Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Global Warming??
Holy freezing pointy nipples has it been cold here. This week has been a recovery week for me, but the outside runs have been challenging to say the least. Yesterday the temps plunged a record 54 degrees F (the temp dropped from +45F to -9F in under 24 hours)!! When I started my run at 6PM the air temp was -5F (-32F with bone chilling 20mph winds). The first couple miles were fine and I thought my 9 mile loop would be a piece of cake…. but then I headed directly into the open wind for a 2.5 mile stretch. Fittingly about that time, Rob Zombie’s “Feel So Numb” came on my mp3 player and I was fired up to tackle the wind. At first it didn’t seem too bad and I tried thinking about something other than the cold. I had heard a story earlier this week about a group of Tibetan monks who would go high into the mountains to meditate wearing only their regular robes. They supposedly had the power to go into a state of meditation and actually sweat as they sat in the arctic conditions. So in my mind I figured if some skinny dudes wearing nothing but robes and sandals can handle it, I could handle it. I can’t say for certain if the story is true or not……but after about 1 mile into the wind I realized I’d make for a really shitty Tibetan monk. I hammered through the run, but I’m not gonna lie……I definitely got a little chilly. UFF DA!!!
Monday, January 28, 2008
Solid Block
Well, I got a solid 4 week block of training in which culminated in 20+ hours of training this past week. I'm definitely happy to be uninjured and healthy going into this recovery week. Next week will be the beginning of the final 4 week base training block which includes a lot of volume and increasing intensity. I think the toughest part about these winter blocks are the mental hurdles you must overcome. The long, boring, suffering workouts done on the bike trainer or the cold, windy runs in the dark are physically and mentally draining. Keeping a positive attitude in these conditions day in and day out gives an athlete a mental edge. Late in a race when everything hurts, it's the person that learned how suffer back in January and February that's going to win in July and August. Go for it!!!!!!!
Sunday, January 20, 2008
2008 Goals
2008 is going to be an interesting (and busy) year. First of all, I'm getting married in October, so balancing the training, wedding planning, and racing is going to be challenging. I've also opted to not go with a coach this season in an effort to save a little money for the wedding and honeymoon. I'll definitely miss the great weekly conversations with Pete and am so grateful for the wealth of knowledge and confidence the man has given me over the past two years. I believe he has equipped me with the skills to set up a solid 08' macrocycle on my own. As far as my 2008 goals are concerned, here is what I got:
Overall Goals for 2008
1. Break 2:07 at Lifetime Fitness Triathlon
Keys to success---
a. Must be out of the water in 23 minutes or less!!!!
b. Solid, flawless bike
2. Break 4:20 in a Half IM and qualify for IM 70.3 Worlds in Clearwater, FL
Keys to success---
a. Must be out of the water in 30 minutes
b. Need to average around 24 mph on the bike
c. No stomach problems on the run!
d. No training injuries
3. Break 59 minutes in a 40 km time trial.
Keys to success---
a. Hits the weights hard this winter
b. Lactate thresh hold training
c. Be patient in the first 20km and suffer like a motherfucker over the final 20 km!!!!
Overall Goals for 2008
1. Break 2:07 at Lifetime Fitness Triathlon
Keys to success---
a. Must be out of the water in 23 minutes or less!!!!
b. Solid, flawless bike
2. Break 4:20 in a Half IM and qualify for IM 70.3 Worlds in Clearwater, FL
Keys to success---
a. Must be out of the water in 30 minutes
b. Need to average around 24 mph on the bike
c. No stomach problems on the run!
d. No training injuries
3. Break 59 minutes in a 40 km time trial.
Keys to success---
a. Hits the weights hard this winter
b. Lactate thresh hold training
c. Be patient in the first 20km and suffer like a motherfucker over the final 20 km!!!!
Saturday, January 19, 2008
Good Day
Well, I got a solid day of training in today despite the cold weather. I did a 3 hour brick workout (2 hours on the bike trainer and 1 hour of running). The bike workout was pretty brutal consisting of a number of lactate threshold sets and ending with 20 minutes of sprints. My legs were a little wobbly after biking, but I threw on a bunch of warm gear and headed out for a nice steady pace run. The legs felt fine on the run, but I'm definitely going to opt for some thicker running pants next time (the wind really goes right through ya when the wind chill is -22F.....talk about a case of blue balls:)
Why Tri?
