1.19.12

Time to get this blog going again.  I feel more accountable if someone else is reading what I’m doing.

 

Training shift:  started following CrossFit Endurance programming a couple of months ago…..Having to scale to keep it manageable and assure I don’t repeat last fall’s over training episode.  Following the single sport template pretty closely and liking the new focus.  End goal will be to become a good cyclist.  Tried my hand at Cyclocross this fall/winter and really loved it….but I was continually racing at the back of the pack.  Expecting a change next time around.

 

Worked part-time today with limited access to fitness equipment.  So I brought my bike in to the fire station and hit a hard interval workout on the trainer.  Legs were still a little tired from box squats and sumo dead lifts yesterday but still felt ok.  I’ll be feeling better after my vacation next week when I can focus more on nutrition.  Only doing a half-hearted attempt right now knowing that next week will be gluttonous.  Looking forward to a full night of rest (fingers crossed).

7.6.10

Thank you for following my blog.  It has helped immensely in preparing for my first triathlon knowing that some of you out there were following along.  I haven’t been able to keep up with this, so I’m officially taking a blogging break.  Until next time, happy training.

6.25.10

Wow.  Time went by really fast and I haven’t updated this blog in a while.

The last couple weeks of training have started to take their toll on my body.  Specifically, the swimming makes my right shoulder hurt and the soccer games are making my right knee hurt (the hip feels a lot better though).  CrossFit workouts are still going great but I have had to tone down some of the intensity and weights because of the joint aches.

The next triathlon is only a couple of weeks away and I am going to rely on my CrossFit training to get me through.  Continuing the endurance training would likely make my aches worse.  My goal for the race is now…..finish.  Crazily, I chose to do the “long course”.

I’m looking forward to getting through this season of “endurance” events and getting back to lifting heavy weights.  I’m thinking….”70′s Big“.

6.9.10

It’s been a good couple of weeks post-triathlon.   A couple of weeks off work allowed the family to hang out and spend a weekend at the lake.  I tried to squeeze workouts in around everything and have managed to get about four workouts a week in spite of the vacation.   The Paleo diet was a bit difficult to follow over vacation and henceforth, all the WODs have been extra punishing.  I made the best nutrition decisions under the circumstances but my workout results have been pretty abysmal.

The next triathlon is only about four weeks away, so I’m trying to kick it back into gear.   I should have taken about three or four days off directly after the triathlon but I was feeling good and didn’t want to let down.  I did five workouts that week, if you count the tri day.  That led to some extra fatigue, which ended up being a little un-motivating.  But it’s starting to come back around.

Swam 1000 meters for time today and plan on riding the bike tomorrow.

6.3.10

Swim, Bike and Run.  It was fun.

KC Triathlon….Part 3

Overall, my training and performance for the triathlon went pretty well.  I finally achieved a long sought goal of finishing.  But it’s never good enough to just reach that goal, is it?  With a competitive spirit, I don’t just want to finish….but compete.  And I suppose that I didn’t do too bad considering I did very little endurance training.  But I would have really like to have finished in the top performers instead of the middle.  Some of the things I learned from this race:

1. Nutrition is key….not just during a race but in the training aspect also.  I have followed a Paleo diet the last few months and have seen dramatic differences in performance, recovery, and body composition.  On race day, I would surely have benefited from a snack on the bike portion.  In the next triathlon, I will be sure to plan a little better.

2.  You can’t replace experience.  I prepared myself the best way  I knew how.  I trained hard….even had a stretch where I was over-training.  But with all that behind me, nothing could have prepared me for the mass hysteria of a swim start.  It’s just something you have to go through.  Next time, I know it won’t be such a surprise and I’ll try not to let it take me out of my game plan.  I imagine that will improve my race significantly.

3. Train for your sport.   Cross Fit is an excellent training methodology to attain optimum physical conditioning.  It prepares you for a wide range of activities and is my primary training regimen.  However, a little extra time was required in sport specific training.  I didn’t know how to swim farther than one lap in a pool several months ago.  Cross Fit wouldn’t have fixed that but it did give me the conditioning so that once the skill was learned, I was able to compete.  I plan to continue using Cross Fit as my training method and incorporating Cross Fit Endurance workouts several times a week.  I  will gladly endorse it over any long, slow, distance training.

4. You need goals.  Having something to work towards made all the difference in training.  No way would I have hit the training that hard and benefited so much if I hadn’t signed up for the triathlon.  Whether the goal is a 1000 lb Cross Fit Total, a pull up,  a bike race, half marathon…whatever, make a goal that seems slightly out of reach and do what it takes to make it happen.  It’s worth it in the end.  Triumph comes from overcoming obstacles and nothing that’s great ever comes easy.

5.  Identify and work on the weaknesses.  I thought my biggest weakness was going to be the swimming.  As the race started, it seemed that was a correct assumption.  But when I finally separated from the group, it turned out to be one of my stronger events.  I overlooked my cycling skills and now understand that a little extra training time will be needed on the bike.  When training, find the thing you hate the most (thrusters or burpees for example) and get good at them.  Make your weaknesses your strengths and build yourself into a better athlete.

