Busy Schedules & Training

(Warning, brutal honesty ahead)

Guys, let's be honest: life gets really busy sometimes.

Sometimes, you are working 60 hour weeks at a physical job with barely enough time to grab some dinner once you get home before you're whisked away to another commitment, whether that's church, a second job, or otherwise. Sometimes you can get a workout in that week, on the night you don't have an additional commitment, and sometimes you're so exhausted by the time you get home, that just the though of putting on workout clothes is enough to make your head spin.

Sometimes you feel bad about not getting the workouts in that are scheduled for you. Sometimes, it stresses you out even more to think about getting that 90 minute bike ride in after you've already put in 12 hours at work and driven home through crazy traffic trying to drink enough coffee to convince yourself that yes, it really is worth getting the bike put back on the trainer and ride it. Sometimes you even get so stressed out about getting all your workouts in that you cause a relapse into an illness that is the very reason you do these workouts to begin with.

This week I had to tell myself, "No." No, I won't feel bad about missing workouts after working six 12 hour days in a row. No, I won't beat myself up while driving home for thinking that it might be better to just sit on the couch for an hour before I go to bed. No, I won't be stressed out all day trying to find a way to squeeze an hour run into a schedule that doesn't have 15 minutes to spare. No, I won't feel bad that my only workout this week wasn't my personal record, even though I gave it everything I had that day.

More importantly, this week I told myself, "Yes." Yes, it is ok for you to relax and do nothing right now, because that's what you need. Yes, you have permission to rest your body and your mind after a stressful day. Yes, you will have a better week next week.

Life is tough, and there are weeks that sometimes happen back to back (to back, to back, to back...) where you think there is no way on earth you will live to see the next month. I had one of those weeks this week, complete with an evening of anxiety attacks as I was trying to go to sleep. I spent an hour of already precious and scarce rest time with my body writhing and contorting, only to get up and go to work the next morning. I didn't workout that evening. I didn't work out the next evening. By the time I got home, I had enough time to eat dinner and go to bed. Other days I got home in time to clean up the house, get dinner around, and then rush off to a group event. I didn't work out that evening.

Last night, I had some down time for the first time all week. Do you know what I did? I drank a beer, watched a movie, and went to bed. I sat my butt on the couch all night, did absolutely nothing, and enjoyed being stationary for a couple of hours. That was probably the most therapeutic thing I had done all week.

What I'm saying, is that we will all have weeks like this at some point, where life gets in the way of working out. It's ok. It's ok to take the time for yourself to breathe for a moment. It's ok to take an evening or two and relax to recover your sanity.

Admittedly, it's been a couple of weeks in a row for me like this. I've gotten a workout in here or there, but I have been struggling with telling myself its ok. It's easy for me to say the words to someone else and proclaim, "Rest! You deserve it!" But when it comes to actually believing that that's true for me, I don't do so well. I'm good at taking the time off, but I'm even better at feeling guilty about it, and being stressed out about what I'm not doing, or what I should be doing.

This week should allow for more training time, but it's hard to say. Work is in busy season, personal commitments continue, and I'm not perfect. I'm still tired, and trying to rest my body and mind to come into this next week refreshed and renewed. I'll still get upset with myself for missing workouts if that happens, but I'll also praise myself when I complete a workout, knowing that I was exactly where I needed to be.

If you've had a time like this, how did you get through it or over it? I know I could use the help, and I'm sure there are others out there who could use it as well. Later on...

I'm a BASEIPLE!

It's the wonderful time of year where manufacturers and brands start finding ambassadors for the upcoming race season. Applications, updates, and responses are flying about the interwebs congratulating some and consoling others.

I am extremely happy to announce that I've been chosen by BASE Performance to be a BASE ambassador (BASEIPLE) for the 2015 race season! I've already been fortunate enough to have used a couple of their products, and I'll be providing more information about those as well as some new products to me and new products from them in the future!

Ready for the coolest part? I can help you try their products out at reduced cost! The supplements are mostly aimed at endurance athletes, but are suitable for all athletes of any discipline. Bodybuilders, cowboys, rugby players alike, there's a product for you.

Head over to their website and check out their offerings, then let me know what questions you have, what you're interested in, and what you're getting!

In the next couple weeks, along with my regularly scheduled training updates/musings, I'll be trying to incorporate some reviews of products (starting of course with BASE Performance products) and possibly a second post per week. I often find myself having long thought conversations with myself during training, wishing I would blog about it, and then totally forgetting to blog about it.

