10 Years Ago

So often in my blogging, I tend to focus on how I've changed over the past year or so.  But today marks an even more substantial milestone in my life.  Ten years ago, I quit my job, car, apartment and all trappings of a "normal" life.  I took my life savings, crammed it all into a backpack, and jumped on a plane to Europe to live in hostels unknown for three months. What a risk!  What a thrill!

It was the best, most important decision I had ever made.  The decision that has led to so many other important decisions in my life.   That moment in life taught me that the unknown is a GOOD thing.  While the idea of the "bad" stuff can be scary, the risk of not knowing and missing something beautifully unforgettable is even worse.

I have no doubt that without taking this risk 10 years ago, I wouldn't have had the balls to fully commit in my relationship with Stephanie because of our cultural and religious differences.  I'm truly amazed at how life is like a giant dominoes experiment sometimes.

What's funny though is that in life, as in dominoes cascades, you can sometimes be lucky enough to arrange the tiles and tip them at just the right moment to get the result you want.  I was lucky enough to place the dominos to fall in my favor, and even luckier that my unintended Rube Goldberg experiment has gone off without too many hitches.  Though to be fair, when I came back from Europe, the job that was supposed to be waiting for me had vanished --victim to a merger.  I was jobless for six months, and showed up to my 10-year high school reunion living at home with my parents, with platinum-dyed hair, a bushy goatee, and driving my parents' beat-up Oldsmobile Cutlass.

I was voted Most Likely to Succeed in high school.  You can imagine the delicious irony showing up to my reunion in such style.

I'd still do it all over again, without changing a thing.

But what the hell does this have to do with triathlon?

Simple.  Triathlons are scary.  There's that whole open-water swimming thing.  And with sharks!?  Why would anybody want to do that???  And oy, the cycling!  You can fall and die or get paralyized so easily! (Heck, I almost did a few years ago.)  Don't even get me started on the running either.  You could fall over and die like all these other runners out there when they get heart attacks and keel over.

Ironman!?!?!  You can't be serious!!!???

Life is scary.  Expectations are scarier.  Pressure can be terrifying.

But the risk is worth the reward, in my opinion.  Whether deciding to buck what your parents want, or a lucrative job, or a nice car, -- or in our case what people think of our "lifestyle" -- what matters is getting the most out of life.

Ten years ago, I made a choice to do just that.

I haven't looked back since.

And if you're reading this blog, I suspect you're not either.

68 days and counting.

The Gift of Inspiration

There's lots I could write about from this weekend, especially the most grueling single bike ride I've ever endured -- The Mulholland Challenge.  If there's a hill in the Santa Monica Mountains between Topanga Canyon and Yerba Buena Road in Malibu, chances are we climbed it on Saturday -- to the tune of 112 miles and 12,750 feet of combined elevation. I video blogged the journey and hope to have some time to edit it together tomorrow evening.  For now, below is the  map of my ride.  Don't mind the heart-rate, as my heart-rate monitor was all over the place.  Don't mind the pokey pace, my Fortius teammates and I stopped quite often to take in the view, joke around and generally goof off.

(Quick aside: I think one has to make a decision before a long ride about whether it's a ride for time or a social group ride.  It can't be both. )

I'd like to focus on something more important for this post, and it has to do with one of my loyal readers, Laura.  While I tend to write fairly introspectively about what I'm going through -- hoping that maybe someone else is going through it too -- Laura is investing her time doing something far more valuable (in my opinion).  She's started a triathlon blog site, "Tri2fightlikeJoann.com" dedicated to the memory of her Aunt Joann.  Here is an excerpt from the About page:

"Joann Cotton was a mother to Claire and Taylor. A damn good mother. She was a wife, a daughter, a sister, a friend. A twin. She was an Aunt.  She was my Aunt. She was an English teacher, and took such pride in educating students. She was selfless and cared about everyone else before herself.  She was competitive. She usually won. A true friend that was always there. She was funny and silly. She had cancer. And she kicked it’s ass daily. She never complained once, not once. She inspired me. And continues to inspire many, many others. She was as good as gold, yet nothing gold can stay.

Thank you for supporting Tri2FightLikeJoann. You are helping keep her memory alive, and celebrating the lives of all others with ovarian cancer.

And you are appreciated."

Laura, your blog site is beautiful.  And touching.  And humbling at the same time.  I am proud to know you, and plan to think often of Joann during the rest of my training.  In fact, if you have a sticker or something I can put on my helmet for Ironman Coeur d'Alene I'd like to wear it in Joann's honor.

