Post-Bedtime Traumatic Caveman Disorder

Phew! We had a pretty nice Monday morning swim. After an 800 warm up, we did 5x300 with 20 seconds rest in between. We finished with a 200 warm down. The swim stroke is feeling a bit better these days and my swimming endurance has improved tremendously, but I am still not, nor do I think I will I ever be, a swimmer. When I started all this triathlon nonsense—as my wife sometimes affectionately refers to it—I really could not swim a lick. I don't even think I swam a thousand yards in preparation for my first sprint triathlon. I underestimated how difficult the run was going to be. I was running six miles two or three times a week, thinking "...heck, the run will be cake." Not after a 24 minute swim and a 17-mile trek on a mountain bike with a front suspension fork. Although, now that bike ride would would be excellent training. The most difficult part of training is still the hidden variable of being a father. By the time we get all the kiddies in bed—sometimes it is real work—it is approaching nine o'clock. Alaina and I are usually spent and need time to unwind. Most times we will recharge with one another, but we have been known to go into our individual caves and get the fuzziness out of heads for a half hour before we can even begin to communicate using things other than grunts and moans. This "fuzziness" is something that I like to refer to as "Post-Bedtime Traumatic Caveman Disorder." This is a serious and common affliction that should not be taken lightly. As many as... every parent suffers from this disorder, whether they know it, or believe it. Seriously, the kiddies can really tap you. My theory is that our kids have so much energy because they steal it from us.

Generally, parents embrace that time with their partners. As humans, we need that time. That is why I am still getting in bed a bit later than I would like. I like to pretend I am still marginally connected with the outside world when I am done wrestling all five of my kids. Coincidentally, the boys might be bigger, but those girls are pretty squirrely and have no fear. They also think nothing of it running full speed and crashing their knees down in your stomach after dinner. Lovely. A premature post-bedtime traumatic caveman syndrome (PBTCD) sound is usually uttered: "Huuuuaaaaggghh!" Good thing I have been working those core muscles. If only getting punched in the gut without warning were part of the transition process, I would be completely prepared for it.

I am already looking forward to Friday when we have a tough 3200 swim again. What make this one especially tough is the main set is 2x1000. Dreary folks, dreary. My form starts to slip a tad (by a tad, I mean, it starts to look like I may be in need of some assistance from the lifeguards) after the first thousand and I have to be conscious of it, otherwise I start slowing down, and it just takes that much longer. Okay, off to battle. Happy Training everyone!

Some thoughts on Cowboys, Luke Skywalker and Parenting

Ready for an hour run this morning with the team: Manuel, Scott and Adam. It should be great fun. Then we have a 35 minute spin to shake out those muscles. The rest of my day will be consumed with rehearsals and writing music. 

I am loving my Timex Ironman Race Trainer Kit more and more. You can not really cheat with a heart rate monitor on. There is no "dogging" it. You cannot estimate your exertion with the HRM on—it lets you know. You know exactly what intensity you're putting out. The best part about the watch is that it actually logs all of your heart rate date for you  online.


Alaina decided that we should go out this afternoon and get one of those Wild West type pictures taken because some local place is offering one free 16X20. You know,  you get dressed up in cowboy gear. Dad gets to hold an old musket with a coon cap while sporting some old tattered long leather deer-skin coat. The boys will wear some caps and vests and the girls will all be wear little gowns with gloves on and flowers on their hats. Invariably, no one is smiling in these pictures, because apparently in the Wild West, no one was ever happy. Alaina spent about five minutes explaining to the kids how everything was going to unfold when we go to take the picture. When she finished Luca said, "Cool, I want to be Luke Skywalker," and Amalia said she wanted to be a "butterfly." I don't think they quite understood the concept.


My wife and I are often amazed how we can both work out really hard and feel like we have more left in the tank, only to leave the gym and be mentally exhausted in less than three minutes in the car on the way home with the children. 


I have to admit, I am feeling unusually stressed out right now. I am pretty laid back (for a Jack Russell Terrier,) but I have some looming writing deadlines that I have to wrap up, all while I am preparing for a sleuth of concerts in the spring. I am also doing quite a bit of traveling this spring out of town for gigs and guest lecturing. I love it—it is great fun—but trying to work out child care for five children when Alaina and I have to be in two different places can be really stressful. I get especially stressed out when I know it is going to impede on my normal workout routine. As selfish as that sounds, I am a much nicer human being when I don't miss a workout. I have been known to get kind of crabby. 


