Thursday, December 30, 2004
Training with a HRM
Almost 2005, jee, time is flying! Yesterday I went to the gin to a swim and run workout... I never thougth that I could get so bad in swimming after almost 3 weeks of "off-training", all went bad. We always warry about sinking like a rock when getting to the pool, but there are things that are pretty much worse than this. Iwasn´t sinking, I was just doing everything wrong, I couldn´t stand a correct position, find my way, i swan in a zig zag - lucky me I was alone! Fortunately, I always get something good from bad experiences and the lesson learned is: if you are bad in something, you must try hard, but that´s not all: you must do it ina a consistent and "on going" way. So for 2005 I must get into the pool at least 4 times a week - even now that I´m not considering IM, but only marathons - 2006 will come one day (probably sooner that I can plan) and I don´t want to play catch up with my swimming on that time.
After the swimming “nightmare” I went running on the treadmill. Despite I rather run at the street I planned my running indoor to give a try to a “principle” caught in an article by Mark Allen I found while web surfing yesterday. It was a piece about HRM and the need to build an aerobic engine through training in low paces. Well, folks, I can say one thing: it is quite boring, but if it works… (the appeal is high, according to Allen he took that regimen and won 6 im in a row, but he is not the only one: nobody else than Lance Armstrong did it after his cancer treatment and during his prep for the first of 6 TDF victories… who needs more? www.markallenonline.com). Lets see the developments…
And once sports aren´t just the only one thing worth to take notice, yesterday the day ended with some tv.. I took a look at “Jack & Bobby” (www.warnerchannel.net) and another bad night on sleeping (I went to bed around midnight and got up at 3.00 a.m.)… I must fix this sleeping problem if I really want to take this IM Hawaii stuff seriously… see you on 2005
After the swimming “nightmare” I went running on the treadmill. Despite I rather run at the street I planned my running indoor to give a try to a “principle” caught in an article by Mark Allen I found while web surfing yesterday. It was a piece about HRM and the need to build an aerobic engine through training in low paces. Well, folks, I can say one thing: it is quite boring, but if it works… (the appeal is high, according to Allen he took that regimen and won 6 im in a row, but he is not the only one: nobody else than Lance Armstrong did it after his cancer treatment and during his prep for the first of 6 TDF victories… who needs more? www.markallenonline.com). Lets see the developments…
And once sports aren´t just the only one thing worth to take notice, yesterday the day ended with some tv.. I took a look at “Jack & Bobby” (www.warnerchannel.net) and another bad night on sleeping (I went to bed around midnight and got up at 3.00 a.m.)… I must fix this sleeping problem if I really want to take this IM Hawaii stuff seriously… see you on 2005
Wednesday, December 29, 2004
The Flight of the Phoenix
This days I´m having a little extra time to write so I´m just making a good use of it ; -)
Yesterday I heard about a movie with Denis Quaid (I must say that I´m not exactly a big fan of him) named "The Flight of the Phoenix", I´m not sure exactly what this movie is about - aviation and that stuff surely but... - and that´s not exactly the point (if you´re willing to take some details about it you can reach on www.flightofthephoenix.com), I just liked the name.. actually what a great name! Every single year I write a diary and I give it an specific name, so I decided that Y2005 diary will be called "The flight of the phoenix - a time to rebirth" due to all plans and projects I have for next year.
But while the new year doesn´t come, I must say that yesterday I learned a though lesson.. actually two good ones.. The first one is about being positive - I was so concerned about setting backs that I almost face one (thakfully it was a small one, so I could deal with it and it make no harm) and the second one is the most difficult and it will take longer... The mother of a close fired of mine which i consider like a mother was diagnosed by cancer, as anyone knows this is the first step of a long road and a huge fight that I really hope will end up with a victory over the disease... the lesson? well, actually is one well known by everyone of us and mostly forgot: life is really short and noone knows what tomorrow might bring so I just decided to dedicate a bit more time writing to my family that lives abroad but most of all I will struggle to remember that there´s no use on worrying too much, just a need to work hard and live step by step - even in the fast lane - or as one friend of mine use to say: small moves.
Ah.. before I forget - in the "carpe dien" process I have just paid my entry for the first race on 2005... an easy 10k in late january...
Yesterday I heard about a movie with Denis Quaid (I must say that I´m not exactly a big fan of him) named "The Flight of the Phoenix", I´m not sure exactly what this movie is about - aviation and that stuff surely but... - and that´s not exactly the point (if you´re willing to take some details about it you can reach on www.flightofthephoenix.com), I just liked the name.. actually what a great name! Every single year I write a diary and I give it an specific name, so I decided that Y2005 diary will be called "The flight of the phoenix - a time to rebirth" due to all plans and projects I have for next year.
