Mt. Rainier Duathlon

DAILY MOTIVATION

“A trophy carries dust. Memories last forever.” – Mary Lou Retton

Though I don’t approve of the shoe type, this is still a pretty cool picture!

After you read my story of my first Duathlon, this quote will make a lot more sense. Suffice to say that I did not do as well as I had expected personally, nor did I finish in the field where I wanted to. However, for my first event ever on a bike and with a transition it was a great learning experience! I gained a lot of knowledge for what to do/not do next time as well as some glaring deficiencies in my training that need to be addressed.

Overall though I had an absolute blast and the people who put on the event did a great job! This will be a memorable experience for me despite the slightly disappointing outcome. Though I didn’t walk away with a trophy (far from it as a matter of fact) I did come out with knowledge, experience, new training goals, and some fantastic memories!

D>S>P

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MT. RAINIER DUATHLON

Today was the day of the biggest event of the season to date for me and also the first time I would be competing on a bike. The nerves were showing from the moment I woke up this morning, but I was able to pull it together and once we were off and running I was feeling great! Many thanks go out to John Warner for being there as my support and official photographer. Just having him there really helped to settle me and give me confidence, I can’t thank you enough John! Also, you can expect to see some awesome shots of the day posted soon thanks to him.  Check out his web site Drifting Lotus for some mind-blowing photos he’s taken on his many adventures around the globe. If you need a photographer for any occasion, especially those action sports related look no further than this guy! Here is a quick explanation of the event, then how it went down for me.

The long course for the event consisted of a 8K run, followed by a 46K bike (approximately 23K loop done twice), and ending with a 6K run (same course as the 8K just abbreviated). The course was set-up out of the Enumclaw Expo Center where the main transition area was positioned.

Enumclaw Expo Center

I arrived the evening before the event and stayed in a hotel on the event site. After eating a good dinner I got to bed early with plans on awaking several hours before the race. Personally, I am not one to roll right out of bed and head right for the starting line (or anywhere else for that matter). Morning is my favorite time of the day and when I am at my most creative/productive and I am usually able to accomplish a lot before most people are even thinking about awaking. Anyhow I got up and had my ritual coffee and morning “half” breakfast, did some blogging, shaved, showered, and mentally got ready to hit this duathlon with everything I had.

When 7:15am rolled around (45 minutes before race start) I headed over to the transition area to set up my gear and do a quick warm-up. For future reference, I am going to get to the transition area earlier as it was already filling up and I barely had time and space to set up my biking gear, hydration, and get a quick warm-up in before they were calling us to the starting line.

The race started promptly at 8:00am and I was near the front when they counted down from ten and gave us the go signal. My goal pace for the first 8K was 7:30/M overall. I figured I’d start out a little faster than 7:30/M and end a little bit slower. Fortunately, I was wearing my Suunto Ambit GPS watch so I was able to keep tabs on my pace and stay as close as I could to my goal. The course was more or less flat until some nasty hills between miles four and five. I pushed through it though and entered T1 in 37:41.

In T1 I quickly got my bearings, put on my helmet, changed shoes, chugged some Progenex Force I had pre-made, grabbed my bike and was off. My total time in T1 was around 1:30 and I’m not sure if I could have been any faster.

One of the beautiful farms I ran and biked past in Enumclaw during the race!

The bike was a 23K loop done twice that snaked up, down, and through Enumclaw. The first 24:00 or so were relatively flat and I cruised right through feeling great. Then, I met the ascent and for the next 15:00-20:00 I battled with every pedal stroke going up that mountain. Everytime I thought it was over, I’d round a corner and be staring at another wall. It was pretty disheartening at the time considering I knew I had to do it all over again. Also, as a little added slap from Mother Nature a nice cold rain started to fall as I began this brute of an ascent and continued on and off for the rest of the race. The descent was another animal altogether. In my 29 years of existence I do not think I’ve ever gone that fast on a bicycle. I had to come out of the aero bars and hold on for dear life as I flew down a rain soaked highway dodging other competitors as I passed (and was passed) by them. Not to mention hoping the entire time not to be run over by the traffic whizzing by at 50+mph. I finished the first loop in 44:00 and continued onto the second which seemed slightly less difficult, but took about 5:00 longer than the first.

