It was another good week of training. The weather this was warmer than the previous week and I felt good training all week.
Bike
I started off the week a little slow to recover from the previous with only two 15 miles rides. Both of these rides were commutes to masters swimming. On Wednesday & Thursday, I hit the hills a little more. The Wednesday ride was an out and back twice on Old Military Rd. The route has a few rolling hills. I hit about the same times on each 5 mile interval. On Thursday, the wind and the clouds returned. The wind was coming out of the south, so I decided to go down Sturgis Rd to climb Scenic Hill. This hill is a tough hill, there are few parts that over 20% gradient. This would also be the first time I've climbed it with my tri bike with a 53x39 crank and 11x25 on the back. I usually climb with my road bike which has a compact and 12x28. I was able to make the climb. Although, I was out of the saddle the whole time. I finished up the week with a ride down in Little Rock on Saturday from 2 Rivers Park to Kanis/Ferndale. I knew the route would be around 36 miles. The other reason I chose this route was I wanted close my heat map on Strava. I have now connected some more roads! On Sunday, I went out with a group here in Conway. We did the Tour de Loop and it was a pretty fast pace ride. My legs were feeling good throughout the ride, but the fatigue set in on the last 4 or 5 miles. A great week of riding!
Run
Running was a little slack this week. I was able to get 8 miles of running on 4 runs. The best run of the week was on Saturday after my ride. I did a 2 mile run and was able to increase the pace throughout. I finished with 2 miles @ 7:57 mile/min. All the other runs were uneventful.
Swim
Another good week of swim training was completed. The masters swim coach was out of town this week, but we had a choice of 4 workouts to do. I did a 2400m, 2000m, and finally a 1900m workout during the week. The 1900m was the last of the week and the fastest. The main set was 6 x 100 @ 4:00. It was an all out effort. I was happy to maintain around 1:27 for each one. I can feel the water better as the weeks have come and gone.
Totals
Week 2 totals
Ride - 169 miles - Long ride of 55 miles to Diamond Bluff!
Run - 10.96 miles
Swim - 3.98 miles
Week 3
Ride - 168.4 - Long ride of 46 Tour de Toad Loop Group
Run - 8 miles
Swim - 3.91 miles
Monday, March 31, 2014
Tuesday, March 25, 2014
2 Things I saw today
I saw this video and really liked it. Travel is one of my passions and this shows it.
Travel Is from The Perennial Plate on Vimeo.
I also found this list called 30 things to stop doing to yourself. Great list! I know I've been guilty of some of these things. I need to keep this list in mind as I explore new opportunities.
http://www.lifebuzz.com/just-stop/ -
Travel Is from The Perennial Plate on Vimeo.
I also found this list called 30 things to stop doing to yourself. Great list! I know I've been guilty of some of these things. I need to keep this list in mind as I explore new opportunities.
http://www.lifebuzz.com/just-stop/ -
30 Things to Stop Doing to Yourself. #10 Is An Absolute Must.
Marc and Angel, two passionate writers, life-hackers and “admirers of the human spirit,” have come up with an amazing list of 30 things to stop doing to yourself. If you like their list, make sure you check out their site and sign up to their amazing newsletter.
#1. Stop spending time with the wrong people. – Life is too short to spend time with people who suck the happiness out of you. If someone wants you in their life, they’ll make room for you. You shouldn’t have to fight for a spot. Never, ever insist yourself to someone who continuously overlooks your worth. And remember, it’s not the people that stand by your side when you’re at your best, but the ones who stand beside you when you’re at your worst that are your true friends.
#2. Stop running from your problems. – Face them head on. No, it won’t be easy. There is no person in the world capable of flawlessly handling every punch thrown at them. We aren’t supposed to be able to instantly solve problems. That’s not how we’re made. In fact, we’re made to get upset, sad, hurt, stumble and fall. Because that’s the whole purpose of living – to face problems, learn, adapt, and solve them over the course of time. This is what ultimately molds us into the person we become.
#3. Stop lying to yourself. – You can lie to anyone else in the world, but you can’t lie to yourself. Our lives improve only when we take chances, and the first and most difficult chance we can take is to be honest with ourselves.
#4. Stop putting your own needs on the back burner. – The most painful thing is losing yourself in the process of loving someone too much, and forgetting that you are special too. Yes, help others; but help yourself too. If there was ever a moment to follow your passion and do something that matters to you, that moment is now.
