Ironman Training – Month 6

This is the sixth installment of a yearlong training journey towards my first full Ironman triathlon. To start at the beginning, click here.

January 2017

New year, but the same training. I felt better this month. Some life stressors were situational and temporary: My licensure exam (I passed), Christmas, the flu, ….so I was not expecting to be more stressed out. I expected some negative side-effects from the medication, but none appeared. No increased heart-rate, no weight gain, no foggy head. I decided to stop worrying about what could possibly go wrong with taking medication. I was taking it. I felt better. How about I just enjoy that for now?

Training continued as usual as I continued to build my aerobic base. I knew that things would start to ramp up in the next months and I prepared myself mentally for that. As with all things, a routine can start to get boring after a while. As humans, we detect change more readily. I noticed that I was looking forward to my swims the most right now. Why? Probably because the runs and bike rides were on the same routes for the same amount of time. My swim workouts with the Masters team were different each day and forced me to be mentally engaged.

 

Florida Bound

Manatees

The real manatees….

Addie with Manatee

….and the stuffed manatee.

 

Our vacation to Florida to attend a friend’s wedding was a welcome change to the schedule.We made sure to check out the manatees, see Disney World, and feed the ducks whenever we could. Seeing my daughter, Addie, smile and giggle meeting her favorite princesses and enjoy the rides made my heart sing.

Riding the Teacups at Disney World

Riding the Teacups at Disney World

Feeding the ducks

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Not having access to a local pool or bikes meant I was mostly running and walking -alternating each day. Even running new routes felt like a whole new sport. I had underestimated how a change in scenery can better things. Training-wise, my favorite part of the trip was finding an open-water swim near Orlando. Lucky’s Lake Swim is world-famous and boasts a cult following of locals.

The day greeting Lucky’s Lake

Later in the week, we headed to the Cocoa Beach for the day. We saw a large shark circling the pier in search of some lunch in the clear water. Awhile later I decided to take a dip in the water.

 

My daughter reassured me, letting me know, “ the shark is probably gonna bite you, dad.”    Thanks.

 

Coco Beach 2

Coco Beach 4

 

 

 

Cocoa Beach 5

Just happy be to here!

Being a parent forces one to find creative solutions. Three-year-olds don’t always like cross country flights and let that be known in subtle to not-so-subtle ways. During our two hour layover in Austin, I changed into a galloping horse with Addie on my shoulders. Daily workout: check. Pacified kiddo: check.

 

The Balance

Family time has gotten much better. What do I mean by that? I was able to participate and enjoy being there. Sure there were always challenging parts of parenting like handling tantrums and trying to convince a three-year-old that they will feel better if they actually eat something. The balance of training and family life is more than just paying my dues to watch the kids. If things aren’t going right, the stress affects my training. It also makes me go back to why I am training so hard in the first place – to be a better version of myself. This means not being absent from the family all day every day just to get some more training in. If I’m not exercising or training, then my body isn’t moving like it should and I’m not as great at being a family man.

For the technical aspects of my training, my mile times hovered around 10:20. Not great, but I am trusting in the training and realizing that life stress is playing a part in this. Increasing sleep and fun time with family is helping. One more month down and halfway towards Ironman Santa Rosa.

 

<— Back to Month 5

Forward to Month 7 (coming soon) —>

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Ironman Training- Month 5

This is the fifth installment of a yearlong training journey towards my first full Ironman triathlon. To start at the beginning, click here.

 

I knew it was bad when it got to me in the pool.

(If you were hoping for a simple training update with no real life stress, you should probably skip this post)

 

My bike and American Flag during Ironman Training- Month 5

 

Training and Real Life Collide

The stress of life and everything that wasn’t Ironman got to me. I mean, really got to me. December was packed with the usual obligations of Christmas shopping and holiday parties to plan or attend, but this year there was much more on my plate. Studying for my clinical licensure test filled my free time. Someone close to me had been the victim of a horrible crime I could do nothing to stop. My daughter, though really loving her new baby brother, was distraught that her mom could not pick her up or carry her because she was healing from her C-section still. Our family unit was trying to find homeostasis again. Continue reading

