Xterra #Wetsuit sale - Vortex and Vendetta Sleeveless - Use code "C-SETTHEPACE" #Triathlon #swimming

Our great www.Tri4aHandUp.com partners, Xterra wetsuits, is having a sale on the Vortex and Vendetta Sleeveless until Feb 3rd!

Check out the deals below and hit www.xterrawetsuits.com and use code "C-SETTHEPACE" at checkout to get the best price!

Thanks for the support!

Ideas to minimize disruption of family life while training for #Ironman #Triathlon #LegionofBoom

Most Ironman Triathlon athletes or hopefuls with spouses and kids at one time or another struggle with the healthy balance of life, family, work and training.

I recently stumbled upon a post from Fit Old Dog that sums up some good points, and I thought I would share some of his points and a few of my own ideas.

1. Explain and re-explain the race season. - This is all good unless you have more than one Ironman or long distance endurance race.  I've packed in my fair share for 2014 with the fundraising efforts, and I try to explain to myself and my family that this is not how every year will be.  Heck, I was even going to take this year off from full ironman distances.  Life changes...  :)
2. Replace selected 6-hour road rides with 3-4 hour trainer rides. - The premise is that trainer rides work you harder than road rides.  They can, but you can't slide in a DVD of Kona 2010 and spin your way through it.  You have to get higher intensity on the trainer if you want it to do anything for you.  Fact is, trainer riding is more safe than road riding and you have the sense of being home should you be needed in a moment's notice.
3. Try to minimize worry for your family -  Check in on long rides and runs.  Don't go off the radar for hours on end and let them know what your schedule is.
4. Substitute intensity for volume. - I like this idea.  I HATE junk miles.  Don't do them unless each workout has a reason or objective.  If you're looking for fitness, fine.  If you're looking to finish an Ironman on 10 hours a week, you better get running HARD!
5. Get buy in. - At this point, it probably goes without saying, if the family isn't on board, training and racing will be miserable for everyone.  Get buy in before you even sign up... and yes, that may be a year down the road for an IM event.  Don't spring it on your spouse 6 weeks before, "oh ya, signed up for Ironman Chattanooga.  No biggie, just a few more miles in the workouts."
6. Include your family in your workouts. - What 5 year old isn't entertained by a walk on a treadmill at 1 mile per hour while you spin on your trainer for a 60 minute ride?  Get creative.  Kids love to be active.  Carry them around for some weight training.  Drag them around the yard.  Get them in there with you.
7. Be completely present when in the family. - Guilty of this one.  I need to do a better job myself, but it's oh so true.  What time you do schedule for family activities, BE THERE!  Don't be on your phone surfing triathlon tips or checking out ebay for a bike seat.  Get triathlon off the brain and focus on the task at hand.  The family deserves as much attention as your training.

Do as I say, not as I do... trying out X2PERFORMANCE ASAP #triathlon #recovery #Illness #teamX2 #spon

So, last week was a doozy...

Not in regards to having a monster week of training, but in regards to be sick.  And I mean sick.  Nasty cold came on Monday night and is just now letting up.

Screw you cold virus!

So you may ask yourself, surely Ryan took it easy, got proper rest and got over it and didn't do anything as stupid as training through it... right?  WRONG.

I pretty much did everything wrong before, during and hopefully not after this last round of illness to sweep through our house.

It kicked off with a business trip.  Flying can be the quickest way to two points and it can also be the quickest way to getting sick.  High paced traveling adds stress.  Traveling can short you on quality sleep. Traveling can squeeze out healthy exercise.  Traveling can lead to poor food choices.  Traveling can introduce you to a small sardine can filled with people hacking and sniffling less than a foot away from your face.  It's a cesspool out there people, and I paid for it.

But, I wasn't sick, yet.

I tried to recover on sleep, but I also tried to get morning workouts in, cutting off much needed sleep time.  I kept my training schedule as much as I could.

Then, it hit.  Kids... stomach flu... up all night... I'll spare you the gory details.  Mysteriously I had it a week before and they chimed in when I got back.  Don't be fooled if you think I covered every gag and heave, my wife was a saint, but I was still up with everyone else.

I already had it, so I wasn't getting that stomach flu again, but I was deeper into the sleep deficit.  So, I eased up on the training to compensate... or so you may think.  Hell no!  I hit the road for 2 hours on a beautiful Sunday and got in 15 miles running on a beautiful Monday.  Best. Run. Ever.  But Monday night it hit me head on.  The worst head cold / night sweats / cold shiver fever fest I have had in a while.  It was bad.  I suffered and my wife even more with me flopping around in bed all night trying to get comfortable.

It sucked.  I paid the price for a critical endurance athlete recovery mistake all week long.

Recovery is king.  You can do anything your body will stay together for and come back for more the next day, if you treat yourself right.  At LEAST 8 hours a sleep for proper muscle repair and immune system support.  If you're not getting that sleep, no amount of supplements will prop you up.  You're a ticking time bomb.  Looking back on my last few weeks, it's easy to see I had been shorting and cheating myself.

The other leg of recovery is nutrition.  I don't obsess about every nutritional fad and idea out there, but you have to feed your body a minimum to sustain volume and intensity.  Without the proper fuel, you're body will fall apart or (ding ding) you're going to get sick, a lot.  I hate it when I'm right and I don't listen to myself.