#5. Stop trying to be someone you’re not. – One of the greatest challenges in life is being yourself in a world that’s trying to make you like
everyone else. Someone will always be prettier, someone will always be
smarter, someone will always be younger, but they will never be you.
Don’t change so people will like you. Be yourself and the right people
will love the real you.
#6. Stop trying to hold onto the past. – You can’t start the next chapter of your life if you keep re-reading your last one.
#7. Stop being scared to make a mistake. – Doing
something and getting it wrong is at least ten times more productive
than doing nothing. Every success has a trail of failures behind it,
and every failure is leading towards success. You end up regretting the
things you did NOT do far more than the things you did.
#8. Stop berating yourself for old mistakes. – We may love the wrong person and cry about the wrong things, but no matter how things go wrong, one thing is for sure, mistakes help us find the person and things that are right for us. We all make mistakes, have struggles, and even regret things in our past. But you are not your mistakes, you are not your struggles, and you are here NOW with the power to shape your day and your future. Every single thing that has ever happened in your life is preparing you for a moment that is yet to come.
#9. Stop trying to buy happiness. – Many of the things we desire are expensive. But the truth is, the things that really satisfy us are totally free – love, laughter and working on our passions.
#10. Stop exclusively looking to others for happiness. – If you’re not happy with who you are on the inside, you won’t be happy in a long-term relationship with anyone else either. You have to create stability in your own life first before you can share it with someone else.
#11. Stop being idle. – Don’t think too much or you’ll create a problem that wasn’t even there in the first place. Evaluate situations and take decisive action. You cannot change what you refuse to confront. Making progress involves risk. Period! You can’t make it to second base with your foot on first.
#12. Stop thinking you’re not ready. – Nobody ever feels 100% ready when an opportunity arises. Because most great opportunities in life force us to grow beyond our comfort zones, which means we won’t feel totally comfortable at first.
#13. Stop getting involved in relationships for the wrong reasons. – Relationships must be chosen wisely. It’s better to be alone than to be in bad company. There’s no need to rush. If something is meant to be, it will happen – in the right time, with the right person, and for the best reason. Fall in love when you’re ready, not when you’re lonely.
#14. Stop rejecting new relationships just because old ones didn’t work. – In life you’ll realize that there is a purpose for everyone you meet. Some will test you, some will use you and some will teach you. But most importantly, some will bring out the best in you.
#15. Stop trying to compete against everyone else. – Don’t worry about what others are doing better than you. Concentrate on beating your own records every day. Success is a battle between YOU and YOURSELF only.
#16. Stop being jealous of others. – Jealousy is the art of counting someone else’s blessings instead of your own. Ask yourself this: “What’s something I have that everyone wants?”
#17. Stop complaining and feeling sorry for yourself.
– Life’s curveballs are thrown for a reason – to shift your path in a
direction that is meant for you. You may not see or understand
everything the moment it happens, and it may be tough. But reflect back
on those negative curveballs thrown at you in the past. You’ll often
see that eventually they led you to a better place, person, state of
mind, or situation. So smile! Let everyone know that today you are a
lot stronger than you were yesterday, and you will be.
#18. Stop holding grudges. – Don’t live your life with hate in your heart. You will end up hurting yourself more than the people you hate. Forgiveness is not saying, “What you did to me is okay.” It is saying, “I’m not going to let what you did to me ruin my happiness forever.” Forgiveness is the answer… let go, find peace, liberate yourself! And remember, forgiveness is not just for other people, it’s for you too. If you must, forgive yourself, move on and try to do better next time.
#19. Stop letting others bring you down to their level. – Refuse to lower your standards to accommodate those who refuse to raise theirs.
#20. Stop wasting time explaining yourself to others. – Your friends don’t need it and your enemies won’t believe it anyway. Just do what you know in your heart is right.
#21. Stop doing the same things over and over without taking a break. – The time to take a deep breath is when you don’t have time for it. If you keep doing what you’re doing, you’ll keep getting what you’re getting. Sometimes you need to distance yourself to see things clearly.
#22. Stop overlooking the beauty of small moments. – Enjoy the little things, because one day you may look back and discover they were the big things. The best portion of your life will be the small, nameless moments you spend smiling with someone who matters to you.
#23. Stop trying to make things perfect. – The real world doesn’t reward perfectionists, it rewards people who get things done.
#24. Stop following the path of least resistance. – Life is not easy, especially when you plan on achieving something worthwhile. Don’t take the easy way out. Do something extraordinary.
