Guest Interview: Nathan Gonzalez

Happy Tuesday! If you’ll recall, earlier in the week I posted about a fundraiser for Nathan Gonzalez, who’s trying to raise money to get his iBot wheelchair fixed before the factory closes for good. 

The backstory here is that I saw this post on reddit last Monday. To summarize, Nathan is a former Marine who served two tours but was hit by a drunk driver and paralyzed on his return. He's done some great stuff and overcome a lot, but you'll read more about that in a bit. Nathan is trying to get some crucial repairs done on a special wheelchair he uses which has the ability to climb steps. Unfortunately, the company is going out of business and closing its doors on 3/31. The repairs, therefore, need to be done before that.

I caught up with Nathan and asked him a few questions about life, love and beer. Or more accurately, life, San Antonio, and beer.

K: Hey, Nathan! Great to meet you. Let’s talk hashing. What’s your hash name?

N: Porno Rican

K: Where’s your mother hash?

N: Okinawa, Japan. Started in 1998.

K: Home hash?

N: Cross between San Antonio H3, Kiss My H3, and Alamo City Humpin’ Hash. Basically, San Antonio.

K: In how many cities have you hashed?

N: 10+, mostly in the Pacific.

K: Did you have a favorite?

N: Okinawa, of course.

K: What made it so great?

N: The terrain varied so much and the trails and parks were amazing.  Shiggy, Shiggy, Shiggy! My favorite trail I ran and hared was a Lemming long trail, which was about 4 miles long. We ran the pack to a 25-foot cliff up against the ocean.  We had a safety swimmer in the water and the pack had to jump off into the water like lemmings and swim about 100 yards to an adjacent island where we had a huge bonfire going.  If anyone didn’t want to swim, they could walk 2 miles across a bridge instead.  It was my favorite hash.

K: Let’s go back to your home hash, which is currently San Antonio. Are you from there originally?

N: Yeah, I’m from SA.

K: Cool! I’m originally from San Antonio, too. Where did you go to high school?

N: I went to Jefferson High School. Class of 1996.

K: Are you a Spurs fan?

N: Haha, if you live in San Antonio, you are raised to be a Spurs fan. We’re only the best team in the league with the best records. I can’t even remember when we didn’t make the playoffs. Sucks about last year but I’m sure we’ll repeat this year.

K: Who’s your favorite player?

N: I’d say Manu Ginobili. Dude is versatile in and out of the paint. Although I also love [Danny] Green and his killer 3-pointers.

K: One of your pictures shows you making a Roadrunners sign with your hand, which is like the Longhorn equivalent for the University of Texas at San Antonio. Did you attend UTSA?

N: Yeah, I just graduated in December.

K: What was your major?

N: I received a Bachelor of Business Administration in Business Management with a concentration in Entrepreneurship.

K: Very nice. I read online that you were part of a project team that was nominated for an award. Tell me a little about that.

N: My Senior Project for my Entrepreneurship class was to work on a product that the engineering students had been working on during the prior semester, which was a mind-controlled wheelchair. It was our team’s job to take their product, build a business plan, model and market it.  Along with getting patents, FDA approvals, and companies to partner up with us it was a challenging process to finish in just a semester.

Essentially, you would take an EEG Headset, basically a head harness with leads on it, and this headset would pick up electrical signals.  These were then interpreted by an Arduino board, sent to a computer, and fed to the chair as commands.  It takes some training for the computer to recognize the thought commands but it was really cool to see the product in action.  

We competed with a wide range of other products in the competition for a $100,000 prize.  We came in 4^th, which was pretty cool in its own right.  I had a good team though.  Who knows what they'll think of next.

K: Have you been able to attend many UTSA football games?

N: Unfortunately, I’ve only been to a couple.  I just didn't have time with studies.  I hope to go more now that I have the free time.

K: I also see you’re a Marine. Thank you for your service. How long did you serve?

N: I served just over 6 years before I was medically retired due to injuries. 

K: What’s your favorite beer?

N: Well, Lone Star is our hash beer but outside the hash I like pilsners or light beers. Stella, Carlsberg, DosXX.

K: What do you do for a living?

