I hope you all are well.... I have been really busy lately and have not been as good about blogging, but I will try to bring everything up to date, and will try to do a better job at blogging every day. So, here is what I have been up to.....

Post Date: 1/17/09 11:19 am
This morning I met up with some friends at 7am when it was actually almost 50 degrees, and we ran a smooth 8 mile loop around the Trinity River, and Colonial Golf Club (Where the Byron Nelson classic is played). I finished in 1:11:54 which is a perfect 9 minute pace. Then, I headed to the gym and swam 1600m (1 Mile) in 28:09, followed that with a 1 hour FAST spin class, followed by a 20 minute climb on the stairmaster (76 floors in 20 minutes) It was a perfect cool down to a great day of excercise. I hope everyone is well and has a great weekend. Now that my work is done for today, I am going to enjoy the day with the family. Take care....

Post Date: 1/19/09 6:36 pm
Today I did 1 hour spin class followed by 20 minute brick, then a 1600 meter swim in 28:09. It's amazing how sore my shoulders still are from last wednesdays big swim. Hopefully in a couple days they will be all better.

Post Date: 1/20/09 6:09 pm 
Today I did a 1 hour spin class followed by a 3.1 mile brick in 30 minutes. Not once today did my heart rate get above 139..... My base is really coming together. I have a 12 mile run on the plate tomorrow morning.. Take care and will catch ya tomorrow.

Post Date: 1/21/09 12:05 pm
Last Edit: 1/21/09 7:19 pm
Hey Guys,

I got up a little late and got 3.5 mile run in outside in 30 degree (Yeah I know, not that cold compared to you eskimos that live up north), but still pretty cold for Texas. I finished in 26 minutes and change, I am headed to the gym after work for a 5,000 meter swim... I will post my time later. Let's hear what ya'll did. Take care...

UPDATE: So I got to the gym and set out for 5000 Meters, ended up getting in 4000 meters (2.5 Miles) in 1:12:03. I had to get home and go shopping for my little girl's first bike for her 2nd birthday tomorrow. Have a good one everybody, let's hit it hard tomorrow!!!

Post Date: 1/22/09 11:08 pm
Well, here we are at almost 1am and I just got home from the gym and showered and am bellying up to a big bowl of spaghetti with meat sauce and cheese all over it!!!! Yes!!!!!!! What a day....

Today was my lil daughter, Ava's 2nd birthday, so this morning we had a family breakfast that consisted of Fiber One Pop Tarts for the kids and wife, and a bowl of pumpkin granola for me. Went to work, came home, jetted out to Chuckee Cheese and really enjoyed paying $45 for a terrible pepperoni pizza and tokens for the kidos... Oh well, we had a great time. We came home, sang happy birthday, opened gifts and the fam enjoyed cake and ice cream, and  I enjoyed my granola bars. So, put the kids to bed, change clothes and finally got to the gym. Here is what I did today...

Began with a 1 mile warm up in 8:01 on Dreadmill

10 minute stretch

3 Sets - 45 degree leg press (12-15 reps)
3 Sets - Seated Leg Extensions (12-15 reps)
3 Sets - Hamstring Curls (12-15 reps)
3 Sets - Squats same reps
3 Sets - Seated Calf Raises
3 Sets - Calf Extensions

One big set of lunge squats that went across the entire group excercise room and back, probably about 40 reps on each leg (with barbell)

5 Sets of  Jump Rope : 25 reps, 35 reps, 50 reps, 75 reps, and 100 reps

A short 20 minute Spin slow cadence w/ loads of resistance

Climbed 50 flights of stairs on Stairmaster

Ran 1 mile cool down in 10:00 flat

10 minute stretch

15 minute soak in Sauna!

That's all folks, looking forward to getting after it tomorrow...Take care.

Post Date: 1/23/09 4:41 pm

I had a light day and just swam 2000 meters in 33:43. Longer run tomorrow (12 miles) and a 1000M swim, speed drills. Have a good nite!!

Post Date: 1/24/09 12:21 pm 

I am with the others about training indoors when it's frigid, especially after this morning's run. Got out to the trail at 7am the plan was 12 miles at 10:00 pace.... Well, with wind chill, it was in the teens, and this warm blooded fool from California doesn't respond too well to that, especially when he gets to the trail and realizes he forgot his gloves!!!! My son had some mesh Spiderman gloves that I used, but after I started sweating a bit, the gloves got wet, then about turned to ice... I honestly believe I was close to frostbite on my hands. So, we cut the run short and only did 8 miles at 10:03 pace and avg heart rate of 138. I then went to the gym and swam 1000meters.... Thats all for today. I hope everyone has a great weekend...

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Well, that's what I have been doing. I am battling a Resp. Infection, which sux, but other than that, all is well. I hope everyone is well and I will catch up with you all soon...

Dan
www.trimywill.com

So I have let blogging get away from me a little the past few weeks. I will start posting my diet and workouts on my blog, however I usually always post them daily here on the Excercise & Fitness board. Since yesterday was my 1 year Surgiversary, I decided I wanted to do something monumental. Something that would truly test me and help me and everyone truly realize how far I have come.

I remember 6 months ago, jumping into the pool at my gym and not being able to complete 1 lap of the pool without having to stop and gasp for air. So, with that being said, I thought I would do an EPIC swim yesterday to commemorate my anniversary. So......


I SWAM 10,000 METERS!!!  I DID IT!!! 3 hours 19 minutes and 22 seconds.... For those of you who don't know how far 10,000 meters is.... It is 6.2 miles. Many fit people have a hard time contimplating running 6 miles, let alone swimming that distance! I am not writing this to boast, I am writing this to show everyone that anything is possible. In 1 year I have gone from 400 pounds, super mobidly obese, to 208, have ran a full 26.2 marathon in under 5 hours, swam 6.2 miles, the next thing is a 100 mile ride on my bike. I have 5 Ironman events this year and my big race in August is 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike, 26.2 mile run. After I put all these together in the next couple of months, I feel like I will be ready for my events, and ready for anything life throws at me!

