Checkin’ IN!!!
21 May 2018
It’s been erratic, my writing and follow ups on things in the last little bit with my blog. And that is what has been happening in my endurance activities lately. It’s been erratic, there has been some great things in there but it is so inconsistent which is completely odd for me.
So what is consistency? That is what is completely everything that is the most important thing of endurance sports and activities related to that. I have to rediscover consistency for me. The challenges have been high for us as a family. To be honest – the move probably is not the worst thing going on as it is just one of the many things going on. So, that being said. Being human, has really taken us as a family by the reigns! We are getting back to things!
So Astrid has been our unexpected blessing. IN September she joined us. And since then, it’s been a good roller coaster. We weren’t trying to get pregnant actively and it just didn’t happen. Liz was concerned a few days and we just kinda were like, we’ll se what happens. Low and behold – like clock work Liz tested, and here it was and yup it worked. And then there was the birth experience. La dee da – going to an activity (Liz) – oh what I should be concerned. Grab my mom and then – hey there , nurse catch her! I felt so bad for the Doctor b/c I truly saw in his face how disappointed he was that he didn’t make it. Our OB is a good man! Truly!! Dennis ran into him at a community faith-based event and he was like “GUESS WHO I SAW!”
Anyway, since that evening it’s been a fist fight with life. And in all honesty its been SO good!!! But it hasn’t been without steep slopes and challenges. So here we are and arrived! We are where we are at, and that is where I come to you. I am writing from a chair in the air!
So I was thinking about things a lot while trying to sleep and not getting there all the way. Liz has been extremely sleep deprived. Between Astrid and Juniper waking up a lot during the night. We recently got Juniper a new foam mattress – Liz found a great offer on AMAZON and it was well worth it. It was quite comfortable, and I have laid on it and it is a HUGE treat for an almost 3-year-old. We are hoping that it helps Juniper in her sleeping habits. Astrid on the other hand. She has been our most pleasant all-around baby, but man she is struggling with finding sleep habits and teething. That is taking a big toll on Liz, and recently with Mother’s Day, I tried to help give her more relief than normal. I don’t know how successful I was. We also went out to Porcupine as a family and we got Dennis a sit-on-top kayak. A few days later, I grabbed Liz one for another Mother’s Day gift. We don’t do a lot of big gifts for Christmas but more try to do that through the year. Well, I hope she enjoyed her gifts on her day.
For one of my Open Water Swims (OWS) – I had Dennis come out with me on my swim out at Porcupine. Definietly need to get back at things. I had a comfortable but cold swim in Porcupine. Dennis enjoyed being out there and trying to control and help dad. Not overboard and he got bored in the end, but it was good. I think I will try to have him do more with me like that and maybe he will find his ‘fire’.
I won’t go into details, but Dennis, he is our first born. He is a great kid – for everyone but us. So, we know something is right b/c he feels safe in our home to be the way he is – but heaven help us please!
Moving on! So the purpose of this blog is what I am trying to focus on in this week in the near and short term.
- Get back to blogging on triathlon, multi-sport and mind set at least weekly
- Focus on a training regimen
- Two focus points
- Training Peaks – Boulder 70.3
- Training Peaks – on-going maintenance
- Get out of my funk
- Find my fire and my why
- See how I feel at the end of the week and determine if I will try to get to Boulder on Aug 4
I plan to run a few runs through central park. And if I can do that without issue, I think within 75 raw days until the event, I can get back to event strength and do well. I know a few people that are going and then Liz and I just need to work out logistics. It’s a substantial car ride still (10 hours from us) and that makes travel difficult with the girls and Liz. We recently had to pull the plug on going to a friends wedding in California AND not go to my Father’s for Mother’s Day. We had to just not go, and I am sure folks were disappointed but we had to do what was right for us and more importantly for the kids.
My hope by weeks end, is that I can be honest with myself. I can look at the 5 points I listed above and make an objective choice. A friend of mine remarked that they noticed that the move has really caused a ripple in things. So, to that end, the ripple wasn’t a small bump. It was a great wave and by great I mean it gave us the opportunity to make changes and move into a bit of an uncomfortable position. We will see what the future brings us. We try to do the right thing given the conditions, the things we see, evidence around the situations and trust in foresight beyond us (faith).
On Saturday, I found a few minutes to put some a la carte workouts in Training Peaks. Of course the one year I paid for the annual subscription – but I did get it at 50% off, is the year that I am the most erratic and inconsistent due to life. So, I also placed those on anticipated days and shared it with my wife via google calendaring options. My hope is that allows me to get back out. I can do this on 5-7 hours of consistent purposeful training. I know that I would like to do more at times, but I have to be willing to work with what I am available to do. I am not the athlete I once was – I was a solid average with a bit of shine here and there. I guess what was special for me was my enjoyment of the journey in the sports I participated in. I dunno that I would make a good coach or anything, but I do know that I am a solid support to those who need it, and I think that is where I find what I need in helping them too. So, the upcoming things are what I am thinking about doing.
July – multiple events
- 4th – Freedom run 15k – Blacksmith fork canyon
- July 7th – Cache Valley Sprint and Super sprint
- July 14th Cache Gran Fondo
Those events will be great primers for Boulder and even if I choose not to do Boulder and pull the plug, they will be stepping stones. It’s time to have another 3 year run and see where it allows me to go with family, mindset and endurance activities. Maybe, I will have to choose specific events and not ‘compete’ but rather participate and encourage and mentor others where possible.
Anyway, here we go!
23 May 2018
So, I have gotten two runs in and it’s an embrace the suck return to things. Taking a lot of erratic time to ourselves has been disruptive to fitness, and to a degree that is just fine. Liz said to me, I need to also make sure to do the things that make me happy. I appreciate her thoughts, but family stability and her happiness are placed ahead of me. It’s just how I do. Anyway. I woke up today and was just off. I took the morning off and went back to sleep. I have meetings throughout the afternoon and will get through those. Coming back into travel and working out is a stressful, not like OMG and WTF, but a lot of accumulated and acute stress!
Also, received news about something that wasn’t going to happen, but I get the tools this weekend. I will divulge more later if I am licensed to do so. Besides that – trying to break back in is not as easy as it could be. Motivators are competing with other needs and being an adult is at times mesmerizingly interesting, to say the least. I grabbed lunch today and walking the muggy streets of NYC I truly felt that I know that city life is not for me in the daily grind.
I love where we live. It isn’t perfect but for our family situation, our standard of living and for what it allows us to be as a family in a community, I can’t think of a better place for now. I got an update via video that our littlest one – Astrid is scoot crawling. We are in trouble now. 3 mobile little kids. We are pleasantly DOOMED!
Activities –
I use the following trackers:
- Garmin Connect (which pushes the files to the following services):
- Training Peaks
- Strava
- and the ones I don’t remember (Map my stuff via Under Armour and things like the Great Bicycle ride initiative stuff)
Honestly, I mainly use Training Peaks as I pay for an annual subscription on it now, and it is the most detailed in data and other helpful information to keep me where I want to go.
Relevant Pics
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