Some thoughts on Cultural Appropriation

Over on the Facebooks, a friend of mine was kvetching about Cultural Appropriation, and as I think it is an important topic, I thought I'd do a slightly longer post.  

What is Cultural Appropriation?  If you just are looking at the words and not familiar with the context in which the term developed, you get something like "taking the products of one culture and using them for your own profit" - probably with overtones of not giving credit or recompense, from the appropriation bit.  That's not too far off.  Pick an artist whose style is grounded in a culture not their own, and you can probably slap that label on them, from The Rolling Stones to Picasso.    

Fair enough as far as it goes.  And labels change when they get into common parlance, so I'm not arguing that the above is _wrong_ so much as it misses the context, which is of course Colonialism.  A lot of the current meta in politics has grown out of the academic studies of the second half of the twentieth century around the nature and use of power in culture.  Consider african-american dancers adopting a European form of dance such as the "two-step" (which isn't exactly the country-western dance you see today, though there are similarities) and turning it into the "Fox-Trot" is, by the above definition, cultural appropriation.  They took something from a culture not their own, put their flavor in it, and without attribution profited (for a given value of profit, mind you, and we're getting to that) thereby.  

That, the academic case goes, is not "cultural appropriation" because of the power imbalance between the two cultures involved.  Now, you can balk at that hurdle right here and we're done, because if you don't accept that the label can change based on the circumstances of the participants, you aren't going to agree with anything else that follows. FWIW I am not unsympathetic to this point of view, though I don't hold it.  When the point is to identify the dynamics of power imbalances between different cultures, and how they play out in terms of justice, then I think it is important to work under the assumption that terminology will not map 1:1 with similar comparisons inside a homogeneous culture. I think that some people are just unprepared to accept that proposition - I know it took me a long time to come around to a point where I think its the best way to approach power dynamics.  But there you go.  The argument is that there is a fundamental difference between, say, Jazz musicians riffing on Classical music and oh, the Washington Redskins or Chicago Blackhawks using native american iconography (I'm trying to spread the examples around here).  

I'd further argue that there is a spectrum, rather than a black-and-white label to be applied.  When you look at the way that capitalism in general operates, it doesn't care who created the product - it just tries to maximize profit.  Similarly, most artists aren't trying to "steal" from other cultures, so much as they are influenced by what is out there in the world, and go on to create their own art, sometimes without giving much if any thought to those influences.  So what is Cultural Appropriation really about, then?  For my money its about describing systems of power, where that power is leveraged to the advantage of the dominant culture, often with the effect of marginalizing the lesser culture.  Examples abound.  Individual actors/directors/screenwriters/etc. might just be creating art, but think about Hollywood as a system in which White, Male culture is prioritized while drawing on the tropes and trappings of black/asian/native american/female/etc. culture for legitimization and marketability.  Why are so many politicians in America white and male?  There is a system of power that puts them there, and when that system draws on the tropes and trappings of other cultures to advance itself, that is Cultural Appropriation.  

To which one might say "So what?  Who cares if there are systems of power that take advantage of their position of power to re-purpose other cultures products?  Isn't that what being in power means, that you can take from those who have less power?"  In which case, I'd say the answer is in the question.  Is that what being in power means?  And if not, then isn't it right to call out such things, and label them appropriately?

Cross-post from my Cisco Blog: Strengths Finder 2.0

A few thoughts about the Strengths Finder 2.0 book/website, created by Gallup and promoted as a tool for people to uncover their talents.  A thing we've been asked to do for the team.

StrengthsFinder 2.0

I've looked over and participated in a few other types of "self-improvement" programs, such as Covey's 7 Habits of Highly Successful People, and have found them to be moderately useful in identifying two things - behaviors that get in the way of being successful/happy/productive, and relationships that do the same thing.  SF2 focuses on the individual, rather than the community they are in, though they do attempt to draw some conclusions about the ways in which you might interact with others. The "pitch" is that rather than focus on areas where you need to improve, you should instead focus on areas where you possess "natural" strengths, and develop them to the fullest.

