Aug 202011
 

The last time I saw my brother, I whispered in his ear, “Just in case . . . I love you.” 

You never know what could happen in surgery after all.

The surgery went extremely well and Rocky seemed to be doing just fine.  The doctor assured us his appendix came out smoothly and that night we sat by Rocky’s side until visiting hours were over. 

The next day was the San Luis Obispo Triathlon and to be honest, I didn’t really want to do it without my brother.  But my Dad encouraged me to do it anyways and, deep down, I knew my brother would have wanted me to continue on without him.

I had one of the latest start times and knew I could get a good nights sleep in order to rest myself before the race.

Aug 182011
 

We left the 60th Anniversary celebration of the California Scholastic Press Association where my Dad had just received one of the highest honors . . . he had been inducted into the CSPA Hall of Fame.

We were headed for the hospital.  My brother was headed for surgery.

It was discovered that my brother had appendicitis . . . fortunately, we had caught it early. 

At the hospital, we met the doctor who seemed competent and he told us Rocky would be undergoing a surgery to remove his appendix.  We were assured things would go well. 

As he headed into surgery I leaned in and whispered in his ear, “Just in case . . . I love you.”

Aug 162011
 

Today was the 60th Anniversary of the California Scholastic Press Association Workshop – a two-week journalism workshop held at California State Polytechnic University in San Luis Obispo every Summer. 

People were coming from all across the country to celebrate the event. 

My Dad has run the workshop for the past 30 years and today was a big day for our family.  My brother, sister and I owe a lot to the CSPA Workshop.  After all, that’s where my parents met.  Every member of our family had attended the workshop.  

It was a big deal. 

Rocky had thrown up all night long the day before and I was worried.  He tried to carry on as if things were normal in the morning, but I could tell he was hurting.  After a family discussion, we decided it would be best to take Rocky to the hospital. 

The decision was made to take him to the hospital at almost the exact same time the 60th Anniversay of the CSPA Workshop. 

Although Rocky was hurting, his pain didn’t seem terminal so my Father, sister and I made our way to the celebration.  We met and talked with people who came from all across the United States to celebrate the Anniversary with us.  But the whole time, our thoughts were with our brother. 

The highlight of the presentation was when my father, along with other instructors and board members from the workshop received the highest honor the workshop bestows upon those who are associated with it.  He had made the California Scholastic Press Association’s Hall of Fame.  When his name was announced, I saw him getting off of his cell phone and he was emotional. 

He graciously accepted the award and the festivities carried on.  Minutes later, after the award ceremony had commenced.  My father informed me about the content of his cell phone conversation.

Literally one minute before my Father had received one of the biggest awards of his life, he got another piece of news . . .

Rocky needed surgery . . . immediately.

Aug 142011
 

On the rock-hard mattress in a Lassen Hall dorm room at California State Polytechnic University in San Luis Obispo my brother woke me up.

He stumbled to the bathroom.

“Are you ok?” I asked.

“I don’t feel so good,” he said. 

And then it came . . . this grotesque vomitting noise from the bathroom . . . the dry heaves made me nautious.  I went to check on my brother.  He was shaking violently.  This was not good.

Earlier that day, my Mom, sister, brother and I had packed our bags and were headed for San Luis Obispo.  We have been to San Luis Obispo every Summer for as long as I could remember.  My Dad runs a two-week journalism workshop for High School students who live all across the United States, the California Scholastic Press Association workshop.  

The CSPA Workshop has been conducted at the Cal Poly campus every Summer.  And this Summer was its 60th Anniversary.  My Dad has been running the workshop for the past 30 years.  He attended the workshop himself when he was in High School.  

He came back every Summer since then, first as a counselor, then an instructor, then as the man in charge. 

It was as a counselor that he met my mother.

Eleven or so years later, I was born and three years after I popped out the Running Brothers were complete.

My Mom grew up in San Luis Obispo and although she moved down south for college and eventually settled in Chino Hills, she still loved making her way back to her home town.  As kids, we would stay for two weeks at my Grandmother’s House.  My Grandma passed away roughly a decade ago, but my Aunt and Uncle still live in the city. 

