November 29,
My birthday!! Flew out to Toronto at 5 am was here by 9 in time to log a 13 mile run. Legs felt like they had been on a plane for a couple hours but the work got done non the less. It was a decent run here got to hop back into shorts which was nice. The route wasn't great but it doesnt have to be you just need to get the work done, and when your traveling that's half the battle.
After the run my bro picked me up to head to York University to see watch his game and find out where the exam was. Him and his roommates left early, which gave me a couple hours to hit the books and take a nap.
Despite the 10-5 loss my brother had a good game he was +1. It was good to see him play, after the game we just hung out and shot the shit, and Paully drove me back.
November 30,
Standard exam prep. I was up early logged a few hours on the books before taking TO's fantastic transit system over to visit my brother. I was able to sneek into the York gym facilities. This gym was straight out of the 1960s. Weights all over the place and everything was just weathered. But again the work got done. One thing that was cool was I got to run on this really neat treadmill. It was motorless and called the woodland curve. Very natural feel and the time really flew by on it. I looked it up later too bad its $6000.
Dec 1.
Exam day
The reason I am in Toronto is to write my CSCS certification exam. Today is the day of the exam.
I had a terrible sleep. Even though I was not really nervous I still was tossing and turning like the night before a race, waking up every 2-3 hours. I know this is a sign of doubting my ability. But I knew I had done the work and I just needed to stay calm. I actually woke up at 5:55 before all my alarms, I had everything laid out so the morning could be fairly automated and it could just smoothly get to the exam stress free. It was a nice surreal walk at just after 6 over to the subway in the mall which is normally packed with people. I did not see one person. It amazed me how people work as a whole, in unison. I was in there the day before and it was hard to move. Here it is, same place, and its empty.
The subways do not run as quick in the morning which made me sweat a bit but it was a good thing I left myself a big buffer of time. Plus I was able to use my flashcards as I was waiting. I got to the exam room at 7:45 and the exam did not start until 8:30. As more people started to gather around the room, I actually felt a bit better. I dont know why. There was a brief feeling of jealousy and nervousness about the other people but I realized that I am just as qualified as all of them, and there is no need for those feelings.
I dont want to bore you with detail about the exam. But its a 2 part exam, and I felt I was more in the groove on the second part then the first. I started off a little shakey but I was able to gain confidence throughout the test. Overall it was fairly stress free all multiple choice.
After the exam I felt good, a lot more energized then I thought. So I took that energy quickly stopped and vested my brother before his can and shot back over to the hotel. Since I was feeling great I hopped on the bike and smashed through a session. It was a shitty hotel bike but it did the trick, and the bottom line is that the work got done.
I capped the day off with a nice dinner at the hotel restaurant and was in bed early so I was able to get up and run the next day.
Dec 2.
Move in with Paully day
I got up at around 9 although I was in the sleeping zone could have easily slept well past noon. I was pretty good about getting straight down to work and nailing my run despite it being rainy and shitty out. I couldn't really complain after some of the run I have been having in Winnipeg. The run actually turned out to be really nice, and I was able to find a building I had wanted to go to without even having to look for it. I it ended up just being on the running route. Now thats flow. The run was timed really well and gave me just enough time to pack up and get out before my already adjust late checkout time.
Me and Paully grabbed a quick breakfast in the mall and then headed over to York. Its tight living here, but only for a short period and we are gonna have a blast.
My afternoon consisted of finding the North York YMCA and getting over there for a swim. Talk about packed what a mess that pool was. You have people double arm back stroking in the fast lane. I just did my shit and got outta there ASAP.
After that picked up some good healthy clean food, and headed back to the apartment to call it a night. Just hung out with the boys and got to bed early. The life of an athlete fairly simple.
Until next update..
Wednesday, December 5, 2012
Monday, November 12, 2012
Get Honest
Everyone talks about how many miles they rode or how many hours they put in this week. Or how they toughed it through a session. No one likes to talk about when they HAD to rest. When they woke up and the felt like a bag of assholes and had the balls to say I cant put in my best effort today and it will do me more harm then good. I say HAD to rest because you never really HAVE to. Its a choice and as a more is better thinker most of the time you will push through and do a shitty workout rather then get honest and rest up. For the last few seasons I have always based my progression on how many miles I was putting in or how many hours I was logging per week. But what is the quality of those hours? This season I am focusing on being honest. Its one of the harder things I have done. Its harder for me not to do a workout out then it is to tough one out and write it down. There is a time and a place for it. Sometime you have to push though to make the break through but sometimes pushing through will break you. It has the potential to wreck the rest of your week.
