Training Schedule, In Progress

    So I went out and got myself a large wall calender and a day planner to help solidify my training schedule for the next 7 months, the time remaining before my A Race, The Best in The West Half-Ironman. I have found my B and C races, added the Academy and drill nights, highlighted graduation day, and penciled in a few getaway weekends. Then I started counting back from The Race Day to see I have 31 weeks to get myself ready. In ascending order: Race Day, Race Week, Taper Week, Peak Week, 2 weeks of Race Specific Preparation, and two 3 week blocks of General Preparation aka Base Period. I have scheduled in a rest and recovery week every fourth week when my workout load will be greatly reduced. Now as I start getting more specific with my workout schedule I am feeling even more time strapped. There is so much I want/need to do to get myself ready, and yet life dictates that much of my day be spent on other endeavors. I was hoping that writing out a schedule would make me feel less stressed about lack of time, instead it is putting down in black and white just what an adventure this is going to be. I know that nothing truly worth having or doing comes without a price, and I willingly will pay the price in blood, sweat, and tears.
    I am only a few weeks into February with my specific schedule, and even so, I am sure that I will be cramming workouts in whenever the opportunity arises, scheduled or not. It does not help that I want to be incorporating some new, different training ideas into my weekly routine. My Spiderman Wall aka Traverse Wall, for example. And climbing rope. I think that right now, when my life is so busy and hectic, that it is best to keep forging ahead with my current training schedule, as it seems to be working well despite my serious lack of rest. I know I need to increase my running base, that is my number one priority between now and The Race. At the same time, I need to be mindful of my knees, feet, and ankles, and the osteoarthritis that lives there, pestering me, and waiting for an opportunity to launch a full-blown protest. I know I need to continue working on my overall fitness, strength, stamina, speed, and agility, just as I am doing currently. But I also know I will have to start adding more specific work before much longer.
    Why can't this be simpler? Why? Because I am not going to bonk this race. I will not feel like I am going to drown in the swim, burning precious energy. I will not exhaust myself on the bike trying to make up for time lost in the water. I will not have to walk the run because I have depleted my stores of strength and energy. I will Swim like a Selkie, Cycle like an Italian, and I will Run like Pheidippides. That is why this can't be simpler.

Need More Rest. Dammit.

    I never thought I would reach a point where my body feels as if I am over training. But that seems to be the best answer for how Body has felt lately. I am sure it is mostly lack of rest that is slowing my recovery and sapping my energy. 8 hours of sleep a night is a rarity these days, I am usually running on closer to 6. Not having my weekends free to catch up on sleep and rest is being more problematic than I had expected. I mean, shit, I am a strong, healthy female, I should be able to handle the physical stress like it was a walk in the park. Right? Right?! Apparently not. The more I research training schedules the more I stumble upon the sage advice that rest is a vital component to training. I guess I have just never before been living my life at such a frenetic pace that rest has become a commodity more precious than a Western Black Rhinoceros. My body is tired, and it hurts. I hurt from fingertips to toes, muscles, joints, even my bones ache. I have been told in the past that it is likely that I would be diagnosed with fibromyalgia if I were to go to my doctor and confess to all the pain, hyper-sensitivity, and weird-ass shit that plagues poor Body and Brain. But since I am inclined to disbelieve in fibromyalgia, and I wouldn't want to sound like a hypochondriac or whiner, my doctor will never know the whole truth. That being said, this last week I have been far more achy than usual, as well as sluggish, tired, and fuzzy brained. I wish I could sleep round the clock, just to feel like I have caught up a bit, but that will not happen. I don't have a day off for another 10 days, and then I am walking a half marathon, so it is not exactly a day of rest.
    Am I whining? Yeah, a little bit. The long and short of it is that I need to figure out how to incorporate a bit more sleep into my schedule. I am not sure how I can squeeze any more time out of my day, but I am beginning to think it is vital, not only to my training schedule, but to my quality of life. I need to get back on anti-inflammatory supplements as well, to try and knock back the joint and bone pain. Muscle fatigue is more manageable, I need to take one day of full rest every week, as much as I hate the idea. My diet is solid and healthy, chock-a-block full of whole grains, lean protein, and plenty of fruit and veggies. I know I am doing everything right, except the rest thing. Damn it, I don't have time to rest. I don't want to "take it easy." I want to keep charging through life at full speed, strong, healthy, vivacious, invincible. Rest? Sleep? I wish I could say earnestly that they are vastly over-rated, but I am learning the truth. Forcefully learning the truth about Body's need for rest. Damn it.

Death Sprints and Hypoxic Laps. Yeah, it's like that.

