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BUFFMAN AND SQUEAKY, PART DEAUX

Three years after completing my first-ever triathlon, the 2008 Buffman and Squeaky Olympic triathlon at Buffalo Springs Lake, I completed my 12th triathlon at the same location and the same event.

My first experience was pretty awful: no wetsuit, slow bike, side cramps on the run, etc.

This experience would have been much better had the water not been 58 degrees which was WARMER than the air outside the lake. It was freezing.

My theory is that the cold water had something to do with my calves cramping up about halfway through the swim. If I concentrated on powering my kick from my hip joint and not my ankles, the cramping would go away. A twinge here...a twinge there.

When I reached the swim finish and set my feet on the bottom of the lake to stand, both calves and both groins cramped. That's never happened to me before. I had to sit there for a few seconds while the cramps subsided, then slowly walk up transition to my bike where I had to actually sit down to take my wetsuit off - calves and groin cramping all the while.

Frustrating.

I went to mount my bike and off they went again. The announcer said, "Here's Mark Rogers off on the bike...and, no, now he's OFF the bike." I had to get off the bike and let my legs stop cramping.

I didn't think I was going to get up the first big hill, which is about 100 yards from the bike mount. And keep in mind, a strong, cold wind was blowing and I'm wearing a wet, skin-tight triathlon "outfit" and no socks.

I made it up the hill without incident and had to keep it just under redline the rest of the bike as to not upset my abnormally crampish legs.

The wind was in our faces on the way out, but we had the luxury of a tail wind the last half of the bike.

I dismounted, changed into my run gear and had to run about 2 miles before I could actually feel my feet. Ended up with a decent run time of 45 minutes, considering all that was going on - and I had to stop and pee (it was so cold that none of the water I was drinking was going anywhere...I wasn't sweating).

Sprinted the last 20o meters to finish just under 2:40, 5 minutes faster than my first ever triathlon. My PR Olympic is about 2:24 but not at this venue. Any distance on that course is a killer because of the potential for wind and the enormous hills.

I'm looking forward to the Capital of Texas Triathlon in a couple of weeks (Memorial Day in Austin) where there will be little to no wind and very few hills. Maybe this race won't be unseasonably freezing.

4-HOUR BODY EXPERIMENT (Days 29 and 30)

Day 29 - Sunday:

Weighed 180.3 (81.8 kg) this morning. Wow. Just more than 8 pounds since I started.
Breakfast was eggs and strawberries.
Didn't eat lunch until 3:30 PM (moving). Had a large salad and some black beans with chia. Dessert was cashews and raisins.
Dinner was pulled pork, beans, potato salad. Dessert was a large bowl of sliced frozen banana, frozen mangos, cashews, and honey. Mmmmm....boy.
Had more cashews and raisins later. Also had a couple of pieces of wheat bread with melted organic cheese right before bed.

Day 30 - Monday:

Felt OK this morning. Just exhausted from moving. Woke up late and got a late start. Ended up taking the day off to work at the house.
Breakfast was tuna, salad and black beans.
Lunch was the same.
Dinner was beef brisket, beans, jalapenos, pickles and mustard greens. Celery and cashew butter as snack.
Second day in a row I didn't work out.
PAGG, gallon water, cold showers.

OK...so my overall thoughts on 4HB diet are very positive. It's basically Paleo with no fruit during the week and legumes added back in. I feel great. I lost more than 8 pounds. Hopefully I'll be <180 by the end of this week...which was my goal (to be under 180 before the start of tri season - May 15).

I actually look forward to cold showers now and haven't taken a hot shower since the Saturday I read 4HB (April 2nd I think?). I may take one tonight as a celebration of 30 days in the books.

I will continue to eat the way I've been eating. It will be interesting to see where I'm at after another 60 days. I really like the whole not eating fruit thing during the week and then eating fruit on Sundays. It makes fruit a whole new experience. A delicacy. Something that triggers dopamine in my brain so I get the same response I used to get when eating ice cream and candy bars on Sundays. Oh...and this is day 121 of no candy, processed sugar, sweets, desserts, etc. Have no cravings for any of it.

