On fitness - Darkness + cooler temperatures = hibernation. I'm really untired. I still manage to get some exercise in every day, but it doesn't resemble training in form, focus or effort!
On cycling - I went on a legitimate rock hopping mountain bike ride last weekend. I only screamed like a little girl once. I only ended up on my back side three times. The bruises on my abdominals are already turning yellow, so I'm about ready to hit the trails again.
On living arrangements - Contractors started tearing our house apart two weeks ago. The house is still bearable to live in, but life will get much more complicated when the boys don't have to go to football practice every night. The work should be done by XMas.
On football - I just don't get tired of watching the boys play. I definitely have a football addiction.
On work - People generally like me more now that I'm not so grumpy. I'm using the off season to take care of some bigger picture initiatives. I'm lucky to LOVE my career. It's an interesting time to be in the energy biz.
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Saturday, October 11, 2008
The Big Dance
Today’s the big show in Kona, Hawaii… The Ironman World Championships. All long course athletes dream of getting there. All but 200 (I think) athletes get there by qualifying through another Ironman event. The remaining 200 are selected through a lottery system.
As badly as I want to make it to the big dance, I’ve decided not to enter the lottery. At best my chances are very slim of qualifying. Slim - but not impossible. As long as I think there’s ANY possibility of qualifying, I will try to get there through sweat, blood and guts rather than through luck. If I’m ever able to reach the starting line of IMHI, I want to feel as if I’ve earned it.
For me, qualifying for Kona is the stretchiest of stretch goals. The Ironman motto is “Impossible is nothing.” There are many folks (including several voices in my own head) that like to tell me that qualifying is impossible for a non-lifetime endurance athlete. That might ultimately prove to be true. But I also know that not setting the goal – and not expecting that outcome – will definitely result in failure. So I’m going to go ahead and embrace the motto. I want to race in Kona by qualifying. So there! I said it. Vision without action is hallucination.
Many of my non-endurance athlete peers openly criticize me for pursuing (what is in their minds) a worthless goal. My personal favorite criticism is, “I guess you don’t have anything better to do.” I guess not.
What those folks just don’t get is that extreme endurance sport can be about so much more than athletic achievement. There’s no doubt that I have grown personally, professionally, and spiritually since deciding to proactively pursue athletic goals. Three words: Not a coincidence.
This sport enforces discipline of lifestyle. It holds you accountable for action and inaction. Striving for excellence permeates all facets of life. Humility – Patience – Perspective - Tenacity – Self Awareness – Gratitude – the list goes on… Attributes that transcend athletics and all reinforced through the discipline of the endurance lifestyle.
For sure there are also pitfalls to living this way. Many a triathlete has ditched the family or other relationships / vocations to pursue athletic ambitions. I’m not apologizing for those folks. I’m also not saying I’m perfect. I’m just saying…
As badly as I want to make it to the big dance, I’ve decided not to enter the lottery. At best my chances are very slim of qualifying. Slim - but not impossible. As long as I think there’s ANY possibility of qualifying, I will try to get there through sweat, blood and guts rather than through luck. If I’m ever able to reach the starting line of IMHI, I want to feel as if I’ve earned it.
For me, qualifying for Kona is the stretchiest of stretch goals. The Ironman motto is “Impossible is nothing.” There are many folks (including several voices in my own head) that like to tell me that qualifying is impossible for a non-lifetime endurance athlete. That might ultimately prove to be true. But I also know that not setting the goal – and not expecting that outcome – will definitely result in failure. So I’m going to go ahead and embrace the motto. I want to race in Kona by qualifying. So there! I said it. Vision without action is hallucination.
Many of my non-endurance athlete peers openly criticize me for pursuing (what is in their minds) a worthless goal. My personal favorite criticism is, “I guess you don’t have anything better to do.” I guess not.
What those folks just don’t get is that extreme endurance sport can be about so much more than athletic achievement. There’s no doubt that I have grown personally, professionally, and spiritually since deciding to proactively pursue athletic goals. Three words: Not a coincidence.
This sport enforces discipline of lifestyle. It holds you accountable for action and inaction. Striving for excellence permeates all facets of life. Humility – Patience – Perspective - Tenacity – Self Awareness – Gratitude – the list goes on… Attributes that transcend athletics and all reinforced through the discipline of the endurance lifestyle.
For sure there are also pitfalls to living this way. Many a triathlete has ditched the family or other relationships / vocations to pursue athletic ambitions. I’m not apologizing for those folks. I’m also not saying I’m perfect. I’m just saying…
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Type A has a plan already
It's nice not being exhausted. I've already formulated my basic plan for the next 2 years:
2009: IM 70.3 Rhode Island as "A" race. Sounds like a tough race with lots of rolling hills and a choppy swim. Will do local events as lead up. Probably no camps for me in 2009. I went over my spending limit this year. In late July I plan to travel to Lake Placid with friends with the goal of signing up for the 2010 race.
2010: IM Lake Placid as "A" race. I'm very excited about my lead up that year... My "B" race will be the Desoto American Triple T, a 2-day, 3-triathlon event that covers the entire Ironman distance over the course of the weekend. I tentatively plan to race the Triple T as a 2-man team, where the athletes are allowed to work together (i.e. draft).
