What Have I Been up To???

Well, it has been about two weeks since I last posted on my blog, so I thought I would go all random on you guys and let you know what I have been doing these past two weeks! So what has kept me so busy?

Work- Work has been extremely busy as it always is with warmer temps. More people are out and more people wanna steal things, and with the added districts in Nashville, my days have been full.

Planks- I have been a planking fool lately. It is such a great core workout and I am really seeing some good results/ I hit a 5:05 plank the other day, my longest planking time yet, but I am not finished, I am shooting for 7 or 8, maybe 10 minutes before I am through!

I know, pretty awesome right? Think I can go 10 minutes????

Skiing- Yes, the family and I traveled to Snowmass, Colorado for a few days of skiing. The wife and I skied while my older boys tried their hands at snowboarding and even my little guy went to ski school. We had an awesome trip and some great weather, except for the drive to Snowmass. It is now one of my favorite places to go skiing!

My wife, Me and we think it is our oldest son on top of Long Shot, 12,000 ft up

Doctors- My end of the year with my benefits came up in April, so I had to go get everything checked out while I had already met my deductible! So I hit the regular doctor, the eye doctor and a new chiropractor. I am doing well physically, but I am going to see a new chiro guy and I am going to have to get some readers (glasses) for reading. (getting old I guess) things just aren't as crisp close up as they used to be. No picture here.

Training- have really done very much, and I am starting to figure out why. Usually I plan on doing an Olympic in May, but I just really have not been to excited about it, so that has hampered my training. The weekend of the Olympic, they also have a sprint race that my bride is doing, it will be her first triathlon, so I am really more excited to support her while she races than for me to actually race. If you have read this blog before, then you know I never want to just complete a race, I want to compete, but I feel like this Olympic would just be me completing it. I have nothing motivating me to run, so I am now leaning to not racing it at all. I still have my eyes set on a HIM in Sept (Goosepond Triathlon), then a half marathon in December (St Jude) and then I am going to prepare to kick Brad's butt at Redman 140.6 in 2015.

I am also working with a running group at our church. There are about 50 new runners that I am leading through a devotion/running program to get them across the finish line of their first 5K. I love this, I mean I really get motivated from seeing them work for 12 weeks and then cross that finish line.

I Think My Goggles Are Too Tight...

I hate messing with goggles. I have never found "the pair" for me. Every pair that says "anti-fog" always fogs up. Every nose piece always tends to hurt my nose and I hate having the raccoon look from the goggle straps when I get to work in the morning. In short, I hate messing with goggles.

This morning, I was scheduled to swim 2050 yds and then follow it up with a 6.8 mile run. AWESOME!! I woke up at 5:30 AM, grabbed my pre-packed backpack I packed the night before (example of someone preparing to BRING IT), hit the john, grabbed my water bottle and a banana with peanut butter and headed for the pool.

I was the only person in the pool. AWESOME AGAIN!

For some reason, my HIM plan always calls for a 550 yd warm up, 11 laps for every swim workout. By lap 8, goggles are foggy. So I manage to get through the warm up before taking them off, spitting in them and doing every other trick known to mankind to not have my goggles fog up. I have Googled tricks for de-fogging goggles and found some interesting stuff, like this tidbit of info about goggles:

Though some novice or beginning swimmers prefer not to use swimming goggles, I think they are a critical piece of equipment, especially for the beginning swimmer. (Who are these morons?)

Goggles keep the water out of your eyes, allow you to see where you are going and where the wall is (very important when doing flip-turns), and can also shield your eyes from the sun. Though not fatal to a swimmer's improvement, all of these problems can turn into distractions for the beginning swimmer and experienced swimmer alike, but are easily solved with a $15 pair of swimming goggles. www.yourswimmingspace.com

Now aren't you glad I shared with you that goggles keep the water out of your eyes! DUH! Except here is the problem, once they fog up and you try to de-fog them, next time I put them on and start my next set, I always have water that gets trapped in one of the eye sockets which makes me swim with only one eye open! It makes me the creepy old guy in the pool that keeps winking at everyone!
 
So then I have to stop AGAIN and get that water out. Except this time, I try to wipe all the water away from my eyebrows and forehead before I suction those suckers back on. And then, this is what I do... I grab the excess straps on the end and pull those suckers tighter, which then gives me a headache, ruining the rest of my workout, which is exactly what happened this morning. I think I had my goggles on way to tight. I felt like my head were about to splode! (that means explode for you non Southerners).
 
And I do not want any comments telling me that goggles should just stay on your face if they are the right fit without the straps. I know this!!  I have heard this!!! If you comment on that, my next post will have your picture with blacked out teeth and devil horns!  I know this, but it just never works for me. Maybe I have an odd shaped head, who knows, but here lately, the goggles are killin me!

