Can Do Tujuh

Here We Go, Again

2009-12-15T10:13:00.002+07:00

---------- Forwarded message ----------

From: Scott Hanna

Date: Tue, Dec 15, 2009 at 10:11 AM

Subject: Special pledge

Pastor Dave Kenney,

Your contributions challenge to the congregation last Sunday really got me thinking, and it was what inspired me to come talk to you during the service. It reminded me about a story I read in BBC some months ago about a website in the UK allowed dieters to make weight loss commitments, and if they failed to meet their goal, money was withdrawn from their accounts and donated to charity. The idea I came up with adds an extra twist to that scheme – to motivate both of us to lose more weight:

I will donate $1 for each kilogram you lose during the three-month challenge to the church’s long-term fund. And I will donate $100 for every kilogram more than me that you lose during those same three months.

For example, if you lose 30 kilograms and I lose 25 kilograms, my obligation would be $530. Better yet for the church, my employer, Freeport McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc will double-match charitable contributions to registered non-profits up to $500 and single-match after that. So, the final contribution to the church in the example above would be $1,560.

I have battled weight all my life. From one perspective, my story is a success – I lost over 50 kilograms ten years ago and I have kept most of it off. But, from another perspective, I still have not achieved a healthy long-term weight. While I can still do many active things like complete a 10K race or climb fifty flights of stairs, the rackety knees of too much load for too many years make going down even a single flight of stairs a painful thing for me. Next year I will turn thirty. I want at least another thirty years to see my daughters grow into the wonderful women I know they will be. And, I want to spend those next thirty years carrying my children, and maybe grandchildren, both up and down stairs without pain.

So, thank you for the motivation to reinvigorate my commitment to managing my weight. And, I hope my special pledge is helpful to give you both camaraderie and “healthy-competition” during these next three months and beyond.

I weighed-in this morning on the digital scale at International SOS Kuningan. Attached is a photo. I got a bit confused looking at my notes from Sunday, as I have both “Tuesday” and “December 16th” written down. But, we can sort out the one day discrepancy at the end as needed. I plan to weigh-in at least every two weeks.

In addition to keeping in touch at church and via email, feel free to monitor my blog: http://candotujuh.blogspot.com/ . I started this blog a couple of years ago for a similar purpose, but some of the weight I lost has slipped back on since then. This is a great opportunity to re-commit.

Here we go – Day One: 157.8 kilograms.

Regards,
-- Scott Hanna

I think Irving Berlin would have been disappointed too

2009-09-04T18:23:00.009+07:00

About a month ago, I sent the letter below.

August 7, 2009

Mr. Pierre Perusset
General Manager, The Ritz-Carlton
JL. Lingkar Mega Kuningan Kav. E.1.1 NO.1
Jakarta 12950, Indonesia

Mr. Perusset: I received a disturbing phone call from my wife this afternoon. She called to tell me that there was a fire in the Ritz-Carlton and that they were evacuating from our apartment in the Airlangga Apartments as a precaution. (My wife injured her foot badly the night before and wanted to get down via elevator before conditions might have prohibited doing so.) Given the events of recent weeks, I was troubled to hear this news – not sure if it was mere bad luck or more dubious acts in play. The series of phone calls that followed were relieving in some senses but even more disturbing in others.

It turned out that the Ritz-Carlton tested the alarm in the Airlangga Apartments – with no announcement, notification, details, or communications to Airlangga Apartment management. Amid normal circumstances, this would probably be a mere inconvenience, exacerbated by my wife’s injury. However, following our experiences on July 17, this was a particularly disturbing episode. My oldest daughter is just old enough to understand the events three weeks ago were a bomb and a big problem, but not old enough to differentiate the alarms as something separate and, in this case, without real danger. Therefore, she remained scared throughout the afternoon.

Certainly I can appreciate that these have been difficult times for the Ritz-Carlton, your staff, and yourself. However, I hope that you and your staff can also appreciate that these experiences have been traumatic for the tenants of the building. I presume there is a review of security procedures being done at the Ritz-Carlton, but disappointingly we have not been informed if indeed this is the case, nor any status or results from such review that might ongoing.

Today’s events can seemingly only be explained by insensitivity, foolishness, or ineptitude – none of which are particularly reassuring explanations about the personnel in charge of emergency response. When I came from work tonight, I went to the Ritz-Cartlon lobby to try to find out more about what had happened and why (with the hope that perhaps there was a more sensible explanation to be found).

I asked to speak to the Duty Manager. I explained the situation to her. Shockingly, she knew nothing of the situation, an unnerving indication about communications and de-briefing procedures. After a few phone calls, she was able to confirm that the Ritz-Cartlon had done unannounced tests of the alarms in the Airlangga Apartments, and she apologized and claimed there would be an internal review.

Given the circumstances though, I wanted to write to you about this experience, particularly because I have credible reason to believe that you might not even be aware of the situation, if I can extrapolate from my experience in discussion with your staff earlier. I hope you can understand the basis of my concerns.

Sincerely,

Scott Hanna
Airlangga Apartments 47-B

A couple weeks later I received the following letters. (By the way, these were the first formal communications to even state there was an incident - only five weeks afterward.)

I would have welcomed an opportunity for a few points of clarification, but no one from the Ritz bothered to answer my first letter so I won't hold out hope for any different outcome for a second letter.

Mr. Berlin wrote a hell of a nice song about the place and that Dutch fellow Taco was born in Jakarta and, so on their behalf and mine, I feel compelled to pose a few questions even if no one from the Ritz ever bothers to read them – let alone answer.

-- Mr. Perusset, it took a mere three times over the course of nearly three weeks to get to the bottom of this alarm ringing mystery? And the source of your concern was learning “how aggravating the situation was”? Were you expecting the residents to respond differently to bogus emergency alarms? And now all emergency alarms will be announced in writing? Does this mean the alarm bell will be replaced by the alarm memo? Will these memos also take five weeks to come out? If so, will it be printed on loudly colored paper at least? Lastly, do the two loops of your signature cover both your first and last name?

-- Ms. Wati, about the “no effect” to building structure, does this include the side of the building that dislodged and moved to the pavement in front of it? With respect to the process of structural inspection to ensure safety considering that residents were allowed to move back in within 24 hours, can you provide me the name of that engineering firm because they work extraordinarily quickly? “To anticipate the unwanted incident”? When is it scheduled for? Is this driver and maid registry the major security enhancement to address the network of them instrumental in the last “unwanted incident”?

Pics from the zoo

2009-06-21T21:49:00.002+07:00

The thrill is gone?

2009-06-18T12:04:00.002+07:00

The article below describes my experience with blogging well. However, it fails to discuss one important issue, especially with Facebook: the loss of control. I have noticed some migration away from Facebook as the amount of traffic becomes overwhelming or too many things get posted that the user would rather not see up. Blogging allows greater control for both readers and writers, in my view.

People who strive to have the greatest number of friends on Facebook or followers on Twitter don't make any sense to me. Like the guy who goes to a networking event and measures his success based on how many business cards he take home, these connections have no value unless there is a *real* connection. Similarly, the 'heavy users' who update status constantly with things like "Eating toast, yum!," should consider whether that kind of information would be interesting in a regular conversation. If that answer is no, don't post it.

One challenge for me is that this is a blog about fitness, healthy lifestyle, and nutition (though I mix it with other things like this post in a more 'traditional' blog pattern). But, lifestyle, workouts, and meals can be mundane, which can make for boring or overwhelming numbers of posts. Most specifically, I plan to try to use iPhone and photo posts to serve as online nutritional diary. This is useful and hopefully effective for me, but it makes for alot of non-thrilling content for my readers. For my readers then, I suggest you may want to consider less regular (weekly?) RSS feeds - so you can scan for more interesting/relevant updates.

I have been using Twitter for WoD postings, with mass postings every once in a while to keep transfer the records from Twitter to the blog. Hopefully I can get a better Twitter application for my iPhone soon (my current one, TwitterFon, crashes and stalls frequently) and transition nutrition photos to Twitter to consolidate blog traffic.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/07/fashion/07blogs.html?sq=abandoned%20blogs&st=cse&scp=1&pagewanted=print

Looks like my old LBJ Follies Video

2009-06-18T10:00:00.001+07:00

I made similar moves in my starring role in the Parking Nazi Video, my Monte Carlo had dents to prove it.

Late morning boost

2009-06-17T10:33:00.001+07:00

Morning makanan

2009-06-17T08:57:00.001+07:00

Omelet (egg white, mozzarella cheese, & sausage) for breakfast; fruit
for snack at office later.

Rowpee at the Ritz

2009-06-11T21:10:00.000+07:00

WoD: "Rowpee." Row 500 m, Burpees 15. 5 Rounds for time. 24:26. That's 75 burpees: as awful as it sounds.

Welcome to Crossfit Jakarta, JP.

The famous orange notebook of death

2009-06-11T17:08:00.002+07:00

My desk. Oh, and a test of direct post from iPhone to blog. It worked!

