Thursday, March 30, 2006

In the Buttocks

That’s where I’m feeling it today after last night’s cycle/run workout. We spent the majority of our time on the bikes with only a couple 5 minute runs to break things up. Of course the first run was started with 20 yards of lunges, run 1 lap, and then another 20 yards of lunges. Before we went up my coach told me that she was thinking of a full lap and I’m like yeah…you maybe want to rethink that one, which thankfully she did. It was another sweat shop session and when I first arrived I had noticed I didn’t bring a towel. Not good, ya can’t do a spin class without a towel. Luckily I remembered that I had a spare in my car. It might have gotten ugly without it. Yes the spare towel is the one item that should be in every endurance athlete’s car.

Someone over at Trifuel posted a link to this very entertaining article from Triathlete Magazine. The story (scroll down to the second page) is written by a young boy whose parents are both triathletes. Article

Twin Cities Folks: I have two opportunities for you to help me raise funds for the LLS. The first will be a bowl-a-thon on April 30th from 4-6. The second is a golf tournament on May 15th. Send me an e-mail if you have any interest in either event and I will send you more details.

Sorry about the fundraising stuff folks. I try and limit the TNT fundraising stuff on this blog, but sometimes ya gotta reach out the bigger community. :)

Wednesday, March 29, 2006

Staring up from the Bottom

This is the position that I’m in when it comes to my swim. After basically taking a month off I found out last night that I have no endurance in the pool. Now this isn’t too surprising but it still kind of sucks. Gotta love feeling like a complete nubie when you are less then a week from really kicking off your training season. Plus I have that whole stroke correction thing to take care of. I guess there had to be a few “gotchas” this time around so why not start off with a couple. Hopefully within a couple weeks I will find my lungs again and taken care of my stroke/shoulder issues. In the mean time I might have to stay out of the water during our group swims. My new triathletes will be swimming laps around me in my current state. So I start the season off with a bit of challenge, but I’m ok with that. If I was afraid of a challenge I would have been involved with this sport in the first place…

Quote of the Day: I have to exercise in the morning before my brain figures out what I'm doing. - Marsha Doble

Monday, March 27, 2006

The Hunchback of Notre Dame

That’s the first thing that came to mind when my coach sent me the below pictures from our last cycle class. Now I knew that I my back curved a bit when I’m in my aero bars but I had no idea how much. When I was fitted for my bike the guy said that some people’s backs just curve like that including Lance Armstrong. So even if it looks a little weird at least I’m in good company. The second picture is of my coach and I riding during class. There is nothing like looking up to a camera and trying to smile only to end up with a goofy look on your face. I mean I’m trying to ride here peoples. This isn’t some photo op. A while back a comment was left that I never post any pictures. Well here ya go blogland. Not the greatest pictures but that’s about all I got. Maybe I'll have some better once to post later down the road. Of course that doesn't mean I'll post them. :)

Sunday, March 26, 2006

Unfold Me

Last year during my first year of triathlons everything was fresh and new. Each workout meant something different then the previous one. For nine months I trained and raced in a sport I knew little about, but one I have come to love. There were many highs and many lows as I dealt with a plethora of new experiences. In the end I walked away with a whole new lifestyle, desires and ambitions. In the end I walked away a different person.

Entering my 2nd season of triathlons I have come with a full load of races and desires. I have entered this season in a position to watch new triathletes go through the same experiences that I went through last year and a part of me is a bit jealous. Jealous of how new everything is to them and remembering what it felt like. Part of this is due to the fact that my training hasn’t truly started yet. For the last three months I have been sort of floating through my training in anticipation for when I would really start. In a little over a week I will officially start my quest to complete a ½ Ironman.

The next 21 weeks will be full of highs and lows as I progress towards Pigman. The grueling hours of sweat, blood, and tears will no doubtingly completely open me up from the inside out. Exposing my strengths and weaknesses in hopes to prepare me for this challenge I have undertaken. Only by exposing everything can I hope to build myself up again and come out the other side as a stronger person and athlete. Only by pushing my limits will I ever find what my limits truly are. I think this process is so important and it’s truly why I’ve plunged head first into endurance sports.