NEXT...

While I am still excited about my recent Olympic triathlon finishing time, I know it is time to build on that win. I call it a win because it was a bug deal for me. It was nice to have a plan for a race and to be able to hit those marks I set. This race also gave me alot of confidence and also help me get over that wall of actually being able to call myself a triathlete. I know my 2:47:58 time may not be a great time for some of you that read this blog, but it was huge for me. Huge because I know that the hours of work I out in paid off, and I really want to keep this ball rolling.

I did end up taking a few days off after the race, partly because I wanted too and partly because of my work schedule and switching to working overnights (it totally FUBAR'd my sleep schedule). So I had time to recover and I did alot more stretching during this time than I have before which should be a good thing. I also took off the time because I wanted to be ready to get back to s/b/r. I did not want it to be an "I have to get back to training", I wanted it to be an "I want to get back to training". I have already mapped out my HIM training plan, which started on Memorial Day, so basically I took a week off.

My HIM plan is coming off of BeginnerTriathlete.com once again. The Olympic plan did me well, so I stuck to what has been working. I designed the plan myself in a way, by putting in how many swims, runs and bike I wanted to do in a week and then entered in pace I can do and it spit out a plan for me. I wanted to do 2 swims, 3 bikes and 3 runs a week. I feel very confident in my swimming already and preferred to work on my bike and run more for this race and for the most part, I feel really good about this plan.

Monday         Tuesday         Wednesday      Thursday         Friday          Saturday            Sunday
Bike short      Swim long        Bike Med        Swim Med      REST          Bike long           Run Long
                      Run short                                Run Med

Now there is more to the plan than just swimming and riding, each day has a very precise workout that is broken down, I mean I am not just hopping on my bike and running, or jumping in the pool. I have moved my rest day from Sunday to Friday this plan so that I can get  the long run in, The longest run of the plan is 15 miles, and there is no way I can do that before work.

Another thing I have decided is that I want to do as many of these workouts before work, so that means I have to get up early, which will be good for this Memphis heat. That is going to be trickier though, since no one else at my house has to be up at any certain time, which could also benefit me!

If I hit every workout on this plan, I will swim 36 mile, bike 1,100 miles and run 316 miles in the next three months!!  Sounds crazy to me!  I know with vacation and life in general, I will miss some workouts, but I will hit all of them I can.

In my mind, I am already training for my Ironman in 2013, and this is the next step. I want to do well at this HIM in Sept. I have to beat my Branson 70.3 time of 7:35, and after my last Olympic time, I know I can crush it.

NEXT...

My Favorite Post Ever...

This is a re post that I like to post prior to the start of the year, and I run it every year. I think it is worth reading every now and again! It is always good for me to read before the season officially starts, which is soon for a lot of us. This is not something I wrote, but I came across it somewhere and I like it, so please, take the time to read it.

THAT GUY

 

That Guy. You know him. He can also be That Girl, and often is.

It is that guy (or girl) who you see at every race. He's at every one. Everywhere in the country.

He is always more tan than you are. He is usually a good bit thinner too. His calves have those mysterious vertical striations that define each individual muscle; as if to say, "I have spent hours training each individual muscle in each calf- each individual muscle fiber in fact."

He/she has triathlon clothing that is super cool that you've never seen before. You have no idea where it came from. If you were to ask him- if you mustered up the courage to approach him- you would get some vague answer like, "Ahh, well, I know Dave McGillicutty at Sweetass Trisports and he got these samples, prototypes really, that he….. blah, blah, blah…." And you just wanted to know where you could buy a pair of those cool trishorts he has. Maybe they would make your ass look like Michalangelo chiseled it too. Prolly not though.

So this guy (or girl): His bike is clean. It is also weird. It has parts you think you may have seen in a magazine and, is that what carbon fiber looks like? Half the stuff he has, no, all of it, is stuff you've either only seen in magazines or never even heard of.

He's wearing sunglasses. But he didn't buy them. They just kind of "got there". He drives a special car just for doing what he's doing now: Getting ready for a ride, a run, a swim workout or the triathlon you're at now. He has stickers all over it.

You know when he talks about "Hawaii" he isn't talking about the state as a vacation destination, but rather, an event that you've only seen on TV. He is either talking about getting into it, having already gotten in, or why his last race there wasn't as good as it should have been. It had something to do with some chemical in his body you've never heard of. "Too much polychondrotineospandoplasm in my maldochondriacts during the last ten miles of the run. I should have know better." Yeah, an obvious mistake for someone like that guy (girl). Another thing that guy knows that you don't. Polywhat in his maldowho?

So you get to the race and there is that guy. Setting up all his stuff in the transition area like he's done probably a thousand times before, or so it seems.