Globogym, oh, Globogym

2009-06-07T20:13:00.001+07:00

It's good my gym provides some space not covered by Hip Adductors and limited themselves to only two cable crossover machines. But naming the area "Functional Training" begs a series of questions. If this area is for the "functional" training, what is the rest of space and stuff for? Non-functional? A rare moment of honesty in an industry full of hucksters? What role do the swiss balls play in "functional" training? For all those times in life I must hoist an item to a high shelf with only a large beach ball to use as a footstep? Or when I have to standup on an unstable surface, like, ah, a sheet of ice floating in a lake? Perhaps I should just be happy my gym is so committed to my health that they are willing to devote about 5% of their floor space to "Functional Training" and give it a prominent label to take credit for their achievement.

Birth-week? Days of fun

2009-06-06T20:42:00.003+07:00

A challenging week to get in good workouts and eat well: lots of celebrating to be done. Both anniversary and birthday, so lots of good times and good food. But, too much good times and good food. A punishing workout today and a tough one last night are good steps to getting back on track. Diet was better today.

A couple of embassy events next week will make for another difficult week for controlling caloric intake and getting enough time in the gym.

Relevant Twitter updates

2009-06-06T20:37:00.003+07:00

WoD "Slurpee" Sumo High Deadlift Pull (SHDP), Burpee/Pullup (B/P). Inverse ladder. (SHDP 10, B/P 1; SHDP 9, B/P 2...SHDP 1, B/P 10). 40 Kg SHDP. 16:28. Tabbatta Squat - 12.

WoD: Montana Metric Mash (3M?). Row 500 meters, 5 reps of 50 pound dumbell shoulder press (100 lb. Load). 5 rounds for time. 15:47.6:38 PM Jun 9th from TwitterFon

WoD - Light day. 20 min bike, 3 sets pullups/dips. 3 sets overhead squats (20 kg). 30 min stretching. 4:52 PM Jun 7th from mobile web

WoD: Burpees/Squats Countdown from 5. Deadlift 5,4,3,2 (120kg). DB Press/SHDLP Countdown from 5 (20/30 kg). BodyPump. 8:30 PM Jun 6th from web

WoD (Friday): Max reps bench 60 kg - 32. Crossfit Erin (mod: jumping pullups) - 12:06. http://bit.ly/Bt1Cz

WoD: RPM and BodyPump. Good workout, despite this guy making noises in BodyPump class that could have passed for bull elk in mating season.
10:04 PM Jun 3rd from web

Body torn up for yesterday's WoD, esp shoulders and abs. Today some skill work with medicine ball cleans, RPM, and some grip-strength fun.
1:35 PM May 31st from web

WoD. Bench 3,2,1. (kg) 100, 105, 110f; Thrusters (25kg) 5, Burpees 5. 10 Rnds: 12m35s. Tabbatta Squats-Champion Version: Score 9. Abs4fun.
4:22 PM May 30th from web

WoD: Row - 3x500 m (60 sec rest). Under 1.55 rounds. Press 3x3 - (kg) 50, 60, 70f. RPM - 50 min. 6:28 PM May 29th from mobile web

Pun pics

2009-05-31T19:44:00.003+07:00

My Commander in Chief & Soto ayam

Our Commander in Chief & Sotomayor

Recent workouts

2009-05-30T16:24:00.001+07:00

30 May - WoD. Bench 3,2,1. (kg) 100, 105, 110f; Thrusters (25kg) 5, Burpees 5. 10 Rnds: 12m35s. Tabbatta Squats-Champion Version: Score 9. Abs4fun.

29 May - WoD. Row - 3x500 m (60 sec rest). Under 1.55 rounds. Press 3x3 - (kg) 50, 60, 70f. RPM - 50 min.

Just 3 easy "stops"

2009-05-29T16:37:00.006+07:00

Lose weight and stop global warming! The solution we have all been looking for! Only one silly side-effect to worry about: death. But, as they say in the fitness biz, "no pain, no gain."

This well-planned campaign was a booth at a recent expo in Jakarta. To be fair, they meant to refer to meat consumption. To be balanced, see photo below for self-appointed title. "Supreme Master Television." It speaks for itself.

To anyone considering developing a slogan or billboard or tattoo in a language other than one's own, have a native speaker look it over. This includes mangled attempts at English for banners and poorly planned ink on Spring Break. (Really, do you *know* that those Chinese characters mean "strength and honor"?)

Anyway, off to the gym. Have a good weekend. 3-2-1 Go!

Three steps to stop global warming

2009-05-28T15:00:00.002+07:00

Stay tuned for the ultra-awesome photos associated with the posting’s title.

I had a weigh in on Monday, May 25th at International SOS clinic when I went to get some medication. 147 kg (323 lbs). After the clinic, I planned to do an RPM class, but I was too late and wound up doing about 2000 meters on the rower and a yoga class. Not as much caloric consumption, but still good because I continue to battle tightness in my lower back following big trip to Papua, Guam, and Australia earlier this month. I don’t know if it comes from too much time cramped into economy seats on planes holding the girls or sleeping in an awful bed at Hyatt in Guam (don’t stay there – overpriced and awful; terrible food and beds that would cause complaint in prisons, let alone fancy hotels) or from getting my lower body destroyed at Crossfit certification. Probably a combination of all those. The yoga helped, my lower back and my metrosexual street-cred.

On Tuesday, I did an RPM class and BodyPump. Solid workouts in both. Last night, I did another RPM class, and I was really battling fatigue. I plan to ramp down tonight with a light workout and stretching. Tomorrow back to RPM and BodyPump. Then on Saturday into some hardcore Crossfit workouts for the weekend.

I am trying to do better job of incorporating more low-density caloric foods (veggies, veggies, veggies, and also fruit and lean meats). No supplements and trying to minimize grains and refined carbs. Doing OK. Need to improve. Plan for next steps to be logging of food, followed by a two-week trial of full Zone adherence of weighing and measuring. I am two weeks away from 29 years of age. I’d like to be 100 kg by 30. It’s possible!

Belated Happy Birthday Erica!

2009-05-28T14:57:00.005+07:00

Erica turned three on April 24th. Here is a picture from her party at her pre-school. The next picture of Dakota doing a body slam into the birthday cake didn't turn out as well. Just kidding.

Making a jailbreak! Can you blame them? A pretty nice beachfront in Guam.

2009-05-28T14:56:00.004+07:00

This is my audition photo for Guam UFC. They never called back.

2009-05-28T14:56:00.002+07:00

Happy sisters. Not fighting over the bathroom, yet.

2009-05-28T14:50:00.003+07:00

Here we go, again.

2009-05-23T08:38:00.002+07:00

Remember that re-commit post I made just before New Year's? Seems I didn't. I did an awful job of following through on what was such clear and compelling logic. But, the point here isn't to focus on what I've done wrong. The point is to get back on track.

I did a Crossfit Level 1 Certification last weekend in Brisbane. It was a good but painful experience. I learned alot (even though my obsession with crossfit.com videos had given me a preview of much of the material). My legs are just recovering now. While the two-day program is probably 75% theory, the other 25% of practical involves about 750 squats and some intense workouts. My quads and hamstrings were painful to the touch, let alone generating force to move my body, for 4 days afterward. Of all this exercise, only 3% involved weight heavier than an empty PVC pipe, proving the potential effectiveness of bodyweight exercise.

Breakfast this morning was Kashi Crunch (1.5 cups) and chocolate soy milk (2 cups). Plan for the gym today is to ease back into things with RPM class and Body Balance.

Crossfit Level 1 Certification

2009-05-23T08:13:00.005+07:00

Coach Glassman and me. Coach Greg Glassman is the founder and CEO of Crossfit.

Happy New Year!

2009-01-01T00:52:00.001+07:00

Skyline view from our apartment in Jakarta as we welcome 2009. Lots of fireworks throughout the city.

Candotujuh – the ReDo in 2009

2008-12-30T17:30:00.001+07:00

Though my good friend Andy didn’t pose the question again this year, I think it a more than worthwhile endeavor to review the year past, reflecting on what was achieved, what wasn’t, and what the plan for next year is, as his questions inspired me to do last year.

In theory, the original commitment was supposed to be year-long effort to make major changes. Probably that was a bad theory. Really this project is about lifestyle changes, and those cannot and should not last only a year, lest the entire process need to be revisited, again. That is, these are lifestyle changes, for life.

Therefore, I am happy to be carrying on the project and the blog. In some ways, that’s an indicator of success. But, it is probably also an indicator that there is plenty of room to continue to improve, certainly many goals not yet attained.