If we were all the highest level of elite we could wake up get a blood test, check our catecholamine levels and we would know exactly weather we were over trained or not. But as an age grouper you have to base it on how you feel, and what else you need to get done in the day. For me the big thing is food. Nail the big workout and get to eat a couple extra calories. But when you just need to physcailly rest what do you do?
Stratagies:
So the next time you wake up in to fog get honest with yourself maybe its a sign to rest up and catch up on the other things in life!
If we were all the highest level of elite we could wake up get a blood test, check our catecholamine levels and we would know exactly weather we were over trained or not. But as an age grouper you have to base it on how you feel, and what else you need to get done in the day. For me the big thing is food. Nail the big workout and get to eat a couple extra calories. But when you just need to physcailly rest what do you do?
Stratagies:
- Catch up on LIFE!!!
- Yes we all have them outside of training watch a movie with the misses, or stack some firewood just stay busy.
- Do the stuff you usually ignore.
- Foam roll, stretch, bulk meal prep, etc
- Write it down
- up date logs
- reflect on your training
- realize its all going to be ok
So the next time you wake up in to fog get honest with yourself maybe its a sign to rest up and catch up on the other things in life!
Friday, November 2, 2012
Write It Down
When completing any kind of training your looking for a result. Weather its to get faster, stronger, slimmer, smarter it can be anything really. How do you know if you have actually achieved any of your goals?
In sport there are competitions which act as a form of test. Are we winning more games? Swim times? Bike times? Run times? Thats great, but maybe race day your not feeling your best, or the weather is shits. You need to account for that. People will get down on themselves for a shitty performance and not look at the whole picture. Or the make excuses. Maybe you weren't as fit as you thought?
Its also not uncommon to be nervous on race day. Why is that? Because you have doubts in your ability. If you were confident in your ability you would not be nervous.
So the question is how do you KNOW how fit you are? How to your create that confidence in your ability? You keep RECORDS!!! Test yourself regularly, and know exactly where your at. If your not where you want to be ask yourself why and how do I get there? Is it realistic? This way when the race comes your not guessing. You know you have done the work, you know where your at, you know what to expect and, NOW all you have to do is go get the best from your self. The records can also be used as motivation later to see how far you have come. Or to quickly solve a re-occuring problem.
So quit just doing the work to do the work. Write it down, keep track, be proud of what you have accomplished. So when the race doesn't go your way you can look and know weather or not you gave your full ability. Then from there you can learn and keep moving forward.
Until next time write it down and have FUN!! Happy Training
D
In sport there are competitions which act as a form of test. Are we winning more games? Swim times? Bike times? Run times? Thats great, but maybe race day your not feeling your best, or the weather is shits. You need to account for that. People will get down on themselves for a shitty performance and not look at the whole picture. Or the make excuses. Maybe you weren't as fit as you thought?
Its also not uncommon to be nervous on race day. Why is that? Because you have doubts in your ability. If you were confident in your ability you would not be nervous.
So the question is how do you KNOW how fit you are? How to your create that confidence in your ability? You keep RECORDS!!! Test yourself regularly, and know exactly where your at. If your not where you want to be ask yourself why and how do I get there? Is it realistic? This way when the race comes your not guessing. You know you have done the work, you know where your at, you know what to expect and, NOW all you have to do is go get the best from your self. The records can also be used as motivation later to see how far you have come. Or to quickly solve a re-occuring problem.
So quit just doing the work to do the work. Write it down, keep track, be proud of what you have accomplished. So when the race doesn't go your way you can look and know weather or not you gave your full ability. Then from there you can learn and keep moving forward.
Until next time write it down and have FUN!! Happy Training
D
Saturday, October 27, 2012
Deeper Recovery
Ever since this accident things have been weird. Yes weird. I managed to dodge a lot of serious injury and I am grateful for that. I have never experienced whiplash before. It is a rather unusually acting injury.
