1-29 Muscle Memory, New Record, and little PR"s

First off, today marks day 39 without taking a day off from some type of training. I am feeling both really good and really tired. This season I vowed to make changes, make things better, and try to bring up the areas which will yield the biggest outcomes on race day, triathlon race day that is.

Some years ago one of my long time triathlete buddies turned me on to a term known as muscle memory. He of course was explaining how he was not too concerned over his lack of training going into a local tri because, as he put it, muscle memory would just take over when the gun goes off. I guess he had a point because when the dust had settled he had done pretty damn good. So, for the past few seasons I feel I have done exactly that race merely on muscle memory, not really doing too much to get better, but not really not training.. Seems sorta strange to write it out and try to explain it, but I am sure the seasoned athlete knows exactly what I am talking about. It's a self imposed limbo of satisfaction with doing the minimum to achieve an outcome which is pretty much not deserved, and if the outcome falls short then it's your escape out the back door of "Damn, I should have trained harder"! The problem lies in the fact that the outcome is usually off the charts because if someone has the confidence to race this way then they probably have the confidence and drive to push through the pain to will themselves to a podium finish. Truth is they are gifted in a way most people will never experience or have put in the time and effort to build such a motor through hard training year after year to be able to take advantage of such results. So yes I had fallen into this trap and probably used up a few years where I could have raced better, but like I said before, this season I am doing firsts,  training and feeling better then I have in years. This week I am sitting at double figure hours with a whole day to go, that hasn't happened in quite some time. Expect what you deserve and deserve what you receive has been a motto of mine for quite some time and this year I am going to put it to the test!

As for the PR's, I have this thing where I will go the pool, jump in, and immediately swim a 2k for time. At first I was around 28 and a half minutes. I thought it was pretty good. For a few seasons I stayed there, especially during the winter months. Then I was creeping closer to the high 27 minute range and I remember thinking 26 minutes is on the radar. Last night I went to NMSU pool, jumped in, and swam a 27 minutes flat..Dammit! Was the first thought, but that was quickly replaced with Next Time!! I have managed to shave about :45 seconds in the last month, why? I attribute it to another first, Hot Flow Yoga class. I have never ever stretched my shoulders like that before nor have I held the type of strength poses we do in there. It has had a total and direct effect on my performance (after only three weeks). This season will also see me run in at least 4 half marathons (prior to my first triathlon) in an effort to keep the pain threshold high...and the muscle memory fresh!

Tour of the Gila has me excited about cycling again, so excited that I in fact took the aero bars off! Today was pretty windy in Cruces and I decided to ride outside...Ouch! The wind took it's toll, or maybe it's the fact that I haven't had a day off in a while. I am a good tired tonight thinking about some possible future posts, past cycling experiences, and feeling that burning in the my belly again...you know the one that tells you how bad ass you are going to be this season;)

Rubber Side Down!!

1-25 What's inside?

Last night as I was swimming at 8:45pm, with the entire pool to myself, I had time to think about why the heck I was there and not home by the fire? It would have been easy to blow off the swim workout, I wasn't meeting anybody to train with, it wasn't a sunny afternoon in the outdoor pool, nor was there anyone else even in the water for the last 30 min of my swim. Perfect, I immediately thought. These are the times when I can completely concentrate on technique and speed. I picked a workout from my swimmers diary entitled Distance Swim... 5500 yards later it was over, I was in the comfort of the hot shower and already thinking about a glass (or two) of wine, Mar, and the fire. I won't lie I really wanted to cut the workout short, go home, kiss the kids goodnight, and finish the workout tomorrow...yeah right like that would have happened (the finish tomorrow part). My point is, if I didn't have that internal drive or the ability to push myself when nobody is around, this blog would have read something entirely different then year 20 of an incredible triathlon journey. It was safe to say that last night along with many other workouts getting started is the hardest part. It's not the miles, time of day (or night), not the weather, but the need to represent that gets my ass off the couch and out the door. Being a sponsored athlete is always on the back of my mind. I know how hard sponsorships are to come by...especially in my 40's! This season will be special, it has no choice but to be. I am hitting firsts, working out a little differently, and generally lining it all up so all the pieces fall into place come race day. Thanks to my sponsor, www.trisports.com for doing their part in priming and fueling my workouts for the past three seasons....this one will be spacial, I can feel it! 

1-23 Weekend in Socorro

The past few days We were in Socorro for my Mom's 70th birthday. We had a really good time as I was able to spend more time with my mom and grandma. My Nino and Nina came down from Alb. and we all went out to eat at the Owl in San Antonio NM. Those green chile cheeseburgers are the best!

