I have had a few people ask me about cold weather riding this week. Being a cold weather wuss, but not wanting to give up my bike riding during the winter, I had to figure out how to ride in the winter time without freezing. I hope these tips will prove useful. Everyone has a different formula for staying warm, this should be good enough info for you to start experimenting. Most people say you should start the ride a bit chilly so you can warm up. I sometimes prefer to start warm and strip off some clothing along the way. I do not like being cold on the bike.
I categorize cold into three zones, above 50 degrees, 35 to 50 degrees and below 35 degrees. Your zones may be different, but my bones get cold when it gets below 50. If the wind is above 10 mph, dress like it is 5 degrees cooler.
Above 50
Keeping warm above 50 is not difficult. I will wear items that can be added or removed during the ride, like arm warmers and knee or leg warmers. I will often wear a long sleeve base layer, jersey and a wind vest. I will add the arm warmers on top of the base layer if I get chilled. Normal long fingered gloves will suffice. In some cases, I will wear long fingered glove inserts and short fingered gloves on top. I may wear something under my helmet to cover my ears and often will wear thicker socks. The key is to have a jersey with big pockets so you can add or take away if you get too hot.
35 to 50
I normally wear the same outer layers for any temp in this zone. I will wear a larger jacket that has a large back pocket. If I get to warm I can take off a layer and stash it away. Be sure it is a jacket with a full front zip. This will allow you to unzip and cool off if necessary. Depending on the temp, I will could have a short sleeve base layer, long sleeve base layer and a short sleeve jersey under the jacket. I will wear a baclava under my helmet. The Baclava allows you to cover the head, ears, neck and the nose and mouth, if needed. I will have cycling shorts and long tights for the lower half of the body. The feet will have thicker socks and toe covers. I will have thicker long gloves with inserts if necessary. Be sure your jacket and gloves are wind poof. The secret weapon is hand and foot warmer packets. Place these in your gloves or the bottom of your sock and you will be nice and toasty.
Below 35
Yes, some people do ride in below 35 weather. You will pretty much wear the same gear as the 35-50 zone with a few additions. I may double up on the base layers and place some of the foot warmers in between the base layers. I will use full shoe covers instead of toe covers. The leg tights are also a bit different. They are thicker and have a wind resistant material on the front side from the waist to the toes. In addition to the baclava, I will wear a neck gator. I also have a gator made to cover the lower half of your face, from your ear and nose to your neck. You can also opt to buy a helmet cover. I sometimes carry a thermos of coffee if my back jacket pocket. You would be surprise at how great a warm cup of coffee is half way through the ride.
Monday, December 7, 2009
Friday, September 4, 2009
I am an Ironman!
My wife and I, and several friends, just completed our first Ironman in Louisville Kentucky. It was one of the most memorable experiences of my life. I thought I would share the experience with you. This is a long write up, but an enjoyable one. If you are thinking about doing and Ironman, you should definitely read it. I will also prove to you that pizza is not only the miracle food, it can be prescribed by a doctor.
Pain Cave - It’s that place you go where you are enveloped by a complete and raw brand of pain. You reach it after feeling the searing inside of you and then ignoring it. You reach it when every voice inside of you has screamed for you to stop and you have silenced them all. The quiet of the pain cave is eerie and horrific. It’s still but not calming. It’s excruciating and peaceful all at once. It’s simultaneously transcendent and brutally immediate. The agony is almost tangible. It is the best and the worst feeling. It is hugely rewarding and ridiculously satisfying. It is where you find your true self and find out what you are capable of mentally and physically.
The Ironman is as much mental as it is physical. You need to be in the right mental state days before the event. My wife, Rebecca, and I decided to head to Kentucky the Wednesday before the race. We wanted to be as relaxed as possible and and get everything out the way early. The earliest check in for the race was on Thursday morning. We had a good breakfast and headed over to the race headquarters. I would get my first mental blow much earlier than expected.
I spent most of 2008 concentrating on weight loss. I joined the Baptist Health weight loss program and lost 40 lbs. I still have another 20 to go, but we decided to do an Ironman, so I had to concentrate on training. You have to eat to train.
When I started the program, I was 221 lbs and finished at 181. I got off the program in October of that year. I made through the holidays to the beginning of the training season, March, with only a 4 lb gain. I felt good at 185 and looked forward to a good Triathlon season.
Four months into to the Ironman training plan, I had gained 5 lbs. This was not catastrophic, but did not help my mental state. I decided to put the scales in the closet and only concentrate on the training and getting enough fuel to train and recovery. As time went on, I could tell I getting heavier. I would drop the calories a bit, and have trouble completing the long workouts. I had no choice but get the calories higher. After all, the goal was to complete the event, no lose weight.
Rumor had it you would be weighed at check in. I so hoped this was a rumor. We arrived at check in and got into the first line of the day. As expected, it was a line to be weighed. I could already feel the disappointment I was about to handed. I stepped on the scale and watched the numbers increase. The number stopped at 198.4 lbs. I had gained over 18 lbs. I was devastated. I wanted to cancel the race and just go home. It was a good thing we arrived four days early. It took me two days to get that out of my mind. I had my first mental challenge out of the way.
Race morning started at 2 Am for me. Transition didn't open until 5, but I like to get up early enough so I don't feel rushed. I knocked back a couple cups of coffee and some breakfast. I sat around quietly waiting for the others in the room to awake. I had plenty of time to think about the task at hand. Strangely enough, I was not a bit nervous. I have to admit, it was a bit surreal. I had heard about the crazy people that did this Ironman stuff. I never thought I would be one of them.
The Swim was a time trial start. As you can image, a line of 2500 people stretches for a long way. We were a bit past halfway in the line. The Pro athletes were to go off at 6:50 with the age groupers following at 7:00. Around 6:40, the line started moving. Everyone started to stand up and condense the line. Suddenly, we heard a Boom. The canon went off that signaled the start of the Pro race. I started to get really excited. I thought Rebecca was going to vomit.
Going through the crowds of spectators looked like the TT up Alpe d'Huez at the Tour de France. It was incredible! People were lining the long winding sidewalks that lead to the dock. They were so close that people were touching both of my shoulders as I ran through them. Every person you passed was screaming at you with words of encouragement. The energy was absolutely incredible. I felt like a celebrity. It was one the best feelings in the world.
Rebecca was behind me as we jumped off the dock into the water. I jumped to the left and she jumped to the right. I have a bit more mass, so I sunk a bit further into the water. As my head made it to the top for a breath, I felt a big jolt in my back. The guy behind me had jumped on me. I quickly turned to see if the same thing had happened to Rebecca, she was moving right along. I start weaving my way in a out of traffic down the river. I spot David doing his side stroke. I go around David and have a collision with someone to my right. I catch my breath and look over at them, it is Rebecca. We both get a good laugh and get on with our race.
The first 1/3 of the swim was up river. It was through a cove type area, so there was not much of a current against us. I am swimming along without a care in the world. The water temperature suddenly feels like it went from 84 to 94 degrees. Ah, this must be a shallow section. I continue to swim and notice a figure to my right towering above me and yelling at me. I stop, to find out we can stand up. We are nearly in the middle of the Ohio River and we can stand up. I quickly decide walking is not a good idea. There could be all kinds of sharp objects on the sandy bottom.
I make it to the turn around and begin the last 2/3 thirds of the swim. I look at my watch to see I swam the first third in 32 minutes. That just about right on pace. My estimated time was 1:30. I should have a bit of a current this direction so I should be able to speed up a bit. The second third of the swim was smooth. I got bumped around a bit, but nothing devastating. I checked my watch at the end of the second third. My time was 59 minutes. I was a bit faster and was now on track with my estimate.
As I continued on, I noticed the waves coming from the right were starting to get very choppy and high. I am strong swimmer, not fast, but strong. Waves normally don't bother me, but I was starting to have some issues, I became very nauseous. I stopped to tread water and get my bearings. I starting swimming again, and had the same sensation. OK, this is something new. What do you do if you have to vomit while swimming in the Ohio River with 2500 other people? I tried to block it out of my head and continue. I ended up stopping and treading water four or five times in the last third of the swim. I exited the swim with a total time of 1:48. Wow, that was 28 minutes slower than I had planned. I went from 27 minutes on the second third of the swim to 49 minutes on the last third. I did not plan to swim fast, but this swim time was really slow and depressed me a bit. I told myself to shake it off and move on to the next task. Mental challenge number two out of the way.