Last year, I said I wanted to hit 115 kg (250 lbs) and run a marathon in 2008. Neither of these happened, and I am disappointed in myself about that. I completed a half-marathon, and I suppose that is emblematic of the year. Good stuff, but not as good as I would have liked it to have been. Though the year, I had some periods of lackadaisicalness and lots of bad nutritional decisions. Another indicator is this blog – in 2007 I averaged a post nearly every week but in 2008 it was barely more than once a month. My weight is basically the same as last December, which is both good and bad. Bad in that I didn’t achieve the reductions I had aspired to. Good in that it didn’t increase, and – though I don’t have clinical data to prove it – I feel confident that my body composition improved. Without doubt, I am stronger than I was a year ago, my lifts have been consistently heavier than they were a year ago. I have a resting pulse in the 50s and excellent blood pressure numbers too, which are good indicators of good cardiovascular condition. But, my tickers is still pumping blood to lots of mass that it shouldn’t have to support, it only seems logical that’s not good in the long run. Also, my knees and joints would supremely benefit from less load.

I have mentioned the influence of Crossfit numerous times in previous posts. Among the primary concepts are the hierarchy of physical development being rooted in nutrition and the effectiveness of anaerobic exercise. Neither of these, of course, are new revelations. There is an old quote that I cannot fully recall that says something to the effect that good advice is not worthwhile in its novelty but its function as a reminder. You can check out page 2 and page 8 for elaborations in Crossfit Journal preview for the concepts I am talking about.

At any rate, my revised plan is to focus less on marathon workouts, and more attention on intensity in workouts and dedication to more systematic, dedicated nutrition. Specifically, the Crossfit regime espouses “Paleo” dieting for quality; that is, if you didn’t eat it as a caveman (because it didn’t exist), don’t eat it now. And “Zone” for quantity control through the ‘block’ system to control ratios of macronutrients and overall caloric intake. Certainly the greater challenge for me will be the latter; I have done well the last couple year in eating relatively healthy food, it’s just been too much of it.

Anyway, that’s the plan. In the short run, fat and happy is true. But, that doesn’t work in the long run. The ramp down on caloric intake will involve some grumpiness, compulsions to cheat, and occasional wavering commitment. However, the science is unmistakable. And the timetables are irrefutable: you can do thousands of calories damage in just one sitting of much less than hour, but it takes hours of intense work to burn off those same calories. Add job, family, and travel – you just have to make good decisions on the input side or you’ll never get ahead because there just aren’t enough hours in the day.

Therefore, I am happy to set for the plan for Candotujuh – the ReDo in 2009. Wish me luck. I welcome your support. And, I encourage anyone out there of thinking of making his or her own big New Year’s resolution to give it try. I have devoted most of this posting to talking about shortcomings and areas to be improved. But, overall, I feel much better than I did two years ago. The timing is arbitrary, but that doesn’t matter. What matters is making changes to improve yourself, your quality of live, and perhaps quantity of life.

Happy New Year! Best wishes for 2009.

Erica Bowls 'Em Over

2008-12-26T21:01:00.000+07:00

Merry Christmas from Jakarta

2008-12-26T10:28:00.004+07:00

Festive family photos

2008-12-23T11:25:00.004+07:00

"Fight Gone Bad" - (Do They Often Go Well?)

2008-12-22T14:56:00.006+07:00

A few burner workouts this week, as well as a couple of rest days. Over 13 hours of exercise through 5 workouts for a total of 8427 calories. On Tuesday, it was two sessions of RPM to bid farewell to friend and instructor JJ who is moving on to expand their business internationally. Over two hours of intense spin is not your typical farewell party, but who really likes the stale chips and staler conversation at the conventional going away shindigs?

After gathering great insights from sipping the Crossfit Cool-Aid for months (moving away from training philosophy focused on bodypart splits lifts – legs on Monday, chest on Tuesday, etc. – and mindless, mostly ineffectual, and often cut short sessions of ‘cardio’), I am ready to take big gulps. I started with my first pure WOD: Fight Gone Bad last Saturday. Below are some pictures of the aftermath. The blur of the first image is fitting – that’s about how I felt.

My big challenge is to stay focused on workouts and make reasonable decisions through the holidays. But, today’s more immediate challenges are walking, standing, and any movement involving legs – which are still torn to shreds from my first “Fight Gone Bad” on Saturday; it feels like my fight gone badly was with Muay Thai champion.

In this workout you move from each of five stations after a minute. This is a five-minute round from which a one-minute break is allowed before repeating for three rounds. The stations are:

1. Wall-ball: 9kg ball, 10 ft target. (Reps)
2. Sumo deadlift high-pull (Reps)
3. Box Jump (Reps)
4. Push-press (Reps)
5. Row: calories (Calories)

The clock does not reset or stop between exercises. One point is given for each rep, except on the rower where each calorie is one point.

Hoping to get in some good workouts through the holidays with some vacation time. Happy Holidays to all!

Jakarta Donkey Kong

2008-12-15T09:58:00.001+07:00

Singapore Marathon 2008

2008-12-15T09:55:00.000+07:00

It took a long time (but not quite as long as it took me to post about it). But, I finished the half-marathon. I couldn't run the whole thing - I had to walk most of the second half, but I did cross the finish line. My cardio capacity wasn't really challenged, but my legs were in severe pain. Ankles, knees and hips were all hurting with each step for the last 6 miles or so. It was amazing to see the championship runners, taking part of the Standard Chartered Race Series. The half-marathon starts an hour after the marathon, so we met the lead runners during their finishing stretch and these guys were still running paces that I couldn't keep up for 40 meters, let alone 40 kilometers. I am a crossfit.com addict these days, and they are a bit critical of marathon runners - saying their focus is so intense on long-duration cardio that they lose so much strength capacity and make themselves into non-well-rounded athletes. But, seeing these guys run like that was both amazing and inspiring. They may not be able to do a pull-up (neither can I) and the crossfit crew would criticize them for lack of functional strength, like they could not pull their own bodyweight back up the edge of a cliff if they fell in while running down some trail, but it was amazing to see nevertheless.

It took me about 3 days to get back to my normal walk. I took the remainder of the week off from the gym, though rather unintentionally – it was more a function of being overwhelmed at the office and trying to get body caught up on rest than consciously wanting to take that much time.

I am proud of finishing the race, but I don't plan to do another one soon. I still want to run a full marathon someday, just when I don't know yet. But, for the near-term, I want to focus on shorter races, where there is less impact on my joints and I can focus on pushing my heartrate harder and pace quicker. There are some 5K races coming up in Jakarta after the holidays as part of the Jakarta Race Series, and I look forward to more races – especially knowing how much shorter they will be!

I'm too cheap to pay for the hi-res pic, so all you get is this small one.

Like Filter Said, "Hey Man, Nice Shot"

2008-12-04T13:21:00.000+07:00

JIS Road Race - one year later

2008-11-03T22:46:00.002+07:00

Not happy to just have beaten the 4-year olds by more than 10 paces, I still was time-conscious at this year's race. Luckily, if my watch battery had died, there was a sundial at mid-field.

The blog ain't dead, and neither am I!

2008-11-03T22:21:00.003+07:00

A video from some lifting (actually a few months ago). New video to follow in a couple of weeks from "Donkey Kong."

Guilt & Other Positive Tools for Behavior Modification

2008-07-04T17:29:00.003+07:00

Walk in the Park, Err - Zoo

2008-03-10T17:46:00.000+07:00

I had a good run yesterday in the Jakarta Zoo Race, covering 11 kilometers – my longest ever. The time wasn’t good, over 2 hours – not nearly the pace I put in for the Singapore 10K last December. However, I was pleased with the outcome for a few reasons. One, I wasn’t nearly as well-rested, coming into the race after a series of very tough workouts. Two, despite major pain – muscular and joint – I pushed through to finish. Three, it was a hilly course, which with the weight I am lugging was bound to push the time down from Singapore, a fairly flat course.

Unfortunately, it seems the strain may have been enough to get myself sick. I have been running a low-grade fever since the race, accompanied by headache and what seems to be early stages of ear/throat infection. Lots of bugs in Indonesia, fun and unique microbes, bacteria, and so on, so I think it’s easy for one to slip into your system when you are pushing it hard. It’s another fine balance to run, push yourself hard enough to make good gains and improve – but not so hard you risk injury or sickness, as you don’t make any improvement when you are on the shelf.

Amid sickness and travel this week, I plan to target trying to recover more than focus on tough workouts. Next week, a holiday week, I hope to hit the gym – fresh and healthy.

Nasty, short and brutish - and other adjectives I left off my resume

2008-02-28T15:52:00.001+07:00

In college and graduate school, I used to give a lot of thought to the motivations of people who had different politics. Specifically, I wondered how bright, well educated people could reach such different conclusions about the world, the fundamental assumptions about the nature of people, and conceptions of the proper roles of government in society. Or, in more extreme cases, were infamous tyrants of history awful people who derived incredible pleasure from the suffering of others? Was life indeed “nasty, short and brutish” in the absence of an active ‘sovereign authority’ – and in their demented view they were protecting the people from themselves (or from “other” people, like those who looked different, spoke different, or maybe prayed to a different God)?

