Even though I've tried updating daily in the past to moderate effect, I'm trying it again. See, I've got a pretty big triathlon coming up in July and I need to figure out some way to at least attempt to keep myself accountable for my training and choices. So here goes this.
I would like to keep consistent with the categories below and I'm going to give myself grades for them as close to daily as possible. Getting to a level of fitness that will allow me to finish the tri is going to be challenging in this amount of time, but I think it's possible if I start making good decisions in both physical training and also my other habits (food, booze, sleep, etc.).
Clean Eating: B-
I stuck mostly to fruit, vegetables and protein, but also I had some cookie cake and a Diet Coke, which is my eternal enemy and the vice I just can't quit.
No Alcohol: A
Didn't have any!
Sleep: A
I got 7.5 hours.
Training Overall: B
Run: Yes
6.5 miles
Swim: No
Bike: No
Other: A
Blogging!
Friday, April 1, 2016
Race Report: Naked Bavarian 40 (20) Miler
Aha! Bet you didn't think you'd see a race report from me soon. At least, I didn't expect to want to write one. I'm frankly not sure I actually did want to write one, but I just have to keep trying things to see if I can't get myself out of this rut.
In January, one of the things I thought would motivate me to prioritize training in my schedule was to sign up for an ultramarathon. Really seems like a gamble, doesn't it?
Surprise! It didn't motivate me to prioritize training. I think I signed up for it on January 15 and the race itself was on March 6, so I gave myself a full six weeks of training. At my best, I could have done that, I think. But I'm coming to terms with the fact that I'm not at my best and I can't count on being able to pull off dumb things like that.
It's not all bad. The weekend itself was a lot of fun and the run was gorgeous, from an aesthetic perspective. Let's explore that some more.
A few years ago, I did the Bob Potts Marathon in Pennsylvania. I rented a car and drove about five hours out, did the race, and then drove back. Even though it was a lot of driving in a short amount of time, I liked the trip because it was like an adventure. Plus, I was able to stop at a brewery on my way home. When I signed up for this race, I liked the idea of doing the same kind of thing.
I rented a car, which ended up being a minor disaster due to the fact that Advantage has a crappy "local renters" policy, which basically means you can't rent a car from the airport unless you 1. have an itinerary in or out of the airport or 2. can prove you have auto insurance in the state. I had neither, and so had to make an impromptu cancellation and reservation with a different car company. A similar thing happened to me last year when I drove out to do the NJ marathon, but this was more annoying.
I finally got myself into a Canadian Toyota Yaris and was puzzled before I realized the speedometer was in kilometers. It was fine eventually, and I drove it to my friend Helen's apartment where we had pre-race Bechdel Test Movie Night and sandwiches from Luca Brasi's deli. At some point during the evening, I thought it might be helpful to look up the course and understand the terrain. Although I was hopeful that it would be mostly a road race, I was dismayed to find out that it was probably more like 90% trail. Even though I'd already spent some time worrying about my insufficient preparation, it was at this point that I started to give some serious thought to whether or not what I was attempting was even doable. I started to strategize about worst-case scenarios.
I went to bed probably too late, but that's my pre-race MO. I had a good sleep, even if it was only a few hours long. My plan was to drive the two and a half hours before the race, which started at 8am. I woke up at 4:45 and left around 5:15, which was 15 or so minutes later than I'd hoped. It proved to be a valid concern, as I didn't make the time I really needed to to get there with enough time to pick up my bib and mentally prepare. Instead, I got there approximately 7 minutes before 8 o'clock desperately needing a toilet. I grabbed my bib, pinned it on, had to run back to the car to throw the things I didn't plan to run with, and then go to the bathroom. Even with all the rushing, I did not make it by the beginning of the race and started about 5 minutes late. The races I usually do are chip timed, so it doesn't matter when you start because your chip time, or when you crossed the mat, is used. Unfortunately for me, this was a "budget" race and therefore had a more traditional timing method, which is just pulling off tabs on people's bibs in the order they cross the finish line and recording their time.
So I started dead last and wearing my (faux) fur lined vest because it was cold and I hadn't planned my attire accordingly. I started so late that no one was even in sight anymore and I had to ask a volunteer where the course was after approximately 50 steps of running. He directed me, and although I started at a nice, slow pace, I eventually did begin to catch up with other runners. I first passed 3-4, which was good news for me because I was dubious that I'd make the 1pm cutoff time.
