Energized But Cautious

I enjoyed my fourth or fifth massage in as many weeks tonight, courtesy of Fortius teammate David via LA Body Mechanics. The effects are starting to pay off.  I feel more limber.  Less acidic.  My body aches less.

Combined with the reduced training over the past few days, I think I can start to feel my body replenishing its stores.  Which is what I'm supposed to feel at this point, by golly!

Now I'm just trying to stay focused on remaining healthy the next several days.  If I could live inside a bubble I would.  My boss is sick.  One of our creative directors is sick.

I got a message for y'all...stay AWAY from me!

And I mean that in the nicest of ways :)

To combat any potential problems, I'm taking an Emergen-C packet each day, along with my Echinacea  pills.  And my allergy medicine.  And let's not forget the beta alanine and asthma inhaler.

Yep, I'm going a little overboard.  But I don't want to leave any room to chance.  I can handle an injury at this point if that's what's meant to happen.  But an illness, or something as silly as a cold?  Man, that would just suck.  But, if it can happen to Chrissie Wellington, it can happen to anyone.

So, for now, I'll take each day as a gift of health and energy.  And hope I wake up the same way the next day.

That's all I can do at this point, right?

10 days and counting.

Free Mind, Free Body

"Free your mind, and your body will follow." "Free your mind, and your body will follow."

That is how my massage with LA Body Mechanics' David ended tonight, with his words imploring me to relax and focus going into my final month of Ironman training.

It's funny, because I've been hearing that statement echoed in some form from various sources over the past several days.  Whether it's from fellow triathletes who have completed an Ironman, massage therapists, or yoga instructors, it's the same message.  Relax, don't over think things, and let your body do what it's capable of without complicating matters.

I feel like I have been doing that for weeks, if not months now.  I've learned over the past year that your body will do what your brain tells it to, as long as there's enough fuel in the tank to do it.  It's as simple as that.

Yet I think that those who know me well realize that I tend to heavily analyze things that matter most to me and perhaps they're concerned I'll somehow psyche myself out prior to the big event.

Let me assure you -- heck, let me assure myself -- that this won't happen.

Like I wrote the other night in my "fallure" blog post, I already am an Ironman in spirit.  I don't need this race to validate my training, my conditioning, or the fact that I put in the hard work.  It's all right here for everyone to see.  Yes, I want the finisher's medal.  I want it bad.  But I'm not going to torture myself thinking of every conceivable detail about how the race should be run to finish in a certain time.  I will have a strategy in mind, which Coach Gerardo is going to help me with this coming Sunday evening.  But I'm also going to let the race come to me.  After all, what if I do a bunch of planning for a race based on a clear, sunny day and it's raining?  Or what if I get a couple flat tires?  There's no point in getting riled up about all that.

So as I really head into the final stretch of training, where is my head at?  I'll tell you.  It's in the here and now.  Though I'm sneaking a peek to November 21 as well.  Nothing more, nothing less.

There's still a lot more work to do.

28 days and counting

Well-Deserved Recovery

No big workouts to report today, not after this past weekend's mash-fest.  Instead I took care of myself with an early evening yoga class that left me dripping with sweat (still can't get that hand-stand!) followed by a long massage with David from LA Body Mechanics.  While the yoga class at Black Dog was a little more than I bargained for, the massage helped me drain the rest of the pain from my body.  Not without a fight though. My glutes, quads, adductors, calves and lower back were quite sore, though David said overall my body right now is in great shape.  That's reassuring given the intensity of the past few weeks and my lack of stretching. Turning away from my body for a moment, my real focus the next few days is going to be on the weather.  When we get a big shift like the one we've had in Southern California -- 90 degrees one day and rain the next -- my immune system goes straight down the toilet and I usually get pretty sick.  I'm hoping that all the training hasn't left me winded and incapable of fighting off another cold.  This leaves me torn as tomorrow morning I should have a long bike ride before work.  If it's rainy, damp and cold, I'll probably stay indoors and ride on the trainer for nearly two hours.  That could wreak havoc on my butt though, as I'm starting to get saddle sores.  I know, not the sexiest subject, but if you're sticking with me from the beginning of my training you should know the truth.

Ironman hurts.

Bad.

At this point in the training, expect to wake up in the middle of the night to eat.  Expect sores in uncomfortable places.  Expect to need food in the middle of work meetings or risk getting a headache.  And expect to need food soon after eating a hearty meal.  Expect to be sore in one place or another all the time.  Expect to pay for massage work every two to three weeks with two months to go until the race.  (I'm on a schedule with David now.)

And expect to be antsy to work out when you've had a couple light training days.  For all the bitching and whining about the training, it's addictive.

