Weekly activity log:
Swim: 3,600 yds (ytd 108,500 yds.)
Bike: 100 miles (ytd 2,760 mi.)
Run: 17 miles (ytd 534 mi.)
Bowl cleansing anyone?
Monday, June 18, 2012
Friday, June 15, 2012
Monday, June 04, 2012
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
Monday, May 21, 2012
Weekly activity log:
Swim: 6,300 yds (ytd 91,100 yds.)
Bike: 91 miles (ytd 2,404 mi.)
Run: 26 miles (ytd 470 mi.)
Perspective
I recently received the following from a close friend:
Day 29.
I had time for a short visit with Dad this morning so I grabbed a couple of coffees and stopped down
to see him.
He was finishing dressing and was waiting for the PT to come and work with him when I got there a
bit before 9 am. He had on a favorite broadcloth Oxford shirt, this one had a Labrador embroidered
above the pocket and khakis that he had gotten on a hunting trip with my brother and nephew a
few years back.
I walked down to PT with him and he rode a Star-Trac arm/leg ergometer for 10 minutes while the
PT, Dad and I talked of dogs we had all had in our lives. He had a brief rest and then he worked
on balance skills, which included walking backwards down the hall.
There were no t-shirts worn proclaiming "my warm-up was your workout" and there were no
fancy supplements consumed post-workout to make expensive urine.
Instead of giving him a participation award I will head back later to the hospital with some
carry-out BBQ ribs, slaw and a fresh fruit plate and have dinner with him and my brother.
And look ahead with them to tomorrow.
Perspective is good. Being involved in sports where words like epic, extreme, courage, warrior and fail are tossed around in every other sentence, it’s good to step back regularly and see what’s really important.
I started down this endurance road about the time my son was born 8 weeks premature. Up until that point I’d been fit, I’d raced and I’d done well, but I’d trained mostly for the fun, the friends, the party. Standing in the neo-natal intensive care unit, holding life and death in my hands gave me much-needed perspective and I vowed I was going to appreciate life, live it and be around for my son (and now also for my daughter) for a very long time.
I’ve had many moments like that, when I’ve realized what’s really epic, extreme, courageous and tough. What is a failure and what isn’t. When I make a list, it doesn’t include a finisher’s medal:
• Seeing my 18-year-old son fight through a botched surgery. He could’ve given up… he didn’t.
• Choosing to euthanize a dog… because it was the right choice. And then years later, making that choice again.
• Witnessing a teenager hold a needle to his vein… and opt not to push it.
• Skipping a race because my daughter needed me. Not an epic decision… a really, really easy one.
• Watching my father handle prostate cancer with dignity. I hope to do the same when my time comes… and it will come.
• Finding out over the weekend that a young co-worker decided to end his life… and succeeded with his decision.
Perspective.
Monday, May 14, 2012
Monday, May 07, 2012
Wednesday, May 02, 2012
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Weekly activity log:
Swim: 5,100 yds (ytd 69,800 yds.)
Bike: 127 miles (ytd 1,189 mi.)
Run: 0 miles (ytd 393 mi.)
Professionally, I work in marketing. Over the years, I've been directly involved in helping to raise billions of dollars for a very successful, global organization. Privately, I dabble in endurance sports, where over those same years, I've achieved a modicum of success.
Combine the two and I'm in an interesting spot. I see the marketing tactics of the various manufacturers in our sport and understand their methods. Some have honest ambitions and sincere intentions while others are simply looking for my/your money. They promise faster, stronger, fitter and healthier, knowing that our greed for bragging rights wins out over common sense. If a magazine or website advertises it, we must need it. If your buddy, or worse yet, your competition, races with it, you'd better do the same. While very few of us are out-n-out cheaters, most of us are always on the lookout for ways to cheat hard work.
Stop.
Don't be a sucker. Don't fall for slick marketing, empty promises, over-hyped hype.
Do you know why Dave Scott was fast? Because he worked harder than the rest of us. Tim DeBoom, same deal. Macca, him too. Chrissie, duh. They'd kick your tail riding any bike, in any shoe, downing any drink. They want it worse than you and are willing to pay the price for it… and that price isn't 'retail.'
Before you go begging your spouse for the next whatzit you saw on the roof rack at the club, ask yourself, "Is it really going to make me a better athlete?" Odds are, the answer is no. Don't believe me? Go to eBay or craigslist and search for bikes, frames, wheelsets, wetsuits, etc. You'll find plenty of "only used one season" from people who fall for the sales pitch year after year… after year.
Equipment won't put you on the podium, hard work will… really, REALLY hard work.
I've been around some of the world's best athletes. I've trained next to them. I've shared their lap lane, their draft line, their time at the track. They sacrifice, they show up early and stay late. I've never been willing to drop everything to be that good. They are willing and able. But one thing I've noticed… they rarely if ever talk about equipment - they're too busy working harder than the rest of us. They ride what they ride. They know a good bike is a good bike, a good shoe is a good shoe, goggles are goggles and a great work ethic is what counts. I once asked an Olympian friend what running shoe she wore. Her reply, "whatever's on sale at the outlet mall," and then she ran me into the ground.
But wait, you say, what about that quote from the superstar that you saw in the glossy magazine? Someone like me wrote it for them. Don't fall for that schtick. If you want to be faster, stronger, fitter, healthier, save your money and work harder than the person next to you.
Think you need a new bike? Convinced it will add 1, 2, 5 mph to your average speed? It may "feel" fast when you bring it home, but compare your times from this year to last and they're eerily the same. Instead, take the bike you own now and actually ride it more, work harder and train smarter, suffer with the big boys in your locale and see serious results. The best part, you'll start burying all those people who spent their off-seasons shopping for "faster" instead of truly paying for it.
Next time you're at the cash register, ask yourself, "what's it really going to get me?" If the only real answer is credit card debt, think twice. Sweat is free and pays huge dividends.
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
Photo: 11-mile run, 16-mile ride, 9:00 am, 50 degrees, Linn County, Iowa
Weekly activity log:
Swim: 5,100 yds (ytd 64,700 yds.)
Bike: 55 miles (ytd 1,062 mi.)
Run: 33 miles (ytd 393 mi.)
Thanks, fellas.
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
Monday, April 02, 2012
Monday, March 26, 2012
Photo: 2-hour gravel ride, 4:00 pm, 70 degrees, Linn County, Iowa
Weekly activity log:
Swim: 5,100 yds (ytd 51,300 yds.)
Bike: 72 miles (ytd 852 mi.)
Run: 30 miles (ytd 289 mi.)
Weekly activity log:
Swim: 5,100 yds (ytd 51,300 yds.)
Bike: 72 miles (ytd 852 mi.)
Run: 30 miles (ytd 289 mi.)
Marvin Cone would be proud.
Monday, March 19, 2012
Sunday, March 11, 2012
Monday, March 05, 2012
Monday, February 27, 2012
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Monday, February 13, 2012
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