30 Day Writing Challenge

Well here it is the last post was on Jan 20,2014. So much has happened, I honestly do not know where the time has gone. I was able to get most of it out on some paper but its time to actually put some effort into writing. So as always you need to set a BHAG aka a big hairy ass goal. So the goal is to write everyday. No word limit no topic no structure. Just write everyday. On anything, and it doesnt matter if it sucks. In fact I expect the first couple to suck, and I expect you to comment on them.

Change ultimeatly comes from taking action. Consistantly. One of the biggest mental battles going on in my mind right now is " I am not where I want to be but I am happy and enjoy the actions I currently consistantly take. I am not where I want with these action so they must be changed. How much are you willing to commit to get where you want? Do you really have to commit that much? Maybe theres another way that you cant see? Maybe not?" I have been on and off testing different patterns to try and achieve different results. Maybe I am just not sticking to them long enough? But at what point to you have to look hard and say this is just not working? 

All of this thought has come down to the belief that there is a disconnect between my body and my mind. My mind wants one thing my body signals another. So it would seem the focus would need to be on matching the signals of the body with the goals of the mind. Too deep? Well to bad for you :).

I have spent a lot of the past year accumulating knowledge, and gaining motivation. This needs to be a year of action, and BELIEF. I know what I need to do, so stop making it more complicated. Take action and BELIEVE IN IT. Why is it humans feel there is awalys a better way or you need more or things need to be more complex. Maybe the answers are extremely simple and you just need the discipline to take consistant action, and the results will come. Or maybe not. Lets see if we notice a change though the writing over the next 30 days. What change do you want to see? What are you willing to do to get it? How consistantly are you willing to do it? Are you willing to let go of who you are to become who you want to be? 

Time To Test

Well, its time. Time for another blog post. Time for some testing. Sorry the posts are so few and far between but I only get inspired to write when I feel I have something that is going to help you out. Writing about my own training is pretty monotonous, the work gets done everyday, some days are good some are bad, that's the way it is. But if I can help you, now we are on to something!

So it January now, you have probably set some goals race season is coming and you want to nail it. Well to start off you need to know where your at. By finding out where your at you can set up strategic plans to get where you want to be. Here are some of the tests I find useful.

Swim:
500 warm up
1000 TT
Cool down

Get you your base line pace for 100m interevals

Bike:
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	Duration	% of FTP	% of Heart Rate
Warm up:	20 minutes – endurance pace 3 x 1 minute (1min R) – fast pedaling 100 rpm 5 minutes easy Riding	65       65	AET           AET

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Main Set:	5 minutes All out effort 10 minutes easy riding 20 minutes Time Trial	MAX       65       100	MAX           AET           AET+max
Cool down	15 minutes easy spinning	Sub 65	Sub AET

Run:

20 minwarm up
5k TT
Cool down

Get average HR and thats your aerobic max.

Go out hit these tests up. Smash yourself, have fun and see where your at.

Keep on keeping on,

D

DROP THE HAMMER!!

Get Your Christmas Ducks In a Row

Well your coming out of your off-season, your getting back in the groove of training. You have also probably put on a little weight. Well at least I hope you have. There is just no need to stay at race weight all year long. Hopefully your recovered. But that little weight you put on has the possibility to turn into a bunch if you don't have your ducks in a row before the festivus season.

I have been involved with focused endurance training for 6 years now. I have tried to deal with Christmas in many different ways.

• Dont care and pack on a ton of weight
• Try and do huge workouts the day of family gatherings
• Starve myself through the whole season

None of these work, so don't waste your time. But through my ketotic dieting adventure this last year I have come up with a few decent strategies that allowed me to enjoy events and not go totally off the rails. So here they are.

Write out a plan:

Yes physically write out a plan of how you are going to approach the event. Be descriptive put yourself in the feelings of how you will feel visualize it, and remind yourself how you will feel if you over eat or drink.

Practice:

Great you have a plan now practice it. You have a month before the week of Christmas/ New years. Practice it. Life will give you many opportunities.

Limit Choices not Portions:

This one works well. Since Christmas dinners usually consist of potlucks there is a massive variety of food, and the mind being the way it is wants a little piece of all of them. Use this opportunity to breath slow down and limit your choices, and say you can have as much as you like. What you hopefully will find is that by limiting the choices you will get tired of the same taste in turn will generally eat less. If you know portion control is an issue then set up a limit for this as well such as I can have as much as I want as long as it fits on a coffee saucer! This will inevitable make the portions smaller and force you to think every time you go back up to stuff your cake hole

Set a weight limit:

Set a weight gain limit safe bet is 8% above your in-season weight. ex race weight: 180 max gain limit: 14lbs 194lbs.  Hopefully you haven't put this all on already. I like to use 10lb as a nice round number.