So while I'm recovering today, I'm already thinking about tomorrow.  And despite the volume of this past weekend, I feel pretty good.

Progress.  Every day a step closer to the final goal.  Every day a slight new victory. A new insight.  But it requires doing the extra work.

47 days and counting.

Random Ramblings

My body finally said, "Enough is enough!" during my morning Tour de Valley bike ride. Though the statistics from my ride indicate otherwise, it felt like I was cycling in tar.  I actually rode faster this Tuesday compared to last week's session by a *whopping* .1 mph (sarcasm intended!), traveled nearly 2.5 miles farther (though I rode seven minutes longer) and climbed an astounding 20 more feet.  Despite the slightly improved week-to-week performance, it felt like I was working much harder today even though my average heart-rate was actually several percentage points lower this week as well. Why is that?

For me, a surefire sign of fatigue occurs when no matter how hard I try to gain speed, my heart-rate remains at a lower rate, almost a full zone lower.  It doesn't add up though.  I slept well the night before and enjoyed a rare off-day from training on Monday.  My nutrition wasn't terrible either.  Here's what I ate:

-- Eggs, bacon and pumpkin pancakes for breakfast

-- Cinnamon-raisin toast with peanut butter, apple and cheese for lunch

-- Clif Bar for snack

-- "Healthy" Chinese food for dinner (OK, it was about as healthy as Chinese food can be!)

-- Protein shake with frozen organic berries and two tablespoons of ice cream

Granted, I could have eaten more greens.  No doubt there.  But I did have Omega-3 Oil-infused Carrot Juice from Trader Joe's, so leave me alone!

Despite not being able to figure out exactly what's going on, I decided to skip my evening swim in favor of a massage from LA Body Mechanics and Fortius teammate, David.  It will help me going into my Malibu Triathlon race this Saturday, and I can make up the swim tomorrow morning anyway.

Ah, the Malibu Triathlon.

This used to be my Rose Bowl of triathlons.  The Grand-Daddy of Them All.  The Nautica Malibu Triathlon is special to me because it marks my first triathlon.  We always remember our first, right?  I can still recall how nervous I was.  How I bought a hotel room 20 minutes away to make sure I would have enough sleep the night before the event.

(Pause...I'm re-reading this and I just realized how much of a double-entendre this entire section is!  Wow!  Mom, I'm talking about triathlon I swear!!!)

How I looked like Charlie Sheen's character in "Platoon" when he went on his first jungle patrol -- loaded up with junk I'd never actually need but other people told me I would. Practically fainting from all the unnecessary weight in my transition bag. Towel to dry off.  Gloves for a 18-mile bike ride.  Tupperware to dip my feet in after the swim to clean my feet.  And the extra food on my transition towel.  Oy.

I actually paused to eat an entire banana in T1 before venturing out on the course. That was after toweling off completely from the swim.

And I remember how proud of myself I was for finishing my first race.  Such elation!  Nevermind the time was 1:44 and change for a half-mile swim, 18-mile bike and a 4-mile run.  I was officially a "TRIATHLETE" and that's all that mattered.  Except that I vowed to complete the Olympic triathlon course the following year (2009).

"Aw, you completed your very first triathlon!  That's nice, Ryan.  Now get on to the next big goal."

Yep, that's sort of how I roll in general.

Last year, I trained practically all year for Malibu Olympic.  Or "all year" by my own definition at the time, which meant no more than five days a week, tops.  No double workouts.  Certainly no bricks.

I saw real progress in my training, finishing the Olympic course in 2:44.

But for both Malibu triathlon experiences, it was about something more.  The challenge loomed large. The Unknown was even larger. Could I finish?  What if I cramped up?  What if I got a flat?  What if I was the slowest in my age group?

Questions, questions, questions.  All questions that led to a heightened sense of exhiliration when I finished the events.  Relief!  Joy!  Pride.

Which brings me to this year's Malibu Triathlon event.  It's a blip on my training radar.  In contrast to last year, I haven't been on the bike course for several months, probably since the Amgen Tour rambled through Malibu and Agoura this past spring.  I have a goal time of 2:25 for this event, but even if I don't hit it, it's no big deal.  Ironman is the real prize this year. But honestly, I'm a little sad about that. I miss the excitement and anticipation of the Malibu Triathlon.  I miss the wonder and speculation.  The naivete, so to speak.

Now, all that is put on hold for November 21, 2010.

Though I hope to call upon a little bit of the magic of my first time to make this event just a little more special.

Geez, I've become a triathlon slut!

73 days and counting.

Thai-Riffic

The scented spruce needle oils are still entering my nostrils 15 minutes after my Thai massage session ended with Christine, and I'm eagerly awaiting my next appointment. Today marked my final official workout day prior to Vineman 70.3, and to cap it off, I was to enjoy a relaxation massage to free up my tight muscles.