SO! Until next week, later on...

No Luck Run Race Report

It's been a crazy couple of weeks, and I have unintentionally left you guys out of the loop!

So last week I ran my very first half marathon, the No Luck Run. It was a somewhat rainy evening before during packet pickup, but they had put up a tent in front of the host restaurant and put heaters in strategic places to keep it warm. It worked! It was comfortable, warm and dry despite the drizzle and chilly temps.
                                      
I laid out everything I thought I would need the night before, including some alternate apparel in case of weather changes or comfort challenges. I had two hats ready to go, a base layer, long sleeve shirt, shell, clear lense sunglasses, regular sunglasses, and a race belt with my number attached. I had a good dinner, but got to bed a little later than I anticipated.

In the morning, I grabbed my gear and hit the road. Since this race was so close by, I arrived in plenty of time and was able to meet up with some friends who were also running. It was still raining a bit on the way there, but by the time I arrived it had slowed to a drizzle, and stopped about 10 minutes later.

I ran a small warm up with a couple of buddies, and by the time we got back to the start line I felt ready to go. I discussed a race plan that I had formulated with a couple of people including my coach, and at the onset of the race my plan was to start out around 8-8:15 miles and reassess at the mile 7 turnaround. One of the guys I ran the warmup with, D, said he had a very similar plan, but was starting out at 7:50 miles and reassessing at mile 6 before the turnaround.

The event had a mile race to kick it off, followed by the start of the half and then the 5k. As the mile runners were coming in, it was pretty clear that they were moving on to other runs to collect all the green beer they could for the day, and they cleared out pretty quickly.

We got off to a start about 10-15 minutes later than anticipated, but the mile had started a little later due to the rain in the morning. As usual, the first mile is pretty quick by everyone due to the adrenaline and anticipation. D and I came off the line together, and fell into the same pace as we were exiting the first loop to go out on the longer portion of the course. He was sticking to his plan and I decided to tag along as long as it felt comfortable and see how I felt.

Running with someone makes it 10x easier. If you haven't found a running partner in a race, try it sometime. It makes the miles tick off faster, and the pace seem easier. D and I both confirmed this after the race.

N was going to classes at the Rec Center that morning, and fortunately the route passed right by there so she was able to arrive a little early and wait for me to run past a couple times. D and I went past, said we were feeling good, but that we would be reassessing at the end of the trail where we hit the 7 mile turnaround. The trail out to the turnaround is a false flat, with about a .7% incline for a little over a mile. We saw the lead runner coming back at us on the way out, he was absolutely flying. We saw some other friends coming back as well, looking strong as they were pacing to qualify for Boston. We only hit probably 3/4 of a mile on that, and hit the turnaround feeling good. We had averaged just under 7:50 for the first 7 miles, and we were now on the back stretch.

Coming back we took advantage of the slight downhill, pushing the pace to 7:30. We agreed that after we got to the turnaround, it was every man for himself. After mile 10, there would be no talking as it was race time. We utilized our knowledge of the terrain to our advantage, knowing that in a couple of miles there was a big uphill just before we hit mile 10. We went past N again, and headed for the last 4 miles.

Coach was riding around and evaluating performances, as well as giving encouragement and cheering us on. He found us at the bottom of the hill that N had been waiting on, and held up a sign while taking our picture: Suck it up Buttercup!! So we sucked it up and pressed on.

At this point we saw a lot of the people who were behind us, many walkers and slow joggers, almost all looking cheerful and happy despite the grey sky and somewhat chilly breeze. They were nearing halfway, and there was a great sense of comradery amongst all the runners!

We came to the bottom of the hill at mile 10, and agreed that we would run the hill together, recover and then split depending on how we felt. D and I got to the top of the hill and I got dropped. I needed a little more recovery than he did, so I fell off by about 5 seconds per mile. I kept him in my sights, and as I recovered I felt stronger. We rounded a corner and were off to the last 3 miles.

I began building a head of steam, thinking about the finish and the podium. I knew approximately where we were in the lineup of finishers, and I wasn't clear if I would make the podium for my age group or not. I comfortably pushed my pace up to 7:15, and caught D and was on my way to a strong finish.

