A Journey of a 1000 Miles Begins with a Single Step

Today I start a journey that I should have begun this year but it wasn't one of my goals.  Today I begin the long path to Age Grouperdom.  I have been 200+lbs for as long as I remember, maybe even longer.  Going in to high school I was six feet tall and right around 210lbs.  My football coach fell in love with me the moment he lay eyes on me and by my senior year with lots of weight training I was a top notch 250+lbs offensive lineman.  I had learned to love the gym, weights and the soreness I felt the days after hard workouts.  This didn't change after high school either.  When I joined the military I kept lifting and kept gaining.  The year before my service to this country ended I tipped the scales at a whopping 285lbs!  No granted I was no tub of lard but I wasn't Ronnie Colman either.

Shortly thereafter I found endurance sports, forsake the cast iron love that I had once known and fell hard for a new mistress.  Since then it has been a slow process coming back down in weight.  By the end of my first year of running I was in the upper 230's and at the end of my first triathlon season I was in the 220's.  Now with my second season of triathlon behind me I weigh in firmly in the mid teens.

With my eye on Clearwater for 2011 this excess weight just will not do.  It was fine for the 2010 season where my goal was to rule the Clydesdale Division.  Now though, every extra pound is precious energy that I need to either save or convert to forward motion.  So with that said it is time to take a hard look at the CRAP that I am eating.  But down that doughnut, pick up the salad fork and with the help of friends and fellow triathletes drop a solid 5lbs per month for the next 5 months till my first "A" race of 2011, New Orleans 70.3.  My first chance to qualify for the 70.3 World Championships.

An amazing week in review

What a crazy week. The madness began last Tuesday, this was a recovery week for me and so that meant it was time to test my fitness and Darcy didn’t let me down. On top of my first triathlon of the season being scheduled for this week Darcy was also nice enough to schedule two separate time trials for me; one a 60 minute running time trial and the other a 60 minute bike time trial. Each of these were comprised of a 15minute warm up followed by 30 minutes all out and a 15 minute cool down.

On Tuesday I was scheduled for my run TT, I was quietly optimistic about this time trial. The last four weeks of training has gone remarkably well I believe and because of that I believed that I could show some serious improvements. I know my fitness has only been getting better; I just wanted something to quantify my feelings. So that evening after work I headed out the door to see what I had in the tank and that tank was not full after having done a 95 mile ride as well as an eight mile run just two days before. My warm up reminded me of that. My calves were tight and didn’t want to loosen up and my legs were just a little heavy. By the time the meat of the TT began I knew that I would be able to go hard but I was no longer sure that I would see improvements like I had wanted to. Thirty minutes later, I averaged a 7:49 mile at a HR of 173, this as an improvement of 11 seconds per mile at a HR that was 8 BPM lower. I can say that I am very happy with that gaining 10 seconds per mile over a 30 minute run is huge especially with a HR that was much lower.

Thursday was my bike TT. After finally getting my new rear wheel, cassette and base bar installed on my bike this was my first chance to go hard and fast on my bike. It didn’t let me down, although I had a hard time getting my heart rate up I was able to fly out there. 30 minutes at 23+MPH and a HR of 157 isn’t too shabby at all.

On Saturday was the Tritonman Triathlon, my first triathlon of the season. I was seriously nervous about it. While my training has been going so very well, there has been zero speed work thus far. Just some tempo runs and hard hilly runs, nothing that would truly work on improving my top end speed that I would need to do well in a sprint triathlon. I was also very worried about the weather. They were calling for rain or race morning and I was afraid that the race would become a duathlon, and since I am NOT a runner this would out me at a huge disadvantage. As it turns out it rained through out the night but except for one brief shower less than a half hour before the race it was a beautiful day. While I have seen what my splits are officially I can say with some certainty how I did. Lining up for the swim start was a little different this time around I was competing in an AG that was twice the size as normal. On a regular day I would have only had those men in the 30-34 age range to race against but today I had from 30-39, so I had twice the competition, this two had me worried but when the horn sounded and I ran into the water my body took over and I just went. The swim was fast, I know I could have pushed harder there, much harder. I felt as though I was creeping alone even though I am pretty sure I held my own out there. It just didn’t seem as though I was grabbing water. As I turned at the last buoy I kicked up a storm to try and get the blood flowing to my legs. Running out of the water into the mud covered transition area was not fun.

T1 felt like it took forever, I didn’t want to run out with my bike in bare feet because I didn’t want huge globs of mud inside my tri shoes while biking so I decided to put them on in T1 and run out with them already on my feet. This created its own problem; mud in my cleat which made it near impossible to clip on to the pedals. After a few moments I finally was cruising along on my bike, legs churning away, trying to get a feel for the bike portion of the race. The next thing I new I was flying, 21, 22, 24, 26, 28MPH has I flew around Fiesta Island. Talk about a rush. Never before had I been able to hold such high numbers. Of the more than 300 racers I was passed by so few that I could count them on one hand. After 3 laps I was sure that I had hunted down most of the people in my age group and left them well behind me.