This week I was asked a question about why I spend most of my spare time training for triathlons. I think we get addicted to this sport for different reasons. Some need a comepetitive outlet after high school or college sports. Many use a race as a motivator to get in shape. And then there are those that feel they have something to prove to themselves or to others. Personnally, I believe I'm a mixture of all those motivators. I race because I love to compete. I love the atmoshere of a race and the comraderie among other triathletes.
Training however is a different story because many training hours are done alone. Something extra besides a 'love to compete' is needed to really push yourself in a workout especially during the long winter months. I believe past failures can keep a person on the road to success when motivation runs thin. Isn't it funny that as humans we don't always recollect much about our successes in sports or in life in general....but we can recall with great detail the few times when we fall flat on our face. These memories are like ghosts that dance in the back of our minds as reminders of what it feels like to fail. The times in my life where I fell short are what keep me sharp during my training. An old Chinese proverb states "A gem cannot be polished without friction, nor man perfected without trial." My trials in the sport of wrestling so many years ago were motivational stepping stones to becoming a mentally tough, well rounded athlete and person today.
I think wrestling has a lot to do with why I chose a tough sport like triathlon. I grew up on a wrestling mat. I remember going to matchs with my dad when I was 3 or 4 years old. I remember always walking into St. Charles High School on cold Friday nights in January and being welcomed with the smell of popcorn mixed with the distinct smell of the wrestling mat. As we walked around the corner into the gym there was the sound of a ref's whistle, the crowd, the cheerleaders pounding on the mat, and the deafening buzzer at the end of a period. My heroes were not pro football players or basketball players, my heroes were the hard nosed wrestlers on that high school wrestling team. I remember all the big wins and defeats.....like when I was 10 years old and seeing my all-time favorite St. Charles wrestler Joel Thoreson win the Regional Championships qualifying him for the State Tournament (this was big news in my little town). A week later, Joel would become St. Charles's first state champion. I remember hearing about that good news at the dinner table and I told my dad I was going be like Joel, I was going to win a state championship!
As the years rolled on I had a lot of success in the sport. After my freshman year on varsity, a State Championship looked very promising. During that freshman year I remember wrestling with my coach Chuck Koestler after practice one night. When we were done wrestling we were just sitting there talking about a couple matches coming up. As he got up to leave he stopped, looked me square in the eye and said 'Sinner some day you are going to be the best'. Now Mr. Koestler is a great coach and a great man, but compliments weren't his style. So to hear him say that must mean a state championship was almost certain. I was honored and motivated as ever. But the end of my sophomore year and most of my junior year was injury plagued although I still qualified for the state tournament my junior year. Mentally I was frustrated and depleted. My shoulder had become so unstable, my wrestling style changed.....I was wrestling scared, wrestling not to lose. At the elite level of any sport, that is a recipe for failure. I entered my senior year fairly healthy, but I'm not sure if my mind was fully in it. That year proved no different as it ended with injured ribs at the state tournament. All of a sudden the sport I had leaned on my whole life seemed over. People would tell me "oh, you'll win it next year"...pretty soon there was no next year. I felt like I had let down my family, coaches, friends, and the little town of St. Charles. They had believed in me probably more than I did. And just like that it was all over.
I didn't know it at the time, but this let down was a blessing in diguise. I learned what is was like to have a long term goal slip away. I didn't believe in myself. Now, when those doubts try to creep back into my head I think about what it felt like to leave unfinished business on the mat. During the 2006 Duathlon World Championships in Corner Brook, Canada I started thinking that maybe I didn't belong there. Afterall, these athletes didn't fly from all over the world to lose...these were seasoned athletes with years of success under their belts. Those old feelings of inadequacey started festering in my mind. I was losing the race before I had even started. But then I began thinking about how excited my family was back home for this race. I thought about what it felt like to lose for all the wrong reasons as a wrestler. I had earned this spot on the Team USA and god damn it I'm going prove I belong here! I walked up to the line pissed off and fire up....I placed 9th in the world that day. My past failures had driven me to succeed. I've made a promise to myself to always leave it out on the course...drop the hammer no matter how bad it hurts (there will be plenty air to catch your breath at the finish line). Today I still hate losing (who doesn't?) but I'm not afraid of losing, I am just afraid of regret.....win or lose give it everything you've got and there will be no regrets!
We are all attracted to this sport for different reasons. We all have a unique story to tell and are motivated by different things, pushing or daring us to find that finish line. I may never bring a crowd to its feet again or hear the dull roar echo through my headgear at the end of a big match, but that's just fine with me. My wrestling memories (good and bad) will always be motivators to make me push a little harder in racing and in life.