Coming into T2 I was feeling mentally strong and ready to give the second run, and final leg, all that I had left. I got off the bike a little slower than I would have liked as my muscles were not used to that extended exertion on a bike yet. This was my first indication that the final run was probably not going to be an easy one. In T2 I racked my bike, took off the helmet and threw on a hat, switched shoes, grabbed a Stinger honey-gel pack and took off. Well, at least I tried to take off. Even though mentally and aerobically I was feeling strong and willing my muscles had other plans and all I could muster going out of T2 was a shuffling run that was considerably slower than I had hoped it would be. In my mind, I was thinking that this fatigue would wear off as I kept going, but no such luck. In all my years of training I’ve never had a muscular breakdown that bad, yet been so clear mentally at the same time. As you can guess this was frustrating to say the least. The mind was willing, the body unable. I finished that last 6K in 34:00 on two minutes faster than I ran 8K just a couple hours earlier. Disappointing, but crossing that finish line was a fantastic feeling!

Looking forward to getting back to training and competing in the next event!

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TODAY’S CF ENDURANCE WOD

For those of you not competing today, get on this WOD!

Wisdom of Da Vinci and Race Prep

DAILY MOTIVATION

“It had long since come to my attention that people of accomplishment rarely sat back and let things happen to them. They went out and happened to things.”― Leonardo da Vinci

American Meb Keflezighi, winner of the 2014 Boston Marathon with a time of 2:08:37. To say this man made things happen is an understatement!

As you noticed if you’ve read this far today’s quote is by Leonardo da Vinci, one of the greatest minds to ever be present on this earth. When Leonardo speaks you listen and abide. Where would we be today without the beautiful minds of Da Vinci and others who helped change and shape the world as we know it?

You need to be the one to initiate the events in your life. You are your own catalyst. You need to happen to the world and not allow it to happen to you. By doing this and living in the present moment you will see that everything that happens to you, positive or negative, was most likely caused by something you did upstream from the event. I’m not talking about this in terms of karma (though it could play a role) or the more western world phrase “What goes around, comes around.” Rather, I am being more literal in my meaning. When you view an outcome of an event that has happened to you there was probably something you did to influence or cause it. That is why we need to be conscious of everything that we do or don’t do. Everything has a consequence.

Do not sit idly allowing the world to pass you by. Act! Make good things happen for yourself and others. Make this world a better place to live now and in the future. Change the world, don’t let it change you.

D>S>P

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CROSSFIT ENDURANCE WOD

MORNING SESSION

Warm-up: 25 jumping jacks x 3, 10 leg swings left/right, 10 bent over hamstring stretches, 10 ankle rotations.

In preparation for the Mt. Rainier Duathlon, I’m going to take it relatively easy to keep my muscles loose. To simulate the race tomorrow I’m going to run a shortened version of it, basically doing a quick run, immediately into a bike, followed up by another quick run. One of the best ways to prepare for an event is to simulate it as closely as possible. Also, I’ve never really transitioned from biking to running before, so I want to get a feel for what thats going to be like.

Running/Biking/Running: Ran 3.18M in 23:57, biked 5 miles, ran 1 mile.

Core: Double tabata of leg flat sit-ups and flutter kicks. 5 rounds total.

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AFTERNOON SESSION

REST, RECOVERY, MOBILITY, and MENTAL PREPARATION FOR TOMORROW!

The Beast that is Mastodon Friday

DAILY MOTIVATION: MASTODON!

The boys of Mastodon in their tattooed glory!

Going to give you some great music to get motivated today! One of my favorite bands of all time Mastodon will kick off this Beast Friday with two of their best “Black Tongue” and “Curl of the Burl”! Also, I decided to give you the live version of the songs below (from some British talk show, but the quality is great!) as I am going to see them Monday night in Seattle! Stoked to say the least!! You can expect a full write up of the concert too! Hope you enjoy these guys and their music as much as I do!

As a bonus I decided to add the music video to “Black Tongue”. You may be a bit confused, but watch until the end!

 

D>S>P

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CROSSFIT ENDURANCE WOD

MORNING SESSION

Warm-up: Stretching with PVC, 500m row, 3 ring dips x 3, 5 KB swings @ 35lbs x 3, 10 A/S x 3.

Strength: DE jerk 12 x 1 every :60s @ 75% 1RM.

