Tour de France and a long run.

Today was the first day of Le Tour de France and what a first stage it was. It perfectly fit the chaotic history of the island of Corsica with a chaotic last 20mins of racing. 

The day began with a lot more calm, heading out of the hotel in Syracuse to perfect running weather. Cloudy and 70F. Doesn't get much better than that. A lot more prepared for this run. Fuel belt securely attached and fuel on board. This all combined to result in a really good feeling throughout the 9 miles I put on the clock today. My hip and ankle are still a little irritable. Laid off running all week and although I was aware of the two irritants, like a person staring out you in a crowd, I ran on without too much restriction, maintaining my Maffetone inspired heart rate.  Yet again I was rewarded for heading out before most. The roads were quiet and I was fortunate to stumble across a deer venturing out in to the solitude of the early morning neighborhoods. Finished it all off with a warm cup of joe from Starbucks (other coffee establishments are available :)) and an unparalleled finish to the first stage of the Tour. A good morning all in all. 

Now the recovery week awaits which is always welcoming sight. Should give the hip and ankle ample opportunity for recovery. The roller will be my best friend!

Good luck to us all!

My new pint glasses from Hammer. For the beer type of recovery!

First week over

The first week of Iron distance training is over and I am left with a very sore hip.

The majority of the week went well. Managed to get a good swim in and a good, if not hot, bike with my roadie friends. Then came my long run yesterday in Indianapolis. It was very hot and I failed to have the fuel available and was left with only water for my 9mile run. That was a mistake on my part and I was left suffering for the last 30mins of the run.

My hip did not hurt at the time, but post run, I began to really feel it. Being a self professed "follower" of the Maffetone method (made famous by Dr Philip Maffetone) I knew full well that this injury had not occurred during the run. In fact, had probably happened earlier in the week, if not before, and had only surfaced during the long run. Just enough fatigue to let me know it had a problem. 

Now, I am faced with a psychological battle. A battle that many endurance athletes face and fail at. The battle not to run or bike and lay off those two disciplines for at least a few days and see if it recovers. The emphasis this week, at least in the beginning will have to be on recovery and strength. Time for a visit to the gym or the hotel room workout. Lots of rolling and some good yoga, should facilitate some good recovery and, hopefully, allow my hip to right itself. The truly hard part comes when the hip begins to feel better, to suppress the temptation to head straight back out the door.

A positive to take away, is knowing that this has happened early enough that it shouldn't have an impact on Challenge Henley in September and as long as I win the battle not to train, I will be ok.

I'm off to a good roll!

Good luck to us all!

Challenge Henley begins!

 It's been a busy June so far. Completed Kansas Ironman 70.3 (bloody branding. Simply out, half ironman) in early June. Overall, it was a good performance race for me. Had one of my better bike performances, although there remains a lot of room for improvement! The most enjoyable part of the race, began when my tire exploded. Fortunately, I was going uphill at the time, at slow speed, so aside from the 'bang', it was quite a subdued event. It was quite calming in fact. I was quite tight at the time and in one loud bang, all the tension released with the realization that I was no longer racing, simply hoping just to finish.

 Once the outstanding support crew fixed me up with a nice new tire (not just an inner tube fix) I was on my way. It was enjoyable to be cruising along, in somewhat a sadistic way, and actually passing people. Normally, this is a rare occurrence for me. I will swim well and then proceed to bike for the next 3 hours with everyone insisting on passing me. Now the tables were turned, admittedly because I was at the back of the pack with all the new triathletes. However, I was actually beginning to enjoy the event, instead of just thrashing through it. This may be obvious to others who experience this every time they race on a bike, but it was a rare find for my bike leg. A feeling not to be forgotten.

 Once the race took us back to the park from which we began, the crowds became thicker and louder and the rest of the run was a blast. Despite the distinctly slow finishing time, I was really pleased with the experience I gained from the race.

 With a week off, I began Challenge Henley (a full Iron Distance race) training today. Hopped in the hotel pool early this morning, tethered myself to the steps and swam for an hour. A great way to turn the tiny hotel pool in to a reasonable workout. Downside is the tendency for nausea, swimming in e same spot with waves crashing back against you from the wall. The plus results from the same experience, giving you a small look in to the open water element of chop.

 It was a nice feeling to begin the training leading to the next major race. However, there was definitely some suffering experienced in Kansas at the half iron distance and it is difficult to escape the foreboding feeling of the suffer fest that the full distance will bring. "Welcome pain, I've been expecting you!"

 Good luck to us all!

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!