Okay, more soon. Happy Training!

Iron Reflections: 3 Weeks In

Who the hell knew training for Ironman was going to be this difficult? Someone forgot to tell me just how grueling this training volume actually is... and I am barely getting my feet wet. Well, it seems like I have been getting my feet a lot more wet than usual as of late. The swim workouts are not feeling quite as difficult as they once did. I remember when a 2200 yard swim workout use to be excruciatingly long and difficult. Now, it is only sometimes, excruciatingly boring. Although, I have to say that Wednesday's swim workout was actually a lot of fun. Today I swam 3200 yards. Last year, the longest swim Adam and I had in preparation for the Half Iron was 3000 yards. It took us nearly an hour and some change. We swam the 3200 yards today in approximately 45 minutes. I don't believe I am actually going to say this, but.... I think, rather, yes, I know I actually like swimming now. It pains me to say it. It took me four years to come around. Swimming is no longer this thing that I have to do to train for triathlons, but something I enjoy doing as part of my training.

The most difficult part of training, still, is getting my butt out of bed at 4:45. That hour still seems scorchingly obscene for some reason. I feel great once I get my first hundred or so in at around 6:00 a.m., but even walking into the Y at 5:55, I am still barely awake. At the end of each week I have been pretty fatigued from the workouts, managing five kids, and composing. I have managed to hold up to my end of the bargain with the wifey and have all of my workouts finished before 8:00 a.m. Of course, like I've said before, Alaina understands that I can not really go out for long rides and be home before 8:00 a.m. unless I leave by 4:00 a.m. That is certainly not going to happen!

I missed one day this week because I came down with the stomach bug. I could always use my rest day—tomorrow—to catch up on that workout, but I have heard that is not a good idea. I will use the time off to rest, write music, and spend some extra time with the kiddies. Wow, I love rest days.

My training group's morale is still very high. We are all pretty excited to be training, but we'll need each other to keep our spirits high throughout the season when we are out there suffering, er... enjoying our 5 hour bike rides, three hour runs, and trying to work out our nutritional needs.

More soon. Happy Training!

Seven for Seven and Saying No to Sponsorship

Well, as much as I like to think I am invincible, I was unable to stave off the stomach flu. It started with Luca and worked its way through the family. A perfect seven for seven. I thought I was good. I woke up yesterday morning, got to the gym and did 2200 yards in the pool. The night before, Luca accompanied me on a 10K loop. When I got home from the pool yesterday, I sat at the piano and was writing some music when all of a sudden I started feeling terrible. I will spare you the details, but the whole ordeal lasted about 12 hours. I went to bed at 7:30 p.m. last night and slept 12 hours. Wow!  I have not done that since the fourth grade. Even today, I was a bit tired and had to lie down for a couple of hours. No training today. As I laid in bed rehydrating with some Gatorade, a terrifying thought came over me:

What if I get this sick right before the Ironman?  An acquaintance of mine was on his flight over to Ironman World Championships in Kona when he came down with the stomach flu. He said he had to walk the first nine miles of the marathon. Of course, I will just be thankful if I could walk at all after that bike. What if I trained all summer, ran a bunch of half, sprint, and olympic distance events leading up to Ironman, and at the last minute I fell really ill? I mean, it could happen, right? Better not to think about it perhaps.


Saying No to Sponsorship:


A few days ago I was contacted by a marketing firm who does work for a sleuth of different companies. I applied for sponsorship with one brand that I could have endorsed whole-heartedly, but they asked me if I might be interested in considering sponsorship with another one of their clients, because I fit their demographic and I lived too far out of the main market area to be considered for the sponsorship I was after. The sponsorship they offered would have been with a large domestic beer company. I was flattered that they they said they liked my sponsorship letter, but after giving it some time, I just decided I could not do it. Here's the skinny:

If I receive sponsorship from a product, I have to believe in the product. It is not like I do not imbibe from time to time in the occasional beer, quite the contrary. When I do, I prefer hand-crafted beers, rather than your grandaddy's pilsner, regardless of how many carbs they have, or the alcohol content. The truth is, I can drink a beer. Two, and I am ready for bed. More, I just think the whole idea of triathlon and beer seems a bit, I don't know, incongruous. Yes, triathletes drink beer and wine (and I have met a few that could put Norm to shame,) but I cannot personally drink more than one when I have a heavy volume of training to do the next morning. It makes me feel sluggish. Maybe it is psychosomatic. I also think it might send the wrong message to my children. I can just hear my children at school "My daddy is sponsored by BEER!" Wonderful.