• Completed @ 125lbs.

Conditioning WOD: 5 Rounds for time of – 5 OH squats @ 135lbs, 10 box jumps, 15 sit-ups. *Scaled OH squats to 115lbs for the first set, then dropped to 105 for the remaining 4. Also used a 20″ box and did butterfly sit-ups.

• Time: 9:26

AFTERNOON SESSION

REST, RECOVERY, and MOBILITY!

Organic Food and Snatches = Strength

DAILY MOTIVATION

Organize and structure your life to where every decision you make is a conscious one. Then ask yourself “Is doing ______ going to make me better.” If the answer is “yes” then do it, if the answer is “no” then don’t.

A simple yet extraordinarily effective way to live and develop. Discpline yourself to do this!

D>S>P

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DAILY FEATURE: : To Buy Organic, or Not to Buy Organic

In a perfect world everyone of us would buy all of our food (and personal hygiene products) 100% natural and organic. Unfortunately, we don’t live in that perfect world. Well… in reality I’m glad the world is not perfect, but in this particular aspect of life I wish it were, but that’s neither here nor there. Back to the subject at hand.

For whatever reason, it isn’t realistic for the majority of the population to buy everything organic. Mostly because the price tag on organic food is typically much steeper than that on non-organic products. In addition, the availability of organic food and products is not always the greatest. Most grocery stores nowadays offer at least some organic meat and produce, but unless you live in a fairly affluent area (and are fairly affluent yourself) a full compliment of organic products is mostly unavailable.

Still, there are those of us with limited budgets and limited access to organic products that still want to enjoy the nutritional and health benefits associated with consuming these products. What are we to do? To solution is to prioritize the products you buy organic. And what are those items we should buy organic EVERY time we purchase them? The people over at Pure Pharma were kind enough to write an article and compile a list of the top 9 food items you should always buy organic. Check out the article to learn more.

Pure Pharma “9 Foods You Should Always Buy Organic” by Joanna Guy

So, hopefully you read the article and will be more prepared to get the most organic bang for your buck the next time you are at the grocery store. But in the article they refer to the infamous “Dirty Dozen” which you may or may not be familiar with. Fortunately, I am familiar with the so-called “Dirty Dozen” and will share with you what exactly Pure Pharma is talking about. The “Dirty Dozen” are a common list of produce that contain the highest amounts of pesticides and herbicides when conventionally grown. As such these items should always be bought organically in addition to those on the Pure Pharma list. So here they are in no particular order taken from a list on Dr. Weil’s web site called “The Dirty Dozen Plus” : apples, celery, bell peppers, peaches, strawberries, nectarines, grapes, spinach lettuce, cucumber, blueberries, potatoes, green beans, dark leafy greens (kale and collards), tomatoes, hot peppers, and summer squash.

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CROSSFIT ENDURANCE WOD

MORNING SESSION

Warm-up: Stretching with PVC, 500m row, ring dips 4-3-3, 5 KB swings @ 25lbs x 3, 5 OH A/S with 3 sec hold x 3.

Strength

Conditioning WOD: Randy 75 power snatches for time @75lbs

• Time: 7:57

AFTERNOON SESSION

REST and RECOVERY!

Rough Waters Ahead, Learn to Swim

DAILY MOTIVATION

“There are many rivers that we cross in our lifetime, unfortunately some of those rivers just don’t have bridges.” ― John R. Gouin

Lochsa River in Idaho, beautiful but knd of frightening.

Not every journey we take will be a smooth leisurely one. In fact, those journeys that take you to the most worthwhile destinations are often the roughest and most difficult. They will require planning, effort, and most importantly perserverance.

