Save the drama for your mama....

Im tired of the drama. I just want a goal for exercising with some logical outcomes. I cannot say i expected anything that happened today. Lets chalk it up to experience building. There arent many highlights but these are noteworthy, here we go:

awoke at 4:45 head out to the garage to load up the jeep. I decided to pump up my tires and promptly broke the stem in my tire. Bonehead does not have a spare. If I did I didnt have all day to change it. Note to self: Practice changing tire. Crashed Wal-mart-no intertubes there. Thankfully the race had some dudes out there changing tires.

Now wet suit or no wet suit for the swim? I went with the same wetsuit. BAD IDEA. It was incredible hot even by 7:10 and I was suffering some 500-750 meters in from the heat. Anyone ever swam with a wet suit half on? It defeats the aerodynamics of the situation. The cramping began ever so slightly during the swim.

I have done this bike course at least 10 times. Never have I walked it 3 times. My legs were so tired and crampy but I could not bring myself to quit. I wanted to, It was in my mouth, but I couldnt do it.

As I dismounted the bike I thought, "is this stupid?" I am very tired and crampy. After all it is approximately 110 degrees with NO SHADE, NO BREEZE. Straight up miserable. I am cramping all over the place, I am not proving to be any faster, What the ____ am I doing out here? And I am not sure if I can even run with this calf. Im gonna at least give it a go I say.

My run/walk plan is going according to plan. Very slow but getting it done. This trail run on rock and dirt is so hot. But NO CALF PAIN. In fact its the least of my worries. My quads are cramping with every step. My back, my shoulders, my quads, adductors, and abductors are all cramping. Did I mention its hot?

I finished. Slow, struggled A LOT. But finished. What did I learn? I can scrap, claw, and fight. I didnt cave in. I waaaaannted to so bad but I couldnt do it. Here is my chip? Not happening.

Where do I go from here? Pound the pavement. Train. Get ready for silverman.

“Too many people miss the silver lining because they're expecting gold.”
Maurice Setter

It took a very hot, long run to find it but I did.

Can I do it?

Can i do it? Can I run? Am I going to be able to do this race? 2 weeks ago I was concerned about how much time I can take off and now I wondering if I can even do it. DNF I thought was not an option. Now I dont know what to think.

Monday-2000 meter swim. here are 250 meter splits. (5 laps.) 6:02, 6:06, 6:21, 6:27, 6:43, 6:33, 6:31, and 6:37. Ave 6:25. Total 51:25. My first long swim in a few weeks slow by about a minute or two. My calf felt great. No trouble.
Tuesday- Run 3-4 miles. Yeah didnt happen. I began the run wondering what was going down in my blog. I thought for the first 1/2 mile that the title would be "bodies are funny." Because one day pain and the next day felt great. HOWEVER, then 0.78 mile marker happened. Calf pain on. ITs funny because at 0.75 i looked at my watch and said HELL YEAH. I walked back. Just a small pull. Softball made it worse. We were short handed and I had to play.
Wednesday-Woke up in moderate calf pain. Since I know a thing or two about rehab on a pulled muscle I put myself to work. Can i bike with this? YES. 10.68 miles in 38 min or so. An average of 17 mph. I felt weird. It didnt feel like my legs. Sore from a leg workout and a week not on the bike felt weird. I was fast (for me) and pain free. I can do the bike.
Thursday (today)-I thought I would play it by ear. I worked my calf hard today. I am in training room mode. Can I get this athlete (me) back in the game? I challenged my calf and how I wake up will help me determine whether or not I can do this. I will work it again tomorrow and then rest on saturday. Hopefully I can run 6 miles. Can the swim/bike portion PR? Can I finish? Can I PR? I just going to keep swinging. QUOTE:

"We are like tea bags. We never know our own strength until we are in hot water." Sister Bousce

Its going to be a funny race report.

A break from TRI training

I write a training diary/blog but this post is lacking in the TRI department. I spent the last 6 days in Seattle (actually Federal Way and Kent, Washington). Last weekends melt down had lasting effects. I tried to run Sunday and pulled my calf. I couldn't run on Tuesday. I got through enough to play league softball since I wanted to know if I could play in my tournament. No lasting effects. I played in the USSSA Worlds. We went 2-2 and only beat ourselves. I played well. I was EXTREMELY sore L knee, L calf, and hips/back. I was able to get one swim in while I was there. I hoped for a run but I was very tired and sore. They have a beautiful path that I didn't get to run on. I am trying to pick it up this week. I have Las Vegas Triathlon Olympic distance race on Sunday as a tune-up. I hope my body can hang in there. Hopefully Thurdays post will have some better news. QUOTE:


Keep on going, and the chances are that you will stumble on something, perhaps when you are least expecting it. I never heard of anyone ever stumbling on something sitting down. ~Charles F. Kettering

I am going to keep on swinging.

nearly a good training weekend...

