I loved my Pearl Izumi tri cycling shoes so much, I'm switching my running shoes from Asics as well. I'll let you know how I like them in a week or so after some long runs.
First Run-10 Miles: Felt great with really no break in either. The seam-less upper is much better than my last Asics Gel Nimbus. Asics had alway done my feet well, but my my last pair has some annoying seams over the big knuckle of my big toe, not with my new Cruise's. I run neutral and mid-foot strike, but I think heal strikers would like these as well as they have a little rise in the heel and the transition to launching into the next stride was effortless. 15 Miler coming up this weekend so we'll see how the cushioning holds up as well as a blister report.
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Diet
No, this post is not about dieting, but about diet. Dieting for an athlete is not an option, and event though I restrict how I eat, I still get to eat a lot which leaves me the strength to push hard in workouts, but keeps weight slipping off me.
Getting to that golden combination of food to make you perform your best is not easy, and I still haven't found it, but a great process I have inadvertently stumbled upon is to pick something to improve in your diet once a month to make sure it works for you.
I say one thing at a time because different people react to different things. If you scrap everything you eat all at once and start from scratch, your body may revolt against it, leaving you to trial and error to discover what did it. Changing one thing a month is not such a daunting endeavor either. Over the past two years my major changes have been.....
1. killing fast food and eating Subway
2. reducing the footlong to a six inch Subway
3. switching from the bag of chips to the fruit for lunch
4. Grapenuts and another cereal for breakfast
5. Adding blueberries to my cereal
6. Eating a Powerbar mid-afternoon to keep metabolism going
7. Switching from the Powerbar to a banana
8. Piece of fruit mid-morning to reduce the overeating urge at lunch
9. Stop gorging after long bike rides with Fried Chicken or Burrito
10. Keep fruit in the house instead of starchy snacks
A few other changes did not work very well. Some things did not agree with my stomach and some bad things resulted, other things just were not filling enough for me either.
The goal should be to add to your diet's nutrition, not take away calories. Eating better will fire up your metabolism and make you feel better before and after workouts to self perpetuate weight loss and well-being.
Some of the best ideas I incorporate into my eating habits come from articles on Competitor.com, usatriathlon.org, slowtwitch, so keep up with what the athlete experts are professing, and stay away from the fads that can seriously hurt your end goals.
Getting to that golden combination of food to make you perform your best is not easy, and I still haven't found it, but a great process I have inadvertently stumbled upon is to pick something to improve in your diet once a month to make sure it works for you.
I say one thing at a time because different people react to different things. If you scrap everything you eat all at once and start from scratch, your body may revolt against it, leaving you to trial and error to discover what did it. Changing one thing a month is not such a daunting endeavor either. Over the past two years my major changes have been.....
1. killing fast food and eating Subway
2. reducing the footlong to a six inch Subway
3. switching from the bag of chips to the fruit for lunch
4. Grapenuts and another cereal for breakfast
5. Adding blueberries to my cereal
6. Eating a Powerbar mid-afternoon to keep metabolism going
7. Switching from the Powerbar to a banana
8. Piece of fruit mid-morning to reduce the overeating urge at lunch
9. Stop gorging after long bike rides with Fried Chicken or Burrito
10. Keep fruit in the house instead of starchy snacks
A few other changes did not work very well. Some things did not agree with my stomach and some bad things resulted, other things just were not filling enough for me either.
The goal should be to add to your diet's nutrition, not take away calories. Eating better will fire up your metabolism and make you feel better before and after workouts to self perpetuate weight loss and well-being.
Some of the best ideas I incorporate into my eating habits come from articles on Competitor.com, usatriathlon.org, slowtwitch, so keep up with what the athlete experts are professing, and stay away from the fads that can seriously hurt your end goals.
Friday, June 18, 2010
Appreciation
As a month until my first Ironman draws near, I have been looking back at the past 6 months and few years and realize there is much to appreciate from my journey. Family, friends, training buddies, and my employer.
Many of us triathletes get quite self absorbed in our quest for improvement or weight loss. At times this can alienate the people who care about us as well as pay us. No one can go through their training alone, so make sure to let these people know how much they mean to you. Who know, you might even inspire someone to take the dip into triathlon, or just fitness in general. Your employer may even want to publicize your adventure to the rest of the company, or use you for advertising in a race.
While triathletes plug away a their schedule, everyone else is going about their lives. Keeping those friends and family attachments should still have a place in your life because in an instant life can take it all away.
Many of us triathletes get quite self absorbed in our quest for improvement or weight loss. At times this can alienate the people who care about us as well as pay us. No one can go through their training alone, so make sure to let these people know how much they mean to you. Who know, you might even inspire someone to take the dip into triathlon, or just fitness in general. Your employer may even want to publicize your adventure to the rest of the company, or use you for advertising in a race.
