Mod·ern Vi·king (n)
1: One who sails for truth; an adventurer of the soul; balances self reflection with action; demands the most of oneself and one's tribe
2: AModernViking.com: Bookshelf for the Mind, Fuel for the Body, Valhalla for the Soul
Sun Tzu said: The art of war is of vital importance to the State.
It is a matter of life and death, a road either to safety or to ruin. Hence it is a subject of inquiry which can on no account be neglected.
The art of war, then, is governed by five constant factors, to be taken into account in one's deliberations, when seeking to determine the conditions obtaining in the field.
These are: (1) The Moral Law; (2) Heaven; (3) Earth; (4) The Commander; (5) Method and discipline.
2 Hour Spin, Easy, Feeling good afterwards. Protein shake, and watching nutrition. Taking the next two weeks hard while trying to balance not burning out…
“The third-rate mind is only happy when it is thinking with the majority. The second-rate mind is only happy when it is thinking with the minority. The first-rate mind is only happy when it is thinking.”
“A clever person solves a problem. A wise person avoids it.”
“Blessed is he who expects nothing, for he shall never be disappointed.”
“An intellectual is a person who has discovered something more interesting than sex.”
“When I do good, I feel good; when I do bad, I feel bad, and that is my religion.”
4am alarm came and went, but it didn’t stop me from catching a swim before work. Quick 1000yds. Let’s see if I can spin tonight too.
When you don’t get enough of it, no one likes you… Before I go back to work, i’m taking the whole holiday to get some rest…
“Life is a storm, my young friend. You will bask in the sunlight one moment, be shattered on the rocks the next. What makes you a man is what you do when that storm comes. You must look into that storm and shout as you did in Rome. Do your worst, for I will do mine! Then the fates will know you as we know you”
Because sometimes you just need to spend a day with family. Spam museum, Piggy Blues, traditional oyster stew, and playing the card game 500. Consciously taking a day during the holidays with family.
My buddy came down to pace me for a baseline indoor Tri at about 30% of the race. Looking back at our last 70.3 together in Hawaii, we pulled our splits to have some goals to shoot for. Ideally if we could cut 30 minutes off our time and be under 6 hours, we’d be happy.
I felt it quick into the swim, but we averaged around 1:25 over 500. I’m good with that. Build some endurance, and we’re there.
After a slow transition, the bike hurt after half way through. Heart felt good, but legs started to get sluggish. So much so that the run slowed me down.
We’ve got a baseline, and talked strategy to keep us going over the first month to sediment our new regimen. After about a day, I’ve plotted out most of the workouts, and now we just have to execute.
Today again with the workout too easy, I shot past my marks. I believe I’ll have to do another ramp test to get a more accurate FTP. In the meantime, I’m also noticing that my signal drops cyclically. I was hoping I wouldn’t have to upgrade to power, and could rely on the virtual power calculations, but this is a little annoying. The nice part is that the game of trying to keep within the numbers distracts from the workout. An hour and a half went by quick!
Ok, I got confirmation that I must have the virtual trainer setting off, which made my FTP (Functional Threshold Power) too low because todays spin was waaay too easy. I don’t think I’ll even be sore at all after an hour ride. I might have to do another ramp up test and then launch into the fun I have planned. I’ve plotted out all my trainer-road created workouts into TrainingPeaks, so that I can simply load them to my Garmin. I also plotted out the goals by week, ATP, and by training season. Getting excited!
Wow, I knew I was out of shape, but seriously!?
Thank you to Matt B. for the trainerroad month to get me started again.
It took some testing to get my set-up working between all the apps that talk to one another. I am using Cable to connect my ANT+ sensors and turn into a Bluetooth signal that TrainerRoad calculates an estimated Power Wattage. I noticed this would drop rhythmically right before the intensity would step up. I’m wondering how much that affects the overall number. Sooo much cheaper than a $1000 power pedal set up. It’s a tool as long as I stick with it, I’ll get a good sense of where I’m at. Let’s see how much I can do in the next week.
After weeks of working long hours at work, and neglecting carving out time to work out. My coworker could see it was weighing on me and pulled me to the gym during our lunch break. That simple habit of getting away from email, taking a walk, and clearing my head has made all the difference. Well, that and another friend threatening to post politically charged posts on social media for every day I don’t post a workout…
Since that day I’ve checked in every single day this past week, and I intend to continue the trend. Today I popped in for a real workout and did a few miles on the treadmill followed by squats. When I checked my VO2 Max, I was not surprised to see that it has fallen to the bottom. I think I’ll ask Santa for some colored watch bands to pair with my 935 as a constant reminder of what level I’m at.
Here’s to getting a few days in the gym before the band-wagoners spill in by the masses for the first two weeks in January! Plotting out a plan for success in 2020. Slow and steady…as long as it’s 30 seconds faster than Forman…
To bed at 7pm, and up at 4:45am.
Sudafed and a green Shake to fight this never-ending respiratory infection.
Back to the DAHLC before the sun’s alarm clock goes off. Treadmill workout with the only goal of putting one foot ahead of the other to regain my strength.
Listening to Bernard Cornwell.
Turning back the clock means an extra hour to get ahead. I’ll wake up “earlier” to take the lead. All liquid diet today. One day at a time, one week at a time. If I could do it during an ultra, I can do it during a work day. One mile run at an eleven minutes. Nothing spectacular, but it’s the steps to start my day right. Sit-ups as soon as the alarm had me out of bed. Now liquid protein shakes and water times throughout the day.
“It is easier to forgive an enemy than to forgive a friend.”
