April 11 - April 17, 2016 - Week in review on April 17

Jakeman's Lozenges

Activities - Strava Logs (not linked as URLS on purpose, please copy and paste if you are strava stalking me :) )

Monday
Activity 1 - https://www.strava.com/activities/543790912
and https://www.strava.com/activities/542803716
Tuesday
Activity 1 - https://www.strava.com/activities/543790912
Wednesday
Activity 1 - https://www.strava.com/activities/544787431
Thursday
Activity 1 - Rested
Friday
Activity 1 - https://www.strava.com/activities/546595730
Saturday
Activity 1 - https://www.strava.com/activities/547035077
Activity 2 - https://www.strava.com/activities/547464315

Weight Stats
Monday morning pre-activity weigh in 188.2
Saturday post activity weigh in 188.9
Sunday Morning weigh in 187.6

Targeted Activity and Focus Points
SWIM
Overall my swim was pretty good. I showed up to full lanes, and went for a potty break. When I returned the lane I wanted opened up, but a gal that was getting ready to start outside the lane skipped in, although she saw I was there prior walking in from the restroom. Oh well, I guess wearing a snorkel supersedes guy training for Ironman (70.3).

BIKE
I had to switch to the indoor trainer.I went to Sports Academy and used Tour de France back. because it is setup with iFit and I couldn't figure out mine or my wife's login, I just spun at a target 19 mph for one hour. that sucked all the sweat out of my body. Geesh.

RUN
I was fighting respiratory distress this week. I had to turn things off on one run and settle for a short run, and then Friday night run just blew up from lack of sleep. Need to concentrate this upcoming two weeks and dial in before taper. I feel very mindful though, and my pacing was right on target. This is despite feeling a bit under the weather.

Weights and Strength
Knee Bio-mechanics exercises 2 times this week in replacement of normal run volume in Central Park.

Weekly Reflections and Focus
So, this week I started to really feel the effects of a respiratory distress that I had been staving off, but I finally succumbed prior to traveling. A few of my work colleagues were sharing their illness. I found some lozenges that worked really well and allowed me to run. I present to you, Jakeman's lozenges as pictured above -
Link to Jakeman's Products

Another cool thing that I have used for some time are these little super magnets called Racedots. I won a contest during the winter before my first 70.3 IM in St. George (2015) and won a set of 5. I use them as tie tacks, as race bib holders and a few other things as I travel and need magnets. These little super magnets are quite the cool thing. They aren't perfect and some folks struggle with them but I really like them and think the design quality is well thought though and executed. I am not affiliated with them in anyway, but linking to them in case folks wander across my ramblings and are curious:
Racedots Official Website

So, I have targeted dairy and been doing a thorough elimination for some time. This week on Tuesday, someone brought in some pizza from a local New York vendor round about 18th and Audobon. It was Kosher and I thought, why not let's introduce it and see what happens. Well, within about 2 hours my gut totally hated me for being optimistic. It cleaned me out pretty well after I returned to the hotel after work. I have noticed a lot of things in inflammatory response to not be so acute since going away from dairy. I am thinking the only dairy I may entertain in the future will be with BUTTER. I was also highly aggressive in eliminating refined sugars. I am ready to go back to that as well. I really need to identify my nutrition strategy for May 7. I keep getting the exact Saturday date mixed up. To be honest I am a bit disappointed with Gatorade being the electrolyte of choice at Ironman sanctioned events Ironman event nutrition options. Oh well, I will have to be mindful not to grab it and only grab water for my new hydration aero bottle as needed.

For those looking to stalk me. My bib number was released a few weeks back, but I wanted to share it here. For the IRONMAN 70.3 North American Pro Championship St. George event I am BIB NUMBER 1856. Thre are a few different ways to follow and track, but the only mechanism I am allowed to use is the ankle timing device that the race provides (it's not worth the risk of discovery - elimination from events). Last year, there were some problems, so much so that Liz got nervous and thought I drowned. All was well, it's just something happened that I didn't look into, as technically, I missed the swim cut off of 1 hour 10 minutes by 3 minutes. You bet i went on to finish regardless. This year, that is not going to happen. At the official 70.3 Ironman St George website, there is a section that lists all the rules and guidelines. If you are bored and are looking for some light reading: Rules and redulations governing all 70.3 and Ironman events. The cool app that I currently like and suggest to use is IMTrkr Free (link to Google Play Store). It's a decent app. There may be others but this is the one I have been investigating as Galveston and new Orleans have recently finished.

In the last few months I was accepted to a fun loving group of triathletes that a fellow strava connection pointed me to and I was accepted in their team of sorts. Its known as the Pathetic Triathletes Group. It's a fun loving mix of folks of all levels. The best thing about it is the low level 'butthurt' that folks get when being part of a club or group. Too often these days folks look to be offended and this group keeps a healthy dose of tolerance and a large heaping dosing of support and camaraderie. We have become stalkers of each other. Here is a link to our etsy store: Etsy Store Link - Pathetic Triathletes Group. There are a few fun things that non pathetics may also like. If not, it's a fun group nonetheless.

I also was pointed to a new training diary ecosystem of sorts. It is still being developed, but I like a few of the features. It is being developed by some UK folks, but nonetheless I am giving it a good look. Be mindful it is being developed. It is called trainxhale Trainxhale link. The major thing that I like is the diary and the coach integration. Currently the Premium set is free and worth looking into as they continue to develop it. i think it sits between Strava and Training Peaks. For the budget minded and frugal endurance athlete, this toolkit looks very promising in the short term and may actually grow into a great ecosystem to support endurance and triathletes alike. The integration toolkit and API's need a lot of work as the tool is not my favorite as it requires me to interact with it. I wish that sequence in the extract, transform and load process from Garmin or Strava was a little more seamless and allowed me to just add my notes. As it is early in its life cycle, I will be patient and see if it matures. The thing I mostly like about it is the development from actual triathletes. This will be interesting to watch and see grow hopefully.

It has been a bit of a roller coaster week, and sometimes that happens while training. I have to be willing to understand that sometimes life happens as a participant in events. I am not an elite athlete that is sponsored and I don't have the ability to just train without full time employment or other distractions. I am currently juggling my employment, family life with a wonderful wife and a 10 year old boy and almost 10 month old baby girl.

Family Photo - 2016 Shamrock Shuffle
I am beyond lucky that they tolerate me and allow me to do this. Although this is only number 2, I feel so much more prepared. It has allowed me to regain control of my weight and my health. I know that I am not perfect and don't ever expect to be, but I am able to strive in a way that allows me to maintain a good lifestyle. Getting a bit sick and not building in a true rest week during my build up allowed me to let this be an 'easy' week. Further, with the wind storm of sorts that occurred yesterday, my rides this upcoming week will be more focused and mindful. I am glad that my calendar ended up the way it did. I tried to reconfigure it to be more advantageous to my current work assignment, but inadvertently or other, it truly aligned to my favor. it also helps as Liz just had a permanent contact lenses operation. So far, she is coming out way ahead, and will never have to worry about contact lenses or eye glasses into the future. I have been listening to several podcasts and thought I would list a few of my favorites from this week.

Podcast list: