During my run session today I thought of how careful I need to be on this blog...It could go south if I don't keep reminding myself of a few certainties....


It was not long ago I thought of blogs as I think of the Ellen DeGeneres show, The Biggest Loser...and elephant ears at carnivals. All seem relevant and meaningful-but at the core are empty calories, too many calories...and...filler. Not good filler either-like sweet potatoes and white rice after long workouts. Filler like "Krispy Kreme" filler that taste good at second 1..and by second 42 your entering into the gates of a hyperglycemic coma and needing 4 gallons of milk to wash it down. All that to say..I'm aware that blogs can be bathroom stalls filtered through "spell check"-so I'll quit blabbing and get to the point.


This week has been solid.  I've been leery of relaying the "how much" I do.  Every so often I'll get asked....."How many hours you putting in?" As Craig Alexander stated in an interview before he dismantled Kona last year.."No secrets-I run, bike and swim. a lot".  I love that.  I could go off here on a tangent about Cross-fit, P90X, Insanity, Zoomanity, Zumba, Hot yoga, Cold yoga.... whatever. No-I'm not specifically bagging on each, though....for athletes that have a tight schedule, my self included here-- I would hope if you have time to train- it's in one of the "big three". Choose wisely and if it's "core" you are looking for-you can get it without the AB 900XTr.  So-as a point of reference.....Yesterday I had a solid 5k swim, followed by a two hour indoor trainer ride (30 minutes of solid interval work).  I woke today and ran for two hours, hit the pool for a 3k swim and followed it with a 1+ hour indoor easy spin (3+ 4+ hrs) and , I feel good.
I write that to show where I am at leading into my initial build.  I won't get too specific about other days/hours, because this is not a "diary" of what I am doing for you to read, as much as I hope it to be encouragement.


 Sharing about the great sponsors I have and the reasons I feel led to run will be a major theme.  Speaking of that...My new sponsor is close to locked in (hint on Facebook), I'm excited. Can't wait to tell more.  Obviously I feel desire to share who is helping me, not just because of their help- but, each sponsor is quite a bit more than "just a sponsor".  I have relationships with them all and I feel humbled to be on their team.  It's an honor to do my best to represent them. I am blessed and I never want them to feel like  I won't do my best to make them proud.


I spoke with Chris and More than Sport again this week and we are excited to be working on some cool stuff.  If you have not had a chance to see what MTS accomplished in Panama-check this link out...
http://triathlon.competitor.com/2012/02/news/chris-lieto-and-more-than-sport-build-in-panama_48356


I also talked with Living Water International again a bit this week and I don't even know where to start....Amazing people, doing amazing work, making a REAL difference.  I'm reminded of how good I have it in life with a toilet, a sink, and ice cubes.

 The "Lab" set up.  It's serious when I enter. I know overdoing it here can be horrible, but as a tool-it's awesome. 


This week I watched "From the Sky Down"-- the new movie/Documentary about U2 and the recording of "Achtung Baby"-(side note here-I am a U2 fan to the tilt)-without boring you, it's major theme of rebirth   resonated deep.  I'm sure my emotional connection was in part due to the pain I was feeling during intervals-but, I love the ease of working on the trainer and watching a good movie. I say this only because seems like the trainer has not gotten a fair shake.  Recently there have been a few articles in some mag's dealing with the benefits of solid trainer work-again, for the time crunched athlete-it works.  ***If you need help or suggestions on w/o's-drop me a line.


I received a few questions this week about swim technique, and nutrition.  I'm making a list of topics and discussions to enter on this blog-one big one for me is diet/nutrition. I'll share throughout, but I'm no expert here. I've done and continue to study nutrition, and diet, especially as it relates to endurance. I just want to be clear that I'll never list any "bunk" here-- if I don't know I'll find someone who does, a book that explains it, or direct you to someone who can help. I'm happy to share what has and has not worked for me. Specific answers that I have been asked I will address to the individual-or, make general replies here.


I just want to help.


One final point pertaining to help.....for anyone needing encouragement or something to pass the time during a session check out this awesome podcast......


http://www.jamesmacdonald.com/teaching/audio/#divAudioPlaylist-tab

Back to structure. It's good---made sure the last six days post camp were done correctly. That's because I've done it wrong in the past. Why is it you can tell a triathlete to workout till he urinates blood-but, rest....rest? "Uh...really? Um.....this can't be good. Can it???"


The balance of work and rest is vital.


