Not Dead. And no longer in grad school.

 The following things have changed since I last wrote on this blog:

• Finished two clinical rotations
• Bought a house
• Passed board exams
• Moved to Maine
• Graduated with my doctorate in physical therapy
• Got my first job as a physical therapist

For my last year in grad school, I served as president of the student association, mentored students in two courses, and applied for and was accepted to the national honor society for DPTs. I pushed myself hard in the last two terms and paid for it in health and stress level. Now I'm a DPT and have a full-time job working standard office hours for one company for the first time ever. I don't think I knew how hard I'd pushed myself until after graduation when I just had to do one thing--go to work every day. No studying, no exams to prep for, no meetings to plan or resources to put together. At the end of each day, I can come home and play video games until bedtime if I like. It's delightful.

I've given myself some time and space to mentally recover from four years of school and everything that went with it. For the first few months, I still didn't feel motivated to exercise in even the most basic of ways. I mean, not even a short walk in the evenings. I can tell I'm coming back from that level of stress and fatigue because I actually want to work out again. I've started exploring my new home on my bike and I've been getting to work early in the mornings so I can have a short run before I start my days.

On one of those morning runs I passed a sign for the Kennebec River Rail Trail that had featured sponsors, and one of the sponsors was IronMan 70.3 Maine - Augusta. Hmm, I thought. I live near Augusta. In fact, I work in Augusta. That's interesting.

So I signed up for IronMan 70.3 Maine today. And I guess maybe it's worth tracking my training journey on this blog again. I'm coming back from no fitness at all for the past few years to try to get in shape for a 70.3. And I know from experience that you can't fake your way through a 70.3. Maybe there are people out there who are similarly out of shape and want to get back to training or competing or at least participating in mass-start events and my journey will inspire or motivate or inform or something. Or maybe it will be entertaining to follow. At the very least it will be good for me to get my thoughts out of my head and onto a screen.

That's it for now. Here's a pretty picture from my bike ride today as a thank you for reading.

Maine is a very pretty place to live.

Not Dead. In Grad School.

From the first month of my matriculation

Hello, friends. I've been meaning to drop you a note for, well, about two years now. That's how long it's been since my last post. You know what else happened two years ago? I started a Doctor of Physical Therapy program.

In retrospect, I had enough information that I should have known what to expect. While doing observation hours as a volunteer at the D.C. Veterans' Administration, I had many conversations with the therapists about how difficult their doctorates were, how they ended up forming bonds with their classmates, like soldiers who have been through war. A few of the students who came through on clinical rotations mentioned that multiple relationships in their cohorts had ended during the three-year program. Everyone I knew--not just physical therapists--told me how hard grad school is, how it drains you, how it leaves time for nothing else.

(Except for Emily. She breezed through grad school, somehow.)

But, and I don't know if this has fully come across in all my years of blogging, but I have a pretty high opinion of myself. I paid lip service to how hard a DPT program would be, but internally I thought, "I'm smarter than most people, and better at school. And I'm older than most students when they start grad school. I'll probably be fine."

You may be able to guess, based on the fact that I have dropped off the face of the planet for two years, that I was incorrect. Grad school is hard. Grad school is hard for other people, and it is hard for me. I have gone weeks without riding my bike. I have gained and lost weight. I have broken down crying multiple times. I have experienced mild anxiety and depression (even before COVID-19 turned everything upside down), two things I haven't experienced since puberty. 

I've also learned so, so much, and not just in my chosen field of study. Sure, I know a lot more about anatomy and physiology, movement science, kinesiology, biomechanics, and so on. I've also had the opportunity to reflect deeply on my personal values, and on what drives me to want to help people as a therapist. I've discovered that I value knowledge above everything else, and my ultimate goal as a clinician is to teach people how to be healthier, how to heal themselves. I've also had to confront some of my weaknesses as a communicator, mostly by almost failing (not as bad as it sounds, because anything below a B fails hands-on skills in my program) interview-based finals. In one, I forgot to ask the mock patient what her goals were. I realized that sometimes I think I'm asking a question, but the other person doesn't realize what I'm asking, but as the clinician, the impetus is on me to help the patient give me the information I need.