After a little over half an hour of running, I reached the first aid station. I think I had a quarter of a potato? I don't remember. What I do remember is that I caught up with a group of three runners together and another guy that was more by himself, and we formed a little caravan. We weren't really trying to stay together, but we did anyway for the next ten miles or so. It was entertaining to listen to them talk as we ran, because I was woefully unprepared for the trails and it was hard.
Let me explain a little bit about the course. There were three distance options available: a 40-miler, a marathon, and a 20-miler. The 20 and 40 mile options were created by completing either one or two 20-mile loops depending on the chosen distance. The marathon was a 20 mile loop with a smaller 6.2 mile loop in the middle of it. The 20 mile loop itself was what the site describes as a "lollipoop." Here's a mathematical interpretation:
By the third aid station, the three runners had started to pull away and I was left with my thoughts. My thoughts at that point mostly consisted of trying to decide whether or not to do the full 40 mile distance. My past self would place a lot of value on going through with it no matter what, but there were a number of good reasons why this was inadvisable. First, my pace was slowing down significantly and although I expected to make the cutoff, it wouldn't be by much. I expected that my pace would continue to slow, and at that rate, that I wouldn't finish by dark, if I finished at all. I also didn't have a headlamp, and I was getting tired to the point that I was no longer picking my feet up high enough to avoid protruding tree roots. I ate it three different times within probably 10 minutes of each other, and I was starting to be very annoyed with that.
When I look back on it, the choice seems simple, but I agonized over it for probably six of the last seven miles. What finally allowed me to be okay with it was thinking about it in these terms: what was I proving by staying out there and finishing?
Not friggin' much, let me tell you. I eventually concluded that all I might prove by finishing was that I could still finish a race without doing any of the preparation that I should have done, and what kind of point is that to prove?
So I cut out after the first 20 miles. Was it the right decision? Yes. Was it a decision I was happy to make? No.
In January, one of the things I thought would motivate me to prioritize training in my schedule was to sign up for an ultramarathon. Really seems like a gamble, doesn't it?
Surprise! It didn't motivate me to prioritize training. I think I signed up for it on January 15 and the race itself was on March 6, so I gave myself a full six weeks of training. At my best, I could have done that, I think. But I'm coming to terms with the fact that I'm not at my best and I can't count on being able to pull off dumb things like that.
It's not all bad. The weekend itself was a lot of fun and the run was gorgeous, from an aesthetic perspective. Let's explore that some more.
A few years ago, I did the Bob Potts Marathon in Pennsylvania. I rented a car and drove about five hours out, did the race, and then drove back. Even though it was a lot of driving in a short amount of time, I liked the trip because it was like an adventure. Plus, I was able to stop at a brewery on my way home. When I signed up for this race, I liked the idea of doing the same kind of thing.
I rented a car, which ended up being a minor disaster due to the fact that Advantage has a crappy "local renters" policy, which basically means you can't rent a car from the airport unless you 1. have an itinerary in or out of the airport or 2. can prove you have auto insurance in the state. I had neither, and so had to make an impromptu cancellation and reservation with a different car company. A similar thing happened to me last year when I drove out to do the NJ marathon, but this was more annoying.
I finally got myself into a Canadian Toyota Yaris and was puzzled before I realized the speedometer was in kilometers. It was fine eventually, and I drove it to my friend Helen's apartment where we had pre-race Bechdel Test Movie Night and sandwiches from Luca Brasi's deli. At some point during the evening, I thought it might be helpful to look up the course and understand the terrain. Although I was hopeful that it would be mostly a road race, I was dismayed to find out that it was probably more like 90% trail. Even though I'd already spent some time worrying about my insufficient preparation, it was at this point that I started to give some serious thought to whether or not what I was attempting was even doable. I started to strategize about worst-case scenarios.
I went to bed probably too late, but that's my pre-race MO. I had a good sleep, even if it was only a few hours long. My plan was to drive the two and a half hours before the race, which started at 8am. I woke up at 4:45 and left around 5:15, which was 15 or so minutes later than I'd hoped. It proved to be a valid concern, as I didn't make the time I really needed to to get there with enough time to pick up my bib and mentally prepare. Instead, I got there approximately 7 minutes before 8 o'clock desperately needing a toilet. I grabbed my bib, pinned it on, had to run back to the car to throw the things I didn't plan to run with, and then go to the bathroom. Even with all the rushing, I did not make it by the beginning of the race and started about 5 minutes late. The races I usually do are chip timed, so it doesn't matter when you start because your chip time, or when you crossed the mat, is used. Unfortunately for me, this was a "budget" race and therefore had a more traditional timing method, which is just pulling off tabs on people's bibs in the order they cross the finish line and recording their time.
So I started dead last and wearing my (faux) fur lined vest because it was cold and I hadn't planned my attire accordingly. I started so late that no one was even in sight anymore and I had to ask a volunteer where the course was after approximately 50 steps of running. He directed me, and although I started at a nice, slow pace, I eventually did begin to catch up with other runners. I first passed 3-4, which was good news for me because I was dubious that I'd make the 1pm cutoff time.
 |
| Trails are a b |
Let me explain a little bit about the course. There were three distance options available: a 40-miler, a marathon, and a 20-miler. The 20 and 40 mile options were created by completing either one or two 20-mile loops depending on the chosen distance. The marathon was a 20 mile loop with a smaller 6.2 mile loop in the middle of it. The 20 mile loop itself was what the site describes as a "lollipoop." Here's a mathematical interpretation:
By the third aid station, the three runners had started to pull away and I was left with my thoughts. My thoughts at that point mostly consisted of trying to decide whether or not to do the full 40 mile distance. My past self would place a lot of value on going through with it no matter what, but there were a number of good reasons why this was inadvisable. First, my pace was slowing down significantly and although I expected to make the cutoff, it wouldn't be by much. I expected that my pace would continue to slow, and at that rate, that I wouldn't finish by dark, if I finished at all. I also didn't have a headlamp, and I was getting tired to the point that I was no longer picking my feet up high enough to avoid protruding tree roots. I ate it three different times within probably 10 minutes of each other, and I was starting to be very annoyed with that.
When I look back on it, the choice seems simple, but I agonized over it for probably six of the last seven miles. What finally allowed me to be okay with it was thinking about it in these terms: what was I proving by staying out there and finishing?
Not friggin' much, let me tell you. I eventually concluded that all I might prove by finishing was that I could still finish a race without doing any of the preparation that I should have done, and what kind of point is that to prove?
So I cut out after the first 20 miles. Was it the right decision? Yes. Was it a decision I was happy to make? No.
Friday, March 4, 2016
I Haven't Found It
But I'm plodding along anyway. I feel so far removed from where I was at my fittest points over the last five or so years. In the months since I last posted, I've had times where I'm better about getting out and running and times when I'm worse. I haven't been able to be consistent about it and I also haven't been able to pinpoint EXACTLY why. I've speculated and I think touched on a lot of the reasons, but identifying and understanding them hasn't seemed to make fixing them any easier.
Monday, January 4, 2016
Now It's 2016!
It's hard to believe this is where we are. I was just updating a few things here and noticing that last year was abysmal for blog posts. Only six all year. I didn't even bother updating my goals page, which is something I've already fixed for this year.
I mentioned in my last post that my struggle currently is balancing everything in my life. My choices are these: make sacrifices or be better. They're both punishing options, just in different ways. Before the holidays, I opted for the former. Now I'm going to give the latter a try and see what happens.
I've always dreaded January to March as a time of frigid, soul-crushing weather. The last few years, I only got through it by making frequent trips to the gym to run on the treadmill. A warmer, if less challenging and more appealing alternative to running outside.
But in the last couple days, I've begun to consider that maybe I've just been going about this all wrong. I decided to try thinking about it differently. Maybe these few months are when I get to set the stage for the rest of the year.
In terms of my athletic endeavors, I want to make these months about putting in the miles. And you know what? I'm off the treadmill right now. Bring on the gross cold, because there is joy that can't be found in the confines of a gym and that's what I need right now.
I mentioned in my last post that my struggle currently is balancing everything in my life. My choices are these: make sacrifices or be better. They're both punishing options, just in different ways. Before the holidays, I opted for the former. Now I'm going to give the latter a try and see what happens.
I've always dreaded January to March as a time of frigid, soul-crushing weather. The last few years, I only got through it by making frequent trips to the gym to run on the treadmill. A warmer, if less challenging and more appealing alternative to running outside.
But in the last couple days, I've begun to consider that maybe I've just been going about this all wrong. I decided to try thinking about it differently. Maybe these few months are when I get to set the stage for the rest of the year.
In terms of my athletic endeavors, I want to make these months about putting in the miles. And you know what? I'm off the treadmill right now. Bring on the gross cold, because there is joy that can't be found in the confines of a gym and that's what I need right now.
Tuesday, December 8, 2015
Happy Almost Thanksgiving
Well I have been extremely delinquent here for a long time. Almost two years, in fact. I've been trying to figure out why that is and I've reached some important conclusions.
The first and most important is that I've spent the last couple years trying to figure out what I want to be doing with all my time that isn't spent at work. For the last five years or so, I've claimed that one of my ambitions is to be more involved in comedy and to put up lots of good stuff. I've put up some, sure, but not enough to make the strides I'd like to make creatively.
Maybe the next logical thought is what that even has to do with my athletic endeavors. I ask myself that frequently because I know the two can coexist and I've written about that struggle. But I've really only written about it from one angle, which is the logistics of it all. I have historically been very bad at waking up in the morning to work out, which leaves me with the evenings. Unfortunately, all of anything I would be doing in comedy happens in the evening, as well. The truth I've been forced to confront in the last two months is that I can't do both well if I only have the evenings to make that happen. I can either be really good at running or put a lot of time into improv/sketch/storytelling, but I can't do both well.
Over the course of the year, I've taken almost the entire improv curriculum at The People's Improv Theater. It has enhanced my life in ways I didn't even know were possible. I've become a better improviser and performer and also gotten the courage to get up onstage to tell a story in front of hundreds of strangers. I've also met another outstanding group of people (in addition to The Chupacabra Conspiracy) with whom I've been able to perform and collaborate.
Spending time learning and performing with both groups over the past year has forced me to confront the deeper truth that there's more risk for me in pursuing my comedy than there is in pursuing running and triathlon.
Running and triathlon are a part of who I am. Although I can exist without doing them regularly, I feel less myself without them. I have a lower baseline happiness when I don't make time for running, in particular. What I love about running and what I've always loved about it is that I generally know what I'm getting myself into. I'll be happy with my results as long as I show up and do the work. My race results might not be quite what I want them to be if I haven't done the right workouts, but there's at least a level of satisfaction but just getting out there and getting in some miles.
The same is not quite true with comedy, and probably many other creative endeavors. It's not enough to show up and put in the time. I run for myself. I make comedy to evoke an emotional reaction from other people.
EDIT: I started this a couple weeks ago, but can't bear to see it go unpublished for too long, like so many other posts I start. So I'm leaving the heading outdated, as is. Stick with me. I'll figure out how to make it all work.
The first and most important is that I've spent the last couple years trying to figure out what I want to be doing with all my time that isn't spent at work. For the last five years or so, I've claimed that one of my ambitions is to be more involved in comedy and to put up lots of good stuff. I've put up some, sure, but not enough to make the strides I'd like to make creatively.
Maybe the next logical thought is what that even has to do with my athletic endeavors. I ask myself that frequently because I know the two can coexist and I've written about that struggle. But I've really only written about it from one angle, which is the logistics of it all. I have historically been very bad at waking up in the morning to work out, which leaves me with the evenings. Unfortunately, all of anything I would be doing in comedy happens in the evening, as well. The truth I've been forced to confront in the last two months is that I can't do both well if I only have the evenings to make that happen. I can either be really good at running or put a lot of time into improv/sketch/storytelling, but I can't do both well.
Over the course of the year, I've taken almost the entire improv curriculum at The People's Improv Theater. It has enhanced my life in ways I didn't even know were possible. I've become a better improviser and performer and also gotten the courage to get up onstage to tell a story in front of hundreds of strangers. I've also met another outstanding group of people (in addition to The Chupacabra Conspiracy) with whom I've been able to perform and collaborate.
Spending time learning and performing with both groups over the past year has forced me to confront the deeper truth that there's more risk for me in pursuing my comedy than there is in pursuing running and triathlon.
Running and triathlon are a part of who I am. Although I can exist without doing them regularly, I feel less myself without them. I have a lower baseline happiness when I don't make time for running, in particular. What I love about running and what I've always loved about it is that I generally know what I'm getting myself into. I'll be happy with my results as long as I show up and do the work. My race results might not be quite what I want them to be if I haven't done the right workouts, but there's at least a level of satisfaction but just getting out there and getting in some miles.
