Suburbia: Where Sidewalks End

Yesterday was windscreen repair day. The process taking a little less than two hours and conducted by a reputable establishment, yet one that insists on planting itself in the middle of industrial suburbia nowhere.

 So, with two hours to kill, I set out in search of my local Caribou coffee. It was only a about 1 mile north of my current location and considering I had two hours to kill, I thought I would stretch my legs. However, I did take my city attitude with me, failing to fully embrace my suburban surroundings.

 By this point, having visited many a suburban hotel around the country (on one occasion actually falling down a drainage ditch in the pitch black due to this very issue) one would think that full awareness should have already been gained about the pitfalls of walking around US suburbia. For some reason, I clearly had higher hopes for Minnesota.

 It simply amazes me how planners chose or not chose to build a sidewalk. Walking along and suddenly finding a sidewalk leading to an intersection suddenly and miraculously stop 100 ft short. Perhaps they ran of concrete. It is expensive, you know. However, as I dodged traffic and received looks of astonishment from commuters passing me in the enormous SUV as I walked the grass embankments (generous description) I began to wonder why on earth once you leave the city, sidewalks gradually disappear or are only built in short spurts. Having a little over a mile to contemplate this and the dominating sounds of honking horns and exhaust fumes to ensure I wasn't distracted, I came to a conclusion. There appears to be a fear of walking from A to B in the suburbs. Admittedly, things are much more spread out and take longer to get to. However, it's as if the world outside the city wouldn't dream of even trying to walk/run/bike such an endeavor. Why else would we simply stop a sidewalk 100ft short of the intersection? Or even better, provide a crosswalk for pedestrians at a traffic light, yet no sidewalk on either side to continue said walking?

 It truly baffles me. We complain of gas prices, yet wouldn't consider walking, or so it appears. We complain of the state of the roads, yet can simply avoid it, or even mitigate it, but simply choosing to walk/bike once in a while. I encourage all to kick their "fear of walking" and demand sidewalks in suburbia! It would add an all round benefit.

 Good luck to us all!

New discoveries

Today was one of experiments and pleasant discoveries. Below is a picture of the best (and cheapest) pool idea I have been offered. I often complain at the lack of swimming opportunities when I am on the road in hotels with tiny pools. Using this simple resistance band, I was able to turn the typical small hotel pool in to a good 30minutes of swimming.

Simply secure the band to the top of the pool steps in the deep end. Securing it any lower will result in your feet dropping low in the water. Then, tuck your feet in to the loops and swim against the resistance. Distance is tough to measure, of course, so bring a wrist watch with you to measure intervals with time. 30 minutes should be good, because the water gets quite rough around you and nausea could be common.

Love this new discovery and I encourage all to try it. Just be smart about not becoming too tired, because when you stop your feet are still attached and require some contortion to get out of them and you don't want to be knackered doing it.

Good luck to us all!

Burn out is real!

I wish I had acknowledged it earlier. First the lack of energy and motivation to go and get the workouts done. Then, the extra time needed to recover. Lastly, the chest cold that didn't seem to completely resolve itself. All of these culminated this week in me finally admitting defeat and accepting it for exactly what is was, a classic burnout.

In some respects, I'm glad this happened. I find it the most brilliant part of our human bodies. The inbuilt CPU giving the signal to stop and recuperate. I find when we reach our unknown limitations, it allows us to learn, to improve the next time around. Now that I understand and know, not only my ability to ignore certain symptoms, but also what the first signs of those symptoms are, will only benefit me later in the season, the next year and years after.

What is ironically amusing, is the total lacking in the "practice what you preach mentality". I had a good year under my belt and felt that pushing it a little harder and plodding on my body could handle it, as it had before, and there would only be benefits even though I continued to preach Maffetone's methods and tell people how important it was for an injury and illness free season. Yet, there I was, tricking myself in to believing that I could tweak this, apply it differently to myself, and it would all be fine. Not so!

The chest cold never went away, just subsided for a while. Probably has manifested now in to something worse and am hoping that a good few days stepping away from training and exercise altogether will allow my body to take care of itself and repair as necessary. Add in some good fuels and I hope to be up and running again in about a week.

It is a time to celebrate, I think. A time to be happy. Be happy in the fact that I was able to restrict myself and not simply push on like a madman and prove that triathlon is an addiction that can be managed and not be all consuming - although I let it try for a few weeks. Let's just hope the body will recover and do what I hope it can do.

Good luck to us all!

Diet and Northern California

Been quite the self reflecting week.  Was able to see my own preaching in practice. I began to feel tired at the beginning of the week and kept on pushing. Ignoring my body's request for rest. Sleeping a lot in the day. Initially, I thought I was over training, but a quick chat with a mate of mine and it became clearer that perhaps my diet was to blame.

At the end of last year, I became much more vegetarian orientated, although not 100%. Now, as I hear the cries of my wife, being vegetarian is the not directly responsible for my fatigue. More so, it's the fact that I have not accounted for the change in diet and adapted it to suit the increase in training that my schedule is now experiencing. There are many a professional athlete who is a vegetarian or vegan. However, they adjust and are far more strict with what they eat. Not so with my diet. My diet leans heavily toward sweets and lots of breads. It needs variance and balance. Imbalance was easily glossed over in previous years by my non-vegetarian diet. Something I plan on addressing in the coming weeks.