Most importantly, I've learned that I'm not as smart as I think I am, and I don't know as much as I think I do. I went into the DPT program thinking that I was basically doing the job of a therapist already, just as a fitness trainer. That was based on some unfortunate experiences observing physical therapists in various settings; some of them were practicing at a level not far above what I was doing as a fitness professional. But the first two years of my program have pricked my ego and deflated my big head. Looking back, I feel like I didn't know anything coming into this program.; I've learned at least as much in the past two years as I had in the previous ten, and I still have two more to go. Even once I graduate, I will know just barely enough to start practicing, which will open up a whole new realm of learning potential--as one of my clients put it, "You'll have your license to keep learning." I love learning, so it suits me fine. But I hope I will never again have such an over-inflated view of my own knowledge; I find I enjoy life much more when I'm approaching it with an open mind and an eagerness to see what I can learn, whether that's from a class, a person, or a situation. And I get much more out of life, that way, than approaching with the attitude of, "Oh yeah, I know all that already."

I'm studying. Patty's helping.

Anyway. That's where I've been. Not dead, just busy becoming a physical therapist. Let's talk now of where we are going.

If you are still out there, dear readers, what would you like to know? What can I write that would be worth reading to you? If you are still out there, tell me. I have some ideas, like creating a beginner's guide for road cycling, similar to the series I did years ago on starting out in triathlon. I could answer questions on injuries, or at least try to. I'm planning my own investigation on the intricacies of bike fit, and I could share that. I could share my journey of trying to continue cycling during crazy times--you know, grad school, work, travel, global pandemic, etc. And if no one is still reading, I will still write for myself, and do whichever of these seems most interesting to me. But if anyone is still out there to get some value from my research, let me know what most interests you, what would most help you!

See you out there. In the meantime, don't forget to spin and smile!

Finding my way

I think, relatively, that I haven't moved around all that much. But I have had four significant moves in the last 10 years, so I've had a little practice with the process. Mostly, I don't like it. Packing everything up, sorting through the stuff you naturally accumulate from living in a place for a few years, getting frustrated with packing and giving a bunch away or throwing it out or just leaving it behind, then regretting it a few months later when you inevitably need that exact thing . . . finding a new place to live, and setting it up so it feels like home and not some stranger's house . . . making new friends and connections, finding a doctor, a dentist, a piano tuner . . . figuring out which grocery store is going to be your grocery store . . . in general, I do not like moving and would be quite happy never to do it again.

Still, something about moving that I enjoy, something that I've just picked up on this time: finding my way around on a bike. At first, I went on a few group rides and had no clue where I was; I couldn't get dropped because I wouldn't know where I was (there's still plenty of that, actually)! And I've already written about getting turned around on a bike ride. But on a ride last week, I suddenly realized that I knew exactly where I was, and knew what was coming up next. It's strange how quickly, and without really noticing it, these landmarks and . . . how should I say, the feel of a place sticks in your brain. Without trying, I've acquired a certain sense of where I am, and how to get around.

I'm sure there will still be plenty getting lost--after all, the Bay Area is huge, and there are major parts of it I haven't even considered exploring yet! But it's starting to feel like my area, like I belong here and know a little bit about how to get around.

Big Changes Coming

I have an announcement to make:

Emily got a job in Northern California. We are moving to the Bay Area after the first of the year!

I will really miss the community I've come to know and love her in the D.C. metro. I'll miss my team, Veloworks-Spokes, Etc.; I'll miss my MABRA women's racing community; I'll miss my Team-Not-Team cyclocross group; I'll miss my workplace, Sport & Health, and all of the wonderful clients I've been privileged to train over the past three years; and I'll miss the beautiful terrain, the dedicated cycling paths, the ability to get so many places in this area by bike.

