Friday, December 21, 2012
It's the end of the world!
Dec 21, 2012, the end of the Mayan calendar, and some people thought that it meant the end of the world. Of course, nothing actually happened today. The world didn't end, and the zombie Apocalypse hasn't begun either. Instead, enjoy a video from REM.
Saturday, December 15, 2012
Back in the saddle
It's been 10 days since the ol' snippy snip. Yesterday was not a good day down below for most of the day. I don't know if it was the jeans I was wearing or what, but it just wasn't comfortable. I'll spare the main details, but as a guy, you never realize how much your junk moves around during the day doing just the regular things like standing up from a sitting position until something like this happens. Then it's every little movement seems to make them rub the wrong way, or get pinched between your leg and pants. There wasn't a ton of pain, but more of a constant ache and cramp. Every day seemed to be better than the previous day until yesterday. Last night I took some Motrin before we left to go see some Christmas lights at the botanical gardens. By the time I got home, I was feeling really good. Today was the first day that I felt 100%. The only workout I did since the procedure was 3x 5:00 on the swim halo 5 days ago.
Since I was feeling great, I figure it's about time to get back on the bike and see how it goes. I didn't want to over do it today, so I climbed on with a 30min goal, keeping the heart rate aerobic, and playing with the new cycling computer. The 30 min breezed by and I felt great! Hopefully I will feel great tomorrow too, because I plan on an hour long trainer session tomorrow.
I've decided that I will take the next 2-4 weeks rebuilding my aerobic base since the last 8 weeks have been all over the place for me work out wise. Once the scab down below falls off, I'll get back in the pool. I thought I'd be courteous to all the other pool users and not go in the pool while I still have a scab on the sack. Call me weird, but I'd be grossed out if I knew that someone else was in the pool with that on there body. So for now, it's going to be some halo work, bike base building, running form drills, and some weights. My goal tomorrow at work is the hour long trainer session and then hopefully get through the programming chapter on the Crossfit Endurance model so I can then plot out my next course of action for training. I got distracted with reading the chapter on run form, but now I'm on track for the programming chapter. I'll let you all know how tomorrow goes, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed!
Since I was feeling great, I figure it's about time to get back on the bike and see how it goes. I didn't want to over do it today, so I climbed on with a 30min goal, keeping the heart rate aerobic, and playing with the new cycling computer. The 30 min breezed by and I felt great! Hopefully I will feel great tomorrow too, because I plan on an hour long trainer session tomorrow.
I've decided that I will take the next 2-4 weeks rebuilding my aerobic base since the last 8 weeks have been all over the place for me work out wise. Once the scab down below falls off, I'll get back in the pool. I thought I'd be courteous to all the other pool users and not go in the pool while I still have a scab on the sack. Call me weird, but I'd be grossed out if I knew that someone else was in the pool with that on there body. So for now, it's going to be some halo work, bike base building, running form drills, and some weights. My goal tomorrow at work is the hour long trainer session and then hopefully get through the programming chapter on the Crossfit Endurance model so I can then plot out my next course of action for training. I got distracted with reading the chapter on run form, but now I'm on track for the programming chapter. I'll let you all know how tomorrow goes, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed!
Sunday, December 9, 2012
Club V
Holy cow, it's been 3 weeks or so since I last got on here to talk about how I was still alive. I am still alive, but now I belong to a super exclusive club. Sorry ladies, but this is a guys only club. Like I said, it's an exclusive club, although I know a ton of guys who were in the club before me, so joining was not a huge deal. Well...... it is a big deal, but isn't at the same time. "So what is Club V?" you ask. Well it's the vasectomy club! haha
Over this last 4 day I went to the doctor and got the snippy snip as I commonly call it. It was just supposed to be a meet and greet with the doc about the procedure and all that stuff. Shawna almost didn't go because it was just the meet and greet. I told her that we should both go so we would hear the same info and we would both be able to ask questions if we had any. We didn't have any questions, and at the end of the talk with the doc, he asked when I wanted to get it done. I said today, since if I waited until next week I would only have 3 days off of work to recoup before having to come back. The doc looked at me "Seriously?," Yeah buddy, if you got time, lets get it on. I turned to Shawna, who was a little shocked, and she was like, ah yeah, I guess. We had talked about getting this done since we found out about the last pregnancy, so it wasn't a shock. Just the timing and the pace of the appointment was kind of shocking. The doc checked the computer schedule and said that we were a go if we could do it right then. After paying my copay, and insurance payment I was in the room getting a shave down.