So let’s say you are on your figurative journey through the wilderness (the wilderness here being whatever venture you are embarking on whether it be in your training or another aspect of your life requiring commitment). Things are going well, you are on the correct heading and making good time. You’ve experienced some difficulties, but nothing that has challenged you enough to remove you from your comfort zone. Thus far you have had the ability and motivation to deal with all the obstacles that have presented themselves. Now however, you come across a raging river in your path. This river stretches on for miles and miles in both directions leaving no feasible way to circumnavigate it. What’s more there appears to be no bridge across this river and the water is rough, cold, and deep. It is at this point where you will most likely you experience discouragement. This will prompt you to question your commitment, and if you are honest with yourself the thought of quitting and turning back has crosses. We all know quitting is always an option and quite an easy and attractive one to take at that. Sure you can turn back along the path you’ve been travelling, but this will only take you back to where you’ve been. That place is known as your comfort zone where you feel safe and perhaps happy in a temporary sense. But will you be content and satisfied with this familiar position? There will always be those hard chargers who make hasty and brash statements like “quitting is never an option to me, the thought never crossed my mind.” These individuals are either delusional or lying. The thought of quitting, of giving up is always present. That being said though, its mere presence does not mean that it is something that has to be acted upon. Believing that quitting is not option is not a display of strength and perseverance. The realization that quitting is an option, but having the resolve to push through the difficulties, to adapt and find a way through and continue pushing forward is the true strength.

One final note about our theoretical journey through the wilderness. Do not overlook the journey itself with too narrow a focus on the end goal. A fantastic quote by Robert Pirsig, author of “Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance” goes:“To live for some future goal is shallow. It is the sides of the mountain that sustain life, not the top.” The path to your goal is where you are going to deal with the struggles that make you stronger, it is where you will create memories and will give you stories to tell, and most importantly where you will show your true grit and resolve. Anyone can stand at the mountain peak and thrust their arms in the air victoriously. However, there are only a few, and they are certainly a rare breed, that can actually climb that mountain crossing those rivers along the way.

D>S>P

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DAILY FEATURE: Another Strike Against Gluten?

In case you needed another reason to cut gluten entirely out of your diet check out this article. This is an interesting study done on the effects of gluten on feelings of depression (even in non-celiac disease affected subjects). Thanks to 3Fu3l for finding the study and posting. Just another reason to avoid this nasty stuff!

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CROSSFIT ENDURANCE WOD

MORNING SESSION

Warm-up: 500m row, 3 ring dips x 3, 8 KB swings @ 25lbs x 3, 10 A/S x 3.

Strength: Front squats 7-7-7-7-7 increasing load with each set

 AFTERNOON SESSION

REST, RECOVERY, and MOBILITY!

Strong Lungs, Strong Lifts

DAILY MOTIVATION

Have you heard of the book “What I Talk About When I Talk About Running”? Well this quote encapsulates “What I Talk About When I Talk About DISCIPLINE”!

D>S>P

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DAILY FEATURE: Foods to Eat for Lung Health

Food is not something that one normally associates with maintaining healthy lungs. Usually, we all think about increasing our cardio-respiratory capacity or living in an area with low air pollution. Even though these are things that will improve lung health there is also certain types of foods to eat that improve lung function and fight off diseases that can affect the lungs. Check out this article posted by Sun Warrior Raw Vegan Super Foods and Supplements on the Top 14 Foods for Lung Health. It contains not only the list, but how each food specifically benefits your lungs. If you are having some breathing issues or just want to maintain or improve you lung functionality consider adding some of these to your regular diet.

After all, what Cross Fit or endurance athlete doesn’t want stronger lungs!

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CROSSFIT ENDURANCE WOD

MORNING SESSION

Warm-up: 500m row, 3 ring dips x 3, 8 KB swings @ 25lbs x 3, 10 A/S x 3.

Strength: ME dead lift

• Completed @ 115lbs.

Conditioning WOD: 1/2 Cindy

• Completed 9 full rounds + 5 pull-ups, 10 push-ups, and 3 A/S for a total of 288 reps.

AFTERNOON SESSION

Warm-up: 500m row, 50yd free, 100yd free, 150 yd kick.

Swimming: Repeat 500m resting 3:00 until form/pace dissipates

• Completed 2 iterations with times of 10:56 and 11:36 (I think I swam an extra lap on the second iteration. I’d like to think I wasn’t moving that slow…)

Don’t Wait, Act Boldly

DAILY MOTIVATION

“To change one’s life: 1. Start immediately, 2. Do it flamboyantly, 3. No exceptions.” ― William James

Whether you want to completely change your life or simply improve upon the life you have, there is no time like the present! Hesitation is the first step down the dark road leading to procrastination. As we all know, procrastination is a disease that eats away at our psyche making it more and more difficult to become motivated to complete tasks. We get stuck in a terrible cycle of putting things off because we are not looking forward to doing them and feeling more and more pressure as the dreaded dead line looms. My advice? Avoid procrastination and this downward spiral at all costs, especially if what you’re intending to do is an important and major life changing endeavor. If you want to make a change to your life it should begin immediately and be done with full commitment, delays and half measures will not do. Jump in with both feet!