I never really found an answer to these questions that satisfied me. The answer I would settle on (coincidentally just before happy hour started most times I pondered this back in the day), is that these differences arrive from different priorities and different conceptions about cause/effect scenarios in life. And, from these differences arise different opinions about what policy structures will provide maximum benefit to society. I refused to believe that, except for a small portion of mentally disturbed persons, people were actually seeking to do harm to others (though their self-preservation priority may rank far higher than help others priority). Doing the wrong thing was a result of being focused on the wrong priorities or taking the easy way out to avoid the pain of the right thing, not waking up deciding it felt like a good day to be evil.

Not following a “health routine” seems to follow this principle too. Ultimately, there isn’t much value in providing excuses – we all have them and it doesn’t really matter to anyone else. Not eating right, not getting to the gym as much as you should, or drinking too much. We all can find reasons for doing these things – to justify to ourselves or others. But, it’s pointless. Sickness, family obligations, and injury – that’s life. In the past month, I haven’t found ways to find time for fitness and health amid these. Well, at least not as much as I need to reach my goals. Those days are lost; no getting them back now though. What’s important is what I do going forward.

For those who sent me emails asking what’s up with the blog. Thanks so much! You guys help keep me accountable and helped me from straying to far off the path.

I am chewing dust from Dale and Yanny. But, the goal of 300 km in 100 days is still well within reach. Need to get after it to get back on track.

Pictures from (after) Dakota and Erica's Baptism

2008-02-28T15:44:00.003+07:00

OK, so one of the things I was eager to post were photos of the baptism. Well, except those pictures were taken with another camera - and I haven't got them yet. In the meantime, here are some more casual shots from after the event.

Solid progress

2008-01-14T21:57:00.000+07:00

Not quite half way into the month and I am above target on mileage. I was hoping to get 100k in the month, I already have 70k. The joints are sore, particularly the left knee, but it's completely manageable (so far).

Only 172 days to Gold Coast...

January target

2008-01-08T13:57:00.001+07:00

Sunday Run

2008-01-06T20:35:00.000+07:00

Not quite as much mileage this weekend as I had hoped. I continue to do alot of RPM spin classes and non-impact cardio to try to keep calorie consumption up while saving my knees some of the abuse. Nursing some lower-back muscle pain and seem to have tweaked my right knee a bit, but it's a soreness level that is to be expected with the intensity of workouts I have been putting in. Today only some light interval work: really just a brisk walk with some jogging after RPM and BodyPump.

No races this month, but there will be another Jakarta 5k race next month. My goal is to finish in less than 40 minutes.

Genius.

2008-01-05T21:39:00.000+07:00

Speed kills

2008-01-04T10:39:00.000+07:00

Belated Happy New Year!

Yanny has come roaring out of the starting blocks. Dale is nursing a busted toe and is on the shelf for another week or so. I feel like Bobby Riggs, huffing and puffing as best I can to keep up with the pace. No better injury in the world to keep a guy pushing hard than bruised pride.

Workouts in the new year have gone well. I have been working with a personal trainer a bit, which is helpful for motivation and ensuring workout variety. Legs are in rough shape from a couple of killer lower body routines, but the joints are holding up well. No major mileage yet though, so hopefully that remains the case after a couple of long runs this weekend.

If others out there have made resolutions of their own for 2008, keep it up! Getting past the first week is probably the hardest step.

One year later, how did it go?

2007-12-31T10:15:00.000+07:00

The million dollar question from Andy:

Andy said... It's Christmas a year later. Merry Christmas! Are you just as happy (happier?) but much less fat, as you hoped?

The short answer to both questions is yes. I dropped 20 kilograms (44 lbs) in the past year. My stated goals were "...to counteract this upward [weight] trend and engrain lifestyle changes that will allow me to maintain a healthy weight. Quantitatively, the goal is to get down to 100 kilos, weight by body hasn't seen since elementary school, and run a 5K race by 31 December 2007. " But, as Andy pointed out, it was really about being happier and less fat. On those points, it was a success. I feel good, or at least better. J.J. Syvrud (former NFL player and my former college resident assistant and teammate) once prophesied, “The only thing that feels better than being drunk is waking up not hung over.” True words that took nearly a decade to finally register for me. Perhaps it was that he was in the middle of ten hour session of Nintendo64 Bond and opining from the comforts a dorm room couch that prevented this nugget from really taking hold at the time. Though it’s about more than just not drinking (or drinking less). It’s about taking care of yourself – taking that commitment seriously in the lifestyle choices you make. Eating better, watching the booze, getting exercise, and making sure you get enough rest.

I have a long way to go though. I still tip the scales over 300 lbs – a threshold that means a lot. I work too much and need to manage my stress better. I recognize that I am human and it’s a process. With that in mind, I am extending this whole program for another six months. In reality, it is about a lifetime commitment. However, I do hope someday not to have to spend the majority of my weekends in the gym by getting to a healthy weight and being reasonable.

So what’s the plan for next year? We’ll stick with two quantitative goals. On weight, I am actually going to scale back even from last year’s goal. I am shooting to hit 115 kg (250 lbs). In the chart below, you can see it’s a threshold I have flirted with a few times but never actually reached as an adult. On running, I far exceeded last year’s mark, running a few 5k’s and doing at 10k too. This year, it’s a full marathon or bust. Part of the training for this will be a Nike+ Challenge with Dale and Yanny, our goal is 300 kilometers in 100 days. You can see our progress in the widget on the right. We'll gladly take praise for our achievements and hope you'll bust our chops if we get off target; we need to log over 20 kilometers a week to stay on pace.

Packin' - In the tradition of Mardi Claus

2007-12-20T22:13:00.000+07:00

More Spin Santa

2007-12-20T22:00:00.000+07:00

Doing spin class in a Santa suit is a good way to drop a few pounds quickly, crazy hot! That suit smelled like I had wore it at Mardi Gras for 3 days straight by the time the class was over...

Spin Santa Spin!

2007-12-20T21:59:00.000+07:00

Southeast Asia Santa

2007-12-18T10:06:00.001+07:00

Adidas Picture from Singapore 10K

2007-12-04T12:03:00.000+07:00

Big Race Weekend

2007-12-02T21:12:00.000+07:00

Despite a heat index of over 90 degrees, the race in Singapore went well. Dale and Sam both ran great marathons, beating their goals by a great deal. Sam by nearly half an hour and Dale switching to a full marathon from a half the day before the race - a gutsy move for sure. Irma and Yanny ran excellent 10K races. The first race ever for Yanny and a great time for Irma. For the non-racers, non-metric readers, the marathon is 42K (26 miles) and 10K is just over 6 miles.

I was hoping to run my 10K in less than 100 minutes. I came across the line at 101 minutes. I felt good about the race. I overdid the hydration and needed to go to the bathroom about 5 times in the final hour before the race and needed to go to the bathroom 3 times in the first 5K. My joints were sore, but no major issues. Primarily muscle pain - which is good, the best kind to have. Muscles are much better at recovery than joints.

Back to Jakarta tomorrow with my girls!

Karno!

2007-11-29T06:48:00.000+07:00

In an earlier post, I wrote about Dean Karnazes' book and how inspirational it was. This video is about one of his exploits, 50 marathons in 50 days in 50 states. Inspirational and cool. Check it out.

Tonight is another "SuperBike". Two and a half hours of straight spinning. I expect it should be a solid 3000 calories.

Jakarta International School 5K

2007-11-27T16:36:00.000+07:00

A sweaty mess.

I Don’t Jump High, I Fly Low

2007-11-26T20:40:00.000+07:00

I finished a great week in the gym with a great finish. I beat my 5K personal best by 7 minutes – a blazing 45 minutes. I was targeting to run 10-minute kilometers (which would have been a two minute improvement), and I far exceeded that goal.

I was coming off a very intense week in the gym: over 13,000 calories burned last week. The workouts including a monster leg workout on Thursday (my legs are still sore on Monday afternoon). Given that I was not “fresh” and in fact quite sore from earlier workouts, I am especially pleased with the race results. I felt great after the race. In fact, after a quick protein shake and about 30 minutes downtime, I did a spin class and 3K more on the treadmill on Sunday morning. Barely able to walk, I did call it quits and skip the BodyPump class and afternoon workout I had been planning.

This week I need to try to squeeze as much final preparation work in as I can before the 10K race. I am behind in the NikePlus challenge and also still want to make up for lost time earlier this month when I was sick. It will be challenging though as I am writing this update en route to Papua.

A busy week proceeds Singapore – but I am so excited to see my girls and get after that race. Another big step, it’s just 217 days to Gold Coast Marathon.

