New year, new resolution, same goals

Sitting around the table in Maui last Dec. 31st, I made a resolution to earn my professional license.  

That was dumb.

A resolution might be a goal of some sort, but that thing that I said last year was something that would be completely out of my control.  I went for broke, and in the end, I broke.

So it's January 1st, 2014.  New year, new resolution, but keeping that goal of earning a professional license is still there.  This time, I'm going to try and be a bit smarter about it.

So the resolution(s)?  To keep a full time job, work more towards my teaching certification, to be a better father/husband/son, be smart about my health, remain an optimist, give more/take less, waste less, and be less impulsive.  

So happy 2014 everyone!  May this year bring the best of all of us! 

Hau'oli Makahiki Hou

Our last grocery trip of 2013.  He might just be a pilot someday.

Weekly Training Log: Week of December 23rd, 2013: Christmas Week!

What a great, great, week it was!  I can't believe that Christmas 2013 has come and gone.

Training was very so-so this week.  I took three full days off, and do not regret that one bit.  My injured foot was a bit sore after 54 running miles in the A5's last week, so I intentionally backed off.  I had 3 bikes on the trainer that were all pretty awesome.  I oddly don't think that I have lost that much power in the 10 weeks that I took completely off the bike after Kona.  I was able to hold a 210 watt average for a 70 minute ride on the trainer fairly easily - this surprised me a ton.

Build on Colin, build on.  You've got the base - now it's time to do something with it.

In the more important events of the week - Christmas and all of the celebrations that surrounded it were nothing short of awesome.  Three years old proved to be full of amazing and magical times.  Aiden really surprised me and made me such a proud father - minimal fits, and maximal thank you's and hugs on Christmas day.  This kid has a great heart.

So many reasons to be thankful this year...  It was a great way to start wrapping up 2013 and start looking forward to 2014!


Swim: 0
Bike: 3.5 hours/74 miles
Run: 30.2 miles


The week in pictures

Beth and Lynn (MIL) assembling Aidens kitchen set from Santa

Ken and I played a little guitar/singalong carols on Christmas night.

Aiden on Christmas night.  I followed very close after - Should have slowed down on the beer/wine/everything else.

More or less of where I will prep the bike over the winter.  Much nicer than last years spot.

My Mom and Dad's Christmas tree at my parents

Christmas dinner on the 23rd with my in-laws and parents

A picture from when I was probably like 10.  I found it on the 23rd - thought it would be something good to show to Aiden 

Christmas Eve service

Theme song of the holidays - I think I will tone it down over the coming years - I realized that I am 30.

Christmas morning at my parents

Merry christmas to me.  I am that dude who wants a disc wheel for the holidays.  I'm hoping this assists me in my ultimate goal for the 2014 season.

After christmas at our house, then christmas at my parents house, we were on to the third present exchange of the day at my In-Laws place in Longmont.

Trying to break a duck wishbone unsuccessfully

We finished up christmas on Saturday with my sister and her family at my parents.  This is my son with niece, Autumn, and nephew, River.

Weekly Training Log: Week of December 16th, 2013

So it starts - the training for the 2014 season has begun.  This will be another year to try and attain a goal that I had set for last year.  I wanted to earn the right to race as a pro, but because of a broken left foot on July 5th, I wasn't able to even attempt it at Ironman Louisville in late August.

I had a very redeeming race at the Ironman World Championships in October that left me confident and hungry for more.  I feel like I am made to do the 140.6 distance and with proper training, I will excel at it.

Since Kona, I have been on a steady diet of 40-50 miles of running per week.  I feel like my run is strong right now, but needs some focus.  I have not put my foot to a pedal since the dismount in Kona, and have not touched a pool either.  This is typical though...  I usually take about two months off of the bike in all.

So it's on.  It's go time. Time to focus. Time to hold in some excitement. Time to stay healthy and injury free.

Oh... And time to enjoy a little Christmas with my family :)

So here it is - The first week of training for 2014 - Not much at all, but some bike is better than none.


Swim: 0
Bike: 1 hour
Run: 54 miles

And for my favorite part of doing this blog!  The week in pictures.

Aiden's second Piano lesson was this week.  He really like this and it makes me beyond happy.

Played in the student/faculty bball game at our school on Thursday.  I am really enjoying my job.

