Newfangled Dad

Sometimes it's just not in the cards. That goes for knowing how hard to push during workouts. And how to fit your sport into daily life. My plan had been to celebrate turning 35 next season with an Ironman. Specifically, Ironman Wisconsin. But at some point this summer it just became crystal clear that it's not going to happen. Financially, it's not in the cards to spend the money for a weekend away volunteering to secure my spot. Where you pay for your next year's registration immediately, mind you. Cole is starting school and needs supplies. We're trying to take our weekend away without the kids in October. It's just the absolute worst time for a variety of reasons. I still can't bring myself to cancel the hotel reservation and e-mail my coordinator that I won't be able to make it. But I'm nearly there. Because when I step back to the bigger picture, I realize I've never had to learn the harsh lessons of being injured during training. At ...

The nice thing about having 3 sports is that there is always at least one you can do indoors. (This is also a negative against triathlon for those of you who have trouble finding motivation for training. You'll feel like a bad person if you don't go.) So when Mother Nature wasn't cooperating last night, I went to the pool for the first time in about a month. Pretty easy workout of 25's and 50's for about 30 minutes. Why does it always seem like no matter how hard or easy I swim, it always comes out to 2:00/100m on the pace clock? Which is nice if I can settle into the "why not just go easy then?" attitude. I'll be honest though, I was just screwing around. It felt good and my form came back...maybe not so much on the endurance end. But with nothing actually "scheduled" and no race to anticipate, it feels to me like just wandering around the lanes of a pool for awhile. I did some off strokes and intervals and called it a night. This has be...

Edit: just giving equal time... Runners World has got an article debunking lots of this (written in response to the WSJ below.  I'm intrigued. Really, whenever my interests collide, I love it. Learning the physics of a bicycle. The chemistry of coffee. How statistics modeling correctly predicted the outcome of the November election. So the health effects of endurance sports intrigues me. Usually, we get a steady stream of data showing that exercise is good for us. Very, very good for us. Don't let this post convince you not to exercise. But, on the other hand, I like the phrase of one of the links below...there are "upper limits." You CAN have too much of a good thing. A cup of coffee may be a great way to start your day, but it is possible to have a caffeine overdose--granted, it's nearly impossible. If running a mile is good for you, 26.2 must be great? Right? Well, this morning I dived down the rabbit hole when someone posted to a tri message board abou...

Shock! Buzz! Speculation! Want a rumor to generate a huge response in the triathlon community? Ironman may be changing the way they start the races. That's it. That's all. But triathletes will happily spend days and countless discussions unpacking that. You'd think I'd have something to say given my complaints about the Chicago Marathon switching to a corral and wave start system. I'm intrigued--that's about it. As someone attempting my first one, I'm much more concerned about preserving the 17 hour time limit. You tell me how to get in the water and that's how I'll do it though. It always amuses me to write a general audience blog that covers very specific topics because most of you come to it to read about something particular...and couldn't care less about other subjects. So I never know whether to aim for those in-the-know or take the time to explain to the uninformed. In this case, the basics may help some of you diehards keep it in pe...

The irony is that this was supposed  to be my 2nd running-related post today. (It will be Oct by the time you read this--Race Week--but I'm writing it the same day in July as the news breaks about updated Start Corrals for the Chicago Marathon.) In reality, it's my 3rd running post today. The wave start in Grant Park isn't the deciding factor for me...really it's not that big a deal. But I find it funny that in my head I was already moving away from marathoning when this happens. Something I read earlier today about what event to do said, "do what you want, not what you should." I think I'm going to take that advice and go with it. This week marks my 5th marathon. 3x in Chicago now. It's not currently my PR course...though we'll see after Oct. 7...but it was the race that sucked me into endurance sports. It was what inspired me, convinced me that I am capable of whatever I put my mind to, gave me self-confidence, and is just a good fun time. Th...