Mardi Claus Returns - Stay Tuned...PCD May Dump Snoop for This Santa

2007-11-16T19:34:00.000+07:00

Update from Singapore

2007-11-16T12:02:00.000+07:00

Everything is Singapore is going well. My sore throat during the day of the delivery grews horns, evolving into a nasty respiratory and sinus infection. This was awful news in that I had to limit my time around Dakota, and wearing a mask the whole time I was with the baby. I am finally starting to feel better. At doctor's advice, I did not travel back to Jakarta. I will return to Jakarta this weekend to get back to work. Iren, Dakota, Erica, and Maria will remain in Singapore through the end of the month. Both Iren and Dakota will have follow up appointments in the next couple weeks, but so far all indications are that everyone is doing well. The whole family will return together to Jakarta on December 3rd, assuming all the check-ups go well.

The other major downside from this illness has been over a week with no real workouts. I bought a new bike in Singapore too, but I only have been able to use it once. This is bad news most immediately because the Singapore 10K race is coming soon, just a couple weeks to go. I am going to try to ease back into the gym this weekend, but I am still coughing alot and wheezing - so it's not ideal conditions for training for this big race.

Some of you have asked what's going to happen on Dec 31st. For lots of reasons, I am going to extend this program. Though I am much healthier than I was a year ago, I have not achieved the weight loss and fitness goals I envisioned. Therefore, I am extending the commitment through July 2008. The goal is to run the Gold Coast Marathon at a weight of 110 kilograms. This means there are concrete weight and fitness goals to be achieved.

That means I have 30 weeks to drop 40 kilos. An aggressive goal for sure, but I think it is possible. To drop 1.3 kilos a week, I need a negative weekly calorie balance of approximately 10,000 calories. Therefore, my strict fitness goal is to burn at least 10,000 calories per week.

Welcome to the World - Dakota Ratu Hanna

2007-11-08T22:26:00.000+07:00

Dakota Ratu Hanna was born at 7AM on November 8, 2007 at Gleneagles Hospital in Singapore. (Ratu is Indonesian for ‘queen.’)

Dakota weighed 2.7 kilograms, or nearly 6 pounds, at birth. But this figure is sure to change quickly because Dakota spends most of her time eating and sleeping, not unlike her father.

Though both are tired from the 12 hours of labor last night, Irene and Dakota are both doing well and are expected to rest and recover at the hospital through the weekend.

Not one to easily give up the limelight, Erica ensured some attention remained focused on her by Copperfield-ing Irene’s wedding ring yesterday morning. Though the ring remains missing in action, a frantic set of precautionary x-rays amid the check-in procedures for Irene confirmed that our little magician didn’t swallow the prop.

Thank you all for your prayers, love, and support.

"The damn vacation is over."

2007-10-23T20:04:00.000+07:00

The title quote was the greeting that Clarence Thomas' grandfather issued to him upon arrival to live with his grandparents at age 7.

It was a wonderful trip: family, friends, and fun. I was able to get in a couple workouts a week, which meant it didn’t lose a lot of ground in my program, but I sure didn’t make any progress. With the Singapore 10K only 38 days away, I have little time to lose; indeed, the damn vacation is over.

I have hit the gym hard. I totaled over 8,000 calories last week. My goal for this week is 10,500 calories – roughly the caloric equivalent of 3 pounds of fat. I will do another 5K in Jakarta on Sunday. Though it is a real road race with cash prizes, I certainly won’t be racing for the bucks – but rather just using it as another training run.

While in Singapore last weekend, I picked up a book that struck me as interesting. Though I had never heard of the author or the book, I am thrilled I picked it up. Ultramarathon Man by Dean Karnazes is incredibly motivating. Karnazes was named among Time’s Most Influential People last year, so I am surprised I had never heard of him before – but I really am glad I came across his book. Anyone looking to get inspired to get off their couch, ramp up to the next level, or stay inspired should check his book out. Great stuff.

The Slim Buttes On A Blog About Slimming My Butt

2007-10-23T19:30:00.000+07:00

Bringing a bit of Indo to NoDak

2007-10-23T19:22:00.000+07:00

Jamestown may well have the highest number of Chinese restaurants per capita of anywhere in the United States, but there isn't any Indonesian food to be had. So, Irene and John cooked up an amazing bounty of Indonesian food.

Mom

2007-10-23T19:06:00.001+07:00

Mom took so many photos during our visit that the only picture we could get of her was when she had a camera over her face.

Salt Lick, Oh, Salt Lick

2007-10-23T18:50:00.000+07:00

If it's not Heaven, then it's close.

Washington

2007-10-23T18:45:00.001+07:00

A whirlwind 24-hour layover in DC included the National Mall, White House, Smithsonian, and brunch with beloved LBJ Friends.

Spain

2007-10-23T18:39:00.000+07:00

Europe: so much history is makes your head hurt.

Shakier Than Britney's Live Show Performances

2007-09-13T16:35:00.000+07:00

Indonesia has been hit by a series of earthquakes since Wednesday night. Jakarta was about 400 miles from the epicenter, but we still felt the tremors. No major damage in Jakarta, and nobody I know was hurt. Those in high-rise buildings, like my apartment and including Iren, were frightened by extensive swaying.

Not as much as you you see, but I still love technology

2007-09-11T23:07:00.000+07:00

Lots of geek news to report. First, I got a new Polar watch that has a neat feature for keeping track of total calories burned per week - so that will be one of the quantified measurements that I will be reporting on here. The week of August 29th I burned 4829 calories. The week of September 3rd another 6636 calories. My goal for this week is to hit 10,000. I got a good start with over 2300 calories tonight with two spin classes.

In other nerdy news, Dale and I have started a NikePlus online racing challenge for who can put in the most kilometers in 80 days. If you are beginner and would like to join our challenge to motivate yourself to start running, just send me an email and I will invite you (you'll need to get the gear also). No veterans allowed though, you'll bust the curve. As it is, I am going to have to log some serious hours to keep up with the more-fleet-of-foot Barron.

Next week I start the "Around the World in a Month" trek. Stay tuned for some pics from the trip and updates as I get start much more roadwork to prepare for Singapore.

My First 5K!

2007-09-03T17:01:00.000+07:00

In Jakarta on Sunday, September 2nd, I completed my first ever road race as part of the the 2007 Jakarta Race Against Cancer Everyone (RACE), the annual Terry Fox Run. I didn't plan it that way - I had intended to bike the event (thinking that my legs probably weren't ready for the running yet). The fun-run allows the participants to run, walk, cycle, roller skate or use a wheel chair to cover a distance of 5 or 10 kilometers. But, on the morning of the race day, I had a problem with my bike. I thought to myself, "The guy this race is named for did marathons across Canada with one leg and lung cancer; I can do this." And, sure enough, I could and did.

The top photo shows the racers getting underway. The second picture is an image that too few people saw; it took me nearly an hour to cover the 5K, a time I hope to improve greatly with further training and weight-loss. The third picture gives a sense of the crowded conditions and nasty smog even though the race was early Sunday morning. And the last photo shows me cruising down the streets of Jakarta, jamming to Nike+iPod tunes.

In case you are wondering about the background, the Terry Fox Run events have raised more than $400 million worldwide to fight cancer through research since 1981, following the inspiration of Terry’s Marathon of Hope.

The next step is the Singapore 10K in December. Much work to be done before then, so I better get on it. Off to the gym.

I am speechless; wish she had been

2007-08-28T13:42:00.000+07:00

Just call me Pre

2007-08-21T15:23:00.000+07:00

Perhaps that's a bit of an exaggeration. But I was pleased with the results from the 2K last week (with about another kilometer warmup and cooldown). The time was terrible - taking nearly 30 minutes to complete, but it is probably to be expected given that I have never been known for blistering footspeed and the fact that I did the run after a full spin class and tough upper-body lift. The most important thing is to later be able to finish the big races – firstly, the 10K in December.

After an intense stretch of workouts over the past week, I gave myself a day off on Monday. I’ll be back in the gym tonight with some cardio.

Happy Indonesian Independence Day!

2007-08-17T23:28:00.000+07:00

I celebrated the holiday with a morning of traditional ceremonies and spent a bulk of the rest day in the gym. Though I did not hit my goal of 5000 calories, I did make it through the three Spin class and BodyPump – burning through 4000 calories.

A couple weeks ago I tried to make it through 5K again on the treadmill, but it was a doomed run. My knees were still very sore from the basketball game (then nearly 2 weeks before), my iPod froze about 2K into the run, and the treadmill locked up at about 3.5K. I considered it a sign and cashed it in. To give my knees a bit more recovery time, I’ve planned a more gradual ramp up on getting more running in. Last week I did just 1K, this week I’ll do 2K, next week 3 - you get the idea. We’ll see where I hit the wall in the progression.

For now though, the focus will be on cardio that’s less impact for the joints. I still need to drop some more weight before to safely ramp up the roadwork. I got the bodyscan last week in Singapore, which I will post later. In summary, the results were a bit disappointing in that my weight loss is off target from the progression that I’d planned. However, the trend is still in the right direction. Just have to work harder, be more disciplined, and patient. None of those things is terribly fun – but they are all essential to success.