When you want to make a change you need to focus in on the motivation behind it. What is the catalyst for this change? Self-induced or brought on by an outside source? (One warning that I’ll throw in here is to be cautious making life changes based on inputs and motivations from outside sources. These changes should be your decision alone!) The key concept being this is a change you WANT to make. This is something that you desire on a deep enough level that you are willing to change your entire life around to achieve it. So why would you want to delay it…AT ALL!? Develop your plan and begin immediately.

The second aspect to these changes is that of full immersion. If you aren’t willing to change/do everything necessary to achieve your goals there is no point in even starting. By full immersion I mean using all resources at your disposal and doing everything in your power to make this change happen. Discipline yourself to make it your priority in life. Let it become part of everything that you do. It is something that you should be constant surrounded by physically and mentally. It is your new life!

D>S>P

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DAILY FEATURE: Finding Your Biking Weakness and How to Train It

Here is a short but information packed article by Training Peaks on how to increase your power on the bike by identifying and training your weak areas.

One point from the article that I’d like to highlight is how important it is to know your event’s route ahead of time. This will serve two huge purposes: one it allows you to be prepared physically and mentally on race do and not have any surprises on the course and two it dictates your training program as far as what to focus on to put yourself in the best position for success.

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TODAY’S CF ENDURANCE WOD

*Training from Sunday, April 20*

MORNING SESSION

Warm-up: 25 jumping jacks x 3, 10 leg swings front/back, 10 bent over hamstring stretch, 10 ankle rotations left/right.

CF Endurance 6-Week Running Drill Program Week 4 Day 2

• Drills – Carioca 3 x 10 both directions, exaggerated lunge 3 x 10 each leg, wall drill 3 x 20 each leg.
• 1x through of: 4 x 1:30s @100 cadence, 1 drill of choice, 6:00 @ 94 cadence.

Biking: Directly from running drills to 20:00 at 90% TT pace

• Completed 5.46M

Core: Double tabata set of flat leg sit-ups and flutter kicks. Total time of 5:00.

 AFTERNOON SESSION

REST, RECOVERY, AND MOBILITY!

The Floating-Beast Friday

DAILY MOTIVATION

This is one of a three part poem entitled “The Beast With Us All” by James Clerk. You can read the full three parts here. Enjoy!

Awesome painting by Don Ed Hardy!

It stares at me, breathing heavy

Blood red eyes holding fast

Breath so cold, a shiver

Blackest fir of the night

—

It stands up straight, calls my name

Snapping to attention do I fall

A smiling laugh, perched for flight

“Go now fool. Run”

—

My legs begin to ache

The beast’s game is on

The hunter becomes the hunted

In this flight for life till dawn

—

I turn around just long enough to see

Rushing rapids try to drown the soul

He catches up, throw my life

Separate it, may I stay

—

Thrust to the ground a weight

I say nothing, accept my fate

He bares his teeth, open, close

Myself damned with the dead

—

I wake with a start

My reality nothing more then a dream

Cast the cover away, glancing past, a gasp

For the realization the monster is me

Made the decision to throw in a little poetry for your motivation on Beast Friday! Cool poem until you get to the last line, then its plain awesome! Gave me goosebumps. Go hit this training session hard! 

 D>S>P

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DAILY FEATURE: Float Seattle

Today, I had the opportunity to experience something new and truly amazing! After a tough morning workout I headed up to Seattle for an appointment at Float Seattle for an hour long floating session. So what exactly is a floating session? Check out Float Seattle’s web site for a better description, but I’ll provide my thoughts on the concept and experience here!

Not really knowing what to expect, but with great anticipation I arrived at Float Seattle this morning and was greeted by Alex, an extremely friendly, knowledgeable, and helpful staff member. This being my first float experience he explained the process to me and gave me a brief idea of what to expect. He took me back to a quiet room containing the float tank itself and a shower. Alex said I should put in ear plugs, shower, then enter the float tank and just let my mind go where it wants to. The feeling and mind state that you experience was supposed to be something near the semi-conscious state we’ve all experienced before fasting asleep. Where our thoughts begin to wonder on their own and begin to take dream-like shape, though we still have present awareness enough to know we are not fully unconscious. And that is exactly what I experienced for an hour!