But while the new year doesn´t come, I must say that yesterday I learned a though lesson.. actually two good ones.. The first one is about being positive - I was so concerned about setting backs that I almost face one (thakfully it was a small one, so I could deal with it and it make no harm) and the second one is the most difficult and it will take longer... The mother of a close fired of mine which i consider like a mother was diagnosed by cancer, as anyone knows this is the first step of a long road and a huge fight that I really hope will end up with a victory over the disease... the lesson? well, actually is one well known by everyone of us and mostly forgot: life is really short and noone knows what tomorrow might bring so I just decided to dedicate a bit more time writing to my family that lives abroad but most of all I will struggle to remember that there´s no use on worrying too much, just a need to work hard and live step by step - even in the fast lane - or as one friend of mine use to say: small moves.
Ah.. before I forget - in the "carpe dien" process I have just paid my entry for the first race on 2005... an easy 10k in late january...
Tuesday, December 28, 2004
Get this...
Peter Reid: A Kona diary
by Peter Reid
This report filed November 23, 2004
It's 6:43a.m.and I am about to start my 11th Hawaii Ironman. The hardest part of the week is about to end - the waiting. I can't wait until that gun goes off so that I can begin the event that I think about the entire year. Sometimes everything works out with my training and I show up in top form. Other years everything seems to go wrong like this year. Last year was a perfect build up. This year has been a rough one with injuries. It just seem like I was never going to get consistent training done: one problem after another. Regardless, of how the year went I am going to do my best once that gun goes off. The body is an amazing machine and you just never know.
I am in the water close to Luc Van Lierde which I think is the best place to be. No one seems to want to key off of him for the swim start because he hasn't had a good result in Kona for quite a while. I on the other hand decide to stay close to Luc. He always has good swims in Kona. There are a few other top pros around us but all the big guns seem to be starting close to the Pier. Luc and I are closer to the Body Glove boat. The pro field including Luc and I seem to be drifting more and more on to the official course. We are well past the start line but no gun. I figure it will be any second and I keep focused. All of a sudden someone does one swim stroke and the chain reaction set's us off. I never heard the start gun. I hang close to Luc but we miss the lead pack. The swim groups are decided within the first 400 yards of the race. I miss the lead group.
I am in the big pack and we seem to be swimming all over the place. I look up to sight the turn around boats and they are to the left of me. A few minutes later I sight again this time they are to my right. We are clearly swimming all over the place. I am in the middle of the group so I follow. It is better to be saving energy and swimming a bit crooked with the group than swimming in a straight line solo wasting energy that I will need later on in the day.
The entire swim is an "S" pattern. I feel pretty relaxed swimming with this pack. So far so good. I am not with the top guns but at least I am still within striking distance
I exit the water and I need to make up some ground quick because I am down on all the favorites (Lessing, Tim, Luke Bell, McCormick, Al Suttan, B. Anderson, etc.). I blast thru the transition zone. I found out after the race that I had the fastest T1 of the day. I make up some time on the first out and back section on Kuakini Highway; but, I am still down. Norman goes by me close to the airport. Last year we rode together until 6 miles from the Hawi turnaround. He went by hard this year and there was no way that I was going to be able to ride with him. I just don't have the strength on the bike. I had two pretty serious cycling injuries in August which meant that hardly rode for the month. August is one of the most important months of training to get ready for the Hawaii Ironman. Luckily, I was still able to swim and run. Anyway, there was no way I was riding with Norman today; but, I really need to get up to Tim and the lead pack.
I am going to get there but it is going to take a lot longer than Norman. I manage to ride up to the lead group of favorites but it took a long time. I catch them just before Kawaihae. I am going pretty good when I catch them so I decide to blast by and see if I can ride away from them. For some reason the boys picked up their pace and don't let me go. I guess that number 1 on my bike makes me a marked man. I can't remember which mile marker it was when Norman went by the other way; but, I have not seen someone that far in front of me at the turn around since I first did the race in 1993. This is not good. Norman was flying! As I keep riding toward Hawi Farris goes flying by just behind Norman then a bunch of other strong cyclists.
I am in trouble. In my head the race was going to be decided on the marathon. The plan is to have a decent swim, ride solid with all the favorites then give it everything I have on the marathon. I hadn't planned on such a big effort by the strong cyclists. By the time I hit the Hawi turn around I realize that I am in really big trouble. Norman is solid on the run and so is Farris. I try to give it my best shot from the turn around. I am trying hard but I just can't do anything. By the time I hit 90 miles on the bike my legs are toast. Chris M. and Cam Widoff easily ride away from me. The only guys around me are Rutger, Tim, and Stephan Sheldrake. I am out of the top 10: way out of top 5.
By the time I hit T2 I get an official split. I am more than 24 minutes back on Norman. Ouch!
In all honesty, I entered this year's race with my least amount of fitness. I had not been able to train properly for all of August. I was actually thinking on pulling the plug for this year's race the first weekend of September. Before I called Ironman to say that I was pulling out I gave Mark Allen a call. Mark has helped me a lot over the years with training ideas. He is a mentor. Luckily, Mark had some amazing words. He told me about Scott Molina in 1988. I guess Scott was in the similar situation that I was in at the beginning of September in '88. Scott decided to go to Palm Springs for a 3 week psycho training camp that would get him fit quick. I could do the same.