There was a yellow jacket in front of me, but I couldn't tell if it was a man, woman, or even someone in my age group. D shouted to "go get 'em!" And that's what I did. I passed her around mile 12, coming into an aid station. She looked like she was struggling, but I didn't have the breath to wish her well as I was on my way to the finish.

Around mile 12.5 I had to pull the pace back. The sun came out and I heated up a little bit, and needed a moment to collect myself before I headed to the finish. I dropped the pace to 7:30 and continued on my way. There was no one immediately in front of me to chase, and no way I was going to catch anyone else, so I turned my focus to maintaining a pace and not being passed.

I came down the chute and was very excited to see a finishing time of 1:40:44! I finished 3rd in my age group, and 16th overall. I had been catching 14th and 15th place, who was 2nd in my age group, but didn't have enough time or space to get them. D finished close behind me, and we stuck around to see many of our other runners come in as well.

It was a great day to run, and a great day for our multisport club, as we had 4 podium finishers and a slew of PRs. Being my first half marathon, I was incredibly thrilled with the time. I collected my green beer, my finishers medal and podium prize (a sweet pint glass with "Podium Baby" printed on it) and headed home for a brief nap and a recovery spin. No rest for the wicked I suppose!

Spring is springing!

So I fell off the wagon again, but now I'm back! I know it's a few days late, but I have a good excuse. This last weekend was an open house event at my future law school, as well as the annual Gala for N's job, and my attendance was required. It was a fantastic day of learning about law school and all it will entail, as well as a wonderful evening of great food, great music, great drinks and great people. That said, all these endeavors left me with no time to get on the bike on Saturday, but I made up for it on Sunday, I promise.

Last week was a week of getting back after my workouts. I had a period of time where I was skipping workouts due to time constraints, feeling badly or just generally being lazy. Two weeks ago I had an honest excuse, as I was actually sick. But this past week was focused on getting my mojo back and hitting my workouts.

Gradual results are difficult to see. Everyone knows that. It's tough to see how far you've come unless you turn around and look.

Here's what I know: My training has given me results already in the pool and with my running. I haven't necessarily seen any results in my cycling yet, but that doesn't mean they're not there. I'm already faster than last year, I'm already lighter than last year, I'm already thinner than last year, and I'm more prepared than last year.

Now, into a little of the nitty gritty and the statistics that tell me I'm faster.

First and foremost, I'm down between 5-7 pounds over last year. Race weight last year was 165. This year, I'm shooting to be closer to 155 for race days. The heaviest piece of equipment at any point during your tri, is you. The leaner you are, the faster you can potentially be. The key word is lean. Don't be a rail, sickly, or unhealthy with this. Don't drop weight just to drop weight. Drop fat and build long, lean muscle. That's where it's at.

My swim times are coming down consistently. The first time I did a 10x100 best average time set, I was swimming at 1:45/100. That was my best average time. I did a 20x100 best average time set last week, and kept everything at 1:30/100 and below (1:25-1:30). Not particularly pro status, but I'm excited by the improvement. I'm hoping by race time I'm seeing averages well below 1:20/100 in training, below 1:10 or more in races, sprints especially.

My running is easily showing the most improvement. Last season, I was thrilled to see a training run dip into the 7s for an average time. At this point that's routine. Right now I'm averaging between 7:30-7:50/mile on all my runs. I'm seeing best mile times hitting 5:15 (in short bursts, these aren't maintained times), and routinely below 6. My race times last year all ended up below 8:00/mile. Some by more than others, but all above 7:45/mile. I truly think this year I may see low 7s/mile, possibly below 7 on some shorter sprints. I may be a little hopeful in that, but time will tell.

My cycling is improving. I don't have as much hard data to prove this, but I can feel it in my legs and my chest. I've done a better job of late of getting on the bike and doing the workouts I need to. I'm hitting speeds I haven't before in short bursts, getting my heart rate higher than I have before on the bike, and I'm riding for longer periods than I have before in the winter. While I don't see the data now, I believe the work I've put in this winter will show up on the road.

I'm looking forward to this season even more than I was before, and my excitement continues to grow as the weather starts to warm up. With the snow melting and the sun shining later into the day (thanks, daylight savings time... I guess.), all signs are pointing towards spring. We in Indiana are just a couple of weeks and a big rain away from taking bikes off the trainers and getting them tuned up to go on the road.

More updates to come in the next couple of weeks, taking my training on the road in the next couple of months, and building into a fun and busy summer! Until then...

Later on!