    Anyone who knows me will attest to my mildly (?) obsessive compulsive nature. I get very focused, to te point where I have difficulty prying Brain away from the current obsession. I have learned over the years to use this to my advantage. A current obsession is dialing in my training schedule and workouts. I know for fact that if I just continue on as I have in the past, doing hard workouts, but not expanding my range, or finding specific drills to improve my weaker areas. To this end, my OCD works to my benefit, I am an avid researcher. When I get focused on something, anything, I will research the hell out of it, reading everything I can get my hands on, finding the experts, picking out bits and pieces pertinent to me. I have found a great website: Active.com that has so many great articles on fitness, workouts, sport specific training, nutrition, race day tips, as well as an event calender. I spend copious amounts of my time there, perusing, gathering, gleaning, learning.
    With that being said, I am implementing a number of tweaks to my workouts to improve my fitness in very sport specific ways. Last night was swim night. I have been slowly adding drills to my regular swim. I know I can swim over 2 miles without stopping, so now I can focus on improving my ability to do open water swims without feeling like I am either going to sink to the bottom, or be grabbed by a tentacled monster, pulled into the weeds, and have my flesh sucked from my bones. Of course I know that it is imperative that I get into open water and swim, but before I do I am making sure that I am a strong, confident swimmer. Last night I added Hypoxic laps, and Death Sprints. Yeah, sounds freaking exciting, doesn't it?
    Hypoxic swimming teaches me to control my breathing. How? Instead of taking my standard breath every other right hand stroke, I increase the number of strokes between breaths. I focused on taking a breath every fifth or sixth right hand stroke, essentially tripling the number of strokes between breaths. Yes, I was swimming relaxed and easy, with long strokes. Funny thing, it is amazing how much smoother and more gracefully I can move through the water if I don't have to take a breath. I need to sprout gills. I did 3 sets of 5 laps of Hypoxic swimming. It felt great, and seemed to make my regular breathing all the better.
    Death Sprints are on the opposite end of the spectrum. I have incorporated sprints into my swims for a while now, usually spring 25 yards, race pace 75 yards, for 10 to 12 laps. With Death Sprints I swim as hard and fast as I can for as long as I am able. Last night that was 100 yards, or 2 full laps. This had me sucking wind a bit, and my shoulders felt the burn. My natural response is to want to either rest at the side of the pool, or roll onto my back for some easy backstroke and unrestricted breathing. Of course, that is not what I did. Instead, once the sprint was over, I returned to solid race pace and forced myself to regain control over my breathing. Yes, I felt a mild, rising panic as my lungs tried to convince me that we were not getting enough air, and we were going to drown. But Brain knew better. It was an interesting study in mind over matter. I did 3 sets of Death Sprints, and my ability to calmly recover while maintaining race pace improved with each set. This is a great lesson for me to learn. It is so easy in the washing machine effect of a triathlon swim start to feel rising panic and the inability to catch one's breath. Most who have ever entered a trathlon will attest to this. And in a sense, it does not get any better, at least in the sense that the swim start is chaotic, brutal, insane, and you are very likely to be kicked, bumped, swam over top of (yes, this has happened to me several times), and definitely splashed. It is utter chaos. So what I need to do is train my body to be less reactive to the chaos, to remain calm, control my breathing, and just swim. It is more difficult than it sounds.
    Death Sprints and Hypoxic Laps are a great way to train Body and Brain to understand that the adrenaline rush and chaos of the swim start is nothing to panic over, that it is all in a day's work, business as usual. Being able to stay relatively calm will save me vast amounts of energy and leave me in far better condition as I transition to the bike and run. I will keep adding specific drills to my workouts to refine my skills, build confidence, increase strength and stamina, and totally rock my race season.

Training Schedule

    I am finding an inordinate amount of my Brain space is being occupied by Training Schedule strategies. It is far more complex than on might wish. But I have vowed to myself that I will not take a haphazard or lackadaisical approach to preparing myself physically and mentally for an ass-kicking race. I want to kick ass, not have my ass kicked. There have been times in my past when I trained very hard for my sport only to fall flat when the main event came around (not racing, a previous sport). It was devastating on a very deep, psychological level. From what I know now about training, peaking, tapering, and nutrition I can see where I have made mistakes in the past. Last season I think my main failure, besides not quite enough training, was managing my race day nutrition, and that will be an ongoing experiment.
    I know that scheduling is not a precision, do or die endeavor. There is a lot of wiggle room to tweak as I go. With my A Race, and B Races on the calender I can begin moving in reverse to look at maximizing my Peak and Taper, and my over all training schedule. I am scheduling in several long runs during the racing season, trail half marathons, to give me running goals, targets, and situations in which I know I will push myself harder than in training. It is always easier to push myself when I am surrounded by lithe, lean, gazelle-like runners. These races will encourage me to add endurance, strength, and stamina to my running, which is undeniably my weakest discipline. Yes, open water swimming has been my nemesis, but that is mind over matter. I know I can swim 2 miles, but running half a marathon? Yikes. Having my A race in early September also gives me ample opportunity to practice open water swimming, so that the day of the race I will have no more difficulty than lap swimming at the pool.
    Brain is so full of all the information that it is currently jumbled and chaotic. I know it will all sort out in time. I am beginning to put it all down on paper. There is no real rush, I have a solid 7 months now to prepare Body, Mind, and Spirit. A few days early on to make a serious plan of attack will pay off tenfold on the day that I toe that start line, shivering in the cold morning, waiting the horn to signal the start of the swim. I am excited already.
   

