This past week of training was bursting at the seams with not-so-hidden lessons. The overarching theme? There’s always an excuse.
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What’s Your Excuse?
Category: 2013
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Fake it till you become it
A simple answer to a complex question, and mindset to accomplish anything
An artist must be careful to never think he has arrived somewhere, he must always be in a constant state of becoming. – Bob Dylan
“What the hell am I doing?”
The question crept into my head just after 7am on the 4th of July.
You’d think that kind of self-interrogation and criticism would arise only after a late night of debauchery or a missed workout.
After all, I should’ve been peeling my hungover self off a couch (or stranger’s floor) and bee-lining it to the nearest breakfast burrito and cup of coffee.
Or at the very least, just sleeping in, lightening up and relaxing on a bonus rest day afforded by the holiday.
In past years, yeah – definitely. But nope, not this year.
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Live A Little
For the past 20 weeks I’ve been living my life dedicated to and in full acceptance of the following: If you’re going to train for an Ironman, you have to be strict with all aspects of your life. Be prepared to trade in your social life for new friends on the bike path, your evening beer or whiskey for a protein shake and lots of water and your late nights of trash T.V. for training books and sleep. Becoming an Ironman takes sacrifice. It takes dedication. And, it takes flexibility, understanding and a few scoops of ice cream on top.
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Why you need more lacrosse ball
Five tips for stretching with your new best friend: the lacrosse ball
On the surface, triathlon appears to be comprised of three skills: swimming, cycling and running.
But when you drill down, there are two other arenas that deserve just as much attention as those three obvious sports.
Can you guess what they are?
Sunscreen and sportswear?
Fish oil and financing?
Technology and travel?
Nope. The answers we were looking for are stretching and nutrition.
Stretching and nutrition can heavily influence your performance in triathlon, and we’ve talked about both subjects a few times already on this blog (see A beginner’s guide to endurance grubbin’, Fill your tank like a frugal caveman and Stretch like gumby).
As with most triathlon topics, there’s no shortage of information and advice. That’s why it’s important to try out various approaches and figure out what works best for you.
Recently, I’ve incorporated rolling out with a lacrosse ball into my mobility routine and it’s helping me bounce back from my foot injury, recover after exercising, increase flexibility and (hopefully) prevent future injuries.
I don’t see many people using lacrosse balls to stretch at the gym, so I’m assuming it hasn’t caught on with the masses.
In case you haven’t experimented with this tactic yet, I’m going to share some of the tips that I’ve found useful thus far, so that you can try them out and see if they work for you too.
Here are my five tips for stretching with a lacrosse ball.
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Fill your tank like a frugal caveman
Three cheap, easy ways to eat smarter before and after workouts
Is eating healthy stressing you out?
Are you spending as much money on protein bars every month as you do on your mobile phone?
Do you load up on energy gels, sports drinks and recovery shakes only to have them collect dust in the pantry because you don’t know when to eat them? Or maybe they’re so expensive, you’re just waiting for a gel-worthy event – which isn’t for another six months.
At the grocery store, do you get overwhelmed by all the options, confused by the conflicting advice and end up running away (screaming) to the nearest Chipotle for refuge lunch?
Don’t worry. It gets better.
Despite the fire hose of information, diets and expert advice out there, eating healthy doesn’t have to be so intimidating.