Racing and LIFE Updates

Good Happy Friday Morning To you!

Today, I will make a road trip to Maryland for my "A" race of the Spring/Summer season. This will be my 5th race in 2 months and 4th race in 6 weekends. While I am ecstatic that I am injury free and ready for an "off" week next week- Im more stoked that my body is feeling Fit! This is the race that I am treating like its the World Champs in September. What I mean is, after the race i will look at my training, my taper, my eating, and overall health and see if it was a good combo/formula leading up to race day. If so, then i will do the same when it comes to the leading days to the big race in September.

I have a 10th, 1st, 1st, and 4th overall finish so far in the 4 triathlons I have done this year. This one is going to be extremely competitive so to round out the top 10 again would be awesome, and if i feel really good- then who knows what place i will come in :)

This journey has been awesome. Even better is the road bumps along the way that really toughen you (or weaken you- but i think thats up to the person on what route they want to choose when it comes to these road bumps) . For instance, this week- my 5yr old dog has thrown up 24 times in 5 days. I have slept out side with him at night when he didn't want to come in (he always wants to come in- he hates being outside alone), I have had him throw up on me, I have picked him up to get in my car (he's 70lbs). I am not one to clean up messy/disgusting "stuff" but this past week- i have TOUCHED so much throw up that I think I can handle anything now (still- no way i can handle a kid). 

My good Retired friend who i have had coffee with for the last 5 years every Thursday, had to miss our coffee date the last 2 weeks because He will be starting Radiation soon on his Brain to stop a "disease" from spreading throughout the whole Brain. 

I dont have it bad, i know that! I actually feel that I have it Great! But these are just little things that have happened recently in my life that I didnt expect especially during a week where I just wanted to give my legs a rest for the race along with my mind. We all have that-ya know? You just assume life will be a normal day when you wake up and then BAM! Something unexpected hits you. Thats when you have to be strong, be adaptable, be willing and able, slow down, and be thankful that you are prepared to calm the storm rather than run away from it.  Embrace it! What the "It" is, just embrace it.. 

Life is Good my friends- You better believe it! I cant wait to race this Sunday! I will have a Picture blog next week of the first half of 2013 and all the journeys it brought with it.

SPRINT TRIATHLON WORKOUT

Hey friends!

I dont post many of my workouts into detail but I will break down a workout I made on the fly today since I will not be racing in Knoxville TN tomorrow. I was planning on doing this 3 races/3weekend stretch in the beginning of the year but mother nature had different plans. Any way, since i was well rested going into this weekend thinking I was going to race, I wanted to put my body through immense amount of pain :)

So here it is...

500yds swim all out
1mile run all out
500yds swim all out
1mile run all out
500yds swim all out
1mile run all out

Then later in the day- a Power test for as long as I can stand on my bike with a power avg. 50 more watts than normal (most of you i have lost now :)

Anyway- The people at in the pool thought i was a lunatic, and the people on the treadmills (1.0 incline) thought i was a lunatic b/c i kept on getting on and then leaving.

My fastest swim 500 was 6.14min and my fastest mile was 5.25min (avg. 5.30 for all 3 mi). This is a great workout I can build off of later on this year prepping for the World Champs and hopefully/should be alot faster.
I was absolutely Spent. Like Dead. I finished the last 1mile all out and wanted to fall over and just lie on the ground.

The other important thing was that I rushed from the pool to run,run to the pool all 5 times.

Anyone training for a race longer than a sprint, these workout would not be good since the muscle memory is for your short term muscle twitches. Basically, after an hour race- i would need some better than this workout.

Tomorrow- I run up a mountain! Twice! In the rain! Epicness!

Nutrition: One Hammer power gel, and too much coffee before hand.
Running Shoes: Inov8 (not just for Crossfit peeps :)

Later Gators,
G

FAITH TESTED TODAY - FAILED

Well- earlier this morning, an athlete confronted me poolside. He started throwing some words my way about my blog and God (see my blog yesterday) and my character. In return, I .................. jabbed back at him. Right away- I did the wrong thing. I should have let him get his anger out and accept the words that he wanted to express. But no, I had to yell back and throw more negative/nasty words his way.

No matter what one says to you, you should never let them bring out your worse self. In this case we both lost the argument because in the end no one wins these type of disputes. Even if he came at me wanting to fight- I needed to turn the other cheek. A good female friend was there witnessing this, and I felt so bad that she saw this come out of me.

AGAIN- if someone attacks you with harsh words, you should never return the favor. Building character is not easy, and even though there are setbacks like this- i can just hope i learn from them.