For now I wait somewhat holding my breath for the beginning to arrive. It’s the nervousness and excitement all rolled together as I try to prepare for what will be a long and hard journey. A journey that I can’t wait to start yet scared of at the same time. I hope the next five months will leave me with those new experiences. Hoping that I will experience those highs and lows and meet the challenges that will unfold. Though as I write this post I really have no idea what the next 5 months will bring. The only thing I know for sure is that a week from Monday the countdown will begin. A new season…A new goal…A new race…

Bring it on Piggy!

Saturday, March 25, 2006

Somewhat Smart

I’ve been feeling a little bit under the weather the last few days. It is just an annoying cold/cough that was going around the office. It has messed up my voice the last couple of days. This made work interesting the last few days especially yesterday when I was in meetings most of the day. My neighbor Kim was quick to point out that I sounded like frog. So I guess I have that going for me. The biggest problem with being sick this weekend is that it basically put me out of Simply Stu’s 1st annual triathlon. This great triathlon podcaster and TNTer from WI organized a weekend for people all around the word to do a triathlon over the course of a weekend. The distances were close to a typical sprint tri and you could do the parts in order or whenever you could get them in. (¼ mile swim, 15 mile bike, and 5k run) So unless I feel a ton better tomorrow I will not be able to finish. It’s not the end of the world or anything, but it would have been a productive weekend if I could get in a workout in each event.

I guess I could partially blame myself for not being to finish Stu’s tri. As the title of this post states I was somewhat smart with my health so far this weekend. Last night I skipped out on cards to get some needed rest, which was good. My problem was that I met my TNT group this morning for our run. I just couldn’t help myself. The group runs are the workouts I look forward to the most and I couldn’t say no. We ran about 4 miles this morning with some hill repeats. Now I didn’t run with my normal pace group this morning. I took it down a notch, but still was hacking up a lung during the first half. Next were 3-6 hill repeats and I only did 3 to keep from collapsing and then I joined an even slower pace group for the leg back to our cars. So once again I was both good and bad during my workout.

Tonight I stayed in again to rest up. Not that there was a whole lot going on tonight, but I hate being laid up. I guess you won’t find anyone who really enjoys being sick. So the plan is to take it easy again tomorrow with hopes of kicking this bug. It would be nice to start out Monday feeling 100% with a full week of training to look forward to. For everyone out and about this evening have one for me and hopefully I can join ya next time…

Thursday, March 23, 2006

Sweat Shop

I think this is a pretty accurate description of our group cycle classes. Picture 30 people huddled together in an old racquetball court with only one fan trying to circulate air in the enclosed room. The only sounds you hear are the turn of pedals and the music coming from the stereo. Towels draped over trainers and my teammates grinding out another workout. This was my view last night when I would look up from my own bike. I actually brought my bike with me last night and it was so much nicer then using one of the studio trainers. I hadn’t ridden my bike since the fall. It felt so good to just lean forward on my aero bars and crank on the pedals.

Last night our workout consisted of 10 minutes on the bike followed by 5 minutes on the track repeats. Besides a few tips here and there our coach wasn’t talking much. This forces you to really concentrate and just focus on your biking. There weren’t very many smiles last night as people rode, which is a good indication that people are working hard. Being back on my bike I was like a kid in a candy store. I was probably smiling too much for some people.

I was riding next to my coach and as we were cooling down after the last run repeat when she says, with an evil smirk, that she has an idea. Oh boy, look out, this is going to hurt pops immediately into my head. So she has us get off our bikes and squat in a lunge position. For the next few minutes we go through a series of pulses and holds. As time wore on you could hear more grunts and sighs. I’m not gonna lie it hurt. That said I live for the sense of accomplishment after a hard workout. In my opinion there are few feelings that can match it...

Tuesday, March 21, 2006

A Fish Out of Water

After over two weeks of watching others swim lap after lap improving their stroke and being stuck on the sideline, though I was coaching, I jumped in the pool tonight. Wow talk about a slap in the face. The endurance and progress I had gained during the first two months of the years was gone. Now that really sucks but it is not the biggest of my concerns. The real issue is my shoulder and keeping tabs on it. So to combat my, soon to be hacked off if it doesn’t get its act together, shoulder I called in some reinforcements.