 I've over trained in the past.  I've pushed to the point of hospital visits and  Pneumonia resulting in two weeks lost.  I don't say this to sound big, bad, and tough. I say it because I was stupid, dumb, and stubborn. Despite  years in sport, and mistakes made-I still questioned myself this week. It was 6 days of specific rest and training that was dialed-- but I still wondered.....It's a constant struggle. I encourage you in training--when a plan is being followed, listen to your body. I've read my training notes and logs from the past and for the most part my unwillingness to "absorb" my work often was a result of insecurity. We will all struggle at times and second guess. And...at the times you are guessing?  Just take a second and imagine you are a coach talking to someone you are coaching...What would you tell that person?  It's kind of a lame example-but it works. And..if you are still unsure..e-mail me.  Maybe I can help.


***I'm not saying there are not times to train when tired. Like my previous post--Know the tired you are--There is a difference between feeling cumulative workout's and having to push-and, ignoring the shakes and mood swings.


I'll focus on a detailed post soon about specific practices to curve and change when needed without feeling like you are missing time.  With my job I've become decent at knowing how to do this.


It's called "Box of toothpicks".....I'll share soon.

Talked to a friend tonight about swimming...Here's a good video with solid basic tools.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sYt8x_7uL48

Know what kind of tired you are.

I feel tired.

Not fatigued- yes……. a definite difference.

This warm “buzz” I feel in my fingers and the heaviness of my lids is not due to stupid training.  It’s the volume of last week----and it’s good.  Putting close to 28 hours on the body in Vegas and Death Valley I knew I’d have to fight the urge when I returned home to “keep going”.  I've learned the hard way with over training that I could blow last weeks progress with too much, or  little this week.  So, I’m alert to the cues I’m getting-just letting it absorb. Patience is tough for us when we desire results

Fast results.

Now results.

Yesterday results.

I encourage those I talk with about training-watch sugar cravings, sleep patterns, mood swings, and clumsiness with big volume weeks.  More on this later.

Few other thoughts before I get to my TBC camp conclusion. I have a lot of things brewing.

1.     Researching  a camp for next year (It’s going to happen) and, the best place to have it.  I’m talking to people right now about guest speaking and have people who expressed an interest.  Such a blessing.  It will be exciting and I promise those who attend will be fulfilled.

2.      Coaching….Yes, I am also researching this.  I’ve been asked by a few people over the past months if I would consider coaching them.  I’m doing homework and think this will happen soon.  My plan is to take FIVE athletes at a very, very reasonable rate.  I know when people research finding a coach one aspect is the amount of time you can spend with a coach-with only five athletes I plan to focus on each athlete a lot.  I won’t take anyone until I am set up and know I can serve the athlete 100%.  If you are interested let me know and I’ll start a list and contact you.

I have some new sponsor news I’m still waiting to share- just need to wait until the final details are done and 'ill let you all know-It’s awesome.

Living Water International and I have been working out the details for this season-so happy to be running for them this year. Joshua has been awesome to work with and I think if you check out what they are doing around the world you’ll see why I’m honored to be a part of it.

Also so stoked to be teaming up with Chris Lieto and MoreThan Sport.  Not only is Chris one of the best Athletes in the world-what he is doing with his organization is amazing.  I'm excited to be supported by and support MTS.

Please check out Living Water International and More Than Sport for more details

.

OK…Camp…where was I?

Oh yeah…Dante’s View….A -300 to 5500+ 26 mile climb. It was awesome.

My focus and approach to finishing this first full day of camp was to make sure my Watts & HR were cool—which they were. Hydrate, which I did, and-listen to my body.  Doing the bulk majority of my training up till this week has been inside on a trainer.  I loved the idea of getting the feel of the road under me again-making sure I’m not a total idiot with my bike handling skills & also feel how the rest of me was feeling.  Spending time on the trainer leads to keying in on how your legs and butt feel-On the road it’s more than that. I learned this training for the Epic 5 last year-long hours in the “lab”-were different than the road. Altogether-Good.

 

Wednesday, Thursday, Friday all consisted of the same format in Death Valley. Swim in the morning-Drills, form, technique.

Eat.

Ride—long.

Eat.

Run.

Eat.

I found my body responded well to the riding.  On Thursday we climbed “Artist Loop” another leg melter of a ride-but, my climbing was solid-Power was stable and I felt good. I got crap from a few guys because I was the only one with long sleeves and leg warms on in the mornings-but, I prefer starting rides warm-even on warm days.  It forces me to “be slow from the go til you know you can roll”-just be wise. Some Olympic runners do this intentionally to ensure they don’t go to fast.  If they begin to sweat-they SLOW down.  I think one of the major reasons why I had such encouraging results from this camp is for months leading up to the start I did 80-90%+ S-L-O-W.  Developing a solid level of aerobic fitness. 