This seems tailor-made for modern audiences, who may be predisposed to tune out negative viewpoints or suggestions that they are less than practically perfect in every way. From a marketing standpoint, A+. "Sure, everyone has areas they aren't strong.  But by focusing on areas where you have gifts, you can more fully be the person you are!"

My initial reaction:

That being observed, there is something to the idea that positive feedback is key to happiness, and that you will be more successful in anything if you are playing to your strengths.  Constantly focusing on areas of weakness can be tough on morale!

The process for SF is fairly simple, and should be familiar to anyone who has taken a "personality" based course - they ask you dozens of questions, you give quick, gut-level responses, and this reveals the inner truth of your soul, for a given value of truth.  In Gallup's formulation, you are simultaneously presented with two propositions - "I love to learn" - and "I love to get work done" for example.  You have five seconds to choose from the range of  "Strongly Agree / Agree / No Opinion / Agree / Strongly Agree."  This makes it tough if you believe you are someone who loves to learn AND loves to get things done, but for the most part I didn't come across too many of those "I love kittens / I love puppies" questions where you shake your head, as if someone can't love both.  (NO, you must Choose!!!!)

After about 30 minutes of this, you are presented with a report of findings about your 5 Themes of Strength.  There are 34 available strengths that you might fit into, from "Achiever" to "Woo": each one has particular features, discussed in the book and online, and interacts with the others in diverse ways. For me, what did I learn?

My Top Five Themes:

Learner:  "A great desire to learn, and want to continuously improve"  Check.

Activator: "Can make things happen by turning thoughts into action.  Often impatient."  Check.

Ideation: "Fascinated by ideas.  Able to find connections between seemingly disparate phenomena."  Check.

Input: "Craving to know more. Like to collect and archive all kinds of information." Check?  I do like to know how lots of different things work.  Sure.

Strategic: "Create alternate ways to proceed. Faced with any given scenario, they can quickly spot relevant patterns and issues."  And, Check.

Those all hit on something I recognize about myself.  I might have thought something about Adaptability would have made the top 5.  But I look through the list of 34 and I see another six or seven that I could definitely see rising to the top if I took the test on a different day.

The basic test, then, passes the "Does it work?" test - yes, given 75 answers to "what kinds of things do you identify about yourself", it can kick out themes which I recognize about myself.  Maybe I am a bit more introspective than most people, but this doesn't surprise or much impress me - the answer to the next question, would.  The next question is, of course, "So What?"

And here, I think, is where any online, automated process is going to have the most trouble.  What you get in your report is a series of pre-fabricated sentences that are strung together to make some form of sense.  "Instinctively, you have acquired valuable skills and knowledge."  Really?  It was instinct, and not a choice?  Ok, for being written by an algorithm it isn't awful.  The report uses short, punch sentences with "You do X" and "You are likely to Y" structures, and then, at the end of each section, asks "As you read this personalized insight, what stands out to you?  What would you like others to see most in you?"

This, again, plays to the "You will like this product because it tells you things you like about yourself." Which triggers my cynical instinct, making me remember that "Products which have unsubtle, feel-good marketing at their core are probably up to no good".  That doesn't mean there is no value here.  I don't think there is anything wrong with checking in on yourself every couple of years, and in fact doing so is probably a good thing.  This method has the advantage of getting people involved who might be reluctant to hear negative things, or worry that they are being asked to do this as an excuse to find flaws with themselves.

For me, I enjoy this kind of exercise - as much as a way to see what the product is doing as to learn anything about myself.  And, not for nothing, I have noticed since I did this that I am paying more attention to giving positive feedback to the people around me for things done well.  i'll take as my key understanding the reminder that people including myself) respond better to praise than to criticism.

IMLT Race Report

Ironman Lake Tahoe 2015 is in the books:  Net time, 13 hours, 30 minutes, 54 seconds.

