Lazy day. Pushing workout to tomorrow. Family & Chores today. New book and reading to the kiddos…
Getting it done. Feels right since FTP adjustment.
Adjusting schedule for big work day.
Hour spin group ride with a friend on TR. makes the time fly. Felt good. FTP adjustment needed.
Sleeeeeep.
Ouch. Seated (maybe 20 seconds at the end to see if I could get legs to move). Legs said, “Shut up, body.” Phrase copy-righted. All rights reserved. Move over Jens Voigt…
Birthday Excuses. Cake is good.
Celebrating a birthday early with a rest day and CAKE. Also did I mention that I found an apple monitor on facebook marketplace for $20… Yes, and it works… I love Hyland Luck!
Up early with the kiddo, and got a late start. Vaccine has been kicking my butt too, so just got through it today.
Barefoot jog, run during ads.
No Pain, No Gain
Turned on Forged in Fire, and knocked out a 4 mile run. Picked up pace on the ads, and jogged during the show. Washed down with almond milk Nitrogen shake with imaflmedix and cleanse plus. I will get below 240 this week, and won’t look back…
45 min spin. Turned down FTP% by about 15%. Let’s ease into the week, and not overdo it.
Group Ride with a friend. Solid.
Let’s keep doing what’s working, and restructure what’s not…
Improvement. I’m happy with it even if it doesn’t reflect on my waist yet… Consistency is the name of the game.
I’ve steadily improved my activity over the past few years, but I can tell a marked improvement since getting a smart trainer and Trainer Road subscription in April. I went from around 500 miles last year to 1200 and I still have a month and a half to put in work. Activities are up by about 25%. Although I had done a phenomenal job losing about 20-25 pounds last year, the impending stress of a new promotion, baby on the way, and COVID made for a perfect storm that resulted in a steady weight gain despite the increased activity. I’ll be the first to note that I have not made nutrition a priority, and have used it as a comfort in the last year: a habit I’m about to re-structure.
Instead of falling into the trap of enjoying the holiday foods to the fullest, and then repenting with an annual resolution on Jan 1, this year I start a new resolution to cultivate an awareness of the food I put into my mouth.
The first step: taking a snapshot of the door with the app ATE. As this becomes second nature, then I’ll work on logging calories in my fitness pal, and finally, I’ll dial in the granular analysis of my shopping and food prepping habits. In 2007, I used Cognitive Behavioral Therapy CBT as I trained myself into the best shape of my life, and I’m getting to a point where I’m structuring my work and getting a better handle on sleep as pillars to help support this change.
Without managing sleep, my greatest weakness currently, I know I can’t expect to be successful long term. This is exemplified by years worth of start and stop cycles of 1-3 weeks on training, 1-3 weeks off. This unstructured training was also plagued by the idea that I could pick up where I had left off. Once I put my training in the hands of a program based on power, I can tell that I recover quick and am more sustainable. With discipline, I took advantage of the fall time savings to solidify my 4:45am alarm clock that allows me to spin for 30-60 min before my toddler is up and I need to get her to school and then make it to work.
If I don’t start early, there’s no hope to remake that time in a day. I pair this urgency with excitement to spin as I save a fun show or audiobook as ‘my time’ where I’m uninterrupted.
I used to define myself as an Ironman triathlete, but now my identity has changed. First and foremost I’m a father who does triathlons as a way to practice a balanced life, rich in healthy habits that I aim to instill as the norm in their upbringing.
To be honest, I really do hate running, but there’s nothing like the satisfaction of taking the first step towards a huge endeavor and celebrating bringing that adventure to a close as one sets their sites on the next day’s horizon.
23
The Book of Army Management says:
On the field of battle,
the spoken word does not carry far enough: hence the institution of gongs and drums. Nor can ordinary objects be seen clearly enough: hence the institution of banners and flags.
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Gongs and drums, banners and flags, are means whereby the ears and eyes of the host may be focused on one particular point.
25
The host thus forming a single united body, is it impossible either for the brave to advance alone, or for the cowardly to retreat alone.
This is the art of handling large masses of men.
26
In night-fighting, then, make much use of signal-fires and drums, and in fighting by day, of flags and banners, as a means of influencing the ears and eyes of your army.
27
A whole army may be robbed of its spirit;
a commander-in-chief may be robbed of his presence of mind.
28
Now a soldier's spirit is keenest in the morning;
by noonday it has begun to flag; and in the evening, his mind is bent only on returning to camp.
29
A clever general, therefore, avoids an army when its spirit is keen, but attacks it when it is sluggish and inclined to return. This is the art of studying moods.
30
Disciplined and calm, to await the appearance of disorder and hubbub amongst the enemy:—this is the art of retaining self-possession.
31
To be near the goal while the enemy is still far from it, to wait at ease while the enemy is toiling and struggling, to be well-fed while the enemy is famished:—this is the art of husbanding one's strength.
32
To refrain from intercepting an enemy whose banners are in perfect order, to refrain from attacking an army drawn up in calm and confident array:—this is the art of studying circumstances.
33
It is a military axiom not to advance uphill against the enemy, nor to oppose him when he comes downhill.
34
Do not pursue an enemy who simulates flight; do not attack soldiers whose temper is keen.
35
Do not swallow bait offered by the enemy.
Do not interfere with an army that is returning home.
36
When you surround an army, leave an outlet free.
Do not press a desperate foe too hard.
37
Such is the art of warfare.
16
Whether to concentrate or to divide your troops, must be decided by circumstances.
17
Let your rapidity be that of the wind,
your compactness that of the forest.
18
In raiding and plundering be like fire,
in immovability like a mountain.
19
Let your plans be dark and impenetrable as night, and when you move, fall like a thunderbolt.
20
When you plunder a countryside, let the spoil be divided amongst your men;
when you capture new territory, cut it up into allotments for the benefit of the soldiery.
21
Ponder and deliberate before you make a move.
22
He will conquer who has learnt the artifice of deviation.
Such is the art of maneuvering.