6. No excuses.  It would have been easy to chicken out of this event.  Heck, I’ve pretty much done that my whole life.  I can’t believe I waited until my mid 30′s to start this stuff.  I’ve got plenty of reasons of why I shouldn’t be training this much.  I work three jobs, have three kids, and have little free time.  I decided to make this a priority in my life and made it happen.  Life’s too short to waste.

The next event I signed up for is the Shawnee Mission Triathlon on July 11th.  This time, I will be doing the long course instead of the sprint.  I have six weeks of training to hone in my skills prior to the race.   A couple of weeks after that, I have an Adventure Race to compete in and then one last triathlon this August.  I hope to keep plugging in workouts and trying to achieve maximal performance.  I want to say thank you to those who have encouraged me and helped me out.  Even the smallest word of encouragement can provide a lot of motivation.  And most importantly, I would like to thank the Lord for my continued health and the abilities given to me.

Thanks for reading.  I’ll continue to post occasionally about training if anyone cares to read.

KC Triathlon….Part 2

As I finish the swim and head up the hill, I don’t have a clear of idea of how fast I swam.  With all the different waves going off at different intervals, it was hard to tell who started when and if the people nearby were from the same starting wave.  At the top of the hill, my buddy Josh tapped me on the shoulder to let me know he was right behind me.  I don’t know how I made it out of the water before he did considering my terrible start but I must have made up some time on that last leg of the swim.

Entering the transition area, the suit was nearly peeled.  I located my bike and finished stripping, careful not to lose my timing chip strapped around my ankle.  Before the race, I applied “body glide” to my legs and this really assisted in getting the suit off.   I next got on my shoes, socks, helmet, and sunglasses.  Exiting the transition, I hopped on the bike and felt pretty good.  Not a bad transition time in comparison to the rest of the field.

Once on the road, I started to get a little discouraged by all the racers that started passing me.  It took a minute to realize that most of those passing me were long course competitors.  Most of them were on high-end bicycles and looked like professional triathletes.  But they continued to zing past me at a regular rate.  My buddy had made it through the transition just ahead of me on his bike.  That was the last I would see of him for a while.  It was a windy day and I felt like I was riding at a good pace…about 16 mph.  It turns out, that isn’t a very good pace after all.  The only people I passed were the elderly and the very overweight.  Everyone’s age was listed on their left calf and I was hoping I would only get passed by younger and more serious triathletes.  If only that were the case.

By about 45 minutes into the race, I would have probably benefited from some Paleo nutrition.  I found that I didn’t have as much energy in reserve but was still capable of pulling myself through.   About halfway through cycling portion, it got pretty hilly.  The amount of cyclists passing me started to decrease.  On the longest hill of the race, I was able to keep up with everyone and even started passing other “normal” cyclists.  I finally crested the big hill and my legs were burning.  At the final directional change, the course headed north on Raytown Road….a tailwind…hallelujah!  For some reason, my legs felt emboldened and I started humming right along.  I was able to keep up with a couple of the serious racers even though I didn’t stay tucked down low over the handlebars like they did.

As I pulled down the final stretch on the bike, runners were heading in the opposite direction on the course.  My buddy Josh waved as he ran by.  Wow!  I must have lost a lot of time (five minutes as it later turned out).  Transition two was relatively simple…hang up the bike, lose the helmet, and slip on some running shoes.  As I headed out of the transition area on the run, my legs felt like they were full of lead.  Many of the spectators were lining the race course and were yelling words of encouragement.  It’s amazing what that can do for your motivation.

The run course wasn’t especially challenging other than a few minor hills.  I knew at this point that the rest of the race was just gutting it out.  I tried to maintain a steady pace but was getting kind of tired.  I had already been in the race about 75 minutes.  I still had racers passing me on the run but I was less discouraged about it.  I just wanted to finish and be done with it.  To hell was those do-gooders!  The fun was starting to wane and it started to feel more like a chore.  Arriving at mile one, I opted for gatorade instead of water.  I thought the calories might be beneficial.  Note to self…don’t drink while running.  It makes it hard to swallow and I nearly choked myself out with gatorade heading down the wrong tube.

At mile two, it started to register that I was almost done.  I only had 1 mile left and it was over.  After another dose of gatorade, I picked up the pace.  My legs were starting to recover.  Finally, I started passing some other racers.  I wanted to sing an operatic aria, “ha, ha…look at me!” I felt as though I had enough energy left over to make a decent finish after all.  As I came around the last bend, I could see the finish line.  Yes!!  A small wave of triumph passed over me as I crossed the finish.  My finish time was recorded as 1 hour and 40 minutes.

It turns out that my time was about in the middle of the pack.  I finished in the middle of my age group and about the middle of all competitors.  I suppose that’s not too bad considering I didn’t spend a lot of time doing endurance training.  Josh finished about five minutes in front of me…about the difference of the bike course.

Next up…lessons learned

KC Triathlon….part 1

I’ve been training for months in preparation for today.  The Kansas City Triathlon is the first in a line of events to test my conditioning this year.  I have wanted to complete a triathlon for years but never could muster up the strength to do so.  After 7 months of CrossFit training, I was in the best shape I’ve been in since high school.  I added in some additional swim and bike training and signed up for the short course.