My Ultimate "A" Race

    So many races it boggles the mind! I could race twice every weekend between now and December. Okay, that isn't totally true, there is an odd dearth of races in August. BUT I have found my half-Ironman: The Best In The West, September 7th, about 2 hours from home. I have been searching relentlessly. I was interested in the Pacific Crest Tri the last weekend of June, but it is at high elevation and I knew I would have trouble fitting in high elevation training to get acclimated beforehand. Then I looked at the Rev3 Half Rev in mid-July, but despite what all my schedule links say, I don't think it is happening this year. The Best In The West has the bonus of 2 more months to dial in my running, with ample opportunity to run some long distance events between now and then.
    With my ultimate A Race on the calender I can now start building my training and race schedules. This makes me more excited than you might imagine. The key to a successful A Race is to plan ahead, build and taper appropriately. I can schedule B and C races to hone skills, and build endurance and confidence. It will also allow me plenty of time for open water swims. I think my wetsuit will be a constant companion once the weather warms and I can find good water. I may even try a few ocean swims.... and then there is Scuba diving on the agenda, the ultimate open water swimming.
     I feel a shivering excitement, as well as a sense of relief. I feel as if a burden has been lifted, now that I know when and where I will be testing my mettle. There is also the reassurance that I will now have ample time to train so that I won't be going into this ill-prepared. That had been weighing heavily on my mind. With firefighter academy taking up so much of what little spare time I have, I knew I wouldn't be able to get into serious training until nearly May. And with winter weather, and the short winter days, training outside is very sketchy right now. Now I have the entire summer to swim, run and bike to my heart's content. I will have time do some longer trail runs as well as at least one half-marathon. I plan on doing several 5K and 10K races as training races, because I know I am far more likely to push myself in a race than I am on my own, it is human nature.
    Finally, let the scheduling commence! Training can begin in earnest. Shit's about to get real (again).

Life On The Run

    Too much to think about. Race schedule. Training schedule. My "A Race," the half-Ironman. My B and C Races gearing up to the A Race. Fitting in Trail Runs and Adventure Races for my own personal pleasure. Tonight I am buying several calenders and a Day Planner. Who could have, or would have thought that deciding to run a triathlon for fun would have led to 13 events last summer, and even more this year? And the need for a Day Planner fer chrissake! A Day Planner!! I have never felt the need for such precision scheduling in my entire life. All for sport. I guess that is far better than needing a day planner for something as banal and tedious as work. But Brain is absolutely reeling today with the immensity of trying to accomplish all that I dream of doing this year. Maybe that is why I am tweaking on my race and training schedule, it lets me pull my mind away from the bigger picture for a few moments. Away from the Grand Adventures that are fomenting. Scuba diving in Belize? Yes, please. Escaping the tedium of my soul sucking job, with the help and encouragement of my bosom buddy and compatriot? Most definitely. Graduation as a firefighter? Oh. hell yes. Glorious changes are in the wind. So potentially epic that it boggles the mind. I narrow my focus to a race schedule, something on paper to help map out my year, plan a few weekends of competition between weekends of adventure,to help me dial in Brain to a manageable level, instead of a rampant spaz attack. I will get a Day Planner. I will fill it with doodles, scribbles, and schedules. Life on the run.

A Mission Statement

   What is a Mission Statement? It is why we do what we do. It is the motivation behind arduous effort. It is the kick in the ass we need when we "just don't feel like it." The Idea of having a Mission Statement in black and white is new to me. I have always been a bit of a seat-of-the-pants kind of flyer. This is not to say that my workout regimen lacks focus. To the contrary, my workout schedule is like a religion to me, scheduled into life with obsessive regularity, and always pushing, pushing, pushing. But why? Why do I push myself? In the past I worked out mostly for the sake of remaining relatively fit, and to dodge the worst effects of depression and insomnia. A year ago all this changed with the idea that I was a runner, and could enter races. I took this up a significant notch when I decided I wanted to do triathlons. This narrowed my training focus a bit, or broadened it really, adding in cycling, swimming and running to my weight training, cardio, and pilates/yoga. Last year my goal was to compete in several triathlons without dying in the process. Oddly, this led me to entering other races, and finding a love of trail running. Yes, my training is focused, I am a hard taskmaster, I do not slack. I am self-motivated and driven. So why would I need a Mission Statement? Because I am moving up the food chain. I will increase my level of athleticism this year, finish higher up in the standings, race longer distances, push my limits. I need to refine my approach to the racing year. Especially if I am to survive a half-Ironman.
   A Mission Statement is to give a clear understanding of why you train and compete, whatever the reasons. So, here goes... how to create a Mission Statement.
Step One: Brainstorm. Make a list of words that pertain to the sport(s) of choice, in my case triathlon, trail running, adventure racing. The whys, hows, reasons. Why is this a passion worth all the time and energy? Fitness, fun, facing fears, beating back the hands of time, competition, strength, power, self-confidence, self-esteem, endurance, no excuses, pushing my limits, living life, spice, excitement, metamorphosis, athleticism, freedom, goals set and achieved, ignoring "can't" and "shouldn't," blowing away "age appropriate," adventurous, belief in myself.
    So many reasons. So many excellent reasons to continue on this path. But in reality they boil down to Belief in Self. Knowing I can set my sights high, reach for the stars, ignore conventional wisdom and rely on my own perseverance and stubbornness. The older I get, the more I realize just how short life is. We do not have time to waste on mediocrity, boredom, lassitude. I will live life the way it should be lived, not make excuses, reach for what I want, take it and make it mine. That is why I love to train. Train to live. Why I compete. To condense it from a mind blowing, all encompassing concept to a pat phrase? I don't know. Maybe, "If not now? When?"