Set a time limit:

No more eating after 7:30 PM. Period. There is really just no need.

Socialize:

Once you have your coffee saucer plate put it down, chug a huge glass of water and then find out how your parents are doing. Maybe you can help clean up? Engage yourself in the event, its not only about food, despite what it has been worked up to be.

Dont tell anyone what your doing:

Your a triathlete, you have a ton of discipline, but maybe you also like to brag....... DON'T. Dont tell anyone what your doing. People are funny, even if there not training for endurance  sport and they are totally happy, they might get offend by the choices your making for you. Read that again. The choices your making for YOU.  Just because someone else is letting it rip doesn't mean you have to join, as bad as THEY may want you to. So use some of that discipline keep the goals to yourself, use the happiness that's brewing up inside and share it with others.

So there you have it a couple simple tips to help conquer one of the toughest mental parts of the season, and not become Fatty McButter Pants. As an added bonus leave a comment with your plan, I will hold you to it! I want to see you succeed and I am sure others do as well. So until next time, Keep on keeping on, Wishing you health and happiness this Holiday season.


Davis




All that temptation is temporary. On the other side of pain is success.

My Ketosis Adventure So Far

Well with tri season winding down and off season starting its time to start looking at what changes you can make for next year. Weather that's a fancy new aero bike or a diet change. Now is the time to start planning.

Last October during my off season I was looking for ways to take me to the next level. Training has become habit, which allowed me to explore a bit. While studying for my CSCS, I developed a heightened interest in nutrition. Where I saw the need for improvement at this time last year was dealing with the weight I had gained after my tractor rollover accident. 

So I began to poke around and I wanted to take a different approach. While reading Chris Mccormack's book he talks about turning to body builders for solving his hydration needs. He looked outside the box. I wanted to get lean. Whos the leanest??? Body Builders.



October 2012: 185 maybe approx 10%BF



So I began to dig deeper and I came across intermittent fasting. That's its own story and you can follow the link and read for your self. Tons of information there. But eventually I found out about nutritional Ketosis.  Again there is a link to the definition as it has its own lengthy definition which if you would like to talk about it further we can grab a coffee. I now drink mine with coconut oil.

Anyways I have noticed over the past few months a lot of big names in triathlon are beginning to recognize that this type of diet my be useful. Since you may not believe me check out all the work being done by Tim Nokes the author of the Lore of Running which he is now re vamping. Joe Feril world famous triathlon coach and author of the Training Bible, Dr. Aitia. and Ben Greenfield. (this is a great post about him actually just finishing Ironman Canada 2013!!)

And I thought I was being original. Remeber when you think your the only one someone else has beat you there.

Anyways to keep this a blog post and not a book, It took me over a year to develop the habits required to sustain this diet for a longer period of time. Christmas was a fail, Snowboard trip was a fail, and then when I started to really bring in intensity I was not prepared and another FAIL. One of the hardest things is dealing with the backlash of the general public. It should be called KeNOsis. because you have to say NO to a ton of foods and habits you are used to eating and that are still good for you but not for ketosis.  But I have now reached a state where I can comfortably manage day to day and I have decided this style of eating is perfect for base building.

I just wanted to add to the pool of subjects of people who have tried this. To be honest I was a little self conscious to make this post last year, as people tend to think you have problems when you are eating butter and drinking coconut oil. But this stuff really does work especially in the base phase.

Briefly what it allows your body to do is become more metabolically efficient, by effectively using fat as an energy source, at lower intensity. Perfect for long distance triathlon (HIM, IM, Ultra)

If you have further interest in the subject stay tuned as I am going to get some metabloic testing done to get some solid numbers to go along with this. But if you have any questions please post in the comments or contact me as I would love to help you give it a shot.


Stay Healthy, Stay Happy

August 2013 179 6%ish BF

Eating for Recovery

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Eating for Recovery:

When I think of recovery I think of the 3 R’s. Repair damaged tissue, Reduce inflammation, and Restock glycogen stores. Nutrition is a curial part of any sport and in daily life. With more research available it is becoming easier for the general public to adopt complex strategies and eat like a pro.

Food is comprised of three macronutrients Protein, Fat and Carbohydrate. Conveniently each of these nutrients covers one of the 3 R’s. The main function of Protein is to repair tissue. The main function of fat is energy storage and it is also an anti-inflammatory.  The main function of carbohydrate is energy and it is the best macronutrient to restock glycogen. For my training in order to hit my target 3 R’s and manage macronutrients I follow Joe Feril’s 5 phase eating system.