In the beginning I had mild soreness along the front of my body which was to be expected. It wasnt until weeks later that the real full body soreness began to set in. This is where I was spending a lot of time just laying down to avoid pain. From there I began to crack..... a lot as the joints began to re align. And the most interesting of all....Weight Gain. I have put on 12-14 pounds in 3 months. I have come up with three reasons I belive may be causing it.
1. Honest Reality
Although I feel I am eating in accordance with my reduced activity level, the only person I may be cheating is my self. Maybe I am overeating, and not being strict enough on my choices. But 12 pounds is overeating by 392 calories everyday since the accident. Which is possible, but unlikely because I do track calories. And have been able to regain some of my activity level.
2. Water Retention
Inflamation of muscle tissue and a bodily respone to healing to inflame to reduce movement and retain water to repair cells. But should have subsided by now I would think.
3. Most Recent Suggestion. Nerves???
The possibility of pressure being applied to a spinal nerve therefore creating an over stimulation in a region of the brain that would monitier digestion. I found this one to be the most interesting because it would be happining at a subcontious level. Consiously I have being doing everything I can to make it easy for my digestive system. But it is possible that there is a problem beyond my conscious control because I have been experiencing digestive issues. Coincidence? This reasoning came from an osteopath who had suggested there was a malalignment of two lumbar vertebre causing overstimulation of the hypothalamus. It sounds like pseudo science hodge podgem but, stack that with an assessment from a physiotheripist comfirming tesnsion in the specifc aera of the malalignment, and an unusual onset of depression, leads to evidence that my weight issue may be controlled beyond conscious control. Either way I am intrigued and have began to closely monitor performance mood and weight in correlation.
For now I am treating the depression, and focusing on reliveving tesnsion for the low back muscles to see this may be the link to where this creeping weight is coming from. My goal is to be back to normal by Christmas, which through moderate caloric restriction should be a non issue. I will keep monitiering laxitiy of the back along with mood and weight to see if there is any corilation. I am also under the belief that I need to just relax and let the body auto regulate.
Please feel free to comment and discuss the topic. I struggle with the ability to organize all my thoughts at the moment. But would be more them happy to discuss any questions you have further.
In the beginning I had mild soreness along the front of my body which was to be expected. It wasnt until weeks later that the real full body soreness began to set in. This is where I was spending a lot of time just laying down to avoid pain. From there I began to crack..... a lot as the joints began to re align. And the most interesting of all....Weight Gain. I have put on 12-14 pounds in 3 months. I have come up with three reasons I belive may be causing it.
1. Honest Reality
Although I feel I am eating in accordance with my reduced activity level, the only person I may be cheating is my self. Maybe I am overeating, and not being strict enough on my choices. But 12 pounds is overeating by 392 calories everyday since the accident. Which is possible, but unlikely because I do track calories. And have been able to regain some of my activity level.
2. Water Retention
Inflamation of muscle tissue and a bodily respone to healing to inflame to reduce movement and retain water to repair cells. But should have subsided by now I would think.
3. Most Recent Suggestion. Nerves???
The possibility of pressure being applied to a spinal nerve therefore creating an over stimulation in a region of the brain that would monitier digestion. I found this one to be the most interesting because it would be happining at a subcontious level. Consiously I have being doing everything I can to make it easy for my digestive system. But it is possible that there is a problem beyond my conscious control because I have been experiencing digestive issues. Coincidence? This reasoning came from an osteopath who had suggested there was a malalignment of two lumbar vertebre causing overstimulation of the hypothalamus. It sounds like pseudo science hodge podgem but, stack that with an assessment from a physiotheripist comfirming tesnsion in the specifc aera of the malalignment, and an unusual onset of depression, leads to evidence that my weight issue may be controlled beyond conscious control. Either way I am intrigued and have began to closely monitor performance mood and weight in correlation.
For now I am treating the depression, and focusing on reliveving tesnsion for the low back muscles to see this may be the link to where this creeping weight is coming from. My goal is to be back to normal by Christmas, which through moderate caloric restriction should be a non issue. I will keep monitiering laxitiy of the back along with mood and weight to see if there is any corilation. I am also under the belief that I need to just relax and let the body auto regulate.
Please feel free to comment and discuss the topic. I struggle with the ability to organize all my thoughts at the moment. But would be more them happy to discuss any questions you have further.