Sleep

    To sleep, perchance to dream. To dream? There is no question that I dream, have dreams. Grand, glorious dreams that grow, multiply, consume, relieve the banality of day to day living. But to sleep? Not so much. As I search and research the ways and means to improve my physicality, fitness and performance I keep coming across the one aspect of my training that I am chronically lacking: Sleep. As I dial in nutrition, workout regimens, gear, mindset, the one vital aspect that I can't seem to factor into the equation is sleep. Did you know that professional endurance athletes sleep 9 to 11 hours a day? I am lucky to get 7 hours of broken sleep. True, I am not a professional athlete, training for half the day, but that does not mean I don't need the healing power of sleep. It is the off season, when I need to be building speed and strength, and allowing my body to rest and recover if I am to see any gains, and not burn myself out. But with my current schedule I am doing the equivalent of 2 endurance events nearly every weekend, as well as trying to keep my swimming and running on track. I workout in the evenings, after work, and am often still hard at it at 8:30 or later, eating dinner at 9:00, and trying to get to sleep before 11:00. Then I am awake at 6:15 to start it all again. In the past I have used my weekends to play catch-up on sleep, now my weekend alarm goes off at 6:30am, and I am pushing myself hard physically for about 7 hours, home at 5:30, trying to get in a run, eat a healthy, massive dinner, and then spend some time catching up on chores. I feel like the hamster in the wheel, running, running, running, getting nowhere fast, until I falter and am flung off the wheel into a pile of cedar shavings and hamster poo.
    Beyond the lack of measurable gains, too little sleep during training can result in severe burnout, chronic fatigue, and injury. Not to mention spaciness, grumpiness, and the overwhelming desire to fall asleep with my face on my keyboard at work. My most noticeable ill effect has been fatigue, bone deep fatigue. I have trouble mustering the energy to put in a grueling workout, and am not recovering as easily as usual. I am trying to rethink my standard plan of attack. I think I will have to tailor my weekday workouts based on just how exerting my weekend was. I kind of hate this, I like to plan further ahead than that. Maybe what I will do is design two alternate workout schedules, one for a recovery week after a hard session at the academy, the other a more standard workout after either an easy weekend or an off weekend. As if all this self-coaching wasn't complicated enough! But one thing I need to schedule in, as if it were any other workout, is sleep. I need to prioritize rest so that my body can properly recover, restore, build, increase,  improve. The healing power of sleep, not a myth.
   

Protein Vs Carbs

    Protein? Carbs? High protein, low carb. High protein, no carb. Complex carbs. Simple carbs.High glycemic. Low glycemic. Protein Vs Carbs. There is an avalanche of nutritional information on this ongoing debate. I have been wading through the quagmire, discarding fad diets, the latest and greatest testimonials, anecdotal evidence. I have narrowed my focus to look at empirical data, clinical studies, physiological evidence, the chemical reactions that occur within our bodies, the "you are what you eat" reality. Facts. Just the facts, ma'am. I thought I was pretty damned smart about nutrition. Oh how the mighty hath fallen.
    I have long held to the belief that I need high protein to build muscle, especially after a strength training session. The truth is, the human body can only process about 30 grams of protein at any given time, the rest is stored as... wait for it... Fat. The body does not burn protein for energy, except as a last resort. So anything beyond a couple of eggs, or a scoop of whey protein, or a 4 ounce steak, will likely get stored as fat. I was crushed by this. And it flies in the face of the current rage of all the high protein, low carb fads that have been making the rounds for a decade or more.
    On the flip side, and another fact that kinda blew my mind, the body requires carbohydrates to build muscle, restore spent energy, and to store in the muscles as glycogen, the chemical we burn for energy. Yes, carbs will get stored as fat if you consume too much, but the body has so many uses for complex carbs to keep all systems running smoothly. We need carbohydrates to produce serotonin, a natural mood elevator. We need to have glycogen stores in our muscles if we expect to physically perform at our peak, hence the "carb loading" of endurance athletes. I am not advocating wanton consumption of sweet, starchy foods, that will indeed overload the system and be stored as fat. The key is the proper consumption of complex carbohydrates such as yams, whole grains, fruit, potatoes. These are key ingredients to quick recovery, muscle building, and stamina. The fiber found in healthy carbs keeps the digestive system flowing smoothly. The natural, complex sugars found in healthy carbs also add to the feeling of satiation after eating.
    There is even a place for simple carbs and sugars in the diet of an endurance athlete. During an endurance event it is more than likely that glycogen stores will be consumed within an hour or two of exertion. The best way to keep fueling on the run, so to speak, is with easily utilized simple sugars like honey, cane syrup, or bananas.
   All the research I have been doing is explaining some of the difficulties I have had in the past, especially with the Portland Triathlon and the Firefighter's Stairclimb I did right after. I bonked. Plain and simple. I ran out of energy. I did not eat enough the night before, or the morning of the race. I should have fueled better before and during the race. True, it was a sprint, so not that long of a duration, but I let my body totally run out of juice. I will not do this again. I am armed with information and knowledge now, and feel that I have taken one more step towards a successful race season, and conquering the half-Ironman.