“Fast follows fit”-Gordo

Mark Allen has talked about pacing your season like your race.  It makes sense. Again-I can focus on these thoughts later, but-- if you are ever unsure of a workout’s type or approach-choose base, not build.  (This would bring to light another issue - if you are going into a workout without a plan--not a good idea)

Vuelta has taken such good care of me and I'm very impressed with the wheels. SO- so proud to be with them.  Solid, dependable, and fast.

Technique-another focus - I have flaws in my swim that appear as I fatigue. Again-slowing down helps. The pool is a trap for crap technique and bad habits that swallow athletes.  I spent the 4^th year “unlearning bad habits”-and I still fight them. Trevor-an  Xterra Pro triathlete that was at the camp discussed my left hand placement in the water and what I need to do to fix it. Answer-Drills. 

Swim workouts should consist of drills throughout the season-like changing oil, keep tune up’s in the schedule.

The running throughout the camp was extremely encouraging.  My runs in Z1/2 were faster this year than last year at this time. The last day we ran in Vegas on the 70.3 IMWC course and I decided at mile 3 I would do some pickups throughout and see how I felt and how my legs were feeling after a solid week of climbing. For me - not bad 1:34+, and I felt good.  I’ve fully adapted to my Newtons and was excited to talk with them about how happy I was finishing the camp with my new favorite pair of shoes. They have been awesome to me.

This is a very quick summary—If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask.  I'll get better at this blogging thing-promise!!!!  

Next post I’ll include some helpful tips on swimming sets and what I’m eating. Also-more news on coaching and camp.

part 1

First in a series telling my thoughts on recent training camp-

To the airport-Vuelta got me my wheel case the day before I left.  The 50's I used while in death Valley were awesome.

"You are a vampire or a victim...it just depends on who's around"

-Bono

As I sit and absorb the week of training I completed w/ Adam Zucco and TrainingBibile Coaching I’m challenged with the task of writing down my thoughts.  I’ll be honest…Some, I won’t share-but most..are free for the taking….

Leaving my best friends is never easy-Rhonda and I are inseparable--and my kids (Little and Captain America) are too.  I love them all so much, and honestly.... would rather do nothing than be with them.  Sitting down and discussing our plan of attack this year with my racing, teaming up with Living Water International, More Than Sport, and the overall direction we want to go-- it was agreed that passing up an offer to go and train a week with TBC and Adam Zucco would be lame. We prayed first---no doubt had any reservations been felt I would have said screw it. 

Everything was a go.

Despite this being a “base” camp-I went with the intent of testing out where I was, and where to go with my fitness.  Base building has been solid thus far--and this would be an excellent chance to learn, test, push, and gather information. 

I had Skyped with Adam a few months ago and discussed some training questions when he informed me about the camp. Gordo recently said that life stressors removed enable an athlete to train more, thus resulting in fitness increase and stress decrease. He’s 100% spot on-I don’t have to say this to an athlete-we know it.  So often I've underestimated the weight of “life” during training and feel the results of it.  The crappy thing is when I ignore it (I have to work on it constantly)-- life stress adds up and effects training.  For one week ( if I could remove anxiety of being away from Rhonda),  I could log some hours and build.  Plus-it was amazing to be able to pray and continually seek God.  ****Side note here-It’s a relief to know Jesus in these situations, or any situation for that matter. C. S. Lewis talks about this-the comfort of knowing Him.  In my “human form” when things seem “right” I can forget what I have in Christ and focus on what I have here.  When the “here” is removed I default back to Christ.  I strive to have it the other way around-It’s a battle-but, it’s true.  It sucks to even write that---in a nutshell…It’s sweet to know Christ is with me ALWAYS.…moving on….

Working with the Athletes Lounge is sweet. Gary and Chris have been nothing but supportive and I feel blessed to have them as friends.

I arrived in Vegas on Sunday-Chilled for the evening, built my bike and prepped for the week.  Monday I was able to get an easy 2 hour ride in and later that evening a 1:20 run-again, easy. Tuesday after an hour easy run I headed to Death Valley, arrived and was freaking stoked. I hit the road for another 1 hour easy run (loosen up the traveling legs from sitting for a while)-and set my bike up for our first TBC ride.