Tonight one of my buddies, who has been swimming his entire life including college, come to the pool with me to take a look at my stroke. After a warm up he watched my stroke from different sides and underwater as well. He pointed out some trouble spots that could be causing my shoulder issues. Now of course the hard part will be to correct them, but I feel better about my chances. It’s going to take awhile but hopefully I’ve made a U turn and I’ll starting heading back in the right direction.

It’s amazing how important it is to have someone watch your stroke to give you pointers. I guess I lost a bit of that since I’ve been helping others so much lately. The plan is to get in the water a couple of times this week and have him look over my stroke again next week. It would be nice to just jump in and start cranking out the distance again, but that will have to wait. If I don’t solve me issues now I wont make it half way through my season.

I guess the litter moral of the story is to take the time to find someone who can help you with your training or when you are in need. There will always be things to learn or change, but you have to take the time and make the effort to do so. I guess that’s why even the pros have coaches. There is only so much you can correct without a having that outside opinion and point of view. Which totally goes against my do-it-yourself instinct.

Regular scheduled spin

Last night I headed back to my regular spin/heat class. The combo of spin and plyometrics is such a great workout. The instructor asked if there were any requests and with no responses she just asked if we wanted her to kick our butts, which she received a few nods for. Personally I was game for a good brutal workout. The instructor didn’t fail her mission. I was definitely struggling towards the end of the spin part. To get the plyometrics off on the right foot she added another set of stairs. This meant 6 trips up and down the stairs. Can you feel the burn? Like hills I’ve always been a fan of stairs so I didn’t mind the extra set. Later I was to struggle through some outer thigh exercises and some back kick things that left me hating life.

Getting back into my regular Monday night class was a good way to cap off the start of another week. I mean ya gotta go for the little things on a Monday right? I hope your Monday treated you well. Take care…

Monday, March 20, 2006

TNT and Poker

My weekend consisted of TNT stuff and playing poker. Not a bad way to spend the weekend if I do say so myself. Saturday morning I struggled a bit to get out of bed in order to meet up for our group run. I guess that’s what happens when you’re up til 1:30 and need to be up before 7. I hit the snooze a couple of time and got up at the latest possible minutes to still make it there on time. The run went really well. We mixed in some pick-ups and a few hill repeats as we progressed around Lake Calhoun. Now I know I’m the odd man out when it comes to hill repeats because I dig them. I think they are such a great workout and I actually look forward to doing them.

Saturday evening I met up with the fellas to play some poker. It had been awhile since we had gathered to play. It was a pretty entertaining night and I ended up drinking more then I had planned on. Normally when we get together its plenty of cards, some food, and only a couple of drinks. That wasn’t the case when later in the night the host decided that we needed to turn things into a drinking game. The only problem was that the consequences included shots of Goldschlager. I can’t say that I’ve ever been a fan and really wasn’t after having to take a number of shots. So needless to say I ended up crashing at my buddies place for the night.

Sunday started with a bit of a headache. Thank you kindly Mr. Goldschlager. I had to teach a small swim lesson around noon for TNT. A couple of ladies hadn’t been able to make it to the regular group swims so I was asked to meet up with them. We went over drills and technique and they were doing much better in only an hour. They were thrilled by their improvement, which always makes me smile.

My weekend ended with more poker. A lady who is running the San Diego Marathon with TNT was have a poker tournament for a fundraising event. It was a good time and I met some people on the marathon team. I really wasn’t getting any good cards so my time at the table was somewhat limited. Oh well it was a good event and hopefully she was able to raise some money. With all my poker buddies it might be something that I have to do myself to jump-start my own fundraising. Not a bad way to cap off a weekend.

I hope things were enjoyable in your neck of the woods…

Thursday, March 16, 2006

The fluffy kind

The snowstorm came in last night and was gone before noon today. I think we ended up getting another 6 inches or so. It was the light fluffy snow, which made things easier as people did their daily commutes to work this morning. It was nothing like the wet heavy slippery stuff we woke up to on Monday morning.

