Activities – Strava Logs (Shane’s Strava link)
(not linked as URLS on purpose, please copy and paste if you are Strava stalking me ? )
Monday
Activity 1 – https://www.strava.com/activities/592994041
Tuesday
Activity 1 – https://www.strava.com/activities/594600563
Wednesday
Activity 1 – Rest Day
Thursday
Activity 1 – https://www.strava.com/activities/596560153
Friday
Activity 1 – https://www.strava.com/activities/597402335
Activity 2 – https://www.strava.com/activities/597384743
Activity 3 – https://www.strava.com/activities/598142601
Saturday
Activity 1 – https://www.strava.com/activities/598142994
Activity 2 – https://www.strava.com/activities/598143338
Sunday
Activity 1 – https://www.strava.com/activities/600023318 (Family hike)
STATS
Monday morning weigh in 190.5
Saturday post activity weigh in 189.0
Sunday Morning weigh in 190.0
Targeted Activity and Focus Points
SWIM
I wasn’t able to get a swim in this week. I know I will pay for it later.
BIKE
I was able to get a good bike ride in with a good middle distance on Monday. With it being a holiday saw lots of other cyclists and not many motorists. It was great!
RUN
Run volume was actually maintained this week, and my sessions in the heat are reminding me that I need to refocus on things. A few really good sessions, and others that just reminded me how human and frail i am. No injuries, just heat is a great equalizer.
Nutrition
I am going to skip this one. I was good most of the week, then I had cake, ice cream and mozzarella sticks ( 2 times). I feel heavy. But I did grab vega sport, and am impressed by it. It is time to reclaim my body again and refocus while traveling this week.
Weights and Strength
None.
Weekly Reflections and Focus
This week we sort of had a family re-boot of sorts. Liz was needing help, to which I failed miserably in the end, with duties in and out of our home. We were able to successfully get the garden needs situated. Her garden is planted. In the doing of this, I tore up my hand pretty good doing the hand tiller, all i was doing was re-loosening the ground from the initial tilling we had done weeks previous. This glorious little blister, in the middle of my right palm, is being a pain.
Along the way, on Memorial Day, I set out for a welcomed middle distance ride. I got out really early and in front of the winds, but don’t be too deceived, it was quite cold and still windy. And the early on-set decompression winds I hit going up Hollow Road into Black Smith Fork Canyon really sapped good morning energy. that being said, my climb out from Hollow Road felt super good. I felt it was one of my better climbs out as far as speed and stamina. I think I missed the PR by a bit and that is OK. I rode pretty hard and quick up to the Hyrum Dam sprint and killed it up until the last bit and backed way off as I was toast. I need to have enough energy to make it home. Funny thing is the next section up to Highway 91 was my 2nd or 3rd fastest as I was able to ride in aero some 80% of the way. It felt really good to, in the sun and warming up finally. I was able to sneak in almost 35 miles and was finished by 10 Am I think. It was a good ride.
My runs this week were all over the place and I sense that it is a direct reflection of my yo-yo in nutrition this week. I was ok at the beginning of the week and faltered at the end. I had mozzarella sticks (gasp), Cake (double gasp) and Ice cream, too (ya, I know).
I took Dennis to Father and Sons camp out at Camp Lomia in the Right Hand Fork canyon of Logan Canyon. It was a good time. He helped a bit with setup, and he was excited to have carpooled up with some local neighbor friends. We had to be back early and this allowed for Liz to have the car if she needed it. During the camp out, i wanted to get a late evening run in and replaced that with a hike taking a handful of folks up to the horse trailer turn around, then a few of us went up about another .75 up tot he first bridge below rick’s Canyon. I was bummed, but it was short lived b/c the snoring neighbors woke me up about 5:15 and I went for a run at 5:30 AM before breakfast. I was able to muster 7 miles round trip up right hand fork road, up to the private property signs. I was probably about a mile from the summit, but we had to be somewhere later that morning, so I turned it back to camp. I accumulated over 18 ft vertical in less than 3.6 miles. It was brutal and my pace reflects it, but it was a great run nonetheless. Coming back I just cruised down at approx a 8 min/mile pace. I could have gone faster but didn’t want to be dead for the rest of the day.
Anyway, Saturday was then made up after some friend visits for a quasi family church ordinance and party, back to yard work and honey do’s. I was pretty roughed up by this time, and realized I was dehydrating. I was tired and near lethargic. I vaguely recall getting liquid in me and I was able to clean up the pond, go fetch needed dog food and the remaining mulch, and mowed the front, pruned the tree and got a section of the backyard mowed before the sprinklers turned on.
Dennis our 10 year old was camping out in the back and enjoying it despite mommy wanting me to go sleep out there with him. Providing him some space to grow and I also went out and hung out with him while he read before going lights out and having him go to sleep. After the poor rest from camping Friday into Saturday, I needed rest in a real bed.
On Sunday after church services, we decided to head out to the Jardine Juniper trail. this trail leads to a Juniper tree that is the oldest known living Juniper in the continental United States. It is an approximate 9 mile trail round trip. it was about 85 degrees once we got up tot he trail head at Wood Camp. We readied up little Juniper (11 month old) and lathered her p in sun screen. We got Dennis ready too. Last time we were in Zions he burned pretty good and we tried to not repeat. Notice I said tried, he burned but not as bad. Well, we started strong, and Juniper crashed in the Kelty pack. She crashed pretty hard. The memories of Dennis doing the same years before came rushing back. In the end, we made it up to the water at the second sign and I waded through the water. It was brisk not super cold like years before and was a little lower. Regardless, it was great to see that much water at this time of year up there. There are still reports from our trail running friends that some peaks still have signs covered by snow. So there should be melt into about July.