The monotony of being on the road tends to create a very singular diet that can stay fresh on the road. However, with singularity we always find a lack of balance. I need to talk to some people and listen to their ideas on how to add that much needed balance to my lunch bag whilst on the road. This, I feel, will begin to address extended recovery time. Admittedly, I find it fascinating to look at a human body in such a way and see how we can easily influence ourselves by the quality of the fuel that we put inside.

To end on a more positive note, thanks to celebrating 5 years of marriage with my beloved wife, we found ourselves in Northern California visiting friends. A very enjoyable 90 min run followed by a fantastic drive through the country is a beautiful way to combine long workouts with the weekend. Lets hope I can keep up that trend in coming weeks! During that drive I also got to see how easy it is to be Organic in California. How appealing!

Good luck to us all!

Spring

Spring is approaching. The weather is showing some serious signs of inviting people out of basement hibernation and out on to the grit-ridden roads. There really is nothing quite like the satisfaction of getting out the door for the first time in a year. The first time you don't feel the dreaded first half mile of chills. The first time you can enjoy the warmth of the sun on your exposed skin. Be it running, biking, walking or skipping, there is something truly special about getting out that door the first warm(ish) day when you live in a cold climate.

That day is expected tomorrow. The jacket may be needed for a bike, but the sun will be out and the sky will be blue. Better check the ole tires and make sure there are a couple of spares in the bag.

It's the familiar territory  of the re-finding all the roads from last year, remembering the great joy of being out of the basement and back on the roads. Something the people of California know very little about!

Soon we shall all be complaining about how it's too hot to go out and nursing all our sunburns. Yin and yang.

Feeling a little fatigue today. Sleepy and lacking motivation (hence the blogging and little riding). Reading a good book which should pass the time. "Waterlogged" by Dr Noakes. Worth a look and goes a long way to dispelling the illusion of the sports drink industry. Recommended!

Another good recommend is Trainerroad.com Self explanatory. Take look and learn how to save a ton of money on a power meter by using a virtual power read out. Good for the basement rides. Doesn't work on the open road, unless of course you have already spent $1000's on a power meter. Good luck to you if you have!

Good luck to us all!

Hot, Snow fall and back pain

Today is a day for recovery. It's been quite a week so far.

First I began with a new foray in to the world of Bikram yoga. Without doubt, one of the hardest classes I have every taken. For all those nay sayers, try it and let us see if you could ever last 30mins, let alone 90. Truly challenging.

Next up was some early bike riding and some swimming. Tough morning after the challenging Bikram session. The sick part is that I can't wait to do it again. However, then came 10inches of snow and I sign that I sometimes need a more intelligent approach to exercise.

After a good session in the basement on the trainer in the early morning, my wife called from the drive asking for help because the lovely city had plowed us in yet again. She was now late and I did not show good snow shoveling form. Needless to say, 1.5 hrs of biking followed by vigorous, lacking-of-good-posture shoveling led to a very painful lower back and glutes. No a good combination when flying for the next 8hours.

Really struggled yesterday and quickly realized that today would bring about a need for active recovery and smart choices. Pushed the run to later in the week and spent an hour making love to my foam roller and stretching. Hopefully, the back will mend enough for a good run in the morning in chilly old Fargo.

The training is beginning to really pickup and organization has to be the key. This has the added significance of a slight addition to the end of the season. That addition would be Challenge Henley Iron distance race in September. With this little end of season extra, a strong sense of organization and time management will be essential.  

I'm excited for the snow to melt and to get out of the basement and in to some warmer weather. First, the back must be rehabbed. No more snow please.

Good luck to us all!

Notre Dame and The Weeds!

Finished off our first recovery week today. Just a short ride tomorrow and all of a sudden we find ourselves in week 4. Can't believe how quickly we have arrived. Seems to be flying by. The snow is showing subtle signs of abating and the temperatures are sneaking up. Soon we will be outside again and out of the somewhat dull basement. Can't wait for some sun on the back and warm tides to come rolling in.

However, when that happens and lake water warms, I shall yet again be faced with the all-to-present mental challenges of the open water. Been thinking about it recently. Thought of the impending weed season in the lakes and the inevitability of swimming through them for the first half of the season. I'd be more than happy to start up their equipment and go and harvest all the weeds in the chain of lakes, just not to deal with them. 

I can not deny that the weeds presenting themselves in my consciousness  continuously is the perfect training for the harder times of racing. Practicing to calm the mind during the times of mental scatter brains towards the end of a race is a fine art. One that I need to master. Removing the fear of what could be presented to me in the open water would no doubt take my swimming up a notch. I need to borrow the mental talents of Napoleon. (Wouldn't mind stealing his biking talents too.) I will have to come up with a masterful and cunning plan. We shall see what presents itself. 

Finishing up with a run through the University of Notre Dame today was a great way to conclude the week. Very nice run with some cracking scenery to boot. Will have to remember this place for future runs.

Going to try out some Bikram Yoga this week. It may just be the end of me, but I can not deny that the benefits will surely out way the drawbacks and will be great practice for the heat and humidity of the Kansas race. We shall see if I don't simply sweat away in there. 

Good luck to us all!