Thursday, September 15, 2011

Wine is good for the heart....

and apparently bad for the waistline. I started drinking a nightly glass of wine. And my weight is increasing directly proportionate, I think!

Come Oct 1, things will change and I'll have cut out the wine simply because it is an extra 350 calories per night.

Monday, September 12, 2011

Sweatproof headphones?!?! Jaybirds have a lifetime guarantee!

Bluetooth headphones that say they are sweatproof and then back it up with a lifetime guarantee?!?!

I'm quite tempted to try these out. I've gone through three pairs of Motorola S9's and have simply given up on "sweatproof" headphones because all three of those shorted out within 4-5 months of sweating on the indoor bike trainer. Why not just use the cords? Because they get in the way, and I inevitably sit up to take a break and the cord pulls my phone/MP3 player such that it crashes on the floor.

But these........like I said, it's tempting....





http://www.jaybirdgear.com/jf3/


Sunday, September 11, 2011

Get Ready...Get Sufferfest

David at the Sufferfest has bundled all of his videos into a single package for $60, for a savings of $12.  Also, there is a new Sufferfest Video....coming in October.....standby to visit A VERY DARK PLACE!   Why do I love the Sufferfest so much?!?!







From the Sufferfest:

Six times the suffering – 12 bucks off.

On 09/02/2011, in Uncategorized, by DMcQ
There are those of you, when first coming into contact with the ‘fest, can’t wait to put yourself into as much misery as possible. We love you. So, we’re now offering a package just for those who have chucked all those other cycling workout videos and are focused on true suffering. Here it is: All six Sufferfest videos at a discounted price: 59.99. At 12 bucks off the regular price for all the videos, it’s like six for the price of five! Get your ‘fest library off to the right start.
Videos included in the Sufferfest Six-Pack Bundle: Downward Spiral, Revolver, Fight Club, Angels, The Hunted and Local Hero.
Six videos for individual use - $59.99 (normally USD $72 if bought individually)

Saturday, September 10, 2011

LinkedIn group worth mentioning

There are alot of LinkedIn groups out there, some better than others. I recently joined the Triathlon Science group, and it's pretty interesting.  Take a look if you are interested in the scientific stuff. Personally, I like to read the abstracts and then see if I fit into the basic findings of a study.


Triathlon Science

Triathlon Science

Thursday, September 8, 2011

A winter bike trainer workout

I like the triathlete.com website. They always have something of interest.

Here's what looks like a good bike trainer workout I'll keep on hand for this winter. Strength is one my weaknesses on the bike, and this hits that.

Triathlete.com » Tough Big Gear Bike Workout – Triathlete.com


"The next time you do hill repeats, consider this workout from pro Lesley Paterson. At her recent Braveheart Bootcamp, a weeklong triathlon camp in San Diego, Paterson used this big gear session to challenge her age group athletes. “This session is a sure fire way to develop unbelievable strength on the bike that will also transfer to the flats,” Paterson says. “Depending on racing emphasis, you can manipulate duration of interval, steepness of hill and cadence to best suit what you need.”"

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

Shoulder Season = Near Term Plans

Here it is September and post-Labor Day. That means almost all the way back to the grind. I say "almost" because I still have some fishing to do, but otherwise summer is over. My season did not go as planned, ending quite earlier than expected. Even the September Xterra I was hoping to do in Park City at the end of this month got pre-empted (this one by Marine Corps Reserve).

So what am I going to do? I figure for the month of September I'll concentrate on running every day at lunch, starting at three miles per run per day last week and ending at six miles per run for five runs per week at the end of the month. The months of July and August were everything but triathlon it seems, and I gained alot of weight(!).

What to do during the shoulder season?

1. Take a break, number one, but already took a break(!) in July and August because I had other things that HAD to happen.

2. I can start hard into a new training schedule, but I'd peak mentally in February or so, and I'm not quite ready to get into something like that right now, anyway.

3. Take it easy but continue to exercise so that when I start up a new training cycle, I'm not starting from scratch and when it's time to put on skis, I can still get up and down the hill all day without a heart attack.

Option #3 with caveats it is!

During September and October, I will continue the transition to AmphibOps.com, too. That will take some time, and now is the time to do it before I get into a new training schedule. I'm about half way done with a planning book, too, and I hope to finish that by the end of October.

Somewhere in there, I want to review this past year and set up next year. My initial thoughts are the Boise 70.3, but I'm not sure I want to spend money on a big entrance fee for a race that could have any kind of weather. I also hope to get back into the August races because next year I'll be with a different unit and not have to travel all of August (yeah!). Then, I promise myself that I will do that Xterra in Park City in September!

But there's a lot of time between now and then. I always seem to peak in my training in late March, mentally for sure and probably physically, too. I need to figure out a way around that.

At least for September, I'll just be running and trying to get some weight off me. October will be more of the same and include some of the local trail run series. November will be the beginning of biking and swimming again, I think.

Thursday, September 1, 2011

Transition Time...Starting a new leg of this race

I've been doing the 20-60-40 Triathlon blog for about two years now. It started out as my one real goal in triathlon, to get the 20 minute swim, 60 minute bike, and 40 minute run. I'm faced with the reality that I can't prioritize triathlon high enough on the list to make that goal happen. And, 20-60-60 really pins me into talking about nothing but triathlon when there is so much more out there.

So, I'm branching out to a new brand name and broader topics.  On October 1, 2011, I want to completely transition to AmphibOps Triathlon. "AmphibOps" is short for amphibious operations, or the type of maneuver warfare that the Marine Corps is known for during World War II and continues today. When you think of the beach landings throughout World War II, you are thinking about amphibious operations.

The connection is that I think triathlons are an amphibious operation as far as hobbies and races go. You start in the water, hit the beach on a fast transport, and then attack the objective on foot. That describes amphibious operations as much as it does triathlon.

Where do the thoughts about amphibious operations come from? Well, I have a career in the Marine Corps that is a deep-seeded part of me, such that almost everything I do has some sort of Marine Corps angle it, specifically my thought processes and how I relate to everything.

AmphibOps Triathlon will still focus on triathlon, but it will include broader topics about the triathlon lifestyle and a healthy, active lifestyle.  I'll add more in about my family and some of my other hobbies, but everything will be tied back to triathlon in some way and might have a Marine Corps spin to it.

I know I'll have alot more to write about it! I already have about 50 topics in my mind ranging from applying Marine Corps planning to life and triathlon planning to how triathlon training impacts every aspect of my life including such things as a garden.

AmphibOps will be more for a beginning or intermediate triathlete who wants to be competitive in age-group events while maintaining a healthy balance between family, work, and triathlon. In the past six months or so, I've had people ask alot of the same questions, and I want to write more about those things that people have approached me about.

So, if (when?) you sense a change in the writing and the topics, you are noticing the shift to the AmpibOps Triathlon brand. The new website should be up and running by October 1. A basic landing page is already at  www.amphibops.com.

Backcountry Views

Art Prints

Check out my e-book "Weight Training Routine For Olympic and Sprint Triathlons"

Get it in any of the major e-book formats at http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/26079