The bike is my bread and butter. This whole exercise thing started with the bike. I was finally in my comfort zone and ready to roll. Someone ask me about my bike plan. I told them my bike ride could be described as a rolling picnic. I had two goals, ride with energy saving in mind and eat as much as possible. That sounds simple enough, but has a some challenges.
I am very competitive when it comes to the bike. My biggest challenge on the bike would be not getting caught up in other peoples race and ride my ride. I have a tendency to go when someone passes me on the bike. My coach and I had several conversations about this issue. I am not a good runner, so it was imperative I follow the plan and save it all for the run. As you would have guessed, I was tested right out the gate. No sooner had my wheels started spinning did someone blow past me. I just smiled and kept my pace. Mental challenge number three out of the way.
The first climb was only seven miles into the ride. We had trained on a very hilly route, so the hills didn't bother me. I hit the first hill and spun easily to stick with the plan. I noticed a guy, halfway up the hill, changing a flat. Man, that is some rotten luck. As I made my way closer, the guys yells out my name. Oh man, it was my good friend Michael. He had had some flat issues a few months back. I hoped this was a one flat deal for him.
The bike was very uneventful for me. I followed the plan and enjoyed the ride. I ate often and kept my effort below 70%. With a temp in the low 70's, I don't think I every broke a sweat. The only mental challenge of the bike was around mile eighty. I was so ready to get off my bike. i had to keep telling myself it was almost over. The last twenty miles were fast with a lot a downhill sections. I still had fresh legs, so I decided to stretch them a bit. I felt good to put a bit of pressure on them. I passed a lot of tired people in the last twenty miles. I rolled into T2 feeling good. I was not even the least bit tired. I may not speed through the run, but I made it through the bike without hurting my run chances. It was now time for the real event to start. Everything up to now was just the warm up.
I left T2 feeling good. I had tons of energy, fresh legs and no signs of cramping. Other than getting sea sick in the swim, my race had been going according to plan. I had nothing on my mind but moving forward. I tried not to think about the fact that I was not a good runner. When you are ten hours into an event, you don't need even the slightest doubt to enter your mind. I had convinced myself to block out that doubt and deal with the wall when I hit it. I was all business now. I was not sight seeing or enjoying the moment. I had my head down and was concentrating on keeping my pace and putting one foot in front of the other. I had seven and half hours of pain ahead of me to complete one of the hardest athletic events in the world.
The first six miles were normal. My legs felt good and energy levels were still high. I ran to each rest stop and walked long enough to take down fluids and food. Miles six through ten started to bring challenges. My legs were starting to become sore and stiff. They felt kind of like your legs feel the day after a good squat workout. I was starting to walk longer, beyond the rest stops. This was happening earlier than I expected. I had hoped to run the first thirteen miles before the extending walking started.
As I passed mile ten, I started to walk even more. I had a hard time convincing myself to run a quarter of a mile between walking. My legs were becoming more sore by the moment. I could feel the lactic acid building up. Between mile eleven and twelve, I had convinced myself I was not going to make it. My legs were just not moving forward. I couldn't run more than twenty yards at a time. Those short runs would make up seconds but cost me minutes over the next half mile. I looked at my watch over and over. I did the calculations over and over. I didn't have enough time. I was going to fail. I was sick to my stomach, embarrassed and depressed. Right about that time my wife came running from the other direction. She had passed me earlier and was about four miles ahead of me now. I told her I was not going to make it, I didn't have enough time. I could see the panic on her face. She assured me I could make it and did her best to encourage me. I gave her a smile and she drifted off into the distance. Well, at least she was going to finish. A few moment later, a good friend name Ed came up behind me. He stopped to walk with me. He was only a mile away from the finish for him and the turnaround for me. We discussed my situation. He really got into my head. We did the calculations and figured out I had time to finish, if I walked a very fast and steady pace. It would not be easy, but it could be done. He convinced me to run a half mile with him. I watched him cross the finish line as I veered right to start my second loop. This was going to be the fight of my life.
I turned the corner to start mile fourteen. I had four hours to walk 12.2 miles. I had figured out, in training, I could comfortably walk twenty minute miles. With the time I had left, that would not be enough. I needed to walk below eighteen minute miles. This would give me a bit of a buffer in case I slowed the last couple of miles. My legs were getting worse. That would affect my pace greatly.
Mile fifteen was the self talk. This is where you dig deep and decide to quit or finish. The self talk happens at different times for different people. The decision to go quit or finish is not as simple as it would sound. Everyone wants to finish, but deciding to finish is not enough. Making the decision to finish was just the first step. You have to commit yourself to the pain that lies ahead of you. The worst part is yet to come. You have to be prepared to bury your head in the pain cave and come out the other side.
The next eleven miles would be deep into the pain cave. There would be moments I would want to quit. You have to block out the pain and use whatever memory or motivation possible to keep you moving forward. Just as I was about to bury my head and enter the zone, I saw my lovely wife running at me. She was only a few miles from the finish, but didn't look very happy. She ran over to me and looked like she was about to cry. She was horrified at the thought that I may quit. She was overjoyed to see me still on the course and gutting it out. She reassured me that I could finish and that she would be at the finish line waiting on me. She couldn't have come along at a better time. Her strength would be a big piece of the motivation I would use to get me through these last hours.
The miles would go by and the pain in my legs would grow worse. It was becoming more difficult to walk by the moment. I just wanted to sit down for a moment, take the weight off my legs and stretch a bit. I knew if I took a seat, only for a moment, that might be it. I might not have the strength or the ability to stand up. That would also take up valuable time. I couldn't spare a second, much less minutes.
I watched my pace anxiously. I thought my GPS was wrong, so I added the time to the display. The time verified my pace was seventeen twenty-five per mile. This was awesome news. This was well below the eighteen minute mile minimum I needed. This was the big accomplishment I needed to continue moving forward. I felt renewed, refreshed and even a bit confident. Just as I looked up with a smile, people started yelling congratulations to me. Wait, I still had three miles to go. I looked at my watch and did the calculations. At this pace, I would finish with thirty minutes to spare.
Some people become emotional when they cross the finish line, my moment was a quarter of mile from the finish. I turned the corner and could hear the people yelling at the finish line. The reality of finishing was hitting me. The past few hours had seemed liked agonizing days. I felt so many emotions throughout this day, mostly on the run. I found enough energy to run the last hundred yards to the finish. The bright lights and the screaming crowds were almost overwhelming. I crossed the finish line with an exhausted smile. I grabbed my finishers metal and had my picture taken. As promised, my wife was standing there to greet me.
I decided go to the medical tent. I had starting cramping in several places. I had a history of cramping after a big event and had no desire to spend the next few hours in more pain. We arrived at the medical tent and checked in. Some really nice ladies took me to a cot and allowed me to lay down. Oh, the wonderful feeling of laying down. Just when I thought I was in heaven, the nice lady said something I could only have dreamed about. She ask if I wanted her to remove my socks and shoes. I thought I was going to cry. It felt so good to get those shoes off.
The doctor arrived and ask me some questions. After a couple of minutes he ask me to lay back down. I was expecting an IV full of fluids, but got something even better. The doctor handed me two large slices of pizza. He told me to eat those and hang out for a few minutes. I instantly felt better. The doctor even went as far as to tell me to eat more salty foods before an event. There you have it folks, pizza can be used as a medicine!
Pain Cave - It’s that place you go where you are enveloped by a complete and raw brand of pain. You reach it after feeling the searing inside of you and then ignoring it. You reach it when every voice inside of you has screamed for you to stop and you have silenced them all. The quiet of the pain cave is eerie and horrific. It’s still but not calming. It’s excruciating and peaceful all at once. It’s simultaneously transcendent and brutally immediate. The agony is almost tangible. It is the best and the worst feeling. It is hugely rewarding and ridiculously satisfying. It is where you find your true self and find out what you are capable of mentally and physically.
The Ironman is as much mental as it is physical. You need to be in the right mental state days before the event. My wife, Rebecca, and I decided to head to Kentucky the Wednesday before the race. We wanted to be as relaxed as possible and and get everything out the way early. The earliest check in for the race was on Thursday morning. We had a good breakfast and headed over to the race headquarters. I would get my first mental blow much earlier than expected.
I spent most of 2008 concentrating on weight loss. I joined the Baptist Health weight loss program and lost 40 lbs. I still have another 20 to go, but we decided to do an Ironman, so I had to concentrate on training. You have to eat to train.
