Dad, why is mom making us do this? Why??? We thought YOU were DAD! Pre-event snap.
Checkin’ IN!!!
Wellsville Founder’s Day Run info (2019)
So on Labor Day, Liz signed us up on Saturday and we took a family adventure to a local to us city to run a 5k. We woke up and put on our Cheery faces, see pic above, and we made it on time and got checked in. One of the greatest things about this event is the ‘no stress’, just come run and time yourself attitude of the event. They do watch the overall finishers in male/female genders but beyond that, stress-free and just come run attitude. We all selected the 5k race, I put in a long run on Saturday and I was pushing the girls. The pleasant surprise to me was having Adrian back in the running circle.
So, we all said our hello’s stayed with Adrian for the first half of the run, keeping it in a low key pace and even keel Active recovery effort. I didn’t really start to feel loose until we hit the pond and the gravel road. It was about the time I crossed what appeared to be a father/daughter combo. The father was checking his knee and his daughter was wearing a simple lycra sleeve – I did ask if they were ok before heading onward. Juniper at about this time was becoming the slave driver.
- Now, Dad, is that as fast as we are going today.
- Now, Dad, don’t you want to go faster down the hill.
- Now, Dad, I don’t like the bumps.
- Now, Dad, pass more people!
She was relentless but she and Astrid did very well until we got to the end. It was a nice run and they weathered the great ‘feel’ of the weather and also the sun. A lot of this event has you going into the east and meeting the first peaking of the sun as it crests over Blacksmith Fork Canyon. Other than that, they did great, called out horses, waved to lots of folks, wanted to pet a few doggies. As we made it tot he end I was feeling loose and starting to open up a bit, and I was gaining on another stroller gal, and someone was like he’s going to pass you. No! I was just loose and going, but was letting her stay in front.
There is really only one hill to worry about and that hill wasn’t bad. The 5k was a good distance for coming out of a long Saturday run and having the correct amount of energy. Not to mention, the lack of sleep as some friends had us take their dogs as they were on an emergency family trip.
As always, it’s always great to rub shoulders with some of our local hero’s and runners. It was good to briefly re-connect and catch up the best you can in 30 minutes or less before and after an event. We do have a great running community and a few folks reminded us of how they follow Liz and our family, and a few say let ’em know so they could join me.
Family with Liz’s good friend Laura – she says I’m her SHERPA. yup, uh-huh, I see how this goes! LOL
Liz and Laura have become good friends and running mates since we collided in a neighborhood a few years back.
Some of our local NERC friends – Great to see you back int he mix Adrian!
Scot running with family, this is a good dude right here, one of the more genuine folks I have come across in life.
So, as for the other activities! Things are coming along well.
Strava week snapshot
I have been focusing on runs. I have been being consistent. I travelled this last week and completed my runs in Dover, DE. I was making sure I didn’t overrun and I throttled my pacing and my Real Perceived Effort (RPE) accordingly! I ran with my noxgear360 which garnered a few looks and jeers as students are back in town and things tend to get a bit more lively. One guy as I crossed him was like – ‘keep it up man, you’re doing well’…. It’s always nice to get that positive and hip encouragement.
A lot of my runs I was really trying to run restrained. By this I am trying to teach my body what I need to feel like for when I come out of t2. I have the tendency to come out of t2 way too fast and starting to overheat before getting comfortable and finding my legs. May is going to be a long day, and I need to stay in my space, hard to say if that means in my head or not, but it’s one of those days where thinking further than 5 minutes in advance gets dangerous and I need to focus on execution. I need to execute a few specific things and then just enjoy the suffering, praise the volunteers and have a great day.
Anyway, I have been trying to get into the context of mindful thinking. I do well in most vectors of life, but there is one I am trying to get SCHLOADS better at. That is being a dad to my son. He’s a great boy. He’s the ‘wonder’ of our life. He was our first and it was great to have him all alone for 9 years, but that all changed when Liz and I implanted a few embryo’s into Liz and then we got little Juniper. Not too far after came Astrid and we’ve moved forward ever since. We have entered the phase of being parents to a teenager, and oh my word, how that just accelerates into exponential ludicrous speed is insane. That being said, I am trying to be better. Better at listening to my wife’s advice. Taking moment to pause and listen to my son and feel his needs. There is no manual and I feel I fail more than I succeed, but I try to relentlessly not give up.
In Praise of Slowness Blog Post
This was an interesting blog post to me that I came across this week. The art of stillness. Finding time to think. Slowing down and removing stressors and disrupters that just aren’t required. I have come to understand for me, that there are indeed times where I need to acknowledge that something is yearning for my time, but I don’t have to have that conversation right now (oftentimes its int he problem-solving phases – noise, distractions, etc). The relevance for me is in the long course hobby of endurance sports. in a 70.3 or 140.6 day, snap judgments aren’t the norm. Rather its int he vein of, if I do this 30-second thing now, when will it have an effect over the next 1 – 4 hours. Is it worth it? Is it needed? Will I, or others around me benefit? Will I, or others receive harm due to my actions or inactions? These questions require space and time. It’s also about creating the required space to think about the things that need to be thought about. Not everything gets that attention, any more. Sometimes yes, in work or life I have to make immediate snap judgments, but if I don’t take the time to slow down, think and let this decision-making process become something that is just second-nature, then I lose confidence and there is room for many other things to crowd out time and compete for me.
It’s worth the read and something to at least slow down and think about. It’s just a blog post it’s not the overall thought construct from Mila Kundera, it’s a glimpse. It’s a worthwhile one. It’s worth a lot more than 20 seconds of your time where you may think you already know everything about a give nothing. I often wonder in awe how many folks are walking zombies. They say they areso connected and in tune, but they aren’t. It’s not just that they are technology tethered, rather, their minds are on autopilot. It’s almost a numbing thing. Sure, many will be the first to contend and contradict that they are ‘unplugged’ – heck I do it all the time. I will say that over the last few years I have taken time. I find myself lost in runs, lost on my bike and definitely lost in the pool. I love the pool as it is my chore and personal exercise to erase all thoughts and only concentrate on two things:
- my stroke
- my breathing – don’t drown
I try to wash away all other things. ON the bike and while running I have to be present and aware more than in the pool (yes there is the occasional lane hopper or the folks that don’t understand lane swimming) but I don’t have to avoid soccer moms on a mission in their ‘fam-vans’ or ‘assault-SUV’s’ as they motor around town furiously trying to meet too many commitments.
Anyway, for me, I’m starting to find the consistency of volume again. I am a bit sore and need to concentrate on some strength stuff along the way as well. Knee exercises for running and general strength – I don’t need to repeat what I did in my 70.3 IM St. George experience. No need to go back to that fun and difficult journey of growth, expectations recalibration, and facing the deficit of respect to all things endurance sports. Here’s to happy training and life and to this week!!!
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. Use the ‘Links’, then ‘Track me’ section to find and stalk me if that’s your thing.
Relevant Pics
How data collection works for many
noxgear360 and night running 
Black Diamond headlamp and my Nathan flasher
Dover, DE
DOver, DE ont he water near McGlynn’s pub
One of the Hilton properties that houses me too often
The song from Iron and Wine – From great heights – it’s interesting who writes history in our lands
Leaving on a jetplane
encroachment
My space, you want more, pay for it or fly as much as I do, c’mon now
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#triathlonlifestyle #swimbikerun #trilife #triathlon #Checkin #roadtoimca2021 #2019 #triathlonlife #ironmantraining #familybalancetri #triathlontraining #triathlete #triathlonmotivation