#25. Stop acting like everything is fine if it isn’t. – It’s okay to fall apart for a little while. You don’t always have to pretend to be strong, and there is no need to constantly prove that everything is going well. You shouldn’t be concerned with what other people are thinking either – cry if you need to – it’s healthy to shed your tears. The sooner you do, the sooner you will be able to smile again.
#26. Stop blaming others for your troubles. – The extent to which you can achieve your dreams depends on the extent to which you take responsibility for your life. When you blame others for what you’re going through, you deny responsibility – you give others power over that part of your life.
#27. Stop trying to be everything to everyone. – Doing so is impossible, and trying will only burn you out. But making one person smile CAN change the world. Maybe not the whole world, but their world. So narrow your focus.
#28. Stop worrying so much. – Worry will not strip tomorrow of its burdens, it will strip today of its joy. One way to check if something is worth mulling over is to ask yourself this question: “Will this matter in one year’s time? Three years? Five years?” If not, then it’s not worth worrying about.
#29. Stop focusing on what you don’t want to happen. – Focus on what you do want to happen. Positive thinking is at the forefront of every great success story. If you awake every morning with the thought that something wonderful will happen in your life today, and you pay close attention, you’ll often find that you’re right.
#30. Stop being ungrateful. – No matter how good or bad you have it, wake up each day thankful for your life. Someone somewhere else is desperately fighting for theirs. Instead of thinking about what you’re missing, try thinking about what you have that everyone else is missing.
#1. Stop spending time with the wrong people. – Life is too short to spend time with people who suck the happiness out of you. If someone wants you in their life, they’ll make room for you. You shouldn’t have to fight for a spot. Never, ever insist yourself to someone who continuously overlooks your worth. And remember, it’s not the people that stand by your side when you’re at your best, but the ones who stand beside you when you’re at your worst that are your true friends.
#2. Stop running from your problems. – Face them head on. No, it won’t be easy. There is no person in the world capable of flawlessly handling every punch thrown at them. We aren’t supposed to be able to instantly solve problems. That’s not how we’re made. In fact, we’re made to get upset, sad, hurt, stumble and fall. Because that’s the whole purpose of living – to face problems, learn, adapt, and solve them over the course of time. This is what ultimately molds us into the person we become.
#3. Stop lying to yourself. – You can lie to anyone else in the world, but you can’t lie to yourself. Our lives improve only when we take chances, and the first and most difficult chance we can take is to be honest with ourselves.
#4. Stop putting your own needs on the back burner. – The most painful thing is losing yourself in the process of loving someone too much, and forgetting that you are special too. Yes, help others; but help yourself too. If there was ever a moment to follow your passion and do something that matters to you, that moment is now.
pinterest
#6. Stop trying to hold onto the past. – You can’t start the next chapter of your life if you keep re-reading your last one.
Max Rossi / Reuters
#8. Stop berating yourself for old mistakes. – We may love the wrong person and cry about the wrong things, but no matter how things go wrong, one thing is for sure, mistakes help us find the person and things that are right for us. We all make mistakes, have struggles, and even regret things in our past. But you are not your mistakes, you are not your struggles, and you are here NOW with the power to shape your day and your future. Every single thing that has ever happened in your life is preparing you for a moment that is yet to come.
#9. Stop trying to buy happiness. – Many of the things we desire are expensive. But the truth is, the things that really satisfy us are totally free – love, laughter and working on our passions.
#10. Stop exclusively looking to others for happiness. – If you’re not happy with who you are on the inside, you won’t be happy in a long-term relationship with anyone else either. You have to create stability in your own life first before you can share it with someone else.
#11. Stop being idle. – Don’t think too much or you’ll create a problem that wasn’t even there in the first place. Evaluate situations and take decisive action. You cannot change what you refuse to confront. Making progress involves risk. Period! You can’t make it to second base with your foot on first.
#12. Stop thinking you’re not ready. – Nobody ever feels 100% ready when an opportunity arises. Because most great opportunities in life force us to grow beyond our comfort zones, which means we won’t feel totally comfortable at first.
#13. Stop getting involved in relationships for the wrong reasons. – Relationships must be chosen wisely. It’s better to be alone than to be in bad company. There’s no need to rush. If something is meant to be, it will happen – in the right time, with the right person, and for the best reason. Fall in love when you’re ready, not when you’re lonely.
#14. Stop rejecting new relationships just because old ones didn’t work. – In life you’ll realize that there is a purpose for everyone you meet. Some will test you, some will use you and some will teach you. But most importantly, some will bring out the best in you.
