Hello 2017 (and 1 More Week of Pre-Hab)

Welcome to 2017 - and the last week of Pre-Hab.  I had all kinds of good intentions of posting weekly updates during this phase, but obviously I fell short of that goal.  

However, it's a new year, which means a chance to try (and tri!) again.

I'm not really a fan of New Year's resolutions because they're often unspecific, unmeasurable, and easy to push aside at the first sign of having to do actual work to achieve them.  After reading a really fantastic book last year (The 5AM Miracle by Jeff Sanders), I've moved to more of a quarterly goals system of specific, measurable goals - and concrete steps toward achieving them. 

One of my big goals for the last quarter of 2016 was to get back in the pool/on the bike/in my running shoes.  The first 5 weeks of Pre-Hab certainly weren't perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but it's definitely an improvement on where I was.  I feel stronger and my mood has definitely improved, so right there it's a win.

The Pre-Hab goal is obviously a sub-goal of one of my major (read long term) goals: To Kill My A Race, so obviously that sub-goal is spilling over into the first (and second, and third) quarter of 2017.  Hopefully I'll do a better job of documenting my progress toward that giant goal here.  

On that note, I'm off to bed soon because I'm going to attempt an early morning workout tomorrow since I have the day off of work and then I'm hoping to get in the kitchen and do some serious meal prep.

What about you?  Do you like big New Year's resolutions or do you prefer a more short term system?

I Need Pre-Hab

What happens when you train almost nonstop from March through August?

A. You have get in great shape
B. You achieve monster PRs
C. You burn out and turn into a sofa spud

The answer is D: All of the Above

The Pinnacle of my 2016 Season

My return to triathlon was everything I ever could have hoped for and more, but by the time it was all over, I was exhausted.  The thought of doing anything swim/bike/run related sounded horrible.  I ran a little.  Hit the lake once (and had a fantastic swim). And couldn't even look at my bike without wanting to trade it in for something with fat tires and a squishy saddle.

Finally, when it stopped sounding awful and started sounding like what I wanted to do again, a bunch of stressful stuff started happening in my life, so rather than using sweat as a coping mechanism, I went for food/booze/tv/sleep.  Of course that lead to loss of fitness and a bit of weight gain since cheese and wine is far more comforting than water and a salad.  Some of the stuff that lead to my downward spiral is still going on and new stressful stuff is piling on, but it's time try a less self-destructive way to manage it - and I don't want to have to buy new pants!

I've already identified my 'A Race' for 2017 and in order to turn in an optimal performance, I need to get back in the pool/on the bike/running - and I have a plan.

My plan has 5 distinct phases and each phase is designed with one big goal in mind: CRUSH THE A RACE

The 5 phases are:

• Pre-Hab (6 weeks)
• Bike Power (8 weeks)
• Race-Specific Base (6 weeks)
• Race-Specific Build (6 weeks)
• Specialty (8 weeks)

The Pre-Hab phase is designed to get me back in the rhythm of training 6 days a week, rebuild some of my lost fitness, and shed the excess baggage I'm currently carrying.

• 2 runs per week
• 2 trainer rides per week
• 2 swims per week
• 1 strength training session per week
• Eat more 'clean' than 'dirty'

I'm probably a little insane for starting this in the weeks leading up to the biggest eating/gym-closing holidays of the year,  but if I wait for the 'perfect' time to start, I'll never do it - and my goal race is only 8 months away.

So do me a favor, if I start slacking, please give me hell in the comments!