Lake Tahoe is beautiful.  That's the main takeaway from this race - sure, the lake is chilly to swim in, the bike has tough hills, and the run is rolling - but MAN, you sure can enjoy the time out on the course.  

Coach Brian and I arrived in Tahoe on Tuesday before the race, with the idea being that we'd work from the business center of the hotel / the room, and acclimate to the altitude a bit before race day. We stayed at Squaw Creek Resort, at mile 3 on the run course, which was . . . fine.  Pricey for 7 nights stay, but central to events.  Maybe it was the beds, maybe it was the long flights into Reno, but my lower back, which hadn't really been a problem all summer, began to tighten up. 

Over the next several days we scouted all aspects of the course - swam in the lake, rode %90 of the bike course (in two stretches, the hard bit and the easy bit), biked the entire run course, and ran the harder bits.  This was great, I knew what I was getting into on race day.  On Friday, we went to the mandatory check in:

Athlete Briefing

Where I took my clothes off for a good cause.  Look forward to upcoming posts about Cupid's Undie Run in February!

Athlete Briefs

Race morning, we got up at 4:30, had coffee and oatmeal, loaded all the bags/supplies we needed to drop off, and headed down to King's Beach, where the swim began.  I topped off my bike bottles with Gatorade and water, variously, and had ~8oz of Gatorade in the car on the drive over.  It was not as cold as it had been earlier in the week - no need to scrape ice off the windshield of the car - but still brisk, in the mid-40s at race start.  There wasn't much traffic to the start - most folks took the shuttles, I imagine, but we had a rental car and a secret weapon - Coach Brian was only doing the swim.

I quickly went in to the swim-to-bike transition (T1), put my shoes in my pedals and bike bottles in their cages, wiped down the bike seat, and hit the port-a-loo line,   Once essentials were sorted out, I got into my wetsuit and headed down to the beach. Unlike the "mass starts" of other Ironman events, where everyone starts in the water together or runs down from the beach into the water together, they had us line up by predicted finish times.  This is a good idea in theory, but in execution was kind of a mess.  Mainly, they didn't have the corrals clearly marked - and I ended up with folks who either thought they were swimming 100 minutes, or didn't care enough to push through the teeming mass of wetsuited, nervous triathletes to get to the right spot.  But, at 6:40, the cannon went off, and we sloooooooowly walked across the timing mat and into the water, where we sloooooooowly waded in until it was deep enough to swim. Based on my net finish time, I think I crossed the mat at 6:45 - but it was probably closer to 6:50 before I began to swim.  

The water was 61 degrees - a good temp for a wetsuit swim. I didn't feel great during the first lap; swimming at the intensity I normally swim at requires a bit more oxygen than I was getting, I guess. So, lots of breathing on two strokes instead of my normal three, lots of feeling out of breath in general.  But, by the time I turned the corner for the second lap, I'd settled down, and found my stroke.  I regularly passed people the entire swim, which is how I like it anyway.  As is normal for us triathletes, I peed as much and and as often as I could - especially in the last quarter of the swim.  I didn't want to carry any of that with me on the bike. Soon I was heading out of the water. I'm told the swim course was a bit short - lots of people swam faster than they expected - I came out of the water 1 hour and 12 minutes after I crossed the mat, just about exactly as predicted.

Exiting the Swim

The transition had us run up a sandy hill, grab our bag containing everything we need for the bike, run up the sandy hill some more, have our wetsuit removed (thanks volunteers!), and run inside to changing rooms.  I made the decision early to change into bike clothes, including tights and arm warmers, at this point. It cost me some time, but no regrets.  I called for 10 minutes in T1, and was out in 8:49.