When I started the program, I was 221 lbs and finished at 181. I got off the program in October of that year. I made through the holidays to the beginning of the training season, March, with only a 4 lb gain. I felt good at 185 and looked forward to a good Triathlon season.
Four months into to the Ironman training plan, I had gained 5 lbs. This was not catastrophic, but did not help my mental state. I decided to put the scales in the closet and only concentrate on the training and getting enough fuel to train and recovery. As time went on, I could tell I getting heavier. I would drop the calories a bit, and have trouble completing the long workouts. I had no choice but get the calories higher. After all, the goal was to complete the event, no lose weight.
Rumor had it you would be weighed at check in. I so hoped this was a rumor. We arrived at check in and got into the first line of the day. As expected, it was a line to be weighed. I could already feel the disappointment I was about to handed. I stepped on the scale and watched the numbers increase. The number stopped at 198.4 lbs. I had gained over 18 lbs. I was devastated. I wanted to cancel the race and just go home. It was a good thing we arrived four days early. It took me two days to get that out of my mind. I had my first mental challenge out of the way.
Race morning started at 2 Am for me. Transition didn't open until 5, but I like to get up early enough so I don't feel rushed. I knocked back a couple cups of coffee and some breakfast. I sat around quietly waiting for the others in the room to awake. I had plenty of time to think about the task at hand. Strangely enough, I was not a bit nervous. I have to admit, it was a bit surreal. I had heard about the crazy people that did this Ironman stuff. I never thought I would be one of them.
The Swim was a time trial start. As you can image, a line of 2500 people stretches for a long way. We were a bit past halfway in the line. The Pro athletes were to go off at 6:50 with the age groupers following at 7:00. Around 6:40, the line started moving. Everyone started to stand up and condense the line. Suddenly, we heard a Boom. The canon went off that signaled the start of the Pro race. I started to get really excited. I thought Rebecca was going to vomit.
Going through the crowds of spectators looked like the TT up Alpe d'Huez at the Tour de France. It was incredible! People were lining the long winding sidewalks that lead to the dock. They were so close that people were touching both of my shoulders as I ran through them. Every person you passed was screaming at you with words of encouragement. The energy was absolutely incredible. I felt like a celebrity. It was one the best feelings in the world.
Rebecca was behind me as we jumped off the dock into the water. I jumped to the left and she jumped to the right. I have a bit more mass, so I sunk a bit further into the water. As my head made it to the top for a breath, I felt a big jolt in my back. The guy behind me had jumped on me. I quickly turned to see if the same thing had happened to Rebecca, she was moving right along. I start weaving my way in a out of traffic down the river. I spot David doing his side stroke. I go around David and have a collision with someone to my right. I catch my breath and look over at them, it is Rebecca. We both get a good laugh and get on with our race.
The first 1/3 of the swim was up river. It was through a cove type area, so there was not much of a current against us. I am swimming along without a care in the world. The water temperature suddenly feels like it went from 84 to 94 degrees. Ah, this must be a shallow section. I continue to swim and notice a figure to my right towering above me and yelling at me. I stop, to find out we can stand up. We are nearly in the middle of the Ohio River and we can stand up. I quickly decide walking is not a good idea. There could be all kinds of sharp objects on the sandy bottom.
I make it to the turn around and begin the last 2/3 thirds of the swim. I look at my watch to see I swam the first third in 32 minutes. That just about right on pace. My estimated time was 1:30. I should have a bit of a current this direction so I should be able to speed up a bit. The second third of the swim was smooth. I got bumped around a bit, but nothing devastating. I checked my watch at the end of the second third. My time was 59 minutes. I was a bit faster and was now on track with my estimate.
As I continued on, I noticed the waves coming from the right were starting to get very choppy and high. I am strong swimmer, not fast, but strong. Waves normally don't bother me, but I was starting to have some issues, I became very nauseous. I stopped to tread water and get my bearings. I starting swimming again, and had the same sensation. OK, this is something new. What do you do if you have to vomit while swimming in the Ohio River with 2500 other people? I tried to block it out of my head and continue. I ended up stopping and treading water four or five times in the last third of the swim. I exited the swim with a total time of 1:48. Wow, that was 28 minutes slower than I had planned. I went from 27 minutes on the second third of the swim to 49 minutes on the last third. I did not plan to swim fast, but this swim time was really slow and depressed me a bit. I told myself to shake it off and move on to the next task. Mental challenge number two out of the way.
The bike is my bread and butter. This whole exercise thing started with the bike. I was finally in my comfort zone and ready to roll. Someone ask me about my bike plan. I told them my bike ride could be described as a rolling picnic. I had two goals, ride with energy saving in mind and eat as much as possible. That sounds simple enough, but has a some challenges.
I am very competitive when it comes to the bike. My biggest challenge on the bike would be not getting caught up in other peoples race and ride my ride. I have a tendency to go when someone passes me on the bike. My coach and I had several conversations about this issue. I am not a good runner, so it was imperative I follow the plan and save it all for the run. As you would have guessed, I was tested right out the gate. No sooner had my wheels started spinning did someone blow past me. I just smiled and kept my pace. Mental challenge number three out of the way.
The first climb was only seven miles into the ride. We had trained on a very hilly route, so the hills didn't bother me. I hit the first hill and spun easily to stick with the plan. I noticed a guy, halfway up the hill, changing a flat. Man, that is some rotten luck. As I made my way closer, the guys yells out my name. Oh man, it was my good friend Michael. He had had some flat issues a few months back. I hoped this was a one flat deal for him.
The bike was very uneventful for me. I followed the plan and enjoyed the ride. I ate often and kept my effort below 70%. With a temp in the low 70's, I don't think I every broke a sweat. The only mental challenge of the bike was around mile eighty. I was so ready to get off my bike. i had to keep telling myself it was almost over. The last twenty miles were fast with a lot a downhill sections. I still had fresh legs, so I decided to stretch them a bit. I felt good to put a bit of pressure on them. I passed a lot of tired people in the last twenty miles. I rolled into T2 feeling good. I was not even the least bit tired. I may not speed through the run, but I made it through the bike without hurting my run chances. It was now time for the real event to start. Everything up to now was just the warm up.
I left T2 feeling good. I had tons of energy, fresh legs and no signs of cramping. Other than getting sea sick in the swim, my race had been going according to plan. I had nothing on my mind but moving forward. I tried not to think about the fact that I was not a good runner. When you are ten hours into an event, you don't need even the slightest doubt to enter your mind. I had convinced myself to block out that doubt and deal with the wall when I hit it. I was all business now. I was not sight seeing or enjoying the moment. I had my head down and was concentrating on keeping my pace and putting one foot in front of the other. I had seven and half hours of pain ahead of me to complete one of the hardest athletic events in the world.
The first six miles were normal. My legs felt good and energy levels were still high. I ran to each rest stop and walked long enough to take down fluids and food. Miles six through ten started to bring challenges. My legs were starting to become sore and stiff. They felt kind of like your legs feel the day after a good squat workout. I was starting to walk longer, beyond the rest stops. This was happening earlier than I expected. I had hoped to run the first thirteen miles before the extending walking started.
As I passed mile ten, I started to walk even more. I had a hard time convincing myself to run a quarter of a mile between walking. My legs were becoming more sore by the moment. I could feel the lactic acid building up. Between mile eleven and twelve, I had convinced myself I was not going to make it. My legs were just not moving forward. I couldn't run more than twenty yards at a time. Those short runs would make up seconds but cost me minutes over the next half mile. I looked at my watch over and over. I did the calculations over and over. I didn't have enough time. I was going to fail. I was sick to my stomach, embarrassed and depressed. Right about that time my wife came running from the other direction. She had passed me earlier and was about four miles ahead of me now. I told her I was not going to make it, I didn't have enough time. I could see the panic on her face. She assured me I could make it and did her best to encourage me. I gave her a smile and she drifted off into the distance. Well, at least she was going to finish. A few moment later, a good friend name Ed came up behind me. He stopped to walk with me. He was only a mile away from the finish for him and the turnaround for me. We discussed my situation. He really got into my head. We did the calculations and figured out I had time to finish, if I walked a very fast and steady pace. It would not be easy, but it could be done. He convinced me to run a half mile with him. I watched him cross the finish line as I veered right to start my second loop. This was going to be the fight of my life.
I turned the corner to start mile fourteen. I had four hours to walk 12.2 miles. I had figured out, in training, I could comfortably walk twenty minute miles. With the time I had left, that would not be enough. I needed to walk below eighteen minute miles. This would give me a bit of a buffer in case I slowed the last couple of miles. My legs were getting worse. That would affect my pace greatly.