4-HOUR BODY EXPERIMENT (Days 22-28)

Day 22 - Sunday:
Couple of eggs and some fruit for breakfast.
Lunch was pot roast, mashed potatoes, green beans. Dessert was mangos, cashews, frozen bananas. (ended up eating my dates at about 12:40AM this morning).
Snacked on figs and cashews on the way home.
Dinner was chicken fajita plate from Rosa's (had a couple of tortillas with honey). Dessert was mangos, frozen bananas. Felt terrible right after I went to bed.
Day 23 - Monday:
Breakfast: 3 eggs with spinach and cilantro and salsa. Lentils with chia and salsa.
Lunch: Salmon, lentils, big salad.
Dinner: Same.
PAGG as prescribed. 1 gallon of water. 1 cold shower.
Day 24 - Tuesday:
Breakfast: Salmon, lentils, big salad.
Traveled to Dallas for work.
Lunch: Whole Foods salad bar (including chick peas, roasted chicken, raw kale and lots of other awesome stuff.)
Dinner: Pappadeaux. Got grilled salmon with green beans and a salad.
Snack: dried veggies from Whole Foods and a raw revolution bar.
1 gallon water. PAGG as prescribed. 1 cold shower. Ran at Hillcrest High School. Also worked out in the morning before I left.
Day 25 - Wednesday:
Breakfast: Cracker Barrell. 3 scrambled eggs and a house salad.
Lunch: Ghengis Grill with my dad. Chicken, beef, lots of grilled veggies and green beans.
Dinner: Fish City Grill. Chicken, steamed veggies, salad.
Did CFE workout at Busy Body while trying out treadmills. Bought a Precor 9.3.1. Pretty sweet.
CF Richardson at 5:30 PM. Tabata workout.
Raw revolution bar before my workout out.
Snack: celery, guacamole, cashews.
Day 26 - Thursday:
Breakfast: Whole Foods breakfast bar and salad.
CF Richardson at 8:30 AM.
Lunch: Taco Diner. Chicken salad with salsa.
Dinner: Salmon, lentils, large salad (back home).
Snack: celery, cashew butter, raw revolution bar (those are technically not 4HB because they have dates in them...but I can't resist them and they only have five ingredients).
Ran in the evening.
Day 27 - Friday:
Weighed 183.5 this morning. Not getting the weight loss that I was hoping for but I feel like my core is leaning out. I'm satisfied with the physical changes I'm seeing.
Breakfast: salmon, lentils with salsa and chia, large salad. Got our first box of veggies from our farm share on Monday so I have more leafy greens than I know what to do with. Love it!!!
Lunch: salad, salmon, lentils. Closed on our house at 11AM.
Dinner: Oscar's. Chicken fajitas, guacamole, lettuce, pico, beans. Terrible service. Won't be going back there.
Ended up eating 2 raw revolution bars today.
PAGG. Gallon water. Cold shower.
Day 28 - Saturday:
Moving today. Weighed 182.1 this morning.
Can't remember all what I ate but it was all 4HB prescribed. Eggs, salad, salmon or tuna, black beans.
Cold shower. PAGG and gallon water. Taught RPM this morning.

4-HOUR BODY EXPERIMENT (Days 15-21)

Day 15 - Sunday:

Weighed 181.6 this morning. Crazy. 1/2 pound less than last week but came down 4 pounds since Friday?! Had to have been the restaurant food messing with me.
My binge day was basically a Paleo day plus a helping of refried beans at Oscar's...LOTS of fruit today. Breakfast was 3 eggs with salsa, a coconut milk, hemp protein, carrot, celery, spinach veggie smoothie (still experimenting with those veggie smoothies - the one I made Friday just about made me want to vomit). Glass of grapefruit juice. Lunch was chicken fajitas (no tortillas or chips) brough sliced squash and cucumber for my "chips", and the aforementioned beans.

Dessert was a frozen banana, frozen mangos, dried figs, cashews. Had some raisins and cashews later in the afternoon. Dinner was a 1/2 chicken from Sharon's with no skin, some cole slaw, green beans, then some frozen fruit, dried figs and cashews for dessert. Didn't feel quite as bloated last night. Think not eating bread or grains helped.