Biking - somewhere before mile 40, when I ditched the tights

The bike course was, functionally, two loops 52-mile loops with a short stick at the end heading to T2.  At first, riding in the sunshine, I wondered if I'd made the right call on the extra clothes.  Then we turned the corner, and rode in the shade for an hour, and I was VERY VERY Happy that I made the decision to dress warmly - I shivered in sympathy for the folks in shorts and tri-tops that rode past me.  Lots and lots of people rode past me. I did my level best not to let this bother me.  For some reason, I was still sloshing, and I stopped at the 1st aid station to pee.  This became a common refrain for me on the bike, I think I stopped four times over the 112 miles.  Better to be too well hydrated than underhydrated, I guess?  

One of the big issues, I knew, would be riding the bike course to my fitness, and not the fitness of the people around me.  Plenty of people swim 15-30 minutes slower than me, and ride 30-60 minutes faster.  So I was going to get passed a lot on the bike.  It was in the early stages of the ride that I really felt my lower back ache.  Consequently, I didn't spend too much time in "aero" position - as you can see in the picture above, I rode sitting up most of the time, saving the aero time for the steep descents and hard headwinds.  This slowed me down a little, but better a little slower than unable to ride at all.

On the bike, after mile 40 - no tights/arm warmers

Right around the two hour mark the group I was riding with came to the serious, slow, steep climb. I had been thinking about ditching my warm clothes at some point, and lo, I saw ahead of me several people off of their bikes on the side of the road, removing jackets and vests and tights.  I joined them, and said goodbye to a pair of tights I've owned for eight or nine years. You served me well and faithfully!  The arm warmers - Merino Wool, purchased for this race especially, and Verrrra Nice, thankyou - went into a back bike pocket.

The hill was a beast. The first time.

The mass of people struggling up this hill at 5 miles per hour was amazing. I wish I had a picture of that to share, but I can't find one. I kept it steady, in the next-to-smallest-gear, right up to the really steep last 1/2 mile. The plan was to just keep steady, with the heart rate below 150 BPM, and bomb down the other side.  Near the top, I started a sequence of 50 pedal strokes seated alternating with 10 strokes standing - that kept my back from getting too tight, I think, and was a big help when I made my push over the summit.

Well, that's hard to read, but basically the blue line is my speed over the segment - I basically rode the hill between 8 and 6 mph. The red is my heart rate, nicely in the 140s until I pushed over the top.  Then, the descent!  I didn't quite hit 50 miles per hour, but it was close!  The second lap was pretty similar, with my HR going over 150 a bit earlier.  But on the second lap, I saw a lot more people walking their bikes up the hill.

Aside from the fairly nasty headwind over the last 12 miles of the course, it was a beautiful day for a bike ride.  It was beautiful, the course was challenging, and I rode what I thought was fairly conservatively.  Despite that, and all the pit stops, I finished in 6 hours 41 mins - nearly 20 minutes faster than my prediction. 

T2 was a quick in and out. I kept my tri-shorts on (though I had bike shorts in the bag in case I decided I wanted them) because I've had Basque-related chafing issues over long distances in the past.  2 minutes 50 seconds in T2, quicker than predicted as well.  My legs were a bit wobbly, but I didn't feel awful leaving transition.

On the run, Mile ~2

That being said, I quickly realized that I was tired. There was nothing really specific I could point to - my back hurt a little but not terribly, my quads were sore but not screaming, but I was just beat.  I only mention this because it was unlike my other two IM experiences, I can hear someone saying "of course you were tired, dumbass," but, in all seriousness, in both of those other races I came out of T2 ready to GO.  Not so much this time.  And, within the first two miles, my watch battery died!  So, my plan to run based on heart rate went out the window.

At which point, I made the decision to just get through the run, and not worry too much about the time. I ran, I walked, I ran again.  Coach Brian tells me I kept a pretty steady pace, that declined from 11 minute miles to 12:30s at the back end of the course, but that wasn't my experience of it.  I definitely walked the one hill on the course both times I hit it.  Although I started doing the math on just completing the race before midnight - "If I start walking NOW, and I am walking, say, 20 minute miles, then I'd finish around 10:30" - I never really got to that point.  In fact, by the time I came through mile 19, where we went back onto the course for the second loop, I felt a bit better, and pretty much ran it in.  I walked every aid station, getting gatorade, water, and pretzels. I had some BASE salts a couple of times, my big fear being cramps in my legs around mile 22/23. Thankfully, they never materialized.

