I have already started my condition but going back to Greg Shepard’s Bigger, Faster, Stronger program. It seems that, to me, it works the best with my given schedule and it addresses some of my weaknesses, notably my hamstrings, which may contribute my my back/sciatica issues. I have extended my weekly training cycle to one and half weeks. The purpose behind that is to increase the number of recovery days.

Come end of February, I will be on the road and bike, going back to Joe Friel’s Training Bible template. This is where it will get a little hairy in managing workouts and recovery. Two jobs and limited transportation to training facilities. Plus chronic fatigue. This time, I won’t overdo the intensity and keep it conservative. The plan is to just complete the race. Not breaking any records. Yet.

What race? The Xterra Duathlon in Canmore. A good excuse to spend a weekend there.

Though this is old news, I just had a solution to a problem while I was running.I find most of the solutions I have came up with was done while I was on the move. It supports what I had discovered two years ago. Exercise is a very important component in idea creation and problem solving.

http://brainrules.net/exercise

And to add to it, I had a good night’s sleep for a change.

http://brainrules.net/sleep

This one is done as a pencil sketch then I painted it in Photoshop. First time ever for me to paint with Photoshop.

Ugh.

Hug of Death

Getting connected at work

Getting connected at work, continued.

Anyways, I have clips of work that has been done. The intro scene will be re-worked as we think adding shell-shading will give it more oomph. At least it has been clipping along…

Desk copy2 – iPhone

Agar – iPhone

Slipmat – iPhone

Thermo – iPhone

There are a number of themes that we can pick from. Mine is: Great Hopes and Massive Failures. It is a little abstract, but it sort reflects the events of my life and the sketchbook depict parts of that. In the beginning, I was having trouble brainstorming visuals, but it is coming along now.

So far, what I have are these:

Generally, it is mostly related to my love life… or lack of one. In a sense, it puts a humorous light to it.

Well I am really angry this time, though. One of the few things that keeps me centered is running. This year, I barely ran 10 km in total. All because of my sciatica.

It all started in February of 2010. Not sure how it came about. All of a sudden, my butt hurts and it radiates down the back of my right leg. I thought I pulled a hamstring so I just kept on stretching it.

I didn’t realize until March that it was sciatica. Went to a physiotherapist and he diagnosed it as an irritated lumbar disc (L4-L5) and it is affecting my sciatic nerve.

Perhaps it is because of the heavy lifting I was doing combined with poor posture at work, excessive sitting, and a crappy mattress. Nevertheless, it is painful, annoying (especially at work as it flares up when I am sitting down), and it is keeping me from doing what I love.

A couple things about sciatica: though it may hurt in the buttock area, the source of the pain is in your back. You may or may not have any back pain (mine is just sore), and there are levels of severity. Mine is just minor (compared to others whom I have heard about). There are people whose sciatica is so severe that they can’t walk and must be bed-ridden.

Another thing about sciatica, is that it can be symptoms of piriformis syndrome. The pirifomis muscle is located underneath the buttock, within the pelvis. The sciatic nerve generally runs underneath it or sometimes though it. Piriformis syndrome is when the nerve gets pinched, mostly because of spasms from the piriformis muscle. Recent studies indicate that a good number cases of sciatica is a result from piriformis syndrome and not a bulging or herniated disc in the lumbar spine.

My conundrum is that is it piriformis syndrome or is it herniated disc? My x-rays and CT scan results show that I have minor irritation of the disc and even if it bulges out a little, it is enough to pinch the nerve. Okay. But also, it only hurts when I sit and run. So is it piriformis syndrome? I wish I new the complete answer so I can treat it accordingly.

I have been doing a lot of things to treat it, aside from not running. Being it is minor, there is no need for surgery and, in most cases, generally non-invasive treatment such as rest, stretching and anti-inflammatory medication is all that it requires. I try to be aware of my posture at work, so I can maintain proper form and alignment of the spine. I try to take ergonomic breaks by getting up and walking in the office as well as de-loading the spine. Generally I just lift myself off my seat with my arms. When I am sleeping, I sleep on my side with a pillow between my knees to keep the pressure of the spine.

I do a lot of stretches to keep the muscles from tightening up. One of the stretches that helps is a yoga stretch where I lay face down, arms outstretched in front of me, my right leg tucked under my hips, and the left leg stretched out behind me. I also do hamstring stretches where from a sitting position, one leg stretched out straight in front of me, the other leg bent with knee out to the side the bottom of the foot into the inner thigh of the stretched leg.

I also do mobility drills such as bird dogs, cat-camels, and hip circles. To strengthen my back, I do either back extensions or super-mans, where I just lay face down, arms and legs lifted and stretched straight right out. I also foam roll my back, glutes, calves and IT band to loosen the muscle fibers.

Essentially, that is a run down on my approach to recover from sciatica. Fortunately, I am still active by cycling instead. Hopefully  I can start running some decent mileage in the next couple months. Most of the information I have used to treat it is from Eric Cressey’s and Mike Robertson’s “Magnificent Mobility” DVD and “Sciatica Solutions” by Loren Fishman, MD and Carol Ardman.

myatb.ca Summer Campaign 2008 External Collateral

Generally, ATB Financial’s retail banking summer campaigns focuses on attracting the Generation Y demographic. Essentially, street teams were to go out to summer events such as concerts, festivals and sometimes on the street near the branches, maintaining a presence among the target audience. Street teams would go out and meet and greet people and hand out collateral such the above: a gift card, lip balm, or just a card, which directs the person the the micro-site, myatb.ca. There, they can play games online, enter to win prizes and be educated on saving and investing.

The collateral needed to be colorful, eye-catching, youthful and fun. It needs to be a departure from ATB Financial’s brand, but still pays homage to it. I have developed this concept, with collaboration with the Retail Financial Services group, and I did enjoy putting this together. It was a fresh departure from the brand guidelines and it led to a number concepts beyond the campaign.

ATB Financial Fall 2008 Clothing Catalog

This was an internal piece for ATB Financial associates who wished to purchase ATB branded clothing. Though the visual is strongly tied to ATB’s brand elements, it was an exercise in making use of ATB’s limited color palette in a number of ways. As well, it was step away from using associate photos, which was the direction of the brand at the time. Though you may not see it, but I had a utilized a strike-through varnish process. The graphic image on the cover and the images within the catalog brightens up a bit.

Yay!