N: Currently, I handle billing and invoicing for my family’s business. It takes up 3-4 hours per week. I’m job hunting right now, so if you know anything…

K: So, you’re trying to get your iBot wheelchair fixed because the company is going out of business. What makes the iBot chair different from most?

N: Well, the main thing that separates the iBot from others is the stair climbing feature.  This chair is like a mini ATV.  It has the ability to climb a 8” curb.  This really is the only reason why I want to save my chair.  The little feature is invaluable to me to.  I can’t begin to tell you how many times I’ve had to use it to traverse something in my way.  I’ve been to parks that have a curb and no ramped walkway to get up onto the grass. I’ve gone to older restaurants that were grandfathered into the requirement for an ADA ramp and had to use that step climber to get in.  Also, not all sidewalks are wheelchair friendly. Sometimes, I have no choice but to jump the curb and drive on the street.  Without it I’d have to double back blocks and then take the street.  Both my parents’ and my brother’s homes have 5” steps.  Visiting them without this feature is difficult. 

Additionally, this chair has a lift feature that allows my seat to raise up to a bar level.  It makes a big difference in how people treat you and interact with you.  Being in a wheelchair people naturally look down on you all the time.  Being eye level people engage you more and treat you with more respect in my opinion.  Although other chairs have similar features, ibot can go higher.  I can up upright to just under 6’.  One of the best parts is that it balances on two wheels, which leaves a smaller foot print when moving around.  Lastly…it just looks cool. It’s a perfect Hash chair in and out of circle. 

K: Outside of hashing, do you have any other hobbies?

N: My Facebook shows it all mostly.  I’m a movie nut, I religiously follow most popular TV shows, I’m a hard core gamer. I’ve also enjoyed sky diving, scuba diving, and of course, I’m a hasher. 

K: Awesome! Thanks for taking the time and I hope you're able to get the repairs done for your chair.

Thanks for reading! For more information or to donate to Nathan's cause, click here. 

Guest Race Report: The Read Write Run 5k

Amortya and me after his first half finish!

Name: Amortya Ray
Hometown: Jersey City, NJ
Runner Since: November 2011
Favorite Recovery Food: Greasy burgers
Favorite Recovery Drink: Vanilla shake

This was the Read, Write and Run 5k in Liberty State Park in Jersey City.

I misjudged how long it would take us to get there, and we barely made it to the park in time. It was a small race – no more than 300 people running it. And it was right by the river with spectacular views of the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. MP and I took the light rail to the park and then we had to walk another mile or so before we got to the start line. And it was a hot day. I was pretty dehydrated to begin with. Thankfully, I managed to get a sip of water just before the race.

The race begins. The first mile is easy. I don’t know what got into me. But I started off really quickly. BAD-BAD IDEA! I did mile 1 in 7 minutes 30 seconds. And that’s when the heat starts to kick in. I started cramping. But up until the 1.5 mile mark I was doing ok. Struggling but okay. I see MP catching up to me. But I was still mostly ahead. But I was also getting weaker by the second. He overtakes me at around 2 miles. I’m like crap! That can’t happen. (Random fun fact #1: I can get really competitive. Usually at board games like Taboo.) I’m like – it’s okay. I’ll overtake him in a minute. But then I see that my laces are untied! Wow.. this race just gets worse. So I spend a few seconds fixing my laces. And start going a little faster. I’m in pain. My chest hurts. I’m dying in the heat.

Last 0.5 miles: I have my eyes on the finish line. And I can see MP a few feet ahead of me. I start picturing that scene from Rocky 3 where Rocky is racing Apollo Creed on a beach. Creed is ahead all through. But Rocky is a fighter. He isn’t giving up and inches ahead at the very last second. AND THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT HAPPENED! I caught up to MP barely 2 feet from the finish line and managed to finish 0.9 seconds ahead of him!

2 seconds before finishing:

And then I practically collapsed on the grass. My chest was pounding hard. My heart rate was through the roof. I felt my chest would explode any second now! And after a few minutes of rest, I was fine. But dammit I felt like I owned the world for those few minutes! (Random fun fact #2: This happened to be my second ever 5k. And I bettered the last one (that I ran with Katie last September) by a solid 5 minutes!)

5 minutes after finishing:

Guest Race Report: The Brooklyn Half Marathon

Name: Szymon
Hometown: Port Washington, NY
Runner since: 2008
Favorite Recovery Food: Pizza
Favorite Recovery Drink: Water. Lots of it.

