Monday, February 8, 2010

High Cliff Revenge Rule #2: The "Double" (Weekend)

I haven't exactly pinpointed the races just yet, but a (May) weekend of back-to-back races, both at an all-out effort should provide both a solid training, and a confidence boost needed for this year's "A-race", the High Cliff (half iron) Triathlon, which takes place in June.

I would like to take my third shot at the Beloit Wellness Duathlon on May 15th (registration is not available yet, from what I can tell). Then the following day, I'll be running a local 5K or 10K, potentially at the Milwaukee Zoo. Neither race is particularly challenging in it's own right by distance or course difficulty, but doing them on back-to-back days should provide a set of challenges beneficial to my goal.

I've never done a "double" before, although I've often considered it. Someday I'd still like to run a "Goofy" or something similar, which is a half marathon on Saturday, followed by a marathon on Sunday. Or even something crazier, like an ultra-marathon (typically anything longer than a marathon), or back-to-back marathons. This is a start.

So now I have:
High Cliff Revenge Rule #1: Weight
High Cliff Revenge Rule #2: The "Double"

Friday, February 5, 2010

High Cliff Revenge Rule #1: Weight

My foot is finally feeling better. I would say 95%, thanks to ice baths, a 12-mile week, an 18-mile week, and after tomorrow, what I hope to be a 20-mile week. That's light running, but I've supplanted some with bike time as to not sacrifice too much fitness. I'm surprised how long recovery took on this.

I've decided to lose weight for the High Cliff (half iron) Triathlon (June 19). My goal is 8 pounds less than current weight. I hope to widen the gap in my power-to-weight ratio, and I plan to be half way there in less than 4 weeks, just before I head off to Florida where I'll be vacationing (eating) for a week at Walt Disney World.

I will use The Daily Plate to track everything I eat/drink. After a few days, I've already learned that I eat a damn lot. I have even avoided a snack because logging it is a pain in the ass, as well as guilt-inducing.

I'll post updates. More rules to come.

Friday, January 29, 2010

In: High Cliff (1/2 Iron) Triathlon - 6/19/2010

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

2010 Injury #1


The lateral side (outside) of the bottom of my foot is in excruciating pain. Sometimes the pain even shoots up through the ankle. This leads me to believe it's an injury to the Peroneus Brevis Tendon, because it goes around the back of the ball of the ankle where the shooting pain occasionally occurs, and because it attaches to the 5th metatarsal bone where most of the pain presides. It is very tender and difficult to put weight on. I haven't lost any range of motion, and the tendon isn't actually sore to the touch in the ankle area. Only the foot. The shooting pain is usually inspired by stepping heavily on the 5th metatarsal (the outside of the foot).

So it's probably tendinitis, often misdiagnosed as a lateral ankle sprain (to the ligament) because isolated injury to the tendon is rare. This is not the first time this part of my foot has had this problem, and it has happened in both feet now. Chronic ailments like this to the ankle/foot tendons are usually due to ankle instability.

I probably have week ankles. They are rather skinny, and I misstep often, causing little tweaks here and there, although I've only had a handful of actual sprains in my lifetime. I intend to rest, and ice the affected area, then proceed with training ASAP, as well as implement an ankle strength and stability routine. Unfortunately, I can't foresee running this Saturday in the InStep Indoor Half Marathon

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Decade in Review

My wife recently did a "Decade in Review" post on her blog, and being the copycat of good ideas that I am, I'm rolling with it too...

2000:
  • 22-23 years old
  • Lived in Madison, WI (since birth)
  • Network Administrator for large architecture firm (since 1998)
  • Wisconsin wins second consecutive Rose Bowl in January and makes it to the Final Four in March
  • Engaged to Jamie in spring
  • Purchased and designed the interior of a new townhouse in Sun Prairie, WI, and moved in October
  • 230-240 lbs.
2001:
  • Switched to diet soda
  • Lost weight (to ~220) for wedding
  • Married in August
  • Honeymooned in Dunn's River Falls, Jamaica
  • 240-225 lbs.
2002:
  • Layed off in September
  • A week in Las Vegas (Treasure Island) in September
  • Started new job as an IT Consultant/Director/Sales in September for IT consulting firm (still there)

2003:
  • In friend Larry's wedding in Omaha, NE
  • Became a dad in December (Paige)
I'm such a douche for not remembering this girl's name. I walked down the aisle with her at my friend's wedding. I just wanted to share the image because I thought I was looking pretty "fit" at the time. I had no clue.

2004:
  • Lived a completely sedentary lifestyle
Wow.

I had no idea. Wait, here it comes...

2005:
  • Purchased first bike since childhood, a (dorky) hybrid
  • Started running late spring / early summer - 1 mile on treadmill took ~15 minutes, and I was sore for days
  • First 5K in September, second in October
  • Watched my friend Jason compete in his first Ironman (and was greatly inspired)
  • Purchased a brand new house less than a mile away, and moved in October
  • 225-215 lbs.