Mile fifteen was the self talk. This is where you dig deep and decide to quit or finish. The self talk happens at different times for different people. The decision to go quit or finish is not as simple as it would sound. Everyone wants to finish, but deciding to finish is not enough. Making the decision to finish was just the first step. You have to commit yourself to the pain that lies ahead of you. The worst part is yet to come. You have to be prepared to bury your head in the pain cave and come out the other side.
The next eleven miles would be deep into the pain cave. There would be moments I would want to quit. You have to block out the pain and use whatever memory or motivation possible to keep you moving forward. Just as I was about to bury my head and enter the zone, I saw my lovely wife running at me. She was only a few miles from the finish, but didn't look very happy. She ran over to me and looked like she was about to cry. She was horrified at the thought that I may quit. She was overjoyed to see me still on the course and gutting it out. She reassured me that I could finish and that she would be at the finish line waiting on me. She couldn't have come along at a better time. Her strength would be a big piece of the motivation I would use to get me through these last hours.
The miles would go by and the pain in my legs would grow worse. It was becoming more difficult to walk by the moment. I just wanted to sit down for a moment, take the weight off my legs and stretch a bit. I knew if I took a seat, only for a moment, that might be it. I might not have the strength or the ability to stand up. That would also take up valuable time. I couldn't spare a second, much less minutes.
I watched my pace anxiously. I thought my GPS was wrong, so I added the time to the display. The time verified my pace was seventeen twenty-five per mile. This was awesome news. This was well below the eighteen minute mile minimum I needed. This was the big accomplishment I needed to continue moving forward. I felt renewed, refreshed and even a bit confident. Just as I looked up with a smile, people started yelling congratulations to me. Wait, I still had three miles to go. I looked at my watch and did the calculations. At this pace, I would finish with thirty minutes to spare.
Some people become emotional when they cross the finish line, my moment was a quarter of mile from the finish. I turned the corner and could hear the people yelling at the finish line. The reality of finishing was hitting me. The past few hours had seemed liked agonizing days. I felt so many emotions throughout this day, mostly on the run. I found enough energy to run the last hundred yards to the finish. The bright lights and the screaming crowds were almost overwhelming. I crossed the finish line with an exhausted smile. I grabbed my finishers metal and had my picture taken. As promised, my wife was standing there to greet me.
I decided go to the medical tent. I had starting cramping in several places. I had a history of cramping after a big event and had no desire to spend the next few hours in more pain. We arrived at the medical tent and checked in. Some really nice ladies took me to a cot and allowed me to lay down. Oh, the wonderful feeling of laying down. Just when I thought I was in heaven, the nice lady said something I could only have dreamed about. She ask if I wanted her to remove my socks and shoes. I thought I was going to cry. It felt so good to get those shoes off.
The doctor arrived and ask me some questions. After a couple of minutes he ask me to lay back down. I was expecting an IV full of fluids, but got something even better. The doctor handed me two large slices of pizza. He told me to eat those and hang out for a few minutes. I instantly felt better. The doctor even went as far as to tell me to eat more salty foods before an event. There you have it folks, pizza can be used as a medicine!
Friday, August 21, 2009
Solving Life's biggest Issues
With the help of a colleague, I have come up with a plan to solve several of the biggest issues in life.
My wife and I will be taking a vacation next week. Well, most people don't think doing and Ironman is a vacation, but it is our idea fun. As you all know, preparing for a vacation is no easy task. The preparation at work is the worst of all.
I had a meeting with my staff a couple of weeks ago. The goal was to solve as many issues as possible before I left for vacation. I wanted to have a vacation with little or no work contact. Being in technology, there is always a list of issues and the list is long.
The last three weeks have been extremely productive in our technology department. We have solved more issues in the past three weeks than we have in the last 6 months. We have been solving those big issues that have been lingering for months. We solved two of the biggest issues today. I headed to the tech lab to mark them off the list.
As I marked the items off the list, one of the engineers added two more items to the list. You might as well have kicked me in the rear. I was heart broken. I looked at one of the engineers and said, "I guess it never ends". To which she replied, "Like laundry and dishes".
Hmmmm, I have been in quite the problem solving mood lately. What are the odds of me solving this laundry and dishes issue?
After just a short discussion, with my colleague, we figured it out.
"Edible Clothing"
Before you get kinky on me and dismiss my theory, hear me out.
Lets say you could design your clothing to meet the nutritional needs of the body. Certain sections of clothing could cover certain food groups. With advances in technology, surely we could add any taste desired to an edible fabric. If we can accomplish the nutritional value and the taste, surely we could still make the clothing fashionable.
If you eat your clothing all day, there will not be any laundry to do when you get home. The clothing will be biodegradable, so you can use the leftovers as natural fertilizer for your yard. If you are only eating your clothing, then there is need for dishes.
We have just solved the laundry and dishes issues. But hey, lets not stop there, lets solve a couple of more issues.
If we can control the taste and nutritional value of the clothing, then we have just solved the overweight problem. You can assign nutritional value to the clothing based on the size of the person. There would be a simple formula for determining how many calories a person wearing medium size clothing would need to stay slim. If you go down a size, that size has fewer calories and therefore will reduce you daily caloric intake and continue to effortlessly control your weight. Besides, if you are going to be stripping off your clothing all day in public, you need to have a presentable physique.
This brings us to the most important issue facing our society, SEX. No one seems to be getting enough physical contact from their significant other. We either don't have enough time or we are too tired to engage. If we do away with the laundry and dishes, we have already freed up enough time. If we are controlling our weight, through calorie controlled clothing, we will all be healthier and have more energy. To increase the desire, we can make the undergarments in more suitable dessert flavor, maybe chocolate?
We could build on this idea and solve even more issues. This could possible take care of some of our health care issues.
I have done enough problem solving for now. It is time to shut down the think tank and get ready for vacation.
I will have a full Ironman report when I return.
Good night to all and to all a good night!
My wife and I will be taking a vacation next week. Well, most people don't think doing and Ironman is a vacation, but it is our idea fun. As you all know, preparing for a vacation is no easy task. The preparation at work is the worst of all.
I had a meeting with my staff a couple of weeks ago. The goal was to solve as many issues as possible before I left for vacation. I wanted to have a vacation with little or no work contact. Being in technology, there is always a list of issues and the list is long.
The last three weeks have been extremely productive in our technology department. We have solved more issues in the past three weeks than we have in the last 6 months. We have been solving those big issues that have been lingering for months. We solved two of the biggest issues today. I headed to the tech lab to mark them off the list.
As I marked the items off the list, one of the engineers added two more items to the list. You might as well have kicked me in the rear. I was heart broken. I looked at one of the engineers and said, "I guess it never ends". To which she replied, "Like laundry and dishes".
Hmmmm, I have been in quite the problem solving mood lately. What are the odds of me solving this laundry and dishes issue?
After just a short discussion, with my colleague, we figured it out.
"Edible Clothing"
Before you get kinky on me and dismiss my theory, hear me out.
Lets say you could design your clothing to meet the nutritional needs of the body. Certain sections of clothing could cover certain food groups. With advances in technology, surely we could add any taste desired to an edible fabric. If we can accomplish the nutritional value and the taste, surely we could still make the clothing fashionable.
If you eat your clothing all day, there will not be any laundry to do when you get home. The clothing will be biodegradable, so you can use the leftovers as natural fertilizer for your yard. If you are only eating your clothing, then there is need for dishes.
We have just solved the laundry and dishes issues. But hey, lets not stop there, lets solve a couple of more issues.
If we can control the taste and nutritional value of the clothing, then we have just solved the overweight problem. You can assign nutritional value to the clothing based on the size of the person. There would be a simple formula for determining how many calories a person wearing medium size clothing would need to stay slim. If you go down a size, that size has fewer calories and therefore will reduce you daily caloric intake and continue to effortlessly control your weight. Besides, if you are going to be stripping off your clothing all day in public, you need to have a presentable physique.
This brings us to the most important issue facing our society, SEX. No one seems to be getting enough physical contact from their significant other. We either don't have enough time or we are too tired to engage. If we do away with the laundry and dishes, we have already freed up enough time. If we are controlling our weight, through calorie controlled clothing, we will all be healthier and have more energy. To increase the desire, we can make the undergarments in more suitable dessert flavor, maybe chocolate?
We could build on this idea and solve even more issues. This could possible take care of some of our health care issues.