While triathletes plug away a their schedule, everyone else is going about their lives. Keeping those friends and family attachments should still have a place in your life because in an instant life can take it all away.
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Shopping for Europe
I'm probably going to go a bit nuts gearing up for this trip. Too much to try to absorb and it might get a little expensive.
Promotion present to myself too!
Promotion present to myself too!
Friday, June 4, 2010
Motivation
Endurance training can take a toll on you physically and mentally. From the daunting hours put in running, swimming and biking, your body takes a beating, but also your mental state. It is important to always keep the reason you are doing this in perspective and what you must accomplish to meet your goal.
These goals can range from just completing a race or a specific time on that day. My goal is to qualify for Kona to race with my Dad. Many times I wonder if this is a realistic goal. This just adds to the mental fatigue of the long process of Ironman training. When I'm feeling exhausted and at a loss to get to my next training session I have two things that get me there, my teammates and my coach. These two groups are the reason I can pull through the tired, agonizing days because they are in it with me. We all don't have the same down days, so pulling each other through is an all too important aspect of our training.
Having a coach was one of the best decisions for my adventure into Ironman. Michael McCormack (M2 as he calls himself) has been instrumental in our groups progression through intermediate triathletes, to full blown Ironman athletes. Coaching is a very tricky thing to be good at. Its not just about laying out workouts, or strategies. To get to your best performance, many times you need someone to pull it out of you. You see this in regular life with parents and mentors and with a monumental event in Ironman, it is almost necessary if you want to be at your peak. M2 has a way to read people and figure out the best way to get them going. For me it is competition and some positive reinforcement. I'm sure he could sense my exhaustion this week and he was there to instill some faith that what I was improving from what he has seen over the past month. In his group spin classes he has a great "duel" workout to passively give a goal to everyone who wants it by giving the "easy" workout for beginners, and the hard workout for his Ironman/veteran athletes. Subconsciously people will want to get to the hard workout, and probably try it without the risk of opening themselves up to failure. These types of motivational pieces are insurmountable in the coaching world and to have someone in your corner who knows how and when to apply them is invaluable.
Thanks M2
These goals can range from just completing a race or a specific time on that day. My goal is to qualify for Kona to race with my Dad. Many times I wonder if this is a realistic goal. This just adds to the mental fatigue of the long process of Ironman training. When I'm feeling exhausted and at a loss to get to my next training session I have two things that get me there, my teammates and my coach. These two groups are the reason I can pull through the tired, agonizing days because they are in it with me. We all don't have the same down days, so pulling each other through is an all too important aspect of our training.
Having a coach was one of the best decisions for my adventure into Ironman. Michael McCormack (M2 as he calls himself) has been instrumental in our groups progression through intermediate triathletes, to full blown Ironman athletes. Coaching is a very tricky thing to be good at. Its not just about laying out workouts, or strategies. To get to your best performance, many times you need someone to pull it out of you. You see this in regular life with parents and mentors and with a monumental event in Ironman, it is almost necessary if you want to be at your peak. M2 has a way to read people and figure out the best way to get them going. For me it is competition and some positive reinforcement. I'm sure he could sense my exhaustion this week and he was there to instill some faith that what I was improving from what he has seen over the past month. In his group spin classes he has a great "duel" workout to passively give a goal to everyone who wants it by giving the "easy" workout for beginners, and the hard workout for his Ironman/veteran athletes. Subconsciously people will want to get to the hard workout, and probably try it without the risk of opening themselves up to failure. These types of motivational pieces are insurmountable in the coaching world and to have someone in your corner who knows how and when to apply them is invaluable.
Thanks M2
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Blatant grasp for money
So as I continue writing and getting more snipets of tips of the blogging trade, I get a little curious about what you can do on a blog. This post is going to be a blatant product placement for all the things I use during training because I want to see what Amazon comes up with when I post them.
I plan to have reviews of all the products, but usually when I don't like something, they are immediately discarded. If they make it to real useage, then I love them.
Run Race Shoes - K-Swiss K-Ona
Tri Race Cycling Shoes
Running Trainers
Cross-training
Comfort
Compression Socks
Endurance Drink
Recovery Drink
I plan to have reviews of all the products, but usually when I don't like something, they are immediately discarded. If they make it to real useage, then I love them.
Run Race Shoes - K-Swiss K-Ona
Tri Race Cycling Shoes
Running Trainers
Cross-training
Comfort
Compression Socks
Endurance Drink
Recovery Drink
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)