#15. Stop trying to compete against everyone else. – Don’t worry about what others are doing better than you. Concentrate on beating your own records every day. Success is a battle between YOU and YOURSELF only.
#16. Stop being jealous of others. – Jealousy is the art of counting someone else’s blessings instead of your own. Ask yourself this: “What’s something I have that everyone wants?”
Stuface
#18. Stop holding grudges. – Don’t live your life with hate in your heart. You will end up hurting yourself more than the people you hate. Forgiveness is not saying, “What you did to me is okay.” It is saying, “I’m not going to let what you did to me ruin my happiness forever.” Forgiveness is the answer… let go, find peace, liberate yourself! And remember, forgiveness is not just for other people, it’s for you too. If you must, forgive yourself, move on and try to do better next time.
#19. Stop letting others bring you down to their level. – Refuse to lower your standards to accommodate those who refuse to raise theirs.
#20. Stop wasting time explaining yourself to others. – Your friends don’t need it and your enemies won’t believe it anyway. Just do what you know in your heart is right.
#21. Stop doing the same things over and over without taking a break. – The time to take a deep breath is when you don’t have time for it. If you keep doing what you’re doing, you’ll keep getting what you’re getting. Sometimes you need to distance yourself to see things clearly.
#22. Stop overlooking the beauty of small moments. – Enjoy the little things, because one day you may look back and discover they were the big things. The best portion of your life will be the small, nameless moments you spend smiling with someone who matters to you.
#23. Stop trying to make things perfect. – The real world doesn’t reward perfectionists, it rewards people who get things done.
#24. Stop following the path of least resistance. – Life is not easy, especially when you plan on achieving something worthwhile. Don’t take the easy way out. Do something extraordinary.
#25. Stop acting like everything is fine if it isn’t. – It’s okay to fall apart for a little while. You don’t always have to pretend to be strong, and there is no need to constantly prove that everything is going well. You shouldn’t be concerned with what other people are thinking either – cry if you need to – it’s healthy to shed your tears. The sooner you do, the sooner you will be able to smile again.
#26. Stop blaming others for your troubles. – The extent to which you can achieve your dreams depends on the extent to which you take responsibility for your life. When you blame others for what you’re going through, you deny responsibility – you give others power over that part of your life.
#27. Stop trying to be everything to everyone. – Doing so is impossible, and trying will only burn you out. But making one person smile CAN change the world. Maybe not the whole world, but their world. So narrow your focus.
#28. Stop worrying so much. – Worry will not strip tomorrow of its burdens, it will strip today of its joy. One way to check if something is worth mulling over is to ask yourself this question: “Will this matter in one year’s time? Three years? Five years?” If not, then it’s not worth worrying about.
#29. Stop focusing on what you don’t want to happen. – Focus on what you do want to happen. Positive thinking is at the forefront of every great success story. If you awake every morning with the thought that something wonderful will happen in your life today, and you pay close attention, you’ll often find that you’re right.
#30. Stop being ungrateful. – No matter how good or bad you have it, wake up each day thankful for your life. Someone somewhere else is desperately fighting for theirs. Instead of thinking about what you’re missing, try thinking about what you have that everyone else is missing.
Credit: marcandangel.com
This is such a beautiful list, and we all are
guilty of some of these. The best thing to do is just remember each day
to appreciate and reflect a bit, even if it's only a few minutes. Share
this amazing list by clicking below.Sunday, March 23, 2014
Week 2 of Ride the Rockies/Ironman Wisconsin Training
Week 2 of Ride the Rockies/IM Wisconsin training is complete! You will notice that yes, I did skip week one, but I just decided to start talking about the training. The goal from now until June 7th when Ride the Rockies is to do as much bike training as possible. I would like to be able to comfortably ride 200 plus miles a week as I work my training up. I will have a peak week over 300 to get a good feel on what will be like for the 483 miles!
Swim - My swimming is coming along pretty good. I'm starting to feel comfortable in the water again and my times are coming down. I've worked my way up to 3 swims a week so far. In April, I'm going to move this up to hopefully 4 a week depending on how I'm feeling.
Run - I've been keeping the run mileage down since the Little Rock Half. Before the half I was running around 20 miles a week. Since, I've dropped down to around 11. I've broken the run up to 4 or 5 times a week, so I've been keeping consistent with running. The plan is to slowly build the mileage on the run since the bike is the focus for right now.