I'm going into a new environment sight unseen. I'll need to find a new team, a new gym, a new community. I'll need to get to know a new area with new and different terrain. I'll have to explore new bike paths and routes to get around my new home. And I'll have to find a good and trust-worthy bike shop.

I don't know anything about what the racing is like in Northern California. I've heard it's hilly; will I be too fat to do well? I just upgraded to cat. 3 at the end of the road season, and I'm about to upgrade to a cat. 2 in 'cross. Will I be able to keep up with that level in a new and more competitive region? Will I find a team that balances social and competitive well? Will the community welcome me?

I was very apprehensive about moving across the country when Emily was interviewing for jobs. But now that I know for sure that we're moving, I'm very excited! I'm going to explore a part of the country I've never visited extensively (the only time I went to NorCal while attending USC was for the Berkeley Bearathlon, the hardest sprint triathlon I've ever done). I'll get to ride my bike by the ocean and in the mountains. We'll be close to surfing and close to skiing. And I'm already getting back in touch with people I knew in college.

Also, I fully intend to buy a mountain bike once we get out there to fully enjoy what West Coast cycling has to offer!

Re-imagining Trihardist

View from a recent ride in Page County, Virginia.

I started this blog mostly because I wanted some cool cycling workouts that I could download and use in workouts that didn't have crappy music and coked-out instructors and didn't cost an arm and a leg. I couldn't find any, so I started making my own. They've been pretty popular over the years, but the whole idea has started to feel dated to me. There are lots of other (and better) options when it comes to structured, guided training for indoor cycling: there's Sufferfest, TrainerRoad, Zwift, Peloton (which seems to have the coked-out instructor vibe going), and plenty of workouts available for free on YouTube. In this crowded marketplace, I feel like my workouts lack utility. There are more and better options now.

This post isn't meant to be a pity party, though. Rather, it's to get feedback from you, my readers and listeners and clients, on what will be edifying for you. I've thought of going in a few different directions:

• I plan to make some free video workouts for distribution on YouTube, in the vein of what I've done before with my audio workouts. I'll also give the option of commissioning custom workouts with your choice of video, music, and programming. For example if you have race course footage that you'd really like to use to prepare, or need something to help motivate you through your toughest coach-assigned workouts, I could make a custom video for you.
• I'd like to do some product reviews, especially of women's kit. There are a few websites, mostly online cycling magazines, in that space, but they mostly seem to cover boutique companies that sell kit in Australia, Europe, and the UK. I haven't found as much that covers cool women's kit in the US. The tough part about getting this going is the high start-up cost. Nice kit is expensive!
• I will eventually use my yoga expertise to make some video classes for cyclists and runners. I think yoga is a great tool to improve performance for endurance athletes.
• I've considered doing a Cycling Maven style vlog (love that guy), but I have a hard time believing anyone thinks I'm interesting enough to want to watch me live life. And I don't like talking about myself. And I have trouble making eye contact with the camera. I suppose these are all things I could overcome, if I get an overwhelming response that says, "Yes, Jamie! We really want to hear about all the mundanities of your life!" Otherwise, I would rather do something more . . . useful (and that's not a dig at the Maven; that guy is awesome, and he has some super useful videos with tips for criterium racing). Besides, every Tom, Dick, and Harry (for some reason, it's mostly men who think that the internet will be interested in what they have to say) is starting a YouTube cycling vlog right now.

Those are the ideas that I have so far. I'll still have my audio workouts available, both the free and paid ones, and will still do custom workouts for anyone who wants them. I'll still do my race reports and general life updates. And I'll still call myself the Trihardist, even though I'm not doing triathlons right now. It's my identity, at this point. Besides, I like the way it sounds.

Anyway, let me know what you think! How can I make myself useful to you?

You can contact me with ideas by leaving a comment on this post; by tweeting @trihardist;by leaving a comment on my Facebook page; by e-mailing me; or by sending a smoke signal, if you live in the DC Metro.