New Nike Plus Ad

2007-08-17T11:19:00.001+07:00

Props to any commercial that has the guts to say "man boobs". And, I identify with his attitude toward workouts.

Counting the Days

2007-08-15T14:17:00.000+07:00

30 days until vacation. 45 days until DKR. 100 days until the baby. 108 days until Singapore 10K. I know the saying about life being too short to wish away, but there is plenty coming down the pipeline that I am eagerly anticipating. Iren and I will be embarking on a whirlwind trip next month. Previously, it was around-the-world in 30 days. Now, it’s even faster.

· September 17th – Depart Jakarta.
· September 18-21 – Madrid
· September 22-23 – Washington, DC
· September 24-26 – New Orleans
· September 27-30 – Austin
· October 1-8 – North Dakota
· October 8-10 – Los Angeles
· October 12-14 – Singapore.

Iren will remain in Singapore through the term of the pregnancy. I will return to Jakarta on Sunday night, October 14th.

The trip will be full of challenges. Iren will be dealing with her first major international trip and doing so as a very pregnant mommy. I will need to try to balance devoting time to doing all the tourist things I should, spending time with family and friends, and getting in the workouts I need to stay on track. And, perhaps most challenging, enjoying the trip without losing sight of dietary guidelines.

August 17th is Independence Day in Indonesia, honoring the declaration of independence from the Netherlands in 1945. Freeport will commemorate the day with a ceremonial flag raising with games to follow. I plan to spend the rest of the holiday in the gym. I plan to attempt to do 3 spin classes in a row and BodyPump class, with the hopes of hitting 5000 calories burned for the day.

Shakin' Around, Ring of Fire-Style

2007-08-09T19:00:00.000+07:00

Another quake hit Indonesia last night, luckily this one seemed to cause little damage. I was in Papua for work, but Iren and Erica were in Jakarta. Our apartment building, a forty-story complex, shook badly for about a minute. Iren and Erica took the stairs down as precaution (luckily in this case we only live on the 11th floor). They returned to find some damage to items that fell but nothing too major.

Here is an interesting approach to races. Though perhaps this article is an indication that I haven't changed completely, as it was "beer run" in the title that caught my attention.

Today I registered for the 10K race in the Singapore Marathon on December 2nd. This gives me a very concrete goal. I have 114 days to get ready! Of course, I'll welcome friends to join the race or come to watch. Those who make the trip can also come see the latest addition to the Hanna family, as Iren's due date is in late November, so she and our baby will still be in Singapore waiting for the passport paperwork (which usually takes about 10 days).

Bad Knees and the Amazing Trip to Asmat

2007-07-31T15:22:00.000+07:00

Even the airlines are down with CanDoTujuh, implementing mandatory weigh-ins.

On Sunday, I traveled to the Asmat area of Papua, an area just to the east of the Freeport project area (traveling from black arrow to the blue arrow on map).

It is said that ‘getting there’ is part of the adventure, certainly in my experience no where in the world is that more true than Papua. Travel infrastructure in limited and the terrain incredibly difficult. This trip involved a 45-minute flight in a Twin Otter above dense jungle and a 30-minute boat ride through swamps known to have danger critters like crocs (video in post below). The Asmat area is famous for producing some of the most famous ‘traditional art’ - previously known by the less politically-correct ‘primitive art’ – and for being the point of disappearance for Michael Rockefeller and the associated speculation about cannibalism which was still practiced in the area at the time.

Recent airline accidents in Indonesia would have compounded my concerns about getting on a small plane like this - until the pilot flashed Hook 'Em Horns.

Yeah boat rides!

Checking out Saturday morning mass while the locals check out the big white guy. All the buildings here must be built on stilts because the entire area floods when the tide comes in. All the buildings are connected with wooden walkways (of varying quality and sturdiness). The church is pictured here is certainly one of the biggest structures in the village.

Quite strangely, despite its isolation - not only is there cellphone signal here, but also Goodlink/Blackberry 'push email' service works. This service doesn't even work in most of North Dakota, which I suppose says something. Unfortunately, both this trip and the last week of workouts have been impaired by tremendous knee pain. I played in a basketball tournament last Friday night and am still having problems even walking. I have been pushing through the pain for cardio workouts and stretching but have been skipping any lifting for the lower body. I will try to do some light leg lifting and BodyPump tomorrow, with the hopes that the tough love treatment won’t delay recovery significantly.

Video of boat ride to Asmat area

2007-07-31T14:58:00.000+07:00

This video is actually from on the way back to meet the airplane again. The tide came and allowed us to take this "short cut" through this set of trees instead of looping out closer to the open sea where the waves were much rougher. Sadly, the combination of video quality from small digital camera and compression system of YouTube make it tough to see well - but, I assure you, it was a wild ride.

Shout out to Albania (how often do you see that?)

2007-07-26T13:50:00.000+07:00

To the newly elected Albanian President Bamir Topi, I have two messages:

One, congratulations. Two, good work.

Another success story

2007-07-26T13:06:00.000+07:00

The last story I linked to was about a crazy race that made a ‘normal marathon’ seem easy. This story is another success story about a couple who made lifestyle changes that led to remarkable success in their weight-loss.

Last night I burned through a solid 2000 calories, including 1000 during a tough spin class. Hope to repeat the same workout tonight. Tomorrow morning I depart for a quick trip to Papa, where I hope to get in at least one day of high-elevation hill work. Next week I will be back to Singapore and will have the results of a full body analysis test.

Like that weekend I read the Hobbit

2007-07-23T15:25:00.000+07:00

Not exactly. This one was much more physically demanding. Mentally, I'm not sure - perhaps a draw. Between Friday and Sunday, I burned through nearly 7,000 calories including 6 aerobic classes. And, it didn't have nearly the fat intake of last weekend's deep-fried fiesta. Pictured below is the star attraction. The googles proved absolutely unnecessary, too bad those don’t make similar protective devices for the arteries. I reckon all my work from last weekends was really just about un-doing the damage from this event.

In addition to a healthier life, this program is about being able to do so many things that I have never been able to because of my weight, including run a race - hopefully a full marathon. Here’s a story that makes that seem like a less than ambitious goal, even considering my starting point. Considered differently, it makes my goal seem so much more easily attainable.

Back to work

2007-07-18T11:25:00.000+07:00

Sure, the weekend in Bali was really amazing. Good weather, good friends, and good times. I have posted a couple photos below. You can see some online photo albums from Heather and Dave. After a wonderful long weekend in Bali (which – as the photos indicate – including a break from the beer ban that stopped just short of Jager-zone), it was time to get back to work in a serious way. Pictured above has been one of those recents mega-workouts - I have been targeting to burn at least 2,000 calories 5 days per week. This "Super Bike" class involved 200 people doing a 2-hour spin class session. It was alot of fun (though my feet were killing me and the wonderful Jakarta smog seems to have given me touch of respiratory infection) and I burned 3,500 calories.

So, what's the plan going forward? April was major lost time due to sickness and work issues. Much of May and June were distracted by wedding preparations. Based on the way my pants fit and a marginal decrease in weight, it does appear I kept the BMI going in the right direction. I did a lot of leg work, including many Body Pump classes, which has provided strong gains in leg strength. But, in terms of body weight, there is no doubt I am off the pace of my goals. Next week, I will travel Singapore and will use the Body Mass Analysis machine to get a better sense of where both body mass and BMI stand.

The ultimate goal is to run Standard Chartered Marathon in Hong Kong early next year (around March or so), which means a few things. One, I've got some serious catching up to do. Two, my commitment is being extended beyond "one year" - in part to reflect a penalty of lackluster performance in recent months and also to continue preparation for this major event.

Bali, Bali, Bali

2007-06-29T13:29:00.000+07:00

This is the first time I have ever cut a cake, I usually just treat them as bite-size goodies.

After I taught this young lady how to bust a move, I fried some chicken and read lines for the new Miami Vice, "Tubbs in Asia."

Oh, so late

2007-06-19T12:45:00.001+07:00

First it was email updates. Then, I got bad about those. Then, it was blog updates. Then, I got bad about those. Well, I will put this one on both – and plan to rededicate to the blog updates, as well as better committed on the regime which it is profiling.

The big news is pictured above from the ceremony in Jakarta. We will have our reception gathering next weekend in Bali.

Below is a fun photo from ‘This week at work with Scott.’ This was a traditional welcome ceremony for a group of guests that I took out on a tour to a local tribal village for one of the two tribes indigenous to the project area for our mine. After this, we had a feast of live grubs, tree-eating mollusks, and local mud crab.

This week at work with Scott

2007-06-19T12:44:00.000+07:00

For Whom the Wedding Bells Toll

2007-04-29T23:45:00.000+07:00

June 23rd will be the big day for Iren and me. Our wedding will be at the Intercontinental Bali, about 100 yards down the beach from the location of this photo. If you are able to join us for our special day, please email me to coordinate travel and planning details for your trip.

Happy Birthday Erica!