Bike - I'm on the big focus for the bike. The first two weeks have felt pretty good. On the group ride last Saturday, it was a slower ride, but I could tell my legs were pretty tired by the end of the week. This week, I did a hard ride on Thursday and could feel it on Friday. I went for a recovery ride on Friday and Saturday I was feeling good again. I was able to get a nice 47 mile ride in feeling pretty good the whole time. I also went out on route I haven't been on before which was nice! The plan is to get the rides in and start to work some hills in more and more. On Tuesday, I also rode up to Greers Ferry Lake. This was a pretty challenging ride. Since it was 55 miles there, it was uphill for the total ride.
Just to recap Week 1 totals - After next week, I'm put up previous week along with total amounts.
Ride - 165 miles
Run - 10.13 miles
Swim - 3.91 miles
Week 2 totals
Ride - 169 miles - Long ride of 55 miles to Diamond Bluff!
Run - 10.96 miles
Swim - 3.98 miles
Totals -
Ride - 334 miles
Run - 21.09 miles
Swim - 7.89 miles
Swim - My swimming is coming along pretty good. I'm starting to feel comfortable in the water again and my times are coming down. I've worked my way up to 3 swims a week so far. In April, I'm going to move this up to hopefully 4 a week depending on how I'm feeling.
Run - I've been keeping the run mileage down since the Little Rock Half. Before the half I was running around 20 miles a week. Since, I've dropped down to around 11. I've broken the run up to 4 or 5 times a week, so I've been keeping consistent with running. The plan is to slowly build the mileage on the run since the bike is the focus for right now.
Bike - I'm on the big focus for the bike. The first two weeks have felt pretty good. On the group ride last Saturday, it was a slower ride, but I could tell my legs were pretty tired by the end of the week. This week, I did a hard ride on Thursday and could feel it on Friday. I went for a recovery ride on Friday and Saturday I was feeling good again. I was able to get a nice 47 mile ride in feeling pretty good the whole time. I also went out on route I haven't been on before which was nice! The plan is to get the rides in and start to work some hills in more and more. On Tuesday, I also rode up to Greers Ferry Lake. This was a pretty challenging ride. Since it was 55 miles there, it was uphill for the total ride.
Just to recap Week 1 totals - After next week, I'm put up previous week along with total amounts.
Ride - 165 miles
Run - 10.13 miles
Swim - 3.91 miles
Week 2 totals
Ride - 169 miles - Long ride of 55 miles to Diamond Bluff!
Run - 10.96 miles
Swim - 3.98 miles
Totals -
Ride - 334 miles
Run - 21.09 miles
Swim - 7.89 miles
Tuesday, March 11, 2014
Ride the Rockies, Little Rock Half, and updates
Earlier this year, I decided to enter the lottery for Ride the Rockies. It is a week long bike ride through the Rocky Mts. in Colorado. Each year the route changes, but always features great landscapes and towns of Colorado. Well last Friday, I found out that I had received my ticket for an adventure through the mountains! I also hope this will give me a chance to check out the Colorado area. It has always been one area that I've wanted to move to for a long time. I will have the opportunity to go up there early and look around. I'm excited about this chance I've been given.
483 miles of fun!
Another quick update - ran the Little Rock half marathon two weekends ago. The run went about as well as I thought. Throughout the winter, I had been focusing on more base training than tempo. I knew I wasn't going to have a PR and my time reflected the base training. I ran it in 1:44:36. It's actually my third best time for this race. I pretty much keep the same pace throughout at around 7:55. I couldn't go any faster and also felt I didn't need to slow down either. The race was run in cold wet conditions. The only issue I experienced was my left achilles was getting tight towards the end. I attributed that more to running on the wet pavement than anything else. Overall, I am happy with the race and shows some things I will need to work on between now and Ironman Wisconsin.
483 miles of fun!
Another quick update - ran the Little Rock half marathon two weekends ago. The run went about as well as I thought. Throughout the winter, I had been focusing on more base training than tempo. I knew I wasn't going to have a PR and my time reflected the base training. I ran it in 1:44:36. It's actually my third best time for this race. I pretty much keep the same pace throughout at around 7:55. I couldn't go any faster and also felt I didn't need to slow down either. The race was run in cold wet conditions. The only issue I experienced was my left achilles was getting tight towards the end. I attributed that more to running on the wet pavement than anything else. Overall, I am happy with the race and shows some things I will need to work on between now and Ironman Wisconsin.
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