 I came speeding into transition to start my run and as I headed out I knew my run legs were with me that day. I was off like a bolt; the only thing on my mind was pushing hard enough that I felt like I was dying a little but knew that I wasn’t going to. I found the pace that made me uncomfortable and held on to it with all that I had, gritting my teeth often to shake out the burning feeling in my legs. My mantra for the day was “Mid sole foot strike straight below you. Good! Now recruit those glutes!” Every time I felt myself falter or slow that is what I would think about. About a mile and a half into the run the first person past me, a few moments later another, then a minute or so after that one more. It is hard being a bigger triathlete. It’s hard to know that you hammered out a great bike and these scrawny guys are going to run you down even when you are putting it on the line. DARN THOSE SCRAWNY GUYS!

So I hooked them and I tried to hold onto them as long as I could but I could see each one pull just a little further away as the minutes passed by. When all was said and done I finished this race in 1:06 a full ten minutes faster than last year, with what I believe was a 1:30 PR on the 5k run section of the race. Not a bad day.

Now this doesn’t end my amazing week. I was then honored by the Triathlon Club of San Diego. Most people who know me know that I work very hard at becoming a better triathlete so to be recognized by TCSD as the most improved male triathlete of 2009 was a huge thing for me. Never in my wildest dreams did I think that I would win an award for my efforts nor did I think that anyone, other than my coach, had noticed how hard I had been working. I am very proud to have been chosen for it and it only motivates me to work harder…. But wait we still aren’t done….. It looks like I may have a sponsor too. More details to come with that one.

How I Got My Groove Back

Since my bike accident last month I have been fighting off numbness and pain in my face and a nagging hamstring injury. The facial pain has made deep breathing and breathing while swimming difficult and my hamstring injury all but side lined my running for a while. It has been mentally trying the last month. My coach has thankfully been the voice of reason for me when I have needed it the most; which is pretty much everyday that I train. I enjoy speed work while running and I love a good pool work out or open water swim; so not having them available to me was driving me crazy.

Two days after my accident I raced in the Mission Bay Triathlon in San Diego. This race was going to be THE "A" race for my season since I had decided that IMAZ was not a financially sound thing to do. When the accident happened I knew that my hopes of being on the podium had been shattered and that I might not be able to race at all. Thankfully I was able to make it to the race start with a slightly beat up, and in desperate need of a tune up, bike. I still had fresh road rash on my legs, a sore shoulder, painful orbital bone, and some serious numbness through out the left side of my face. To say in the least I was not in top form that day. I saw my competition in transition and I knew that I wouldn't be able to hang with them today. Today was going to be all about finishing. I went into the water and warmed up before my wave start, which just so happen to be the very last start of the day. This meant that I would be dodging people while swimming, biking and running. I will skip the messy details and move to the end where I place a modest 7th as a Clydesdale a full 6 minutes slower than I had originally planned. But 7th as a Clydesdale and 240ish overall out of 1500+ people isn't too bad after an accident.

After the race everything seemed to fall apart. I lost my stroke in the pool some where and I was really hoping that some one would find it and give it back. No matter how hard I tried or how much I pulled I had nothing to give. My times were slow; my stamina was gone, what happened to me? And then the weirdest thing happened. I started looking at my hands as they entered the water instead of looking down at the bottom of the pool. They seemed to slip seamlessly into the water; barely a bubble would race to the surface. Suddenly my pull felt strong and effortless and my 100m times dropped back to where they should have been. Can it be that something as simple as head position can make that big of a difference? It seems as though it can.

The other thing that I have been working on since my accident and now that I have been given the ok to run easy again is my running form. As with most runners when they first start out I was a heel striker. While I have never had any real injuries I have never felt as though I flowed over the ground. I always felt as though I was muscling through every single run. With the help of my coach that has begun to change and I feel now as though most of my propulsion is in the forward direction. This is a good thing, right? It’s another huge break through for me. I am really hoping once I can add speed work back into my running that I will see some real changes!

I am getting my groove back!

A month in review.

So its been just over a month since my last blog and a lot has happened. I wrecked back on Oct 1st and it hurt! I fractured my orbital, some how injured my hamstring, jacked up my bike and then had a crappy race two days later. But hey, what can I expect? Thankfully I am on the mend, the numbness in my face is almost gone, and my body is beginning to recover nicely, although I did just come down with a cold that has left me near horse. I have been going to physical therapy now for a couple weeks and I can't really tell if it is helping or not. I do know that my hamstring is feeling better.

My coach and I have decided that I shall forgo any running races during the off season to make sure that I heal up entirely instead of pushing now and paying for it later. I would much rather have a great 2010 race season than have one or two good off season marathon/half marathons. My 2010 season is starting to shape up looking like this.

Tritonman Feb 20th "C"
Superfrog HIM Mar27th "B"
La jolla Half Marathon Apr 10th "C"
Wildflower HIM May 1st "B"
San Diego International Oly June 27th "C"
Vineman 70.3 HIM July 18th "A"
Solana Beach Tri July 25th "C"
AFC Half Marathon Aug 21st "B"
Surf Town Sprint Tri Aug 22nd "C"
Mission Bay Tri Oct 3rd "A"
San Diego Triathlon Classic Oct 9th "C"
Soma HIM Oct 24th "A"

It will be challenging but I think do able and I expect good races out of me this coming season so hold on to your seats!

