box from the Sears Roebuck.  A gingham dress for Emmie Lou, a new pair of boots for paw and that modern wash board mommas been

wantin'.   I'm waiting on the stage as well.  For supplies I can't get here in the wilderness of McComb Mississippi. But not from Wells Fargo.  My Wells Fargo wagon is FedEx-Home and they're bringing my Amazon.com orders.


Finding the things I need to make it work here as a fledgling vegan and an aspiring triathlete requires effort, planning and patience. Making due with the limited offering's of the various grocery stores and occasionally going into town for supplies. Buying equipment at Walmart, struggling with the workout options (more on this later).  For everything else there is Amazon.com and FedEx-Home

I can see by your outfit that you are a .... triathlete

I was getting dressed this morning for a ride.  I just got my new cycling gloves in from Amazon and was pulling them on when it hit me....  bike cleats, compression , padded cycle pants, compression shirt under bike jersey, Iron Man Timex and IM shades, riding gloves, helmet....  It hit me....  I'm wearing a costume.  I'm in a calculated, brightly colored, nearly skin tight costume.   And I'm strangely OK with that. 

I think Mick Jagger said "All performers are drag queens".  If he didn't he should have. 

Louie Anderson Signature edition



Most triathlons require that you wear a wetsuit for the swim.  I just ordered my first.  Biggest size they carry.  It came today, it fits, no I will not be posting a picture.... yet.  Hopefully I'll be buying a new much smaller one by next year for Iron Man.

I found a lap sized pool in McComb and am working out the hours so I can get there two or three days a week.  The pool is only open 8-5 and my work schedule makes that an issue.  However it seems to be working out. 

Another favorite quick and tasty

Rocked some stuffed twice baked potatoes last night.  Baked them (not steamed) then scooped out the meat, replaced half with spinach and artichoke, cashew sour cream, topped with non dairy cheddar and red peppers.  Re-baked and delicious! 

The "vegan dosen't suck" recipe of the week.

I am rockin' some vegan grub.   This weeks fav is a roasted veggie wrap with tofu roast beef and non dairy cheese.  Here it is.

Packin' heat on the bike.

I was rollin' up Parklane Rd and I got stepped to.  Not the first time either.  I let it go before but it's time to stand my ground and step up.  There's a dog that chases me on my bike, he got bold and nipped my heel yesterday.  Now I'm packin' heat.  3 million BTU's of heat.

I don't want to spray the dog, well at least I didn't til yesterday when he nipped at me.   He actually got my heel in his mouth.  I just can't have that. 

I don't want to be that guy....

You know the one, "that guy" who can't eat anywhere, asks a hundred questions of the server, makes everyone suffer for his dietary restrictions... I refuse to be that guy.

Especially when the dining out is for a special occasion like mothers day.  So I take steps to ensure I am not a drag on the outing.  I do some research, check out the website and menu for the restaurant.  So when mothers day rolled around I was prepped and ready.  I did two meals out with mixed results.  Here are my reviews.

"Announcing your plans is a good way to hear God laugh"- Al Swearengen: Deadwood

Today I used my USA Triathlon member number for the first time.  To register for the Eighth Annual King of Hill Triathlon at Tombigbee State Park, in Tupelo, Mississippi; June 29, 2013.  Now I have a deadline.  I'll need all my triathlon crap in one place by then.  Bike, wetsuit, and decent running shoes.  Oh and I'll probably need to be ready to swim a half mile, bike 20 miles and run 3.2 miles by then as well.

I've got some goals, like lose 100+ pounds, reverse some health issues and become fit.  I'm on my way to achieving them but these are goals that lack hard deadlines.

I've got a big long term goal with a deadline, the Iron Man 70.3 in April 2014, but that's a long way off, (sometimes it seems like it will be here tomorrow, but still).

I needed a closer deadline to make this all get real.  So we're off to the Tupelo KotH; I just paid the registration fee and booked the hotel room for this, my first triathlon, so this is real. 

Deadlines are a big deal.  I know, because it was one of the few things my father ever taught me on purpose.  Allow me to explain.

Zen and the art bicycle maintenance.

Last week I fell off my bike and broke a rib.  It was embarrassing and painful.  At my wife's insistence I took the week off from exercise.  I say my wife's insistence but I couldn't have run if I wanted to.  I was a hurting puppy.  Still am really.

I tried to get on the treadmill this morning and was smacked down by the hand of pain.

This is a set back at the moment.  Minor but annoying.  I had momentum.  I was charging forward.  Now I'm afraid to take a deep breath.

"What cha readin' fer?" - Bill Hicks

One of my favorite bits by Bill Hicks (comics' comic and social comentary genius), has Bill in a Waffle House reading a book and the waitress asks him "What cha readin' fer?".  His response; "I guess so I don't end up a Waffle waitress" 

I get a similar question.  "What cha stop eating shit fer?"  But the answer is not so obvious.

I’ve made changes in my diet and lifestyle that are radical.  As a result I have lost significant weight (7 weeks 42lbs) and it is noticeable.  I’ve had quite a few people ask me about it. I tell them I went vegan. They want to know why.  Why now?   Answering that simple question is harder than it should be.  Honestly I don't know. 

It's not enough that the changes I am making are healthy, smart and prudent.  That they were desperately needed.   Not enough that I will undoubtedly live better and longer as a result.  Those are not good enough reasons because I needed to make those changes for those reasons everyday for the last 30 years.  

Add to that, that I live in Mississippi, USA; the fattest state in the fattest country in the history of the world.  Talk about eating for optimum health in Mississippi.... people will automatically look at you like you're crazy.  "Wait a minute, you don't eat no bacon... no cheese... none at all....why? You like sick er sumpin'?"

So again:  Why all this change and why now?

Truthfully I have no explanation.  I'm not dying (well not more than usual), I'm not like sick er sumpin' (well I could call in sick everyday and never be lying but I'm not acutely sick).  I just happened to be exposed to the right info at the right time and it all fell into place.   Suddenly it all seemed to make sense.

Not Milk?

OK I'm about to rant.  If you disagree please comment.  But fair warning, I've been researching for weeks and I got this down.  And I read it all on the Internet so it must be true.   Oh and it is pretty gross as well so not for the faint of heart.

MILK, It does a body wrong.

Cow's milk, if discovered today, would be illegal, classified as unsafe for human consumption. More than 75% of the worlds population is lactose intolerant, meaning they can't properly digest dairy, so by definition dairy is unnatural for the vast majority of humans to consume.  Dairy has NO beneficial nutritional value,  contributes to a host of medical problems, is a filthy product and it is expensive.  Each sip contains growth hormones, fat, cholesterol, allergenic proteins, blood, pus, antibiotic, bacteria, feces and harmful viruses. 

Thats a lot to digest (like milk) so lets break it down and start with the worst.  There is shit and pus in milk. 

Let me say that again...there is shit and pus in milk.  In hard cheese there is 10 times the level and concentration of the shit and pus in milk; In ice cream, 12 times.  SHIT AND PUS....IN THE MILK!

First the shit: