Make it Fun

Yesterday Marco and I went for a run at his request. He asked as we were watching the Rock n Roll Marathon on Sunday. A dream of mine to have my son ask me to go running with him. We headed out at about 5 pm and I told him the plan before hand. We would run north on the path along the railroad tracks. We then would cross into Encintas, run south through town and end up at Swami's park and beach access. There we would head to the beach remove our shoes and run as hard as we could to the Cardiff Access point. 

I knew Marco would enjoy the speed and the run along the water. The further we got down the beach the further out into the water he went. When we got to the point where we would exit the beach he held up his index finger telling me to wait. He threw his shoes on the beach, took off his shirt and threw it on the beach as well. Then he headed west into the water to play in the waves. It was spontaneous and it great. Reminds me that we can always learn from our children.

It's a good life....
Dave

Tastes Good?

I'm always on the search for something new. After my "collapse" in Utah recently I've opened myself up to look at everything. This week I decided to try a new natural food product to supplement my diet. Especially in the morning before a long workout. I tried using this product twice. On Wednesday before my long run and Saturday before my bike ride. Wednesday I had a good run with the group and didn't feel hungry for about 2 hours after the run. On Saturday my stomach was tied in knots the entire ride. The main difference I think was Wednesday I drank it 1.5 hours before I ran. On Saturday it was like 15 minutes before I took off. So I'll keep testing it. I learned of this product from someone I trust on what food to eat, James Walsh.

The problem I have with the product and I'm not alone when it comes to virtually every product from the Vitamine and Supplements Isle. Even though they say it tastes great it doesn't. On this product I don't even think doesn't is nice enough. I can usually handle it all but this one is hard to drink. It's called Vega and their claim to faim is Real Food Fast. They sell the nutritional value hard but they really sell the "Tastes Great" super hard. In fact the quote is "People who are not really used to a whole food natural diet find this product tastes great"  The Jury is still out.

In other news I'm going to try to commit to writing in my other blog, Running Shoe Dirt. This week I'm talking again about my favorite traditional running shoe hater, the Run Blogger. I'm going to commit to a weekly post. Maybe it will catch on. Someone has to stand up and talk real about shoes and running. We can't let the academics rule our practice.

It's a good life...

Dave

I am here to.......

The book I am Here to Win is a must read for anyone who is a triathlete or just simply loves competition. Clearly it helps to know the players but you don't have to to enjoy it. But I'm not writing about it to give you my opinion of the book. Through reading it I've reflected on what I'm doing as a person and as a triathlete and that's what I'll touch on.

Me the Person
In general I think I've sold myself short for too long. I love what I do for a living but my experience and my knowledge of the market says I should be doing more. Instead of digging for Mentors and allies in my industry the way Macca has done I based my livelyhood on my geeky shoe knowlegde. It's time to get out there and use what I've got.  I read articles today of people who are running their respective companies and these are people I worked side by side with 10 years ago. They don't have what I have they've just been more aggressive with where they want to go. No offense to anyone reading this but it's true.

Me the Triathlete
The Skeleton Macca talks about is exactly what I was referring to weeks ago when I said I failed the coach. I know because of years of experience the base work I needed to do. I needed coach to fine tune from that base. Instead I let him give me the plan from the bottom up. Although the plan was great I sure know my body better than anyone and should have been more involved in the planning. I've detailed out my current skeleton for now below.
Nutrition - Hydrate the muscle - that makes total sense and that's a good learning. I was thinking about Ironman races past and I used to drink this stuff called Pro Hydrator. Guess what, it was a good combination of what Macca was talking about. Did I think of that this year. Only at about mile 90 of the bike. The rest of his nutrition plan is fairly common sense. Oh and he's not the first World Champion to drink Ensure before the race. Coke - Long ago I learned from my good buddy Monty that Coke was the best nutrition product on the race course. Macca simply confirms it again. All the science of the world and Coke still rules.

I think the end result of the book is that no matter what you do, be good at it and surround yourself with people to help with the weak spots. Clearly that's where I've gone wrong recently.

My current Skeleton: 10 hours max. Probably much less.
Monday - Swim Masters - Easy 30 minute run with strides.
Tuesday - Easy Ride to and From Work
Wednesday - 1 hour "Long" run - weights on the upper body.
Thursday - Ride to work with a trip up Double Peak.
Friday - Masters or Open Water Swim - 1 hour tempo run.
Saturday - 2-3 hour ride lots of big gear work, 20 min run - weights - legs.

Goal right now is to put some weight on and get my lower back to be strong. This will probably include a trip or two to see my friends at the Wolf Studio.

It's a good life....
Dave