The same is not quite true with comedy, and probably many other creative endeavors. It's not enough to show up and put in the time. I run for myself. I make comedy to evoke an emotional reaction from other people.
EDIT: I started this a couple weeks ago, but can't bear to see it go unpublished for too long, like so many other posts I start. So I'm leaving the heading outdated, as is. Stick with me. I'll figure out how to make it all work.
Wednesday, August 5, 2015
The Moses Zone
Yesterday, my friend Moses posted on my Facebook wall asking a few questions about what will be his first triathlon. He has a list of criteria that he'd like the race to meet and asked if I had any input.
I sure do!
Let's first establish our criteria:
It won't be hard to find a triathlon that is relatively local. If I do a search on Trifind (the website Moses has been using) and narrow it down to all triathlons in New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania for the remainder of the year, I get 94 events! To narrow it down further, I'm only going to include those that are within about 100 miles of NYC.
Distances
This is where it starts to get tricky. Moses is looking for the swim of a sprint triathlon, bike of an Olympic, and run of almost a half iron race (unless he means 10 kilometers, in which case it's an Olympic distance run, as well). Below, I list the distances for the most common types of triathlon:
I've established a designated Moses Zone because these are the distances I think he should consider for his first race. Generally, I recommend that everyone start with a sprint tri in order to let themselves gauge how they feel about the experience before committing to a long, arduous training plan that they might not be inclined to follow for long. However, I know Moses has a high baseline level of fitness. Moses could definitely pull off an Olympic distance triathlon for his first.
Price
It gets even trickier here. Although Moses has the ability to train for and race an Olympic distance triathlon in not too much time, the price of Olympic distance races tends to be higher than $100.
Date
Moses hasn't given me a specific time frame in which to work, but I'm going to eliminate any triathlon in the month of August. At least a month of training should be a prerequisite here.
Overall
We're not going to be able to meet all of Moses's criteria, but we can come close. If I apply the logic set above, I'm now looking for an Olympic distance triathlon within roughly 100 miles of NYC that occurs no earlier than September 1. This yields 8 results on Trifind and my natural next step is to create a spreadsheet with relevant data because I love spreadsheets and data.
This is my general process when I'm looking for my next triathlon. Hopefully Moses will find it helpful. One way or the other, I have a lot of confidence that he'll pick the one that's right for him.
I sure do!
Let's first establish our criteria:
- Location: the event should be in NYC, NJ, or PA. We're looking to generally stay local.
- Distances:
- Swim: ~1/4 mile
- Bike: 25+ miles
- Run: 10+ miles (I think? This wasn't specified and could be in kilometers)
- Price: ~$100
It won't be hard to find a triathlon that is relatively local. If I do a search on Trifind (the website Moses has been using) and narrow it down to all triathlons in New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania for the remainder of the year, I get 94 events! To narrow it down further, I'm only going to include those that are within about 100 miles of NYC.
Distances
This is where it starts to get tricky. Moses is looking for the swim of a sprint triathlon, bike of an Olympic, and run of almost a half iron race (unless he means 10 kilometers, in which case it's an Olympic distance run, as well). Below, I list the distances for the most common types of triathlon:
I've established a designated Moses Zone because these are the distances I think he should consider for his first race. Generally, I recommend that everyone start with a sprint tri in order to let themselves gauge how they feel about the experience before committing to a long, arduous training plan that they might not be inclined to follow for long. However, I know Moses has a high baseline level of fitness. Moses could definitely pull off an Olympic distance triathlon for his first.
Price
It gets even trickier here. Although Moses has the ability to train for and race an Olympic distance triathlon in not too much time, the price of Olympic distance races tends to be higher than $100.
Date
Moses hasn't given me a specific time frame in which to work, but I'm going to eliminate any triathlon in the month of August. At least a month of training should be a prerequisite here.
Overall
We're not going to be able to meet all of Moses's criteria, but we can come close. If I apply the logic set above, I'm now looking for an Olympic distance triathlon within roughly 100 miles of NYC that occurs no earlier than September 1. This yields 8 results on Trifind and my natural next step is to create a spreadsheet with relevant data because I love spreadsheets and data.
This is my general process when I'm looking for my next triathlon. Hopefully Moses will find it helpful. One way or the other, I have a lot of confidence that he'll pick the one that's right for him.
Tuesday, August 4, 2015
Moth StorySlam: A First - Part 2
Last I left off, I had been chosen as the final storyteller of the evening.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)