Day 16 - Monday:

Didn't weigh this morning (not going to weight until Wednesday) but felt good enough to go get a work out in ... unlike last Monday when I felt absolutely horrible.
Breakfast: salmon, mung beans with chia, smoothie (1/3 c coconut milk, 2 tbsp hemp protein powder, ground flax seed, ice, water - not bad).

Lunch: spinach/kale salad with tomatoes and carrots, salmon, mung with chia.
Dinner: two eggs with cilantro on top of sauteed cabbage, broccoli (cooked in olive oil), chick peas with chia - been putting a spoonful of chunky salsa on beans/peas...pretty good.
Snack: celery and some cashew butter (had a little more than I had planned to).
Only 1 cold shower today. PAGG as prescribed. Shaved my head tonight.

Day 17 - Tuesday:

Work out this morning.
Breakfast: salmon, chickpeas with chia, sauteed cabbage, broccoli, tomatoes. Forgot to take AGG before breakfast, but didn't miss any other PAGG today.

Lunch: salad at Cypress street with veggies and blackened chicken, side of black beans, no dressing.Snack: veggie smoothie - carrot, cocounut milk, hemp protein

Dinner: Guacamole made with 2 avocados, tomatoes, chopped cilantro, lime juice, lemon juice (fresh). Ate with celery.
Snack: celery with cashew butter.

Ran tonight..."sport tosh" from CFE website. 2 cold showers today. Gallon of water.

Day 18 - Wednesday:

Weighed 183.8 this morning. I was 185+ on Friday of last week and ended up at 181.6, so I'm hoping this means I'll be below 181.6 on Sunday morning. I've always gained lots of water weight on a "binge day" (even a binge day of mainly fruit - any big increase in calories) and slowly lost it throughout the week.

Swam 1400 yards this morning.

Breakfast: salmon, chick peas with chia, spinach/kale salad with broccoli, carrots, salsa.

Lunch: Humphrey Pete's in Brownwood. Salmon, pinto beans, salad.
Dinner: Jason's - 2 trips to the salad bar.

Snack: celery, cashew butter.
PAGG as prescribed. 1 gallon water. 2 cold showers.

Day 19 - Thursday:

Still in the 183s...hmmm...
Breakfast: salmon, chick peas with chia and pumpkin seeds
Lunch: spinach/kale salad with cabbage, tomato, broccoli. Salmon, chick peas with chia.

Snack: smoothie - coconut milk, flaxseed, chlorella, carrot, ice, water, cinnamon. Actually pretty good.

Dinner: salad at super club, chick peas with salsa, raw revolution bar
Snack: celery with cashew butter, pumpkin seeds, salsa.
PAGG as prescribed. 1 gallon water. Only 1 cold shower.

Day 20 - Friday

Still in the 183s....but I FEEL like I'm losing body fat. I look different, too.
PAGG as prescribed. All meals had protein, legumes, and veggies. Had a raw revolution bar, too.

Day 21 - Saturday:

Didn't weight...in Georgetown. All meals had protein, legumes, veggies. Had a raw revolution bar. PAGG as prescribed.
Sorry for the brevity, I had written out a longer post at the end but blogger screwed it up, and I don't feel like writing it all out again.

4-HOUR BODY EXPERIMENT (Days 8-14)

Day 8 - Sunday: 182.1 this morning - 6 pounds this week. Did a pretty tough CF WOD before church. Drank cold water. Breakfast was 2 eggs and a grass fed beef patty with some grapefruit juice. Lunch was chicken and beef fajitas at Los Arcos. I did 2 minutes of squats in the bathroom prior to meal and drank an entire glass of water with lemon juice in it before I began. Jenn and I shared fajitas for 1. I had chips, too. Came home and had dried figs, frozen bananas, cashews and a couple of Raw Revolution food bars. Dinner was two grilled cheese sandwiches with honey, cashews, dried figs, chips. Felt pretty bloated all night. Kidneys hurt...like they didn't know what hit 'em. I've definitely had more epic cheat days but definitely felt bloated. Ring still fit easily which usually doesn't happen after I get some chips/bread in my system. Not planning to weigh again until next Friday. I probably gained 10 pounds of water weight today.