The past 5 months have not been great to me when it comes to running. In January, I had an epic cough and enough chest congestion to make me miss running for a month. Afterwards, in early April, I had shin splints, so again, my running volume suffered. On May 7th, I caught something while on little sleep, large running volume and travelling. I did not run at all until May 19th, the Brooklyn Half. Considering on Tuesday I was a definite “no go”, I am very happy that I came out and ran the half. Did fairly well, all things considered.

My half marathon goal has been 1:29:59 (~6:50 min/mile pace). A more conservative goal, I figured, was anything as long as my pace was below 7 minutes per mile. So anything below 1:31:54. Regardless, this was going to be the first half marathon that I actually raced to my maximum abilities. I did not hit either goal, but I did manage to lower my PR by 5 minutes. Here’s how we got there.

I drove from Long Island to Coney Island to park. I woke up at 4:45am, had a coffee, a pop tart, threw a GU into my pocket, but forgot to account for the clusterfuck that was happening at the entrance to the Aquarium parking lot. It delayed me by at least 10 minutes. That meant I’d probably not have time to visit the bathrooms since it put me in the starting area at 6:40am. Fine, I’ll warm up along the course! There must be porta-pottys along the course right? Wrong. Not on the roads around Prospect Park anyways. So I got to the starting line without using the restroom beforehand for the first time ever. Oh, did I mention I forgot to have anything to drink other than coffee in the morning? Rookie mistake. I haven’t raced in a while, but come on. I guess I was going to be drinking a lot in the fluid stations.

I knew all along I wasn’t going to be doing 1:29:59 and really wasn’t even sure what I shape I’d be in. I figure I could maintain a 7:05-7:10 pace all the way. I took my Chocolate Outrage GU (outrageously chocolaty by the way). Gun goes off and I start at 45 seconds on the clock. The first mile went well, I felt I was going a bit fast but felt good. Second mile went well too. I thought I was in a pretty good pacing area as I was going a bit hard but was convinced everyone around me was caught in that too. By the time I finished the first 5k, I felt strong. I was taking fluids, maybe a bit quickly but effectively. I hit 21:38, so an average pace of 6:55. A bit fast, but there were some downhill areas. I knew that inside Prospect Park I’d slow down.

I ran the next 5k in 22:14, that’s a 43:52 (7:02 min/mile) 10k. Not too bad considering. The pace for that split was 7:11 min/mile. Again, considering it was through the hilliest parts of Prospect Park, I was happy. However, this is also the split in which I first felt the shivers and goosebumps. Considering it was in the high 50’s/low 60’s and I was running mostly in the shade maybe this was expected, but I couldn’t stop thinking it was also an effect of my dehydration.

The next 5k took us down some hills and on to Ocean Parkway. I knew I was going fairly fast and expected some slowing down. I knew it was going to be hard because at mile 7 I felt the tiredness a bit. Not a good sign considering I was just half way there. I pushed on down Ocean Parkway, quite a boring part of the race. I ran with this one redhead-bearded dude running in Vibrams. We hit 15k at exactly 1:06. Overall pace 7:04. Split in 22:0 (7:05 min/mile).

After passing the 15k mark I started feeling my fast starting pace and dehydration catch up to me. The shivers and goosebumps continued. Again, I was unsure to the exact reason as this early in the race, I ran through the entire Ocean Parkway segment in the shade. It was a cool temperature but also I expected to be sweating more. Sweat was dripping off my hat so I guess I was ok…ish (I never felt dizzy or weak or lightheaded, so that’s good). Once I hit the 10 mile mark, it was only 5k to go. But each mile started feeling longer and longer. At the fluid stations for mile 10, 11 and 12 I walked for 5-10 seconds when I drank water. I knew I needed to keep on hydrating as I did not want to pass out right after the race. When I hit 20k, the clock said 1:29:04 (7:08 overall). Split: 23:07 (7:23 min/mile). I think mile 12+ was the real killer here as I was essentially jogging compared to my initial pace and people were passing me left and right.