I have done enough problem solving for now. It is time to shut down the think tank and get ready for vacation.
I will have a full Ironman report when I return.
Good night to all and to all a good night!
Monday, May 18, 2009
First Triathlon of the Season!!!!
Finally, the Triathlon season has arrive. This was my first Tri of the year and my first experience at Memphis in May. This is the first step, of many, to get to Ironman Kentucky in August. I am pumped.
Memphis in May is an awesome event! I am sad to say, we probably won't be doing Texarkana, as long as they fall on the same weekend. Memphis in May is like being at an Ironman branded event. 1700 competitors, 30 pros, very well organized and great after party and food. I highly suggest this race to anyone wanted to attend a great event. They also have a short MTB Tri on Saturday, which I will be doing next year as well.
The CARVE Multisport club made this an awesome weekend. We rented two RV's and set up camp CARVE on Friday night. Chainwheel came through on some additional funds to reduce our cost of the RV's and helped with food costs.
If you are a Triathlete, and have been pondering the benefits of joining the multisport club, this was a huge benefit. I believe the MIM will be the designated CARVE multisport event of the year.
Friday night was a very relaxed night. We grilled steak and knocked back a few beers and bottles of wine. I had a bit of hangover on Saturday, but hey, I had nothing better to do than lay around all day and recover. More CARVE members showed up to camp on Saturday night with even more showing up Sunday morning. It was a blast.
A cold front moved in on Saturday night. We awoke to 58 degree temps and 20 to 25 mph winds. The swim was choppy, but surprisingly warm, 71 degrees. That was wetsuit legal, so the swim was like a hot tub, compared to the cool temps outside. I had a great swim. I knocked off 14 minutes from my 1.5 k swim in Arkadelphia last year.
The bike was mostly flat with a few rollers. The 20 to 25 mph winds made it a tough day on the bike. Tailwind in some spots allowed 28 mph speeds, headwind in some spots kept you at 14 mph. I still had a decent bike with just over a 20 mph average.
The run was my downfall, but for not for lack of run shape. My lower back tightened up on the last half of the bike. I believe it was due to the extreme aero position I was try to maintain. I stayed in the aero bars the full 24 miles. I couldn't stand up straight the first 3 miles of the run and had to stop a couple of times to stretch my lower back. This was a shame, as my legs felt great and I was working on a very good overall time.
All things considered, this was a very successful Triathlon for me. I nailed the swim and had a steady bike in windy conditions. I will do a bit more lower back exercises and send more time in the aero bars to prevent this from happening again.
I highly recommend all of you Triathletes give some thought to Memphis in May next year. Camping 100 yards from the transition area was awesome.
Memphis in May is an awesome event! I am sad to say, we probably won't be doing Texarkana, as long as they fall on the same weekend. Memphis in May is like being at an Ironman branded event. 1700 competitors, 30 pros, very well organized and great after party and food. I highly suggest this race to anyone wanted to attend a great event. They also have a short MTB Tri on Saturday, which I will be doing next year as well.
The CARVE Multisport club made this an awesome weekend. We rented two RV's and set up camp CARVE on Friday night. Chainwheel came through on some additional funds to reduce our cost of the RV's and helped with food costs.
If you are a Triathlete, and have been pondering the benefits of joining the multisport club, this was a huge benefit. I believe the MIM will be the designated CARVE multisport event of the year.
Friday night was a very relaxed night. We grilled steak and knocked back a few beers and bottles of wine. I had a bit of hangover on Saturday, but hey, I had nothing better to do than lay around all day and recover. More CARVE members showed up to camp on Saturday night with even more showing up Sunday morning. It was a blast.
A cold front moved in on Saturday night. We awoke to 58 degree temps and 20 to 25 mph winds. The swim was choppy, but surprisingly warm, 71 degrees. That was wetsuit legal, so the swim was like a hot tub, compared to the cool temps outside. I had a great swim. I knocked off 14 minutes from my 1.5 k swim in Arkadelphia last year.
The bike was mostly flat with a few rollers. The 20 to 25 mph winds made it a tough day on the bike. Tailwind in some spots allowed 28 mph speeds, headwind in some spots kept you at 14 mph. I still had a decent bike with just over a 20 mph average.
The run was my downfall, but for not for lack of run shape. My lower back tightened up on the last half of the bike. I believe it was due to the extreme aero position I was try to maintain. I stayed in the aero bars the full 24 miles. I couldn't stand up straight the first 3 miles of the run and had to stop a couple of times to stretch my lower back. This was a shame, as my legs felt great and I was working on a very good overall time.
All things considered, this was a very successful Triathlon for me. I nailed the swim and had a steady bike in windy conditions. I will do a bit more lower back exercises and send more time in the aero bars to prevent this from happening again.
I highly recommend all of you Triathletes give some thought to Memphis in May next year. Camping 100 yards from the transition area was awesome.
Monday, April 13, 2009
Idiosyncrasies
Sometimes, you just have to laugh at yourself. These are words to live by!
I went to the gym for my usual lunch training swim today. Training is starting to ramp up and consistency is of the utmost importance. I get to the gym and realize I have forgotten my flip flops. This is a major catastrophe. I don't walk around my own house barefoot, I must have socks on. I developed some strange foot thing when I was young.
Luckily, I had my running shoes with me, so I could use those to get to the pool and back. This was only half of the problem. I had to make it to the shower. I debated on wearing my running shoes to the shower, no kidding. It was either that or go back to work in my shorts and T-shirt smelling like chlorine.
OK, I decided I would do the right thing and shower. I have not taken a shower in a public place without flip flops in twenty years. I arrive in the men's locker room to find I have it all to myself. I hurry to the shower. Believe or not, I felt more "naked" without my flip flops. I felt like I was naked in someones house. I kept looking around to be sure nobody could see me. I kept thinking if I hurried I could get away from the germs trying to hitch a ride on my wet feet.
I started laughing when I got in my car. Well, at least I got in my swim. LOL.
I went to the gym for my usual lunch training swim today. Training is starting to ramp up and consistency is of the utmost importance. I get to the gym and realize I have forgotten my flip flops. This is a major catastrophe. I don't walk around my own house barefoot, I must have socks on. I developed some strange foot thing when I was young.
Luckily, I had my running shoes with me, so I could use those to get to the pool and back. This was only half of the problem. I had to make it to the shower. I debated on wearing my running shoes to the shower, no kidding. It was either that or go back to work in my shorts and T-shirt smelling like chlorine.
OK, I decided I would do the right thing and shower. I have not taken a shower in a public place without flip flops in twenty years. I arrive in the men's locker room to find I have it all to myself. I hurry to the shower. Believe or not, I felt more "naked" without my flip flops. I felt like I was naked in someones house. I kept looking around to be sure nobody could see me. I kept thinking if I hurried I could get away from the germs trying to hitch a ride on my wet feet.
I started laughing when I got in my car. Well, at least I got in my swim. LOL.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
What a Great Day!!!
Yesterday was one of the best days I have had in a long time. Can you remember the last time a bunch of small things went right to make your day awesome? Yesterday was that day for me.
As most of you know, my wife is a Personal Trainer. I have just recently completed my personal training certification and will be starting that journey soon. In an effort to become more familiar with the ways of the trainer, I decided to take my wife’s core and upper body class. The class started yesterday and will continue for four weeks on Tuesday and Thursday. I also saw this as an opportunity to get into the habit of using the early morning hours for Ironman training. The class is at 5:30 AM.
The alarm went off a 4 AM. I need to get one of those alarm clocks that is the shape of a baseball. You can throw it across the room without damaging it. The impact will activate the snooze alarm, and you will have to get out of bed to find it the second time. It would be an understatement for me to say I am NOT an early morning person. I am not grouchy in the morning, I just can’t get up and going. I would rather sleep until noon. If sleeping were an Olympic event, I would take home the silver. My brother, Rodney, would take home the gold.
The class was small, with just six total participants. Being that this was the first class of eight, I knew it would be the easiest class to get everyone warmed up and back into the routine. However, I did not expect an easy time. My wife is hard core and wants people to get the most out of there workouts. Most of my concern was from my lack of core and weight training. I can run for four hours or bike for ten, but I haven’t worked my core or done any weights since last October. I dare not admit how long it had been before October.
The class was awesome! I was in some pain, especially from the plank, but was feeling great. If you have never done the plank, you should give this a shot. You are basically in the pushup position, but resting on your elbows instead of your hands. You pretty much hold that position until your body starts shaking violently and you want to throw up. Take a master of pain, like my wife, and she can come up with a hundred different variations of the plank for real fun. I loved it so much; I will be attending all eight classes.