2006:
  • Bought my first road bike
  • First triathlon in June
  • Started this blog
  • First Duathlon in September
  • Purchased first "mountain bike"
  • First trip to Walt Disney World in November (became completely smitten with the "World")
  • 5-6 running races, 2 triathlons, 1 duathlon
  • 215-210 lbs.

2007:
  • Wisconsin basketball ranked #1 for the first time in school history
  • Got first "tri" bike
  • Las Vegas (Planet Hollywood) with my dad to watch the Badger football game in September
  • Walt Disney World in October/November
  • Became a dad again in December (Jackson)
  • 4-5 running races, 4 triathlons, 2 duathlons
  • 215-205 lbs.

2008:
  • First Half Marathon in April
  • Brewers make playoffs for the first time since 1982 (I was 4), and I see my first MLB playoff game with my dad (and miss only my 2nd Wisconsin football game to do it)
  • Jamie ran her first Marathon (Chicago Marathon) in October
  • 6-7 running races, 3-4 triathlons, 1 duathlon, 1 mountain bike race
  • 205-190 lbs.

2009:
  • Walt Disney World Marathon in January
  • Started Edge Multisport (http://edgemultisport.com)
  • High Cliff (half iron) Triathlon in June
  • Ironman Wiscosnin in September
  • Post-race depression sets-in (this is something I'll spend some time on when I understand it better)
  • 4 running races, 5 triathlons, 4 aquathons, 1 swim race
  • 190-180 lbs.

Friday, January 15, 2010

Post-Race Depression


I'm not a psychologist, so I won't pretend to be. Nor am I apparently immune to the post-race "blues". My "A" race in this case was Ironman Wisconsin. For about a year I lived and breathed Ironman Wisconsin 2009. When it was over, while I was sad to leave the race venue, I was excited to be an Ironman, and I was relieved it had ended, not because I didn't enjoy the process (I very much did), but because it meant I could move on to other things. A year is a long time to work on a single objective.

However, a few weeks later I found that I absolutely had to set some kind of a goal, as just idling wasn't going to sit well with me. I did, and I while I fell a little short of said goal (a sub-1:50 in the half marathon), I still recorded my best half marathon time ever, and that sat okay with me. What I didn't realize in working up to that half marathon, and shortly after, was that it was only a band-aid. There was something much deeper and darker going on inside, to this day which I don't really claim to understand entirely, but I'm beginning to, and it has lightened up, thankfully.

There is some solace in knowing (reminding myself) that I'm not retiring from the Iron distance. I'm not completely certain when I'll be back, perhaps as soon as 2011, but I'll be back, and be able to relive the experience again. This year will include some things that I will be able to immerse myself into, albeit smaller scaled, so I can focus rather than analyze, which I find a positive direction for me to be in.

The effects of my depression are/were widespread. My eating habits changed for the worse, as did my sleeping patterns. I became irritable and snappy, particularly when my kids weren't at their best possible behavior, or if they needed me repeatedly. I sloughed off at work, and got lazy with personal projects. I acted (and felt) aloof, or disinterested most of the time, and last but not least, I was hit badly in December with a string of illnesses that were slightly more than a little concerning. My family and I all sort of started wondering if there was something seriously wrong. I have a serious aversion to doctors, and I like to self-diagnose (it's worked well for me so far). Fortunately, by the time I gave up trying to figure it out, things started to clear (the headaches, fevers, stomach cramping, fatigue - a month's worth), including my head, and I canceled my plans to give in and see a specialist. I am now willing and able to chalk the illnesses up to depression. It sounds unpleasant, and it is, probably more so than I'm able to articulate. I only can summarize it as being a very "dark and stormy" place to be.

Unfortunately, I'm not completely in the clear (I struggle as I type this), but signs point to a positive swing in momentum. I'm beginning to get excited about taking my team, Edge Multisport into some new areas this year, and I look daily for opportunities to accomplish new athletic feats. I just haven't decided what yet. I thought I knew, but I'm afraid many of those decisions were made while in an irrational state. I've decided to wait until things become really clear for me, and the racing I want to do becomes abundently obvious. For now, I still plan on running a half-marathon on January 23rd, if for nothing else, because I'm curious to see how my body is going to respond to all it has been though since this began.

If you haven't guessed, facing this publicly is not really very easy to do. If it hasn't come through in typing, and I'm sure those that know me personally would agree that I have a "large" personality (perhaps ego). I exude confidence in my step, my style, my presence. I don't think it's a facade as much as it is confidence in the ability to prevail. Admitting depression sucks.

Friday, January 8, 2010

Moving to Blogger.

I am in the process of moving to Blogger, and since all exports and conversions from my self-hosted Wordpress installation have failed, I'm having to move posts manually. This also means I will lose all of my comments, unfortunately. However, moving to Blogger will greatly simplify things for me. It's just going to be a while before I get there.