On the run, Mile ~19

So, I sucked it up and ran it in.  It got dark, they gave me a reflective light stick, and I had some trouble seeing where I was going in the last two miles, but I brought it in, 5 hours and 24 minutes later.  60 minutes slower than I had hoped, but definitely a win considering how many people I saw walking from mile 1.  Seriously, I've NEVER seen so many people walking on the course straight out of the gate.

Woot!

 So, once again, I are an Ironman!  I have some takeaways.

1) In the previous attempts at IM glory, I did a marathon in the Spring.  That meant that my long run training throughout the season was always over 15 miles. This year, I didn't get to a 15 mile long run until August, LATE August, and my run over that distance went 15/19/20/11/13/RACE.  I didn't have enough miles in my legs to run the marathon at marathon+20min pace.

2) Previously, I had trained to run the marathon in 3h40, and ended up in the 4h20ish range.  This time, I trained to run 4h05, and went 5h25.  But, see above.

3) I've always had trouble with cramping in the last miles of the marathon, with or without the bike/swim. I paid way more attention to that, and solved it.  Good!

4a)  I came out of the water in 76th place in my age group, and 484th over all; Off the bike 78/482, but finished in 70th place in my age group, 440th over all. Despite the awful run, I moved up 8 places in my age group and 42 places overall - lots and lots of people walking.   I advanced by keeping the run/walk thing going, and moving forward.

4b) In my age group, 151 people finished the swim, 148 finished the bike, and 141 finished the run. First place in my age group was 9 hours 46 mins - 1h04 swim, 5h04 bike, 3h26 run. 5 hours on the bike on THIS course?  Dude is a monster.

4c) I also like to see what it would have taken for me to move up or down a few places - 50th place was 12h48; if I had run my predicted 4h05, I would have finished in 39th. If I fell apart a little more, 80th place was 13h51, and 100th 14h30.

5) I went to the medical area after the race - trouble breathing - got some albuteral and chicken stock, and felt better. Who puts the medical area for an Ironman at the bottom of a flight of stairs?!?

6) Perhaps because of the leisurely pace of my run, I did not feel so beat up this week as in previous IM efforts.  In fact, Coach Brian and I went out West Coast Swing dancing on Monday night.  There was ostensibly a lesson at a social dance in Carson City, but in fact they were practicing for a "flash mob" - they had been working on the routine for about eight weeks.  Coach B and I picked it right up.

I'm the IMLT Ballcap, Coach B is under the light on the left  

Not too shabby for barely being able to walk. :)

Finally, I want to say thank you to everyone who made this journey possible.  My family, first and foremost, for putting up with all the training and crazy hours and finding of bikes to ride whilst on vacation. Then Coach Brian, for the invaluable support he almost gave me at several points along the way.  :)  Everyone who loaned me a bike, or went out on a run with me, or biked with me while I was on travel all over the country this spring/summer.  The DCTC Masters program, without whom I would certainly not have swum 1h12. Finally, a big shout out to my Sister-in-law Ruth, and C.O.R.E. Personal Training and Pilates Studio - thanks for all the help!

Journey to Ironman Lake Tahoe: Race Week!

Well, its been about six months since I last posted on this, but here I am, in Squaw Creek California.  Spring and summer have had their ups and downs, both in training and in life - lots of travel for work and for family have left me slightly less well prepared than I would like - but with the advent of fall, I am ready to leave it all on the course.

Its Thursday night, the race is Sunday morning.  Here is the link to follow me, if you are so inclined:

Track Me!

I'm number 1057, or you can put in my first and last name.  The link won't be live until Sunday.

The Swim:  Start time between 6:40 and 7 AM - expected air temp, 48 degrees, water temp, 56 degrees.

Two loops, 2.4 miles.  I'm pretty confident I will finish between 70 and 80 minutes, depending on the chop and if I can find some other folks to swim with.  The water will be cold but not as cold, I think, as Couer D'Alene. I figure I will be out of the water by 8:15 AM at the latest.

T1: I'm going to change completely here, rather than wear bike clothes under my wetsuit. That's going to take some time, and its a ways from the lake to the bikes.  Call it 10 minutes?  Slow, but hey.

The Bike:  Start time 8:20 - 8:35?  Expected temperature, 60 degrees

The bike is two loops and a bit, up through Truckee and back down to the Lake.  There is a monster hill at mile 40 and you hit it again on the second loop, around mile 85.  I rode that today, and it won't be much fun the first time, and will probably break some folks the second.  Slow but steady through that is the plan, keeping the heart rate down and setting up for the run.

One interesting complication is that the temperature is predicted to rise throughout the day, until it is 95+ degrees in the afternoon.  For what it is worth, it hasn't been much above 60 the whole week here!  I was lamenting the lack of prep I have at racing in the cold, but it looks like I will get to put all that heat training to work after all.  What to wear in this section is problematic - I want to wear tights on the first loop, and probably a long sleeve jersey - but if the weather predictions look solid, I'll probably suck it up and go with regular bike shorts and arm warmers.  No good options there.

The twenty-mile sections that I am calling "hard" - from 30 to 50 and 70 to 90 - are going to take me about 90 minutes each.  Three hours for 40 miles of road!  The rest of the course, while not _easy_ isn't near as bad, I figure I can go at least 17.5 MPH over those on average, which puts me on the bike for ~7 hours.

T2: Start time 3:30 - 4:00?  Expected temperature, 89 degrees

Up where the run course is, it shouldn't be quite so hot.  But still, a full change into running shorts and a short sleeve tech shirt.  Lets call it 5 minutes.  Much more than that and I'll have trouble getting my legs moving again.

Run: Start time 3:35 - 4:05  Expected temperature 90 - 75 degrees.

The run course is rolling, but gently, with no more than 100 feet of elevation difference at any point of the course - just one nasty little wall to climb, right behind my hotel as it happens.  The course is uniformly Gorgeous - people have told me "oh, Tahoe is amazing" and I was like yeah, yeah, but DANG.  This place shooooooore is purty!  One long loop out, back to T2 by mile 18, then out and back again to finish the last 6 miles.

I'm aiming to run on Heart Rate, keeping it below 135 BPM, regardless of how fast or slow that is.  Experience tells me its going to be somewhere between 10 and 11 minute miles.  10 minute miles across the whole marathon would be 4 hours 5 minutes - I can't imagine I'll keep that steady of a pace across the whole thing.  I'm also going to walk all the aid stations, so add 30 seconds to each mile.  Lets say optimistically, 4h 30 minutes all in.  If things go sideways around mile 22, as they have in the past, could be 5h 30, but I hope not.

The plan, such as it is, is to take the race in three chunks:

Mile 1-10:  Steady, settle into rhythm, get as much nutrition in at the aid stations as possible.
Mile 11 - 20:  Steady, keep that rhythm, watch the HR and slow down if needed to keep HR under 135.  Nutrition, nutrition, nutrition.  I never get enough salt in my system - I'll address that some on the bike but really paying attention to it here.
Miles 21 - 26.2:  Race it.  Visit the pain cave and see how much I can stand.  I've historically had cramping issues (salt!) around mile 22, so careful through that, but if I can get to 23 and feel good, then maybe start to bring the tempo down?  I mean, hey, I might be able to get back to 10 minute miles for the finish!  :)

Sunset is at 7pm, or near enough, so I'll be running the last bit in the dark.  Temp will start to come down, which will help a lot - running at altitude is going to be hard enough without it being 90 degrees the whole time.  I'd like to think I could finish at 8pm, but odds are its going to be more like 9pm before I cross the line.

