Couch to ATHLETE!

As all of my regular readers know, I tend to fall off blogging when something is wrong. Well something is potentially wrong. Aside from having some crummy experiences on the trail over the past few weeks I'm feeling injured. Here's the story... Three weeks ago I met my group up for a 14 mile run. Needless to say I was disappointed to learn that the full group was going to be coachless after the first mile and a half. I mean I didn't exactly pay to participate in a training program that promises coaches and end up running coachless for the second year in a row. That was only the beginning of a tough run. Picture from the cavern We ran and watched closely for the turn around point. It never came so we eventually used our judgement and turned around. I then had some stomach trouble. Ended up alone after about 12 miles due to a quick trip to the bathroom. Around mile 14 I saw I was approaching a water stop just to see the water being pulled off the course by the organi...

I'm going to let the Olympics speak, for the most part, this week. I don't think there is anything I can say about my training that could even match up with some of the editorial pieces that can be seen while watching the Olympics. Honestly, I was found whining and upset about my run on Saturday. There were many factors that impacted my attitude but when I spent some of my Saturday and Sunday watching the Olympics, I recognized I had nothing to fret about. So many people spend their days taxing their bodies for a living while I do it as a hobby. Rather than beat myself up about my shape, my speed,, I am going to congratulate myself for my persistence and accomplishments. I will not be winning any gold medals, but I have been winning self confidence and sense of accomplishment during this journey. Two Amazing Athletes! One of the things I am most proud of is my ability to take feedback, let it hang out there and own my misgivings. We are all human and there is always a...

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 ...

I think I am finally ready to deconstruct my last couple of weeks. They have been a blur but totally worth it.  My buddy enjoying life! Anyway, about a week and a half ago I spent a day floating down a river on an inner tube with a couple of friends, I traveled to Cleveland, ran at Sharon Woods for the first time in months (forgot about the hills), rode my bike 36 miles around Columbus in the middle of the night in support of my friends who were running Relay Around Columbus (you can read one friend's account of the event here ), went fishing, walked around one of Dukie's favorite metro parks, etc. It is interesting. We all have indicators of success. Take the children's book t he Giving Tree  for example; In the book, the tree is happiest when he is giving himself to the boy. The boy swings from the tree's branches, carves his initials in the tree, builds a house with the branches and makes a boat with the tree's trunk. The tree basically gives himself to ...