Mark agreed to write my get fit quick training schedule that I would do on the Big Island. The first week didn't go well. I really suffered. The second was better and the third week went really well. I flew back home to Victoria, BC after the 3 week intense training block to recharge and begin my taper. After a few days in Victoria Mark had me fly down to Santa Cruz to meet up with him and his Shaman Brant. Mark and Brant gave me a private sermon. It was amazing. By the time I got back to Victoria I knew I could win. My mental strength was stronger than it had ever been in the past.
As I head out on the run my legs don't feel too good. Actually they feel horrible; but, I wasn't going to let dead legs stop me. I focus on a simple task: run down the guy in front of me. I have something like eleven guys to run down. By 5 miles on the run I am in 6th place. A German spectator screams out to me "Peter, if you keep running the way you are doing second place is a possibility". I turn to him and said, "No, first is!" The look on his face is awesome. He is in total shock. There is no way that I would have this kind of determination at this year's race without Mark's help. I am stronger mentally than ever before. My fitness was off yet my mind isn't.
I keep focusing on each athlete and by the time I enter the Energy Lab there are only three to go. The bad news is that while I enter Norman is running out. I am really far behind; but, second and third are just a few yards in front. I focus on them and block out the lead that Norman has even though I am running everyone else down. By the time I pass Farris for second I start to crack. My legs are really dead. Every step off that bike is hard and it gets even harder. I am no longer gaining and I am not pulling away from Faris. I manage to hold pace and force myself to go hard all the way to the finish line. I won't let myself go easy until I cross the finish line.
I am pretty sore when I cross that line on Alii drive and I am extremely happy with my second place. Considering I almost didn't show up to race and basically all the media favorites cracked on race day I did pretty good. Plus, Norman did it his way and won. He deserved the win this year.
I really want that win No. 4. Mark is going to help me beginning in February rather than damage control in September. Now, I have to wait another year to get another shot.
Mahalo!
(u can find it on http://www.insidetri.com/race/iro/articles/2472.0.html)
by Peter Reid
This report filed November 23, 2004
It's 6:43a.m.and I am about to start my 11th Hawaii Ironman. The hardest part of the week is about to end - the waiting. I can't wait until that gun goes off so that I can begin the event that I think about the entire year. Sometimes everything works out with my training and I show up in top form. Other years everything seems to go wrong like this year. Last year was a perfect build up. This year has been a rough one with injuries. It just seem like I was never going to get consistent training done: one problem after another. Regardless, of how the year went I am going to do my best once that gun goes off. The body is an amazing machine and you just never know.
I am in the water close to Luc Van Lierde which I think is the best place to be. No one seems to want to key off of him for the swim start because he hasn't had a good result in Kona for quite a while. I on the other hand decide to stay close to Luc. He always has good swims in Kona. There are a few other top pros around us but all the big guns seem to be starting close to the Pier. Luc and I are closer to the Body Glove boat. The pro field including Luc and I seem to be drifting more and more on to the official course. We are well past the start line but no gun. I figure it will be any second and I keep focused. All of a sudden someone does one swim stroke and the chain reaction set's us off. I never heard the start gun. I hang close to Luc but we miss the lead pack. The swim groups are decided within the first 400 yards of the race. I miss the lead group.
I am in the big pack and we seem to be swimming all over the place. I look up to sight the turn around boats and they are to the left of me. A few minutes later I sight again this time they are to my right. We are clearly swimming all over the place. I am in the middle of the group so I follow. It is better to be saving energy and swimming a bit crooked with the group than swimming in a straight line solo wasting energy that I will need later on in the day.
The entire swim is an "S" pattern. I feel pretty relaxed swimming with this pack. So far so good. I am not with the top guns but at least I am still within striking distance
I exit the water and I need to make up some ground quick because I am down on all the favorites (Lessing, Tim, Luke Bell, McCormick, Al Suttan, B. Anderson, etc.). I blast thru the transition zone. I found out after the race that I had the fastest T1 of the day. I make up some time on the first out and back section on Kuakini Highway; but, I am still down. Norman goes by me close to the airport. Last year we rode together until 6 miles from the Hawi turnaround. He went by hard this year and there was no way that I was going to be able to ride with him. I just don't have the strength on the bike. I had two pretty serious cycling injuries in August which meant that hardly rode for the month. August is one of the most important months of training to get ready for the Hawaii Ironman. Luckily, I was still able to swim and run. Anyway, there was no way I was riding with Norman today; but, I really need to get up to Tim and the lead pack.
I am going to get there but it is going to take a lot longer than Norman. I manage to ride up to the lead group of favorites but it took a long time. I catch them just before Kawaihae. I am going pretty good when I catch them so I decide to blast by and see if I can ride away from them. For some reason the boys picked up their pace and don't let me go. I guess that number 1 on my bike makes me a marked man. I can't remember which mile marker it was when Norman went by the other way; but, I have not seen someone that far in front of me at the turn around since I first did the race in 1993. This is not good. Norman was flying! As I keep riding toward Hawi Farris goes flying by just behind Norman then a bunch of other strong cyclists.
