IMAZ

Jordan’s support and split crew where in place and excited to help in any way we could. El Kwazito and I were up early (well not as early as we would have been had been staying with an athlete!) to catch the swimmers from the bridge. We thought the race started at 6:50A, but based on the times, we think it actually started at 6:45. But then again, my math skills aren’t what they used to be…

After the swim exit, we rode to about the 4 mile mark of the bike and set up shop there. We found a nice concrete barrier from the wind, and spent a good portion of our morning hiding behind it while waiting for the athletes to go by again, with a 3 loop course, we got to see them twice per lap.

Of the first 3 men to go by Reed & Henning were the two I knew. Reed is hard to miss because he’s 30 feet tall and Rasmus is in red and white decked out in his specialized kit tucked right in behind Reed using about 25 watts to stay there. Four or so minutes later, Jordan came by with 6 or so people in tow. I’m not sure who, but my good friend, the articulate Steve Brown would call them all Cheatin’ Bastards! Jordan eventually rode them all off his wheel except Lieto, and ended up leading before the halfway point. It was great to see him back in front after the year he had.

The run was long – for crimini sakes – 26 miles is a long time to run –  almost 3 hours is a long distance. In any case the results are out and you probably know them, Jordan 4th and and a little grumpy for the last 6 miles or so, but once across the line, very pleased, and rightfully so.

Parents and in-laws, wife, roommate and tag along (no one of consequence) all had dinner afterwards and celebrated the good fortune and hard work that got Jordan back to the top of the sport again.

The Kwaz and I are still waiting for the shooting of Jordan’s post race dance video. He’s up against some pretty stiff competition here, so I wish him well and suggest he doesn’t hold anything back. As with most types of performances, you need to commit 100% or not at all! Let’s go Jordan…..

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Traveling Man

Hello from the road again! I’m bound for Tempe AZ to watch Jordan race (defend) IMAZ.

I didn’t feel like packing yesterday so I rushed through it this morning. Hopefully I didn’t forget anything. But I should be able to do without anything I forgot for a month.

The drive is almost 9 hours and I seem to be alright with these long drives I’m doing lately. For years I would avoid the car at all cost and walk or ride where ever I wanted to go. Now however I want to go places that are quite far away! So luckily for me I’m quite relaxed behind the wheel.

I turned off I40 in Holbrook and drove through Payson on the way. It was a beautiful road, far more so than the interstate, a two laner through the wooded hills. The sky was incredible as the sun was setting running through the gamut of colors the desert sky does most every evening. Of course when you’re driving into it, you can’t see a darn thing except the lovely colors in the sky. Fortunately we all stayed in our proper lanes and didn’t run into each other. I was secretly hoping my car would shut down and all electrical devices would stop working and I would get to meet some beings from a different place, but not this trip. I guess I’ll have to wait until I travel back to Taos for that. Oh, there was close to a full moon, so that must be the reason. It has to be completely dark for abductions.

It was however too dark to take pictures with my phone, but you are welcome to scan my brain to see what I saw. Trust me it will be worth it, just for this one dusk….

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Movember

I tried to write a few other things today, none of which I had the interest in finishing, and figure if I didn’t why would anyone care if I didn’t.

I always thought facial hair was ridiculous and this is proof of that. So here are a few pictures of Movembers past and present.

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The Word Perfect

There a few words in the English and American languages that shouldn’t exist and I will write a little about each one I can think of as the mood hits. I will start with the word Perfect. Perfect in a mathmatical sense – a number equal to the sum of its positive divisors, e.g., the number 6, whose divisors (1, 2, 3) also add up to 6 – is fine with me, because that can’t be argued, it is what it is. Most people however use the word in ways that I find unproductive.

The term perfectionist is not someone (as the definition suggests) who refuses to accept any standard short of perfection. But someone who has to have things the way they want them. Just plain annoying if you ask me, and hardly perfection. Perfection in this sense is ridiculous, it is completely subjective. And how can something supposably perfect have any subjective aspect to it?

How does this apply to training and racing? Well, there is no such thing as perfect preparation or perfect race, or perfect strategy. Physically speaking you create a program and follow it the best you can, stick as close to it as possible while listening to your body to make the appropriate adjustments along the way. Emotionally you prepare yourself for all the contingencies you can think of and go forward knowing there is always something (or many things) you’ll have to adapt to as you go.

For some this may not sound so great. For others this is what is so interesting about training and racing. It’s a puzzle. There is no one sure way to achieve your goals. There isn’t only one path to get you there.

As a coach and athlete I find the puzzle fascinating. We are all so similar and yet so very different. There is no perfect, so don’t strive for it. Strive for improvement. Strive to get better. Do a better job, listening, reacting, working, resting, communicating, managing your efforts, and thoughts.

Wouldn’t that be great if we could do that? You might even say it would be perfect!

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Back At It!

Back home from my weekend in Boston and straight to the pool. It’s only 5 years old and build at the youth center, with a skateboard park in back and an ice rink to the east. I keep thinking I’ll lace up my old skatea one day, grab my stick and slide around the rink, but it has yet to happen.

