Rebuilding XII - The First Step To Solving A Problem Is Recognizing There Is One

"It sure used to be. We stood up for what was right. We fought for moral reasons. We passed laws, struck down laws for moral reasons. We waged wars on poverty, not poor people. We sacrificed, we cared about our neighbors, we put our money where our mouths were and we never beat our chests. We built great big things, made ungodly technological advances, explored the universe, cured diseases, and cultivated the world’s greatest artists and the world’s greatest economy. We reached for the stars, acted like men, we aspired to intelligence, we didn’t belittle it, it didn’t make us feel inferior. 

We didn’t identify ourselves by who we voted for in the last election and we didn’t scare so easy. We were able to be all these things and do all these things because we were informed, by great men, men who were revered. First step in solving any problem is recognizing there is one. America is not the greatest country in the world anymore."

~HBO's The Newsroom

It's Been A While

Sorry for taking so long to update.  Striking a work life balance is difficult along with all the things going on.  Which is a very big concern for a triathlete.  Many folks, especially those training for an Ironman will attest that time management is key.  Triathletes spend a lot of time training.  It's a big time commitment.  Especially if you have a job that requires additional hours too.  How stuff works as an article about time management.

HowStuffWorks "Balancing Your Life"

TShirts

I haven't given up on fundraising for PAWS.  With the help of my friend Antonio, Lead Artist over at Social Titans.  We came up with a design for my blog and future website.  www.thetigerrebuilt.com   I honestly haven't had a chance to work on it but it will contain a forum for triathlon tips as well as a link to my blog, and many other nice features!  

For those of you who don't know my blog TheTigerRebuilt.  It is about the struggles i'm going through on rebuilding my life.  I gave up on being overweight and this death spiral of health problems.  I went from playing World of Warcraft 6-7 hours a day to hardly touching my computer outside of work.  I met people, I volunteered my time, I grew as a person more outside of virtual reality than I ever did in it.

This is what I kind of looked like when I did go to the gym.

It's also ironic that i'm going through a rebuilding stage now, trying desperately to be able to run again.  The design is of a Tiger with a bionic leg.  My inspiration was the Six Million Dollar Man.  We can rebuild him, we have the technology!

Anyway, tshirts go for $12, it costs me $5.99+tax for each shirt,  so the rest goes directly to my Team PAWS fund.   If you'd like to purchase one or you have ideas to improve the design let me know.  

Back To My Roots

The quote of today's post resonates with me. I lost a lot of my vision since I've started dealing with my leg injuries. Yes its been almost a year. It drains you mentally as well as physically. You lose sight of why you started it all in the first place and what keeps you going. If you lose what keeps you going you stop but after riding my bike yesterday I remember why I started it all in the first place.

When I rode through the Salt Creek Trail in the suburbs of Chicago I felt for the first time this sense of "going places." Not literally going places but feeling of moving and seeing vastness of the earth around you. Seeing wonderful things like Lakes and forests, winding paths, hills (particularly going down not up).

In the beginning I loved running, biking was my relaxing activity, and swimming was my least favorite. Now I dread running because I simply can't. Biking is a chore because I train so hard. Swimming is actually better but I'm worried about increasing distance.

I had this wild idea one day. I was going to train for an ironman. I know crazy right? Well the inspiration for that dream was experiencing 140 miles of lush environment. A verse in Anna Kendrick's song Cups kind of references my thought.

"I got my ticket for the long way round

The one with the prettiest of views

It's got mountains

It's got rivers

It's got sights to give you shivers

But it sure would be prettier with you"


Actually the song as much more meaning to me besides seeing incredible views. (Kona one day) I think I need to energize myself by going back to my roots and starting from where I began. I need to relearn my motivation.

Lava Magazine's 2013 Kona Photo Gallery

Training Update

Swimming with Chicago Endurance Sports

If you are having trouble with a particular activity and you find yourself needing a coach in it.  Do it.  Getting someone's perspective as they watch you can help immensely.  I have swim practices once a week and you'd think that's not enough.  With the skills and the minor tweaks Coach is instilling in us I've already seen a dramatic improvement in my swimming.  Her approach to swimming is a combination of Full Immersion and Swim Smooth.  

I haven't been to the lake and started open water swimming this year.  With the last ice age now coming to the end I bet the lake is still mighty cold.  This is how I imagine the lake to be right now.

Or

More to come soon. 

As Always  Thanks for Reading

Tiger

P.S.

Please visit my Youtube Channel (which will be featured on my website once its complete.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQgJLT7RpnSGWWcG0ZjdPOw

Recorded by Seymour Butts

Rebuilding XIII - Confessions Of A Tiger That Can't Swim But Actually

"Don't judge each day by the harvest you reap but the seeds you plant." 

~ Robert Louis Stevenson

Swimming One Stroke At A Time

I broke a new personal record swimming today.  52 lengths (21 laps) today unassisted, no rest, in 25 minutes 23 seconds.  That might not seem like much to a swimmer but I am not a pro swimmer I am me.  I am training to be a good swimmer one day but I'm doing it at my own pace.

Speaking of pace by my training calendar I was suppose to be at 20 laps by mid May.  This is ground breaking or water breaking however you like to put it.  I am very ahead of schedule.  Without being able to run very long it gets kind of hard at the gym.  Swimming makes up for a lot of it.  I have goals that I'm trying to get to.  With this big boost today I feel great.

I am thinking about signing up for the next round of Masters swim lessons by an endurance sports clinic down town.  The classes should be starting up in early April I think.