Day 9 - Monday: Felt awful this morning. Kidneys hurt. Feel bloated. Hate this feeling. Couldn't work out. Salmon, black beans veggie smoothie for breakfast. Lunch with Cliff at Cypress - salad, side of black beans, grilled chicken. Dinner was same as breakfast. Had a smoothie before I went and ran at HHC. PAGG as prescribed. Gallon of water. 2cold showers.

Day 10 - Tuesday: Worked out this morning. Breakfast was salmon, black beans/chia, veggie smoothie. Drove to Midland - business trip. Lunch was salad bar. Lots of veggies, eggs, chick peas. Ran in Midland in the afternoon. Dinner was a mexican food place - chicken fajitas, charro beans, lots of veggies, salsa. Gallon of water. AGG (fell asleep before the PAGG dose). 2 cold showers.

Day 11 - Wednesday: Worked out at 6 AM. Didn't eat breakfast until 9:30AM. HEB - garden salad, can of black beans, 2 hard boiled eggs. Ran on Permian track right before lunch. Lunch was Rosa's - chicken fajita plate, double beans, no rice, lots of salsa, pico de gallo, jalapenos. Dinner in Odessa at Mexican food place - chicken salad. Can of kidney beans and dried veggies I got from HEB for snack before bed. PAGG as prescribed. Gallon water. 2 cold showers.

Day 12 - Thursday: Breakfast at Cracker Barrell - 2 scrambled eggs, dinner salad. Worked out after breakfast. Lunch at La Bordega in Midland. Chicken fajitas, beans, no rice, veggies - looked like it had lots of grease or butter though. Veggie smoothie when I got back home. Dinner was about 3 oz chicken breast and 2 stalks of steamed broccoli. Had cashew butter, carrots, almonds, guacamole when I got home from Gala I emceed. Gallon water. 2 cold showers.

Day 13 - Friday: Ugh - 185.1 this morning. Not good. Up 3 pounds from last Sunday and I haven't deviated. Only difference was that I had to eat out most of the week...wonder if there was just a lot of salt in the "restaurant" food I was eating. Swam at the Y this morning - 30 minutes. Cold shower at Y. If I'm not down below the weight I was last Sunday this Sunday...no "binge day" for me.

Lunch was steamed salmon, black beans w/ chia, and about 5 oz of sauteed cabbage (cooked in 1 tsp canola oil). Veggie smoothie around 5 PM (used hemp protein instead of whey isolate).

Dinner was 1 cup cooked mung beans, steamed salmon. Did "Murph" up at ACU...tough workout. Snack was celery and cashew butter and guacamole...handful of almonds. Drank gallon of water. PAGG as prescribed. Only 1 cold shower.

Day 14 - Saturday: Was 183.4 this morning...1.7 pound difference in a day this late in the week? Hmm...Maybe I will be back to 182.1 tomorrow. Planning on "binging" on Paleo diet including fruit - no bread or dairy tomorrow like I had last week. Breakfast was serving of quinoa (turns out it's a seed not a grain so I can eat it!!), 2 eggs with chopped cabbage. Taught RPM then took H out to a farm to get our eggs...real eggs. I got to go out and see where they lay them and how they gather them. Felt a "butt warm" egg...ha! Lunch was Honey Boy salmon pouch (Honey Boy salmon comes from wild caught alaskan salmon), in a bowl of 5 oz of cabbage and tomatoes sauteed in lemon juice and canola oil with flax seeds on top, 1 c mung beans with chia. Went to the Zoo.

Missed AGG this morning for some reason but got it before lunch. Dinner was can of collard greens, sauteed cabbage, mung beans and chia, and a can of albacore tuna. Snack was celery, guacamole and cashew butter. 1 gallon water. 1 cold shower. PAGG as prescribed. Be interested to see what my weight is in the morning.

4-HOUR BODY EXPERIMENT (Days 1-7)

I read the 4-Hour Body over the weekend and am going to track my progress for the next 30 days to judge its efficacy. I'm just doing the diet stuff, not the work out part or "other" interesting part of the book - if you've read it you know what I mean.