In fact, I'd like to bring each and every one of you with me to Coeur d'Alene somehow.  If there's a cause or anything I can help shine a spotlight on, I'd like to do that.  When I first started this blog site it was meant for the kids I don't have.  To teach them about what accomplishing a large goal feels like.  How hard it is.  How wonderful it feels when the finish line is crossed, and yet how much it hurts to get there.

But, through the course of the last year and a half, I've learned this blog site is really about the relationships I've built with many of you.  An unexpected gift.  And that gift has worked both ways, in that Laura was kind enough to share with me that somehow my blog site inspired her to make something far more substantial, in my opinion.

Go Laura go!

So often the sport of triathlon can be a solitary pursuit.  But these are the stories, the inspirations, that really matter.

Thank you, Laura, for inspiring me, and hopefully many more people.

72 days and counting.

Deeper Calling

Tonight I progressed towards a promise I made at the beginning of the year that I would volunteer more often.  It took discipline to break away from the office around 5 to do it, but I'm really glad I did.  The shelter was busier than the last time Steph and I served meals, which was in December.  I must have personally served at least 500 meals in about two hours. Think about that for a second.

That's 500 people who were lucky enough to get a hot meal from the Union Rescue Mission (ham, corn, salad, potatoes, bread, pie) and presumably a cot to sleep in.  Men, women, children.  What about the rest of LA's homeless?  Where are they tonight?  While we're home, while I'm typing this very blog, where are they?  How are they keeping dry?  Warm?  Safe?

I wish there was a way I could make my training pay off for the homeless somehow.  I wish I could raise a couple bucks for every hour I put in the pool, on the bike or the trails.  Tie dollar amounts to what I'm doing for fun, and help put more food on people's plates, or more clothes on their back.

I'm going to think about this more in the coming days and see what I come up with for next year. My good buddy Rusty is doing some special work through Season 1 Racing now.  Maybe I'm next.  Perhaps a deeper calling to all this training is exactly what I need to stay motivated.

***

My new-and-improved running technique -- focusing on higher cadence and more elbow torque -- seems to be paying off.  I ran for 5.25 miles this morning (in my Newtons, no less!) as part of my brick workout in just over 40 minutes.  As you might recall, I was running 4.5 miles in 45 minutes not too long ago.  The best part of today's chilly jaunt: My heart-rate was consistently in the low 150s and my pace was a consistent 8:15-8:20. This is especially uplifting given the Cheseboro Half Marathon this Saturday.  A week ago I thought the sky was falling and I lacked motivation to train at all.  This caused Coach Gerardo to mention I was a little behind overall in my Wildflower Long Course training.  But now I feel re-energized.  And eager for competition.  My goal is to break two hours since I've never run a trail race before.  But the way I'm running since Sunday causes me to wonder if I can do even better.  Cheseboro is supposed to be a training run, but I know myself -- and you probably know me by now too.

1:50 or bust!

OK, that's all the energy I've got tonight.  Steph is watching Glee in the other room.  I can feel the gravitational pull through the wall.  Help me.  Please.

90 days and counting.

400 Blog Posts

There's a lot I could write about over the past two days.  I had a solid run on the treadmill on Friday, amping up the intensity while picturing all my friends racing at Coeur d'Alene that I want to beat.  (Yes, I'm a tad competitive, in case you didn't know already.)  I could write about how my running is falling behind at the expense of cycling and swimming, causing Coach Gerardo to question whether I could run a half-marathon next weekend or how I'd even do at Wildflower in a few weeks.  (Totally reasonable on his part, so no disagreements there.) Instead, I'm going to write just a bit about hitting the 400th blog post of the site on Thursday night.

I never expected I'd still be writing almost every day when I first created the site in 2009.  But here we are.  Honestly, I can't imagine not writing here!  The blog is as much a part of my training as my bike.  It helps me sort through the madness and monotony of Ironman training.  While I'm admittedly facing burnout issues at the moment, I think they would have occurred far sooner had it not been for being able to find something unique in almost every workout I complete.

What's especially interesting to me is what the next 400 posts might look like.  I think my full Ironman days will be behind me.  But I'll be attacking half-Ironman distance events and Olympics as fiercely as ever.  Still, I wonder if there's something more.  In fact, I know there is.  I just have to figure out what that "it" is.  Is there a charitable angle I want to explore?  Maybe.  A self-published book?  Possibly.I dunno.