Greg

2 TRIATHLONS AND GOD'S HANDS

April 20th - 7pm

Alright- I will make this hopefully quick pertaining to my last 2 races and then i will just get to writing :)

2 weeks ago- I had a race- suppose to be a Sprint Tri but the swim got canceled. So just a Bike/Run... I won! Today- I had another race in Charleston- suppose to be a triathlon- which rightfully it was except that the Bike did not count for the elite field due to them not having the course marked at the U-turn and no volunteer was there. So some of us biked 30miles instead of 13miles. And I had no water bottles thinking it was going to be a short race. Anyway- they just took our swim/run times in which I won again! :) I ran a 17.25 5k after a hard 30mile bike and just a Hammer Gel before the race (I love those Hammer Products!)

2 Races in 14 days and 2 wins! Pretty pumped but the real racing begins in May. Those will be alot more competitive.

What I have realized in these last 2 weeks is how important it is to give everything - worries/accomplishments/highs/lows/stress- to God. Today before the race- it was pouring in the morning and cold. I just said "God- I give this situation to you- please take care of it and I will just enjoy the ride on your journey for me" . When something does not go as planned for you- dont worry- let God do the worrying for you.

Tax Season is pretty much over- so that really excites me! I have tunnel vision now for the London World Champs. Staying Heatlthy, Positive, and stress-free are some goals along the way that will help me be mentally ready. Physically ready- well- i cant tell you all that info but just know- my body is going through some instense training day-in and day-out / morning and night. And I love every bit of it.

Gotta love life- There is alot more good than bad in life- thats for darn sure!

MY SATURDAY'S

So I thought I would give you a look into what a single, bachelor, triathlete, 40hr(ish) work week, and homeowner like myself, might do on a Saturday.

Today was one of the best weather days this year in Charlotte. Except for the wind but still really nice. Here is a time line with pictures!:)

4.15am - wake up (dog always needs to do his business at that time)

5.30am-6.45am- swim practice

7am-9am - Dog walk and coffee/breakfast/ipad fun/reading

9am-Noon - Cycling with an awesome group(look at the wind)

Noon-12.30pm - lunch/real breakfast

12.30pm- 2.30pm - Mow the yard and lay mulch down

3pm-5pm - run/gym/stretch

5pm - liquid food

5.30pm-6pm - Sox gets to play on the farm with his friend

6pm-7pm - Grill dinner/relax by the fire

7pm - write this blog

7.30pm - bake some healthy cookies

8pm - put together an Ikea table

8.30pm - go to the neighbors house to watch college basketball.

This is why I will always be single, but this is also why I absolutely love life!

The cool thing is though, as long as you dont compare your life to someone else's  you can have an exact opposite of a Saturday and yet enjoy life just as much. So cool, isnt it?? Have a good Sunday!:)

First Tri of year- Clermont FL

I like journaling on these trips daily so below is my journal from this past weekends race.

Friday Night - 3/8/13

In the hotel lobby just chillaxing! Hot tea and surfing the internet. Also, watching ESPN for the first time in forever. I must say, ESPN is the only thing I miss with cutting my Cable off. Other than that, so worth it!
Anyway- super stoked to watch an awesome race tomorrow. There are two races this weekend. One tomorrow, and another on Sunday which is mine. The one tomorrow, you get to draft off each other during the bike portion. The one on Sunday you dont. Which is the same rules for Worlds in September. So- yes- i get to watch tomorrow's race and study the course. Also, I will be training at the National Training Center here in Clermont FL before the race which is awesome.
I feel fit going into my first race. I have put in alot of work during the winter. Mostly a foundation for when the "Hard" training happens for Worlds but I think that i should be able to compete come Sunday and hopefully pull out a top 10 finish.
Last year- I had really good training blocks with really bad races . This year- I HAVE to go all in on every race. I also have to race smart. Anyway. Thats that. I had a good run this morning at 5am in the 25 degree temps. It was a good shake out run. Tomorrow will be a little more race specific workout. Then Sunday- We race!

Saturday 5.30pm - 3/9/13

Wow! Today was flipping awesome. I woke up at 6am, had oatmeal and then headed to the national training center. I did a swim workout at the 50m outdoor pool below. Then did a 3mile shake out run on the track and trails below (trails are in the grass field above the track). I felt pretty good this morning. Adrenaline is definitely kicking in.