After meeting the athletes and Adam, we set out for an easy 25 mile ride. Cool to be "in the mix" with other's and I felt relaxed.  Now---this may have not been the best idea, but my emotions had gotten the best of me and I hit the road for one more hour run. It was early and my heart was full. Heading towards Death Valley I called Rhonda and talked to her while I ran. Felt like I was on the moon-it was awesome.... kept waiting for Rod Serling to be hitchhiking from the side of the road--I told Rhonda how grateful I was that she was letting me do this and I would work hard for her and not waste a second. Taking this time for granted meant the sacrifice at home was not valued. No way man-make it count.

It was a gift to hear her voice as I ran.

My legs felt great and I ran very, very, Easy (Z1-2). It was a good choice--Putting in around 18 very easy miles running and 25 biking felt good. 

Tuesday we had an early swim and headed off to Dante's View.  Crap. Crap. Crap. 

26 miles of gradual climbing.

To be continued.

update

So much to share from last week...Preparing final thoughts and will post in a few. 

 Just wanted to say thank you to all who have kept in touch throughout week.  It was encouraging to have people contact me and I am thankful for new friends.

Attaching this new blog to my site and transferring posts from the last is order of the day-Again, pictures and training thoughts to follow soon.

DAY 1

6 Feb 2012

Wasting time means I am wasting opportunity-and, my son told me to train hard while I am gone-this way, it's worth it. My family is like no other...I know everybody says that, but I mean it with every fiber.  I hope we fortunate athletes are able to understand the sacrifice our loved ones make for us to be borderline insane. To the 3 I love-Thank you. To the 3 I miss-Thank you.

First session of the day is done--Two Hour ride outside of Vegas.  It was nice and easy-simple spin to loosen up.  I'm headed to the pool now, and-will finish the day with a run. Camp begins tomrrow.  I'll head out early in the morning and get a short bike/run in before our first camp session at 2PM-swim.

As I grow more comfortable sharing thoughts and how to transfer whats in my mind--to this blog, It'll be cool to discuss more than just sport.  I'm reading a few books right now-one, that is having a deep impact on me is The Return of the Prodigal Son: A Story of Homecoming . It's one of the best books I've read in a while, and during long sessions gives me fat to chew on. I'll also start sharing nutrition information and Triathlon training concepts.  My passion for working with Living Water International and other orginizations will also be a common topic. I love, love, love music. That's always a fall back-but, the focus will be my passion for sport. I hope this answers a few questions as to the "what" of this blog.

Over the next week I'll do my best to get updates throughout camp and post a few photos.

I'll leave you with a verse from my morning coffee + read...I've been a James McDonald listener for a while and he's going through a series "Ordinary me Extrodianary God", that deals with the "lameness" of us--and the awesomeness of God. It's easier for me in this life if I just remember that when I think I am cool. 

I'm not. Ever.

He is. Always.

And he loves me.You. us. Everybody.......

Freakin cool...man...

I will strengthen you, I will help you. I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

I read that with a smile and the thought of having his favor makes everthing else....seem like....everything else.

 

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THANK YOU. . .

4 Feb 2012

I leave tomorrow for camp in Death Valley with Adam Zucco and Training Bible Coaching.  I’m excited to learn from him and crew.  I’ve had a few solid months of base building thus far and my plan is to go to camp and continue building the engine.  After  I’ll begin placing the pieces in place for  Ironman Texas.  I'm confident with my plan and execution so far- More on this later.

 I’ll be updating my blog throughout camp.  My amazing sponsors have made this possible-and to them I am grateful.  The Athletes Lounge and Training Bible Coaching-thank you so much.  Vuelta-thanks for the awesome wheel case- this will make traveling easier.

I’ll open up a bit more as soon as I get the hang of this blogging thing.  I’m working on a better format and with the announcement of my newest sponsor soon-I should have a few changes for the better.

Thanks for reading.

Christian

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HERE GOES

3 Feb 2012

So....I’ve taken the plunge. Nervous? Yes...honestly, I’m not a huge 'blog' fan.  I read a few-but careful.  I'll be careful here as well.  I respect those who can write and relay thoughts clearly- my hope is to do so without sounding too much like an idiot.  I’m good at that-despite my efforts. 

What do I hope to accomplish with this new blog?  Focus attention on Living Water International, shed light on sponsors that are helping me, and give attention to others that have gotten me here. 

I may throw a few training thoughts in-but with that-really, not a lot to say.

i swim. i bike. i run. a ton. 

Nutrition??  Yes...I’ll share a few things.

My faith and hope?

Jesus Christ.

Thanks for reading.

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UH....A BLOG.....

3 Feb 2012