I do know it's late and raining, and I'm tired.  Frank, Chris, Murray and I climbed 5,000 feet today and did close to 60 miles on the bike.  Then, I swam 2,500 yards, basically 50 minutes non-stop.  I'm mentally woozy and physically spent.

Back to the blogging thing for a moment.  If YOU were writing a blog, what would you be saying about your training right now?  What insights are you internalizing that could help you have a major breakthrough in your workouts? What's holding you back?  Why?  What's worth celebrating?  Why haven't you then?

If you haven't made one blog post there's never been a better time than right now.  Tri season is beginning.  It's just the start of something special for you.  Why not commemorate it with something that will last longer than the hat, T-shirt, visor or medal you'll receive after finishing the big race?  Remember, the process is just as important as the destination.

Perhaps the journey of 400 blog posts begins with a single word.

94 days and counting.

Where Have I Been?

OK, I'm back from San Francisco, where the weather mostly cooperated and offered some beautiful views.  I went MIA for a couple days at the conference, but I managed to train a bit nonetheless.  I ran on the treadmill at the hotel gym on Wednesday, and yesterday I did some weights training even though I had no workout clothes.

Let me explain.  I looked like that creepy muscle head guy from the 80s, with ripped jeans and a "wife beater" tank top lifting weights.  Except without looking like a muscle head, since, let's face it I'm "lean" to put it affectionately.  A woman came in to workout out on her own and did a double-take.  I was so embarrassed that I explained it was either look like the Un-incredible Hulk or not get my strength training session in. C'mon, what would you do?

Overall, I've been able to balance conference attendance and training pretty well. I even fit in a late afternoon brick yesterday, heading straight to the park after the airport.  It's where I snapped this fun little pic as the sun was setting.

I'm not working out as much as I did at this time last year, but I'm also not tapering for the LA Marathon, nor am I competing at the Desert Tri this weekend in Palm Desert. Most of my team is though.  It's definitely difficult knowing the first triathlon of the season is happening this weekend and I'm not there to partake in the fun.  I was so concerned about getting sick or over-exerting myself.  But, I'm healthy, well-rested...and not at the event.  Hard to say whether I could have competed or if my health is the result of actually balancing my schedule effectively.  My approach is at least helping me focus on the larger goal of Wildflower and IM CDA.

Today, I'm home relaxing, mostly with Steph. She's at a brunch now, which means I'll sneak out to grab a swim.  Honestly, it's really nice to have a relaxing Saturday morning not on the bike or on the run -- literally.

How's your training going, my friendly readers?  How are your race seasons shaping up?  Did the off-season work out well for you?  Any regrets?  Feeling good heading into the new season?  Tell me! I want to know.

Back to the blogging tomorrow.

108 days and counting.

Mile High Post

Greetings from 28,000 feet! (when I was originally writing this post...) Airline wi-fi rules.  It's pretty much the only part of today that has, it seems.  Everything has been a struggle. Consider:

-- Electronic car key fell apart this morning on way rushing to pool.  Fixed it though.

-- Going from car to pool, the strap on my duffel bag snapped.

-- I lost my toiletries kit at the gym during my lunch-hour workout.

-- Checking into my Southwest Airlines flight became a disaster as the entire national reservations (and online check-ins) network was down.  Had to resort to my co-workers printing a temporary boarding pass to get me to the gate, where I then had to wait in another long line to get a manual boarding pass.  Made the flight though.

It's been that kind of day. But it's also been the kind of day where I was able to spin on the bike, swim 2,500 yards in the pool AND squeeze in a killer strength-training session from Shannan.  So it wasn't a total loss.  However, I also think that trying to fit in all these workouts amidst a busy schedule can be counter productive.  Here I am rushing around like a lunatic, working, juggling, training, helping with wedding planning, and things fall through the cracks.  Keys break.  Bags snap.  Razors get lost.  My patience is tried.

Is it worth it?

I'd like to quickly shout "Yes!" and explain how training can change the entire outlook of your day.  But today, in this instance, I think it caused as many problems as it helped alleviate.  That said, I wish I could connect the dots better when it comes to taking the lessons from triathlon training and applying them to my life.  In the pool, for instance, slower is sometimes faster.  Gliding on the water and extending your arm further before the underwater pull can shave time.  So why can't I do a little more with a little less? And what would that mean in this instance?  Fewer workouts?  Less time in each workout?  Skipping a workout?  Probably.  Yet, I can't.  I'm addicted.  I hate missing a workout, and yet at the same time I can't stand feeling that way.  Sometimes I almost feel trapped in my training.