Moved!

I live in Jamesport, Missouri, now.

:-)

Important News!

I am making a very important announcement.

I'm moving to Jamesport, Missouri, next week. I resigned from Genesis Health Clubs. My last day is this Saturday, June 30. I'll be living and working on a friend's farm for room and board, teaching yoga, and training individuals privately. I'll also be enjoying the great swimming, biking, and running opportunities of the area!

I've enjoyed working at Genesis and living in Wichita more than I imagined I would. I've learned a lot in the last five years, and I'm glad that I came back to Kansas after graduating college. I never intended to stay here forever, though, and the time has come to move on!

Jamesport lies about an hour away from the northeastern-most suburbs of Kansas City, MO. If you or anyone you know would be interested in working with an experienced personal trainer, or needs a cycling/triathlon coach, I would love to talk with you. Since I won't be affiliated with a gym, I will be free to travel to you and train in home, or you can come to my studio to work out (as soon as I find one and get it set up). I am toying with the idea of traveling to Kansas City once a week to train clients there. I'd also be open to traveling to St. Louis once a week, if I have enough clients to warrant the 4-hour trip.

I'd also like to get into some group runs and rides, but I'm not sure where to start. If you know of a good group ride that I could join, please let me know! I'd also like to join a cycling team in the KC area, so if you have any tips on that, I'd love to hear them.

You guys are great to come and read my rambling race reports, and let me coach you in your cycling. I'm hoping that, with this change, I'll have more time to devote to making new workouts. Thank you guys for everything you do. I really appreciate you.

My Capacity

I don't do much coaching, anymore. I have a few athletes, but mostly, I focus on personal training, yoga, and cycling classes. However, when I was coaching I had two athletes--one male, one female--who used to drive me nuts. They did not drive me nuts by doing too little and expecting too much; rather, they did (in my perception) WAY too much work, and not nearly enough recovery. I kept telling them that they needed to slow down, to do less, to recover more, or they might risk sickness or injury. Certainly, I thought, they wouldn't be able to achieve their potential.

Well I think I understand, now.

Over the past few months, I've gotten into rugby. I like it. It's tough. It's aggressive. It's different. It allows me to run side to side, as well as straight forward.

Trouble is, I'm finding it pretty difficult to achieve my definition of "training," which is working hard enough that I feel like I've been hit by a train. I've been lifting weights and doing aerobic endurance workouts and doing sprints and running agility drills and practicing my passing. Now that I think about it, I don't do a lot of tackling practice, and that might help with the whole "hit by a train" sensation.

But I understand now the urge to, say, run in the morning, swim at lunch, and finish the day off with bootcamp. When you are a ridiculously fit individual, it's hard to find the exercise--or, more probably, combination of exercises--that will make you sore. So you do lots.

Help me. I'm becoming an exercise junky.

Closing Down

So I was going to do one last race, this season.

But I've changed my mind.

I don't really want to do the Derby Rock 'n' Route Tri. Don't get me wrong--it's a great race! I highly recommend it! But you know what? I'm ready to be done with tris for a while. Right now, I'm teaching spinning classes and water aerobics and yoga, and I'm happy with that. I feel no desire to swim or bike or run. Well, maybe a little desire. But not enough to want to train and race.

Yes, I'm sure I'll come back to the sport, eventually. Endurance will be a part of my life again. But right now I just need a break. And I'm ready to give myself some space to take it.

Not sure what I'll do with the blog, now. Probably continue with the cycling workouts. Maybe do a post on biomechanics or form, if I'm in the mood to get all technically minded. And I might come back to do some cyclocross later this year. We'll see.

Right now, the Photographer is running and biking and getting into all kinds of shape. And I will be doing just enough training to keep up with her. I'm very happy with that.

Very happy.

The Most Necessary Thing

I don't have a coach. I don't have a power meter. I don't have a GPS device. I don't run in Newtons, don't ride on Zipps, and don't own a swim skin.