Needless to say, The Running Brothers have a strong connection with San Luis Obispo . . . (If you’re a real Running Brother hero, then you’d know that this is where our Running Brother’s journey began)

The trip from Chino Hills to San Luis Obispo was as smooth as could be.  Although, afterwards, my brother complained that I talked way too much and that I didn’t listen to anything he said . . . but that’s besides the point. 

We reached our destination after 9 PM and quickly headed to bed. 

And that’s when I knew that something was wrong with my brother.  Watching him shiver while dry-heaving into the toilet at the dorms at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo scared me.  He said he was fine, but deep down, I knew that he wasn’t.  I was hoping that it was something that would go away by the morning.  Eventually, Rocky made his way to bed and with two days until our Triathlon in San Luis Obispo, I feared that he wouldn’t make it.

Aug 112011
 

I had the best of intentions.  I set my goal 30 days before the San Luis Obispo Triathlon to run 30 Sprint Triathlons in 30 days to prepare myself for the event. 

I did it twice.

If you read my previous post, you’ll understand why I only was able to do it twice.  A great business opportunity got in the way of my traning.  My two Sprint Triathlons were completed in the gym and I did both of them in 1 hour and 40 minutes approximately three weeks before the SLO Triathlon. 

I was not in peak shape, and as far as I knew, my brother hadn’t done any training either.  The San Luis Obispo Triathlon was going to be interesting . . . to say the least.

Aug 092011
 

It’s been almost a month since my last post which is utterly amazing, considering that I had been writing nearly a post a day since the beginning of the year.  Many of you have been fortunate enough to see Rocky’s posts and his adventures in San Luis Obispo. 

In the upcoming weeks, I hope to fill you in on my side of the story and share with you what I have been up to the past month.  It has been a wild ride and I am extremely optimistic about what the future has in store for me and The Running Brothers.

My posts have dissipated because my sister and I recently started our own social media company, appropriately titled Welborn Social Media.  Our company began as a reslut of the countless hours that my sister and I had put into The Tutoring Solution, a tutoring company I own in Chino Hills and The Running Brothers.  Many local businesses really liked what we were doing with our Facebook and Twitter pages and some even requested that we work for them. 

Welborn Social Media has kept me very busy this last giving presentations to a variety of different companies and setting up Facebook, Twitter, Blog, LinkedIn, and YouTube pages for several businesses.  Currently, we are working with a Scrapbooking company, a local Golf Course, and a Computer Company. 

As a result, I have not had much time to train, but plan on getting back into it in the near future. 

If you’re interested in my tutoring company, visit The Tutoring Solution website at www.thecatutoringsolution.com.

If you’re interested in the work we are doing in Social Media, please visit –

Aug 072011
 

Hi Zeb & Rocky,

My name is Jordan Kawam, and I work for a company called Tommie Copper. We design copper infused compression wear that helps with inflammation, swelling, and joint pain. When I saw your twitter account & blog, and I thought the both of you would be the perfect to try out our gear. We know that with any type of activity inflammation and swelling can occur. I was wondering if you would be interested in doing a product review?

So that you understand our company here is some info about us:

We have designed the first line of Copper Compression products comfortable enough to be worn all day. Until now, compression wear was designed primarily for athletes to be worn for short periods of time to increase performance, enhance recovery and alleviate pain.

Today everyone can tap into these benefits with Tommie Copper’s Cu29 Copper Compression products. The product line is enhanced with copper infused yarn and engineered to be worn all day, everyday. It acts as a support to aching joints and muscles, and delivers the benefits of copper at the point of your discomfort.

Tommie Copper compression garments are specifically designed to form- fit the user’s physique. They are extremely comfortable and  lightweight, unlike ordinary compression wear. Because of the enormous surface area of copper in our exclusive fabric, circulation and oxygen flow of the blood are greatly enhanced. Compression sleeve we have are:

  • Ankle
  • Calf
  • Knee
  • Elbow
  • Mens & Womens Compression shirts
  • Full Finger & Fingerless

Compression gloves I have attached a chart on how to measure our copper compression gear. Let me know which ones you’re interested in and I’ll be happy to send them to you as soon as possible. You can also check us out at:

Looking forward to hearing back from you!