I say nearly because I was well on my way to a great brick on saturday. I got into trouble. It all started the night before. I couldn't sleep. It wasn't the night before a race or anything but GEES it sure felt like it. The goal was a 1/2 hour swim followed by 40 to 45 miles on the Silverman bike course including my attempt at the 3 sisters within the rest of the course. I was dreaming about the ride. I woke up fired up. I was going to give it all I had and see where I stood. I woke up and took my sweet time loading the jeep with all of the transition items I was going to need. Headed out to the lake about an hour later than I would like. My wife was cool to wait while I swim and offer words of encouragement while I transition to bike. I started on my bike and I felt very strong. As I went I felt my confidence growing on the bike. I reached a familiar landmark some 6 min ahead of where I usually am. I started to believe that this was the day that I climb the way I know I am capable of. Here I am about to reach the turnaround and I am starting to get hot, very hot. The highway around the lake began to look like something out of a cartoon when a character is alone in the desert. I swear I passed a cow skull. My legs felt good, my heart/lungs felt fine but my brain did not. I was getting very very tired and I was on my way to bonking. It was now 12ish and I couldn't believe how dumb I was to be out there in that heat. I was going to make it home. I pressed on. I got another 5 or so miles and I was starting to get scared. I was running out of water. I couldn't drink it fast enough it seemed. I called it quits around 31 miles and my wife rescued me. I was embarrassed and frustrated. I wanted to know where I stand. It was just way too hot. It was fast while it lasted and I know know what the path to bonking is like. I hope I dont get there again. I was miserable the rest of the day. I drank as much water as I could and I never felt like I cooled down.

This morning thought may be I could get an easy 6 miles of running in. NOPE. Still feeling the effects of yesterday. I went out for 6 and ended up with a 2 mile run and a 2 mile walk back. My legs were crampy. My L calf was real bad. As I type it feels considerable better. I dont have a lot of weekends left. Next week I am in Seattle. The following weekend I am tuning up at Las Vegas Triathlon with an olympic distance race. Then It will be October. Just riding this roller coaster. I am going to continue to do the best I can with what I have. Not sure how this next weeks training is going to go but I will give it a whirl. QUOTE:

Remember the two benefits of failure. First, if you do fail, you learn what doesn't work; and second, the failure gives you the opportunity to try a new approach.
Roger Von Oech

I dont really see this weekend as failure but a lesson in what NOT to do. Not to self: I live in a desert and it is still hot out there.

Plugging away....

Since the disneyland half marathon I have not needed any rest. My legs are not sore but lack the extra punch they most often times have. I am getting very comfortable with my new nutrition plan and I feel great. I am noticing that I am not hungry throughout the day. I am never jittery and my brain function seems to be in control. (when my blood sugar is low I am a bear). My training feels different with it. I am using virtually no sugar pre or during like I was. Really helping. Here is how my week went.

Tuesday-Recovery run, no watch, not timed. Felt a little overall fatigue but legs felt great. Softball practice went well too.
Wednesday-21 mile bike ride in 1:25. I rode the run course of the Silverman twice the second time not the flat easy parts. It will be somewhat hilly but the hills are in the middle. I will be running this course right after word since the biggest hill is only 2 miles away. Hmmmm hill repeats anyone? My legs felt stronger today. I am climbing a lot better. I am hoping for another date with the 3 sisters this weekend. See how my climbing is going.
Thursday (today)-6 mile easy run. I am happy to say that I had a great run tonight. Not because I felt good or anything because my brother ran the first 2 with me. He is beginning to change his lifestyle and get more fit. SInce he has moved in with me in 6 months he has lost 70 pounds. He is going to try a sprint distance triathlon in October called Pumkinman. I am so proud of him. i got my six in. Tomorrow easy swim. Saturday brick swim/bike, hoping for 45ish miles all on the race course. Sunday 6 or so mile. Its next week I go for 14 miles. Ohh and pictures are on the way from Disney...just give me some time. QUOTE:

Goals are the fuel in the furnace of achievement.
Brian Tracy, Eat that Frog

feelin the heat?

What a difference a year makes....

YES YES what a difference a year makes. Its too bad that I dont have a post for last years race because I have grown leaps and bounds as a runner and person. For some reason I do not show up on official results of the race. I assure you I was there on the heals of my wife as we finished in about 2:15. It was a new course record for me, trumping last years time by 10 min. I cruised. I walked with her, I ran with her, I felt no fatigue or pain. Today i am sore but no more sore than any other long run. I looked around, I took pictures, I hung out with my wife. She struggled. She had a lot of trouble breathing and "pressure." She is the only person to ask a medic for a kleenex. Most runners just snot rocket. Not my wife until the medic had no kleenex. Funny.

I have to give it up to DIsney. The know how to run/organize a race. They start on time, they plan the corrals well, they have excellent volunteer support including local people, cheerleaders, marching bands, mariachis, and other groups. They also have a good course which included a route through California adventures, Disneyland, throughout the streets anaheim, around the Honda center (where the anaheim ducks play), and this year since the Angels are out of town a "victory lap" through Angel stadium, finally finishing back through Disneyland and Downtown Disney. It was awesome. Angel stadium was the best part since the whole stadium had cheerleaders, boy scouts, various other loud yellers so when you entered the stadium they were loud. The announcer said as many names as he could over the loud speaker and the jumbotron was in full effect. Awesome.