And that guy is the reason why so many people are afraid to give this sport (and many others) a try. Because you know you are not That Guy (or girl) and they will look at you and think "Oh, another novice athlete…." And maybe you are embarrassed by that. I know I have been.

That guy is experienced, dedicated, accomplished, fit, knowledgeable, well versed and respected in the sport. You are a beginner. So you are at the bottom of the food chain here. You may be the big woman or man at work and at home. But here you feel like the first day of kindergarten and you don't even know where the bathroom is but you have to go. It's been a long time since you felt like that.

And you'll feel embarrassed in front of that guy.

Consider this though: You are that guy. You are that girl. Don't understand? Let me explain.

On the hypothetical morning we're describing you got up early, loaded up whatever bike you have (the old mountain bike you've had since you were 16, that old ten speed from college, whatever), put the gear you scrapped together in your car and went to the race. You stood there in your sweats and registered, set up your transition area as best you could.

Welcome to the show my friend. You are walking the walk.

You made that monumental leap off the couch and into the realm of That Guy. And now you, to millions and millions and millions of people- you are That Guy.

The next time you go to work when the conversation comes up about what you did Sunday morning you will say, "Oh, ahh, well I did this little triathlon, my first one, I'm not really any good, I was nearly last…."

But to the people at work, and your family, and your friends, and everyone else not there on Sunday morning (and some that were…) you are That Guy. The guy who does those endurance races. Who works out all the time (even if you don't). Who eats right (even though you don't).

Pretty soon it will get around work, what you did Sunday morning, and someone will ask you, "Hey, ahh, have you ever done that one in Hawaii?"

And then you answer, "Oh, Hawaii, no, I'm not that good. I've never done Hawaii…" And to you now it is just "Hawaii". You are That Guy. To someone out there you are That Guy.

Everyone has That Guy. He's better, faster, smarter, luckier. The interesting thing about That Guy is, to someone- you are that guy. No matter who you are, there will be That Guy. Don't let him bother you. Do what you do. Remember, to someone, you are that guy.

I am Getting Hungry...

17 Days and Counting

That's right, only 17 more days till my HIM in Branson. I am still concerned about the hills, but I have biked more this year than all of last year combined. I am close to surpassing last years running totals. I am confident in my swimming and I have a fairly good nutrition plan for the race. I start my taper very soon, so I am ready (I think).

The thing I am most looking forward to (cue the music to Chariots of Fire now) is crossing the finish line and knowing that the goal I set out to achieve over 8 months ago is a reality. I daydream about that feeling when I am getting tired on my runs, and I have played it over in my head many times. My wife says I can;t come across all wobbly or anything, but I have to come across strong, which is my plan.

I am excited. I'd say 80% excited, 15% nervous and 5% anxious. I will let everyone in blogland know my bib number so they can track me while I am racing, and even if you don't, don't tell me, it will give me even more reason to race hard knowing I am being held accountable!

I know I have not been visiting as many of the blogs I normally read here recently, but my focus has been on this race, so please forgive me. I will leave you with a video clip of a portion of the bike course. It looks like it will be fast in some parts and a quad-buster in others, but I will be able to say that I will have conquer thee race a lot of people stayed away from because of the bike course...Yeah I am looking at you!

HIM Training Starts Way To Early!

I am not talking about me starting my training to far out before the race. I am talking about early as in early morning! I am really trying to stick to my plan, so if it calls for a swim/run combo workout, that's what I am gonna do!

So far, I have been getting up around 5:20 AM, so I can get everything in. Luckily, my wife has agreed to take the kids to school in the morning, which is something I never minded doing, but this frees up more time for me to train. I used to have a set time that I needed to be done, but not anymore! Thanks Baby!

This morning called for a 2500 yd swim, followed by a 40 minute run. More precisely, it called for this:

wu 6 x 100
main 4 x 400 (7:19, 7:24, 7:35, 8:26)
cd 2 x 150 pull

Then I changed and hit the dreadmill, because it was raining outside (no harden up comments please). There is no bigger buzzkill to an early morning workout, than to wake up and hear it raining outside. It makes it very hard to get up, but I was able to get up and get out the door.

Back to my run, for some reason, the stupid treadmill would only let me put in a max of 35 minutes, not 40 like the plan calls for, and remember, if it calls for 40, I'm doin 40! I had in my mind that I wanted to hit 4 miles on this run, so I pace accordingly. ( That maybe my new catch phrase...did you pace accordingly?) I hit the 4 mile mark at 34:18. The treadmill went into cooldown mode at 35 so I used the last 5 minutes for a cooldown. I think I thought the run would be easier than it was. 2,500 yards, followed by a run in training is something I had never done before.

I have 18 weeks and a few days before Ironman Branson, and I am going to be ready for it!