Beers I drink: Young's Double Chocolate Stout, Sierra Nevada Kellerweis, Lion's Stout, Samuel Smith's Oatmeal Stout

Stomach Bug and Numbers

Last night I called my Crankskins team members; Manuel, Scott and Adam and made plans to meet them at the Y at 11:00 for our  thirty five minute bike ride followed by an hour run outside. Things don't always go according to plan. Last night Julian came down with the stomach bug and was up all night. I am the only one in the family who has managed to somehow miraculously escaped the stomach bug. Still, I am keeping my fingers crossed the next couple of days.

Alaina had a three hour rehearsal today, so I called up everyone this morning and told them I was not going to be able to make it. I was especially bummed out because it would have the first time we have all ran together since training for the Musselman Half Ironman last season. After July, we were all busy training for different races, except for Adam and I who ran the same triathlon to end our seasons. This year, we are all training for the Rev3 Iron Distance Triathlon at Cedar Point. Needless to say, I spent the day at home hanging out with the kids, playing games and making sure Julian felt better. It ended up being a great morning and afternoon. I spent the morning and early afternoon playing Spiderman Memory, building a LEGO AT Walker, and making some pretty delicious penne with shrimp if I do say so myself. Adam came by after his workout at the Y and brought me some nutrition for my run later (what a great training partner.)

After putting all the kids down for their naps, Luca accompanied me on his bike for my hour run. It was great fun for both of us! Early on, he kept asking me "Daddy, are you okay?  Do you need some of my water from my water bottle?" This was after I had only run a mile. Missing the training run with my teammates stunk at first, but I let me spend some time with Luca getting some exercise.

A 6:00 a.m. swim scheduled tomorrow to begin week three, then off to the office to write some music.

And now, some numbers: 

Number of yards I could swim without stopping four years ago:    75

Number of yards I've swam since 3 January 2010: 12,800

Number of children I had when I started my PhD: 1

Number of children I had when I finished my course work: 5

Number of times daily someone calls for "Daddy:"  175

Number of times daily someone calls for "Mommy:"  6 billion

Number of CD's I own: 300

Number of CD's I've purchased since 2007: 10

Number of times I've watched Star Wars: 20+

Number of times I've seen Godfather: 0

Number of Ironman Races I have attempted: 0

Number of days until my first Ironman: 237

Happiness

I was tagged by my friend Kelly over at trimommylife.blogspot.com, to write a "Ten Things That Make Me Happy list. Here it goes:

1) Writing a double bar line and sending a piece off to the printer.

2) When all five of my children rush to the door when I get home from work to greet me with hugs and kisses.

3) Sleeping in late

4) Going out to dinner with Alaina (rarely happens these days, that is why it makes me especially happy
    when it occurs)

5) Picking fresh vegetables out of our garden during the summer with my kids and making a salad with
    them for dinner that evening.

6) Watching Alaina do crafts with the kids.

7) Sitting down and reading a book for enjoyment, rather than reading to prepare a scholarly essay.

8) Going out for a long run by myself and that euphoric feeling that comes when I imagine
   myself finishing strong at the end of a race.

9) Visiting friends places I have never been.

10) Pasta, c'mon... goes without saying really. A nice dish of penne with sauce, pesto, or aglio olio. Amen.


Now I am suppose to tag 10 of my fellow blogger friends to do the same. You're it!

Johan at Tri-Stemmet (He ran Ironman South Africa 70.3 yesterday! Congratulations Johan. Can not wait to hear how it went)

Bob at   ONEHOURIRONMAN

Vanessa at Medievalist Running In circles

Fred at Triathlon Training Frenzy

Scott at Tri To Do It All

KC at 140 Point 6 Miles

Anne at Irondreams (I think she was already tagged by Kelly, but I have not been blogging long enough to know eleven people.

Julie at The Salt Lake City Project

Nicholas at Easternclimber.com 

Pete at NJ Endurance Addict


You're it! Happy training and blogging!