Then- one of My best friend's Dad- George- came up and spent the day with me. We went and watched the Pro race (hard to watch knowing I can beat those guys) which was really fun and especially b/c George had no idea what my sport was really. So telling him everything was really cool.
A side note with George- Kyle who was like another Brother to me passed away 3 years ago from a freak accident. It was a death that touched many lives because of who he was. While it sucks not having Kyle around- it is refreshing knowing he is with me whenever and wherever. George and Chris (his wife) have been unbelieveable during the loss of their youngest child. They are such strong people with a faith that is unbreakable. And to have him here with me is awesome!

We went to a sports bar to watch the Gator basketball game and I had a beer. Yes, I had a beer before the race. I did this last year for a big race and I finished 2nd overall so I think it might be a good ritual. We will see.
After lunch, I napped then did a shake out bike workout. Felt really good during that. Maybe because its so flat here and im just use to all the hills in North Carolina. Anyway, time for dinner. Peace.

Sunday - 12.30pm
Alrighty! I love to race. That was awesome. Normally they break up races with heats. Like- An age group at 8, 8.15,8.30 and a collegiate group. Not at this race. It was a mass start. All athletes running into the water punching and kicking each other. Side note- this was the Florida Collegiate Tri Championship. That is One reason why I came to this race. I love going after competition rather than staying here locally.  Anyway- I will make this short since pics are so much better.

Swim- 9th out of the water, worked my butt off on the bike to stay up front but still lost a few spots, then gained them back on the run. I got my top 10 finish that I predicted. So nice here in Florida! Pics below of my little journey....

Road Trip

Why free coffee/hot tea/and hot chocolate all day at the hotel makes me the happiest person in the world- dont ask me!

An early swim at the NTC the day before the race

The trails are in the hills behind me and that track was awesome at the NTC!

George and I before the race. That water was chilly!

A healthy breakfast

I raced a swim meet last weekend as well. Look at the flippin Pool!

BOOK REVIEW AND TRI TRAINING UPDATE

My triathlon training update will be brief. I am feeling amazing. All 3 sports are progressing as planned. Cant wait for races to start. I will have a weekend journal on my races this weekend.

2 things to answer:

1) No, I dont have a coach. I coach myself
2) I train mostly alone. The races your alone, so why not train alone.

Ok. Now for the fun stuff! 3 more books read in February which gives me a total of 7 books for the year. 23 to go to complete my New Years Res goal.

My books were Life of Pi, Running on Joy, and Harry Potter #2.

2 really cool things have happend since my last Book blog. A really good friend who I dont see that much during the school year (he teaches and coaches) suprised me on a Sunday and dropped off 2 books for me to read. I had asked for suggestions last month knowing It will be hard to have 30 good books to read. A gesture so small, made my day. For him to reach out like that is awesome and I know he reads my blog :) Thanks JR!
The other mystery- I am still trying to find out who- A book came in the mail from Amazon.com but does not tell me who bought it. It is definitely a book I will read, so i dont think it was a mistake. Those 2 acts of kindness go along way.
Right now I have 5 books on tap (not including my Harry potter once a month). Which means... I still need help people. 13 more books. Recommendations are welcomed.

Lastly, I like to write down quotes in a journal that I really like from books so here are a few from this month:

Cross Roads
- The Holy Spirit telling Anthony who she is:
"I am she who is more than you can begin to imagine and yet anchors your deepest longings. I am she whose love for you , you are not powerful enough to change, and i am she whom you can trust. I am the voice in the wind, the smile in the moon, the refreshing of the life that is water. I am the common wind that catches you by surprise and your very breath."

Life of Pi
-Talking about swimming
"there was the deep pleasure of doing a stroke with increasing ease adn speed, over and over, until hypnosis practically, the water turning from molten lead to liqud light."

-"the presence of God is the finest of rewards"

-Talking about survival
"I will not die. I refuse it. I will make it thourgh this nightmare. I will beat the odds, as great as they are. I have survived so far, miraculously. Now I will turn miracle into routine. The amazing will be seen everyday. I will put in all the hard work necessary. yes, so long as God is with me, I will not die. Amen"


Book Review:
Life of Pi - Great until the ending. I dont do well with gruesome stuff
Running with Joy - A must read for all you marathoners out there
Harry Potter #2 - Its crazy to think Im getting obsessed with this geeky character. But- I totally am!


Books Read so far in 2013:
Harry Potter #1
Cross Roads
The Bleachers
MockingJay
Life of Pi
Running with Joy
Harry Potter #2

Have a good Wednesday. Shout out to my work. For the last 2 years -They have made Accounting the most fun occupation a man can have and they let me train at an elite level.

Also- cant flipping wait until Sunday (first race of the year)!

G