Couch to ATHLETE!

I am posting this picture for those of you curious about the flaming cake: Flaming Cake!!!

Last week, I rambled about the brick workout. I remember talking about how I needed to spend these last two weeks (well now one week) hydrating, eating well, mentally preparing and getting rest.  So here is how I did... First, yesterday was supposed to be my long run for the week. This is where I was going to begin mentally preparing for my triathlon next week. Well, that didn't happen... I suffer from plantar fasciitis on occasion and when it acts up, I take a rest day. So what is the plan? I am going to squeak in 12 miles on Monday evening. Nice slow pace at Sharon Woods three times. I can do this!!! I'm also going to spend about five minutes every day visualizing myself crossing the finish line with a smile on my face... In regards to hydration: Do fruity frilly girly drinks count as hydration? If they do well then I should give myself one big pat on the back. I also learned how to set drinks (and food) on fire! I had plenty of burnt drinks and fruity bevera...

I was telling a friend about my brick workout yesterday. He asked me what it meant to do a brick workout. Well, I'm a technical being so responded with something like this: You do one workout followed by another workout with as little time in between as possible; basically, you kick your own a$$ in a short period of time for fun. Well that did not satisfy my friend and he did his own research. Here is what we learned (paraphrased of course): Some dude from long ago would switch from running to cycling and he coined that type of activity a brick. A brick workout is one that is so tough you want to sh*t a brick when it is over. I have participated in a number of triathlons in the past. All of the triathlons have been sprint distance races and I have always struggled with the running portion of the race. I never trained properly and have been extremely lucky to cross the finish line of all but one of the triathlons I have started.  This year I decided to take the plunge ...

I was recently reading more of the book 'Running the Edge.' It is one of those books that you have to take your time to read. Well, that is true if you are like me. I actually read the book, do the exercises and then self reflect before moving on to the next chapter. It appears that my self reflection exercise for certain chapters can be quite lengthy. I mean I got the book several months ago and I am just now getting to chapter 3. The most recent chapter talked about self actualization and how very few people reach a point of self actualization. If you asked me what I strive for in life, I would tell you that I want to be self actualized... Anyway, over the last couple of weeks (yes I have missed one week, I think) I have decided balance with my workouts is a good thing. I have not been the best at logging all of my workouts but I know that every time I crash into bed at night, my body is perfectly fatigued from the effort I put into it from the day. In my quest to be ...