2007-04-24T21:31:00.000+07:00

Erica makes an early run for the cake. Certainly there was nothing about this cake that was approved for my diet plan.

Worker demonstration disrupts work at Freeport mine, workouts for Freeport employee

2007-04-21T12:18:00.000+07:00

Despite such a wonderful start to the week – with a vigorous hike to Hidden Valley last Sunday (see post below) and a solid workout in the gym on Monday, I have had an abysmal week for exercise and not much better on diet. On Tuesday, a large group of employees stopped working and began a demonstration calling for more money. This event has resulted in work days starting in the early morning hours and ending well past midnight. Discussions continue today. I hope that a resolution is reached soon, as I look forward to some sleep and getting back into the gym.

Hike to Hidden Valley, A Walk in the Mountains of New Guinea

2007-04-21T12:13:00.000+07:00

Starting at 2,000 meters and ascending around 400 more over a distance slightly over one kilometer. A challenging walk indeed. For fit folks, it’s usually slightly over 30 minutes, but I still need about 50 minutes to complete the journey. Typically I burn about 1500 calories.

SDH Reports First Quarter Results

2007-04-08T17:21:00.000+07:00

With first quarter results delayed one week due to illness, SDH released first quarter results today. Since January 1st, SDH is down 16.5 kilos (36 lbs). While these results indicate significant performance in the past three months, SDH admitted these results were one kilo short of first quarter targets.

"You're sick, Jesse! Sick, sick, sick!"

2007-04-04T20:14:00.000+07:00

Perhaps my last post, talking about routine and ruts, was a jinx. I contracted a viral infection, complete with high-fever, weakness, coughing, and sore throat. All of which has kept me out of the gym for nearly a week now. Finally starting to feel better, I hope to be back in the gym this weekend. My illness also meant I have yet to make it the gym for my April weigh-in, so the results are also delayed.

Chasin’ Around, Doing More of the Same

2007-03-29T21:47:00.000+07:00

Sometimes being productive is about ruts and routines. Moreover, those routines make for habits which make for lifestyle changes. And that’s a good thing. I reckon that is a fair description of the last couple weeks of workouts. Hitting the gym consistently, keeping dietary blips to a minimum --though the last couple days on that front have been overly naughty. Last weekend was another solid week of aerobics class, burning over 2,000 classes each day. And this weekend is a plan for more of the same. On Monday, I played soccer with our company league in Jakarta for about the third time in my life. While wearing my heart rate monitor (which henceforth I will only refer to as HRM), certainly didn’t make any less terrible a player, it also me to register a solid 1,500 calories burned running around like an idiot. I wasn’t happy about losing the game but I was happy about losing the calories.

On Monday, I will return to Papua for the third month weigh in on the original scale. Stay tuned for the results.

Fat Man Fantasies

2007-03-22T22:19:00.000+07:00

My experiment and a killer superset of calf-raisers on Saturday left me barely able to walk the last few days. Therefore, I took one day of rest and only had a light pool workout to get the blood flowing yesterday. This down time has perhaps allowed me to ponder my process and objectives some in the last couple days.

No, this passage won’t involve extensive discussion of my thoughts about Kelly Carlson, the best thing to come out of Minneapolis since – well, maybe ever. It’s not because I couldn’t think of enough things to say. It is because I don’t think fat boys’ fantasies about cute girls are much different than those of skinny boys. And because my girlfriend reads my blog.

Instead, the point of this passage is to talk about the practical ways being obese affects your life. There are plenty of subtle but important ways to which much attention could be directed, like self-esteem and self-confidence. Talking about such things would make me feel un-dude-ly and then I would have to watch Rocky IV again.

The fat man fantasies include doing stuff like:
Sitting…

in an economy plane seat comfortably, or at all;
in a lawn chair without worrying that it may explode at any moment like a drunk uncle at your cousin’s wedding;
on wicker without doing that semi-squat for fear that it may otherwise produce some version of one of those post-twister tales about straw sticking into electricity poles down the street;

Buying…

candy bars without feeling like a meth-head loading up on sinus meds;
clothes in the normal person section;
clothes with fewer X’s on their labels than your movies;
clothes that you like, not just the ones that come big enough;

Riding…

horse without worrying about winding up on the butt end of some fake (or real) PETA poster;
amusement park rides;

Or anything involving water. From the beach to swimming to water sports, anything involving water is full potential for huge embarrassment or even practical limitations.

These are just some of things I look forward to.

Pound of flesh

2007-03-19T11:05:00.000+07:00

I performed an experiment yesterday, to see how much work was required to burn a single pound of fat. I measured the progress with my Polar heart rate monitor, which by the way – for those of you thinking about way to improve the data associated with your workout is great.

Exercised for 3.5 hours continuously:
Included 2 classes (one Spin class and one Bodypump class) and 50 minutes on the elliptical machine;
Average heart rate of 122 through that time; and
Peak heart rate of around 200, too high actually when I was pushing hard during the Spin class.

All of this burned 3971 calories, around the amount needed to burn one pound of fat. Of course, I only “lose” that pound of fat if that my caloric intake is equal or less than my BMR or calories burned by my body on its own.

This experiment is useful in helping to remember why weight-loss is so difficult. One, we often want the weight to drop off in days or weeks, when it often crept onto our bodies over months or years. Two, it takes a hell of a lot of work to burn a pound. Further, it was useful in giving me something to concentrate on during one really tough Sunday afternoon workout.

I have a confession to make about yesterday also. While getting ready for my workout, I watched the Rocky IV training scene and final fight sequence not once, but twice. Now I need to go look for my high school letterman jacket and selected action figures to complete my transition to total loser. Err, I mean ‘Biggest Loser’. Off to the gym.

The Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

2007-03-12T22:23:00.000+07:00

I would gladly trade today’s news for Alexander’s mishaps, even borrowing his string of descriptors fails to capture the awfulness of today. Erica’s mother passed away this morning. Though she was quite ill, her death was still shocking – all expectations were that she would recover. Erica and Iren have returned to Manado for the services and to discuss the plan for Erica. With her mother’s passing and her father having taken off before she was born, Erica is left without a biological parent to play a significant role in her life, which further compounds the sadness of the situation.

My reference to the child’s title has nothing to do with the book’s theme, rather it is connected to my compulsion to lie on the floor, kicking and screaming that it isn’t fair that this young woman was taken from the planet so soon and her beautiful young daughter won’t remember her mother and will likely never meet her father. This child-like tantrum is so tempting because no words alone are adequate to capture the grief of the day, no notion of fairness in the world is fulfilled when considering the situation, and no other action seems more effective in handling the sorrow and anger.

A small plateau

2007-03-10T16:42:00.000+07:00

Based on today’s weigh in, in the past week, I have not lost any weight. That was disappointing – but I will try to keep reminding myself to keep in mind the longer-term view, that I have lost about 30 lbs in 70 days which is still ahead of the pace I need to keep to reach my goal by the end of the year. I have a two-prong plan to combat this short plateau:

1. Use protein-powder for meal replacement and as a snack to avoid overeating at meals. And, use this in the context of improved discipline on my diet. Staying focused, especially after a minor setback is important.
2. Increase my cardio regimen. Boredom is becoming a bit of an issue so I am going to attempt to increase the diversification, including some swimming and added aerobic classes.

In addition, this plan with persistence and patience should allow me to overcome this minor sticking point. I would really like to have a good weigh-in on April 1st (though I won’t utilize the date to announce any fake results) – as I would like to be well ahead of target by the end of the first quarter.

Still alive

2007-03-07T18:31:00.000+07:00

More plane crashes and natural disasters for Indonesia. As this writing might indicate, I am not among those unfortunate victims. I did know one of the currently “missing” Australian citizens who were on the flight. I hope you will all join me in sending your thoughts and prayers to his family, as well as all the other loved ones who have lost someone dear. May this serve as a helpful reminder to tell those dear to us how much they matter and treasure our every moment.

Two becomes three

2007-03-02T07:25:00.000+07:00

Erica is Irene’s niece. Erica’s mother in Manado is very ill so Erica is staying in Jakarta until she recovers. Erica is as joyful as she is cute, a delightful little girl. She cannot speak yet, but I am certain her first words will be, “Darrell K Royal Texas Memorial Stadium.”

Luckily, the title doesn’t refer to my hands – though being able to deliver a Stooges-style eye gouge amid a game of mercy would be a good bar trick. It refers to, in part, how two weeks between updates have stretched into three. A string of personal events, in addition to my continuing all-consuming professional schedule, have kept me off the blog. Through all this, I would grade my performance around a C- or D. I have only missed getting into the gym a handful of days, and I have done OK on my diet. And, still flawless on the booze ban, even at the wedding of my two dear friends, Sam and Irma. Luckily, the culture of weddings in Yogyakarta isn’t that of Ypsilanti, North Dakota – an open bar at a wedding back home would be a move financial suicide. Though the momentum is still going in the right direction, I need to recommit and increase the velocity again. On that point, I need to hit the gym before work.