Dennis was having a rough go. We got up to the springs space and he was struggling. In fact so was Juniper. With the heat and frustrations boiling a bit, we decided to turn around. i was able to get some great photos of Juniper and Dennis. A few good ones with Liz too. We were able to get about 4 miles in total, on a whim and that isn’t that bad. I think Juniper needs it to be a bit cooler. Also as Dennis is growing, he is becoming more of who he is and currently he is struggling with doing things in focus and that are not for him.
In the end it was a great week of life balance and family based activities. I was home for the week and working remotely which was quite nice after a long first half of the year where i have been commuting to New York most Monday’s and returning home on Friday’s.
The Half Ironman in St. George and a week away in St George after with Ragnar Trails Zions really disrupted the travel cycle. It was what our family needed though. Juniper is growing so fast. Sooner than later she is going to be running around on her own two feet. She has brother Dennis and I wrapped around her little finger. the relationship between Dennis and Juniper is growing and it is endearing to watch. With such and age gap, Liz and I hope they have a wonderful relationship fir many years to come. I was able to spend time with Liz being home. I know at times she is run ragged. I was able to get out and run Smithfield Canyon with her, where she had a great run. She even went back up a bit to meetup with some of our slower runners (this does not mean they are not strong and great runners, they just motor at a different pace). We spent some time trying to help some friends move back to town. With a little confusion we missed them but still spent some time with them eating on Wednesday. Our little family has been quite blessed, although with the current work arrangements and our hobbies, we have been through quite a bit too. After a long bout with secondary infertility (9 or so years), we have been able to see our family grow naturally.
On the topic of infertility, I don’t much talk about it. I try to spend my time in giving my wife the support she needs, although I know I do that poorly, but I try hard. I think in a lot of ways for me the weight gain and stress hit me the hardest when I thought it was over, meaning Dennis was our only one. During our family trip to Strasbourg I had reached 247 lbs. I guess I internalize most things and work things through in my own way. I know how passive aggressive I can be, as I tend to be a diplomat. Liz and I make a great complimentary couple. We are no where near perfect, but I think we strive for perfection as a couple, and although we may fail at it, we care more about the other than we do ourselves and that helps us through. I strongly imagine that I was not the exact support that Liz needed all the time. I don’t get it. The depression, the want to have more kids, the struggles of feeling broken. It just doesn’t register in my psyche in a way that resonates with Liz, and I imagine at times it must not help her frustrations either. I tended to take the path of that I try, even though I know my efforts may be wrong/right/indifferent, but at least I tried. I was tired of hearing it from her, and was very leery of trying the IVF. I am very grateful that it worked, that she had a near full term pregnancy and that Dennis now is a big brother to Little Juniper. Mash that in with incessant travel, but a work group that understood and let me have a bunch of time together with my family from June – December. However beginning in January of 2016, my current client has sucked my soul. Mix that in with 2 Half Ironman’s in St George, the first year where I did so many things wrong and the 2nd where I did a lot right. All I can say, is infertility takes a big toll on a couple. A lot of people are suffering silently and let the various little indiscretions that folks make without realizing their improprieties is one of the more challenging aspects of it all. Do you sit there and point it out, or let it go and suffer needlessly and in silence while others go along completely and oft-times oblivious to the destruction they are toiling in their wakes? They don’t mean harm, we truly feel that, so we don’t often focus on it. Also, seeing some good friends finally adopt recently also helped as we knew our blessing in Juniper was not helping them in their pains either.
I have plateaued at my weight and am around 190 lbs. Liz joked last week that she was going to sign me up for Vikingman 70.3 up in the Burley idaho area. So what did I do, I reserved a hotel in Twin falls, although i don’t know that we will be able to fit that in. I anticipate signing up for the Logan Super Sprint (swim bike run – repeat) just after June 15. That even in on July 9 and means I will have to miss the Cache Gran Fondo that I have done the last two years. Drop 13 is this week, and Liz and I both wished we could do it, but it just isn’t timing right. Unless by some weird event I get a bib on exchange from someone – we will have to consider this next year. I know on that course I can easily break two hours. Who knows, we shall see, but a half marathon, and having to turn around and travel on Monday, after getting in Friday, that could be a little rough.
I have been listening to Endurance Planet a bit more and the lead podcaster is going through some interesting things. It is interesting listening as she describes a lot of things that Liz has. Then although it is Monday and not part of the review week, this most recent podcast is something I need Liz to listen to and follow. I have no idea who this Tawnee gal is other than an endurance sports coach that runs a podcast, but I can see that Liz would identify with her and most likely be friends. Maybe not in this lifetime but I feel like she’s an old friend calling out to Liz. Oh well, this post spiraled and yes it is corny, but sometimes things occur in our life that appear to be coincidences and others have more meaning than mere coincidence. Falling across this podcaster is a bit of serendipity and hope when Liz reads this she understands what I mean. I don’t think all answers are there, but it may be helpful and also motivate her in her return to activity as she is so close to breaking through.
Anyway, I think I have digressed enough in this post and will end it all here. Havae a great week folks.
To the right is the most recent listing of podcasts at Endurance planet, give them a listen, (Current podcast here) I get nothing out of it other than it is a source that is worth gleaning good wisdom. I am sitting in a chair in the air somewhere above the eastern USA en route to New York City’s JFK airport. Hoping to make it to Whole Foods so I can grab some decent fruit and shake mixes for the week. Maybe i will seek out Trader joe’s on Tuesday. Need to find and locate ‘Picky Bars’ and give them a try.
Cheers!
Weekly Pics
#triathlonlifestyle #swimbikerun #trilife #triathlon #Checkin #roadtoimca2021 #triathlonlife #ironmantraining #familybalancetri #triathlontraining #2016 #triathlete #triathlonmotivation
