I said. I did.

I had made the comment yesterday that if I get an early start on my morning walk I would do 20 miles. Well this morning I was on the trail at 0730. I just reached my 5 mile mark when I remembered what I had said. As I was walking back toward the car I said to myself "What were you thinking?" When I got to the parking lot I opened my car and grabbed my banana and my water and headed back out on the trail. As I passed each mile marker I would say "I said. I did." I kept pushing on and at mile 15 I hit the wall. I made the first 10 miles in 2 hours and 3 minutes. The next 10 miles was 2 hours and 17 minutes. By the time I was back to the car I was ready to collapse. I sat down and exclaimed "I said. I did."

Then I was thinking, why did I do that. No body would know what I had said the day before. No body would care that I did or didn't do it. But I would know. And it was that important to me. So that has become my motto for the new year. "I said. I did."

Go for the glory

Glory lies in the attempt to reach one's goal and not in reaching it. Mohandas Gandhi

I was reading the quote feed on my blog and I read the quote from Gandhi "you must be the change you want to see in the world". I love that quote from him. So I went in search of more writings from Gandhi and this one made me think about New Years day. As we move into the New Year we make our resolutions. These are our goals for the coming year. The most common resolution is to loose weight. So many of us start off strong and then become discouraged because things are not going as planned. And so you give up trying. There is no longer an attempt and you loose self confidence. Don't give up. Go for the glory.

And so a new year begins

As the midnight hour approaches I take a moment to reflect on the past year. I was able to do the Tour DaVita again this year. I endured more cold and wet weather than I thought possible while pushing my self to go the distance on a bicycle. What great memories of the friendships I have developed over the years. The next tour is in Connecticut and I hope that I am able to attend. I bought a new car this last year. My wife and daughter were in an accident in the Honda Fit. I give thanks that they were not injured. I traded the Fit in after the repairs for a much larger Kia Sorrento. I just love the ride and it is still pretty good on the gas. I lost 25 pounds this last year. And as I dropped the pounds I lowered my blood pressure and my cholesterol.

While I reflect on the past I look forward to what the new year may bring. I do have some goals that I would like to work on this year.


I am starting the new year at 173 pounds. I would like to be 165 by my next doctors appoint on June 1st and to end the year less than 165.

I would like to keep a log of the miles that I walk. I have been walking 25 to 40 miles a week and I would love to see what that number would be by the end of the year.

I want to walk a ½ marathon every month this new year. I have done it once or twice this past year.

Ride my bike more this year. Teri gave me a road bike. It needs a little work but is in good shape. I put new tubes in the tires today and will road test it in the morning to make sure all the gears work.

Get my daughter into college. She has been doing so well in school. I am very proud of her.

Bond more with my son. He is growing up so fast and changing so fast. He is doing outstanding in school and makes good choices. I am proud of him as well.

Here is to the new year. May it be even better than the last. Always remember, you create your happiness and life is what you make it. Make it a great year!

Looking Back

Where did this year go? It seems like yesterday it was the start of the year and now it is almost over. I was looking back at my post from January and the things I wanted to accomplish this year.

Read 12 good books. I have read more than 12 good books this year. The best series that I read was The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. I read all three books back to back. It was a very good read. I was so disappointed when it was over. I love to read books like that. I then watched the movies. They were good but I have yet to see a movie that is better than the book.

Loose 20 pounds. Well in fact I have lost a total of 24 pounds! At the beginning of the year I was diagnoses with a fatty liver and high cholesterol and high blood pressure. I was put on medication for the cholesterol and blood pressure. I started to walk in the park and now I walk about 35 miles a week and watch what I eat. My blood pressure is now fantastic and cholesterol is below150. I find out on Monday how my liver is doing.

Give 20 gallons at the blood bank. I did not reach this goal due to my health conditions. I wanted to make sure that I had all of my issues taken care of so I can donate for years to come. If all is well on Monday then I can start to donate again. I may even try to get a donation in before the end of the year.

Be happy with my decisions. Well that is another tough one. I have to make decisions that effect not only me and my family but also my team at work and patients that I see. I would have to say that there are few decisions that hind sight would change my choice. I would have to say that I am happy with my decisions that I made this year.

The past year dealt many challenges, both personal and professional. It seemed like there was one obstacle after another put in my path. I have been able to overcome those obstacles and turn them into inconveniences and learning experiences. I look forward to the many challenges that the new year will bring.

Battle of the Shoes

I have had many posts on shoes. It is hard for me to find a pair of shoes that don't give my feet problems. Years ago I had a pair of Nike Yankee running shoes. They fit my feet the best. I put several hundred miles on those shoes before I had to replace them. That was back in high school when I was on the cross country team for Soul American High School. When I returned to the states half way through my senior year I did not continue with the cross country team at Copperus Cove.

Lets review. I was wearing a pair of Nike shoes but had worn out the heal on the inside of the shoe. They were a good shoe but I never did any real distance walking with them. I got another walking shoe from Rebock. I then started doing distance walking. My feet always hurt. Time for a new pair. I saved up my pennies and a half off sale due to store closing got me a pair of New Balance 1200 series. Almost a hundred dollars at half price. These were no better than my other shoes,in fact they were worse. I started to get blisters the size of Texas on the inside of my heel and the back of the heel as well. From there I went with Sketcher. They felt fine at first but then the blisters on the inside of the heel started after a few miles. It got to the point that I did not want to go walking. That is when I got the Vibram Five Finger KSO shoes. Finally no more blisters. I actually enjoyed walking again. My feet felt fine, until I started distance walking. After 5 miles my feet were numb and tingling. If I stay on the trail over dirt and grass I do great but all paved walk was not good on my feet. I was back to square one. This weekend I bought a pair of Asics shoes. I tried on at least 10 different shoes at the store. I would put on both shoes and walk around the store. It came down to three shoes and all were Asics brand. The ones I bought have a gel sole and really cup the heel. I went out this morning for a walk. I was only going to do 5 or 6 miles but my feet felt so good I ended up doing 13 miles. When I got home and pulled off the shoes, no blisters. I think I found a shoe that fits my foot.