Who needs a research grant when you can just use your own body!? I started out at 188.2 and 10.2% body fat (according to the machine at Hendrick Health Club). This time last year I was consistently below 180 and around 7.5% body fat...need to get back down in that range before Triathlon season really starts (May 15).

Day 1 - Sunday:

Didn't count this as the 4HB "cheat day" since I was just starting. And my "cheat day" will not include sweets or desserts since I'm going the entire year without processed sugar. It will just include a couple of larger meals and lots of fruit, dried fruit and nuts.

Woke at 630 AM drank 500ml of ice cold water. Had a 3-egg, spinach, cilantro, jalapeno omelet and a smoothie (carrot, celery, spinach, cinammon, 1/2 scoop whey protein, water, ice - it was actually much better than I anticipated).

Ice cold shower #1 - normal water temp to get soaked then turned the spout away from me and turned it all the way cold. Quickly returned to water's flow to rinse. Just about suffocated to death it was so cold. Eventually got used to it and stayed under the spray for about five minutes. Actually very refreshing.

Lunch was some free range chicken, chick peas and spinach. Dinner at Young Life leadership was chicken, sausage, cole slaw and potato salad (Sharon's BBQ). Drank 1.25 gallons of water today.

Really tough Crossfit WOD this afternoon. "Whitten" took me 40 minutes. Did it outside under the hot sun.

Took another ice cold shower before bed. Wasn't as bad as the first.

Day 2 - Monday:

Woke at 630 AM and drank 500ml of ice cold water. Took cold shower (getting a little easier and actually feel extremely refreshed post-shower...we'll see if it has any weight loss effect. Had free range chicken, chick peas and vegetable smoothie for breakfast (carrot, celery, spinach, protein, ice, water, cinnamon).

Lunch had to be quick: spinach salad with Honey Boy canned salmon, pickles, onions, carrots and chick peas on the side. The Honey Boy salmon is wild-caught Alaskan (same place I get my frozen filets from).

Got home a little after five and had a veggie smoothie: carrot, celery, 10 almonds, ice, water. Not good at all. Forced it down though.

Ran a 40:56 10K after Haelyn went down.

Cold shower after run.

Dinner was chick peas and sardines. Put chia seeds and a tiny squirt of mustard in bowl. Microwaved for about 60 seconds...not bad. Also had a can of mustard greens (only ingredients in can were mustard greens and water...no added salt or preservatives). Spiced it with pepper and red pepper flakes.

Had two celery sticks with two tbsp of cashew butter before bed.

Ended up drinking more than 1 gallon of water for the day.

Day 3 - Tuesday:

Woke at 5 AM. Drank 500ml ice cold water. Swam at the YMCA: 4x200 yard intervals with 30" rest periods. Cold shower at Y after swim. Starting to look forward to the ice showers.

Breakfast was the last of my chick peas with chia seeds sprinkled on top. About 2.5 ounces of steamed salmon (no spices or sauces), and a veggie smoothie: carrot, celery, spinach, dash of cinnamon, 2 tbsp whey protein, ice, water...pretty good). Also put a tsp of ground flax seeds in my smoothie. Lunch was 3 ounces steamed salmon, 1 cup red beans (cooked from the bag...no cans) with chia seeds sprinkled on top. Spinach salad with chopped onions, sliced pickles, carrots, ground flax seeds. Dinner at 5:45 PM was can of albacore tuna on top of spinach salad with onions, pickles, carrots. 1 cup of red beans with chia seeds on top. Went to work out at 8:00 PM, drank a smoothie before (carrot, celery, spinach, ice, water, 2 tbsp whey protein, dash cinnamon). Celery sticks with cashew butter (about 2 tbsp) at around 9 PM. Cold shower before bed. Talked to a friend of mine who had great results with PAGG. Going to Natural Food Store and/or Drug Emporium tomorrow to get the stuff to start Thursday.