I'm excited for Ironman Coeur d'Alene. I really am.  But I'm looking forward to taking a bit of a relaxing break afterwards.  There's got to be a better balance, though there are no compromises when it comes to Ironman training.

112 days and counting.

Love Fest

Today is all about love. Valentine's Day. It's where we show our partners how much they mean to us. As triathletes, that should elevate V-Day to an A-level race status. In other words, it's everything. They make our morning meals -- sometimes with little inspirational notes. They buy our groceries -- only the healthy ones. They defend our "habits" to friends and family who might not get it. They put up with our irritability before races, and race day itself. The waiting. And waiting. While waiting some more.

Such patience! Such understanding!

Such love.

I am convinced we're close to nothing without the support of our partners. I hope all of you did something special for your significant other today. And if you're on your own during this time, I hope you treated yourself to something special. We work hard for this lifestyle and to attain the results we desire. It takes discipline. But without some perspective -- we're doing this because we love ourselves on some level -- the hard work can be for naught. So go on, appreciate your badass self! You deserve it!

There's more than enough love to go around for everyone. Find someone who helps you be your best -- regardless in what way -- and thank them. Tell them how much they mean to you. You'll feel great when you do.

127 days and counting.

Unbroken

Do you ever stop and think about what kinds of entertainment you gravitate towards?  Not just in a broad sense, the way my fiancee loves practically all "rom-coms" (romantic comedies).  I'm talking in more specific terms, like what kinds of stories do you find most appealing, entertaining, thought-provoking or otherwise engaging. For me, it's simple.  I love "against all odds" stories.  Overcoming the impossible.  Sports movies like "Rudy" make me bawl like a baby, but some of you know that already.  In short, I'm inspired by David, slinging the rock at Goliath's menacing head.  Heck, I've got an Underdog toy at my work desk!

I was thinking about this topic as I snapped shut a 400-page book I read in about three days. It's called "Unbroken," written by the same lady who wrote "Seabiscuit."  The story of "Unbroken" defies belief.  I still can't believe all this happened to one man, Louis Zamperini.  He went from being an Olympic miler in the 1936 Berlin Olympics to serving in World War II as a bombardier aboard a B-24.  Zamp, as he was known by friends, was shot down over the Pacific Ocean and survived with two others aboard a raft for nearly 50 days.  Then, he was captured by the Japanese and endured two years of horrible torture in POW camps in Japan.  When the war ended and Zamp finally came home, he had to battle his own demons and the nightmares of warfare before dedicating his life to helping troubled kids.

I find that stories like this fuel me for triathlon training and racing.  If Zamp can persevere against odds that far surpass anything I'll likely deal with, how can I not push a little harder or dig a little deeper -- even if it hurts or is inconvenient?  Lessons like these help at mile 17 of an Ironman.

We are by-products of what we consume, nutritionally and in other ways.  I enthusiastically consume anything with an overcoming adversity message.

Zamp is a survivor, and so am I.

137 days and counting.

A Tough Decision

Tonight, with the advice and  help of my coach, I decided not to run the Surf City Half Marathon this weekend. Could I run the 13.1 miles?  Yes.  Could I finish in two hours or less?  Probably.

Will this help propel  my training and boost my confidence?

Not really.

Moreover, I could re-aggravate the leg injuries that ART therapy has helped me restore.  There's just not enough upside here, as Mel Kiper Jr. likes to say when evaluating NFL Draft prospects.  The funny thing is, I've known all along this is the right decision.  I signed up for Surf City without a clear head, still emotionally swelling from Ironman Arizona.  I had no business making such lofty plans mere days after such a big race. I know that now.

It could be worse though.  My buddy John, who has been pasting me in trail runs the past few Wednesday, felt a twinge in his leg this past week while I was in London.  He instantly knew it was serious.  IT band tightness.  John, too, is a scratch for this Sunday's Race.

Not such a Super Sunday after all.

I've had the great fortune of participating in multiple races, injury free.  This was to be John's first half marathon.  A big milestone in his life.  He worked very, very hard to get to this moment.  Perhaps too hard.  But this is just a heartbreaking turn of bad luck for him.  He told me that at first he almost wanted to cry he was so frustrated, the moment he knew his race was over before it started.

I'm sure we can all relate at some point.

For me, I'm reminded how blessed we are to arrive at the starting line ready to race.  Physically and mentally.  It's a gift in itself to feel healthy, alive and proud just moments before the starting gun pops.

Keep that in mind the next time you toe the line.  We are very, very lucky when our plans align with reality.

138 days and counting.