Pondering, As Usual

    You may have noticed that I spend a prolific amount of time pondering my workouts and ways of ever increasing my fitness level. I do this for a number of reasons. One, I just like researching anything that interests me, and fitness has long been a favorite subject. I think it is safe to say that I have studied fitness and nutrition my entire adult life. Two, I am always looking to change things up, knowing that a stagnant workout regimen gives very poor results. Three, there are so many experts now available with the click of a mouse that why wouldn't I take advantage of their expertise? I could go on an on, ad nauseam, but I will spare you my exuberance.
    The last few weeks I have been seeking new, better ways to train for my chosen exploits. I have lofty goals for 2013 The Year of Grand Adventures, including my first half-Ironman, Scuba diving, adventure racing, and let us not forget the physical requirements of being a firefighter. Yeah, I don't ask much of myself. To this end I am researching at a fevered pace, learning, refining, plotting, scheming, dreaming. I have a stack of documents on my nightstand on everything from increasing speed and stamina, to fueling for Ironman, to sport specific strength training and stretching, swimming and running drills, racing strategies, and brilliant ideas for self managing/coaching. So much to ponder, a flood of fantastic information, ideas galore, workout regimens, ways to plot and measure progress.
    Brain is firing at full speed, racing ahead, formulating a solid plan of attack. I have always worked out hard, and these days I am working even harder. I have always studied and tried to optimize my workouts, but I know I am inclined to fall into habitual workouts, it is part of my OCD nature. Some of the most valuable information I have gleaned so far has to do with the management and self coaching that I need. If I had a coach they would map out a training program for me with specific training phases geared towards my Big Race of the season, since I am my own coach I need to handle this vital aspect of training. I need a calender, a rough schedule, and a day/week planner. Yes, this sounds ridiculously obsessive, but it is a reality. And the more I plan ahead, the less time and energy will be wasted on junk miles and ponderously worthless workouts.
    The idea of the half-Ironman excites the hell out of me, and scares the shit out of me. I vacillate between knowing I can do it, and the gut wrenching fear that I am setting myself up for abject failure. 1.2 mile Swim, 52 mile Cycle, 13.5 mile Run. What the hell am I thinking? Oh yeah, that this is just one of many epic endeavors to make 2013 The Year of Grand Adventures. What is Life without Risk? Triumph without the possibility of Failure? Adventures are never the easy route, the sure thing, that is what makes them adventures and not a stroll through the park. So much to ponder, so much to absorb, so much to roll around in Brain while it fuses into a solid plan. Eyes are on the horizon while Brain plans, Body works, and Heart pounds. So much to Ponder.

Recovery?

    Burning the candle on both ends and the middle seems to have caught up with me. This last weekend I expended more energy than I would have doing back to back triathlons with a trail run and weight training thrown in for good measure. Yes, I had a good run saturday evening after hauling fire hose all day, and a good swim on monday that loosened and worked stiff shoulder and arm muscles. Last night though I felt as if I had hit the wall. I wanted to put some treadmill miles on my newly acquired Merrell Pace Gloves (thriftstore find, new for the shocking price of $12 for a total win!). It felt as if I could not get my muscles warmed up. I felt sluggish, leaden, slow. I did manage 3.5 miles of my 1 minute walk/slow jog, 1 minute sprint routine, but it was arduous. I told myself a number of times that I should just stop and switch to yoga or pilates, but I soldiered on. I finished with 40 minutes of leg work, which also felt like I was working a lot harder than normal. Today my muscles are pleasantly sore, so I know I did manage to get in a decent workout despite the fact that it felt like pulling teeth.
    Thinking it over, I realized that I should probably be taking a few Recovery days. Not only have I been tired, I am also ravenously hungry. I feel like a bottomless pit. Despite my desire to shovel anything and everything into my gaping maw I am staying steadfast with good nutrition, just a bit more of it than usual. I do not do Taper or Recovery very well, at all. I do not like taking downtime. But this has been an interesting lesson; work Body ridiculously hard and you have to let it have some rest if you want to continue performing at your best, and not risk injury and/or burnout. True, I do not plan on taking a week off and do nothing. I have drill tonight and we will be pulling hose again, I shall swim tomorrow, and strength train friday and saturday. But I will take it a bit easy, maybe spend more time stretching, walking, and being gentle with my body.
    Looking ahead I have 3 more months of Academy, meaning very little downtime. I have 6 months to train for my first half-Ironman, and need to get my running miles up to par. This does not give me much slack time for rest and recovery. I think that taking a few days off from running now will let me train with better energy next week. I will build my speed and stamina, I must, there is no getting past the fact that I have to build miles, build my base. A few days now will likely pay dividends later.

Sense of Achievement

    I am ass deep in an exciting new endeavor that has the ass-kicking potential of the toughest OCR out there. A new sport? A new workout regimen? No, Firefighter Academy. So far, none of the tasks are physically impossible, or even particularly brutal, when approached individually. It is the repetition, and duration that begins to wear. Lifting, unrolling and rolling. Lifting, unrolling and rolling a 50 foot section of hose over and over until the movements are burned into muscle memory. Properly pulling a Minuteman load; carry 100', drag 50', then shed the carried load flake by flake, uncoupling, and restoring the load. Over and over. Deploying 500' of heavy hose, shouldering and carrying 25' the entire distance is a great cardio workout.  For more fun, wrestling a charged hose. It is like wrestling an anaconda, keeping it pinned and controlled as it tries to push you around and escape. Crawling through a darkened building, up and over obstacles, staying in physical contact with your squad. And all of this in heavy turnouts and SCBA, about 60 pounds of gear, including heavy boots, for 7 to 8 hours. This is an amazing endurance workout. I have quickly adapted to the restricted movements and weight, and now can easily ignore my gear.
    I am proud of myself for having spent so much time preparing my body to withstand this adventure. I am holding my own with 20-something men, and am often called "the fittest person here." I am ending each day pleasantly tired, but not achingly so. I am recovering quickly with only mild muscle stiffness in the days after. I have enough energy to get in a run after I get home from academy. Tonight I will swim my usual 2 miles and drills, which will loosen my muscles wonderfully. Just 2 months and I will be signed off to go on calls. This week I will be fitted for a uniform. Only 3 months until graduation, followed by 8 more months as a probie before attaining my Firefighter One certification. This is a loftier goal than a race, an event, a tourney. It has added an urgency and importance to my physical fitness that no hobby could have ever managed. The sense of achievement is heady brew.