I've considered purchasing all of those things. I've thought about spending money I didn't really have on things I don't really need, because they might (in most cases, will) make me faster. And in terms of improving speed, all of these tools are reasonable investments. I'm on the fence about Newtons (seems to me that they could go either way), but all the others, I firmly believe that they will make you faster.

But I'm not going to spend money on them.

Why? Because at this point in my training, they're not necessary. Sure, I could probably ride faster with a pair of Zipps. And I could probably get more speed out of myself with a GPS device, a power meter, a coach. But the truth is that I can still get so much out of myself just by swimming, biking, and running, that the improvements I would see with a monetary investment aren't necessary right now.

Hard work in the workouts is (right now) the most necessary thing for me.

Same goes for the workouts themselves. This year, I think I can drop 20-30 seconds off my mile pace in the 5k just by continuing the pattern of training I've been doing: long run, tempo run, intervals. There's still plenty of room for improvement for me with getting all my runs done, too. So I probably won't consider adding in additional workouts (hills, for example) on any regular basis until I see the current performance gains I'm making level off.

Chances are good that in a couple years I'll start to see my improvements plateau; my times won't get faster, my results won't improve. That's when I'll consider hiring a coach, purchasing new training tools, upgrading my equipment. And that's when I might start looking for new training methods, concentrating more on strength and plyometrics, re-evaluating my plan.

But for right now, consistency in working hard is my most necessary thing.

What's yours?

Making Tough Choices

How badly do you want to get better?

I don't ask what you're willing to sacrifice. If you're serious about this sport, it's clear already that you're willing to put your social life on the line; you have no problem spending copious amounts of time on a sport; and dropping hundreds (maybe thousands) of dollars on gear, racing, and travel is nothing new to you.

But let's say, for example, that running is your limiter. You can put in a decent swim, create a big lead on the bike, but then get re-passed by 50% of your competitors on the run. You're a strong athlete. You may not be "a runner," but you know you're strong. So you figure you should at least have a 45-minute 10k hidden deep inside you.

Here's the problem: In order to access that speed, you might have to focus just on running.

In my foray into cycling this year, I fully grasped something I should have known already: I cannot realize my potential in the individual sports of swimming, cycling, and running simultaneously. Neither can you. That's why pro triathletes don't win big-name marathons; it's why pro cyclists never win Kona.

Now in amateur triathlon, I have an awesome bike leg. That's where I do the most damage; that's where I gain my edge. But my 20-21 MPH speeds will not cut it for me in road races, criteriums, or even time trials. Part of this is a mental block (at least for me). When you've trained yourself always to save a little bit on the bike, it's tough to lay it all out in a bike race. Subconsciously, your body doesn't want to go 110% in a bike race, because it figures it's going to have to run after. I got to where I started asking myself, "Would I be able to run after this?" And if the answer was yes, it was time to get the lead out.

But most of the issue was with training. Even at the top of my game, I'm not going to be as strong cycling as a triathlete against dedicated cyclists as I would if I were only biking. In other words, I have untapped potential.

That doesn't mean that you never win a 5k or a time trial when you're training for triathlon, of course. I've gotten a few medals at local runs this year, and I've won some prize money in the bike scene. The problem isn't that I'm not competitive with runners/cyclists; the problem is that I'm not achieving my potential.

That's important, too, because there are triathletes out there who come from a background of competitive, dedicated running and cycling, and they're much closer to their potential in those sports--even when training for tris!--than I am. And if I want to beat them, I'm going to have to access some more of my own potential.

Which brings us back to the original question: how badly do you want to get better?

It's apparent to me, at this moment, that I will eventually want (or need) to put in a long-term, dedicated running focus. That means more than just a month or two in the offseason (like I did this year, after my ankle healed enough); that means like a season. And during that time, my swimming and cycling will go by the wayside. It's not that I'll never swim, or never ride. And it's not that I'll lose all the fitness and speed I've developed in those disciplines. But they won't be my focus, and I probably won't see the kind of improvement in those sports that I've become accustomed to. I'll still be able to race tris, too, although I may not have the cycling and swimming legs to be placing top 10 like I have been.