Day 4 - Wednesday:

500 ml ice cold water as soon as I woke. Slept from 10:30 - 6 AM. Rest day since I'm going to work out on Sunday. Breakfast was 3.3 ounces of steamed salmon, 1 cup of red beans with chia seeds and veggie smoothie (carrot, celery, cinnamon, 1 tbsp whey protein, spinach, ice, 100ml water - those shakes don't need much water). Lunch was at Natural Food Center: spinach/romaine salad with radish, tomatoes, sprouts, guacamole, grilled chicken, and zucchini. Had a bit of Jenn's grass fed beef patty...pretty good. Went to Drug Emporium and found all ingredients of PAGG. Figured up the cost and it's cheaper (on a 20 day/month basis) to buy it here than to get it online). Snack around 5 PM was raw carrot and 5 almonds then a veggie smoothie (carrot, celery, 2 tbsp protein, ice, water, cinnamon). Dinner at 730 PM was 3 ounces salmon, 1c red beans with 1 tsp ground flax. Planning on a couple of celery stalks with 2 tbsp cashew butter at around 930 PM. About to take a cold shower. Will be second of the day (took one this morning). PAGG starts tomorrow.

Day 5 - Thursday: (Day 1 of PAGG) Woke at 530 AM. 500ml ice cold water. Rode indoor bike (2x5:2, 5x1:30")...kept heart rate at or above 160 for most of the working phases. Cold shower. Skipped the warm water part. Went straight to cold.

Took AGG little before 7. Breakfast was 3 ounces salmon, 1c red beans with chia, veggie smoothie (carrot, celery, spinach, ice, water, cinnamon, 1 tbsp protein). Was down to 182.9 this morning. Haven't been below 183 in a while.

Lunch at Sharon's - 4 ounces turkey, 1c pinto beans, salad, lots of jalapenos and pickles. Took AGG about 10 minutes before lunch.

Had a carrot at about 4 PM. Dinner was 1c lentils, package of honey boy alaskan salmon on top of spinach, carrots, celery, and 1.5 oz of avacado. AGG about 30 minutes before dinner.

CF WOD at 7:30 PM. Cold shower. Went straight into cold stream again...stayed in for 6.5 minutes. Night snack was 4 celery sticks with 2 tbsp cashew butter and 24 almonds. Took PAGG before bed. Drank more than a gallon of water today and have had at least 1 gallon of water every day of 4HB.

Day 6 - Friday:

Fell asleep on living room floor at 9:30 PM...didn't wake until 6:30 AM. Highly unusual for me. I get up or at least wake up a few times per night to pee or just turn over or something. Had vivid dreams the entire night. Couldn't believe it when I opened my eyes and it was 630. Weighed 183.9 this morning. Up a pound? Maybe yesterday was a false reading or something.

Took a cold shower, drank 500ml of ice water, and took AGG. Breakfast was 1c lentils, 2 eggs (with chopped cilantro), and a veggie smoothie (carrot, celery, spinach, 1 scoop protein, dash cinnamon, ice, water). 60 grams of protein in that breakfast.

Lunch was 3 oz chicken on a spinach salad with carrots, celery, flax seeds. 1c lentils with chia. Had a smoothie at around 5 PM (celery, carrot, whey protein, cinnamon). Dinner was spinach salad with celery, carrots, avacado, flax seeds, albacore tuna (small package), 1c lentils with chia. Cashew butter, celery and almonds as a snack. Took 2nd cold shower of the day prior to night snack. Took all prescribed AGG today but fell asleep before taking PAGG dose. 1 gallon of water. Worked at this evening, CF WOD "D.T."...

Day 7 - Saturday:

Woke at 5 AM. Weighed 182.5 this morning. Drank cold water - 500ml. Breakfast was lentils, spinach salad with carrots, celery, and some grass fed ground beef (3 oz).

Won the Kirk Goodwin 5K before teaching RPM at 9:30AM. Had a veggie smoothie post workout. Cold shower before noon. Lunch was lentils, ground beef, salad (all same stuff).

Dinner was a bowl of homemade guacamole and black beans. I ate the guacamole with celery. Had cashew butter, celery and almonds for snack. Took another cold shower before snack. PAGG as prescribed today and more than a gallon of water.