Beth wrapping 

My sons montessori school had the holiday celebration on Friday.  It was amazingly cute.

This will be my winter training spot.  Shorter more intense sessions to increase the bike FTP.  The basement still isn't totally done after the floods, so I'll post another picture of this when it's complete.

Christmas shopping with Mom

Merry Christmas!

Shopping break with dude.  I love being a dad.

Durability, Roadmaps, and Long Term Goals

It's been four weeks since Kona and I have been enjoying the off-season/getting fat.  I have been running about 40-50 miles/week (in order to stay sane) but skipping workouts or runs whenever I feel like it.  It's nice, needed, and I plan on doing this through the holidays.  It'll give everything a nice little re-set, and hopefully allow myself to heal a little after the 2013 races (and non-races).

The off season is a time to reflect on the past season, and plan on the next one.  Triathlon, specifically long-course triathlon, has become more than a hobby for me - it has become a lifestyle, and has been a place where I put much if not almost all of my spare time doing/planning for.  I made a goal for myself last season that I was not able to reach - I wasn't even able to attempt it due to injury... This has me at it again, with plans on reaching that same goal of earning the right to race as a pro in the last half of the 2014 season.


Taking a look back at the past year, I have a few things that I need to pay close attention to if I want to stay in this sport, let alone race as a (lower level) pro.

1 - Injuries
2 - Family obligations/new work obligations
3 - Injuries
4 - Realistic goals and ability to deal with setbacks
5 - Injuries

I hit the magical age of 30 this year, and now need to look at 1,3,5 with a bit more of an understanding as to what my "aging" body can take.


Over the past 365ish days, the left side of my body has experienced two stress-reactions/stress fractures.  I am thinking that these ultimately stem from a biomechanical change that happened years ago when  I shattered my 4th/5th metatarsal in a barefoot longboarding session.  The first stress reaction happened during a speed session in December of last year - it was on the left tibia.  I took 4 weeks completely off of running and was able to be back to milage somewhere in early February.  The second was much more serious and happened to my left 2nd metatarsal on a long run on the 5th of July.  I was in a boot for 5 weeks, then in Hokas from there 'till now.  That one still hurts.

In the time between the first and second injury, I had two good races and a few okay ones.  The Valley to Sea Half Marathon (1:16pr), the Boston Marathon (2:48pr), BolderBoulder (36:05), and Boise 70.3.  Training was going well, and I had a very good feeling about getting my pro-card at Ironman Louisville in late August.  Injury happened and I was unable to start.  I kept a base of fitness through riding my bike and was able to get to the start line in Hawaii ready to give what I had.

So here comes to why I am writing this post.

I am 100% in on the goal of earning a professional license in the next year, and am in the process of planning a season that will get me there.  I had signed up for the Boston Marathon again in April with intentions of going there to have a good race again.  But, I don't think that this is the best idea right now.  I think this is a year where I need to step away from chasing running pr's and focus on a maintenance of running, increase in my threshold power on the bike, and an increase in my swim training.

So instead of chasing a pr in the marathon, half marathon, and 10k,  I am going to try for a more balanced approach towards all three sports.  I am picking a few races that will "force" me to get in the pool, spend more time on the bike, and keep my running topped out around 40-45mpw.  I need to stay away from a run focused training this winter.  Even though I am racing long earlier in the year, I hope that by ditching lots of speed sessions and hard runs, I will avoid any injuries that may come from a run oriented winter and spring.

Any way I look at it, this sport is all about experimentation anyways.  I just want to stay healthy and avoid injury for another chance at a goal.

So here's the schedule so far:

05/17/2014 - Ironman Texas, Woodlands TX
05/26/2014 - BolderBoulder 10k, Boulder, CO
08/03/2014 - Ironman Boulder, Boulder CO
08/24/2014 - Ironman Louisville, Louisville KY
10/11/2014 - Ironman World Championships, Kona HI*
11/01/2014 - Ironman Florida*

(Yeah, I know... 5 full distance races is a shit ton)

Other races that I plan on doing that I don't have dates for


Summer open sprint tri - Longmont, CO
Longmont tri - Longmont, CO
Boulder Sprint Tri - Boulder, CO
Barking Dog Duathlon