Last nights cycle/run class went well and was a lot of fun. We rode for about 30 minutes and then ran around on the track for another 15. Since I’m not swimming yet I pushed it hard to get in a good workout. It felt like a big relief to get in a hard workout. Ya kind of feel like you aren’t doing a whole lot when you have to cut out 1/3 of your workouts or at least I do. Like I’ve said before, I need help.

Tonight was our group swim and I went to help out while the rest of the team swam. We had a small turnout, which actually worked out really well. During both sessions my coach and I would work with two swimmers individually while the others did a workout. This helps out a lot when you are working on technique and helping out beginners. The pool was pretty much cleared out when we were done with the second session. I was so tempted to jump in a do a swim. I wanted nothing more then to dive in and feel the water again. This time off must be really starting to mess with me. You know things are rough when a non-swimmer like myself is dying to get in the pool. Hmmm I think there is a little trouble a brewing…

Wednesday, March 15, 2006

Round 2

Not a whole lot to report from the, soon to be clobbered again by snow, Twin Cities. The current report looks like we will get another 6 inches of the white stuff starting tonight and ending sometime tomorrow morning. These storms are pretty typical for March in MN. It just would have been nice to get this much snow during January and February. I mean if it’s gonna be cold out there should be a good amount of snow on the ground to go with it.

Yesterday was a rest day because I’m still staying away from the pool. This whole swimmer’s shoulder is staring to vex me. Sure I can hold on to my sanity enough to take a week or two off, but after that it’s anybodies guess. This whole endurance thing really gets into your blood and not being able to train can really affect the rest of your life. I wouldn’t advise ticking off an endurance athlete who has been sidelined for awhile. That may be a hornet’s net that you don’t want to mess with. Like I said before I’m not there yet, but give me a few weeks. :)

Cycle/run class tonight with the TNT folks. We’ll see what the coach has in store for us tonight. Maybe even more important will be what the weather has in store for us. Wonder what it would be like to be snowed in at a fitness center? So what place or building would you hate the most if you were stuck in due to the weather? We’ll just gloss over the in your car out in the middle of nowhere answers.

Tuesday, March 14, 2006

Whitewash

The snow storm came and went Sunday/Monday and left an amazing white backdrop everywhere you went. The trees were plastered with snow and their branches were hanging low with the weight. It was simply beautiful outside yesterday. (I really need to get a digital camera so I can take picture of this stuff) We ended up getting closer to 9 inches of snow and I’d say a bit more in some places. At least that’s what it felt like when I went for a run.

Yes, yes even with well over a half a foot on snow on the ground I went out yesterday for a run. I strapped on the Yaktrax and headed out into the white winter wonderland. I went back and fourth between sidewalk areas that were cleared and those that were not. It felt like running through quicksand when the snow wasn’t cleared. It was kind of fun running through the snow and the legs were burning at times so I know I was getting a good workout.

I think my body had a crazy reaction to all the snow yesterday. I’m just gonna rationalize the fact that I had the munchies all day was because my body was reacting to the large amount of snow and went into preservation mode. I’m sure it was thinking that if we could get over half foot overnight that there was a chance that this might continue and perhaps we could be snowed in at some point. So naturally it decided that I needed to eat a lot and start working on those fat stores incase the worse should unfold. Yeah maybe a little bit of a stretch…

Monday, March 13, 2006

Hairball

Last night I returned from Duluth where I spent the weekend visiting my little brother. It was a fun weekend, but it defiantly left me feeling a little old. Maybe because it’s been a while since I’ve actually partied for an entire weekend or at least tried to keep up with the young bucks.

Friday we went out to a local bar and played pool the entire night. My brother and I partnered up and won all but three games that we played. Towards the end it was getting a little rough with the alcohol setting it. Saturday we skied for a few hours. It was really warm out which left the snow pretty sticky. This was the first time that I’ve actually skied in MN for a number of years. I usually just go do CO to ski because the hills here are pretty pathetic. Saturday was a nice reminder of how small the places are here in MN.