Step Out Of The Comfort Zone

    I love to swim. I know I may have mentioned that a time or two. I am regularly swimming 2+ miles several times a week, and feeling great. I may also have mentioned that I do not float very well, and my kick, politely described as "weak" is actually so pathetic that I actually move backwards when I use the kick board. This has led me to the use of a Pull Buoy held between my knees so that I can basically forget my lack of buoyancy and "weak" kick. It lets me swim using just my arms, keeps me streamlined, and prevents me from sinking to the bottom. The upside of this: my upper body strength and stamina are amazing, and I have been able to focus intensely on my stroke technique. The downside: you cannot swim a triathlon with a pull buoy. True, my wetsuit adds buoyancy, eliminating the fear of sinking to the bottom of the river, but it is mostly in the torso. I have been giving myself a ration of shit for being too damned dependent on the pull buoy, and its security blanket comfort. I needed to push myself out of my comfort zone. Yes, I was pushing myself by adding distance and drills, but not truly pushing myself mentally. It was time to leave the comfort zone.
    That all being said, last night as I stripped out of street clothes and slipped into my Speedo I decided that I was going to conquer my dependency even if it killed me. Gathering up the toys of the trade I thought through what I needed to do. Plain and simple: I need to be able to swim without drowning, or expending an unreasonable amount of energy just trying to keep my legs from pulling me into the deep. I slid into the water, and warmed up with a few laps of breast stroke and back stroke, neither of which make me feel like I am going to drown. Then I did a lap with the kick board, just to see if maybe I had magically developed the ability to move forward. No, I hadn't. My scissor kick is strong, and has been my default kick all my life. I practiced the flip kick used in Total Immersion Swimming, that was a tad better than my standard kick, but only a tad. I followed this with 5 laps using flippers, focusing on streamlining my body, and trying different arm and head positions to minimize drag. This was fun, flippers really work the ankles and calves.
    Now, the moment of truth: Crawl with no pull buoy. Yikes. Okay, I cheated a bit, doing the first 3 laps with the hand paddles, mostly because they force me to use good stroke technique. As for my kick? I did only enough to keep my legs from sinking, focusing on trying to remain streamlined and near the surface of the water. I was amazed, I did not drown, or even feel like I was going to die. Yes, I struggled a bit. Okay, more than a bit. But it felt okay, not panic inducing as it used to. Then the real test: No Toys whatsoever, just me, my Speedo, cap and goggles. I did 2 laps, then flipped over onto my back to ponder just how it all felt, and I was not unhappy with the results. It was a little slower because I was not as fluid, and had struggled to keep my form, but it wasn't too bad. Time for more. All in all, with drills and flippers included, I ended up swimming a full mile with no pull buoy, maybe 20 laps Crawl. I was damned pleased with myself, though I must say it was the toughest mile I have swam in quite a while, but it felt like a milestone for me.
    I finished with a mile with the pull buoy swimming about every 8th lap backstroke to loosen my shoulders, and bringing into use the opposing muscles muscles. Funny thing about this, it made me have the epiphany that the Crawl is now my favorite stroke, my Go To stroke. This was actually a stunning realization, as it was a major goal for me, something I have worked very hard to achieve. The last third of my second mile I tossed in 7 sets of sprints, just to spice up the workout. I was feeling the burn across my shoulders by the time I finished. It was fabulous.
   The bottom line? I had a fantastic swim. I pushed myself hard, made some great strides both physically and mentally, had the epiphany of a goal attained, and my body felt great after, tired but great. The best part is the sense of pride I feel for reaching a hard earned goal, and the pride of forcing myself out of my comfort zone with good results. Damn, it was a fantastic swim.

I Am Ready

    I am really beginning to see, acknowledge, and accept some of the changes that I have wrought within my own Body. The vehicle that transports Brain and Spirit has become stronger, longer, leaner, faster, lithe, nimble even. I feel it at odd moments. Not so much when I am working out, although I do notice how much more I am able to push myself, and how much easier some things have become. But I notice it most at banal moments like effortlessly running up a staircase two steps at a time, or sprinting across the street to beat traffic, or during the Food Drive when I was running from door to door easily and lightly. I notice it when I walk and my legs feel strong and supple, and my thighs don't rub. I notice it when I carry a load of firewood into the house. I notice it when I balance on one foot and lean out to reach a distant electrical outlet. It is my day to day existence that seems strong, supple, graceful. I know that I will continue to train hard, if for no other reason than the fact that it makes Body move through life with an ease I did not know was possible. This realization, this epiphany, has the feel of waking on a summer morning, hearing birdsong outside my bedroom window, knowing I have a beautiful day stretching before me with no agenda other than fun and adventure. I am ready for my adventures. 2013, bring it on.  