Jordan Kawam

Aug 052011
 

Hi Zeb & Rocky,

I am writing with Invisible Shoes® Provide Healthy Option for Athletic and Casual Barefoot Footwear

Invisible Shoes® provide a true barefoot experience but with a layer of sole protection, allowing for complete natural movement, a lighter stride, foot strengthening and much more. Inspired by Christopher McDougall’s NYT bestseller, Born To Run, Steven Sashen created Invisible Shoes as a high-tech upgrade of the huarache running sandals that the Tarahumara Indians fashion out of used tires. Once he started wearing them, his chronic calf, knee and hamstring injuries quickly disappeared. Sashen then launched www.InvisibleShoe.com in November 2009, began selling Invisible Shoes online, and has since sold over 5,000 pairs in 35 different countries. On July 9th, 2011, Invisible Shoes launched the first and only outsoles specifically designed for barefoot running sandals — the 4mm thick Connect and 6mm Contact. Both products were co-developed with two former lead designers from Nike and Reebok, and feature the exclusive FeelTrue™ rubber for a great barefoot feel with added style and protection.

Why Barefoot Running?

Empirical and anecdotal evidence shows that barefoot running improves running form, prevents and heals injuries, increases balance and proprioception, improves posture, strengthens feet and ankles and can develop arches in previously flat feet. Research from Harvard’s Dr. Daniel Lieberman and orthopedic surgeon Dr. Joseph Froncioni shows that when wearing a typical padded motion control running shoe with a raised heel, runners land heel-first and with a relatively straight leg. This heel-strike landing sends a shock wave up to six times the body’s weight through the knees, legs, hips, back, shoulders and neck. Conversely, when running barefoot or in a minimalist shoe, runners land on the ball of the foot with a shorter, lighter, faster, easier stride which is cushioned by the body’s natural shock absorbers – muscles, ligaments and tendons. In short, research suggests running shoes are the very cause of the injuries they are supposed to prevent. With over 85 barefoot or minimalist footwear options on the market from over 20 different companies, minimalist running is being embraced by health and fitness-minded people around the globe. Industry analysts project that minimalist footwear will make up 10 percent of running shoe sales in 2011, $500 million of a $5 billion market.

The Invisible Shoes Story

Now injury-free and with arches in his life-long flat feet, at 49-year-old Invisible Shoes CEO Steven Sashen consistently sprints past runners half his age and has secured a spot as a USA Track & Field Masters All-American sprinter. The constant muscle pulls and tears in his calves and hamstrings, relentless burning pain in his posterior tibialis and throbbing knee pain that plagued him are distant memories.

Amazed that such a simple product could have such a dramatic effect, Sashen muses “I shouldn’t be surprised that mankind’s oldest footwear was the answer for running pain and injury-free.”

Invisible Shoes are perfect for running, walking, hiking, yoga, gym-going, or a casual stroll through town. While the average cost of other “natural movement” footwear is $99.82, built with up to a 12mm heel lift and weights of up to 12 ounces per shoe, Invisible Shoes start at $20, have a “zero drop” (no height difference between the front and rear of the shoe) and weigh in at 3.8 ounces per shoe. Comprised of high-performance, flexible FeelTrue™ rubber sole trimmed to perfectly fit your foot and durable, non-stretch nylon laces, Invisible Shoes let you enjoy a barefoot feel in any environment and on any surface. Customers can also feel good about their purchase because Invisible Shoes are made of partially recycled materials. Invisible Shoes also let you express yourself through your footwear, with colored lace options, numerous tying styles, and dozens of decorative add-ons, a la Crocs’ Jibbitz™.

Invisible Shoes Gives Back to the Tarahumara

To bring its Feel The World™ motto to life, Invisible Shoes donates 10 percent of the profits from its custom-made Invisible Shoes to the Tarahumara Children’s Hospital Fund.

