Living Life

Reporting in for May

Well, May was definitely a month of thinking and evaluation.  I set very aggressive goals and only hit one, but I also developed some knee problems which caused me to change course.  Let's break it down.

 

 

My swimming is solid.  I think I've finally hit where I need to be at and am consistent with training.  Working with a great team is what truly drives my enjoyment of this activity.

My biking was well below intended, which was due to some unexpected fatigue and the knee issues.  I get it checked out this week.

My weights and yoga were not what I wanted, but I did become a bit disillusioned with the knee issues.  I should have pushed through that low motivation, but didn't.  I need to develop more of a robot attitude rather than be a slave to how I feel.

June is going to have some challenges with access to equipment and facilities, so I'll be challenged to get creative. 

All in all, while I didn't hit what I wanted, I still see this as a good road.  I think I'm doing the right thing to be healthy on this rock, and hopefully am an example to what is within the grasp of mere mortals.

Mass Effect Andromeda

I don't do many game reviews, but since I'm emotionally invested in certain titles, I decided to complete one on Mass Effect: Andromeda.

Giving credit where due, the game graphics are outstanding and smooth and combat is fun.  The versatility of playstyles is very refreshing.  Unfortunately, that's about all the credit due.

Logic puzzles are of a soduku type and jumping.  Neither of these suits my play interests.  Some of the jumping puzzles seem to be near carbon copies of those in Dragon Age. 

I expect the most out of Bioware in storyvline, and this is where the game truly failed.  The story was very juvenile and didn't hook me at all.  The romance was gratuitous and the sex scenes, coming close to a softporn style, made things worse.  Previous Mass Effects had hints of nudity that enhanced the story and passion; this one lacked significantly.  The animations were poor as well.  It's hard to watch a kiss when the characters look like they are breaking their necks.

All in all, this game is a disappointment, and I recommend waiting till it hits GOG and pick it up for ten bucks.

Have fun out there all.

End of Base, Beginning of Speed

March and April have been fantastic months!  March finished base training where I hit most of my goals; April started speed training, of which I have little experience, but am enjoying what I'm coming up with.  In March I pulled a PR for 20 mile bike on flats, riding at 18.5 mph, and towards the end of April I snagged a PR for a 300 freestyle swim (in practice) of 3:55. 

The real highlight of the last two months has been participating in the Galveston IM 70.3, doing the swim as part of a relay with two fantastic teammates!

I absolutely loved the race, the best thing being the talent that showed up.  Lindsey Corbin was there, Miranda Carfrae was supporting Tim O'Donnell, and I swear I saw Charlotte McShane, but I'm not sure.  Maybe that was just wishful thinking.  I ate supper the night before with Matt Russell who took 5th, but missed the podium by mere seconds.  We were talking about racing, conditions, weather, etc, because there was a storm rolling in the night before.  Matt was so cool telling us about some of his coldest races.  Speaking of the storm, we started with a 17 mph wind which put a good chop on the water, but then it kicked up to 20 mph for our biker and runner.  I experienced a nice dynamic of the relay.  We were all smiles, pushing hard, and having a great time, while everyone else was suffering because they were doing the entire race.  I was pretty ok with not smoking myself for 6 hours.

Mauricio Cruz won the race although Tim O'Donnell led every leg of the race.  Everyone was sure Tim was going to come in first, but Cruz rounded the last turn ahead of Tim a short bit before the finish.  The announcer was fairly surprised.  In the post-race interview, Cruz said O'Donnell has been one of his idols for a long time.  This reminded me of the saying to train until your idols become your rivals.

Here are my March and April stats which I'm fairly pleased with.

 

 

May looks to be the most aggressively planned month of the year.  I'll need to be locked in on scheduling pretty tight to make sure I hit these numbers.

As a bit of a side, as most would expect with a change in lifestyle, my weight is dropping.  I've lost 13 lb since the beginning of Dec, and while I think I'm near settling out to an equilibrium, when I look at myself in the mirror I perceive I have a little more of me to give.  I'm not doing anything special on diet, but making healthy choices most of the time.  I choose whole foods most of the time, over cooked or processed; I minimize breads, pasta, and cereals, but don't completely eliminate them (what's life without pizza every now and then?).  I eat red meat, but my most common meat is chicken thighs.  Eggs and fruit are most common for breakfast.  I do need to increase my discipline a bit more as I find I do reach for a junk food option a bit more than I like, when I am looking for quick energy or curing belly rumblings.  Here's how my weight has slightly declined over time; nothing big and fast, but this feels healthy and permanent, and all due to focus on lifestyle rather than dropping weight.

 

I am going to close out these thoughts with one final plug for my teammates.  My swimming wouldn't be where it is without the help of the team I swim with.  I'm always chasing the faster people which motivates me to push harder.  They are also giving me stroke advice which has proved invaluable.  While I don't have a bike team to get the same benefit, I have a network of bikers who are always talking to me about training methodologies, tools, etc.  While I can definitely do things on my own, I wouldn't be where I am today if there weren't others on this journey with me.  Thank you all!