The morning started at 5:00 am.  I wasn’t really nervous about today’s events til this morning.  When I woke up, there was already some butterflies brewing.  I had set out all of today’s necessities last night so I all I really needed was to clean up and eat, then be on the way.  My belly didn’t feel like finishing the two scrambled eggs I fixed and the butterflies sparked a few extra trips to bathroom.  So I headed off to Longview Lake.  I thought arriving a little before six o’clock would be good, but apparently so did everyone else.  I had to park nearly a half mile from the swim beach and walk all my equipment down.

Race officials drew my race number on my arms and legs when I arrived at the transition area and then marked my age on my left calf.  The magic marker proved difficult to wash off later but did the job.  Next task was to get my tracking chip.  It fits in a little velcro ankle bracelet and tracks each time you make a pass over the special mats.  It’s a fantastic way to keep track of time and get instant results.  With the necessary requirements taken care of, my buddy Josh and I walked down to the swim beach to check out the area.  The course looked kind of long standing on the beach.

The transition area was full of lots of people, so I started getting stuff ready.  With  that set up, the last thing that needed done before the race….visit the porta-potty.  Lines were long and I had to hurry back and get finished dressing before we were forced to move from the transition area to the beach.  It was also full of people.  The race official making announcements was ill-prepared for the large crowd and his speaker didn’t pierce the noise.  I hoped I wasn’t missing out on important information.

There were eleven scheduled waves of participants to enter the water.  We were in wave 9.  All the long course racers went off first and there was about a fifteen minute wait before the sprint racers were ready to start heading out.  I made my way to the side nearest the buoys and planned on making a straight swim and cornering tight.  Slower racers were starting towards the outside to keep from getting run over.  That might have been a smarter plan.  Once we entered the water,  pandemonium started.   It reminded me of feeding the fish at the lake.  It was so thick you could probably walk across the water.  People were swimming over me, against me, kicking me, going across my legs, and everything else you can think of.  I hoped to start off at a decent pace and concentrate on technique.  Well, that went right out the window.  I started to think more about surviving than swimming.  With the sun shining directly in from the direction we were headed, I couldn’t see the buoys at all.  All I could see was splashing.  I tried to put my head down and swim but every time I did, I ran into some one.  Plus, the waves of water kept smacking me in the face when I was trying to breathe, so I spent some time choking and swallowing water (good call on that one Chandra).

It was about 150-200 meters out that doubts started took over my mind.  I remember thinking…what have I gotten myself into….I hope I don’t drown.  I finally make it to the first turn and needed to go left and swim parallel with the beach.  It was at this point that I finally started to get some swimming space.  I think everyone in my wave was in front me and the next wave behind us was starting to catch up.  But it was nice to be able to start concentrating on my technique.  The swim across to the next turn took much less time than the previous section.  It’s amazing how much faster you can go when other people aren’t in the way.  I think I started to make up some time here.

Around the next turn, I started to even out on the pace.  The first part of the race was crazy and I was out of breath really quick.  But now I was able to breathe regularly and keep my head down.  I felt like I was really moving along.  The beach still looked like it was a long way away but the racers were pretty spread out.  I think this was one of the few times all day that I started passing other racers.  The only problem I had on the return swim was the large waves.  There must have been a boat out in the lake that created some good size waves.  That made it hard to breathe when I turned my head and was being hit by a wall of water.  I held my breath a little longer on the next strokes and tried to time to breaths between wave crests.  This worked out ok.  Finally, I made it back to the beach.

Up the hill I went trying to strip my wet suit off.  It fit pretty tight (it’s borrowed..thanks J) and is a bit uncomfortable in some rather delicate areas.  I was glad to finally being getting it off.  It did an awesome job keeping me warm and helping with flotation.  But stripping it off was the signal to my brain that I might actually live through this race.

Next up…the bicycle.

5.21.10

For a final tune up, I headed down to the LS Aquatics Center this morning.  I swam 500 meters in 11:04.  That is almost 40 seconds faster than my previous best time.  I’m still bringing up the rear of the pack, but it’s nice to continue making improvements.  I checked my records and in March, my best 500 meter time was just over 15 minutes.  Big difference.

This afternoon, I picked up my triathlon race packet.  You could tell everyone there was sizing each other up.  Either everybody is super competitive or like me, it was their first time and they are just trying to figure it all out.

The race is early Sunday morning.  I’m working a half day of work tomorrow then I’m going to try to get plenty of sleep for the early start.  We’ll see how that goes.  Thanks to everyone for all the encouragement so far.  I’m ready to give it all I got.

5.20.10

Did the WOD a couple of times this week and I plan on a short swim tomorrow.  I planned a light week to be at my best on Sunday.

The weather is going to warm up this weekend.   Should be a great day for a race.  I’m starting to get excited.  This being my first triathlon, there are a lot of things I’m not sure of.  Looking forward to getting this going.

I’ve trained pretty hard the last few months and should be prepared.  Wish me luck.