I was forced to transfer jobs with in my company a few weeks back. I was dreading the day that this would happen but now that day has come and gone and I am actually rather happy where I am now. Working in the Lean/Six Sigma office as a green belt facilitator has given me an interesting view of how things can operate in a more effective and productive manner while eliminating what really isn't needed. Now instead of helping to eliminate waste in other peoples shop I have a shop of my own that I actually work in to see what I can do myself. Am I happy that I was forced to transfer? Looking back, yes I am. The guys I work with are great and the work that I do now is easy and stress free. Life is good.

Why I Tri

Today I was reading some old blogs from a fellow Tri Club of San Diego (TCSD) member Rachel; when I came across one that talked about Speed vs. Fun on race day. She quoted Chris McCormack saying that if you didn’t line up on race day expecting to win then what other reason did you have to be there. Of course if you are familiar with Triathlon you will know that Macca is an amazing triathlete who has most of his life been a front of the pack type of person, and while I am sure that when he is racing Ironman distance races he must ask himself why he is out there, that he has never really had to ask himself that question pre-race as age groupers do.

As an age group triathlete you get the pleasure of many things; like having to pay to enter races, or not getting a free bike, shoes or nutrition and having to come up with a reason to swim bike a run everyday with knowing that you may never see a podium let alone a dollar for winning a race. This got me wondering; why do I tri?

For me triathlon is, of course, more than about winning. I am a Clydesdale, which means I weigh in at more than 200lbs. Many triathletes don’t even believe that there should be a Clydesdale category, let alone give them medals for finishing first among the “fat” people; many believe that there should only be the Elite and the Age Group racers and that those two groups alone level the playing field enough. If you aren’t fast enough, then you just aren’t fast enough, right? So for me, as a Clydesdale, I race to run down as many “normal” age groupers as I can. I want to show the world that some one over 200lbs can still be quick. But for me simply as a triathlete I race only to see how hard I can push and still survive. Yes, I want to know how I stack up against the world but more than that I want to know how I stack up against myself.

I train seven days a week most weeks with one or two light days for recovery and I find that it is in training that I truly ask “Why am I out here?” It’s easy to pay your 80-525 dollars and step up to the water and dive in but it is the brave who know that the race starts well before the start of the race. So here is what I have found gets me up and moving over the last year. I keep training for the joy of it, I constantly am searching for the feeling that I get when I go out and put in a hard 6-10 mile run, just go with it, finishing, so strong and fresh, that it brings tears to my eyes. I train for the solitude; it has been in those moments when left alone in the middle of nowhere when I am at my lowest that I have been able to find how hard I am willing to climb to carry on. While many train for social aspect of triathlon and train solo for the opposite reason, I love the elusiveness that training on my own brings. The world has become so small that sometimes it is impossible to find a moment alone, even when you are in an empty room, so I walk out the door to find the quiet places in the world.

Each and every triathlete must find their own reasons to train and race, I am sure that many are similar to mine, in the end though it doesn’t matter why we are out there but it is more important that we have all come together for the one reason we all share; the love for Triathlon

An introduction to me.

I have debated for some time if I was ever going to post a blog. I wasn’t sure if I would have anything to say and if I did have something to say to the world would I be able to write in a manner that would express what I wanted to say, the way I wanted to say it. Not to mention, of course, do I really want to put my thoughts, life and emotions on display for the world to see.

At this point, since it’s obvious that I have decided that I would try this whole blogging thing, I should introduce myself and tell you a little about myself. For the purpose of this blog I’ll be going by Tri-Buddha. I am, among many other things, a triathlete. On most days I eat, sleep, and breathe triathlon. I am no professional, I have never won a race, or age group or even the larger than life Clydesdale category but I have come close. Maybe one day soon I will even get on the podium. I love the sport. It gives back to me just as much as I put into it. You may wonder what I get back from doing triathlons, after all it’s just a sport, right? This is true, triathlon is just a sport but it’s a sport in which I can crawl with in myself; not to hide but to explore. Triathlon allows me hours of time weekly that I can spend in self reflection which would normally be filled with the white noise of modern life.

I am a Buddhist and have been for several years. I am Buddhist but far from a good one. I don’t go to temple or spend time in traditional meditation; long ride, runs and swims are my meditation. Often when I am in the pool I find myself swimming with my eyes closed with only the thought of my breath in my mind. Removing desire from my life, I have found, to be the hardest thing about Buddhism. I want to be happy. I want to be successful. These like any other desire cause me suffering and I deal with that everyday.

I am a reclusive member of society. The older I get and the longer I am Buddhist the less I feel connected with society. I have friends, I go out for drinks and dates just like the rest of the world but I don’t crave the human interaction as much as most of the people that I know. I work as a Lean Facilitator which, if you know anything about Lean, is a very social job. All day everyday I am up in front of people, helping them figure out how to make their lives and jobs more efficient.

And one other thing that I have never been. I have never been good at ending anything. Not relationships and certainly not this blog. So I will leave this now... how it is and come back again soon to tell you more about me.