Can you tell I'm trying to talk myself into this?

Hiatus

Well, might as well call it what it is.

It's been--what?--a good two months since I've posted. Know what else I haven't done in about two months? Haven't swam or biked over about that same span of time. Well, except for spinning classes. But that's my job. And the SpinStrong Firehouse workouts. But we go out for margaritas and Mexican food after that.

I'm beginning to understand my lack of ambition, though; the reasons for my missing mojo are becoming clear. I'm starting to feel restless, here in south central Kansas. Nothing I can put my finger on, exactly. But I think I'm ready to move on. It feels right. I feel ready.

But when you're getting ready to make a big transition, it's difficult to plan for things like training and racing, even though (for me, anyway) training and racing is more central than periphery. How shall I train? Should I peak for Shawnee Mission? Incorporate Mudwater and Rock 'n' Route? Plan to run the newly-designed Wichita Marathon course? See, I'm not sure I'm going to be around when all those things are going down, so I'm not sure what (if anything) I should target in the coming season.

Still, I miss having something to shoot for, a reason to go out and work up a sweat. And I've gained weight, over this holiday/off-season period. So I'm working on getting back on a plan. It's tentative, of course, but I figure that wherever I am in six months, they will have triathlons, and I will be able to find something within driving distance that I can do that will roughly approximate the events for which I've been training. So I'm trying to proceed as normal with this season, planning-wise. And if none of it works out, that'll be fine too.

None of which addresses my extended absence from the online community. I still read most of your blogs, by the way. I've become a little bit of a lurker, but I'm still out there, following your progress. Congrats to those of you who finished IMs in the past two months. You are all awesome and rock. As to writing, what I should have done was prepare a series of drafts that would take minimal work to complete, so that I could have kept publishing during my down-time. But I did not do that, and the result was a short . . . let's call it a sabbatical. Had my time off. Recharged a little bit. Now I'm back fresh, with some new ideas, ready to bring more info to you (and not just about my little life).

And really, that's what an off-season is supposed to be.

Anyone Know a Good Mojo Doctor?

I think my mojo is afraid of H1N1.

That's the only reason I can think of that explains my mojo's obvious absence. I have no interest in blogging (obviously) or coaching; personal training is slow and I don't even care; I haven't even wanted to do a cyclocross race since Capital Cup (although I'm doing one this weekend--an avondcross!); my cycling classes are boring and I don't want to be there; I haven't swam in who the hell knows how long. My mojo is definitely on hiatus. Maybe it went to someplace tropical; maybe I can go visit it there.

You know what I've been doing a lot of, though? Running.

Of all things, right? Anyone remember when I hated running, when those were the only workouts I ever skipped, when I did an Olympic tri without having ever run more than 4.5 miles? Apparently, those days are over. I love running.

And I'd love to tell everyone how that happened (because I know I'm not the only one who's struggled with serious resentment towards one of our three sports), but I can't. Because I have no idea how it happened. Maybe it's like an arranged marriage--you spend enough time together, eventually you find love.

Anyway, if anyone knows a good mojo doctor, let me know. Otherwise, I'll just be waiting for this mojo affliction to run it's course. I'm sure that as the off-season progresses and I start reading about this race and that race and his plans and her plans, my mojo will take tentative steps back from Fiji or wherever it's gone.

Burnout

It would figure.

I go the whole season--swimming, biking, running, doing yoga, lifting weights, trying Pilates, teaching cycling and water aerobics--without being overtrained.

I shift to a single-sport focus, and boom. Overtrained.

(Of course we all know that it's not really a single-sport focus; it's two simultaneous single-sport focuses!)

Actually, it might be a little bit deeper than overtraining. Physiologically, I'm having a little trouble; I'm achy in ways (and in places) I normally don't have trouble. But my resting heart rate is at 48 BPM (right where it should be), and I'm not having any trouble getting it up for workouts.

