Pledge Week 13: Peer Pressure

Times eaten fast food this week = 1
Total pledge amount this week = $40 (6 days * $5, 1 day * $10)
Total pledge amount to date = $470 ($250 contributed to date)
Funds raised to date = $2600

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Just under 30 days until Race Day now!!! Ahhhhhhhhhh

Also just $400 from my fundraising goal with 13 days remaining!!! Thanks so much to everyone who has already donated!!!

Now to the topic at hand, the one I'm sure most readers are curious about... I cheated once this week... Twice if you count me having a beer :(

The fast food indiscretion occurred on Monday. I had just had a VERY productive weekend including a 5.5 hour brick on Saturday and then another 2 hour spin on Sunday. It was just a really solid weekend training-wise. Then Monday rolled around and my friend/co-worker Christy had a birthday... Her birthday surprise was a visit from Lauren which meant she was bringing some lunch to the office. Sadly, I had not brought lunch because we had no leftovers and I had no turkey meatballs. So naturally, when we got the call that surprise Cafe Rio was on the way, I just couldn't pass it up... And I cheated...

(Photo credit: http://thegirlwhoknewtoomuch.com/category/images/)

In addition to the Cafe Rio, I just came home from having dinner at my best friend Phil's house. The weather outside was 95° at the beach. We were dying despite being indoors. Baseball was on. Brats were cooking on the stove. And so I succumbed and had a beer. It was just one beer, but I've been trying to kick it for the time being. With the marathon a couple days away and the Ironman just so close, I probably shouldn't have, but it isn't the worst thing.

(Photo credit: http://lindamirjam.blogspot.com/2014_12_01_archive.html)

The good news is that I did avoid drinking beer (particularly binge drinking it) whilst at the USC tailgate on Thursday. I also got in a GREAT half marathon run on Tuesday, setting a PR in the process. And I even got in a pretty good sized brick on Thursday morning before work. This last one in particular has my legs feeling a little sore right now, so hopefully a nice little recovery run on Saturday will get me fresh for Sunday's marathon.

I'm both nervous and excited for the Long Beach Marathon. It's going to be a grind getting all 26.2 miles. But I feel confident that I'm ready and hopeful that I can do pretty well despite what is supposed to be a 90° type of day. I'll have to stay strong, hydrated, full of electrolytes and just focus!

(Photo credit: http://www.owningpink.com/blogs/allison-crow)

A Tale of Two Training Runs

As I prepare for Race Week for the Long Beach Marathon, I lay in bed this morning trying to decide whether or not to go on a training run. My stubbornness says that I am:
1) training for an Ironman as the ultimate goal
2) the marathon is just a "warm up" for the Ironman
3) I ran 13.1 miles before my 70.3 mile Half Ironman
4) rest is for the when you're dead
5) I'm still not in Ironman shape so I need it

However, conventional wisdom says "hey dumbass, taper for the marathon." You shouldn't be running that hard or that long during race week.

(Photo credit: http://www.active.com/running/articles/your-12-week-half-marathon-training-plan)

So the little devil had crept in my head, told me I can be lazy and that it's okay to go short or maybe even rest because a marathon training plan said so. Awesome.

Then I tipped the scale... Literally...

I stepped on my Withings WiFi scale and it uploaded me as 179 lbs this morning!!! 179!!! WTF!!!

(Photo credit: http://squarewheelscycling.com/index.php?/topic/24658-wtf/)

Within an instant, my competitive and self loathing mindset kicked in. You S-O-B. How did you let this happen? Why are you a lazy bastard? Now you deserve no rest! Go kick your a$$!

And there I went. Got dressed. Had my banana. Sipped a half cup of coffee. Laced up the Newtons. Slid on the Mio HR. Got the Garmin 910XT finding my location and off I went.

At the end of the 13.1 miles, I came back feeling happy, strong and tipped the scales back at 168 lbs. But the analysis I'll show you next is what is crazy. I'm going to compare the run I had pre-Superfrog 2 weeks ago to the run I just did and it is pretty amazing how different they are.

The only similarities:
1) equipment/gear/clothing - I pretty much wore all the same stuff
2) distance - 13.1 miles
3) route - generally the same route, but some slight differences due to how I felt
4) nutrition - banana and coffee before running, none taken with me aka no water or gels

Highlighting the differences:

Pre-Superfrog:

This Morning:

Looking at the elevation, you can see the route was generally the same. But if you checkout the pace, I went MUCH faster on average (8:39 vs. 10:43) and my pace held much more consistent other than the 2 stop lights I had to wait for.

