Health News

Cholesterol. For the last 16 years this steroid derived molecule has been running uncontrolled in my body. At the age of 12 I had a total cholesterol of over 220, and at the time this fact was discovered, my dad was recovering from a triple bypass. My Dad was 36 when he had his bypass. In his prime he was the first white All-American Track and Field Athlete from Texas Southern University, could bench press the weight room, and was nationally ranked in the Hammer Throw. Yet 12 years later he was having to endure the most violent and invasive of surgeries anyone can have. Normally it is associated with overweight and physically inferior body types. This wasn't the case for my father. Indeed, he was not in the same physical status as the previous decade, but he was not soft and out of shape either.

As time prevailed, I worked hard to modify my lifestyle, and maintain a physically active routine, but genetics would turn out to be the gatekeeper of my lipid profile. The day would come when being a vegetarian and working out twice a day just wouldn't cut the mustard. Not that I have attempted those methods, but those were the next in line, if I were to advance my current eating and exercise habits. So when the results of an advanced lipid profile proved to deaden my natural methods of curtailing cholesterol, medicine it was. At 27 years old!

Without doubt, my most convincing reasons for starting medicine at this age, have to do with my medical knowledge, but more than anything, it is the idea of not being the best husband I can be to my loving wife. For us to have the successful and meaningful marriage we intend on having, I must remain healthy and preventive in terms of my medical standing.

Houston Half Marathon

We did it! 12 weeks of training and 48 separate runs enabled us to complete our second half marathon this past weekend. We ran with Don and Jamie and 22,000 others to complete 13.1 miles in the Houston Half Marathon.

The day before the race, Leslie's parents came into town from Dallas. After a quick bite of lunch, we headed down to the George R. Brown to pick up our runners packets and look around at the running expo. That evening, Josh's parents came in, and we all went to dinner at Max's Wine Dive. Oh, that place is so good. We all dined on cheesy drunk bread, fried chicken with mashed potatoes and collared greens, and of course dessert. Yum! We were carbed up and ready to run!

The morning of the race, we all left the apartment by 5:30 a.m. to head down town. None of us had slept very much the night before because we had tossed and turned with nerves and excitement.

Here we are are waiting anxiously for the race to start. The sun was just starting to come out and the weather was perfect, clear skies, and around 48 degrees.

With the hardest of the training behind us, we took to the streets of downtown, the heights, montrose, and allen parkway areas to fulfill our quest for exercise, health, and adventure.

We had the great support of our parents along the sidelines which ensured our inner voices to 'stay positive'. They were strategically located about 3/4 of the way through the course. This lifted our morale at the time when our feet were beginning to hurt at almost every step, and our legs were flirting with constant fatigue with each painful stride. But our 'minds were over our matter' so to speak, and we turned down Allen Parkway and saw the arms of downtown Houston reaching out to embrace our final 2 miles of the race.

I'm still not completely sure what compels an individual to endure hours of monotonous physical activity, but I assume it is a way to find and attain victory and accomplishment in an unordinary way. It is a method in which we can separate ourselves from everyday life, and the impositions and adversities that it whirls at us. But when we run through the streets of downtown Houston, around Whiterock Lake, or downtown Dallas, the towns and the geography become so much more appreciated compared to the thoughtless and mindless act of driving from point A to point B.

Here we are after the we crossed the finish line! We had such a great weekend and made many memories. Thank you all for your love, support, and encouragement.

Monster Truckin It

This past Saturday night we took to Reliant Stadium to engage in some redneck fun! We went to Monster Jam 2010 and had a great time. We have been meaning to go and watch the famous GraveDigger and all his buddies and it finally happened. It was both of our first time, so when the roar of the engines filled the stadium and vibrated our bones as they came into the arena, we knew we were gonna have an interesting night. We couldn't believe the turnout for one of these events, and when the first truck did a 'standing wheelie' for about 60 yards, we looked at each other with huge smiles and had no further inquisition as to why so many people were standing and screaming. It was awesome. We saw the most unreal display of donuts, wheelies, and jumps. There was outright total destruction of some of the most overemphasized truck parts I could ever imagine. But the night was won by the famous GraveDigger. He stole the show in the head to head competition, and when he cleared more air, smashed through more cars, and defied the constraints of gravity with damaging his truck the least, he was the winner of the freestyle event too. So the moral of the story goes like so.....if you like beer, trucks, loud engines, and 4 oversized tires, you better get to the next monster jam, because it will be well worth your time.

Sunday morning run

Today, Leslie and I started our day as we do most Sundays,we slept in till our stomachs began to grumble, and our running voices began to mutter at us. We had to do our last training long run for our half marathon next weekend. So we rolled out of bed, coffee was a brewing, and we were looking all over the apartment for warm enough clothing to run in 30 degree weather. We enjoy starting our running days with the best, most nutritious breakfast that we can, so this morning was no different. One kolache, cinnamon twist, banana and a coffee and we were on our way :)

We ran at Terry Hershey Park in the Langham Creek part of town, and did just over 10 miles in 2 hours. Running has been something we have grown to enjoy. We run with Leslie's dad, Don, and we have signed up for the Houston Half Marathon next Sunday, Jan 17th. Last year we did the Austin Half Marathon, which was a little peace of 'hell on earth' with all the hills, so we decided to go from the most hilly course in Texas to one of the flattest. So here we are, one week away, and we should be good to go.

Our run went well, and after we were done, there was high priority for more nutrition. Potbelly was our choice. You see, we tend to spoil ourselves on running day, if you didn't pick up on that at breakfast. A sandwhich, soup, and the best oatmeal chocolate chip cookie we have found anywhere, and our blood sugar was 'back in business'. The rest of the day we relaxed and enjoyed the rest of the beautiful day on our couch watching movies.