But I just don't want to train. I would rather stay at home and sleep, or play DDR. I haven't run in a week and a half, haven't swam in a week. I've been biking plenty. But I always bike plenty.

Here's the deal: I don't have a lot left to do, in the way of triathloning. I want to maintain the speed I have for Redman (which is in three weeks). But that won't take much more than one hard workout a week (which is one more run workout than I've been doing lately). And the race I'm targeting for the one-mile PR is in early December. Plenty of time.

The main thing I'm struggling against is a self-conscious feeling of laziness. Is it guilt? I'm not sure. I just know that it makes me nervous not to be swimming and running. Makes me feel that I'm not doing enough. Of course, I'm still training hard on the bike (and still enjoying it!), which is exactly one more sport than your average person trains hard for. But it feels strange not to be doing at least three swims and at least three runs each week.

Man, this sport makes you crazy.

Runner's High: Knocking it Out

 Today I was thinking about a drive I made a couple years ago.

I was dropping some friends off at Griffith Park for the inaugural running of the Los Angeles Half Marathon. I don't remember why I'd volunteered to wake up before the ass-crack of dawn and drive an extra 20 miles or so on a Sunday; may have been simply because they were teammates.

I do remember waiting for them to get ready. I remember them talking about taking a long-sleeved "throw-away shirt" to keep warm pre-race. I remember them discussing warm-up methods and field size (which was big, for a first-time event--about 10,000 people). I remember conversations about how they thought they would fare in what was essentially, for them, a training run, one for which they'd done no specific training.

I remember being astounded at the fact that they could just knock out a half marathon like it was no big thing, like it was just another training run. I remember thinking it remarkable that a person could have so many race t-shirts that they wouldn't mind throwing one away like it was disposable.

I would never just knock off a half-marathon; I would never sacrifice one of my precious race shirts to the pavement. My race shirts were like medals in themselves; I could wear those around campus, and everyone would know that I am a triathlete. And a half marathon is a long, long race! It takes hard training and planning and (like approaching the Most Holy Place) a good amount of fear and trembling (and maybe bells on your ankles).

But that was three years ago (two-and-a-half?). And now?

Now there's a half marathon/5k next weekend, the weekend before my half-ironman. I haven't done any special training for a half marathon; it would be a last-minute decision; I'm definitely not evidencing any signs of fear and/or trembling. But I'm still entertaining the thought of doing it.

So what? It's only a half marathon. I can just knock it out.

As it Stands

We've come to that special time of year when I sacrifice writing about my favorite hobby to get out and actually do my favorite hobby. The weather's starting to clear up in Kansas (not counting the week of thunderstorms and rain we've had), and I've been out enjoying it!

Thanks to everyone who commented on my race report; I love the sense of community we're all able to enjoy online. I would never have the chance to meet such a diverse and interesting group of people if it weren't for the whole blogging scene, and for that I'm grateful.

That said, I've been doing an absolutely attrocious job at keeping up with it. Haven't read blogs, haven't commented. It's not that I've been busy, exactly; it's just that there are always about 20 other things to do. And in the battle between blogging and yoga, yoga has been winning out.

Speaking of, I feel like I'm falling apart at the seams. Seriously. My hip hurts. My hamstrings hurt. My shoulders are sore. I was afraid I had a hernia on Monday (I don't). I bruised the toe mound of my right foot swimming on Wednesday (and who the hell hurts their foot while swimming?). I've really ramped up my yoga, taking more challenging and longer classes, and I don't think it's doing for me what I need it to be doing. I need yoga for restoration and range of motion and relaxation, but my yoga time has become just another kind of strength workout! I may have to back off my yoga practice, taking easier classes, fewer classes, and incorporating more joint opening into my home practice.