Phase 1: Eating before exercise:

The goal of this phase is to provide adequate fuel for activity. Top up all muscle energy stores. So you are not starting on an empty tank, which can decrease performance and increase recovery time.

This phase begins up to 2 hours prior to exercise. Here is where you want to take in some moderate and higher glycemic index carbohydrates. Depending on your experience with digestion this can be a “meal” but also just a snack. 400 calories is sufficient. A GORP bar makes a perfect pre workout snack!!

Phase 2: Eating during exercise:

During exercise water is the only substance which needs to be consumed for any activity lasting less then 60-90 minutes. Beyond 60-90 minutes is when you can start to add in very high glycemic foods, such as fruits, and sports gels to keep that fast fuel coming to the body to allow it to perform at a higher intensity.  It should be noted that liquids will always be absorbed quicker then solids. 

Phase 3: Immediately following exercise:

Immediately following activity your body’s muscles are more then 10x more absorbent to glycogen then any other time in the day. This is not a free pass to chow down an entire birthday cake but it is a great time for another GORP bar because it has a solid amount of carbohydrates along with much needed protein for tissue repair.

Phase4:  As long as the workout lasted:

Continue to eat portions of moderate to higher glycemic index foods after activity.  If it was a 3 hr workout you may have difficulty getting in all that food in one sitting. So in this example you would continue to restock glycogen for up to 3hrs post exercise.  You should aim for 4 cal/lb body mass.

Phase 5: The rest of your day:

The rest of the day is most likely made up of low intensity activity such work, cutting the grass, vacuuming etc. The goal of this stage is to eat lower glycimc foods to prevent your body from storing excess energy as fat. Focus on getting adequate protein and the remainder of healthy fats.

And there you have it a 5 phase eating system to help you recover better, so that you can get the best workout today and be ready to go for tomorrow.

The Beauty of Commuting

I have to say it is a bit of a piss that my car is still not fully functioning. But everything happens for a reason. Not having a car has forced me to man up and put my aerobic motor to work. Commuting on my single speed for the last 2 months.

In the beginning it was a bit of a hassle, but eventually like anything else it becomes a habit and you work out all the kinks. You almost become attached to it. I began to really pride myself on riding to and from work everyday rain or shine. It also becomes a bonus hour of aerobic work everyday. Now hitting 3hrs a day of training was no problem. I was already down one hour by the time I got home. Not to mention I haven't spend a penny on fuel in 2 months.

There was also a much needed mental shift. I was getting on a bike for transportation, not speed. I turned my brain off and just enjoyed it. Sprinting from light to light or get around a car, just having fun with it.

I feel that after 2 months I developed a good system that was working for me. Here are a few tips I came up with that helped to reduce any stress or excuses that come with bicycle commuting.

• The first couple rides are difficult because your not set up yet........... get over it
• If your tired after work or its windy or raining....... enjoy it, eat some extra dinner.
• Set up a commuter basics bag (back pack)
• Flat kit(separate bag)
• tube
• lever
• pump
• Sealant for speedy repair if in a hurry
• Lock and key
• Throw over slush pants
• Thermals
• Light Rain shell 
• Some change in case you need to hope on a bus
• Leave lots of time enjoy the ride at least the first time you ride. Arrive early so you can change
•  If you can leave work cloths at work do it. In fact leave a couple sets. So you dont have to worry about packing work clothes.
•  Wear the same stuff everyday reduce your un needed stress      

That is pretty much it. After a week you should be pretty set up and your only concern is the actual ride itself. If your in the city you might even notice its the same time if not faster to ride a bike!!

Feel free to leave your comments and experiences.

Hope you are all fighting fit!

Davis

The Power of Maca

I have tried a variety of supplements in the past, but nothing has come close to the effectiveness of Maca powder by Navitas. Maca is a potent, superfood which claims to increase stamina, boost libido, and combat fatigue. It contains a wealth of nutrients including amino acids, essential minerals, fiber, plant sterols, phytonutrients, vitamins and fatty acids.

After making just one morning shake and adding Maca I immediately noticed a boost in my energy levels and mood.  As someone who suffers from depression, I will have to say as of right now it has been more effective then any anti depressant I have taken. I also noticed increased endurance performance.

The powder has a fantastic yet mild taste and adds a nice texture to my smoothies. The 90 serving package of powder by Navitas was reasonably priced at $29. I would recommend this product to anyone even if you are not an athlete. It boosts your mood and will give you enough energy to kick that caffeine habit in the morning.

Lean Green Mean Morning Smootie Mix
1 Banana
1 cup blueberries
1 Scoop  Protein powder
1 tbsp Navitas Cacao
2 cups Spiniach
5g Navitas Maca Powder
1 cup unsweetend almond milk


Enjoy!