Projected Finish:  14h 30m: 8:30 PM.

My slowest IM by far, largely due to the fact that I rode the other two bike courses in ~6 hours, rather than 7 and change, and was trying to run a 3h30 marathon.  Its tempting to think I could push a little harder on the "easy" 70 miles of the course, and make up some time there.  I'll keep an eye on my HRM but training rides tell me its going to be ~18mph or a little less.

I am quite confident I am going to finish, though.  I've had a number of good 5 and 6 hour bike rides, and one 7h30 minute loooong proof of concept ride where I kept the HR down and felt really good about running after.  I've deliberately trained with big hills built in at the 45 and 85 mile mark.  I've run 20 miles at altitude, keeping a 10 min/mile pace, and felt pretty good at the end - I could have run the rest of the marathon I think.  I've done my time in the pool this year.

Of course, the race gods will no doubt have surprises in store for me.  I've done what I can to minimize risk through preparation, but I'll take it as it comes - it might be hella windy, or I might have a mechanical or unforeseen physical problem.  I'm not going to kill myself to cross the line, but I'm not planning on leaving anything out there.

I couldn't have gotten here without a lot of help and support and love - thank you to everyone who made this journey possible!

Journey to IM Tahoe Weeks 13-14

March is here, and I've taken the bike outside! I had a great 27-mile ride on Sunday the 15^th, and on Thursday the 19^th I got out for an hour despite the brisk weather.

Let's go CAPS! Never mind the helmet-hair. J

This is the start of my first big "Build phase" – 3 months where I go from the general-fitness training I have been doing to the race-specific training. I'll be building up the distance in all three disciplines – by the end of March, my scheduled "Key" or "Mandatory" workouts look like this:

Swim: 3 workouts, 3750 meters per session (That is going to be about 75 minutes in the pool, and about 750m more than I get with the Masters swim – so I'll have to get to the pool early or stay late)

Bike: Key 1: 90 minutes easy

Key 2: 85 – 90 minutes, Hills

Key 3: 40 miles, including hills. (About 3 hours riding, depending if I ride from home or put the bike in the car and drive to a better starting point)

Run: Key 1: 0h35 Tempo (Not quite race pace, but not slow)

Key 2: Hills

Key 3: 12 miles, negative split by thirds (Second 4 miles faster than the first, third 4 miles faster than the second)

I'll be adding 250m per session per week to the swim until I am regularly getting 4500m per session.

On the bike, I'll add 10 miles per week to the long ride, and the other two rides will extend out towards 2 hours, with harder intervals.

On the run, I'll add 1 mile per week to the long run, and the other workouts will get more intense as well.

I'll race in April to test my fitness – an "Olympic distance" race, not long but it will help me tune up my transitions and its fun to race! I'll try to make it to Boot Camp, but Boot Camp kicks my butt and makes it hard to get the big miles on the weekend. I'll definitely be down once a month, in any case. If you have any questions or are interested in learning more about triathlon, drop me a line!

 

     

Journey to IM Tahoe Weeks 10 – 11 - 12

I travelled to Austin, Texas for Valentine's weekend for two reasons – First, to do Cupid's Undie Run – the fundraiser for the Children's Tumor Foundation – and second, to do the Austin half-marathon. As a bonus, my coach Brian lives in Austin, and I was able to stay with him and get in some additional training while there!

Since my last post, I've been much better about the swimming. The highlight for this was absolutely swimming at Barton Springs in Austin – an open water "pool" where a natural spring has been dammed up and set up as a park. It was free, and a wee bit breezy, but a great place to get in 2000 meters of swimming on the Friday before Sunday's race.