My muscles are not tight anymore.  They were gently tugged, posed and manipulated back to their rightful positions over the course of two hours in ways I wasn't used to.  Before your minds go racing to places they shouldn't, I was actually wearing shorts and a T-shirt.

Thai massage is unlike any massage I've experienced before. It almost feels more medicinal than therapeutic.  For example, Christine released a huge energy field in my spine after several minutes of work that literally reverberated throughout my body.  The energy flow felt like the way a piano string looks -- taut and rapid.  At one point, Christine lightly closed off the blood flow in each arm to flush out toxins, producing a tingling sensation that seemed to yield an immediate relaxation sensation.

Best of all, Thai massage is not an exercise in tolerating pain the way that sports or deep tissue massages can be. It's more about body leverage and posing using the weight and balance of the massage giver.

The experience was so outstanding that Stephanie is currently in the other room enjoying the same treatment.  And I am blogging while eating sushi that she brought home as a dinner treat.

Yup, tonight is pretty darned great.  And tomorrow my taper week of Awesome continues -- a second off-day since Sunday.  Then, on Friday we make the drive up to Northern California.

It's go-time.

129 days and counting.

Coach to the Rescue

First off, it may seem that I’m slacking in the blog department.  I promised (myself and my readers) that I’d blog every day without fail until Ironman. Fail.

Last night I had internet problems. The site seemed to be down.  The night before, I had a late massage from David at LA Body Mechanics that ended around 10:40 p.m. (more on that later).  I was tired, beat up, and needed some rest.

I actually wrote this blog last night in Microsoft Word so I could potentially double-post tomorrow (today by the time you read this).

The past few days have been eye-opening for me.  More so from a mental aspect than anything else.  Previously, I had written about my fatigue after an emotionally draining week.  That fatigue led me to miss a couple workouts.  Which caused me to start worrying – OK panicking – that I wouldn’t be at my peak heading into this weekend’s race.

For those of you who read my blog post about my night with the Lakers, I certainly don’t expect you to feel sorry for me.

Nonetheless, times like these call for a good coach.  Someone to reel you in when you start to drift – OK beeline – for an anxiety attack or confidence crisis.

Enter Coach Gerardo.  Over the past few days, he’s essentially grabbed me by the arms and shaken me, metaphorically telling me to “chill out” and remember why I love the sport of triathlon. David, during his massage, pointed this out to me too.  I had gotten too locked into “the numbers” of the sport.  We all know them well.  Heart-rate zones and duration of workout especially.

I honestly can’t remember the last time I swam, ran or biked simply for the pure joy of it.  It’s always with an end-goal in mind.  A workout to check off the list.  A time to beat.  Someone to beat.

Gerardo has really reset me and got me ready for this Sunday.  He gave David tips on the best massage for me, and reminded me why I was doing all this (because I CAN!).  Yesterday, he (and Richard) ran with me the entire set during our Griffith Park brick to show me I could run a lot faster than I think – maintaining a seven-minute mile pace for two miles while not totally blowing up in the process.  Today, Gerardo pushed me in the water farther and harder than I wanted to go, ignoring my whining to coax a personal best 1:26 100-yard swim out of me.  And, after that, he sent me an email congratulating me on a nice bike time trial yesterday, smooth cadence at 92 rpm and staying in heart-rate zone 3.

That’s the mark of a good coach.  He took me from the brink of dejection and collapse to feeling like I’m truly ready to rock this Sunday.  My energy is high, my confidence is back, and most important…I’m excited to race again.

Thanks coach.

147 days and counting.

Beat up

I'm beat. Up. Not from my cycling time trial, which I think went pretty well.

But from the aftermath.

I have my massage therapist and Fortius teammate, David, to thank.  He pulled, stretched, and rolled my muscles into painful submission after submission.  And it felt great.  Judging by the loud wailing that was coming from my condo walls, it didn't sound that way though.  Fortunately, I have a day off from training tomorrow so I'll be able to let the full benefit of the massage take shape on my body.

What will I be doing tomorrow?  Glad you asked!  It's the beginning of wedding venue location scouting season.  Stephanie and I are taking a quick trip to Arizona, Scottsdale specifically.  You know what that means?  Yup, I'm going to bike and run the Ironman Arizona course this Saturday before our meeting at the potential wedding site.  I can't wait.  I'm going to meet my nemesis face-to-face.  One on one.  I hope it's a pleasant encounter.  More to report in a couple days.

Since I posted earlier and I'm headed for a hot bath to further soak the muscles, I'm signing off on this blog post a little early.

More tomorrow.

Still 174 days and counting.