In response to the latest medical nightmare fueled by SUDIFED and ZYRTEC, I'm vowing to be more diligent about sleep and workout nutrition.  Don't get me wrong, I eat, and eat well.  But, the timing of a long or particularly intense workout should include proper pre-workout, during workout and post-workout nutrition or supplements.  Without it, your immune system suffers and puts you at added risk and vulnerability to bacteria and viruses.  With a busy schedule the past few weeks and training mostly indoors, I had not planned workout nutrition as well.  I was either away from home to make something or on the run without enough time to get something before running out the door somewhere to workout or after a workout.

Well my friends, that ends now.  I need to get back to basics and planning my fuel just as diligently as my workouts.

For the 10's of 20's of you that might stop by my blog (ok you got me, the MILLIONS of you!), you might know that I'm all about trying out the latest product or gadget out there.  With that, I am now in cahoots with X²PERFORMANCE to try them out and write up a few posts about them.  They are a mainstay in the Ironman Triathlon world and have worked with several other online triathletes in the past.  And, get this, they invited ME to join in on their blogger campaign and help spread their message (ya, I get paid for this!).

I'll be honest, I've never used them, but I'm game for a challenge.  I'm hoping to get my hands on a supply to finish up LA Marathon training and to get me through Ironman Texas and Chattanooga in 2014.

X²PERFORMANCE claims they are a revolutionary sports nutritional supplement developed to help all athletes achieve their best potential, safely and naturally.  Leveraging leading scientific research, it targets the essential biological processes to fuel the body's natural energy generation capabilities without excessive stimulation or sugar inherent in most alternative products. X²PERFORMANCE is a pre-activity supplement delivered in a convenient liquid form. 

In case you were wondering if they are at all hokey or devious in their claims (maybe another 5-hour energy drink setup with a different marketing strategy???), they recently received two widely recognized and coveted product quality certifications, so athletes can be confident that what they’re taking is clean, safe and effective. X²PERFORMANCE earned the NSF CERTIFIED for SPORT designation, demonstrating the highest levels of product quality and approval for use by professional athletes.  So rest assured that SOMEONE out their is minding the store and making sure we're not loading up on PED's or just plan crap.

Like I said, I'm looking forward to getting my hands on their product and testing it out.  I have a few 18 to 20 mile runs left for LA Marathon and I'm going to need all the energy I can get!

While I'm testing out my batch, you can take advantage of this limited time offer and receive a free trial of X²PERFORMANCE and try it with me! You will need to select a subscription plan and pay $5.95 shipping charge, but you can cancel the subscription (even before your first shipment) at any time and still receive your free trial.

Disclosure

I am participating in a sponsored campaign for X²PERFORMANCE. I received compensation for this post, but the opinions are my own.

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent disease.

The chase for the elusive marathon BQ race... am I going to get there? #BetterYourBest #LegionOfBoom @1stPhorm

So, as I'm ticking off my training runs for the LA Marathon...

... I find myself questioning if my BQ goal is truly attainable.  In my training plan laid out by Coach Kastor, he has once and soon twice a week GMRP runs mixed in.  That stands for Goal Marathon Race Pace.  So, one run was an 8 mile run at GMRP.  I needed to keep 7:15 min/mile for 8 miles.  Ouch.  I made 7:24 on the running sections, but had to take a rest around the halfway point.  I was gassed and my legs were toast.  That was 8 miles and a marathon is 26.2.  I'm not sure how this is going to play out.  Basically it's going to be like sprinting for 26.2 miles and I'm not sure how that's going to happen for 3ish hours.

There are factors such as most of my running has been on treadmills at this point, and what does happen outside is sometimes on snow or patches of ice or in cold.  So climate conditions should provide a boost in LA, but how much of a boost?

It was fortuitous timing that Coach Kastor sent a copy of an article he wrote in 2009 about his wife, Deeena, training for the London Marathon.

She had just finished an 8 mile GMRP run and wondered how she was going to keep it up for a full marathon, to which Coach Kastor went into detail about his methodology.

So how do you know if you’re prepared to run the entire distance at the pace you’ve been dreaming about for last four or five months? During the training leading up to the marathon you’ve done several long runs, and although they may not have been the full marathon distance, you are still doing the work required to get ready for 26.2. You’ve also done countless intervals of varying lengths, easy maintenance runs, strides, and tempo runs, and you’ve practiced running at goal marathon race pace (GMRP). These GMRP runs are the key to any successful marathon training cycle.

During marathon training, we aren’t just stressing the muscles, ligaments, tendons, bones, fascia, blood vessels, and hormones, but also the central and peripheral nervous systems that control our muscular movements. As with all the other systems of the body, the nervous system is highly trainable. Knowing this, we can program our bodies to know race pace through training and repetition. After many weeks of varying workouts, your critical phase consists of these GMRP sessions. By running your specific GMRP, you’re hard-wiring your nervous system through repetition.

So the lesson learned is to try to nail those GMRP runs. Easier said than done, but that's been my mission.  I may not make my BQ goal, but I'll loose my lunch trying!  :)

Xterra LAVA pants + Swim Booties sale - use code C-SETTHEPACE #Triathlon #Swimming #Ironman

Our great www.Tri4aHandUp.com partners, Xterra wetsuits, is having a sale on the LAVA pants and Swim Booties until Jan 31!

Check out the deals below and hit www.xterrawetsuits.com and use code "C-SETTHEPACE" at checkout to get the best price!

Thanks for the support!