My plans after the workout were very exciting for me. I planned to head to another gym and take a nap in the sauna for about thirty minutes. I love the sauna. I had not been in the sauna during the early morning hours. I was concerned that it might be crowded and too hot. I don’t like the sauna to be too hot. I like to warm up slowly and enjoy the nap. I also don’t like sharing the sauna with other people. Its not that I don’t like people, I just don’t like naked men in close proximity of my napping zone. I have enough concern for other people that I choose to at least wrap a towel around me when I go to the sauna. I really don’t understand the desire to run around naked in a public environment, especially if you don’t have a "Publicly approved" naked body. Even worse is the naked guy who plops down beside you in the sauna, on the higher bench, and spreads his legs. This puts certain obscene objects at eye level. I get to the sauna to find it hasn’t even been turned on today. On top of that, no one joins me in the sauna. I had the slow warm up and the sauna all to myself. It was a great nap.
I had a rough day at work the day before, so I was hoping for some work miracles. I won’t bore you with the work details, but it was one of the most productive and pleasant work mornings I have had in a long time.
My younger brother, Rodney, calls me about 10:30. He is in town for a dentist appointment and would like to go to lunch. I am game, so we plan to go just after 11. I don’t get to see my brothers enough, so this is a rare opportunity. However, I know there is one problem. Rodney doesn’t believe in eating healthy. On top of that, he believes in quantity. He will only eat something green if someone hides vegetables on his meat lovers’ pizza. I quickly start running down a list of food options that could minimize the upcoming damage to my diet. We run through the list, and nothing really appeals to him. He has an epiphany, and decides we need to go to Hooters. This is bad; I love Hooters hot wings, curly fries and cheese sauce. This situation is made worse by the facts that I have not been to Hooters in forever, I worked out early this morning and I have only had 250 calories for the day.
We arrive at Hooters and grab a table. Before I move forward, I must clarify; I go to Hooters for the Hot Wings, not the Hooters. This is the only place I can get all drums. I don’t like the regular hot wings, they don’t have enough meat. They also have some of the best curly fries on the planet. Believe me; I take my eating seriously, now that I have changed my eating habits. If I am going to splurge, I am going to make it count. Now I will admit, I don’t mind and cute girl in short shorts serving me food, Is it just not the reason I choose to go to this restaurant.
When I come to Hooters, I don’t even need the menu. I order the same thing every time. I order a twenty piece all drums with curly fries and cheese sauce. Rodney makes the same order. This should be a fun outing. Rodney had a root canal an hour ago and the entire left side of his mouth is still numb. I promise to inform him when a river of sauce is dripping down his chin. I am sure you are all aware of how promises go when a sibling is involved.
The waitress delivers our food and madness begins. Keeping true to my old habits, I go for the curly fries first. I had actually thought about ordering three orders of curly fries and no wings. The fries are awesome! I move to the wings, and they are almost as tasty. We start devouring the wings like we haven’t eaten in days. The most challenging part of eating at Hooters is trying to not have sauce all over your face or stuff in your teeth every time the waitress comes around. I think this the universes way of playing a nasty trick on guys to think they have a chance to get frisky with one of waitresses. I am sure your chances are killed when you smile at the waitress with sauce running down your face and stuff stuck between your teeth. I can just see some guy in that situation winking at the waitress and saying "How you doing"?
Our waitress seems to be spending a bit more time on Rodney’s side of the table. The ladies have always thought he was a cutie and have given him a bit extra in the flirting category. I could give you a few examples of his cute charm, but I fear those long lost moments should be left in the past, especially the one in Dallas on his 21st B-day.
Rodney is faithful married man. That doesn’t mean that a man doesn’t enjoy a moment of flattery from a cute waitress. After a few repeating flirtatious moments, he starts to get that half embarrassed, half cocky smile, that a man gets when a women is flirting with him and not the other guys at the table. He has forgotten that the left side of his mouth is numb and that I don’t always keep my promises. The waitress returns to fill our drinks one last time. By this time he has some courage and decides throw some boyish charm her way. At this point, he has relaxed a bit, and his left lip is starting to sag. On top of that, there a nice stream of wing sauce running down the numb side of his cheek. He smiles at her and is telepathically asking, "How you doing". She obviously spots the cheek and the sauce and starts to retreat to my side of the table. I lean over and inform her that he has some mental issues and this is the first time he has been out of the hospital in weeks.
Funny, we didn’t see her again until it was time for the bill. It was a great day!
As most of you know, my wife is a Personal Trainer. I have just recently completed my personal training certification and will be starting that journey soon. In an effort to become more familiar with the ways of the trainer, I decided to take my wife’s core and upper body class. The class started yesterday and will continue for four weeks on Tuesday and Thursday. I also saw this as an opportunity to get into the habit of using the early morning hours for Ironman training. The class is at 5:30 AM.
The alarm went off a 4 AM. I need to get one of those alarm clocks that is the shape of a baseball. You can throw it across the room without damaging it. The impact will activate the snooze alarm, and you will have to get out of bed to find it the second time. It would be an understatement for me to say I am NOT an early morning person. I am not grouchy in the morning, I just can’t get up and going. I would rather sleep until noon. If sleeping were an Olympic event, I would take home the silver. My brother, Rodney, would take home the gold.
The class was small, with just six total participants. Being that this was the first class of eight, I knew it would be the easiest class to get everyone warmed up and back into the routine. However, I did not expect an easy time. My wife is hard core and wants people to get the most out of there workouts. Most of my concern was from my lack of core and weight training. I can run for four hours or bike for ten, but I haven’t worked my core or done any weights since last October. I dare not admit how long it had been before October.
The class was awesome! I was in some pain, especially from the plank, but was feeling great. If you have never done the plank, you should give this a shot. You are basically in the pushup position, but resting on your elbows instead of your hands. You pretty much hold that position until your body starts shaking violently and you want to throw up. Take a master of pain, like my wife, and she can come up with a hundred different variations of the plank for real fun. I loved it so much; I will be attending all eight classes.
My plans after the workout were very exciting for me. I planned to head to another gym and take a nap in the sauna for about thirty minutes. I love the sauna. I had not been in the sauna during the early morning hours. I was concerned that it might be crowded and too hot. I don’t like the sauna to be too hot. I like to warm up slowly and enjoy the nap. I also don’t like sharing the sauna with other people. Its not that I don’t like people, I just don’t like naked men in close proximity of my napping zone. I have enough concern for other people that I choose to at least wrap a towel around me when I go to the sauna. I really don’t understand the desire to run around naked in a public environment, especially if you don’t have a "Publicly approved" naked body. Even worse is the naked guy who plops down beside you in the sauna, on the higher bench, and spreads his legs. This puts certain obscene objects at eye level. I get to the sauna to find it hasn’t even been turned on today. On top of that, no one joins me in the sauna. I had the slow warm up and the sauna all to myself. It was a great nap.
I had a rough day at work the day before, so I was hoping for some work miracles. I won’t bore you with the work details, but it was one of the most productive and pleasant work mornings I have had in a long time.
My younger brother, Rodney, calls me about 10:30. He is in town for a dentist appointment and would like to go to lunch. I am game, so we plan to go just after 11. I don’t get to see my brothers enough, so this is a rare opportunity. However, I know there is one problem. Rodney doesn’t believe in eating healthy. On top of that, he believes in quantity. He will only eat something green if someone hides vegetables on his meat lovers’ pizza. I quickly start running down a list of food options that could minimize the upcoming damage to my diet. We run through the list, and nothing really appeals to him. He has an epiphany, and decides we need to go to Hooters. This is bad; I love Hooters hot wings, curly fries and cheese sauce. This situation is made worse by the facts that I have not been to Hooters in forever, I worked out early this morning and I have only had 250 calories for the day.
We arrive at Hooters and grab a table. Before I move forward, I must clarify; I go to Hooters for the Hot Wings, not the Hooters. This is the only place I can get all drums. I don’t like the regular hot wings, they don’t have enough meat. They also have some of the best curly fries on the planet. Believe me; I take my eating seriously, now that I have changed my eating habits. If I am going to splurge, I am going to make it count. Now I will admit, I don’t mind and cute girl in short shorts serving me food, Is it just not the reason I choose to go to this restaurant.
When I come to Hooters, I don’t even need the menu. I order the same thing every time. I order a twenty piece all drums with curly fries and cheese sauce. Rodney makes the same order. This should be a fun outing. Rodney had a root canal an hour ago and the entire left side of his mouth is still numb. I promise to inform him when a river of sauce is dripping down his chin. I am sure you are all aware of how promises go when a sibling is involved.
The waitress delivers our food and madness begins. Keeping true to my old habits, I go for the curly fries first. I had actually thought about ordering three orders of curly fries and no wings. The fries are awesome! I move to the wings, and they are almost as tasty. We start devouring the wings like we haven’t eaten in days. The most challenging part of eating at Hooters is trying to not have sauce all over your face or stuff in your teeth every time the waitress comes around. I think this the universes way of playing a nasty trick on guys to think they have a chance to get frisky with one of waitresses. I am sure your chances are killed when you smile at the waitress with sauce running down your face and stuff stuck between your teeth. I can just see some guy in that situation winking at the waitress and saying "How you doing"?
Our waitress seems to be spending a bit more time on Rodney’s side of the table. The ladies have always thought he was a cutie and have given him a bit extra in the flirting category. I could give you a few examples of his cute charm, but I fear those long lost moments should be left in the past, especially the one in Dallas on his 21st B-day.
Rodney is faithful married man. That doesn’t mean that a man doesn’t enjoy a moment of flattery from a cute waitress. After a few repeating flirtatious moments, he starts to get that half embarrassed, half cocky smile, that a man gets when a women is flirting with him and not the other guys at the table. He has forgotten that the left side of his mouth is numb and that I don’t always keep my promises. The waitress returns to fill our drinks one last time. By this time he has some courage and decides throw some boyish charm her way. At this point, he has relaxed a bit, and his left lip is starting to sag. On top of that, there a nice stream of wing sauce running down the numb side of his cheek. He smiles at her and is telepathically asking, "How you doing". She obviously spots the cheek and the sauce and starts to retreat to my side of the table. I lean over and inform her that he has some mental issues and this is the first time he has been out of the hospital in weeks.
Funny, we didn’t see her again until it was time for the bill. It was a great day!
Friday, February 20, 2009
The Orange Quest
I have spent the last couple of months scouring the earth for apparel to match my CARVE team triathlon kit. The way I see it, I have three choices. I can be boring, colorful or hideous. Of course, I chose hideous. I figured, hey, if I am going to be in pain I might as well add some humor to the situation.
As you can see by the pics, I have found the shoes and the sunglasses. I am having no luck finding and orange hat. Well, I can find an orange hat, but not a dry-fit orange hat that I can race in for 5 hours of running at the Ironman. My wife is going to attempt to dye a white hat. If that doesn't work, I will just go with a white hat and the orange sunglasses. If I can find the orange hat, I will more than likely go with a neutral color for the sunglasses.
Hey, the bright orange can do two useful things for me. I can blind the competition as they pass me and the orange should make it easier for the medics to find me passed out on the side of the road during the run.
I took the first step into my future career this week. I completed a Personal Training certification. It was a very intense and detailed test by ISSA. Being in the Technology field, I have been taking certification test for years. I was a bit surprised, and happy, with the difficulty of the exam. It is nice to know the industry is improving the quality of their professionals.
My wife became a PT a couple of years ago, and she loves it! She now works out six times a day for at least six days a week, sometimes seven. She doesn't really work out that much, but she does workout a lot. I think her arms are more defined and bigger than mine. Several of our friends refer to her as "Pipes" or "Guns". She is part of the reason I looked into being a personal trainer. She really enjoys her clients and what better way to spend a day than at the gym?
I won't be trading in the dress shoes for running shoes just yet, but I hope one day to be able to be involved in fitness full time. We have some great ideas and some big plans, but it will take time. I should be able to start training clients in a couple of weeks. I am actually a bit nervous about it. I spend most of my day dealing with computers. It will be quite a switch to deal with humans. There is a big difference in knowing how to do something and showing someone else how to do it.
I had a great nutritional breakthrough with a friend this week. I was enjoying one of my HMR meals when my boss walks in. He ask about the meal and mentioned that he wanted to lose some weight. He had quit smoking a couple of years ago and put on a few pounds. He knows I am in to fitness and has watched me drop almost 40lbs in the last year.
He is a lot like me, in the way that you can't push me to do something. I have to hear the right words or have something catch my attention to get me motivated. I ended up giving him a few meals and recommending he try one, or even two, for lunch. At 230 calories meal, he could easily eat two and cut his lunch calories in half or even by 75%.
He liked the meals and ordered a stash for himself. He has lost several pounds in the last two weeks. He sat in my office today and started talking about counting calories. He had never counted his daily calories and was shocked by the number of calories he was consuming. He thought he was doing the right thing by eating a salad and soaking it in Ranch. After all, it was a salad, it should be healthy. Little did he know that salad had more calories and fat than a fast food cheeseburger.
He seems to be excited about this new discovery and motivated about losing weight. It made me feel good that I could help someone in a positive and healthy way. Maybe this Personal training will be easier than I thought.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
The Dentist and the talking Ducks
I had a Dentist appointment today. Like most of the people on the planet, I don't find going to the Dentist a pleasant experience. Luckily, today was a routine cleaning and a fitting for crown on a root canal I had a few months ago. The fitting couldn't be that bad, right?
The cleaning went as planned. I had the usual muffled conversation with the hygienists. It is amazing they can understand the gibberish we speak when their hands are stuffed into our mouths. At the end of the cleaning, the DDS will make a brief appearance to check things out. He is nice guy with a great sense of humor. After checking me out, he instructs to move to another room so we can start the crown work. He ask if I wanted some gas to relax. I quickly ask, "Are we doing something that I would need gas"? He laughs, says no, and says he just wants me to be relaxed. I believe him and head for the next room.
I settle into the chair and promptly accept the gas. I must admit, I love the gas! After a few minutes the DDS and his assistant show up. The first thing he does is crank up the gas. I find this odd, but dismiss it as he changes the subject to more humor. He is a duck hunter and has a few pictures of ducks on the ceiling. He ask me to let him know if the water in the duck pond starts moving or if the ducks start talking to me.
The gas has started to kick in and I am feeling pretty good. I start to see two sets of hands hovering above my mouth. Looks like they are about to get busy. Out of the corner of my eye, I see the big needle used to numb your mouth. Wait a minute, what are we doing that requires this much gas and a needle. My fear increases as I see a second and third needle enter my mouth. He turns up the gas and they leave the room.
I am very high at this point and half of my face is numb. The return and start to go to work. I have learned how to zone out and not think about what they are doing. I stare at the duck pictures and notice the water is moving. Should I report this to him? Heck no, I don't want to take any chances of feeling pain. More time passes and I see one of the ducks head move toward me. This is kind of freaky, but I am not about to say anything that will get my gas turned down. I am suddenly hearing other voices above me. You have to be kidding, the duck is talking to me.
"You missed your run yesterday and you have only swam once this week".
I am not going to talk to this duck. Who does he think he is, my trainer?
"If you don't run on Thursday, your legs are going to hurt as bad as they did last weekend."
I know, I know, I will run tomorrow. I can't believe I am talking to the duck.
"You ate Ice Cream yesterday and have only lost 2 lbs this month. You are behind schedule."
Hey, I am getting back on track, ease up. I just started training again.
"You do realize you have an Ironman in 7 months. You can't train like last year and finish."
That's it, I am through talking to you. I am closing my eyes and you will go away.
After an hour of construction, they release me. I am no longer high, but I feel like I have a slight hangover. Half of my face is still numb, so lunch should be fun. Maybe I should use the numbness as an excuse not to eat. After all, the duck is right about everything.
The cleaning went as planned. I had the usual muffled conversation with the hygienists. It is amazing they can understand the gibberish we speak when their hands are stuffed into our mouths. At the end of the cleaning, the DDS will make a brief appearance to check things out. He is nice guy with a great sense of humor. After checking me out, he instructs to move to another room so we can start the crown work. He ask if I wanted some gas to relax. I quickly ask, "Are we doing something that I would need gas"? He laughs, says no, and says he just wants me to be relaxed. I believe him and head for the next room.
I settle into the chair and promptly accept the gas. I must admit, I love the gas! After a few minutes the DDS and his assistant show up. The first thing he does is crank up the gas. I find this odd, but dismiss it as he changes the subject to more humor. He is a duck hunter and has a few pictures of ducks on the ceiling. He ask me to let him know if the water in the duck pond starts moving or if the ducks start talking to me.