One of the highlights of the trip was the band that was playing at the bar Saturday night. The band was named Hairball and they put on one hell of a show. They are a 80/90’s rock cover band. Now the selling point is that for each band that they cover the lead singer, which they have a couple, comes out dressed like the lead singer of the band they are playing. So these guys were is full costume for every band they covered. This included; ZZ top, Poison, Motley Crue, Billy Idol, AC/DC, and even Ozzy Osbourne. They really put on a great show and the crowd was really into it.

Sunday morning everyone was recovering from the night before. We hit up a little mom/pop shop for some good greasy breakfast. It was so good, yet so bad for you, but perfect morning after drinking food. After washing some clothes and saying good-bye to the runt it was back in the car for the 2-hour drive back to the cities. It was nice to get out of the cities for the weekend to relax and have a good time. The only strange part about visiting my brother was that, like myself, a lot of people call me/him by just our last name. It took a little while not to respond or look every time I heard my last name.

Now to back to the real world, including the 6 inches of snow that fell last night. The conditions are still pretty bad right now with the snow still falling and starting to blow. Oh well at least it makes for an interesting Monday…

Thursday, March 09, 2006

Focus

Last night when I walked into the cycle class I knew it was going to be a different type of workout. Our coach was there cycling pretty hard on the trainer and I knew something was up. Usually she is bouncing around greeting people as they come in but that wasn’t the case last night. She’s the type who wears her emotions on her sleeve and can’t hide it when something is bothering her, though she does really try to. Of course being the good coach that she is she started us off with a little pep talk with one resounding theme, find your focus. Focus on why you are here, why you signed up for TNT, or why you are pushing yourself to do a triathlon? This was her message as we started our cycle class, which ended up being more time in the saddle then our previous 10 bike 10 run sessions.


We kept a pretty good pace with some longer hills worked into the mix, but the main idea was just to keep riding. Over and over the message from our coach was to focus, breathe, and drink water. You could see the intensity she was driving into to everyone and they responded well. Not a whole lot of chatting or joking around. It was really encouraging to see a large group of people hammering on the pedals driven by their own thoughts and desires. Something you really take pride is as a mentor. We biked for about 40 minutes and then headed up to the track for another 10-15 minutes of running. Even after a hard bike everyone was pushing their limits on the track. It didn’t matter if they were walking or running with the fastest group everyone was determined to finish strong, which everyone did.


We headed back to the cycle room to stretch and during this time our coach asked people to volunteer and say why they had joined TNT. For many it was in memory or honor of someone who had cancer, some the desire to do a triathlon, and others just to prove that they could push themselves til the end. That’s the great part about TNT. There really is no wrong reason for joining up. Finally our coach came out with what was going on with her. Apparently she had spent most of the day at the hospital with her friend who was just diagnosed with brain cancer. This was bit heart-wrenching but I had guessed something like that had happened given her demeanor when I first saw her. What really made it hard for her is that up until now she had been lucky enough to not have anyone really close her affected by cancer. It just goes to show that it really can happen to anyone.


Now the true point of this post is just what the title says, Focus. While training, racing, or even just getting through the day it can take a great deal of effort and determination. Finding that thing, thought, person, song, or whatever it is that you can focus on during the rough spots can make all the different. It doesn’t matter what your focus is or that it changes depending on the day or situation. The point is to find your focus and hold on to it as long as you possibly can…

Wednesday, March 08, 2006

“You like me, you really like me”

I couldn’t help but steal this famous quote to mark this little milestone. For some odd reason over 1000 visits have been logged on this blog of mine and its a little mind boggling. I know it is no where near the thousands upon thousands of visits that you blog-veterans have logged, but I thought it would take me a lot longer then three months to have a 1000 visits. So thank you all for stopping by and taking a few minutes to read my ramblings about my training, life, and whatever else I’ll come up with in the future. Thank you very much!


There was a light rain/misting action going on last night when I got home from work. Since I’m trying to be smart and stay out of the pool to give my shoulder a rest I was planning on running after work. The rain wasn’t too heavy, but there it was pretty windy. After debating with myself for a few minutes I geared up and headed out the door. It actually wasn’t that bad out and the rain had let up with a bit of mist remaining during the second half of my 6 mile run. My body was a little stiff and stubborn during the first mile or so, but after that it loosened up and it left good to be just out there running. After the run it was some ab work so I can tack another point on the “Make it Happen” chart or good behavior list as some people have adopted it. Tonight it will be a group session with the combo bike/run repeats. Which is always a pretty fun workout or at least I think so. Hopefully it's nice and sunny where you are because there is nothing but fog here in the Twin Cities. Have a great day...