Training however is a different story because many training hours are done alone. Something extra besides a 'love to compete' is needed to really push yourself in a workout especially during the long winter months. I believe past failures can keep a person on the road to success when motivation runs thin. Isn't it funny that as humans we don't always recollect much about our successes in sports or in life in general....but we can recall with great detail the few times when we fall flat on our face. These memories are like ghosts that dance in the back of our minds as reminders of what it feels like to fail. The times in my life where I fell short are what keep me sharp during my training. An old Chinese proverb states "A gem cannot be polished without friction, nor man perfected without trial." My trials in the sport of wrestling so many years ago were motivational stepping stones to becoming a mentally tough, well rounded athlete and person today.
I think wrestling has a lot to do with why I chose a tough sport like triathlon. I grew up on a wrestling mat. I remember going to matchs with my dad when I was 3 or 4 years old. I remember always walking into St. Charles High School on cold Friday nights in January and being welcomed with the smell of popcorn mixed with the distinct smell of the wrestling mat. As we walked around the corner into the gym there was the sound of a ref's whistle, the crowd, the cheerleaders pounding on the mat, and the deafening buzzer at the end of a period. My heroes were not pro football players or basketball players, my heroes were the hard nosed wrestlers on that high school wrestling team. I remember all the big wins and defeats.....like when I was 10 years old and seeing my all-time favorite St. Charles wrestler Joel Thoreson win the Regional Championships qualifying him for the State Tournament (this was big news in my little town). A week later, Joel would become St. Charles's first state champion. I remember hearing about that good news at the dinner table and I told my dad I was going be like Joel, I was going to win a state championship!
As the years rolled on I had a lot of success in the sport. After my freshman year on varsity, a State Championship looked very promising. During that freshman year I remember wrestling with my coach Chuck Koestler after practice one night. When we were done wrestling we were just sitting there talking about a couple matches coming up. As he got up to leave he stopped, looked me square in the eye and said 'Sinner some day you are going to be the best'. Now Mr. Koestler is a great coach and a great man, but compliments weren't his style. So to hear him say that must mean a state championship was almost certain. I was honored and motivated as ever. But the end of my sophomore year and most of my junior year was injury plagued although I still qualified for the state tournament my junior year. Mentally I was frustrated and depleted. My shoulder had become so unstable, my wrestling style changed.....I was wrestling scared, wrestling not to lose. At the elite level of any sport, that is a recipe for failure. I entered my senior year fairly healthy, but I'm not sure if my mind was fully in it. That year proved no different as it ended with injured ribs at the state tournament. All of a sudden the sport I had leaned on my whole life seemed over. People would tell me "oh, you'll win it next year"...pretty soon there was no next year. I felt like I had let down my family, coaches, friends, and the little town of St. Charles. They had believed in me probably more than I did. And just like that it was all over.
I didn't know it at the time, but this let down was a blessing in diguise. I learned what is was like to have a long term goal slip away. I didn't believe in myself. Now, when those doubts try to creep back into my head I think about what it felt like to leave unfinished business on the mat. During the 2006 Duathlon World Championships in Corner Brook, Canada I started thinking that maybe I didn't belong there. Afterall, these athletes didn't fly from all over the world to lose...these were seasoned athletes with years of success under their belts. Those old feelings of inadequacey started festering in my mind. I was losing the race before I had even started. But then I began thinking about how excited my family was back home for this race. I thought about what it felt like to lose for all the wrong reasons as a wrestler. I had earned this spot on the Team USA and god damn it I'm going prove I belong here! I walked up to the line pissed off and fire up....I placed 9th in the world that day. My past failures had driven me to succeed. I've made a promise to myself to always leave it out on the course...drop the hammer no matter how bad it hurts (there will be plenty air to catch your breath at the finish line). Today I still hate losing (who doesn't?) but I'm not afraid of losing, I am just afraid of regret.....win or lose give it everything you've got and there will be no regrets!
We are all attracted to this sport for different reasons. We all have a unique story to tell and are motivated by different things, pushing or daring us to find that finish line. I may never bring a crowd to its feet again or hear the dull roar echo through my headgear at the end of a big match, but that's just fine with me. My wrestling memories (good and bad) will always be motivators to make me push a little harder in racing and in life.
Welcome!!
Welcome to my webpage! I plan to keep this updated with my training, racing, and thoughts about life in general (hopefully I don't put anyone to sleep)!
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