Ironman 70.3 Santa Cruz Review

Standing on the pier awaiting the swim start for Ironman 70.3 Santa Cruz

 

Ironman 70.3 Santa Cruz was my third middle-distance triathlon. In contrast to the first two, I did not feel an excessive amount of pre-race jitters. The lack of fear coming into the race was a welcome change. I felt confident I would finish and  had no attachment to any finish time. Okay, I wanted to finish in under 6 hours, but it wouldn’t be a heartbreaker if it took longer. After all, I race for fun. I race to celebrate being alive and honor other people I care about. It was also the first triathlon training strictly with the Maffetone Method.

Up until a week before the race, Ironman 70.3 Santa Cruz was simply another triathlon. Sure, I cared about it, but I did not raise funds for any charities like my previous race in Oceanside. That all changed when my coworker, Dave, shared some heavy news with me. His wife, Sarah, just found out she had cancer. Both of them were understandably devastated by the news, but as a testament to their strength in the middle of uncertainty, they were not hiding from this. Dave and Sarah were sharing the news with others, partly as a way to have some choice in the matter. How do you react when someone shares this with you? I certainly didn’t know. Continue reading

3 Good Fitness and Nutrition Blogs I Follow

Books on fitness and nutrition in my bookshelf

You might have noticed I have been posting a bit more recently, thanks to  blogging challenge from ProBlogger. Over the last week in this challenge I have discovered a few other fitness and nutrition blogs that struck a cord with me. I am constantly reading what other fitness enthusiasts are up to and most of the time there is one small thing that makes a big difference in my life. Recently I’ve gotten into making zucchini noodles for a filling lunch or dinner and thanks to one of the blogs below I’ve found some other filling recipes.

 

It’s exciting to see what other people are doing to stay active and how they love what they do.

 

Good Reading

  1. The Magic of Running: The author, Katherine, provides race reviews and discusses what inspires her to run. She’s included a lot of photos to make her posts more engaging and set the scene. If you’re a road or trail runner, this is a blog you will enjoy.Katherine from Magic of Running fitness nutrition blog posing at a race booth.
  2. Run Away from Zombies: Yeah, you read that correctly. Here you’ll find running tips from Rebekah, who stated her blogs aims to “help new runners transition from excited, curious, and a little scared to experienced, limit-pushing, and successful.” Check it out and get a free Ebook designed to turn you into a better runner.Rebekah from "Run Away from Zombies" running. This is a great fitness and nutrition blog I follow.
  3. A Living Laboratory: While this is not a fitness blog, Cheri writes about healthy lifestyle and how to include more healthy food in your everyday life, among other topics. Check out her post on how to eat more zucchini.A logo from Living Laboratory's fitness nutrition blog on eating more zucchini.

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Ragnar Trail Tahoe Review

Ragnar Trail Tahoe

 

Runner on the yellow loop trail during sunrise for Ragnar Trail Tahoe.

Last year while in Tahoe and recovering from my first Half Ironman, I walked by Royal Gorge Resort the week before the Ragnar Trail Tahoe race and saw a couple storage containers with the logo and big signs saying “Ragnar.” After investigating online, I knew that this race was speaking to my soul. Through a series of connections I was able to find a team. The “Twisted Blisters” were a Team in Training group out of the Sacramento area using the race to raise money for Leukemia and Lymphoma research. They had all spent time training in the hills and getting ready specifically for the Ragnar Relay, while I had been keeping in shape by training up for my next Half Ironman in September. Truth be told, I was cycling and swimming regularly, but my runs were few and far between.

 

What the hell is Ragnar?

The Ragnar Trail Relays are blend of camping, distance running, and partying. It brings together the fringe cultures of trail runners, CrossFitters, and miscellaneous bearded outdoorsy types. Teams of 8 — or 4 if you’re f*cking insane  really fit — take turns with each member completing  the three loops: Green (3.3 miles), Yellow (5.8 miles), and Red (7.1 miles). Staggered starting times for the different teams ensures there are runners at all times on the trails without things getting too crowded. Running through the night and into the next day, teams continue until they finish.

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