Pulled through fine

Mo had his annual exam today, a sigmoidoscopy to check on his Colitis. He did very well, such a trooper. It is never fun for me to be the hospital but its worse watching someone put my son under anesthesia.

They did give him some good stuff though and watching Mo trip on painkillers and Valium is funny. He stares at this fingers for minutes on end, he says the funniest nonsensical things.

I took a bunch of pictures before and after. This being the one that summed up the whole morning.


We are at home now and he is watching some cartoons upstairs with Mistress. I am staying home today to finish a project for work and see what happens with Mo's recovery and the pregnancy. Any day, any minute, Mistress will pop.

Spinning plates.

So much is going on and even some of it is training. Mistress is due to pop at any moment. Which has the whole family waiting on pins and needles. Every time she calls, I wonder if this is going to be the BIG call.

I have been trying to bank as much sleep as possible. Not easy with the work load I have recently shouldered or assumed. Working 15 hours a day and sleeping 3-4 hours a night and staying hydrated and eating right (hopefully) every three hours and getting in my training, and trying to be cognizant of the impending birth is daunting. Not overwhelming, Lord knows my stress envelope is pretty fricken big.

Consequently I am super revved up to get my projects at work done. And man do I have some projects going on. I highly doubt I will be able to get it all done in time and that frustrates me and is a significant reason for my lack of posting.

After three great weeks of solid training, I woke up Sunday with a body that was shot. It was Tuesday before I started feeling that I should resume training. The process was much less painful than I thought probably due to the fact that I knew I will be training again as soon as my body recovers properly. So last night I got in a short swim. Felt good.

Have Fun

Practical application

There are days that I write posts simply to motivate myself and there are days that I post because I know if the topic enough in my head its like a session in affirmation. Yesterdays post on the Flywheel, was such a post.

I was very torn between a workout and going to see a movie, opening day of Underworld 3. Then speaking with Mistress it was decided we would take movie night on the road and take the three of us to see Inkheart and then dinner. The time is getting short for just the three of us to bond together before the baby comes.

I still wanted to see my movie but knew doing so would cancel my workout for the day. So I made the right decision and worked out. In fact it was the longest run I have done since getting the green light and my HR was great.

In truth I need that previous post as much as anyone.

The Flywheel

At the beginning of every new training plan is the fits and starts of progress. A great day of eating right, then... a late night snack. Several days of good training, then...a blown off workout for no reason.

Much like the flywheel on a train that slips and slides through its first few rotations, eventually it does bite and rotates smoothly. But slowly.

The flywheel gets faster as it rotates. Its builds momentum, so much so that it will take miles of track for it to stop once again. Nothing you throw at the flywheel will stop its momentum only the act of achieving the destination does it begin to stop.

Now imagine your training plan or your nutrition as that flywheel. It takes time but once momentum has been achieved, no taunts from co-workers, no cold mornings, no sabotage from 'friends' will derail your progress.

Remember that only you can stoke the fires that power your flywheel. If you do not build momentum, then you will constantly fight against slips and fitful starts. Be strong in the beginning. Change from rest to movement is not easy but with consistent application of force (willpower) you will pick up speed and nothing will stop your progress.

Don't be a slave to the plan

How many times have I said that 'consistency is the key', in regards to fitness? Too many it seems but it bears repeating. To be clear, I believe that consistency is different that putting in the time. Just blindly following a training plan wears away some of the best aspects of your what your trying to accomplish, it takes the fun out, it becomes a chore. Blind devotion diminishes the underlying controls you need to learn in order to have long term results. Without them the goal becomes bigger than the lifestyle and as soon as the goal is reached, the body-mind connection craves another goal rather than sticking to a successful routine.

I am applying this to training plans but its just as easy to apply to nutrition. If someones overall goal is to lose 20 pounds, they make sacrifices to their lifestyle than as soon as the goal is reached out comes the food that were 'denied' and the weight comes back on. If moderation was used, using the food that the person already eats but making sure the total number of calories are correct, then the lifestyle is created that its okay to have some of the things that are liked without sacrificing happiness.

Also strive to incorporate joy into whatever lifestyle you are trying to create. Otherwise your just being too hard on yourself.

Things do change

Where to begin, where to begin. Folks I am very inspired right now. I am having some great workouts. Each day seems to bring me more speed and strength at the same heart rate. Zone training is the melding of consistency and sticking to the plan and often it is far to easy to lose either one.

Today on my run I was able to sustain a low 12 minute mile at just under 150 bpm. Two weeks ago I was a minute slower. There is a lot of people who just absolutely would not subject themselves to that ego bruising position. But I get it. Do you get it? Do you understand that my Ironman marathon pace is right around 12 minute miles? While I won't be doing any of those races again, (cough*cough) I do envision myself running in a triathlon once more. In fact my run today was on the Ironman Arizona course.

I actually was smiling today on my run. Unconsciously. Now I love to run, but it's something I've struggled to do my whole life. I would try to do it in the past and it just felt forced. It felt more like a grimace. I remember seeing friends smile so broadly and effortlessly on training runs. I just wasn't able to mimic. People tell me I look like I am getting ready to run through a wall. But...not today. Today I ran with smile and it was good.

There's treasure everywhere

The Hills are alive with the sound of pedals

I took to the hills for the second weekend in a row. Unlike last weekend my cycling HR did not hit 180 bpm but it did climb to 165. I will take that as a good sign. I worked very hard to maintain a sense of balance and ride without ego. Luckily there were a couple of people working on HR training and we were able to all stick relatively close.

With each passing week I feel the warmth of exercise come back into me. A vital energy that was sorely lacking in my convalescences. Its the potential of having abilities I thought at best long gone and worst never to see again.

There's treasure everywhere.