The entire procedure went down fairly smooth. The only drugs that I was given was the numbing drug down below (I'm assuming it was Lidocaine) before the procedure started. The only 2 times I had pain, or even any feeling down there was that initial needle stick for numbing me up, and then one other time. The doc had already finished work on the right testicle and had moved onto the left one. He clamped a hemostat on the left side and I felt that one. "Oh," I said. The doc asked if I felt that, and I said yeah. He told me that it was the hemostat clamping onto the Vas Deferens. I told him that my Vas Deferens didn't like it. He removed the clamp, numbed me up some more and then finished his work. I gotta say, it is a little disconcerning to smell the burnt flesh and see the smoke coming from your crotch. First off, the smell of burnt flesh is absolutely horrible. Secondly, the amount of smoke that was coming up was a little alarming. I joked with the doc and Shawna that usually when I see that much smoke I want to suit up and go to work.
The procedure took maybe 20min, and 5 stitches to complete. I got home and told the kids that they were not allowed to jump on me, or wrestle with me for a week. I also can't pick them up for the first few days following the procedure. I'm now at day 5, and it's slowly feeling better. The original day of the procedure had me walking very gingerly around the house and keeping ice on the area and 800mg of Motrin every 6 hours. Day 2 was better, but still sore. Day 3 and 4 were consecutively better than the previous day. Now at day 5, I'm still feeling it; but it's better. I'm at work today, and trying to just not think too much about it. My left testicle is the sore one, and I'm not sure why. I don't know if it has anything to do with the hemostat or not. Doc said I can't work out for at least a week, and while I feel pretty good, I'm keeping to the 1 week off, and will go from there. I got on the bike today and did some soft pedaling for maybe 10 max while I was trying to get the new bike computer to work and connect with the sensors. There was no pain, but it wasn't comfortable either. Didn't matter that I had my thicker chamois bibs on, or that I was soft pedaling. It just wasn't comfortable.
So while I can't work out, I've been trying to catch up on some reading about working out. Namely my newest book, "Power, Speed, Endurance: A skill-based approach to endurance training. It is written by the Crossfit Endurance founder, Brian MacKenzie, and basically goes over the basis behind his programming for endurance events and the skills/drills to help you become a more efficient athlete.
I'm thinking that with how crazy my schedule has been as far as getting workouts in, I should do the intelligent thing. The smart thing would be to really work on form over this off season, knowing that form will ensure longevity in the sport. Being more efficient will ultimately make me a better and faster athlete. The frustrating thing though, is in the short term, it will mean going slower. Slower now, and possibly slower for the next season. Granted I have 25 weeks until the Ironman Boise, which is the official start of the season for me. That's 6 months. I'm thinking that if I take the next 2 months to really work on the skills, I'll still have 4 months to get after the speed and volume of training to be successful. From what I've read so far, the emphasis is on: form, intensity and then volume (in that specific order). Which goes against the standard endurance programming, but funny enough, is how virtually every other sport trains. You don't move into intensity until your form is spot on. With the intensity ratcheted up, you go until your form starts to break down, and then you back off. Then you can increase the volume of your training.
I'm not saying that I will use every single thing that the book goes into, but it will still be the basis of how I'm going to train. I still need to be functionally strong for work. My emphasis on this off season will be with the swim and bike portion, as I feel that I have the biggest opportunity to make up time there; but in reality, all 3 sports will be improved upon. Even if it's just my form for running.
Over this last 4 day I went to the doctor and got the snippy snip as I commonly call it. It was just supposed to be a meet and greet with the doc about the procedure and all that stuff. Shawna almost didn't go because it was just the meet and greet. I told her that we should both go so we would hear the same info and we would both be able to ask questions if we had any. We didn't have any questions, and at the end of the talk with the doc, he asked when I wanted to get it done. I said today, since if I waited until next week I would only have 3 days off of work to recoup before having to come back. The doc looked at me "Seriously?," Yeah buddy, if you got time, lets get it on. I turned to Shawna, who was a little shocked, and she was like, ah yeah, I guess. We had talked about getting this done since we found out about the last pregnancy, so it wasn't a shock. Just the timing and the pace of the appointment was kind of shocking. The doc checked the computer schedule and said that we were a go if we could do it right then. After paying my copay, and insurance payment I was in the room getting a shave down.
The entire procedure went down fairly smooth. The only drugs that I was given was the numbing drug down below (I'm assuming it was Lidocaine) before the procedure started. The only 2 times I had pain, or even any feeling down there was that initial needle stick for numbing me up, and then one other time. The doc had already finished work on the right testicle and had moved onto the left one. He clamped a hemostat on the left side and I felt that one. "Oh," I said. The doc asked if I felt that, and I said yeah. He told me that it was the hemostat clamping onto the Vas Deferens. I told him that my Vas Deferens didn't like it. He removed the clamp, numbed me up some more and then finished his work. I gotta say, it is a little disconcerning to smell the burnt flesh and see the smoke coming from your crotch. First off, the smell of burnt flesh is absolutely horrible. Secondly, the amount of smoke that was coming up was a little alarming. I joked with the doc and Shawna that usually when I see that much smoke I want to suit up and go to work.