Swimming today was great – 3 sets of 6×50 on 60 seconds each of the 50’s was 40 seconds or under. I was breathing hard! I’m now in good enough swimming shape that I can push myself enough to breath hard – kind of exciting. I did do 1×50 for time and came in just under 35. I still can’t hold my stroke together for 100 yards, but that will come. For now I’m having fun with my sets of 50’s, working on my stroke, trying to figure it out again after a long layoff.

After the swim it was a light lunch. (I had a brief conversation with Dave Scott and he said he would be completely disheartened if I were to get fat or chubby – so I’ll keep my lunches light. I would hate to be responsible for Dave’s disheartenment.)

Afterwards I went for my longest run in the last couple of years – 45 mins – with 4 short tempo accelerations – about a minute 45 each. My running is coming along slowly too, and there is no hurry what so ever. Good thing too, because you can’t force your fitness without causing problems. You have to do what you can, no more.

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Running in Boston

I woke up Sunday morning excited to run around my sister’s neighborhood. I did an abbreviated version of my morning routine, then stuck my head outside to get an idea of the temp. SHOCKER! It was flippin’ cold! I put on every piece of running clothing I brought and went anyway.

I ran along Mass Ave until I came upon the bike path and thought this looks quite nice, so I veered left and continued on. The nicest part of the path was the first few minutes! As you can see from the picture it started off very nicely. It then weaved around a football field and under an overpass, by a parking structure… You get the picture.

The run was fairly short, 34 mins, and cold, 30°F, but I was happy to have another run in me, since next month I’ll be running regularly with Rod – the world’s strongest man.

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Improvement

I got in my 3rd swim today and much to my pleasant surprise I could actually do a set of something. It wasn’t great, but was a stepping stone. I did a simple warm up and I could actually do 3 sets of 4×50 on the 65, coming in just under 40. Pretty darn good progress for a 3rd swim in 6 years.

I’m getting a little better feel and my little swimming muscles are getting accustomed to use again, slowly but surely.

I’m going away for the weekend, to Boston to visit my family there, and will be back in the pool again on Wednesday. I’m having fun with swimming again. Although, it’s easy to have fun when every time you show up you noticeably improve.

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Broken Chain!

Today was the first time in my long cycling life that I needed a ride home. I broke my chain. Not because I’m super powerful, but because I was too lazy to check my bike before the ride. I have an all in 1 tool that normally lives in my saddle bag, but I took it out for the everest ride and it must still be in the trunk of my car. Criminy!

My chain was clicking right from the start of the ride and I figured it was a worn cassette, and tried to avoid the gears that were skipping. As the ride went on, I noticed that just about any gear was skipping, but I didn’t put 2 + 2 together. Maybe I need to watch Ko’s Journey (kosjourney.com) and get a refresher on my basic math skills.

I was out HWY 518 just outside of Taos and like many places here, there was no cell reception, so I had to walk and coast for 9 or so miles. Fortunately, it was mostly a downhill coasting journey to cell reception. My lovely wife, world renowned nutritionist and health care advocate Michelle Corey, was kind enough to come and get me!

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Balloon Weekend in Taos!

Balloon showing fire
The sky is filled them.

I did a quick search for the difference in temperature between in the inside and outside of the balloon and couldn’t find a number. Maybe you know?

In case you’re interested: http://www.wickerbasketballooncenter.com/hot-air-balloon-history.htm

Balloon showing fire

Today is moving day for the office! Pack everything up and move it to the interim location. It will be sad to move. The office is really nice, but it doesn’t make sense to keep it when we are heading to SoCal for the winter.

Oh, by the way, legs feel a lot better today. I should be over the hump.

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Achieving Your Goals

I just got back from the pool! Yes, I did. That’s the other goal for the week checked off.

The first swim in six years went pretty well. It always amazes me how good I feel for a few yards and how quickly I seize up. I got in and swam 20x 50 yards. The first 3×50 were straight and I felt great. Or at least until I got to about 115 yards, then I had trouble getting my arms out of the water. After that it was 1×50 at a time and I only felt descent for about 35 yards, struggling from that point to the wall.

Struggling on your first day of swimming is not at all like struggling through a set 6 or even 3 months from now. Now I don’t have the fitness to even get my heart rate up. My muscles just seize and there isn’t much I can do. The improvement curve is steep though. Next time in I will notice a big difference. I should be able to make it all the way to 40 yards before seizing up. It may not sound like that big a difference, but it’s almost 15% improvement from one workout to the next. I bet after 4 workouts of 1,000 yards I’ll be able to swim a descent 200 without having to stop. Not that that’s important to anyone…

My stroke didn’t even feel that bad. It is bad though, so obviously my feel isn’t quite there yet! Havin’ fun! YeeHaw!

I went for my second run today. Holy moly my legs are sore. Groin and quads. I ran 20 minutes again and it felt like the last 20 mins of a marathon, ouch! Next time will be easier!

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