The gas has started to kick in and I am feeling pretty good. I start to see two sets of hands hovering above my mouth. Looks like they are about to get busy. Out of the corner of my eye, I see the big needle used to numb your mouth. Wait a minute, what are we doing that requires this much gas and a needle. My fear increases as I see a second and third needle enter my mouth. He turns up the gas and they leave the room.
I am very high at this point and half of my face is numb. The return and start to go to work. I have learned how to zone out and not think about what they are doing. I stare at the duck pictures and notice the water is moving. Should I report this to him? Heck no, I don't want to take any chances of feeling pain. More time passes and I see one of the ducks head move toward me. This is kind of freaky, but I am not about to say anything that will get my gas turned down. I am suddenly hearing other voices above me. You have to be kidding, the duck is talking to me.
"You missed your run yesterday and you have only swam once this week".
I am not going to talk to this duck. Who does he think he is, my trainer?
"If you don't run on Thursday, your legs are going to hurt as bad as they did last weekend."
I know, I know, I will run tomorrow. I can't believe I am talking to the duck.
"You ate Ice Cream yesterday and have only lost 2 lbs this month. You are behind schedule."
Hey, I am getting back on track, ease up. I just started training again.
"You do realize you have an Ironman in 7 months. You can't train like last year and finish."
That's it, I am through talking to you. I am closing my eyes and you will go away.
After an hour of construction, they release me. I am no longer high, but I feel like I have a slight hangover. Half of my face is still numb, so lunch should be fun. Maybe I should use the numbness as an excuse not to eat. After all, the duck is right about everything.
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Back in the Groove and Loving it!!!
I am alive again! I can still bike, run and swim without having a heart attack.
You really don't appreciate a long rest period until you get a couple of weeks back into training and start to feel normal again. Those first couple of workouts really hurt and make you wonder if it is all worth it. Fortunately, the body has a good memory and only makes you suffer for a couple of weeks.
I had a more methodical rest period at the end of 2008. I had a great year, lost a lot of weight and was more fit than ever. As I finished my last race in early November, an MTB race, I knew I needed to start winding down and giving my body a break. Putting and Ironman on the schedule for 2009 really changes your focus.
I put the small tire bikes on the rack and grabbed the fat tires for most of November and December. I did a lot of casual riding in the woods and some easy running. Well, as casual as MTB will let you be. A casual MTB ride is still a good workout. I finally figured out how to ride in the dirt without ending up on my back. That really made riding a lot more fun.
December arrived and I decided to do something crazy. I decided to stop exercising for two solid weeks. No swimming, running, biking, core work or weights. I was good the first few days but started to go crazy the second week. I was counting down the days until our annual club ride on New Years day. I would actually walk by my bikes and drool. I longed to be back on my bike or even run. I never thought I would miss running.
I have put in almost 100 bike miles, 21 run miles and an hour and a half of swimming in the past two weeks. I feel like a million bucks. My body is rested, injury free and I am very motivated. To my surprise, the hardest thing for me right now is to not overdo it. I am spreading out the workouts and taking it easy.
I had one of the best runs of my life last Saturday. I call it the "Marianne" run. Marianne is a super runner who will get up at 4 am to run to make sure she doesn't miss it that day. She runs because she loves it and is very good at it. I have never been good at running or loved it. I guess shedding almost 40 lbs will make you enjoy running. I did a few short runs the last two weeks and decided to do a longer run last Saturday. I decided to run in my hilly neighborhood. I was shocked at how good I felt and ended up running 10 awesome miles.
This weekend should be a great weekend. I plan to do a 14 miler on Saturday and a 40 mile bike on Sunday. This is the base period so it will be slow miles so I don't hurt myself.
If you are resting or just getting back into the workouts, don't get discouraged. Your body really needs to rest and you will get back to normal before you know it. Oh, I forgot one of the most important parts. The holiday weight gains are already starting to disappear. We have a great year to look forward to!!
You really don't appreciate a long rest period until you get a couple of weeks back into training and start to feel normal again. Those first couple of workouts really hurt and make you wonder if it is all worth it. Fortunately, the body has a good memory and only makes you suffer for a couple of weeks.
I had a more methodical rest period at the end of 2008. I had a great year, lost a lot of weight and was more fit than ever. As I finished my last race in early November, an MTB race, I knew I needed to start winding down and giving my body a break. Putting and Ironman on the schedule for 2009 really changes your focus.
I put the small tire bikes on the rack and grabbed the fat tires for most of November and December. I did a lot of casual riding in the woods and some easy running. Well, as casual as MTB will let you be. A casual MTB ride is still a good workout. I finally figured out how to ride in the dirt without ending up on my back. That really made riding a lot more fun.
December arrived and I decided to do something crazy. I decided to stop exercising for two solid weeks. No swimming, running, biking, core work or weights. I was good the first few days but started to go crazy the second week. I was counting down the days until our annual club ride on New Years day. I would actually walk by my bikes and drool. I longed to be back on my bike or even run. I never thought I would miss running.
I have put in almost 100 bike miles, 21 run miles and an hour and a half of swimming in the past two weeks. I feel like a million bucks. My body is rested, injury free and I am very motivated. To my surprise, the hardest thing for me right now is to not overdo it. I am spreading out the workouts and taking it easy.
I had one of the best runs of my life last Saturday. I call it the "Marianne" run. Marianne is a super runner who will get up at 4 am to run to make sure she doesn't miss it that day. She runs because she loves it and is very good at it. I have never been good at running or loved it. I guess shedding almost 40 lbs will make you enjoy running. I did a few short runs the last two weeks and decided to do a longer run last Saturday. I decided to run in my hilly neighborhood. I was shocked at how good I felt and ended up running 10 awesome miles.
This weekend should be a great weekend. I plan to do a 14 miler on Saturday and a 40 mile bike on Sunday. This is the base period so it will be slow miles so I don't hurt myself.
If you are resting or just getting back into the workouts, don't get discouraged. Your body really needs to rest and you will get back to normal before you know it. Oh, I forgot one of the most important parts. The holiday weight gains are already starting to disappear. We have a great year to look forward to!!
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Holiday Stuffing and End of the Year thoughts.
If you took a thousand random pictures of me in December, they would look like the picture above. I have been stuffing my face at every opportunity. To make matters worse, I have been resting my body for most of the month with a full 10 days with no activity.
As we all know, the balance of calories in and out have some unwanted side affects on the body. I steered away from scale most of the month. I checked it in the middle of December and today. To my surprise, the damage was not as bad as I had anticipated. I came away with a gain of 6 lbs. I may not have gained allot of weight, but I have felt horrible all month. I actually miss my clean diet and fuel.
The month was not a total loss. For the first time in three years, I am rested, relaxed, motivated and injury free. These were my main goals for December. I knew I had to be at this level to begin the Ironman training.
I started exercising last week. I have been on my MTB several days last week and this week. The first couple of rides were horrible. I felt heavy, sluggish and I am fairly certain I was sweating sugar from all of the sweets I have been eating. One of the side affects of not maintaining a balanced diet is fluctuating blood sugar. The result has been sugar cravings galore.
The rides this week were much better and I had an awesome 2.5 hour MTB ride yesterday. I almost felt like my old self. My legs were strong, but my cardio is a bit weak. That is to be expected from a long layoff. I got back on the treadmill this week to get my legs moving. I will start outdoor running this weekend and continue my preparation for the Marathon in March. I am so ready to get back to real training.
2008 was a great athletic year! For starters, I finally lost weight. I ended up almost 40lbs less than 2007. I finished my first Half-Ironman and completed a Half marathon in less than 2 hours. One of the most exciting things of 2008 was the fact that I finished those events without much training. I was dieting so I didn't have the full energy and power I plan to have next year.
2009 should be an awesome year. I plan to lose another 15 to 20 lbs by April 1st. This will allow me to be near my high school weight and allow me to train and race hard the rest of the year. I have three big events next year. I will start with my first marathon in March, then a 24 hour ride with Geo to support Arkansas Children's Hospital and finish out with the big daddy, a full Ironman. I have several events and goals scattered throughout the year, but those are the big ones.
I have a very important goal that I have been able to reach every year since I started it. The goal is to enhance the friendships I already have and create several new ones. I have always been blessed with an abundance of friends. I would like to take a moment to thank all of my friends who shared 2008 with me. I hope we can continue to share good times and share our friendships with others.
I wish you all a great 2009!
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