I am in trouble. In my head the race was going to be decided on the marathon. The plan is to have a decent swim, ride solid with all the favorites then give it everything I have on the marathon. I hadn't planned on such a big effort by the strong cyclists. By the time I hit the Hawi turn around I realize that I am in really big trouble. Norman is solid on the run and so is Farris. I try to give it my best shot from the turn around. I am trying hard but I just can't do anything. By the time I hit 90 miles on the bike my legs are toast. Chris M. and Cam Widoff easily ride away from me. The only guys around me are Rutger, Tim, and Stephan Sheldrake. I am out of the top 10: way out of top 5.
By the time I hit T2 I get an official split. I am more than 24 minutes back on Norman. Ouch!
In all honesty, I entered this year's race with my least amount of fitness. I had not been able to train properly for all of August. I was actually thinking on pulling the plug for this year's race the first weekend of September. Before I called Ironman to say that I was pulling out I gave Mark Allen a call. Mark has helped me a lot over the years with training ideas. He is a mentor. Luckily, Mark had some amazing words. He told me about Scott Molina in 1988. I guess Scott was in the similar situation that I was in at the beginning of September in '88. Scott decided to go to Palm Springs for a 3 week psycho training camp that would get him fit quick. I could do the same.
Mark agreed to write my get fit quick training schedule that I would do on the Big Island. The first week didn't go well. I really suffered. The second was better and the third week went really well. I flew back home to Victoria, BC after the 3 week intense training block to recharge and begin my taper. After a few days in Victoria Mark had me fly down to Santa Cruz to meet up with him and his Shaman Brant. Mark and Brant gave me a private sermon. It was amazing. By the time I got back to Victoria I knew I could win. My mental strength was stronger than it had ever been in the past.
As I head out on the run my legs don't feel too good. Actually they feel horrible; but, I wasn't going to let dead legs stop me. I focus on a simple task: run down the guy in front of me. I have something like eleven guys to run down. By 5 miles on the run I am in 6th place. A German spectator screams out to me "Peter, if you keep running the way you are doing second place is a possibility". I turn to him and said, "No, first is!" The look on his face is awesome. He is in total shock. There is no way that I would have this kind of determination at this year's race without Mark's help. I am stronger mentally than ever before. My fitness was off yet my mind isn't.
I keep focusing on each athlete and by the time I enter the Energy Lab there are only three to go. The bad news is that while I enter Norman is running out. I am really far behind; but, second and third are just a few yards in front. I focus on them and block out the lead that Norman has even though I am running everyone else down. By the time I pass Farris for second I start to crack. My legs are really dead. Every step off that bike is hard and it gets even harder. I am no longer gaining and I am not pulling away from Faris. I manage to hold pace and force myself to go hard all the way to the finish line. I won't let myself go easy until I cross the finish line.
I am pretty sore when I cross that line on Alii drive and I am extremely happy with my second place. Considering I almost didn't show up to race and basically all the media favorites cracked on race day I did pretty good. Plus, Norman did it his way and won. He deserved the win this year.
I really want that win No. 4. Mark is going to help me beginning in February rather than damage control in September. Now, I have to wait another year to get another shot.
Mahalo!
(u can find it on http://www.insidetri.com/race/iro/articles/2472.0.html)
Wish List
Well, well, well... blogging time... actually, technology time.. I´m in the mood of "isn´t technology cool?". Yesterday I found it hard to fall asleep and spent sometime reading on-line wired magazine decembr issue where I found an interesting article by James Cameron (yes, him, the "father" of Titanic). It worth the time (a short time) spent reading and made me think about "exploration", about those many things we will never see, we will never learn - do you know that even if you live a hundred yrs and spent all the time that you´re awake reading, you wish to read just follow the link: http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/12.12/
But this wasn´t my only one reading, I also read an article by John Nash´s biographer (yeah the one performed by Russel Crowe in Brilliant Mind) at Fast Company.. the article wasn´t special at all, but once again it made me think about "going the distance", Nash was of that category of people that doesn´t "work" on the conventional way, instead he was trying to figure out why people were so conventional and work on the other way. And at the end of the night I read Tom Peter´s blog (I told you I love him once)... he transformed his blog in a "xx" pages doc you can download and print if you wish.. i was specially looking for his 100# ways to suceed, but I´m not there yet.
But at the end of all that reading I just remembred one thing: I really miss my training routine and I can even wait to get back to the "work-study-train" regimem.. it will be very nice.. today I will try a little run!