The last 1k was horrible. Took me 5:12 (8:19 min/mile). The 800m left to go sign really did not help me here. It felt like a mile before I saw the 400m left to go sign. Up the ramp to the boardwalk I saw the finish line. I crossed it slowly, raised my hands a bit to pretend I finished strong for the photo and walked on. I went straight for the water, taking it in as much as possible and went for a bagel as I was obviously depleted of sugars as well.

Unofficially, I timed myself at 1:34:30. But on the whole, I missed my goals. So how do I get to 1:29:59?

1. More Lactate Threshold runs. I have been doing a lot of tempo runs and I think they are the main  reason I can maintain a below 7 pace for a long distance. I’m currently running 4-4.5mi @ 6:40-6:50 pace. I’d like to continue that and do 1 weekly LT @ 6:25-6:40 for 5mi.


2. Longer long runs. This will come naturally as I am switching to marathon training, but before the half my longest runs were in the 14 mile range. That’s fine, but it did not really put me under considerable glycogen shortage and don’t think I trained my body to deal with it.


3. More tempo runs. 5mi LT runs are one thing, but maintaining a fast clip for 13.1 miles is not easy. Doing 8-10mi runs at HM pace a few times before the race should be effective to teach my body the pace and train myself to maintain it.


4. Drink much less alcohol. In fact, cut it out as much as possible. This is a tough one as I love a good beer. Maybe a good start is no beer during the week? The reasons for this are that I may lose a bit of weight, which will help my speed. But mainly, drinking less will help my recovery and allow me to run stronger during my training.

These principles stay true for the marathon so I’ll be working on that for the next 4 months. After the marathon, I’ll try for another half in the winter time. As long as I stay healthy and hydrated, I’m confident I’ll hit my goals then.

Guest Race Report: The ING Hartford Marathon

Name: Szymon
Hometown: Port Washington, NY
Runner since: 2008 
Favorite Recovery Food: Pizza 
Favorite Recovery Drink: Water. Lots of it.

Here is my race report of the 2011 Hartford Marathon.

All in all, I think I was a bit too cocky going into the race. I thought I trained well; I did about 7 runs of 18 miles or longer, with a maximum of 21 miles. I knew I could run at a solid 7:12 pace for 10 miles with no problem, because I have done such a session. But I did not know how the wall would feel, especially after going for miles at a 7:20 pace.

I was very nervous for the race. I always get a bit nervous before races but this was the marathon. I spent the night before up at my wife’s uncle’s house in MA, 30 minutes from Hartford. I was able to sleep for about 6 hours the night before. Woke up at 5:45am. I was nervous as hell so I hit up a coffee and two pop tarts, the breakfast of champions. At 6:15am we left for Hartford. The plan was to arrive at 6:45am, get the bib, use the restroom and hook up with the 3:15 pace group at 7:40am.

We got in at 6:45am, but the XL Center was packed. The line to get bibs was crazy, if only because there was also a 5k and a half marathon happening at the same time as the marathon. We got to the park at 7:30am. It was time to use the bathroom. The lines were so ridiculous that we stood in line for over 25 minutes. At 7:55am I knew I wouldn’t be able to find the pace group in the throng of runners. I dressed down to my running clothes and joined the group. I knew I was going to have to pass a bunch of people so I squeezed through as much as I could. I started the marathon about 4 minutes after the gun went off.

The first few miles were great. Loud music, people cheering. In fact, the start was actually all of the marathon and half marathon runners. I spent the first mile weaving through the crowds. I ran through sidewalks, grass and everything in between to avoid the people on the road. At the 1 mile mark someone yelled “Only 25 miles to go!”. Lots of good energy. At about mile 2 the full and half courses split so there was much less congestion.

2 miles in I felt incredibly good. This is only expected after a solid 3 week taper. I ran the 2 miles at about a 7:10 pace. Fast, but I felt good and slowed it down a bit. The next few miles were ran out of the downtown area, along the CT River and back to downtown. During this time I passed quite a lot of runners including the 3:30 pace group. I felt strong and at about mile 5 I took my first GU. By this time I had noticed that hydration might not be great. Either I felt that the cups were not big enough or did not have enough liquid. I felt I had to take 2 cups at every station at the bare minimum. As an aside, the Gatorade was also watered down. This only presented a minor challenge, but would be a factor when exhaustion set in. I did notice I was running a bit too fast; still at about 7:15-7:20 pace, but somehow I found it too difficult to slow down.