2009: IM 70.3 Rhode Island as "A" race. Sounds like a tough race with lots of rolling hills and a choppy swim. Will do local events as lead up. Probably no camps for me in 2009. I went over my spending limit this year. In late July I plan to travel to Lake Placid with friends with the goal of signing up for the 2010 race.
2010: IM Lake Placid as "A" race. I'm very excited about my lead up that year... My "B" race will be the Desoto American Triple T, a 2-day, 3-triathlon event that covers the entire Ironman distance over the course of the weekend. I tentatively plan to race the Triple T as a 2-man team, where the athletes are allowed to work together (i.e. draft).
Saturday, October 4, 2008
Stick a fork in me
I raced for 1-1/2-hours last weekend before my mechanical breakdown. Considering my goal was 10:45, the silver lining to my day was that almost no recovery would be required. I could still race this year before shutting it down. I batted around a few ideas... A late season HIM (there's one in NJ this AM) or, possibly, a run at a BQ at the Harrisburg Marathon. Even with a lack of focus at open marathon racing, my Daniels VDot numbers (48) say I could qualify (sub 3:20).
As the week wore on my body & mind were obviously begging me to shut it down for the year. When my heart was giving me problems during the winter I made an oath to always listen to the signals my body was sending. So I'm doing that. I've officially entered my off season.
So 2008 will go down as the season that I didn't finish a single race. Ironically it was also a breakthrough year in my training. As you might imagine, I have mixed feelings about the way it ended. The word that best describes my thoughts about Chesapeakeman is "disgust." But beyond that sense of unfulfilled potential, there is a huge sense of satisfaction with the season. I am sitting on a new plateau. My fitness gains are still outpacing the effects of aging. IOW - I'm faster than I've ever been (excluding, of course, my ability to run short distances really fast 20+ years ago).
I set a pre-season goal of reaching 4.0 watts per kg on the bike. I didn't quite make it (263 watts over 69.1 kg = 3.81), but I worked awfully hard to get there. Last year I peaked at 3.65 w/kg. 4.0 will now be my goal for '09. I had intended on getting there by working on the numerator AND denominator of that equation. My preseason goal was to show up on race day at 65.9 kg. That would have resulted in a 3.99 at 263 watts. It's become apparent to me that dipping below 69 kg is an uncomfortable place. I'm better off focusing on boosting watts and allowing my weight to fluctuate naturally. I don't struggle with body comp, so I should just let it go.
When I cognitively review my season I'm left with a smile on my face. Focusing on that will help me overcome the race day disappointment in short order. I'm very, very thankful that my atrial fibrillation went into hibernation as the spring of '08 arrived. The one change I'll make in my next training cycle is pre-planning my recovery cycles. I reached a new level of accumulated fatigue in August and September. I think that could have been avoided.
Moving forward I've decided to take a year off of Iron distance training. I signed up for Ironman 70.3 Rhode Island in July 2009. That will be my "A" race. Then, perhaps, a competitive run at IM Lake Placid in 2010. I'm hoping Joe Ruiz will let me tag along on some of his Ironman training rides next spring.
Enough blogging for today. Life is good.
As the week wore on my body & mind were obviously begging me to shut it down for the year. When my heart was giving me problems during the winter I made an oath to always listen to the signals my body was sending. So I'm doing that. I've officially entered my off season.
So 2008 will go down as the season that I didn't finish a single race. Ironically it was also a breakthrough year in my training. As you might imagine, I have mixed feelings about the way it ended. The word that best describes my thoughts about Chesapeakeman is "disgust." But beyond that sense of unfulfilled potential, there is a huge sense of satisfaction with the season. I am sitting on a new plateau. My fitness gains are still outpacing the effects of aging. IOW - I'm faster than I've ever been (excluding, of course, my ability to run short distances really fast 20+ years ago).
I set a pre-season goal of reaching 4.0 watts per kg on the bike. I didn't quite make it (263 watts over 69.1 kg = 3.81), but I worked awfully hard to get there. Last year I peaked at 3.65 w/kg. 4.0 will now be my goal for '09. I had intended on getting there by working on the numerator AND denominator of that equation. My preseason goal was to show up on race day at 65.9 kg. That would have resulted in a 3.99 at 263 watts. It's become apparent to me that dipping below 69 kg is an uncomfortable place. I'm better off focusing on boosting watts and allowing my weight to fluctuate naturally. I don't struggle with body comp, so I should just let it go.
When I cognitively review my season I'm left with a smile on my face. Focusing on that will help me overcome the race day disappointment in short order. I'm very, very thankful that my atrial fibrillation went into hibernation as the spring of '08 arrived. The one change I'll make in my next training cycle is pre-planning my recovery cycles. I reached a new level of accumulated fatigue in August and September. I think that could have been avoided.
Moving forward I've decided to take a year off of Iron distance training. I signed up for Ironman 70.3 Rhode Island in July 2009. That will be my "A" race. Then, perhaps, a competitive run at IM Lake Placid in 2010. I'm hoping Joe Ruiz will let me tag along on some of his Ironman training rides next spring.
Enough blogging for today. Life is good.
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