# # #

About Feel The World, Inc. and Invisible Shoes®: Co-founded by CEO and All-American Masters sprinter Steven Sashen and COO Lena Phoenix, Feel The World, Inc., makes Invisible Shoes, a modern take on huaraches, the traditional Mexican running sandals of the Tarahumara featured in the NYT bestseller, Born To Run. After Sashen discovered that running in Invisible Shoes healed chronic running injuries and that his life-long flat feet had developed arches, he and Phoenix launched the company November 2009. They’ve already sold over 5,000 pairs of Invisible Shoes in over 35 countries. Comprised of high-performance, flexible FeelTrue™ rubber sole designed and customized to perfectly fit your foot and durable, stretch-resistant nylon laces, Invisible Shoes can be used to walk, run, and hike as well as for yoga and gym-going. Multiple lace color selections and countless bead, charm and pendant additions make Invisible Shoes both athletic and fashionable footwear. The decorative options have earned them the nickname “the Crocs of minimalism”. Invisible Shoes start at only $20, weigh in at 3.8 ounces and have a “zero drop” (no height difference between the front and rear of the shoe). Invisible Shoes are custom made to perfectly fit your foot, either with a simple “custom-made for you… by you!®” DIY kit, or made professionally by the company based on a tracing of your foot. To express gratitude for their Tarahumara inspiration, Invisible Shoes donates 10% of net profits to the Tarahumara Children’s Hospital Fund with each purchase of Custom Invisible Shoes. For more information visit www.InvisibleShoe.com. Try Invisible Shoes and Feel The World™.

Aug 032011
 

The day prior my brother raced and completed is first normal sprint triathlon. Now I had a race of my own.

I was gonna pee, gosh darnit. After several attempts  the day before with no success and the unpleasant use of a catheter. I was ready and I was gonna win this race. I whimpered my way to an upright position then slowly and with a grimace I eeked to a standing position. I wheeled my IV pole to the bathroom, lifted the thin vail that covered my special region and pushed like the dickens….. nothing! I was bummed.

I was not ready to give up, so with steadfast effort I leaned against the wall and gave it the old steady sustained push and eventually a small dribble turned into a glorious stream. It was relief to my ears to hear the sweet sound. I exited the bathroom, hunched over with stomach pain but arms raised in celebration, fully filled bottle in one hand and my IV pole in the other. Very rarely have I ever experience such joy. 

I quickly thought the hospital staff wouldn’t appreciate a crazed patient fist pumping his own urine in the hallway. So I quietly returned to my room, set my bottle down where the nurse could see my success and went for a victory lap around the hospital. I like to think the hospital staff could see the joy in my eyes but they probably felt sorry for me with my hunched shuffle walk.

I returned to my bed and my Dad came. He gave me a fist bump after seeing my proudly displayed bottle and we knew it was only a matter of time before I would be out of there.

While I didn’t get to race in San Luis Obispo, I think I got that sense of accomplishment that finishing my first normal triathlon would give me. Even though it was a bit unorthodox, I finished my race and I was proud of my brother. Now, well after two weeks of light exercising (doctor prescribed), the Running Brothers will be training for their next event.

Aug 012011
 

I was stuck to a bed in French Hospital and my brother was about to start the SLO Triathalon. I was going to missing my brothers Race. My sister managed to find an Application (Qik Video) for ourAndroid Smartphones which was like a video calling application and as my brother started the race I got an alert from my sister.

After acepting the alert I was pool side, hearing the  splashes and seeing my Brother completethe 36 laps in the pool. He was looking good and halling but especially when I compared him to his lane partner (an elderly lady with a good kick and medicore swimming form). To save her phones battery my sister said she would check in with me every so often as the race progressed.

It looked like such a wonderful day, I was stuck in a hospital bed and it was so great out. Zeb finished the swim and I got my next alert from Lacey. I watched Zeb on his first transition to the bike and watched him pedal off out of site to Orcutt Road.

Lacey’s phone died after that but Zeb looked good and I knew he would finish.

 After about an hour my Mom came into my room and told me my brother would be running infront of the hospital. I had an urge to get up and see if the staff would let me out the front door to watch him but, by the time I knew he was close it would have taking me a good 30 minutes to get disconnected from everything and out the front door. He passed the hospital and went on to finish the race.

He must have immediately crossed the finish line, loaded up his bike and came to the hospital. He was there very quickly with my whole family. He gave me his metal and I got to ask him about the race. He said it was tough and a lot more difficult than he expected, even slightly boring. I wish I could have ran with him to keep things more lively.

My brother did great and I am really proud of him.