"You NEED me, Craig..."

Thursday, May 5, 2011

I attended my first Cinco de Mayo party. I had only a passing clue about what it meant, but did my homework…on someone’s Ipad once we got there…and now I’m an expert. I wasn’t so sure how the food would fit into the Paleo diet, but I was prepared to make exceptions. It turned out that they were serving tacos, which I made with grilled chicken breast, onions, tomatoes, and some bean stuff. I used the soft shell…which didn’t fit…but it was a pretty good compromise. Craig, one of the hosts, queried me on the diet and so I went into some detail…and included my take on fish oil tablets.

Craig’s a good guy…but he’s a physical wreck. He’s got issues with blood pressure and a family history of diabetes. He’s got a bad back, an arm with a surgically repaired biceps muscle he tore lifting something – a beer I think, a bum ankle, and…he’s carrying too much weight. I asked him when he was going to let me help him get back into shape. “Do you think you can help me…even with all my ailments?” I don’t believe in giving people false hope and so I was blunt. “You’ll probably die during the fitness test…or on our first survival workout. I’m hoping it’s on the workout because I can stuff your body some where in the woods and maybe not get blamed. Your collapsing in my house doing the step test might be harder to cover up,” I said. He figured I was kidding.

He will prove to be a challenge because I do have to make allowances for the injury history. He’s clearly a candidate for an assessment with Bob since nutrition could play a huge part in his ability to control his blood pressure without medication and to keep his blood sugar under control. In other words…he’s the perfect guinea pig. He’s a very good client of Holly’s, so I have the additional incentive to keep him alive…for a long time. He’s got a business trip coming up, but wants to get started upon his return. I’ll keep you posted.

I managed to slip in a hard ride before the party. I wish I’d had more time since I was riding so well. I managed to get in 20 miles in an hour, which included a couple of pretty good climbs. I’m also thinking of giving running a try in the very near future. I need to know…

Bike duration: 60 minutes.
Training Heart Rate: 130 bpm.
Calories burned during workout: 900.