"March" Your Way Out Of Here

A beautiful Saturday, I ran outside, in shorts at that.  Got sweaty and was almost hot...Almost. Today I wake up and the ground is covered in snow.  I am curse that stupid groundhog today, Old Man Winter and everyone else I can for teasing me like this.  I have been riding my trainer all winter, I can ride it for a bit longer, but it is really not nice to tease me like that!

This off season has not been particularly as good as last years.  Last year I was just getting started, everything I tried went well and I was loving the results.  Sure if you go back through the posts, you'll find something that threw me off, the struggles of going paleo at first and the wonders of plateauing during weight loss.  Overall though, things went very well last year and I am pleased with the results.

This year, its been, well different.  Through student teaching, injury and over training, lets just say I need some warm weather.  Student teaching was rough on my training schedule to say the least.  After the Atlantic City race, training took a back seat to everything else that was going on.  After graduation it was GO time!  I was back in the weight room, I was swimming, I was biking, I was running.  If it was a form of exercise, I was participating in it.  Not so fast killer....Next thing you know the injuries started popping up.  I was told to ease back in and I didn't.  I got hurt and I was told to take it easy......I didn't.  I paid, and I paid big time.   I had to take some serious time off, I had to get my back healthy and then I needed to reevaluate my training and what I was doing.  My first tri isn't until June....I needed to dial things back and so I did.  The other thing I did was something I hate doing, but knew I had to....I began to seek the advice of a coach.  Eduardo from Bodyfeed was awesome in helping me get back on my feet.  He wrote personalized training plans for me based on my goals and he checked in with me on a daily basis.  Better yet, it was FREE!!!  He is willing to do the same for anyone else as well, he is confident that if you are not satisfied you can leave at any time but you can get up to 3 months of training for free.

Once back on my feet, I began to feel healthy, happy and back to where I needed to be.  Not all of my training has gone exactly as planned but I am feeling good about it.  There have been days I have not wanted to do my workout for that day, there have been days where I have skipped but there is still no doubt in my mind that this is something I love! One of the groups that has helped my push through these times and led to some great workouts is Further Faster Forever.  It is a group on Instagram and twitter that is centered around triathlon and pushing/ supporting each other through training.  You can join on their site and check out all of the positive and motivating pictures on Instagram!

On Saturday post run I was leaving the club and someone at the desk asked me what I was doing.  It was a Saturday on St Patty's weekend so I guess they were expecting something along the lines of going out to blackout and not remember the night before and spend my Sunday laying around nursing a hangover.  I simply responded with well I am not really sure yet.  Their next response was the one that caught me slightly off guard though "Can't you just go out and do something fun for once?"  I didn't think I was a lame person.  I like to go out and have fun with my friends, I do enjoy going to the bar now and again and I think if you surveyed my friends they would say I can be a pretty fun guy.  I just thought that it was strange that because I wasn't going out to the bar they felt as though I wasn't doing anything "fun" Maybe I am lame and not fun anymore because I don't go to the bar every weekend and I am ok with that.

Sunday meant brick day for me, another reason I did not go to the bar Saturday.  Something tells me riding 15 miles on the bike followed immediately by a 5K would be anything less than splendid while nursing a hangover.  So I got home in the afternoon after AM water workout and running some errands.  I fired up the trainer and threw on some Walking Dead.  After my 10 min warmup I got into the groove and just started pedaling.  I did not want to shift gears or do 1 min in this gear and 1 min in that because I have a different day set up for intervals.  I spent this time trying to get used to being in the areo position and focus on my pedal stroke and play with my nutrition a bit.  I hit my 15 miles and it was immediately off, throw on my Newton Running Motion and grab my Powerbar gel.  I had my Garmin set to multisport mode so all I had to do was hit lap and it went right into the run mode.  The watch was covered just enough for me to see the distance, I wanted everything else to be off of feel for this run.  I did my 5K and when I hit the distance, I had no idea how long I have been going for.  I hit stop on the Garmin and excitedly pulled my sleeve up to see the time.  25:45!!  For those of you keeping tabs, this was maybe 1:30 off my PR time at most.  I was ecstatic!  It was a great way to finish out my weekend and I got to run outside to boot!  I was using Osmo hydration while on the bike and when I jumped off to go run I had a gel with me.  As I started running I had a stomach ache but nothing serious and after I took my gel it came back a bit.  Obviously it didn't effect me too much since I had a great run but I am not sure what it would do on a longer run.  That's why you practice your nutrition in training!