I still have foot pain when I walk distance. I can deal with that as long as there are no blisters. My next step is to see if I can get inserts to take the pain away. Stay tuned.

Tour DaVita 2010

I have survived the tour yet again, only this time unscathed. Last year on day two I ended up in the Emergency Room and had 13 sutures placed in my right calf that was sliced opened from the sprocket. For those of you that don’t know what I am talking about, the tour is Tour DaVita. It is a three day bike ride that benefits the Kidney Trust

The Kidney Trust is a non profit organization that provides free testing of kidney function and provides financial assistance to dialysis patients. On the first service, 90 percent of adults with kidney disease do not even know they have it. Once found, lifestyle modifications can be made to prevent the disease from progressing to end stage renal disease (ESRD). That is when you need to be placed on dialysis three times a week until you can get a kidney transplant. The second service takes the burden off of a patient having to decide between paying for a medication and paying the rent.

The tour this year was in Washington State. You can check out the route and pictures and video at tourdavita.org. We started off in Tacoma. The first day was approximately 66 miles. The rain was a slight drizzle most of the day with the temperature in the upper 50’s. There were two large hills that day. I made it half way up the first hill and then had to walk my bike up the rest of the way. I looked at it as on opportunity to stretch my legs and enjoy the sights. The second hill was even more brutal. As I start to make my way up I get cramps in my legs. I had to get off my bike to stretch my legs out. I look down at my legs and it looks like snakes crawling under my bike shorts. The muscles were just jumping. I couldn’t even walk. Then the cramps moved to my lower back. Ouch! The guest speaker for the night was riding his bike up the hill and saw that I needed help. He took my bike and pushed it up the hill while I tried to stop the cramping. After about 15 minutes and a bottle of water, I was back to good and continued on my way. I finished all the miles that day and made it in by 3:30. I hit the showers and then the massage table.

Day two was the visit to the dialysis clinic for a presentation. The morning was crisp and just a very slight mist coming down. We rode to the clinic and just about half way through the program the rain started to come down in buckets. I decided to stay and tour the dialysis clinic to kill some time and see if the rain would let up. After about 30 minutes it did not so I took off. It was raining so hard I had to remove my glasses to see. There were several steep hills on the ride and I stretched my legs on all three. On one of the hills a car full of girls drove by and one yelled out the window “Nice ass!” Boy, it had been a long time since I heard that! Only my bottom was starting to hurt and I was ready to give up. I had two friends, Kevin and Marjorie that pushed me to continue. I carried on with their encouragement and we all crossed the finish line together. That was 79 miles in the pouring rain and temperatures in the 50’s. It was a miserable weather for the ride but the sense of accomplishment and the company kept was worth it. It was after 6:30 when we arrived. I took a nice hot shower but unfortunately the massage tables were closed.

I started day three with the intention of doing the full century mile ride. As the day went on the soreness on my groin was getting worse and worse. The hills were plentiful this day as well. The day started off with rain and about 30 miles out the rain slowed down and then the sun actually broke through the clouds. By the time I made it to the lunch stop I was in so much pain it hurt to walk. Not the legs, the groin. This was the 45 mile mark and I made up my mind I was done. This was a difficult decision but the right decision. I did not want to risk further injury. I ate lunch and turned in my bike. I fell asleep on the one hour bus ride to the camp. After a nice long shower I went to the finish line to cheer the arrival of other riders. I had so many different emotions as I rang the bell and waved to the riders. I was filled with joy that they had finished the ride and disappointed with myself for not completing it. I just have to remind myself that I did my best and there is always next year.

Dazed and Confused

I called my Dad the other day to see how things were going. We had just finished the week with a tropical storm and lots of rain. I also wanted to see how Mom was doing with her radiation treatments. I called his cell phone and he picks up.

Dad "Hello"
Me "Hi Dad, How's it going"
Dad "Fine..."
Me "I just finished helping Paul with the trees that fell down in the storm."
Dad "O-Kay..."
I go on talking for about a minute about helping Paul and then I say "Dad....Dad...." The phone is dead. So I wait a few minutes for him to call back. No call. So I call him again.
Dad "Hello..."
Me "I lost you there"
Dad "Yeah...."
Me "Did you get a lot of rain this week?"
Dad after a pregnant pause "Yeah....."
Me "Dad are you all right?"
Dad "Who is this?"
Me "It's Danny!"
Dad "OH!"

And so went the conversation with my Dad. From that point on we had a great conversation. I was starting to think that my Dad had a stroke or something. I know it had been a week or two since we spoke but come on.

When I talked with him today I asked him about the conversation. He said that he was in the truck on their way to eat dinner and the phone sounded like it had an echo. He said when the phone disconnected Mom asked him who it was. "Just some lady telling me about cutting up some trees" he says. When I called back and finally told him who I was everyone in the truck had a good laugh.

Then I started thinking. I started off the conversation, "Hey Dad." Who could it be? Do I have other siblings out there that I'm not aware of? Good lord I think nine is enough!