My HR was also an interesting comparison. I held a much higher average HR (165 vs. 146) yet you can see that my HR generally stayed constant with some rises while my pre-Superfrog run started to jump all over the place (this correlates to when I hit the wall, bonked and started doing a lot of run/walking).

Pre-Superfrog Splits:

This Morning Splits:

The splits also lay it out in similar detail. Supposedly I had a significant elevation gain, but I think maybe my GPS was just off because the map shows that the routes were pretty similar. I may have run around Space Park a 3rd time rather than running more track loops, but it was generally about the same. You can see that I threw down a lot of 10 and 11 min/mile splits pre-Superfrog while this time I had mostly 8 and 9 min/miles this morning. The difference is surprising.

Given all those things, I wondered what could be different? After thinking about all the things mentioned above, the only other thing I could think of was sleep. Maybe I slept more last night as a result of not setting an alarm? Thankfully, I have my Garmin Vivofit so I can check this out. And the verdict is...

Pre-Superfrog Sleep:

This Morning Sleep:

...Sleep is not the answer! I actually had more sleep before my pre-Superfrog run than I did this morning. So sleep wasn't it.

In the end, I guess I just chalk it up to motivation and maybe the fact that I had been eating a little bit more lately so my glucose stores were a little bit higher. I guess I'll never know. But what do I know?

Boom :D #BeastMode Haha

Pledge Week 12: DOMS and Macca

Times eaten fast food this week = 0
Total pledge amount this week = $35 (7 days * $5)
Total pledge amount to date = $430 ($250 contributed to date)
Funds raised to date = $2400

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No fast food yet again this week! Getting in a great grove in the final push towards IM FL. 35 days and counting... oh boy...

(Photo credit: http://www.keepcalmandcarryon.com/creator/)

What is also happening, is DOMS. DOMS is an acronym for Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness. Often times, this is used in reference to bodybuilders and the "48 hour rule" that says you're more likely to be sore 2 days after a workout rather than immediately after or the next day. There's all kinds of studies and things trying to explain it, but that's not really important haha. What is important is that the phenomenon IS REAL!!!

And it really has lingered for almost a week. Granted, I did put my body through 70.3 grueling miles... But still... I'm definitely still sore :(

(Photo credit: http://somethingjustfunny.blogspot.com/2014/11/animal-memes-trying-to-get-out-of-bed.html)

It may sound like I'm complaining (and I kinda am) but I did persevere and get several workouts in this week while only taking Monday as an off day and doing 2-a-days Wed-Fri.

Thursday was almost not going to be a 2-a-day, but then Macca happened. Macca aka Chris McCormack came and spoke at the LA Tri Club first Thursday event this week. He's a former pro triathlete and a multiple Kona Ironman World Championship winner. In short, he's kind of a big deal in the triathlon circuit. And while he did make many points, answer a lot of questions and talk just like an Aussie, there were two important points that I took away.

The first point was something some of my friends really took to heart more than myself. His point was that triathlon racing and training is going to be hard. It is going to take everything you have and take you to some really dark places. My friends are pretty awesome and while they've had some funny stories in both training and racing, I'm not as familiar with their struggle to know if they've been to the dark side.

(Psalm 23, Photo credit: http://www.likeisha.com/?p=204)

But for me, I've been there. My race maladies post summarizes most of my experiences, but I definitely have been there. I've cramped so hard I thought about quitting. I've crashed, been woosy and bloodied and wondered if I was okay. I've even flatted and realized that my shot at winning a small race just deflated away. In short, I've had those dark moments where the darkest thoughts creep into your mind and the easiest thing to do is quit. But somehow, some way, I picked myself up, put one foot in front of the other and kept going. So yes, his words definitely resonated with me, but I was happier knowing that my warrior mentality was something we had in common.

The second point was the reason I went for a swim later that evening. And his point was summarized in one word: consistency. The key to being successful in triathlon is to be consistent. Be consistent with your diet, with your training, with your focus, with everything. Be consistent. Every day isn't gonna be your best day. You're not always gonna eat right. You're not always going to have your best run. You're not always going to feel great. But you should always try and do something. I don't know who made the quote famous, but he referenced a quote I had heard or read before:

(Photo credit: https://www.pinterest.com/katrinawear/fitness-quotes/)

Or said differently...

(Photo credit: http://www.zazzle.com/i+really+regret+that+workout+gifts)

And that is the most important point I took home. Do the workout. Even if you only do half of what your plan says. Even if you only make it 3 miles instead of 13. Doing something keeps you moving forward and progressing to your goal. Because you'll never regret doing something, you'll only regret not doing anything.