I Drank What? Socrates, Nutrition, and Enurance

A family member who is hoping to take off a little weight recently asked me this question regarding nutrition: "Will I lose weight if I limit my daily caloric intake to just 1500 calories?" She continued "I have a coworker that said in order to lose weight, I should limit the number of calories I eat in a day to just 1500. That does not seem reasonable to me, I like to eat." First, I always have to preface these types of posts by submitting the disclaimer—I am not a nutritionist. As far as exercise and nutrition go, I am largely an autodidactic. I think someone once told me—or perhaps I am coining this myself—that the only real learning we do is what we figure out on our own. Like composing, I learned a lot about what works with my own musical rhetoric by trial and error. In the pool, I get several tips about my swimming technique (both encouraged and completely unsolicited.) I could have Michael Phelps coaching me, but unless I have that "aha!" moment myself moving across the pool, all that coaching will only encourage me to be more aware about said technique. Socrates was one wise dude when he said "I cannot teach anybody anything, I can only make them think, or who more famously said—according to actor Val Kilmer in his portrayal of Chris Knight in the greatest film ever made about lasers liquidating human
targets from outer space, Real Genius—"I drank what?"  But I digress.  I am, however, passionate about inspiring and motivating people to make healthier decisions about their nutrition, and encourage them to maintain an active lifestyle. Secondly, as someone who has been known to scarf down two pounds of cavatelli and broccoli for lunch,  I am not an authority on how to limit your daily caloric intake to a mere 1500 calories. My life revolves around my next meal. Terrible, right?  I love to eat. However, I have noticed a symbiotic relationship regarding the volume of training that I engage in and my appetite. Sure, initially I eat much more as the volume increases. I have to. Eventually, my intake regulates itself and I maintain a lower, leaner overall body weight. In other words, I eat a lot more initially, but then my body learns to regulate its appetite so I don't eat butter at four in the morning. 

You can and should eat more after hard workouts. There are days after a long bike, or hard swim that I spend the rest of the day grazing and drinking enough water to qualify as genus Camelus dromedarius (thanks Wikipedia!) As for my relative, she goes out for brisk half hour walks most days during her lunch break, and during the summer months—rides her bike and continues her walking. She is active, but her workout intensity is moderate at best. What that means is that she is not going to burn the same amount of calories during her workouts as someone who works out a a higher intensity.  Case in point: I met this guy at the gym in his mid 30's who said he had recently taken off more than one hundred pounds. I 
told him that was amazing and asked him how he did it. In a very matter-of-fact sort of way, he responded "Eat less, work out more," and then followed it up with a "duh!" I later discovered that not only did this guy work out, but he had become a hardcore cardio junkie, hitting the elliptical machine, treadmill, or stationary bike hard for a half hour to fourty-five minutes until he was red in the face and sweating from head to toe. 

When my cousin lived with us for the summer and took off 72 pounds, I had to totally revamp the way he thought about food and exercise. Exercise does not have to be this thing that we "do," but a way of life. More, when you exercise, and you are trying to lose weight or maintain some type of athletic performance, it is suppose to be tough, so that you can work out your heart and be more fit. You have to start somewhere, but at some point, I encourage people wanting to lose weight to ramp up the intensity of their exercise and stop ordering dessert. Calories are calories, but what types of foods you get them from and what types of nutrients they have are important as well. For instance, a half cup of broccoli has 12 calories and 0.2 grams of fat compared to one square of your average brownie that has 200 calories and 3 grams of fat. Have you ever eaten just one brownie? Puuuleeeasse!   

The body does burn a higher percentage of calories from fat in the 'fat burning zone' or at lower intensities.  But, at higher intensities, you burn a greater number of overall calories which is what you should be concerned about when trying to lose weight. The chart below details the fat calories expended by a 130-pound woman during cardio exercise:

The following table was taken from  The 24/5 Complete Personal Training Manual, 24 Hour Fitness, 2000:

	Low Intensity - 60-65% MHR	High Intensity - 80-85% MHR
Total Calories expended per min.	4.86	6.86
Fat Calories expended per min.	2.43	2.7
Total Calories expended in 30 min.	146	206
Total Fat calories expended in 30 min.	73	82
Percentage of fat calories burned	50%	39.85%

In the above table, the woman will not only burn more total calories, but more fat calories at a higher level of intensity. Should you only do high intensity workouts? NO Endurance workouts should be a staple of your fitness training, along with shorter, higher intensity workouts, or interval training—toggling back and forth between low intensity endurance and fast paced sprints—which are a great way to burn calories and build endurance.