My Legs

I'm getting there.  My reflexologist is working on me and getting me to where I need to be one bit at a time. As the saying goes Rome wasn't built in a day and neither am I.  I am rebuilding, restructuring, reorganizing my brain, my muscles, my brain to muscle connections and my attitude.  It will all come in time.  Right now a majority of my homework is to facilitate this restructuring and reorganization.  I spend about 30 mins a day doing a basic routine of isometric exercises, lifts, dynamic breathing.  It's going great.  

Team PAWS Fundraiser

I had a great turnout for such an early fundraiser.  Together we raised $200!  Thank you to everyone who came out.  It was my birthday bash and I had a great time.  As always, please feel free to donate here.

Josh's Team PAWS Fundraising Page

Why Team PAWS?

I went to Nicaragua on a humanitarian aid trip in 2012.  (again in 2013)  I met people there.  People who needed clean water and that was what I was there to help with.  But I saw stray dogs roaming the streets in packs trying to scrape by with scraps of food where they could.  The villagers would beat them with sticks to get them away from their ducks.  I got mad but it was explained to me that those ducks are the villagers source of food.  

(WARNING - THE PHOTO ALBUM LINKED BELOW IS EXTREMELY DIFFICULT TO LOOK AT)

Rural Dogs of Nicaragua

It's understandable for a poor country like Nicaragua where resources are scarce dogs and cats would live like that.  But to hear that we as a 1st world nation murder, yes murder, thousands of innocent animals a year because of overpopulation is just sicking and unimaginable.  I care more about those who cannot fend for themselves.

I used to believe that neutering and spaying was wrong.  I mean sure depriving an animal of their natural ability to reproduce is a bit extreme.  The alternative is much worse.  1 dog and her offspring can produce 67,000 puppies in 6 years.  1 female cat and her offspring produce have 420,000 kittens.  My fundraising goes to providing free/low cost spay neutering.  But the funds also goes to the following.

• $15 covers the cost of a micro-chip to help reunite lost pets with their families
• $25 funds daily laundering of all toys, towels and pet beds
• $32 stocks our Kitty City Cat Wing with litter for one day
• $35 gives the gift of cleaning supplies for one day
• $65 covers the cost of X-rays for an injured dog or cat
• $75 provides intravenous fluids for one sick dog or cat for one week
• $86 sponsors a spay/neuter surgery to help prevent over pet population
• $150 fuels our transport vehicles so we can rescue more animals from the city pound and neighboring shelters
• $175 funds medication and care for an upper respiratory for one kitten or puppy
• $250 cares for one healthy puppy or kitten from arrival through adoption
• $400 funds the treatment of Ring worm
• $600 stocks our center with medication
• $800 funds the treatment of Heartworm
• $1,200 funds critical care to an animal with life-threatening injuries

Also this little guy!

--------

"Thwack thwack thwack~GIF made by me"

---------

PAWS Chicago

------

I also have jeans I need to fit into.

As Always Thanks For Reading

- Tiger

P.S.

---------

Zombieland

Rebuilding XII - Some Assembly Required - Tiger's Back

“At some point in life you have to face your fears, and head on even though you can’t be sure of the outcome. A great deal of people will never reach their dreams and it won’t have anything to do with their ability or skill set. They won’t reach their dreams because they were too afraid to try.” Eric Thomas

Announcement

Welcome back!  Time to shake off winter and start up again.  I apologize for being away for so long.  It's more than just the off season.  My leg issues really hit me hard.  More on that later.

Shake it off - 1

I'm joining Team PAWS 2014!  That's right!  You are probably wondering how I am going to join if I can't run.  Two words my friend, Aqua Bike!   I signed up for Illinois Tri Championships AquaBike division on June 26th, Olympic distance.

http://paws.convio.net/site/TR/TeamPAWS/TeamPAWS?px=1010063&pg=personal&fr_id=1040

I'm also seeing a new therapist.  He is an Ironman too so I can at least trust that he understands my motivations.  I'm two sessions in and things are going well.  It may be a while before I run a race but I might be run jogging soon at the very least.  Next post I will have more information and will discuss my treatment. It's really funny what he said though.  Take in mind he hasn't met me before and never heard of my blog.

He said.

"You aren't broken, we just need to rebuild you." 

It tugged at some strings because well it's a recurring theme in my blog.  Many of my friends who know where I've come from know just how deep the theme of rebuilding is for me.  

But let me get back and at least start by apologizing for my absence.  It's hard being in this spot.  My legs are still acting up.  So I dropped off the face of the planet.  I gained weight and I got sad.  It's really rough going to physical therapy for 30 sessions and losing out countless hours of my life and not getting anywhere.  It's done, I can sit and be pissy about it but would I really be a tiger if I continued down that path?

-------

No of course not. "People born in the Year of the Tiger are thought to be brave, strong, stubborn and sympathetic. The tiger represents the greatest earthly power, as well as protection over human life. It chases away the so-called 'three disasters': fire, thieves and ghosts." 2 Listen just because I personify a tiger because my birthday falls in its particular zodiac doesn't mean I fit it perfectly.  Being human means your fallible.  I can only try. So again I apologize but I'm back. I will be an Iron Tiger one day.

Kick-Off Fundraising Party

I will be hosting a kick-off fundraising party the first or second weekend of March with a raffle off, and some other exciting contests!

Details to come on the event.  I encourage you to come out and have a drink!  You might just safe a puppy or kitty's life.

But drink responsibly - 4

Anyway, here is an interesting video that sort of relates to running and caught my interest.


Flexible Muscle-Based Locomotion for Bipedal Creatures from John Goatstream on Vimeo.

As always, thanks for reading.

References

I reference wikipedia because this isn't a research paper.  I don't need no APA style.

1 http://imgur.com/gallery/zsqLe
2 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiger_in_Chinese_culture
3 http://i.imgur.com/Vs5TyaU.jpg
4 http://i.imgur.com/Z8d30jx.gif