Moving Along

Thanksgiving has come and gone, Christmas season is in full swing and tri training is getting ready to start a new phase. The past few weeks I have been strength training and things have been going well. I have actually lost 3 pounds since Nov 1 and still haven't hit the hard core base training yet. I had a great swim last week. I did a few 250's for time and they were all faster than my swim time at JCC. I have been working on technique and focusing on stretching out my stroke to minimize the amount of energy spent during this event come race time. Training for a 1/2 ironman is less stressful than an Ironman without a doubt. Maybe because I have been around this block before I am not sure...any event I am totally looking forward to finishing up the strength training over the next few weeks to put the goggles and start getting fit. One thing I learned is that swim fitness will carry over to bike and run fitness but bike and run fitness will never carry you through the water!

Time to go get the Christmas Tree. Jack and i have a busy day!

Gearing Up for long winter!

It has been a bit since I have been in the mindset of letting nature run its course. My last entry was a little open minded b/c of what was presented to me when I went for my annual physical. There are some things you can't control and nature has to take over. Now I have a clean bill of health and have continued my push for getting stronger for the upcoming season. I have decided to focus of the 70.3 distance as my "A" race distance for this year. With my son turning 2 on Monday I don't want to limit my ability to spend as much time as I can with him and Lynn. The training plans are still intense and by no means easy but you can complete them in much less time than training for the IRONMAN. With the big base and benefit of training for IRONMAN last year I can use that foundation to transfer over to my 70.3 training. Some of my close friends are going to be training with me so this will male the loneliness a bit better when I have to go run at 5am on a February morning.

I have my new bike thanks to FIT WERX2. My GURU CRONO looks better than I ever expected. I can't wait to get that on the open road. Swimming will pick up hard core in about 5 weeks. My strength training is going well. I can feel the benefits of my CrossFit workouts, Thanks to Vin Miserandino. All is coming together, just as nature had planned. Sometimes it is better to just roll with the punches and learn from life's lessons. I sure know I have!

Reality

There are things in this world that bring us back to reality. I think I am on my way back...there is a reason for everything and the Almighty Father has a plan for all of us. The thing that stinks is that you never see it coming. There is a reason why I did IRONMAN and there is a reason why I am a cop. The cop thing I have seen what can come if you have a heart and show sensitivity. There are other things that are deep inside that are real. Those are the things that will bring out your strength. It does not matter how much you can lift or far and fast you can run bike or swim but but how you drive yourself to finish what you set out to do. There is something out there that will bring everyone back to reality and it will happen when we least expect it. The most important thing I have learned form my training is... I can handle anything!

Here Comes Old Man Winter!

I was back in the pool the other night and the good things is that the coach there said I was making progress. I have been trying to change my swim technique so that I can stay at that same speed with using less energy. Therefore I can ride and run faster! That's the plan right? I got good feedback about the way my technique is improving. I know that old man winter will keep me in the pool and it will keep me honest with my workouts. My goal is to gain a little bit of speed. First of all I know that for me to gain a lot of speed I would have to loose a lot of "mass" as the coaches put it. That said, I my mass is my mass, I think I am as trim as I can get. The speed will come from good technique. I was told I swim like I bike. My arms are going at records speed but my body is going nowhere. I have long arms and I should use them to my advantage. With this the plan is to cover as much water(distance) as possible with the least amount of strokes. I knew that but I didn't know how to! Well, Coach Craig put it in plain English for me, reach as far as I can without rolling of the bed. After he demonstrated it, I knew where I needed to focus my strength in the swim. I still have a lot of work to do but I think it will pay off.

The other thing old man winter brings out is a good long run at a nice comfortable pace. With the cold weather here I won't be doing the hard sprint workouts that summer let me do. First, I don't have the time in the AM to warm up for it and Second, I am looking forward to a nice run and watching the sun rise. I went out the other morning and it was pitch black. I hit my turn around and for the last 3 miles I was staring at the pink haze the sun slapped on me as ocean just laid there! That is what the enjoyment of the off season will bring. The best thing about New England weather is that you can change your habits with the season. (Come March I'll be begging for the hot sun as I want to brake my 5K PR) Old man winter is on the way!

back in the pool

Last night I jumped back in the water after a 2 month vaction from wearing my goggles. It didn't start out so well. I felt like a rock. Craig Lewin took over the coaching duties and did a pretty good job. We did a lot of drills and man do I need work on my technique. I think that with a good amount of work I can become more efficient in the water. He had some good analogies and gave some good examples on how to fix my problems. One thing I have to remember is that it takes time to break bad habits. One hour and 2000 yards of drills made my body feel like a box of cement.

This morning I went to the gym and did the 300 workout from crossfit. I have to say it went better than expected. My finish time was 19:04. After that i did a 150 workout twice from Crossfit. No total time, I just paced a 15 second rest between exercies. I plan on an easy ride on the trainer tomorrow and an 8 mile run of Sat or Sun. Right now I plan on swimming one to two days a week until Christmas then it's time to roll!

Sportsmanship

The Hawaii Ironman took place yesterday. Craig Alexander won the mens race and Chrisse Wellington won the womens. These people are absolutely physical specimes for what this sport requires of you. One of the most inspirational things I heard was that Rutger Beke (pro) came in 3rd. Last year at this race he finished 898th. He walked the marathon last year just so he could finish. Most pros quit when they don't have it. Some say they don't want the others to see the suffer or their sponors to see them like that b/c they could loose them. Beke walked, finished and said the out of respect for the people who can't race there, he wanted to finish. This year he goes out there and takes 3rd overall. Beke goes onto say that b/c of what he went through and when he saw how much the age-group athlete suffers and drives themself to finish he had built his mental toughness beyond his expectations. On another note, Chrissie Wellington blows a tire towards the end of the bike, her CO2 cartrigages don't work. The field is gaining fround on her, another PRO stops and helps. Chrissies gets through the bike and then runs the fastest marathon for a woman ever in KONA! There is a lot to be said for what these champs have shown us.

After following the race it is hard fro me to take a step back and rest. I just want to get out there and start gettting ready for next year already. It is inspiring to see the good competitors take over. the 2 previous winners were somewhat annoying and created stupid drama that took away from the race. Mark Allen and Dave Scott never got petty about who was winning and what they did. They just went out and trained like animals and raved ther hearts out. At the end of the day they showed admiration for what they both accomplished and enjoyed the motivation that they gave each other. I thought that what it was all about!

College Football Season

College football is in full swing and this is my second favorite time of year. The one bummer is that the it is dark and cold in the early AM now. I have been enjoying just getting to the gym a couple days a week and some easy running. I am waiting for my new GURU to be built at FIT WERX 2! I was there last week and saw the frame! I hope I can ride it as fast as it looks! I have been reflecting on this past season and have been looking at all the things that went well and the things that didn't go well. I know that it is going to be a quick winter even though the cold weather has a tendency to drag things along, we'll be right back in the early throws of making sure the race schedule is all set and what race will the "A" race and what are going to be for training purposes. Don't get me wrong, I am not wishing the months away just trying to be realistic in a real world approach. With a two year old son the days fly by. The has been a good time for me to gather energy and put into focus to carry me through the winter. I look forward too enjoying the Saturday's of college football and getting ready to build snowmen with Jack. Gotta love the off-season!