The procedure took maybe 20min, and 5 stitches to complete. I got home and told the kids that they were not allowed to jump on me, or wrestle with me for a week. I also can't pick them up for the first few days following the procedure. I'm now at day 5, and it's slowly feeling better. The original day of the procedure had me walking very gingerly around the house and keeping ice on the area and 800mg of Motrin every 6 hours. Day 2 was better, but still sore. Day 3 and 4 were consecutively better than the previous day. Now at day 5, I'm still feeling it; but it's better. I'm at work today, and trying to just not think too much about it. My left testicle is the sore one, and I'm not sure why. I don't know if it has anything to do with the hemostat or not. Doc said I can't work out for at least a week, and while I feel pretty good, I'm keeping to the 1 week off, and will go from there. I got on the bike today and did some soft pedaling for maybe 10 max while I was trying to get the new bike computer to work and connect with the sensors. There was no pain, but it wasn't comfortable either. Didn't matter that I had my thicker chamois bibs on, or that I was soft pedaling. It just wasn't comfortable.
So while I can't work out, I've been trying to catch up on some reading about working out. Namely my newest book, "Power, Speed, Endurance: A skill-based approach to endurance training. It is written by the Crossfit Endurance founder, Brian MacKenzie, and basically goes over the basis behind his programming for endurance events and the skills/drills to help you become a more efficient athlete.
I'm thinking that with how crazy my schedule has been as far as getting workouts in, I should do the intelligent thing. The smart thing would be to really work on form over this off season, knowing that form will ensure longevity in the sport. Being more efficient will ultimately make me a better and faster athlete. The frustrating thing though, is in the short term, it will mean going slower. Slower now, and possibly slower for the next season. Granted I have 25 weeks until the Ironman Boise, which is the official start of the season for me. That's 6 months. I'm thinking that if I take the next 2 months to really work on the skills, I'll still have 4 months to get after the speed and volume of training to be successful. From what I've read so far, the emphasis is on: form, intensity and then volume (in that specific order). Which goes against the standard endurance programming, but funny enough, is how virtually every other sport trains. You don't move into intensity until your form is spot on. With the intensity ratcheted up, you go until your form starts to break down, and then you back off. Then you can increase the volume of your training.
I'm not saying that I will use every single thing that the book goes into, but it will still be the basis of how I'm going to train. I still need to be functionally strong for work. My emphasis on this off season will be with the swim and bike portion, as I feel that I have the biggest opportunity to make up time there; but in reality, all 3 sports will be improved upon. Even if it's just my form for running.
Saturday, November 17, 2012
Still alive
It's Saturday night, the kids are in bed sleeping and Shawna ran to Walmart. This is a perfect chance to just drop a line to say that I'm still alive. It's been crazy around here with the kids, which isn't far from normal. The only difference is that I was off work for almost a complete month since #4 has been born. I got home from my first shift back this morning, but now I have another 10 days off since I was already scheduled off for Thanksgiving. While I have been off of work, boy #1 was also out of school. He has had track break since right after the baby was born, so we've really had a full house. Needless to say, my training has slacked off quite a bit. I'm doing my best not to stress out over it, and just enjoy the family time; but after a few days of no workouts, I get cranky. Shawna, bless her heart, has been great with trying to get me out in the garage so I can work out. Most of the home workouts lately have been at night after the kids have gone to bed, assuming I still have an energy left.
I did want to let it be known that I have applied for the chocolate milk Ironman contest. This contest will chose 2 grand prize winners who will have the chance to compete in Kona next year with Hines Ward. It's a big competition, with a huge prize purse of everything that you would need to compete, including all your gear, coaching, and entry/travel fees. Hopefully, I'll be chosen to get into the top 15. Even if I get that far, I'd be happy. They choose the 2 winners from the top 15, and announce them in Feb. I'll keep you posted if I make it to the 15.
One last thing, I got signed up for the Scott Firefighter Stairclimb in Seattle for this next March. This time, I do actually plan on training for the event and seeing how well I can do now that I've done it once before.
I don't have a ton of time tonight to write, but thought that I'd get something down. I do have a few ideas about some posts that I'll get to in the near future, and they include some crazy Ironman dreams, my Kona care package, my review of the Swim Halo and Finis tempo trainer, possibly a new bike, and how I keep breaking my indoor trainer. So, until next time.................
I did want to let it be known that I have applied for the chocolate milk Ironman contest. This contest will chose 2 grand prize winners who will have the chance to compete in Kona next year with Hines Ward. It's a big competition, with a huge prize purse of everything that you would need to compete, including all your gear, coaching, and entry/travel fees. Hopefully, I'll be chosen to get into the top 15. Even if I get that far, I'd be happy. They choose the 2 winners from the top 15, and announce them in Feb. I'll keep you posted if I make it to the 15.