The setting for Sam and Irma's wedding - Congrats!

2007-03-02T07:23:00.000+07:00

A beautiful setting and ceremony in Yogyakarta, Indonesia.

‘Water, water everywhere – not a drop to drink’

2007-02-11T10:00:00.000+07:00

My apologies for not posting an update last week. The last two weeks have been a wild ride, from major floods in Jakarta to a medivac to Singapore. And, as me writing this update would indicate, I made it through both events.

Jakarta floods

My uncanny ability to find my way into disaster zones continues. From the New Orleans (’05) to the Yogyakarta earthquake (’06) to the Jakarta flooding of last week, my track record for the past few years indicates that if I move into your neighborhood, you might want to think about moving. The flood waters resulted in dozens of deaths and have left hundreds of thousands homeless, as well as struggling to find food and potable water. Heartbreaking and tragic, I was blessed again in not being personally impacted in any serious way.

Trip to Singapore

A few weeks ago, I started having problems with the dilation of my left pupil. A strange problem to have and one that puzzled all the local doctors. Concerns that it might be an indication of some major problem, I was sent to Singapore to consult with a neurologist and have an MRI. The most important results were that the MRI showed I do have a brain and that there aren’t any bubbles which could be life-threatening, at other than the schemes I cook up for myself. The real cause of problem remains largely mysterious. The diagnosis essentially concluded that the cause is unknown but the dangerous things like aneurisms have been ruled out, but there appears there may be a connection to my migraine headaches, which I have had problems with for a few years now. Similarly, the triggers can include the same kinds of things – caffeine, booze, and stress – some of my favorite things. For now, it seems I can add freaky eye to my long list of party tricks.

Though not fundamentally related to my weight-loss journey, I feel compelled to comment about my hotel in Singapore. I walked into the room to find of those mega-massage chairs, which was awesome until I returned to Jakarta and, upon recount of the experience, had the image of hundreds of bare bums breaking in the leather before my arrival by my friend – paradise lost. Apparently to make up for the expenditure on the chair, the hotel scrimped on toilet maintenance and beds. The toilet handle had a motion like a kick-start Yamaha dirt bike and a noise to match. I will resist the temptation of any jokes drawing comparison to my own bathroom noises. And the bed felt like they outfitted leftover hardwood from the Garden not as baseboards, but as the mattress.

Time to hit the gym. Next week, I will be back in Papua and hope to get some photos of the mountain hike that I promised a while back.

Down 10 kilos in 5 weeks!

2007-02-11T08:37:00.000+07:00

Above - Body Mass Analysis from Feb. 5th
While in Singapore waiting for my medical appointments and MRI, I was able to get a full body mass analysis at California Fitness. They performed the test for free - so I feel some duty to pitch the gym: if you find yourself in Singapore, I would highly recommend this gym. The best news was that I have lost 10 kilos (22 lbs) in the 5 weeks since my start. That's a great start and I am happy about those results, especially given that I did not get good workouts for the latter half of January because of work issues. One week in, February has been good, so I hope to keep up the positive momentum.

The analysis provided lots of useful and interesting information – and will be a great baseline. While I was thrilled to be down 10 kilos, the test showed I still have another 50 kilos (110 lbs) of fat on my frame. That’s a lot of extra weight to be lugging around, and I know my body will breathe a huge sigh of relief when I drop it. As further motivation, the test showed muscle mass of 99 kilos and bones of 6 kilos – which means I will be one buff dude if I reach my target of 100 kilos while maintaining most of my muscle mass. I have always maintained I have an awesome six-pack in there somewhere, I just need to find it!

My buddy Sam posed the challenge to me of running the NYC marathon with him in November. My initial response to him was that I get fatigued after driving 26 miles, no way I am going to run that far. In seriousness, I have given serious consideration to the idea. For right now, I plan to stay focused on just getting the weight down enough to even consider it. I would, however, consider that the ultimate accomplishment as part of all this – but for now, I want to stay focused on the first set of goals rather than set the bar too high, too early.

For now, the road I face is hundreds of more hours of cardio on elliptical machines, bikes, and swimming to minimize the impact on my joints – especially my knees are in bad shape after years of football. However, aspirations of crossing that finish line in the Big Apple and breaking the rules to have a celebratory beer with Sam and Mike Blood in a NYC pub will help keep me going.

I have stumbled but not fallen

2007-01-26T19:22:00.000+07:00

Over the past two weeks, sadly, more than my blog has been inactive. I have been deluged by visitors to our minesite – including the U.S. Ambassador to Indonesia – and the series of visitors not only involved a lot of stress (and stress eating) but a lot of missed workouts.

But, in an important way, the blog worked just as I hoped it would. The extended support network kicked in just when I needed it. I was feeling down about my lapse and disappointed in myself. Unfortunately, these types of feelings can have a negative perpetuation when it comes to dieting and weight-loss. However, when I received an unexpected email from my dear friend Maria today, it reinvigorated me. She sent a story from CNN and gave me some wonderful words of encouragement. It really meant a lot. If you are a reader of my blog or someone else trying to drop a few pounds or someone looking to make a lifestyle change, please feel free to comment or drop me an email. The comments are especially useful as they can contribute both to dialogue and support (for me or others) because they are public. Thanks so much, Maria!

On Sunday, I will have my next weigh in. I will return to Jakarta on Tuesday, and I will measure myself and take photo two (after one month). I have noticed a change in the way my jeans feel – so I am confident there will be some good news, but I fear it may not be what I had hoped for with the latter portion of month being less successful than the first half.

Two weeks down, just fifty weeks (and kilos) to go

2007-01-14T16:08:00.000+07:00

(Top photo) The Freeport bike team was probably better suited for pass-blocking than pedaling. (Second photo) For those of you non-history buffs, that is not really the former President Sukarno. He was part of a group that wore historic-style Indonesian clothing and rockin' old-school bikes.

Two weeks in, the progress is generally good. I have lost nearly 3.5 kilos (over 7 lbs). My exercise programs has gone well; though I have missed a few days in the gym, I have been able to make it up on the weekends with around 4 hours working out on Saturday and Sunday. My personal ban on alcohol has been flawless, even making it through a dinner with friends on Friday night and a trip to the bar without a drop. My commitment on overall diet has been less than superb, and this is certainly the area where I have the most room to improve.

Today was an exceptionally good day for exercise with two hikes from Tembagapura to Hidden Valley, two communities in the highlands of Freeport’s mining area in Papua. With a starting altitude of around 2,000 meters (6,600 feet) in Tembagapura, the trek is roughly 2.4 kilometers long that climbs about 400 meters. These two walks and an hour on the elliptical cross-trainer allowed me to burn 5,000 calories before lunch, according to my Polar heart rate monitor (HRM).

On the point of my HRM, my friend Sam gave me a few pointers, and I feel confident that my improved understanding of the HRM will be useful in tracking my workouts and fitness progression.

The next few weeks will include a long string of business guests, so it will be important that I remain both diligent to my dietary guidelines, as well as make time for daily exercise.

First week's progress report

2007-01-07T11:47:00.000+07:00

Tomorrow will mark the first week. I would give myself mixed reviews. Perfect on booze – though, admittedly, I did not have any terribly tempting situations like going to the bars with friends or a business dinner party with free-flowing wine. While I have made a major improvement on my eating habits, I did have more than a handful of slip-ups. On exercise, I didn’t make it to the gym on two days, but I had a good weekend with 3 vigorous exercise classes and a 23 kilometer bike event (I hesitate to say race, as it was a leisurely pace). I took all my body measurements upon return to Jakarta, and I will compare them again when I return on Jan. 21st. I will check my weight again on the same scale in Papua on Jan. 16th. I will check my progress on both these parameters every two weeks.

I also took a “before” photo, but I will wait to post that until I have a more appealing progress and comparison photo.

Stay tuned for photos of a mountain hike next weekend in Papua, today’s bike race, and the news of the of the weigh-in next weekend.

2007-01-02T07:34:00.000+07:00

Yesterday was the beginning of my journey. Last night, I stopped drinking at the stroke of midnight. I tried to weigh in yesterday, but I was unable to do so because I was over the 350 pound limit for the scale. This was startling not only because I hadn’t faced this problem since high school, but also because I weighed 325 pounds on the same scale just 2 months before. Further, it reiterated the importance of this ‘shock therapy’ approach to this issue, as the momentum of the lifestyle choices were going in the wrong direction and at a troubling speed – though I did take this holiday season as a final respite before this commitment.

Because the scale didn’t tip in the half-inch beyond the 350 mark, I am going to approximate my weight at 363 pounds or 165 kilos. To reach my target of 100 kilos, I will need to lose 1.25 kilos (2.75 lbs) a week to reach my goal by the end of the year. I will record my measurements upon return to Jakarta on Wednesday.

I did OK on diet and got a decent couple of hours of cardio in on the elliptical trainer.