Swim and Gym

    Despite sore muscles and assorted bruises I opted to swim last night. It was exactly what my aching body needed to loosen up. I did not swim as hard as I am wont to do, instead focusing the first half of my swim on drills and technique. I swam some laps with flippers, letting my arms float relaxed at my sides, to strengthen feet, ankles and legs for later this year when I will get dive certified. Flippers put a lot of strain from the knees down, and I don't want to be caught unprepared when I finally get to Scuba dive. For the second half I decided to do an easy mile, letting Body relax and muscle move in rhythm. At one point, for about a half a length, I felt like I had hit the point of perfect technique, sliding through the water with perfect streamlining, no resistance, barely making a ripple. Of course as soon as I acknowledged what was happening, the moment was gone, and I spent the next ten laps trying to recapture that moment of perfection. Of course I couldn't because I was trying too hard. But it was a good swim, and I felt great in the water.  
    I do some of my best thinking when I am swimming. Body moves through the cool water while Brain is on fire. I am rolling around ideas for additional workout gear for my Gym, to work muscles that will come into play in firefighting, search and rescue, and even the occasional obstacle course race and adventure race. I just put together a 10' climbing rope with a 1000lb test rated clip spliced into one end so I can attach it to a ceiling mounted ring. I decided to add a mounted ring to the top of a wall so I can practice wall climbs. Both rope climb and wall climb will be great additions to my arm and back workouts.
    I also made a great 15lb medicine ball from a rubber basketball and unscented, clay cat litter. I cut a 2" hole in the ball and carefully filled the ball with cat litter. Then I placed a large patch to the inside of the ball skin with silicone and replaced the piece I had cut out. It makes a great add to the gear. This got me thinking, with 25lbs of cheap litter costing a mere $2.15, it is a great filler to add weight. I have a 4' section of the 3" ABS pipe that I was going to make into a shorter version of my big slosh tube, but the caps are $7 each. I have two non-sealing caps already, and they were only about $2 each. Being cheap... er, I mean budget minded, I have been trying to figure out how to utilize that pipe. Now, I am thinking if I fill it with cat litter it is likely to be as heavy or heavier than my 6' slosh tube, and although it won't give quite the same effect as the slosh tube, I think adding handles for exercises like a clean jerk or deadlift would work great. I am also going to get a bag-o-litter to put into a backpack for weighted workouts, simulating the weight of the SCBAs we have to wear as firefighters. Amazing the things that can be done with an innocuous bag of cheap, clay cat litter.
    Tallying up the gear I have (and use regularly) or will shortly have for my Gym: treadmill, bike rollers, slosh tubes, climbing rope, free weights, resistance bands, weight bench, traverse wall (to be built), weighted pack, box jump, 5# and 15# medicine balls, 15# kettlebell, Indian Clubs, mini-trampline. I also plan on putting monkey bars across the ceiling, once I figure out the mechanics of it (food for thought during tonight's swim). Most of this gear is in use almost daily, especially treadmill, weights, bands, and slosh tubes, but in my living room. My free time is so limited right now that the traverse wall may still be a few weeks out, but I have the plans firmly entrenched in my brain. My gym is going to be great fun once it is fully up and running.

Electrifying, Energizing, Invigorating, Amazing.

    Time to catch up a bit with my postings. It has been an amazingly busy few weeks, especially the last few days. I did keep up my training and nutrition throughout the holiday season and did not add any end of the year poundage. Yeah, I did have a few days of slightly reckless eating, but even so, I was careful to a degree. Granted, I did feel like I had a food hangover the day after Christmas, but I am pretty sure it was from wheat and processed sugars... but damn, it was delicious, and worth every bite.
    I pushed myself through a number of pretty brutal workouts during my long weekends away from the coal mine. I am running nearly every day. Not high miles, but between 2.5 and 4 miles, doing interval training (1 minute slow, 1 minute sprint). This style of speedplay seems to be a lot easier on my knees than slower speed/higher miles. After my run I do strength training, either legs/abs or upper body/core. Two hours per workout seems to be my standard these days. Swimming has been a bit spotty since the pool was closed between Christmas and New Year's, but this week I will be back at it, hoping to get in 3 swims to make up for lost time.
    This past weekend I started Firefighter Academy, it is going to wreak havoc on my training schedule to a degree, so I am having to wedge in a workout whenever I can. Friday I got in a 3.25 mile run before grabbing a protein bar and heading out the door for 3 hours of classroom and testing. Saturday we did some practical work in 60+ pounds of PPE (personal protective equipment which is protective clothing and breathing apparatus, aka Turnouts and SCBA). I was home by 5:30 so decided to get in a workout. I ran 3.5 miles and walked 1/2 a mile then did an hour of upper body and core with resistance bands, hand weights, kettlebell, and slosh tubes. I didn't push myself too hard because I knew sunday was going to be more physical, and I was not dissapointed. Sunday we spent most of the day doing practicals in full PPE. We started with 2 sessions of "Work Rate Testing," getting put through a series of physical tasks while on the SCBA to test how long the air cylinder will last each of us. The tasks included carrying two 40lb containers, the 125lb rope drag, climbing stairs, belly crawling through a tunnel, smashing a car with a sledge hammer, lifting ladders, and quick walks as recovery between tasks. I lasted about 25 minutes on each air tank, and felt great after the test. The afternoon was "Limited Visibility" practice. Exactly what it sounds like: belly crawling through a blacked out building, with our face masks covered, staying linked in a squad of 4, until our low air warnings started to ring. It was awesome. I admit, despite the bruises (and there are many) and the muscle strain, it was a great training exercise. The gear is heavy and somewhat restrictive, and you sweat bullets inside the insulated turnouts, but it was exciting, stimulating, and fun in a slightly masochistic way. I admit, my muscles are sore today despite the heavy training schedule I have been maintaining.
    Today I am debating if I should take a rest day. Part of Brains says, "Hell Yes!! Go soak in the hot tub!" But the other part of Brain is telling me, "A nice moderate swim would help loosen everything up." The debate rages on. Hot Tub? Swim? Hot Tub? Swim? I am sure the debate will go down to the wire. Knowing me, Swim will probably win out.
    So my New Year is starting with an epic weekend, and more great weekends to come as I work my way through the Academy over the next 3-1/2 months. True, there will not be much rest for me until after graduation, especially after I am released to go on calls in March. But this is one endeavor that gives my workouts far more verve and purpose. It is one thing to train for endurance events, it is another to train for a life changing pursuit. And I do train. I love to train. I love pushing myself, reaching previously unthinkable levels, feeling my body respond and grow ever stronger. I am feeling empowered beyond belief today, on all levels: physical, mental, emotional, personal. I am feeling a rising confidence and self esteem that is electrifying. I feel as if there is nothing I cannot do.

