I have competition issues
I was completely unaware of it until I had mostly ruined my pool session...I was secretly competing with the guy in the next lane. I was NOT following my training plan. A competitor showed up He arrived shortly after I got in the pool. I noticed that he was...
A new personal best
The anticipation of a long-ride is exciting. Typically, my long rides are on Sundays. Today, I was determined to ride longer than 30 miles, my current record. My training plan has me on the bike for 2 and a half hours. So, with an average speed of 15 mph, a 35-40 mile...
My gear upgrade 😀
Measuring power output is key to endurance Having spent some time with avid cyclists, I kept hearing them discuss power and power meters. In fact, Johnny recently urged me to purchase a set Garmin Vector power meters. He said that training with power is the best way...
Surprise cycling gains today
Showing up is still a mind game... This morning I was scheduled to do a cycling lactate profile. I've described these in other posts. The goal is to do them every 8 weeks. I'm not yet that organized, so I do them when I remember to schedule them. The last test that I...
I see potential in the midst of my mistakes.
During a recent pool session with Johnny, he realized that I had not been practicing my basic skills. As usual, at the beginning of the lesson he tells me to warm up by going through my drills. I looked at him like a deer in headlights. Frozen. I had been exposed. I...
My run test shows the flaws in “personalizing” my training plan.
All coaches everywhere: Just stick to the plan. I know how to get you to your goal. New athlete: I'm feeling good, I'm going to add XYZ to my workout, coach will never know. Or, I'm going to do everything faster since I want to get stronger, coach will be...
Getting comfortable with longer open water swimming
For the past few weeks I have been swimming in a pool and doing a mile for each of my training sessions. . The trainwreck of a swim that I had at the One Two Tri iii race last Sunday makes me want to practice in open water more frequently. Today, I went to a local...
My 1st Podcast Interview
This evening I had the honor of being Interviewed by a friend of mine, Erline Maingot who hosts the Shall We Proceed podcast. A few weeks ago, she found the Instagram page I was using to share some of my journey to the 2020 Texas Ironman. She asked me to come on her...
One Two Tri III Triathlon
I was overconfident and underprepared for the race... If you've thought about doing a triathlon, the length of this race is good for you. The swim is 300 meters in the man-made lake at the Texas Ski Ranch, a 14-mile bike and 5K run on the back roads of beautiful New...
Sometimes balancing workouts and building relationships is tough
The struggle of getting the miles in day after day is no bullshit. I am making a significant investment of my time and am focusing on removing all of my excuses along the way. I regularly travel several days a week for work. I have improved my ability to inject a...
Open Water Swim Practice
Training alone cannot prepare you for the full set of mental and physical challenges that you’ll encounter on race day.
My performance gains reflect inadequate nutrition
How I came to neglect nutrition Until recently, I've focused almost exclusively on the physical aspects of my training. Yes, I do eat, sleep and go through mental highs and lows like everyone else. However, most of my focus has been on getting the workouts done day...
Showing up is important
Holidays still count Although I'm at the beginning, my journey to the 2020 Ironman Texas continues to surprise me. The surprises show up in various ways. Such as physical improvements, insights into how my mindset affects my training AND how training affects my mental...
Suffering from stagnation
Well, it's been 7 days of stasis, stagnation, sulking, and sickness... While I was in Chicago and Minnesota two weeks ago I managed to allow a pathogen to hitch a ride and populate my respiratory system. It began with chills and dull body aches which made me think...
Rockin’ & Rollin’ in Rochester
My next training conundrum... I'm traveling from Chicago to Rochester, MN and that would take most of the day. The next day, I'd be in meetings from 7am to 5 pm then driving back to Minneapolis. So, I was pretty sure that I'd be too tired to get in a run once I made...