One last thing, I got signed up for the Scott Firefighter Stairclimb in Seattle for this next March. This time, I do actually plan on training for the event and seeing how well I can do now that I've done it once before.
I don't have a ton of time tonight to write, but thought that I'd get something down. I do have a few ideas about some posts that I'll get to in the near future, and they include some crazy Ironman dreams, my Kona care package, my review of the Swim Halo and Finis tempo trainer, possibly a new bike, and how I keep breaking my indoor trainer. So, until next time.................
Tuesday, October 30, 2012
Stick a fork in it
It's been a while since my last post, but I have a REALLY good excuse (not like it matters, since I don't think that anyone really reads this). 9 days ago, we had another addition to the family. Child #4 is now here, alive, healthy and BEAUTIFUL! I never mentioned Shawna being pregnant before this, mostly because no one reads it so it didn't matter. But now the baby is here, so I wanted to take a second and talk about it. Just like 2 out of the 3 previous pregnancies, we didn't find out what it was we were having. I joking said that I didn't remember being there for the conception, but when this little one was born there was no mistaking it as one of mine. She looks just like the others when they were born, dark hair and eyebrows that are unmistakably from me (poor kids). So we have now been blessed with 2 boys and 2 girls. We are officially done. I will be going in for the snippy snip sometime before the end of the year to ensure that we are done. I feel that I have so much other stuff to talk about, but I just don't have the time. Instead, I will leave you a pic of the newest addition, forever to be known here as daughter #2.
Sunday, October 14, 2012
recap Kona 2012
For not having cable tv (even though it wasn't televised), and the tablet not wanting to display the video feed of the event, I was able to follow most of the event yesterday. Or at least as much as possible with the updates being written down, and with the kids and everything else going on yesterday. I missed the run portion as I went with the family down to the pumpkin patch for an afternoon of pumpkins and fun. I missed some of the bike portion when I took off on my afternoon run too, but when I got back, I hadn't missed much as the updates from the bike portion had slowed down. So how'd I do on guessing the podium finishers? Well, for the men I was 1 for 3, and women I had all 3, just not with Mirinda Carfrae taking 3rd instead of first.
The biggest thing that I was surprised about was where Craig Alexander finished (12th), and that Chris McCormack would completely give up, not even finishing the bike portion. I haven't seen any interviews about what happened to Macca to cause him to completely drop out of the event, but I'm curious to hear what he has to say. I've also not heard Crowie's take on the day, or anyone else's about his performance. I personally believe that Crowie went too hard on the bike from the start, and spent too much energy. He was smoking fast the first section of the bike course, and i was wondering how that was going to pay off for him. Well it didn't. When I got back from my run, he was way behind and could never make up the difference. The biggest surprise was that his run, which is his strength, didn't really help him make up the lost ground from the bike. That's why I think that the strategy on the bike didn't work.
On the women's side, I thought that Carfrae was in a good position being ~11 min behind the leaders coming off the bike. Last year she was 14 min behind the leader and was able to catch up and pass everyone except Chrissie Wellington. Unfortunately for Carfrae, she couldn't pull it off. Lava magazine reports that she was running 7 min miles instead of her normal 6:30+ pace. Ultimately, Carefrae would collapse at the finish line almost 6 full minutes behind Leanda Cave
Leanda Cave winning both the 70.3 world championship in Las Vegas, and the Ironman world championship in Kona only 5 weeks apart.
Friday, October 12, 2012
Kona 2012
Men's podium will have (maybe not in this order)
Alexander Craig
Chris McCorrmak
Andreas Raelert
Women's Podium
Mirinda Carfrae
Leanda Cave
Caroline Steffen
I think that Crowie will have a battle on his hands, but that ultimately he'll pull off the victory. Andreas has been pretty consistent over the last few years on the island, but I don't see him being able to stay with Crowie. The wold card is Macca. He's been off the Ironman gig for a while in his attempt to get an olympic spot this last year. Meaning that he's been racing the shorter, but way faster, ITU circuit. He's slimmed down and had a chance to rebuild his speed. He's also had plenty of time to prep for this event since he knew way before London that he wasn't on the team. He's got two Kona victories under his belt already, and tomorrow might prove to be his third. After all, he did win the last time he raced there.
On the women's side, I see Carfrae taking the top spot. She's been working on her bike speed all season, and trying to keep her run speed the same. She came back from a 14+ min deficit to take 2nd last year behind Chrissie Wellington (who's not racing this season). So long as Carfrae hasn't lost much on her run, I think that she will be extremely hard to beat. After the title, the race is too close to call on where the rest of the women will finish. I don't think that Carfrae will beat her own marathon record this year, but I think that she'll still take the win.
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