One thing brought to my attention was that no bloggers knew that I run with a big group. All in all, there are 9 runners in my group from Las Vegas and it is our second half marathon as a group. We have some creative people in our group who designed t-shirts that we all rock together. The girls had pink ones and guys wore black ones. They all had our "RUN CLUB" logos on the back. A turtle with a caption that reads "slow and steady wins the race." In the front we modified the fight club movie logo on a bar of soap to say run club. We get a lot of comments about them. We enjoy them. Special thanks to Chuck for hanging out and running a bit with us after his 1:31 time. Way to go chuck! Pictures to come.

So where does this fit in to my training? It means that the next chapter is purely getting ready for Silverman. Start a big block and get my overall mileage up. Lets do this.... quote:

“The key to success is to keep growing in all areas of life - mental, emotional, spiritual, as well as physical.”
Julius Erving quotes

Its fun to realize the growth.

last post before my date with MICKEY

Yes that is right I have a date with mickey this weekend, I am running the Dinseyland 1/2 marathon. My original plan was to strive for my fist sub 2 hour half but I may be hanging with my wife and taking some pictures. Just enjoy the race. So here is how my week went:

Monday-Long swim. I am in a recovery block so my long swim was 1500 meters. It was slow. I didnt feel like swimming. I got in the water and did it. 40:11.
Tuesday-Recovery run. 3 miles without a watch and right before softball practice. It went well.
Wednesday-Ride on some hills. I found a new hill to repeat on. I went a total of 21 miles in 1:25:34 . I felt the best I ever felt on the bike. The hill I climbed to start was 3 min faster than the last time I biked on it. It felt fresher and faster. My ave was slow at 14.7 but I took it easy as I could on the down and pounded the ups.
Thursday-Swim easy. I decided that I just wanted an easy swim. I did some weights and then swam for 20 min straight. Just get it done.

My next block is going to be big again. I have 2 big blocks planned and I am looking forward to it. I am looking forward to it because I am starting feel like an endurance athlete. I began this journey without any specific goals. I had let myself get very out of shape during physical therapy school. Then I starting getting winded with the littlest things. I decided I would walk. Walking turned into running and running started me on a journey to see how far I could go. Can I do a half-marathon? 10 years ago I would have said hell no. A year and a half ago I would have said may be. Then I did the Palos Verdes half. It was brutal. Not the intro to halfs you like. VERY VERY HIlly. Then we decided to try another one. Disney. While training for Disney I still didnt believe that I could do it. Then something funny happened. I was running last years disney and I got mile 10 or 11 and I was dying. I was cramping and I was tired and not having fun. I looked around and said to myself...you know what? I dont feel so bad and I started to push it, and I pushed it and I finished with confidence. I reached down deep and I found something inside me that said I can do this. As my brain drifted off I thought about pain and training and what that does to your brain. I have let my old soft ways rule my life, training, and my perception of what I am capable of. It was then that I decided I wasnt going to limit myself anymore. It was at Disney last year that I fully bought into my new lifestyle.

When I say new lifestyle I mean NEW. The life I live today is light years more healthy and active than I have ever lived. As I sit here reading IM race reports I am excited, encouraged, and jealous. What would I be doing now if I didnt have a few years of "break time." Would I be an IRONMAN now? My new lifestyle constantly evolves. I lost 50 pounds and then my weight just stuck. I havent lost any weight in 8 months. Until this last week. I had an excellent nutrition consultation (thanks MARNI) and have received some excellent information that has resulted in a 7 pound loss. You would think that given the training load that weight loss would come right with it. NOPE. Now I feel in control of my body for the first time in my life, All the baseball, football, basketball, running, cycling, and swimming I have ever done was limited by what i put into my body. If I grew up with these tools what would have gone different? I was never thin. I remember being embarrassed about husky jeans. I played lineman, I hit homeruns, I got rebounds....RUN? Thats for punishment. How much weight in the weight room can I push? How far can I hit the ball? Box me out? i dont think so. Triathlon? Ironman? THATS NOT ME. I CANT DO THAT. THATS FOR LITTLE DUDES. Stick to what I do....power. Here I am reading triathlon blogs and writing one myself. I am running my 5th half marathon and in the midst of training for a 1/2 iron distance triathlon. Im going to use this half marathon as a TRAINING RUN. What? 13.1 miles as a training run? Yes and I am going to train right through it and make a push to silverman. Im going places and as I sit here ranting I am proud of the distance I have traveled. I have a lot more to accomplish and each step of the way brings on more knowledge about how to go about this active life. I love it. My body and brain are the healthiest they have every been and I am just getting started. My next entry will be the happiest race report on earth. Thanks for the rant. QUOTE:

“A healthy body is a guest chamber for the soul: a sick body is a prison”
Francis Bacon, Sr. quotes (English Lawyer and Philosopher. 1561-1626)

Boy it feels good to be free.