As I promised, down follow some interesting books on triathlon (you can call it my wish list):
Going Long by Joe Friel
Triathlon 101 / Karen Smyers, John Mora
Becoming an Ironman: First Encounters with the Ultimate Endurance Event / John Collins, Kara Douglass Thom
"Triathlete" Complete Triathlon Book / Matt Fitzgerald
The Complete Triathlon Book / Sally Edwards
The Iron Man Triathlon (Ultra Sports) / Bill Scheppler, B. Scheppler
The Triathlete's Training Bible / Joel Friel
Racing the Sunset: An Athlete's Quest for Life After Sport / Scott Tinley
Can You Make a Living Doing That?: The True-life Adventures of a Professional Triathlete / Brad Kearns
Science of Triathlon Training and Competition / Glenn P Town
Triathlon Training / David Scott
Ironman / Chris Crutcher
The Triathlon Log / Sally Edwards
The Complete Triathlon Endurance Training Manual / Patricia Bragg
Inside Triathlon: Training Diary : A 52 Week Log of Your Triathlon or Duathlon Fitness /
The Essential Triathlete / Steve, MD Jonas
Your Performing Edge: The Complete Mind-Body Guide for Excellence in Sports, Health and Life / Joann Dahlkoetter
Triathlon: A Visual History / Scott Tinley
Triathlon: Going the Distance (Sportsperformance) / Mike Plant, Scott Molina
Total Triathlete: Training to Win / Mark Allen, Bob Babbit, Bob Babbitt
Training Tips for Cyclists and Triathletes / Chris Carmichael
Triathlon: The Skills of the Game / Steve Trew
Triathletes Guide to Bike Training / Lynda Wallenfels
The Experts' Guide to the Triathlon: The Stars of the Sport Divulge Their Secrets / Didier
Winning Triathlon / Scott Tinley, Mike Plant
The High-Performance Triathlete / Katherine Vaz, Barclay Kruse, of Triathlon Magazine
Triathlete's Edge / Hunter Kemper, Marc Evans
Triathlon: Technique, Training and Competition / Martin Engelhardt, Alexandra Kremer, Andrew Shackleton
Ironman: Life Stories from the Ironman Triathlon / Bob Babbitt
And last but not least - Lance armstrong Performance Program...
But this wasn´t my only one reading, I also read an article by John Nash´s biographer (yeah the one performed by Russel Crowe in Brilliant Mind) at Fast Company.. the article wasn´t special at all, but once again it made me think about "going the distance", Nash was of that category of people that doesn´t "work" on the conventional way, instead he was trying to figure out why people were so conventional and work on the other way. And at the end of the night I read Tom Peter´s blog (I told you I love him once)... he transformed his blog in a "xx" pages doc you can download and print if you wish.. i was specially looking for his 100# ways to suceed, but I´m not there yet.
But at the end of all that reading I just remembred one thing: I really miss my training routine and I can even wait to get back to the "work-study-train" regimem.. it will be very nice.. today I will try a little run!
As I promised, down follow some interesting books on triathlon (you can call it my wish list):
Going Long by Joe Friel
Triathlon 101 / Karen Smyers, John Mora
Becoming an Ironman: First Encounters with the Ultimate Endurance Event / John Collins, Kara Douglass Thom
"Triathlete" Complete Triathlon Book / Matt Fitzgerald
The Complete Triathlon Book / Sally Edwards
The Iron Man Triathlon (Ultra Sports) / Bill Scheppler, B. Scheppler
The Triathlete's Training Bible / Joel Friel
Racing the Sunset: An Athlete's Quest for Life After Sport / Scott Tinley
Can You Make a Living Doing That?: The True-life Adventures of a Professional Triathlete / Brad Kearns
Science of Triathlon Training and Competition / Glenn P Town
Triathlon Training / David Scott
Ironman / Chris Crutcher
The Triathlon Log / Sally Edwards
The Complete Triathlon Endurance Training Manual / Patricia Bragg
Inside Triathlon: Training Diary : A 52 Week Log of Your Triathlon or Duathlon Fitness /
The Essential Triathlete / Steve, MD Jonas
Your Performing Edge: The Complete Mind-Body Guide for Excellence in Sports, Health and Life / Joann Dahlkoetter
Triathlon: A Visual History / Scott Tinley
Triathlon: Going the Distance (Sportsperformance) / Mike Plant, Scott Molina
Total Triathlete: Training to Win / Mark Allen, Bob Babbit, Bob Babbitt
Training Tips for Cyclists and Triathletes / Chris Carmichael
Triathlon: The Skills of the Game / Steve Trew
Triathletes Guide to Bike Training / Lynda Wallenfels
The Experts' Guide to the Triathlon: The Stars of the Sport Divulge Their Secrets / Didier
Winning Triathlon / Scott Tinley, Mike Plant
The High-Performance Triathlete / Katherine Vaz, Barclay Kruse, of Triathlon Magazine
Triathlete's Edge / Hunter Kemper, Marc Evans
Triathlon: Technique, Training and Competition / Martin Engelhardt, Alexandra Kremer, Andrew Shackleton
Ironman: Life Stories from the Ironman Triathlon / Bob Babbitt
And last but not least - Lance armstrong Performance Program...