Today things are light, I have a swim, probably in my wetsuit since I like to do that once a week and some strength intervals.  Sticking to my plan and keeping things simple.  Light days are meant to be light so the hard days can be hard.  Hope everyone is enjoying their training thus far, can't wait for race season coming up!  I really appreciate all the support and look forward to hearing about your training and racing.


All for now
Keep FSU and Do It For Yourself



I do not post on here on a daily basis but you can follow my training and other posts here!

Changes...

Changes...everyone goes through them. Sometimes they are wonderful, sometimes they are hard, sometimes they completely turn your life around. The one thing that all changes have in common is that they are inevitable. They will always be there and they will always come at some point or another. Some people experience changes that challenge their faith, some that challenge a relationship. Whatever your change is, it is your fight to fight, you can not compare it to someone else. Everyone has their own battle and it is YOUR battle, don't compare it to something that someone else is going through.

Change can come at any point and time, it can show up with absolutely no warning and it can be triggered by just about anything. It can feel like your world is crashing down around you, it can feel like there is a giant rain cloud over your head and it just won't budge! Usually we can't pin point when this change starts or what sparked it, the events, the people or what have you (like I said, usually) but some times we can.  For me, at the beginning, it felt like I was in a hamster wheel.  I was going and going and going, but wasn't getting anywhere.  At times I wish I could go back now and just tell the old me, hey keep going, there is a light!  The plateaus, the off weeks, injuries, hard days all consume your head.  Some times it seems like when you're working so hard towards something, the only thing you can focus on is the bad.  Even if the good far out weighs the bad.

Today I look back at that person who I used to be, before the journey, before the fight, before the change and there are things that I miss.  Some parts of the fight have left me shy, timid or scared in certain situations, new situations.  It takes me time to warm-up in new situations now, whereas before I was always "warm." I miss that person who could walk in to a room of strangers and be the center of attention thats for sure.  In the today, I would much rather hang on the outside and just watch.  Is it necessarily a bad thing? No, it is just a changes that is the result of the actions of others.  You live and you learn I guess.  I forget birthdays from time to time, I don't necessarily love going to a packed bar on a saturday night and I would much rather eat pizza and drink a beer with some friends.  Some may think I have become a bad friend or a different friend and I don't necessarily argue that point.

There are other times where I look at the new person in the mirror and I smile.  When you stand there and look at that person, it is like a canvas.  This canvas has been painted with a beautiful picture.  Just as an artist goes through blood, sweat and tears in order to make the most beautiful work they can, you too make sacrifice in order to have something beautiful as a result.  So when I look at my canvas, my painting in the mirror, I just can't help but smile.  Whether it be in a new shirt, in a race picture, or just when I am brushing my teeth...I look as an artist admiring their own work.  As the artist, I must say although the work is not complete, I like the way it is coming along.

The only thing better than admiring your own work is when someone else sees it and they can admire it with you.  Most recently this happened to me while at work one morning.  I was in between clients and there was a woman who always has her daughters there.  I have become friendly with her because it feels like she is there nearly as much as I am.  So as I pulled my lunch container out (it is a 6 Pack Bag so EVERYONE comments on it) she said "you know I have been meaning to tell you, you are awesome.  I think that what you have done is awesome, your determination is admirable and you look absolutely amazing.  I have be wanting to tell you this but you are always busy when I am here!"  Man if that doesn't make you feel good, I don't know what will.  It feels great when you can look on and admire you own work, or see your results from change.  When someone else can see your work and admire it with you it is a great feeling.

From time to time it feels like this change is causing you so much pain or so much hardship.  It can seem super frustrating or like things are going to break.  Then there are times where change is beautiful.  All change can be helpful and wonderful, it depends on how you want to look at it.  It can be hard to see positives at times, believe me I know.  Surrounding yourself with people who build you up will help aid in changes and things like this, weeding out the bad ones will make it even easier.

As for my training there have been some changes there as well.  I have dialed things back significantly in order to get myself healthy again.  I dropped my yardage in the pool, dropped my running back and completely cut out lifting.  I realized that I wanted too many changes at once and my body was not ready.  Realizing when you are trying to force things is huge and everyone needs to do it.  I am just a few days over a month away from this season first race and it is hard to believe that things are right around the corner.  I am excited for whats to come and I thank you all for your support!

As for today, there is more snow on the ground, things are canceled and schools are closed, I am so far over winter and ready for this season to get on some CHANGE!! It is a rest day for me here and I plan to take full advantage of that!  Thanks for reading and I'll catch you next time!

All for now.
Keep FSU and Do It For Yourself




I Do not post on here on a daily basis but you can follow my trainer and other posts here!