Tuesday, October 2, 2012
Post Season Blues
Ahh yes the post season blues. You know its coming and we all get a little taste of it in some form or another. You have been racing and pushing your self all summer meeting with friends, setting PRs, making bets against your friends, whatever! Now there's a gap, you know you need the recovery, but training has become so ingrained in your life you don't know what to do with this awkward situation of "free time." Going into my 5th year of competitive triathlon I think this year I have dealt with it fairly well for a few reasons.
One, this season I developed a stronger belief in my abilities. It was a season packed with adversity from flat tires to car accidents. But through it all I still managed to make some progression. I now have at least 6 more so relaxed months until my next race. What can I accomplish with that? That thought now excites me.
Two I LOVE TRAINING. Period. I have developed a sincere love of training. Not just the getting fast part. But the knowing yourself part as well. For years I would push myself so deep down the rabbit hole of over training and stress, and by the end of the season I hated triathlon and would binge myself up on thanksgiving until I registered for a race to light the fire under my ass. But its the "off season" now. That doesn't mean slack off it just means enjoy the work you have done and you don't need that intense focus you need during race season. The brain is a muscle to. Give it a rest, it will give you more later. Trust that.
That said I still felt a little bit of a hole. But its ok theres another race coming and I will be bigger faster stronger regardless of when it is. Because that's something I want, and I am confident in that. But for now enjoy this anomaly people call "free time" read a book, try a new recipe so you have it on speed dial when training kicks up, spend time with the family who has only seen you in spandex for the last 5 months, and go eat a doughnut. Then get back to work, but dont forget to get back to work. You will feel better about it.
D
One, this season I developed a stronger belief in my abilities. It was a season packed with adversity from flat tires to car accidents. But through it all I still managed to make some progression. I now have at least 6 more so relaxed months until my next race. What can I accomplish with that? That thought now excites me.
Two I LOVE TRAINING. Period. I have developed a sincere love of training. Not just the getting fast part. But the knowing yourself part as well. For years I would push myself so deep down the rabbit hole of over training and stress, and by the end of the season I hated triathlon and would binge myself up on thanksgiving until I registered for a race to light the fire under my ass. But its the "off season" now. That doesn't mean slack off it just means enjoy the work you have done and you don't need that intense focus you need during race season. The brain is a muscle to. Give it a rest, it will give you more later. Trust that.
That said I still felt a little bit of a hole. But its ok theres another race coming and I will be bigger faster stronger regardless of when it is. Because that's something I want, and I am confident in that. But for now enjoy this anomaly people call "free time" read a book, try a new recipe so you have it on speed dial when training kicks up, spend time with the family who has only seen you in spandex for the last 5 months, and go eat a doughnut. Then get back to work, but dont forget to get back to work. You will feel better about it.
D
Sunday, September 23, 2012
First Endurance PreRace
After the whole sodium issue from Florida, I have really started to "dial in" my nutrition. Experimenting with different sodium and calorie levels to try and get it just right. By the end of the season I was able to get something down that was working for me at the HIM distance. I took my new knowledge and also put together a decent Olympic distance race.
After gaining confidence in my nutritional judgement I decided to look at other products which I could begin to incorporate to enhance performance further. After reading many good articles on First Endurance PreRace I decided to give it a try. I used it in training to see how I would react and all went well. No shakes jitters nothing of the sort. Was able to comfortably take it, workout, and had no issues getting to sleep at night.
This past weekend was my first real test with it, where I raced a half marathon. Sure enough I PRed with a time of 1:23:54. I took in 1 heaping scoop of First Endurance PreRace 30-45 mins before the race mixed with water. Felt light and felt good. What I noticed with the product is it mixes with just about anything and it doesn't even taste that bad straight up with just water. My personal experience with the product if I had to put it into words, would be that it makes the "hurt" less. My heart rate was still up and I was still working but our best friend pain had a little smaller of a voice. I was able to stay calm cool focused and in control of the race.
Overall I am a big fan of First Endurance PreRace. I believe that it does live up to all of its claims increasing both performance and focus. That said don't take this product and expect to turn professional, that's not its intended purpose. But it will help you to achieve your best on that big day!!
