The amazing impact of a focused diet
After only 1 1/2 weeks of following a prescribed diet, I blew myself away with the results of my long run yesterday (16 miles). I was afraid of it...3 hrs were scheduled with a 9:30-10:30min /mile race pace. I knew that this would be my longest run before...
Discovering Road rash
Road rash, runner's rash, and chafing are well-known issues with endurance sports. Cyclists apply Chamois Buttr in their cycling shorts. Both runners and cyclists use body glide wherever their skin experiences friction. It's applied to feet, buttocks, inner thighs,...
One Glass of whiskey
Apparently, I've become very sensitive to alcohol. Perhaps this is a result of intentionally being more aware of how my body feels or the fact that now I rarely have more than 2-3 drinks/week. I've cut back for a few reasons, primarily, the negative impact it...
Reluctantly adding a nutritionist to my team
No one does "it" alone... Since the beginning of my Ironman journey, I've been able to drop my weight and improve my fitness significantly. In the beginning, my weight loss was through calorie restriction and overall change in my relationship with food. I felt great...
Run assessment…progress despite nutritional deficit
Routine run assessment/progress check I felt strong and was confident that my run fitness had increased. At the upper end of the training set, I began feeling wobbly and low on energy...I was bonking again! I crashed pretty quickly after that. Johnny noted that my...
Maui…and my first half marathon run
Traveling to paradise While taking a short vacation in Maui I decided to take full advantage of a rare opportunity. Being fully aware that the Ironman World Championship is hosted in Kona, I wanted to experience training all three disciplines while there. Although I...
Bel Inizio Giving Thanks Charity 10K
2019 Giving Thanks 10K run was a random race that I signed up to do. Running a 10K seemed like a good idea as a lead-in to a half-marathon. I registered to do a half-marathon as preparation for the Chevron Houston Marathon. To my surprise, I wasn't nervous...
For the love of running
I've joined the crazies... I enjoying running. More specifically, I'm enjoying the feeling of pushing myself while I'm actually pushing myself. Over the years (beginning in graduate school) I've attempted to establish a running habit. I never enjoyed it, not...
Being open about my journey has been joyous
Fear is a powerful emotion My longstanding impulse is to remain closed about my goals and endeavors. For many years, I've told people that I'd rather lurk in the shadows of obscurity than be in the light. Part of that mindset is that I do what I do for me, not to...
Dietary success today
It's the small victories Travel has been heavy for the past few days which has made eating well a constant challenge. Today, I'm happy to say that I met the challenge and won. For lunch, I was in Austin, TX and ate a grilled chicken with quinoa, olives,...
A 2-hour run …a battle of mental will vs underlying beliefs
I keep trying... For the last month, I've been unsuccessful in my attempts to complete a two-hour run. Although Johnny has been training me to complete the 2020 Texas Ironman, right now he's preparing me to run the January Houston Marathon. Part of the training...
Goal Achieved … An Olympic Triathlon
Goal achieved...meh I did it... I completed an Olympic triathlon. Immediately after completing the race I felt a wave of disappointment that was mixed with amazement, joy, and disbelief. I didn't feel the sense of satisfaction that I'd imagined. In January, I planned...
Kerrville Triathlon – What a Great Day, Part 2
After completing an awesome swim, I jogged up the hill to the transition area to prepare for the 14-mile ride. Along the way, I saw my wife and son. She was smiling and said that she could tell that I swam fast. That woman can be a tough supporter who doesn't hesitate...
Kerrville Triathlon – What a Great Day, Part 1
This was my best race to date! This was my last sprint length triathlon of the year and I went into it with an aggressive mind state. Having completed a few races this year, I felt that it was an opportunity for me to incorporate the big lessons and push...
Interval Training – Changing the stress on my body
Johnny provides a calendar with my daily workouts using the finalsurge web app. On Monday, I noticed that my 1 hour, zone 1 run was a zone 3 interval workout. More specifically, High zone 3 for 5 min, then low zone 3 for 10 minutes. I was to repeat that as many times...