The tank itself is fully enclosed and almost completely dark. It has 10 inches of water heated to the temperature of your skin with the air above heated to approximately the same temperature. The water contains over 1000lbs of epsom salts allowing you to float on the top with no effort at all. The full effect of floating effortlessly in water heated to your skin temperature and the air above at the same creates the feeling of being totally weightless. You almost feel like there is no water at all and you are just floating in your own piece of outer space. This was a truly relaxing experience that let my mind wander to new places. A one-of-a-kind experience that I am looking forward to doing at a minimum several times a month!

You owe it to yourself to try it at least once!

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CROSSFIT ENDURANCE WOD

MORNING SESSION

Warm-up: 25 jumping jacks x 3, 5 dips x 3, 5 KB swings @ 25lbs x 3, 10 A/S x 3.

Strength: DE power clean 10 x 2 every :60s @ 70% 1RM.

• Completed @ 115lbs.

Conditioning WOD: 300 KB swings @ 53lbs. *Scaled the weight down to 40lbs for 183 reps then down again to 35lbs for the remainder.

• Time: 19:09

AFTERNOON SESSION

REST, RECOVERY, and MOBILITY!

Double Cardio Thursday

DAILY MOTIVATION

“Talent is a wonderful thing, but it won’t carry a quitter. ”
― Stephen King

Neither is flopping on the ground after your WOD.

Stephen King dropping some bombs of truth on you this morning! As a coach I can work with beginners, I can work with weakness, I can work with failure, and I can work with struggle and plateaus. What I can’t work with is a quitter. There’s very little that can be done for a person lacking motivation and drive. They need to find that on their own, its a personal journey one must undertake. Once they do however, a whole new world of possibilities awaits!

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TODAY’S CF ENDURANCE WOD

*This was my training session from Thursday, April 17.

MORNING SESSION

Warm-up: 25 jumping jacks x 3, leg swings front/back, bent over hamstring stretch, ankle rotations, 15:00 easy spin.

Biking: 400m intervals resting :60s until form/pace dissipates.

 AFTERNOON SESSION

Warm-up: 500m row, 50yd free, 100yd free, 150 yd free, 150yd kicking with trainer fins x 2.

Swimming: 25yd intervals resting :60s until form/pace dissipates

• Completed 10 iterations with times ranging from :23s to 25s.

Minimalist Shoes Vindicated!

DAILY MOTIVATION

“The inner fire is the most important thing mankind possesses.”

D>S>P

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DAILY FEATURE: Minimalist Shoe Running (How Us Paleolithics Do It)!

Finally, some good evidence to back up the minimalist running shoe claims. Check out the post from Dr. Nick’s Running Blog!

Being a proponent of minimalist running shoes and a forefoot strike for several years now I have seen first hand the physical benefits of both. My arches went from almost non-existent to borderline “extremely” high. In fact my foot actually shrunk half a size! The muscles in my foot and lower legs have also increased dramatically. All of this while improving overall running form and efficiency. No, I cannot give minimalist shoes all of the credit. A lot of it has to do with changes in running form and technique, especially the forefoot strike. However, more of a forefoot strike can be facilitated by running in minimalist zero drop shoes. So, bottom line is read the article, you know my opinion, then go out and try it for yourself. I think if you stick with it you will be pleasantly surprised and greatly improve your running overall!

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CROSSFIT ENDURANCE WOD

MORNING SESSION

Warm-up: Stretching with PVC, 500m row, 5 HRPU x 3, 8 KB swings @ 25lbs x 3, 5 A/S with 3 sec hold x 3

Strength: DE box squat 10 x 2 every :45s @ 70% 1 RM.

• Completed with a load of 160lbs.

Conditioning WOD: 21 strict press @ 95lbs, 400m run, 21 push press @ 95lbs, 400m run, 21 push jerk @ 95lbs.

• Time: 12:27

AFTERNOON SESSION

REST, RECOVERY, and MOBILITY

Went to check out a box where I may be coaching in Seattle last night called ACP Crossfit. Check it out! Really cool box with a great coaching staff and athletic clientele. Stoked about the possibility of coaching here!