The training is still rolling as day 33 has come and passed without a break, only 4 more days and I will have a new record! Mar and I went for a run on Saturday in hopes of getting her running legs back where they were a few months ago. It's pretty funny to hear her now as we run.. Dang, I shouldn't have taken so much time off, Dang, how quickly I got out of shape, Dang, a few months ago I ran 13 miles now I am hurting at half that, etc. Ha! Now she knows exactly why I have such a hard time taking days off this late in the game (41). I absolutely know that if I slow in my training I will be left in the dust by the comp. and I just wont swallow that mouthful right now! I am getting really excited for this season and especially kicking it off in Tucson for an awesome (paid) training long weekend (March 10-13) at trifest!! After watching some of my trisports.com teammates last weekend in Phoenix I know it's gonna be a blast and I should probably consider turning up the heat a bit in my training, yeah those dudes were smoking fast!

So far I have signed up for the Tucson race in May and the 5430 sprint in June. There were only 30 spots left for the Tucson race so if anyone is considering it... better hurry and sign up. This week my goals are to hit the hot yoga class twice, ride outside, and swim at least three times... easy enough.

God is great, beer is good, and people are crazy.....

1-18 It's been a while...

Day 28 without a break in training! My record is 37, day 26 was the Rock and Roll Half Marathon in Arizona and day 27 was a really rough one. Mar and I went for an easy run in Phoenix. It was a beautiful 77* and Mar talked me into running for 45 minutes before we hit the road back to Cruces. I was happy we did, but it really hurt which must have meant I pushed pretty hard the day before. I know my time will not be too impressive to most, but I will take it. 1 hour 28 minutes flat which is 6:43 min per mile pace for 13.1 miles. The last time I did a half marathon was two months ago and I ran a 1:31 so 3 minutes faster is awesome for me. There were other trisports.com team members there who ran really fast! I was happy for them and I know this season will be a highly competitive one. I do need to start hitting the pavement on the bike some time soon then I will feel my training is coming along quite well. My PR for the half is 1:25 which I did in Dec. 2009 in Tucson (downhill) and my PR for a flat course was just seconds under 1:28 which was back in 2005 when I was turning some fast run splits (for me). This tells me that I am back to where I was 5 or 6 years ago when I felt pretty damn confident going into any race I entered. Needless to say I am getting excited for this season.

The trip to Phoenix was also a really fun one. My mom, grandma, Mar, and the kids all went. I met up with my buddy Mark the night before the race and stayed with him then went back to my brother's place afterwards. This allowed my family to sleep in for a change on race morning and they were all very pleased. Mark's daughter is married to my brother in law. Turns out he and his son are both triathletes who also enjoy doing the occasional half marathon. We all went to the Hanu Hawaii 70.3 last summer and been meeting at different races ever since. As a matter of fact I probably wasn't even going to do the race on Sunday if Mark hadn't called and invited, now who knows, Rock and Roll New Orleans half just may happen??

It's always good to see my older brother and this time was no different. We were even able to watch some some very old 8 mm family movies which dated back from 1963 to 1977 (thanks to the drama teacher at VMS who loaned me the projector). I was able to take some pics with my phone from the movies and I will try to post them (below). The first pic was from a Christmas movie when I was 2. My dad and big brother are in the background. This was my very first "tri bike". The second picture was from a movie when I was 6. It was pouring out, but there I was riding my bike up and down the driveway with my trusted dog Heidi. Some days are still that fun!!

Three first songs 1-12-11

First off music has always been a big part of my mood and often helps me get through life's peaks and valleys. These are the three songs which start my favorite play list. Each song is very special to me and each one has a different meaning, but all are equally inspiring when I hear them.

The first one is Staind "It's Been A While". My good friend and partner JR. turned me on to this group many years ago and I am very glad he did. I remember him going in my garage and listening to this song over and over again and at the time I couldn't understand why... Tonight as I listen to it (in your honor) with a lump in my throat, I know why now this song spoke to you. When I lost my dad a few years back it took me a very long time to claw out of a deep place I had chosen for myself and every time I thought I was clear something pulled me back (like JR's passing). For years I fought this, together with the help of Mar, my bros, exercise, the man above, and time; would eventually lead me to my next song

Also by Staind "So Far Away" is a song that I immediately fell in love with the first time I heard it. Running through the desert with this song blaring through my i pod made me feel free from the day to day, from the past, from sadness, from shadows, etc., but still scared that someone might wake me up from this happiness.