D
After gaining confidence in my nutritional judgement I decided to look at other products which I could begin to incorporate to enhance performance further. After reading many good articles on First Endurance PreRace I decided to give it a try. I used it in training to see how I would react and all went well. No shakes jitters nothing of the sort. Was able to comfortably take it, workout, and had no issues getting to sleep at night.
This past weekend was my first real test with it, where I raced a half marathon. Sure enough I PRed with a time of 1:23:54. I took in 1 heaping scoop of First Endurance PreRace 30-45 mins before the race mixed with water. Felt light and felt good. What I noticed with the product is it mixes with just about anything and it doesn't even taste that bad straight up with just water. My personal experience with the product if I had to put it into words, would be that it makes the "hurt" less. My heart rate was still up and I was still working but our best friend pain had a little smaller of a voice. I was able to stay calm cool focused and in control of the race.
Overall I am a big fan of First Endurance PreRace. I believe that it does live up to all of its claims increasing both performance and focus. That said don't take this product and expect to turn professional, that's not its intended purpose. But it will help you to achieve your best on that big day!!
D
Sunday, September 16, 2012
What a Ride
Well I haven't posted in a while and for good reason. So lets look over the rest of the summer. As we can see from my last post liberty went well. Still beat up by the heat but better none the less. I came out of that race fired up I was confident and ready to go for Morden on July 11. But sometimes the mistress of endurance racing just does not want you out there that day.
Although its September I remember that race clear as day. I was pumped up I really wanted to go out there and smash it. I swam good comfortably off the front with a time of 32:07. Nothing spectacular just a good hard effort.
To the bike!! Nice flat course new bike rocking a disc ready to crush and...........flat tire right out of T1. Its ok stay calm fix it and hammer down. All is well untill about 35 miles in and....... another flat. I could not believe it I was ready to be picked up day was over. After about 20 mins on the side of the road another athlete threw me his spare tire and I was able to ride into town and get running. Bike time 3:12:59.
By the time I hit the run mentally I was out of it and my nutrition was all off because my effort was so varied. I jogged through the heat with a 1:46:17
Total time was 5:31:22
Whatever I was over it, on to the next, but life had other plans. I had raced Morden on the Saturday and was back at work on Monday. All was normal, but then on Tuesday minding my own business driving my tractor I was rear ended on the highway by van moving at high speed. This send my tractor rolling into the ditch. I had my seat belt on and did not suffer any "real" injuries. But because of the momentum of the impact I did suffer a fairly severe case of whiplash. That pretty much finished off my race season. For the rest of the summer it was just doctors, physios and massage. Just battling to get back to the basics of swimming biking and running. Talk about a set back.
So with a full 1 year season ahead of me its time to make it happen. Time to over come this setback and rise to the top. The dream is still alive, I dodged a bullet there and its time to move forward once again. Keep in tune for the progress of recovery and the path to my full potential as an athlete.
D
Although its September I remember that race clear as day. I was pumped up I really wanted to go out there and smash it. I swam good comfortably off the front with a time of 32:07. Nothing spectacular just a good hard effort.
To the bike!! Nice flat course new bike rocking a disc ready to crush and...........flat tire right out of T1. Its ok stay calm fix it and hammer down. All is well untill about 35 miles in and....... another flat. I could not believe it I was ready to be picked up day was over. After about 20 mins on the side of the road another athlete threw me his spare tire and I was able to ride into town and get running. Bike time 3:12:59.
By the time I hit the run mentally I was out of it and my nutrition was all off because my effort was so varied. I jogged through the heat with a 1:46:17
Total time was 5:31:22
Whatever I was over it, on to the next, but life had other plans. I had raced Morden on the Saturday and was back at work on Monday. All was normal, but then on Tuesday minding my own business driving my tractor I was rear ended on the highway by van moving at high speed. This send my tractor rolling into the ditch. I had my seat belt on and did not suffer any "real" injuries. But because of the momentum of the impact I did suffer a fairly severe case of whiplash. That pretty much finished off my race season. For the rest of the summer it was just doctors, physios and massage. Just battling to get back to the basics of swimming biking and running. Talk about a set back.
So with a full 1 year season ahead of me its time to make it happen. Time to over come this setback and rise to the top. The dream is still alive, I dodged a bullet there and its time to move forward once again. Keep in tune for the progress of recovery and the path to my full potential as an athlete.
D
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