Monday, December 27, 2004
A New Yr to come
And there was Xmas, a nice party full of food and friends. It´s funny how we get lazy on this time of the year, maybe because of the tireness of the all year long rush, maybe due the all stress of setting goals and making plans for 2005. I´m full of plans. My new job and a master degree... the two main goals that will consume most part of my time. But that doesn´t mean quiting my goals to get to Kona. Actually, they are more alive than ever, but setting goals takes a bit of good sense and something is telling me that 2005 is not the year to focus on the IM... instead is a perfect time to prepare the way for a new Im and a performance that will take mw to Kona. This year my primary focus will be on my swimming and on building the discipline on working hard on the three disciplines. I´m also planning to run two marathons on the first half of the year - it was funny, when thursday I bought the triathlete mag and saw an ad with the following title: some come it an ultimate challenge, we call it a cool down - concerning to marathons.. I could feel "ashamed" but I must be realistic, and surely now is not the right time to travel and compete on an IM (I´m not that worried about the trainning regim - i´m sure I can stand it - but I won´t have any vacation this year, so it would be impossible to travel "through" an ironman event).
But one of the best things this year will be to follow my friends performances and trainnings for Im events around the world... there are some guys getting started on triathlon, there are those that are very experienced and there are those that cannot be called exactly as newbies but that are planning a entirely new experience on IM (finishing one, trying a breakthrpugh, trainning harder.. and so on!).
Today I bought on amazon the book "Iron will - the triathlete´s ultimate challenge").. it will take longer than I expected to get it but I´m sure I´ll make a good use of it (actually Im plannning to give it to a friend of mine one step forward me on his road to Kona).
Let´s see.. I think this will be an awesome year!
But one of the best things this year will be to follow my friends performances and trainnings for Im events around the world... there are some guys getting started on triathlon, there are those that are very experienced and there are those that cannot be called exactly as newbies but that are planning a entirely new experience on IM (finishing one, trying a breakthrpugh, trainning harder.. and so on!).
Today I bought on amazon the book "Iron will - the triathlete´s ultimate challenge").. it will take longer than I expected to get it but I´m sure I´ll make a good use of it (actually Im plannning to give it to a friend of mine one step forward me on his road to Kona).
Let´s see.. I think this will be an awesome year!
Tuesday, December 21, 2004
Almost Xmas
Time is running fast.. in a faster pace than my training schedule ;-)
Today I found out that 2005 running calendar has changed a bit, starting with the marathon and followed by the half marathon (sounds dumb?). That forced me to review my entire training schedule in order to fit in a marathon in early april - instead of late may as predicted. After a web search I found a training that seems to be well suited for my today´s conditions and overall physical ability - it will be my first time following a schedule "web designed" and not "home made"... hire a coach? I was planning to, but for now I have only listened bad things about personal (or not that personnal) coaching. Let´s see!
My shedule is supposed to start on monday 10/01, but I´m planning a pre-season build phase, following my today´s schedule which is almost all focused on weight liftings. After Xmas and new years I will start swimming again and do some running workouts. The first 14 weeks of 2005 will be very exciting!
#2 _ i received that e-mail and found it quite interesing - Im publishing it as it follows
Here is a recent article that appeared at Yahoo News and other media outlets that we thought you would find helpful.
Forget New Year’s Resolutions – They Don’t Work
Goal setting expert explains real success lies in life plans, not in making resolutions.
“You can forget about making New Year’s Resolutions if you’re hoping for a successful outcome. Most aren’t worth the paper they’re written on,” says Vic Johnson, a leading goal setting and motivation expert.
Most New Year’s Resolutions have gone by the wayside before January is over and most won’t even be remembered six months later. And the reason is pretty simple. Most are made in response to something negative; a habit or situation that the person wants to change or end. And therein lies the problem – it’s hard to develop momentum from a negative response. It is always easier to move toward something than away from something.
Consider one of the most adopted goals --- weight loss. No one can get excited about losing weight – it requires deprivation. It’s a negative response to concerns about appearance, health, etc. The results of weight loss New Year’s Resolutions demonstrate their weakness. A 1998 survey sponsored by Gardenburger found that more than three-fourths of all women between the ages of 25 and 54 make diet and weight-loss plans each year. Nearly nine of 10 respondents reported only occasional or no success, while almost half lost little or actually gained weight instead.
“The people who succeed at losing weight and maintaining the loss have usually been motivated by a dream much bigger and more positive than just losing weight,” explains Johnson. “They see themselves living a healthy lifestyle. They begin to act and think like people who are in good physical shape. There’s more of a radical change in a person’s thinking and actions than you see with most resolutions. It wouldn’t be possible to effect and sustain such a radical change unless the person is motivated by a big dream that is positive in nature.”
Another popular aim is to quit smoking. Johnson himself was a three-pack-a-day smoker until he celebrated a smoke-free New Year’s eleven years ago. “For over twenty years I had tried to quit many times using every tool and technique I’d hear about. But as long as I was trying to quit, I couldn’t break the grip. Instead, I developed a dream to become a non-smoker. I fell in love with the idea of breathing clean air instead of smoky air, of my body and clothes smelling nice instead of smoky. I thought about how wonderful it would be to taste food again. I decided to start acting and thinking like a non-smoker, and when the thinking took hold I simply quit smoking. In all the years since, I’ve never wanted another cigarette, never even thought about wanting one.”