Closing out February

So as I close out February, the 3d month of base training, I find myself happy with where things are going, but challenged by the negativity of not doing as well as I could have. 

 

I missed a couple of trainings that I could have made, so my volume could have been a little higher.  For some reason, that bothered me and overshadowed the fact that in this shortest month I had the most volume by far of any previous months.  So, while I should be happy at what I've gained, I find I'm a bit too fixated on what I didn't do.  I think for a healthy outlook, we need to stay focused on our accomplishments even if we could do more.

At the end of February I participated in a short course swim meet, choosing the same events of the same meet of the previous year.  All my times were improved from last year by a decent amount.  I attribute this increase to having a great coach and being on a great team.  There are folks faster than me that I'm trying to catch up to who have been helping me with technique.  There are also folks slightly slower than me that don't let me slack off.  Our coach is also very good at providing pointers and outstanding workouts. 

March is looking good.  While I will miss some days due to not having access to a pool and bike, I think I can put up some good numbers to finish out my base training phase.  The first major event of the season is on 2 Apr, the Galveston Tri where I'll be doing the swim leg of a relay.  I'll be seeing friends there that I haven't seen in over 20 years.

Keep living well, friends!

Base Training

I've always been interested in the mix between "base training," lower intensity, steady volume, presumed to build a base of fitness, and "speed training," which is more intense and designed to build raw power in muscles.  The theory of periodization says to spend months in the base training mode, then at an appropriate time, lower the volume in favor of some speed training.  Prior to a race, when you want to be at your best, you rest, do some light workouts, and hopefully your body grows and adapts to peak right at race time.

Unfortunately, about 90% of the writing I've read on this methodology only explains the concepts, but doesn't reference good studies nor creates a mathematical method to determine when to start shifting from one type of workout to another.  So I guess it'll be up to me to experiment :).

I started my base training in December with an intent to do 4 months of just pure volume.  In December I:

swam: 35,000 yards
biked: 220 miles

In January I:

swam: 36,700 yards
biked:  241 miles

During that two months I've lost approximately 6 pounds, but my body composition changes make me think there is likely an additional amount of fat that has been traded for muscle (probably not too much).  My swimming has measurably improved, but my biking times are actually a tiny bit slower than what I was riding in October of last year.

More to come on the experiment of the human body!

You Will Make It

I've been through a few things as I have traveled on this rock, and I know a few that have been through a few more things.  My experience teaches me that there is nothing in this world that can't be gotten through.  Not one thing.  The key is to realize, when you're in the fight, you don't think straight, so you just have to remember to breathe.  Just breathe for a bit more.  When you realize you're still breathing, you will start thinking straight, start realizing that you've got the skills to make it, and most importantly, that the fight is likely not as bad as you originally thought.

Do You Need that Group?

Observe the video for 2 minutes. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJxqi090Yfc

Spock determines that he does not share the values and discriminations of the Vulcan Council, so he chooses not to enter the Vulcan Science Academy.

Think for today's situation.  There's a group out there that you want to be a part of, but they have refused you because you do not emulate what they want you to be.  You have a few options:

1) Change who you are

2) Try to change the group into accepting you

3) Wave, and with a very resounding voice state, "See ya!"

You don't have to be a  part of that group.  Maybe you wanted to really bad, and maybe it hurts to be refused, but they have shown their true colors.  Go find another group, one that respects you for who you are and accepts your values. 

Like Spock, show gratitude that they revealed who they were.  You don't need them.  Find people who love you for you and live your life well (or is that prosper?)

Hip Surgery Recovery

Well folks, it's time to get back on this thing.  Unreported here, I had a hip replacement in July.  The pain and then change in lifestyle post surgery had me down a bit, but I adjusted fairly quickly.  It's a good think I don't make a living off being an athlete :). 

 

 

Now, almost three months later, I'm back on the training train.  My biking and swimming are back to pre-surgery times (sometimes even a bit faster).  I have some challenges with lateral movements and hip flexibility, but I'm working those as well.  The biggest change I face now is the pounding of running is a big no no, so while I can run, I really have to watch it and have to pay attention to the increased wear and tear I put on the prosthetics plus my other hip.

My future triathlons are going to end up being either aquathons (just the swim and bike legs) or relays where I get someone else to do the run portion.  I have also started looking into race walking.  I'm thinking there might be a possibility of walking the run leg of a tri, and with my run times, it probably wouldn't be a whole lot different. :).

Best training for all out there.

The Purpose of Life?

Not sure anyone has the answer to this question, but I have found that contributing to the world provides a certain amount of contentment.  I think the type and amount of contribution that brings contentment likely varies depending on the giver.  I've also found that people remember the contributions you make. 

This probably isn't the answer for everyone, but maybe it's a good start.

Don't shy away from the hills; there's always hills.