The real news, though, is that I'm leaving for vacation on Sunday! I'm heading up to Ohio to visit my aunt and uncle. They live near Mansfield, and I'll be taking advantage of their hospitality to run my own private training camp. Planning to bike and run in the backwoods of Ohio, swim in Charles Mill Lake and at Ashland University's rec center, practice yoga everyday, and generally relax. I don't know if I'll have internet access, but if I do you can expect a few posts from me, as well.

Thanks for staying with me, friends. Happy training!

As It Stands

So . . . training is not going well. I mean, it's not going poorly. But it's certainly not going well.

All last week, I felt like I was right on the edge of overtraining. I don't know if I tipped over the precipice; I've just been trying to take it easy. I'm wondering if the 5 hours of indoor riding on my new, shiny bicycle last weekend was simply too much.

The weather has also been famously uncooperative. After last weekend's blizzard (no, really. blizzard), I was hoping that winter had had its final roar and would shuffle meekly out the door. But no. Oh no. Snow on Sunday, as well.

What's even worse, though, is that we have all the negative aspects of spring and none of the positives. Crazy winds? Check. Wind speed on Friday was a constant 25-30 MPH. Saturday was even more epic, with wind speeds holding steady in the 30s and gusts as high as 50 MPH. Allergies? Check. I can still smell without too much trouble, but I can't seem to drink enough water to keep my throat moist. But we haven't yet encountered the slow, soaking rains, the epic thunderstorms (not great for training, but very majestic), not to mention the warm temperatures that April should bring. So thanks a lot, Kansas.

Really, though, the issue is that I'm doing too much without affording my body the proper time for rest and recovery (not to mention a frickin' social life). And stress is stress, whether it comes from training, lack of sleep, or demanding/unreliable/obnoxious client relations.

So I'm stressed, guys. And it's messing up my training!

Know What I Mean?

"In sport, a good opponent can bring out the best in a man; the existence of a close rival focuses attention on technique, piles on the pressure, and the constant threat of being beaten keeps ambition burning. In an ideal world, a man would choose his rival, selecting him as carefully as he would a friend but, in reality, circumstance makes the decision for him."

- from The Crossing by Kathy Watson

As it Stands

Today is my first day completely off work in months. Literally months.

I've been a little overworked, to say the least. I'm getting used to it, but every now and then the stress will creep up on me. Like this week, when I'm in my last week of build before recovering, when I was really on the edge. Let's just say, it's a good thing that nothing went badly on Thursday, or I may have quit my job right then and there.

During this time, yoga has been hugely helpful to me in my recovery. Like amazingly so.

Anyway, today is great, because I don't have to go to work at all. I went to breakfast with my family, went shopping, went to a bike store to drool, and headed out for a 2-hour bike ride. The ride ended abruptly with a busted tire. I could have borrowed my dad's front wheel (I don't have any spare tires, currently, excepting my CX tires), but I decided instead to take the flat as a sign that I should stay home, mellow out, and enjoy my day off. I can't decide whether to be bummed out or not, because the weather is so great today. It's not too hot, not too cold, and there is absolutely no wind. Do you have any idea how rare it is to have a day like that here? It's shocking (especially since yesterday we had 20-degree temps and freezing rain)!

But I have decided simply to sit on my deck and read a book instead of biking or running on this glorious day. Tomorrow is going to be a big day, training-wise (and I do have to work), so today's rest will probably enable me to get through the 10-mile run, 1800-yard steady swim, bike class, and yoga class without pooping out. And it's not like this missed 2-hour ride is going to totally throw off my training. But you get into a groove, you know, and hate to miss workouts.

I joined a local masters swim group this week. There are only half a dozen people who regularly attend, so I'll get lots of individual attention (but not much competition, speed-wise). Also trying a new running group for the first time tomorrow--ten miles with the Derby running club. And there will be some very exciting developments on the bike front this week, as well.

So that's where I stand.

Runner's High: Contentment

You know you're in a good place when you go to bed thinking, "Hey! I get to swim and run tomorrow!"

Yeah. I'm in that place.