At about mile 6 when we ran over the CT River, I passed the 3:25 pace group. I stayed with them for a few minutes, but soon passed them. The next 6 miles were pretty uneventful. I stayed on about a 7:15-7:20 pace during this time. I ran with a few people during this time exchanging a few words here and there. I first felt the beginnings of being tired at about mile 11-12. I did not think much of it; running 12 miles at this pace is not exactly easy. I passed the half at around 1:35 and change. That puts me somewhere around 7:17 pace. Wow, I thought. I was doing great. If I keep this pace up I may be able to finish in 3:10!

That, was not to happen. At mile 16 I started feeling the miles and I definitely started slowing down. Mile 17 marked a U-turn in the course. This was a point I was looking forward to. From there on, it is just 9 miles straight back to the finish, which happened to be in the same park as the start. The next 3 miles were a bit tough. Slowly I felt my body getting weaker and I felt the pace begin to be more and more difficult to keep up. I had been texting my wife a bit here and there but I send her one word: “Walling”.

I passed the 20 mile marker in about 2:29 and change. This meant a ~7:27 pace. I definitely slowed down a lot from the half marathon mark. At the mile 20 hydration station I grabbed two cups of Gatorade and decided to walk while I drank. I was shocked when my legs almost immediately gave out. I considered myself lucky that I did not fall. After 15 seconds of walking, I turned it into a slow run. Basically, I figured if walking was this difficult there is no point in walking.

The next 2 miles were incredibly tough. Runners passed me. The spectators that were around this point of the course tried to tell me words of encouragement. I high-fived anyone who would, trying to get some motivation but the wall kept on beating me down. My wife kept on sending me encouraging texts, which helped but only so much.

At mile 22 I had to take a walk break again. This time, the walk was about 4 to 5 minutes. It was really tough now because in my mind I knew I wasn’t going to finish in 3:15, not to even mention 3:10. But every minute I walked I doubted my ability to finish in 3:20 or even 3:30. At some point I decided to start running again. Ever since the U-turn at mile 17 I thought my next most encouraging checkpoint would be mile 24. I remembered the exact location in the course and remembered how close it seemed to the end. I continued my slow run trying my best to finish strong. I tried to zone out; to ignore everything and everyone around me. About a quarter mile before the 24 mile marker when I could see it, the 3:30 pace group passed me. This was extremely tough mentally. How could I even think of 3:10 and now the 3:30 pace group passed me?

I kept on running. At the 25th mile, I got some drinks and walked up the bridge. I texted my wife that I passed 25 and walking up. Right after I sent this message I looked at my watch. It said ~3:21:30. I still had a chance to finish in under 3:30. I texted my wife again saying “Coming home baby” and I ran my ass out. I covered about 1.1 miles in about 8.25 minutes, a 7:30 pace until the finish line. I felt fast. I passed some other runners. I had this intense motivation out of nowhere. I saw a few people cramping up and having difficulty and offered some words of encouragement as I passed by.

I passed the 26th mile to loud cheers. Someone sprinted past me. F them. I was just trying to finish under 3:30 at this point. I turned at 26.1 miles and was able to see the finish line. I upped my pace and looked for my wife. I saw her, waved and smiled. She took a photo of me. I kept on running towards the finish. I heard the announcer announce my name as I was steps from the finish and I raised my hand. I finished in 3:29:49, average 8:01 pace.

All in all, the last 10k lasted about an hour or so. Outside the solid effort in the last 1.2 miles, the 5 miles before took me an average of 10:12min/mile, just slightly above my 7:27 pace at 20 miles. When people now ask me what the wall feels like my answer will be: your first 20 miles are at a 7:20 pace and you feel ok, and the last 10k is 2:30 slower and it feels doubly as hard.

After the race I cramped up bad. After my long runs my hamstrings and calves always cramp up, but after this race it was even worse. Initially I was fine. I walked, drank water. But before soon, the pain came and I grimaced in pain kind of rolling in some mud. Luckily there was a free massage available and I immediately asked for one. That, plus a bagel, yogurt and salty chips and finally a beer, are what really helped me feel better.

The first thing I told my wife when I saw her was “who the fuck does this???”, but I honestly can’t wait to do this again.