Quote of the Day: “Obstacles are what you see when you take your eyes off the goal” – Unknown

Tuesday, March 07, 2006

Recommitment

Yesterday Nic over at Phase Five had a great post about commitment. It’s no secret that preparing for an endurance event takes a lot of commitment. At times it seems nothing short of a never ending battle between our training and the rest of “normal” life. As much as we try there are times when there is nothing you can do and something has to give. Sometimes it means missing a workout or not going out on a Friday night with friends and the list goes on and on.

Now Nic’s post got me thinking a bit more about the details of our training and things that we sometimes let slide. This of course is understandable with the all the stuff we try and cram into one day but it can have serious affects on our training and performance. For instance I only had a bit of success at working in those good habits when it comes to flexibility and working on my core. For the most part it’s been hit or miss which I’m not happy about but haven’t made the necessary changes either. So these are just two of the items that I’m going to recommit to. Now some things are harder to change then others and it’s all a process, but the changes will be made if the desire is really there.

This is my proposal and we’ll see if we have any takers. :) If there are certain aspects of your training or even life for that matter that you want to address make it known on your blog. Blogland is such a supportive force and I see no reason why we can’t help each other make some of these changes. Personally I’m gonna put another little stat box in my sidebar with the items that I want to fix. Every time I do something to change that aspect I’ll give myself a point. Now I know this might sound a little funny and it may not have any effect, but hey at least it’s worth a try. I’ll keep it up there awhile and hopefully things will improve. If nothing else it will be another reminder of things that I would like to change.

Ok, ok I’m off my little recommitment soapbox. Have a great day everyone…

Sunday, March 05, 2006

Double Header

A very pleasant and sunny morning met the TNT group on Saturday for our weekly group run. We gathered and did a few warm-up drills before hitting the trail around the lake. I went with the fast group to change things up a bit. I’d been leading some of the slower pace groups the last couple of weeks. After about ten minutes we did some pickups. 30 seconds of tempo followed by 30 seconds of normal pace. We did this for the next ten minutes, which left us just a little ways out from the start for a little cool down. It was a gorgeous morning and it was great to be running around the lake. A bunch of us headed over to Jamba Juice afterwards to enjoy their fabulous smoothies and talk for a while. After finishing my Berry Lime Sublime it was time to head back to St. Paul and head to the pool. There was a scheduled group swim that I wanted to go to. I know that my shoulder has been bothering me but I wanted to see how it was feel. For the majority of the workout it felt pretty good, but it did start to stiffen towards the end. Again trying to be smart I just my workout short instead of pushing it. It still pretty soar today, so I’ll be taking a few more days off before I head to the pool again. Bring on the ice and the stretching.

With the NCAA basketball tourney in the very near future I did spend a lot of time watching BB this weekend. It was a bit upsetting to see Duke lose last night. Shadoweyes is a big UNC fan so it always makes for good times when the two team meet up. I did pry myself away from the tv to join a spin class this afternoon. The usual instructor wasn’t there which kind of sucked. The replacement was ok, but just didn’t bring the same amount of energy that the normal instructor does. Oh well its not the end of the world and like all spin classes you get out of it what you put into it.

All in all it wasn’t a bad weekend. It was a pretty chilled weekend to say the least, which is fine by me. Next weekend will be entirely different when I go visit my little bro. The kid just turned 23, which seem basically impossible. It’s weird when your siblings start moving up in the age ranks with you. Where did the time go?

