Wedding, Coaching and Charity Oh My!
/I've had SO much going on lately! Thanks for being patient with me, not that you're waiting with bated breath for the next blog post. The big countdown right now isn't a triathlon but my wedding. We're inside four weeks now. The RSVPs are pouring in, last-minute decisions are being made almost every minute and the anticipation continues to build. I'm really starting to get excited now. Before, my wedding was just a date on the far horizon. Almost like how Ironman Arizona was in 2010. But it's finally here in the foreground. The other night I was explaining to Steph that the feeling is very similar to an impending Ironman in that no matter what last-second mishap may occur, we're still "ready" for the wedding and it will be a great event no matter what. We've put in all the hard work and planning and that doesn't go away just because a new challenge may arise. I was afraid to use an Ironman metaphor for the wedding but I actually think it helped us keep everything in perspective.
On the training front, I've installed my CompuTrainer. Or rather, I had it installed for me by my buddy Pete, with support from Coach Gerardo. I have to be honest and say that the set-up process is not the most intuitive. The documentation feels outdated in an era where a set-up video would be practically expected. Instead, you're looking at manuals that don't provide the best overall direction. One example came in the form of installing the bike into the CompuTrainer mount. The directions don't indicate that you need to use the load generator knob to help adjust where it sits on the back wheel. This was frustrating because it seemed that the bike wasn't fitting in the mount. All that said, now that I know how to use the machine and the software, I can tell how powerful a tool CompuTrainer can be.
When I wasn't learning how to use my CompuTrainer, I've been focusing on overhauling my swim technique. You can see what I'm learning in this video:
As if that weren't enough, I'm dabbling in self-coaching for the next few months. Just enough to keep me in shape. I'm making my own training schedule via Training Peaks, reading about training with a power meter and signed up for a triathlon in Palm Springs this December to see how I do in training myself. I can tell you that it's a lot harder to self-coach than I ever imagined. All the reading, formulas, theories and time needed to craft a scientifically smart (and fun) schedule is quite the challenge. But it makes me appreciate what Gerardo does day in, day out, week in, week out for our entire team. The next time you get a schedule from your coach, make sure to thank him or her for their hard work on getting it just right. I do really like the empowerment that comes with creating my own schedule. I feel like I'm doing something important for myself and that if I perform well or don't perform well, it's nobody's fault but mine. In other words, I like the accountability.
On the writing front, I'm working on turning my first year's worth of posts into a self-published book. I think the lessons learned in there on what to expect mentally from training for your first Ironman may be valuable to others. It's taking a lot longer than I expected reading through each month's worth of entries and taking notes about what to focus on for each chapter. I'm thinking at this point I'll write an introduction summarizing that particular month of training and insights while including each individual entry after it. Hopefully the power of the daily entries is what people find interesting. We'll see. I'm open to suggestions though if anyone has any.
Finally, I can't finish this post without mentioning the T-shirts I'm creaing to benefit Season 1 Racing and Cancer Hope Network. I've gotten a pretty good response from folks who liked my "I may not be a runner...but I'm a runner today" mantra from Ironman Coeur d'Alene. So, here's a T-shirt design I'm considering at the moment. The shirt color will be a darker gray and the Season 1 Racing logo will be moved to the shirt sleeve. But otherwise, what do you think??? I'll be taking orders soon and then buy the shirts after I assess demand.
So that's what's been keeping me busy lately, not to mention changing times at work. And now, I embark on an even scarier mission...my bachelor party weekend! Lord, help me.