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Injury, kids, bicycles.

I'm not going to go into too much detail here. I'm too pissed. Lately I've been experiencing great pain in my hips. Turns out I may have some arthritis (thanks Mom). Running appears to aggravate it. I've been advised to lay off the running for awhile. I also have been experiencing difficulty in being able to train for an Iron distance event and fulfill my role (properly) of being a dad to 4 kids. Combine this with being a devoted husband... and trying to run a business... blah, blah, blah... anyway. I'm forced to cease long course Tri training. For the time being I will return to my love of cycling and ride full time. I will swim from time to time because I don't want to lose what I've built... and it's a great workout. But I will focus my full attention for the remainder of 2008 and spring of 2009 to getting my cycling legs back. Though disappointed... I remain happy that I can still ride pain free and believe if i devote even half of the time I spent to tri training to cycling... I can be pretty good at it. Time will tell. Enough about me now... get out there and do something! Peace!

Guess what?

I ran yesterday. Shocker huh? But it was cool. I got up at 4am and was out on the course by 4:25am. It was a very surreal workout. I strapped on my iPod and chose an hour long playlist of big, moody ethereal songs that fit the mood. Many were instrumentals. It was fitting. I could barely hear the "slap, slap, slap" rhythm of my feet hitting the pavement like a metronome. The stars were out brilliantly.... there was not a soul out there but me. Most of the time I was running down the middle of the road where tons of cars usually are. I was alone. It was cool, and there was a subtle mist in the morning air. This was my best moment in a long time. I ran a little over 10k and had pretty good numbers too. I figured I was slower. It seemed like it. I never glanced at my Garmin through the entire workout. Turns out I averaged 9:04 min/mile over the run and never exceeded a 155 heart rate. Pretty good for what I thought was a very easy casual run. But I really didn't care about the numbers. It was the experience. It occurred to me that the majority of people will never do anything like that. When I tell people that I ran nearly 7-miles at 4:30 in the morning they look at me like I just grew a second head. They feel sorry for me. They don't understand. They will never know how it feels to do something bigger then themselves. I choose to live. Even if it in in tiny slices at 4:30 am under a cool blanket of stars. I highly recommend it. If you do it... comment back to me here and let me know how it felt.

Today should be nearly as cool. As I type this it's pouring rain outside. I plan to get out in it this afternoon and run in the rain. I have my trail shoes out ready to go. There is a little off-road trail system close to the gym. I'll do a little trail running in the rain today. It's only supposed to be in the mid-seventies today. Should make for a fun run. I'll let you know!

Get out there and do something today.

Running Man...

The running continues. This week I have only 2 swims scheduled and 1 bike. The rest is run. After Sunday I should have roughly 40 miles logged. Today was a 7-miler. Stayed slow... heart rate zone 5b or less. I finished the run at a snail like 9:54 min/mile pace... but was fresh and confident. Could of went both harder and longer if I wanted to. So far, so good. Tomorrow morning I rise at the butt-crack of dawn to run a 10k. I will be running at 4:30am in the dark... then meet my buddy Nate to walk an additional hour. I'm helping him get back on a plan after a long layoff. So I figure I might as well get out there early and get my workout over with for the day. Plus, the first-thing-in-the-morning on an empty stomach is a great strategy to burn off a little extra bodyfat. I'd like to be down to around 170 by months end.

I also have an hour swim scheduled tomorrow as well. Looking forward to that.

Back in front of the TV now to watch Michael Phelps (hopefully) dominate again. 2 golds down... 6 to go. Go USA!

Run, run, run... (and cookies.)

If you've been reading you've do doubt noticed that I am no longer a floundering idiot in the pool. I'm still slow and still a noobie... but I can at least get from point A to point B with confidence in anything Olympic distance or under... and feel pretty confident in the 70.3 distance. I regularly swim 1700 to 2,000 meters at every workout with some going into the 3,000 meter range. So far, so good. Now it's time. It's time to put away my bike (except for a 1-2 rides a week) which is by far my favorite discipline... and focus hard on the run. Here's what I did. I contacted a highly respected tri coach who specializes in the 70.3 and 140.6 (Iron) distances. I took his great advice along with posting my run woes in three of the most popular, and most respected triathlon forums. I also asked the advice of some seriously seasoned veteran runners. I mean "real runners". The 130lb, built like stick people guys (and gals) that run 15 minute 5k's and 40 minute 10k's as a warm-up. Surprisingly I got pretty much the same exact advice from about 90% of the folks I asked. Simply put... the answer was; Run slower... and run ALOT more. The other piece of advice I got that totally made sense to me was "only put heart rate on your Garmin and only pay attention to that." So that's (pretty much) what I've quietly done this week. And I'm freakin tickled to say that in only one-week I'm experiencing both physical and mental breakthroughs.