The final song on my list is (and I know you're likeWhat)? Bear with me on his one, it's worth it. Jason Derulo "Ridin Solo" first off the beat! Then I listened to it and it fit. See, for so many years I was a Staind kind of guy with all this luggage filled with, for a lack of better word, crap that I was carrying around. It was heavy, it was burdensome, it was angry, and it seemed to be my go to. Then little by little I began to accept that I didn't have to feed the feelings that would bring me down and if I let them go and accept happiness, then maybe I am awake and this is my life:) So you see, to me, ridin solo is me ridin (training, living, loving) without all the burdens. It's light, it's quick, it's fresh, and it's new. I guess if you really want to know how it feels, just listen to the song.

Why blog about the music? It's all part of the journey. A lot has changed in the last 20 years, including myself....For the Better!

Enjoy.....

1-09-11

A couple of firsts last week have me in a pretty good mood. A few days ago I decided to check out the new city aquatic center and I am glad I did. I noticed that by the end of the evening I was usually the last person in the pool which enabled me to do a pretty cool "Mike" workout. I had about thirty minutes left and I had already swam my hour workout so I decided to run in the lazy river. I ran against the current for about 25 minutes. The lifeguards didn't seem to mind and I wanted to make my 5 dollar admittance fee count and count it did! I used some crazy lower leg muscles that I didn't even know I had and biggest thing of all is that it was fun. My other first came in the form of a 6am workout! First time in a long long time and it too felt pretty darn good. The reason for my early workout was due to the fact we were invited to a happy hour party and I knew if I didn't do something early then I would be writing a big goose egg in my log. Those goose eggs really bother me and usually don't happen unless its the day before or after a pretty big race. Currently I am on a 20 day workout streak and double digit training hours for two weeks in a row. I know it doesn't sound like much, but going from 7 up to double digits really makes me tired for a while, until I get used to it again. I came close to three firsts in a single week, but happy hour wiped out any chance of making it to hot yoga at 8 am. I was a little bummed about that, but we are going this Tuesday afternoon. Last season I decided to stop taking intentional days off each week (from training) because by the end of the year it would reveal 53 days off which would equate to around 100 hours a year..off. When I think of it this way it's clear to me to train daily. My other "Mike" workout of the week was a 2x up A mountain with a pair of 5lb hand weights. I like to run with the hand weights in the winter months for a complete body workout or in this case to keep me running nice-n-ez while working off my happy hour hang over;) So far I have managed to run for 2 hrs with the hand weights this season, but I admit that one left my arms dead!

Next week has me thinking about giving the Rock and Roll Phoenix Half Marathon a go. Take care and think about giving something new a try... it might just be the funnest thing you've done in a while.

Party on...and train hard

1-05-11 New City Pool

First off this picture was taken by my daughter as we were traveling and it sums up the way I feel today. I sure hope you feel it too!

Yesterday I needed to swim and the NMSU pool, where I usually swim, was not an option because I needed my after work nap. For as long as I can remember I have taken an afternoon nap, I love them and often times sleep better at 4 pm then I do at night. I decided to check out the new city swim center, it was either that or another session with the cords simulated swim. The facility is brand new and has slides for the kids, a lazy river, a therapy pool (90*), and a 2 lane lap pool. Yes, 2 lanes! In a city the size of Las Cruces they build a facility with only 2 lanes available for fitness.  Needless to say I had the pool to myself for the majority of my workout. I took total advantage of this and did an hour long swim followed by 20 minutes of running laps as well. The pool was 4 feet deep throughout, so it made for perfect water running. It was the first time I have tried this and I was surprised with the workout (hard). The slight drawback to the pool was that the lazy river spills into the lap lanes via a missing section of wall between the two. This created a slight current which made one length a little faster then the return trip. I confirmed this when I did backstroke, it would take me 13 strokes to get down and 14 to get back. This probably wouldn't be a pool I would choose to do anything timed in, but at this point of the season nice long swims are what I am after. The next humongous hurdle to get over for me is still an early morning workout (6am). I will be so ecstatic when that happens. Today the kids are come back to class and I can't wait to see all the little happy faces. Take care...

It's a brand new year!! 1-03-11

This year we decided to celebrate the new year with some good friends, Joe and Christine in T or C, NM. We rented a place at Riverbend Hotsprings. For those of you who have never been there, you should probably go check it out before it gets too well known. The training has been more constant, I hit double figures in training hours last week, ran 5 times, and was able to end some longer (and colder) runs in the comfort of the hot springs. We are to report back to school today and that's cool with me, to tell the truth I missed the place a little. Although the kids will not be back till Wed. I feel pretty rested and ready for the new semester. It's always nice when you actually like going to work. There were years where I would dread it, years where I couldn't get out the door fast enough, semesters where my mind was everywhere except on my job, but something feels so much better now-a-days?? Go figure. I hope this post finds everyone in the same mood as I this morning. Peace...