I am so thankful for the year that has been given to me... The road is bright and hopeful in front of me, quite a difference from the bleak miserable road I was looking down 12 short months ago. Please check out my website and shoot me an email in the "Contact me" section so I can add you to my contacts and keep you posted on all the media and press that is about to come out which will cover my story, and give you all my race reports www.trimywill.com. Thank you to everyone who has helped me and been such a great part of my life this year.... You are  sources of friendship, knowledge, inspiration, and hope. May we all be blessed in all of our endeavors this coming year...

-Dan

Well, here we are almost 1 year post-op. I decided th write this today, seeing as I am here all day, and am not working out or going to work, and my 1 year surgiversary is on Wednesday, so here it goes...














This picture was taken a couple days after surgery, probably on January 16th, 2008 just after my Gastric Bypass. I weighed 400 pounds, wore 56" pants, 5XL Tshirt, and size 22 dress shirt. My surgery went so well, Dr. David Kim really took good care of me, and I had no complications....(Knock on wood). After a couple weeks of discomfort, I went back to work and was well on my way to losing the weight.

After just 30 days post-op I had lost almost 60 pounds and was ready to start moving and get into the gym. I remember going up to the second floor of the gym where all the cardio equipment was located, and was so intimidated by all the fit folks there, and by all these machines I had never used before. I went to the treadmill, set the speed at 2.5 MPH and barely lasted 10 minutes before I was out of breathe and my heart rate was in the 170's. Here's where I was 1 month post-op...

Month 2, 3, and 4 came and as my body began adjusting to the rapid weight loss, I was able to do a more considerable amount of excercise. I was able to go for a 30 minute session on treadmill with some jogging sprinkled in, change was taking place, but I did not even anticipate where I would be taking my level of fitness to until a few more months down the road. Here is where I was at at 4 months post op....

Once I hit the 5 month post-op mark, a light went off in my head. I actually started to believe that I could become an athlete, and after the light went off, I registered for a Sprint distance triathlon that would take place in September 2008. Here is my 5 month pic...


As I hit month 6, I really saw the inches start to fly off, and my endurance was growing by leaps and bounds. Here is what month 6, 7 , and 8 looked like in order...



At this point, 8 months post-op, I was feeling like I fit in, that I was on my way to being a normal size, that I was just like everyone else, until I completed my 1st Sprint Triathlon. After I finished my first Tri, I realized I was a better athlete than a lot of "Average people" I finished 2nd in my division in my first Tri 2nd out of about 30 and became absolutely addicted to the Sport of Triathlon.... Here are some images from my first event...


After the Tri was over in September I immediately went home and searched for the next event I would register for. It was in October 2008, The Monster Tri in Keller, TX around Halloween. I worked even harder at the gym and outside on my run, bike, and swim. I ended up taken 7th in my divion, but there were double the athletes and I was competing against several people who had finished Full Ironman Tri's. I improved my time by over 20 minutes from the month previous, and was so excited about the direction my fitness level was taking me. Here are some pics from October...


I would spend the next few weeks training super hard, then I started to think BIG. I thought hey, I bet I could finish a marathon. An interesting thought considering my longest run to that point was probably 10 miles or so. I came to a decision that I was going to do it. I registered for Dallas Run The Rock Marathon....26.2 miles of happiness! It was on December 14th. In the meantime, I trained, and trained, and trained. My pregnant wife and I ran a 5k on Thanksgiving morning, my son ran the Gobbler Trot, and I then ran a 10K after all that. Here are some pics from that...
 

So, after I finished the Turkey Trot, training for the marathon became intense. I would do  my long training runs on the weekend and I am so thankful for my family who, although missed me during my long training, understood how important it was to me. I did this all for them. I had no events between the Turkey Trot and Marathon, but here are some pictures from 11 and 12 months post op...


These pictures lead to my pinnacle of 2008, running a full 26.2 mile marathon only 11 months post-op from 400 pounds. Words cannot describe the sense of pride and accomplishment I experienced crossing the finish line in well under 5 hours, mainly because nobody realized how hard I worked to get there except me. My training for the marathon also kept bringing the thoughts that I could do anything. So after believing I could finish a marathon, I then believed I could finish a FULL Ironman Triathlon! A full Ironman consists of 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike, and a 26.2 mile marathon. Finish in 17 hours or less, and you are an Ironman! I went to discuss this with my surgeon, told him of my plans, and he believed in me so much, he sponsored me for all my events next year. Before I talk about 2009, here are some pics from the marathon...



 

 As for 2009, here is what I am registered for: Feb - 26.2 Mile Cowtown marathon   March - Sprint Tri   April - New Baby Coming  May - Orlando, FL 70.3 mile Ironman   June - Lubbock, TX 70.3 Mile Ironman  August - 140.6 mile Ironman Louisville, KY  Sep - 70.3 Mile Ironman Augusta, GA   Oct - Austin, TX 70.3 Mile Ironman  Dec - 26.2 mile Run The Rock Dallas Marathon. My schedule is so crazy, but I am so excited.

My hope is that everyone who takes the time to read this can begin to believe that anything and everything is possible. I am living proof that a 400 pound man can go from Super Morbidly Obese, to an elite athlete in less than a year, and not suffer any restrictions or limitations as a result of Bariatric Surgery. This is your year to shine, make every moment count and never doubt yourself or your abilities. Anything IS possible, if you work hard enough. Good luck in the new year and throughout your life.

-Dan Benintendi
www.trimywill.com