God and triathlon

A perfect relation between God and triathlon...

"When Dick ran, he pushed Rick along in a wheelchair. Rick was dependent on his dad in order to finish the race. He couldn’t do it without him.
We see a parallel between their story and our own Christian life. Just as Rick was dependent on his dad, we are dependent on Christ to complete our Christian race."  


Read more at.Our Daily Bread.

If you don't know the story of Dick Hoyt, you really need to google up his story... or just read this. I had him as a desktop when my first boy was born....very inspirational.

How to get back into routine after being gone?

I'm back home after almost three weeks gone for annual Marine Corps Reserve training. I was having problems getting back into a routine in July, and that continued in August.  While I was gone, I had one good week of consistent running. I couldn't bike or swim, and I'm lucky to have run at all. The daily schedule was hard to break away from. If I don't get back into good, consistent training, I'm going to start going backwards instead of just not improving.

So, how does one go about getting back into it 100%? Right now, I can't imagine a 350 point week like I had in March or so. I can barely imagine getting in 25 miles of running and nothing else. I'd like to get back on the bike, but I think other things have priority right now.

And that's it all boils down to....priority! Once you sit down and agree with yourself and your family that a priority will be placed on triathlon time, it happens fairly easily. I haven't done that in the past couple of months since a big effort at the Pacific Crest Triathlon in June. Honestly, I have put other things at the top of the priority list, too, and I'm comfortable with it. I just wish there was more time in the day!

Along those lines of determining priority, my hopes of doing the Utah Xterra race in late September were dashed when my Marine Corps Reserve drill date got changed to that weekend. I'm kind of bummed because  I wanted to do that race and had already told myself that it was just going to be a recon race, one that I do to get the feel of it and plan a big effort for that race next year. I'm in no shape to expect good results, so the recon effort was the perfect answer. In any case, I have prioritized my drills above triathlon, so that makes that an easy change and one more thing to towards next year.

So, what do you do to break the no-training cycle and get back into it?

Good week of running

I'm out of town right now for Marine Corps Reserve annual training. You'd think that getting in some good workouts would be easy, but it takes some effort just because of the nature of this training. I got in four runs this week, and that is pretty good.

Staying consistent while travelling is always a difficult. I didn't prep myself properly with any type of plan for this trip other than "try to run every day." That's not enough to make something happen, especially when combined with a completely different weather pattern of heat and humidity.

10% to Challenged Athletes Foundation

So the "Weight Training Routine" book has been selling more than I ever thought possible. As such, I need to start giving back to the community. So....10% of the net sales will go to the Challenged Athletes Foundation at www.caf.org   I will also ask that 50% of that donation be used towards a US Marine. I'm a bit biased, yes, but that's how I see the world.

I chose CAF because its mission to assist people with physical disabilities is a noble cause in my mind. When I went to Iraq, I told myself I would be ok if I lost a leg or an arm because groups like this are out there to help you once the docs get you back into the game. And now that I have kids, I can't imagine a young child not having the opportunity to compete physically and know the joys of success and, yes, the pains of defeat because it makes a person grow so much.

I could have chosen a cancer cause like Relay For Life, but I don't think is a perfect match.

CAF feels like a perfect match to me!

Power Meter talk

Got a Power Meter? This is one of the dilemmas I'm struggling with right now. I would love to have a power meter (who wouldn't?!), but the reality is that I simply can't spend that kind of money on this hobby.

To up the ante during winter training, I'm going with the Kurt Kinetic power meter that works with my trainer. It's not a "real" power meter in that it computes power rather than actually measuring it, but as long as it is a constant measure it will help me determine if I improve. For $150 it is still expensive for me but will fill the training measure gap nicely.

Triathlete.com discusses it at  Triathlete.com » At What Point Am I Ready For A Power Meter? – Triathlete.com

I think their point about not becoming a slave to the numbers is quite valid. My main goal is to simply  compare the same threshold workout monthly to see if I'm improving. I expect to use the power meter during only half my workouts.

The Good Side Lost A True Warrior over the weekend

Sunday morning brought tragic news to me. A friend, fellow Marine, San Diego Policeman and a great warrior for the good side was killed Saturday while on duty with the San Diego Police. Jeremy Henwood was a great man and will be missed.

Therefore, running has been the therapy of choice. I went through the five stages of grief every two miles or so and finished three full grief "cycles" on a six mile run yesterday.

MapMyRide.com personal information...update

It seems Traci from MapMyRide.com read this post about my not wanting to put even more personal information into their servers. I thought it was a marketing thing, which I understand but was just kind of irked about at the time. I have personal information everywhere. Heck, my sex and age are on every race results page! But I just didn't feel the need to give it to them.

So, according to Traci in a note back to me (it was in the "spam" comments section so not seen by everyone), "The reason we ask for date of birth is due to the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), which means we do not knowingly collect any information from users under the age of 14."  OK then. I'll give up the information and keep using the service, which I really do like and find useful to be able to share routes right inline with text. Not to get too political..but that's what we're talking about here....the laws are out of control; there has to be a better way to protect minors rather than ask everyone for their age.


I just deleted a long rant about politicians. My apologies to MapMyRide because you are obviously caught up in the mix of restrictive laws. I'll stop now concerning politics.


Going fishing tomorrow. I get to stand in the Lamar River in Yellowstone National Park. It is a top ten activity in my life, so I'm quite excited.

Mr. Swim Smooth "Our Stroke Analysis: The Two Best 1500m Swimmers In The World"

Mr. Swim Smooth has another great Friday morning blog post in "Feel For The Water."  They compare fast turnovers with a long, strong pull. Best of all is the comparison of a swimming styles with a bicycling analogy (Lance Armstrong vs Jan Ullrich).  If you're a Lance-fan, you'll be glad to know that Mr. Swim Smooth thinks that the "swinger" style of swimming with a fast turnover and very little glide is probably the best method for open water swimming. This is because it provides very little dead-time in a glide, during which a wave or chop could stop you in your tracks. This can be compared to the high-cadence bicycling of Lance Armstrong.

Feel For The Water! Advice & Tips to Improve Your Swimming.: Our Stroke Analysis: The Two Best 1500m Swimmers In The World

The impetus of Mr. Swim Smooth's post was watching the different stroke styles at the World Championships. I haven't been following them closely, but I have read a few reports. There are fewer world records because of the ban on the high-tech swim suits. Locke is stealing some of the spotlight from Phelps, who says he's not in top condition. And I haven't seen or heard or read anyting about the women's side.

It's kind of late in the tri season here in Idaho, but it's never too early to start thinking about your swim stroke and how you can improve!

Battle of Priorities

So, I basically let myself go for the entire month of July. Priorities clashed immensely in July, and May and June for that matter. Consistency plummeted, and then motivation took a hit.

Beyond family and work, I have other competing priorities....like this post at www.backcountrycutts.blogspot.com .  I can run, bike, or swim any day of the year mostly.

But the days for standing in the Lamar River are quite limited every year.