Falling In Place

Do you ever have those days when it seems like nothing can go right? Well, for me it seemed as though that day where nothing could go right had been 2 months long. I felt as though I was not staying on top of things at work and it just snow balled from there. Falling behind at work lead into not having the motivation to train. All I really wanted to do was nothing. This created a problem though because I had numbers to meet, reports to file, and not to mention a marathon to train for. I can officially say I was in a funk.

This funk was effecting everything from my sleep, to my diet, to my mood. It was not good. I knew that this week was going to be important for me to get my taper runs in before the St. Jude's Memphis Marathon on Saturday. I made myself get out after work and get the short mileage in. I made myself eat good food this week. All of this was done with the mindset of feeling good at the marathon. Little did I know that concentrating on what I was actually doing day in and day out would make everything fall into place. I feel like those 30 minutes or so running at the end of the day allowed me to just relax.

It seems as though when I really paid attention to my training things were getting better for me. It first hit me when I was at a team luncheon on Tuesday. I had been feeling down about work because of a few things that happened that were out of my control. While at the luncheon my new boss commented that I am the only account manager in the country that is above goal and actually $50K ahead of last years numbers with a specific nationwide account. It is not that I need praise or like the spotlight but it is nice to have positive reinforcement every now and then from your boss. It was that little pick me up that I needed.

Since the positive luncheon I have been feeling better about everything. I know that I have not put the time into marathon training the way that I needed to but really it is not about time. Its just about running the race. If I feel good then great, if I feel crappy then the oh well in the end I can still say I ran a marathon and felt crappy.

It kind of amazes me that one comment can change my whole outlook on things. The more I started thinking about it when I concentrated on my training and diet, everything else that I had been worrying about seemed to fall into place. I am not sure if it is all related but I find it hard to not make the connection when I tried for weeks to claw myself out of a hole and failed. Now I am filling the hole in hopes of not falling back into it.

-Be safe, wear a helmet!

P.S. be safe, wear a helmet came one day while I was running on Katy Trail. Almost every person I had passed was riding without a helmet. I would see families riding and the kids would have one on but the parents would not. What is that teaching your kids? It really gets me when I am on crowded paths with dogs on leashes, rollerbladers, joggers with music, and who knows what else and people ride bikes with NO helmets. You cannot control what other people are going to do so why not take the chance? Just my $0.02. You won't catch me on two wheels without a bucket.

Its Been Awhile

It's been awhile since I posted last. Well who am I kidding it has been 2 years. A lot has changed in those 2 years. For starters I have a new job, lost 55 lbs, completed 3 half IM's, ran dozens of races, made new friends, joined new teams (go Big Shark), got more involved in St. Louis Tri Club, shaved my head (& legs but whose looking), and the list goes on and on. Oh yeah my wife Beth, would like to throw in there that she taught me how to swim. She no longer is embarrassed to go to the pool with me. I used to think that swimming 5oo yards in an hour was good. I would get so excited to tell her when she got done coaching that I swam 500 yards during her high school swim practice never realizing why she was laughing at me and had that smile like oh geez if he only knew. I now realize that swimming 500 yards in an hour is not really that good I would venture to say terrible. I have cut that time down to around 8 minutes or so. I just can't wait for the day that I actually beat my swim instructor. I know Beth is dreading that day (it's closer than she thinks though).

With all of the changes along the way I would not have been able to do it without the support of those around. There are way too many people to mention, but I have learned that importance of support. Support from Beth, my brother, friends, teammates, and really just anyone who screams "keep it up," "this is your last hill," or "one more mile." Those are the people that keep me going and get me involved in things I never thought possible a few years ago.

After a long ride with a new friend, Mattn, I have taken the plunge and signed up for a full Ironman, Ironman Coeur d' Alene (IMCDA). Really the fat guy that swam a 60 min 500 yard is now doing an Ironman. Who woulda thought that? Truth is I enjoy it. I enjoy the time and effort put into planning out the 8 months of my life in terms of training blocks. It makes those rest days every few weeks really enjoyable and the final race a day of celebration and not anguish.

With IMCDA in June of 2012 I had to find something that would keep me busy through the fall and winter. This is where I found two things, cyclocross and a marathon. One is going to be a lot more enjoyable than the other, but I will leave it up to you to decide which one that is.

Cyclocross has taught me that my bike handling skills are horrendous. I am very good at going in a straight line without drafting. Throw dirt, off camber hills, crowds of riders, and obstacles in the mix and I have a lot of work to do. Truthfully, cross has been one of the best things I have decided to do. The relaxed but intense atmosphere at each race has been awesome. Too bad the season is so short.

Next week should bring tons of adventure with my first full marathon St. Jude's Memphis. I am looking forward to racing and spending the weekend with my brother Brad and his wife Heather. Brad and I have been going through most of the triathlon adventure via phone and text with him living in Austin. The nice part is that we choose races that we can do together. The last race I saw them at was Rev 3 Cedar Point in September. I am however upset that Beth will not be racing as she has had some recent bad luck with allergies and a lack of time with her final two semesters of grad school.

I do love the taper week before races though and this is no exception with Thanksgiving thrown in there. How can you go wrong with a lack of exercise and extreme amounts of food?

-Be safe, wear a helmet!