This week I ran 6 days. Logged 31miles, and began a completely new approach that I plan to continue until spring. I keep my heart rate under 160 bpm (my zone 5b) no matter what. Regardless of pace, speed, time, etc... I stay under 160. And on all but 1 day a week even less is better. This morning for example I ran at 5am and averaged in the mid 140's heart rate. That's really good for me. I also dropped my avg. pace for 4 consecutive days beginning Thursday. My avg. pace is CRAZY slow... but I can see and feel a method to the madness. I feel really fresh during and after the runs. I ran in the midday heat on Friday... 6.2 miles... and felt like I could have easily done it twice. First time I've ever felt that good. My avg. pace Friday was 10:09 min/mile, Saturday I did another 10k at 10:02 min/mile avg. and this morning was 9:47 min/mile pace over 5miles. Now I realize the times are ridiculously slow... but I can now see a light at the end of the tunnel. My pace is lowering with each workout... as well as my avg. heart rate. My confidence has also improved which helps considerably. If I look ahead to the fall and winter months... I can truly see emerging into March or April 2009 running sub 8min/mile avg. Maybe less.

So if you see me out there running real slow don't worry that I'm injured or have lost it... I'm just slowing working at something bigger than me. I will still toss in 2 swims each week and a weekend ride here and there... but fall/winter 2008 and early spring 2009 will be my "Season of the Run". Can't wait.

Oh yeah... I made home made cooking today. I ate some... and I'm okay with that. Really... I did it... and I admit it. So what!? Leave me alone. So I had a couple freakin cookies! I'm human! They were good! The "right out of the oven" chewy chocolate-chip kind. Then... to finish off my afternoon of decadence... I capped them off with a tall glass of ice-cold milk. Uh, skim of course!

Synergy... (and some ranting)

I can swim now. It took 5 months but now I can do it. You can't imagine how much more relaxed I am about my training and my future in this wacky sport. It's often said that you cannot win a triathlon on the swim leg... but you can lose it. I personally experienced this at the Baden Triathlon earlier this year when I had a terrible swim. A strong bike and a mediocre run wasn't enough to pull up to anything respectable in my age group. Now, however, I feel confident in the water and look forward to climbing out of a lake, pool, or ocean knowing I can finish well. Knowing that I'm out of the water and jogging up to T1 to climb onto my bike knowing that I can make up huge time on the bike leg... then all I have to do is relax on the run and I might have a chance at placing well. It's a good feeling. I look forward to swim workouts. I have to do a 2000 meter swim today and look forward to it. Instead of struggling to breath I'm daydreaming during swims now. Makes the bike and run workouts less stressful. The run is now my limiter... and that's a good feeling. I can improve on the run. It just takes time and putting the miles in.

2008 training season has been very important to me. I can now see myself competing in an Ironman triathlon in 2009. It feels very possible. That's a good feeling. My reasons for doing this stuff is clear. I want to finish something that's bigger than me. I did a couple of tough hilly Century rides... they were hard... but quickly forgotten. In Iron distance Triathlon... you do a century ride... you still have a marathon to go! And let's not forget the 2 hour swim that "warmed you up" before that ride. I love it when cyclists turn their noses up to triathletes. How could they be so naive. I've done both... and to be a triathlete takes so much more. Don't get me wrong... I love cycling and love being around the majority of cyclists. The bike is my favorite discipline... but sometimes the arrogant demeanor of the few wannabe roadie culture types drives me crazy. Their like skateboarders in may ways. More concerned if they look "bike culture" enough. You know the look. Loud cycling socks exposed out of sandals, some sort of cycling event shirt with baggy cargo pants... messenger bag, clever facial hair, carrying a latte and listening to Modest Mouse on their iPods. Yeah... you know the look. Give me the David Goggins look any day. Give me understated, minimalistic, and a look of total uncaring. Let your fitness speak for you. Let your drive to succeed speak for you. I've lost 26 pounds since beginning training and for me it's a side effect. I only care about finishing my goal. I don't care to impress anyone including myself in the process.

There is so much purity in triathlon as well as cycling. I'd like to see it get back to that. I have so much respect for all three disciplines. Combined it's a monster. You have to respect it... because it's so much bigger than you. It will always win.


Ultimately I do not care about rankings or placing. I don't care about winning silly pissing matches with others at the local group ride. I want to finish. And I want to finish so I can reinvent myself to do something even bigger and better the next time. Age-group triathletes are not role models. The only one's I truly want to recognize my efforts and work ethic in this endeavor are Tyler, Christian, Kendall, and Dagen. My four beautiful children. And an occasional "good job honey" from my wife is nice too.

Go out and do something bigger than you... begin today.