According to Johnson, the best goal to set is one that calls for the individual to create a plan for their life based on a set of personal dreams. “Most people are in a free-fall through life, careening from one crisis to the next. If you were going to build a new house and you had this idea for a fabulous master bedroom suite, you wouldn’t rush out and start building the master bedroom. You’d have a complete plan before you started. When you approach resolutions and goals in the same manner, you end up with a much better chance of achieving success.”
Today I found out that 2005 running calendar has changed a bit, starting with the marathon and followed by the half marathon (sounds dumb?). That forced me to review my entire training schedule in order to fit in a marathon in early april - instead of late may as predicted. After a web search I found a training that seems to be well suited for my today´s conditions and overall physical ability - it will be my first time following a schedule "web designed" and not "home made"... hire a coach? I was planning to, but for now I have only listened bad things about personal (or not that personnal) coaching. Let´s see!
My shedule is supposed to start on monday 10/01, but I´m planning a pre-season build phase, following my today´s schedule which is almost all focused on weight liftings. After Xmas and new years I will start swimming again and do some running workouts. The first 14 weeks of 2005 will be very exciting!
#2 _ i received that e-mail and found it quite interesing - Im publishing it as it follows
Here is a recent article that appeared at Yahoo News and other media outlets that we thought you would find helpful.
Forget New Year’s Resolutions – They Don’t Work
Goal setting expert explains real success lies in life plans, not in making resolutions.
“You can forget about making New Year’s Resolutions if you’re hoping for a successful outcome. Most aren’t worth the paper they’re written on,” says Vic Johnson, a leading goal setting and motivation expert.
Most New Year’s Resolutions have gone by the wayside before January is over and most won’t even be remembered six months later. And the reason is pretty simple. Most are made in response to something negative; a habit or situation that the person wants to change or end. And therein lies the problem – it’s hard to develop momentum from a negative response. It is always easier to move toward something than away from something.
Consider one of the most adopted goals --- weight loss. No one can get excited about losing weight – it requires deprivation. It’s a negative response to concerns about appearance, health, etc. The results of weight loss New Year’s Resolutions demonstrate their weakness. A 1998 survey sponsored by Gardenburger found that more than three-fourths of all women between the ages of 25 and 54 make diet and weight-loss plans each year. Nearly nine of 10 respondents reported only occasional or no success, while almost half lost little or actually gained weight instead.
“The people who succeed at losing weight and maintaining the loss have usually been motivated by a dream much bigger and more positive than just losing weight,” explains Johnson. “They see themselves living a healthy lifestyle. They begin to act and think like people who are in good physical shape. There’s more of a radical change in a person’s thinking and actions than you see with most resolutions. It wouldn’t be possible to effect and sustain such a radical change unless the person is motivated by a big dream that is positive in nature.”
Another popular aim is to quit smoking. Johnson himself was a three-pack-a-day smoker until he celebrated a smoke-free New Year’s eleven years ago. “For over twenty years I had tried to quit many times using every tool and technique I’d hear about. But as long as I was trying to quit, I couldn’t break the grip. Instead, I developed a dream to become a non-smoker. I fell in love with the idea of breathing clean air instead of smoky air, of my body and clothes smelling nice instead of smoky. I thought about how wonderful it would be to taste food again. I decided to start acting and thinking like a non-smoker, and when the thinking took hold I simply quit smoking. In all the years since, I’ve never wanted another cigarette, never even thought about wanting one.”
According to Johnson, the best goal to set is one that calls for the individual to create a plan for their life based on a set of personal dreams. “Most people are in a free-fall through life, careening from one crisis to the next. If you were going to build a new house and you had this idea for a fabulous master bedroom suite, you wouldn’t rush out and start building the master bedroom. You’d have a complete plan before you started. When you approach resolutions and goals in the same manner, you end up with a much better chance of achieving success.”
Friday, December 17, 2004
Dealing with anxiety
A new wekend is approaching and the weather decided to change after a long sunny week. A very productive one, I must say. But a bit lazy too (c´mon it´s almost xmas!!!)- and I discovered that sometimes this is the best thing to do. I slept a lot ( I usually sleep about 4 hrs per day, now I´m just staying in bed for about 5 or 6 hours). Had one or two bike trainnings, a bad run workout, a couple of strenght sessions and one swimmming class. No hard work - only at my current work and on finding a job. Guess what? I´m improving. Despite of the bad run session on tuesday, I´m feeling better and working harder with less effort.
But let´s talk about tuesday. I don´t know what went wrong. Really. The weather was hot, the streets clear and I was feeling fine. My heart rate started at 96 bpm, but it took only 5 minutes to get to 156 - very high, I know. I wasn´t really worried - actually I´m not sure that my heart rate monitor is workingquite well, so... But it got worse: I started to feel a severe pain in my belling. After running for about 25 minutes the pain was still there so I decided to go back to the gin and do some stretching. I considered swimming for 1 hour but I found that I forgot my swim suit so there was nothing that I could do but go home and watch some TV. I haven´t run since then and now Im considering a short run after work - just to relax (Im just to worried about my professional future, my career, my new job and on and on).