Saturday, March 04, 2006

The 5th Discipline of the Triathlon

The first three disciplines of the triathlon and pretty well know. For those who need a refresher they are swim, bike, and run. The fourth discipline of the triathlon is nutrition. Nutrition is so huge and its something I stress to everyone who is new to triathlons or endurance events in general. Now the next discipline may not actually be #5 on the list, but it’s up there and it actually applies to all endurance events. This very important discipline is simply surviving the deep tissue massage. For those of you who have never had a deep tissue massage we are not talking about your cutesy, nice and relaxing, day at the spa, ideally by hottie of opposite sex, almost fall asleep massage. No this massage is dig in deep, push, poke, force, scrape your muscles to the bone, leave you sore the next day, release all the toxins that have build up over time battle. Sounds pleasant right? :) Well it is and it isn’t. Personally I’m a proponent of incorporating these massages into your training. As endurance athletes we demand a lot and the body takes a pretty big hit. Now cross training, pilates, and yoga (Nic is like the yoga zen master) are great for reversing some of the damage that we inflict, but I don’t believe they can do for your muscles what a deep tissue massage can do. Now again this is just my opinion, which might not be worth much, but if you are dealing with a lot of muscle soreness and stiffness I might suggest you give deep tissue a tri. (sorry couldn’t resist) A good masseuse/masseur can release a lot of the crap that builds up in the muscles from repeated intense training. All that it can be painful at times (I’ve come close to screaming a couple of times) I think repeated visits can have big benefits as you go through your training and racing seasons.

Now I bring this up because Friday I went back to have my first deep tissue massage since I started training and it was brutal. The first time back is always the worse, but I promise that it gets better. I was actually pretty sore last night and a bit today, which wasn’t surprising but not exactly fun. The true sign that it was a good massage is that you might actually be light headed or feel a bit nauseas afterwards. This is just an indication of all the toxins that were worked out of your muscles and that your body will flush out with drinking lot of water afterwards. I suppose after reading this you will never ever consider this option, but I really do think there are benefits to suffering for an hour or less. So the question is does anyone else get regular massages and have similar opinions or am I just the only one nuts enough to continually put myself through them?

Thursday, March 02, 2006

Well it’s official I am a Pig

Before you read too much into that title and your mind goes in many directions let me clarify. The deal is that I’m a bit of a procrastinator so I have been delaying filing my registration for the Pigman Half Ironman. There is no why; it’s just the way it is. Last night I finally put aside my ways and registered for my biggest race my year/life. 171 days from today I will be swimming 1.2 miles, biking 56 miles, and running 13.1 miles in the hot Iowa weather. Sounds like fun don’t it? The forms have been filled out, the credit card has been processed and now it truly begins. Holy crap peoples there’s no turning back now. I guess I’m in for the long haul.

Well way before August rolls around I’ve got other races and TNT stuff going on. Tonight we had a group swim. I didn’t want to, but I didn’t swim because I knew it was the right thing to do. (Yes I’ll have some whine with my cheese, thank you very much) Since I wasn’t swimming I went and helped out at both sessions. I enjoy helping out so it still was very worthwhile even if I wasn’t in the water. There was one guy who came up to me afterwards and asked how long I’d been coaching. I was like; yeah I’m just a mentor. I think he was a bit surprised by that, but I’ll take the compliment. Hey if nothing else at least it looks like I know what I’m talking about….

Wednesday, March 01, 2006

Who spiked the punch

There had to be something in the water at work today, because I was a serious struggle bear. I had no motivation what so ever to do any work at all. Maybe it’s because I’m kind of in transition mode going from one project to the next and things are a bit slow. Whatever the reason I was seriously hurting today. Even worse was that it was starting to affect my lookout on my workout tonight. Not good peoples.

I had a bit of time after work to kill before our group workout tonight. Not that I was overly tired but my bed was trying to reel me in. Lucky it was time to go before it trapped in for the night. Once I got to the gym it was like someone flipped a switch. I was pumped, excited, and ready to grind out a good workout. We did a cycle/run combo tonight. We would be on the bike spinning for 10 minutes and the running around the track for 10 minutes. Defiantly one where you can push yourself hard on the bike then use the run as a recovery. It was blast and it makes the hour fly by.

Before I jet I have to send out a shout out to Mouse who is celebrating a birthday today. She ditched the Midwest to live it up out on the east coast. Not a bad way to spend a birthday. Well I’m off to ice the shoulder and then catch some ZZZZZs. Until my next exciting post…