[Pic of Chris and Brian here]

On Saturday, Valentine's Day, I went down to the Rattle Inn, where the Run took place. Took. Yes, sadly, THIS year Austin's undie run was on February 7^th, and I missed that when I was doing my planning. But since my friends and family contributed almost $750 for me to run, I felt like I should go ahead and do it. Running with 500 other people in your underwear is one thing. Running by yourself is another thing! But although I got some strange looks, Austin is a pretty weird place and everyone was cool.

[Videos of CUR group and Solo]

On Sunday, Brian and I went downtown for the race – it was a brisk 40 degrees, on its way up to the mid 50s – pretty good weather for a running race for me, I don't like the heat! Brian's training regimen wasn't really where he wanted it to be, and per my last report I hadn't been doing enough long runs to really go hard for this, so we both agreed to take it easy and make it a long training day. That meant running 9 minute miles – very hard for Brian, who usually runs 7 minute miles! But we took it slow, enjoyed the day, and read the funny signs held by spectators along the route.

"A long way to go for a free banana!"

"Admit it, you thought they said Rum,"

 

"If this was easy, it would be your Mom!"

 

We finished just over 2 hours – my left calf started to bug me at mile 12, so we didn't even bring it in too hard at the end – pretty much according to plan. Good times.

Coming back, I took some time to recover, and now am back to getting on the bike, running, and hitting the pool. I haven't made it back to bootcamp lately, but I am planning on in this Saturday!

Journey to IronMan Tahoe (!) Week 9

Plans change sometimes, and as you can see from the title of this post, I've had to make a pretty major change of plans. I was planning on registering for IM MD on February 1^st – but when I went to the website to do so, I discovered that the race was Sold Out! This happens a fair bit with the more popular races, but MD was new enough that I figured I had until April, if I wanted to wait that long. But I was wrong! So, I starting looking around for other Iron distance races in that same general time frame, also on the east coast, ideally within driving distance. Louisville? Full. Chattanooga? Full. Wisconsin? Full (and not really in driving distance, AND I've done it before). Ok, so now that we are going to fly, I decided I'd look for something that was going to be fun and new. Lo, Lake Tahoe! http://www.ironman.com/triathlon/events/americas/ironman/lake-tahoe.aspx#axzz3QyIqd7ap

IMLT is a pretty race. IMLT has more than 7,000 feet of climbing on the bike course, and takes place at 7500 ft. of elevation. IMLT is in the mountains, in September, and was CANCELLED last year, due to a fire that resulted in unsafe air quality. Hmmm. What have I gotten myself into?

"Out where the Truckee Silvery Rills" is a line from the state song of Nevada – a song my mother sang to me when I was a child, and which I sang to my son when he was growing up. Now, for the first time in my life, I'll be out that way for this event!

My knee is healing, but . . . not %100. I've been running a little and biking a little, but mostly trying to let it heal. I'm going to be back at CORE bootcamp tomorrow, though!

As promised, here's a report on January's training:

Swim: FAIL. I only swam twice in the entire month of January. That's not going to cut it. I have reasons but no excuses. Back in the pool tonight.

Bike: B+. 14 Bike workouts in the month of January, totaling more than 250 miles. For the first month on the bike, that's a solid start.

Run: C-. 11 Run workouts, and only one long run. I put together one really good week, two mediocre weeks, and one really bad week. A minor injury didn't help.

Nutrition: A. I tracked my nutrition for 23 days in the month of January, and was within 5% of my target net calories on every one of those days. I don't think I only failed to track nutrition on days when I was overeating!

Core: D. With my conviction to get the core workouts happening, I have managed to put together 4 or 5 sessions. But I'm not tracking them, and I'm not planning enough time for them. I need to establish a habit, ASAP.

Rest: B. I usually get to bed before 10 and up at 5:30, which is enough rest for me. But I have tickets for several Washington Capitals games, and I've been traveling, and I've had a couple of good books, keeping me up later. If you aren't getting enough rest, your body isn't recovering as efficiently as it can, which means your workouts aren't as productive.

Looking back, that isn't as good as I would like it to be. February has got to be better!