2013 To Do List

For those who wonder why I train hard, am disinclined to give myself a break, and am always searching and researching ways to improve myself, it is because my To Do List is mighty. I have posted this before, but am reposting, more for myself than for the benefit of others. My life is packed full of Grand Adventures just waiting to ignite. 2013 is The Year of Grand Adventures, and I have willing compadres to accompany me, support me, and enable me to do glorious things.
As I look ahead my 2013 To Do List is starting to fill in:
Attend and graduate Fire Fighter Academy
Get Passport, get stamp in Passport
Get SCUBA certified, dive in foreign Country
Learn Rappelling through the Fire District
Compete in Olympic Distance Triathlons
Complete a Half-Ironman
Run a Half Marathon
Do the Portland Tri and Firefighter's Stairclimb on the same day (again) and totally Kick Ass
Climb a Mountain (there are so many nearby to chose from)
Learn to Rock Climb
Flying Lessons
And of course continue to work on my awesome little house, which was a catalyst for so many changes, and for filling me with a solid sense of accomplishment.

** and of course, this list is just the beginning... as adventures present themselves I will surely tackle them.

"Rest When I'm Dead"

    I continued with my self-asskickings throughout the holidays, and happily survived without any weight gain, or even any food hangovers. This week is broken up a bit as I get myself ready to begin Firefighter Academy in just over 48 hours. I am nervous, excited, and more than a little terrified of this new venture. Shit's about to get real.
    My running is increasing bit by bit as I try to push myself harder every time. Last night was an exception. I worked hard all day trying to finally get my garage cleaned (i.e. finally finish unpacking everything from my move a year ago) so that I can set up a CrossFit style workout area, and when I finally hit the treadmill it was 8pm and I was tired. I opted for an hour long, strenuous leg workout instead of running any great distance. But December 30th I inflicted a serious self-asskicking: walked 1/2 mile, ran 2-1/2 miles, walked 1 mile; then brutal, muscle quiveringly awesome leg workout that had me flirting with nausea; finally 30 minutes of brutal ab work. It was my "normal" leg and ab routine with extra miles added. I was kind of making up for having to do an abbreviated workout the day before, as I was preparing for a houseful of company.
   New Year's Eve I started the day with a grand swim. I swam the first mile mostly crawl, but I added breast stroke and back stroke to work additional muscles. I also did several laps of drills like sculling and closed-fist swimming. Then I did a solid 20 minutes with the belt "cycling" hard in the water. The second mile I swam at a solid, distance race pace swim. I kept my strokes strong and long, focused on good form, and kept my stroke speed going at a good clip. The last five laps I pushed myself harder, for a strong finish. I was feeling the burn across my shoulders, and it felt great. I finished with another 20 minutes "cycling" with the belt.
    I look back at what I have accomplished in just under one year. Last New Year's I was at about the heaviest and unhappiest that I had been in over a decade. I stopped weighing myself after 230, and was a snug size 16 (leaning towards size 18). I am now staying steady at 162 to 165 and am comfortable in my size 10 Levi's. I was relatively healthy even at my heaviest, I worked out hard and walked my dogs daily, ate reasonably healthy, and was told I looked great. Now I still workout hard daily, but am running, swimming, cycling, strength training, and pushing myself further and faster all the time, and "hard" is a whole new level. I eat wholesome, healthy foods, very little refined sugar or simple carbs, lean proteins, and no candy or junk food. Now I say I look great. I can see the muscle definition in my arms and legs, my stomach is flat, and my ass is fabulous. But the most important accomplishments have been my races. I entered 13 races/competitons/events in 6 months: 3 Sprint Triathlons, a Firefighter Stairclimb, a 6 mile Obstacle Course Race, 4 trail runs of 5 or more miles each, 3 5ks and a 10k. I've logged countless miles in the pool, on the road, and on the treadmill. And will continue to log miles, lift weights, and push myself harder and harder.
    I look ahead to what 2013 holds in store. I have my list of Trail Runs printed out and highlighted, with my first race in May. I am eyeing a half-Ironman at the end of June, and the only reason I haven't registered yet is I have to save up my pennies for the entry fee. I plan on doing Olympic distance Triathlons this year as time and money allow. I will do the Portland Triathlon as a sprint, because it is the same day as the Firefighter Stairclimb, and once again I plan on doing both in one day, but this time I will kick ass in both. Also on the agenda is becoming SCUBA certified, with the hope of diving in at least one foreign country this year.
    With Firefighter Academy about to take up much of what little spare time I have, I am going to have to be a bit creative with my workouts for the next 4 months. I will run before work a few days a week, continue strength training as often as possible, and hit the pool twice a week. it will be brutal, but it is only for a few months. And as they say, "I can rest when I'm dead."