I planned to start yoga classes (once again) this week but I just postponed it for the next one - really, I was in need of sleep and I really believe that this rest days will make a huge difference when Im back on track - not only on my body but specially on my spirit!
PS. this is not about triathlon.. 2 amazing blogs www.tompeters.com and sethgodin.com (click on seth´s head and follow his ideas!)
But let´s talk about tuesday. I don´t know what went wrong. Really. The weather was hot, the streets clear and I was feeling fine. My heart rate started at 96 bpm, but it took only 5 minutes to get to 156 - very high, I know. I wasn´t really worried - actually I´m not sure that my heart rate monitor is workingquite well, so... But it got worse: I started to feel a severe pain in my belling. After running for about 25 minutes the pain was still there so I decided to go back to the gin and do some stretching. I considered swimming for 1 hour but I found that I forgot my swim suit so there was nothing that I could do but go home and watch some TV. I haven´t run since then and now Im considering a short run after work - just to relax (Im just to worried about my professional future, my career, my new job and on and on).
I planned to start yoga classes (once again) this week but I just postponed it for the next one - really, I was in need of sleep and I really believe that this rest days will make a huge difference when Im back on track - not only on my body but specially on my spirit!
PS. this is not about triathlon.. 2 amazing blogs www.tompeters.com and sethgodin.com (click on seth´s head and follow his ideas!)
Tuesday, December 14, 2004
When tomorrow comes
The sun is shinning outside and I decided to take a new approach on my daily schedule. Actually I decided to have a new approach on my all life. 2004 is coming to its end and I´m still a bit worrysome about the new year to come, but as I always believed its all about making projects, setting goals and do the job. Yesterday I found a poem a friend sent me about one year ago "The road not aken" by Robert Frost, it was quite inspiring. I was thinking about my behaviour, and suddenly I figure out that the road Im traveling by won´t take me to Kona, actually it won´t take me anywhere.
Yeah, it seems this blog should be about personal dramas and not about triathlon, but in the end of it all, we all have to deal with our ghosts and find strenght, specially when your primary goal is to challenge your own body - for me it´s a matter of challenging the spirit.
Yesterday I made an appointment to start working on a book project, will tell you more about it as soon as we launch our activities. Meanwhile, my trainning schedule is back on track. Yesterday I had a nice swim at lunch - that kept me starving the rest of the day. I still suck swimming, but the water was so relaxing, the sun was warm and the pool almost empty... today Im planning to run for about one hour and follow the run with another relaxing swim class. But before of it Im going to the terapeutist - I decided to get some help to get back on track.. let´s see how it works!
Yeah, it seems this blog should be about personal dramas and not about triathlon, but in the end of it all, we all have to deal with our ghosts and find strenght, specially when your primary goal is to challenge your own body - for me it´s a matter of challenging the spirit.
Yesterday I made an appointment to start working on a book project, will tell you more about it as soon as we launch our activities. Meanwhile, my trainning schedule is back on track. Yesterday I had a nice swim at lunch - that kept me starving the rest of the day. I still suck swimming, but the water was so relaxing, the sun was warm and the pool almost empty... today Im planning to run for about one hour and follow the run with another relaxing swim class. But before of it Im going to the terapeutist - I decided to get some help to get back on track.. let´s see how it works!
Friday, December 10, 2004
The Gray Outside
Definitely I´m not the best person to deal with cold weather. Rainy days make me "blues" and today I´m struggling with deceiveness and deception feelings. Not the kind of mental attitude for an athlete. The good side is I´m - once and again - digging into the "positive attitude" matter and making some interesting findings. (I´ll post the results of my research asap). From the other side, I´m not very productive today and once I´ve got to raise enough money to pay the bills this is not a good thing, but I´being a bit "ease" with myself today and tomorrow I´ll be hard on me again. Yesterday I had a good bike trainning and found out that my efforts on the gyn are paying off - I really don´t like all those weight lifts series, but the results are coming faster than I thought so Im quite happy about. On the road to Xmas and New Years marathon I discovered that the best thing to do is "base". During the weekend I´m planning to develop my base trainning schedule for january and focus on some "psicological exercises". For next week I hope to be more productive at work and more focused on setting solid goals for 2005.. and maybe I´ll have some good news.
Wednesday, December 08, 2004
December Blues
I stopped writting for a while, because I didn´t want to sit here feeling sorry for myself. Last week I lost my job, in the middle of a feeling of some sort of gratitude for not needing to go there anymore (I didn´t like my job at all!). But quiting my job doesn´t mean I´ve got more time to train, actually it will probably mean the opposite. I wanna keep my old working routine, and that means wake up early, study and work hard. My plans on getting a coach are now postponned so I gotta do some research and plan my schedule on my own. I guess I´ll learn a lot - actually I have been studying the theme for a long time and I´ve gotten some insights from some friends os mine. I´m gonna miss the opportunity for meeting new people and perhaps make a couple of friends.. but, somehow it can be motivation. Just like Lance´s Armstrong ads for power bar. I read an artcle about the real path to success. I would like to post the link here but it´s missing.
