Ryan Schneider's Diary of Ironman Training & Life in General
There was a time in all our lives when we were instructed with nothing more than, "Get out of the house and go play!" That was the only responsibility we had. School was out. We were too young to work. So, we played.
That time ended for most of us around 12 or 13. At least for me it did. Newspaper routes, day camp jobs and ultimately being a cub news reporter filled the rest of my summers until college graduation.
Read MoreMy grandmother is sick. In fact, she's dying after a frustrating, heartbreaking battle with Alzheimer's Disease. She's suffered from it for a few years now, going from someone who didn't need a calculator to maintain the books at my family's business for 50-plus years to not knowing who any of us are. Of course, I remember many things about her, which I shared with her recently in a note I have no idea whether she understood let alone internalized. Yet we do these things not as much for the ill as for the living. Fortunately, my grandmother instilled in me her tough work ethic, never quit, never settle for anything less than the "A" mentality. That's what leads me to this past Saturday's inaugural HITS series Olympic triathlon in La Quinta.
Read MoreI raced at the San Dimas Turkey Tri yesterday, where I personally played the role of turkey. I misunderstood a turn sign at the end of the first bike course loop, dropped from fourth place in my age group to fifth, and lost out on another chance to qualify for the Age Group National Championships -- by one place. I have a good reason though, I swear.
Read MoreIt's appropriate that volunteering at Ironman Arizona this past weekend coincides with Thanksgiving. As soon as I got home from Tempe yesterday, I called my parents and told them how truly grateful I was for their support last year along with the rest of my family. Sure, I wasn't as physically fatigued from volunteering, but still my feet cracked with pain, my lower back was on fire, my senses were overwhelmed and I darn near felt delirious as Mike Reilly started dancing down the finisher's chute before midnight.
Read MoreOne year ago today, I arrived in Tempe, Arizona, scared and excited to reach a yearlong quest to become an Ironman. My feelings then are still so vivid now. The unabashed pride entering the Athlete Registration tent and Body Marking tent. I never wanted that paint to wear off my arms and legs. I remember how I knew I belonged in that tent and there was no place else on the planet I'd rather be in that moment.
Read MoreA year ago tonight, I was walking around the neighborhood with Stephanie checking out Trick-or-Treaters' costumes after my final Build phase workout leading to Ironman Arizona taper.
Tonight, it's an off-day of training and recovery from a hard 40-mile ride yesterday.
A year ago this past weekend, I completed nine hours of training in two days back-to-back.
This weekend, I completed less than half. Though it's far more intense with back-to-back track workouts and a 4,500 foot climb at the Malibu Gran Fondo yesterday (benefiting the Livestrong Foundation). A year ago, I learned the lessons of someone trying to figure out why I was so exhausted heading into the taper phase. A year later, I'm missing the naivete that comes with the wonderment associated with "Can I do it?" Yep, I miss the nerves from a year ago. The giddy sensation. The fear of the unknown. But what I'm learning now is that my fitness level isn't really that far removed from my Ironman race shape.
Read MoreI'm not a big country music guy, but since my wife is a somewhat closeted country music gal, I've been exposed to it over the past several years. I'll even admit that I kinda like Rascal Flats and that maybe if one of their songs was on the country music station I happened to flip through on the radio dial, I'd stop and take a listen. Just maybe I might turn the volume up a bit too. As long as I'm by myself.
My favorite country music song is by Toby Keith, "As Good Once as I Ever Was." If you don't know it, Keith sings about how he may have lost a step or two over the years, but that when it ultimately matters, his mind (if not his body) thinks he can muster just one more virtuoso tryst/bar fight, etc.. I think it's the ultimate Weekend Warrior song, and it aptly describes how this past weekend's Playa del Rey Triathlon went.
Read MoreYou know you haven't blogged in a while when you forget the password to your own site! (But I did write a piece recently for my buddy Jim Gourley's blog. You can check it out here!) First off, I expect nobody to read this. I don't blame anyone for that but myself. I took people on a journey -- one that I'm very proud of after re-reading my entries from more than a year ago -- and then I abandoned whatever audience I had accumulated. I needed a break, plain and simple. I needed more free time. Time with my now-wife. Time with friends and family I had also abandoned at times in pursuit of my own Ironman quest.
Read MoreSo this is what it's like to be a "retired" athlete. Now that the Official Wedding Countdown Clock is ticking loudly, I've noticed that my workouts are becoming fewer and farther between. What used to be a 1.5 hour trail run has become a 30-minute jog around the block. A 1.5 hour bike ride at Griffith Park has become a one hour (albeit quite intense) session on my new CompuTrainer. About the only thing I've kept up with is my swimming, on strict orders from Coach Gerardo that I get in the pool four times a week to work on improving technique. I've even failed at that, hitting three swim sessions a week appears to be my ceiling at the moment.
Read MoreTwo weeks from tonight, Stephanie and I are getting married. It feels pretty similar to that overwhelming feeling I got two weeks before my first Ironman. Instead of relying on all the training that got me to that moment, all I could think about was the unknown of whether I'd reach the finish line. This past week, it was hard not to think about the statistics working against Steph and me, the high divorce rates, shrinking marriage numbers and total strangers I met during my bachelor party weekend who bitterly told me of their failed relationships and why I should reconsider my own. On top of that, wedding planning reached a feverish peak. We had tension in the house, deadlines closing in, bills to pay, seating charts to make, and one hell of an Excel spreadsheet filled with to-dos.
It almost became too much to handle.
Then, I recalled my Ironman training and the race itself. First, I got to the finish line. I made it! I trusted the hard work and it paid off. Then, I remembered the team of supporters I had rallying around me. I didn't do everything on my own. More important, Steph was such a supporter to me of my Ironman journey that I needed to rally here at the hardest of moments and be the same kind of rock. I then recalled that simply staying calm and focusing on the immediate task in front of me can pay huge dividends. Marriage can seem difficult and overwhelming when you present it in the same metaphorical terms as a 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike ride and a marathon run. Now that I'm not training as much, I'm getting more easily overwhelmed by those distances and wondering how in the world did I pull it off? However, when you break down each distance into more manageable mini-races, the task seems more reasonable.
I never thought that completing an Ironman would change how I approach even larger life milestones, but it has. I've learned how to remain calm and focused when I used to freak out. And more important, I have a successful blueprint for how to handle big changes in my life.
I've heard many of my friends tell me that the final two weeks before their wedding were the worst. Lots of fights, lots of tears, and ultimately people trying to block that period from their memory banks. I was on track to be exactly like everyone else, until I remembered my Ironman training and that though the event is much bigger, I've been down this road before. Once I realized that, which essentially occurred during a morning jog by myself today, I took a huge breath and let a lot of stress out of my system.
What a relief!
So, with exactly two weeks and counting to my wedding, I think I'm officially "ready" for my Lifetime Ironman.
Ryan Schneieder is the IronMadMan
