Alcohol, Training, and Dabbling in Sobriety

Anyone that knows me, knows that I like my drinks.   I always have and I always will.   I never really consumed any alcohol until I was about 20, and actually started racing triathlon because of it. No joke.

In the summer of 2003, I finally learned to let loose and have a good time... I can attribute that to learning to have a few drinks and relax.  With that new relaxed attitude, I tried something new in triathlons.  Over the next few years, I think that I was in catch up mode for all of those high school and college parties that I missed.   In 2006/2007, I was in party mode all the time and consumed a bit (no, way) too much for any good, and in March of 2010 I gave it up completely for nine months while waiting for my son to be born.

That complete sobriety in 2010 was a nice halt of daily consumption for me...  I will think of it as my re-set button on my consumption habits.  Since then, I have pretty much limited any alcohol consumption to one or two days per week (lately, more like one).  I will note that vacations are not included in that though.  I'll indulge when I get my travels on!

So what has limiting alcohol consumption done for training and racing and life?  Have I noticed a difference?

Yes and no.

First, the yes

The biggest place I notice the difference of non-daily alcohol consumption is mornings.  This is huge for me as I am a very very big morning person.  It's my absolute most productive and favorite part of the day.  I truly enjoy waking up feeling close to 100% every day and I attribute no drinking to feeling that way.  I love it.

I don't have an excuse to skip workouts.

I dropped about 10 pounds in the first month back in 2010.  I have stayed at 147 to 151 ever since.  I feel that it's a good race weight.  I also notice a difference in body composition.  I feel much more lean, even if I am only 10 lbs lighter.

I sleep better

I am fully sober much more often.  This can't be bad - or can it?


Then, the no

I don't think that it changing my drinking habits really affects performance in races (too much).  During all three of my ironman races this past summer, I consumed ample amounts leading up to the race and consumed a minimum of two drinks the night before each of these races.  I think this was just a mental thing though.  - It gave me a break from the daily anxiety of thinking of the race.  I treated the travel to, and the experience of racing as a nice vacation.


So there are my thoughts on this subject.  Overall, I like not drinking much and I do think it helps overall in life.  I do feel healthier and happier because I limit myself to a day or so per week.  With that being said, it's been about two weeks since I have had a beer - I think I will wait for the weekend though.  5:00 am is  a bit too early.

One of many pre-race beverages from Kona this past October

Weekly Training Log - Feb 25th through March 3rd

I have decided that I am going to post weekly training miles and/or training hours up here to keep a public journal of the time that I spend doing this hobby.  I don't know if I will post all details of the weeks training or if I will just post the totals.  This week I am just posting the totals.  I will also aim to post a few quick notes about how training went, what was good, and what was bad.  I train by feel and will also note of skipped workouts and training/racing goals for the coming week.

So...  Last week was the longest run week I have had since injuring my ankle/lower leg.  I never really knew what really happened, but think that it was a "stress reaction" of some sort.  I was able to hit every workout that I planned with the exception of one bonus afternoon easy run.  For the bike, I fell a bit behind of what I wanted.  I was planning on spending an hour to hour and a half on the trainer fri/sat/sun, but opted not to.  I had Aiden (my son) all to myself while my wife went to visit a great friend (Shannon Scott) and her new baby (Riley) in south Florida.  I also want to note that I have been having long runs of 18 or so miles for the past week but only hit a long run of 12.5 this past week.

Totals:

Run - 54.9 miles (lots of fast/quality work)
Bike - 4 hours, 10 minutes (trainer only - threshold and close to threshold)

Goals for next week - 6-8 hours on the bike and 50 or so miles running.

This is our dog Kona.  Taken last Friday doing what she does.

Aiden and Daddy went to "Gateway Fun Park" a few times this weekend to ride some go carts, play some games, etc.  It was an absolute blessing to have him to myself all weekend.  Such a great little boy!

2013 Schedule

2013 Schedule

Happy 2013!  Training has been going pretty well for the most part.  Quite a few days go by with little to no motivation, while others are full of thoughts of start and finish lines.  Although I would love to race 3-4 140.6 distance races this year, I think I will only be doing one...  The big one.
Other goals of mine are to go race in Vegas for the first time, to place top 3 overall in a very big race, to get ready to have another kid, and to graduate from MSU Denver.

Races for 2013

Canyonlands Half Marathon
Valley to the Sea Half Marathon
Boston Marathon
Summer Open Tri
Longmont Tri
BolderBoulder
Boise 70.3
5430 Sprint Tri
Boulder Peak Tri
Boulder 70.3
Vegas 70.3
Ironman World Championships

Happy training and have a great February!

The time machine

I was driving my two year old son home from his daycare/school yesterday in my 1992 Honda Accord and had some flashbacks.  I have had the same 10 cd's in that changer since 2006.  It's wild how some music and similar surroundings can bring you back in time.  Time machines are fun - even if they are only in the mind.

In 2006, my life was a wreck.  I wasn't doing good to myself, my family, or anyone really.  In the summer of that year, I was dealing with substance abuse and seclusion.  I reached a breaking point in August with my family while on vacation.  I was not myself anymore...  Not even close - I was pretty lost and didn't feel like being found.  In the fall, I knew I needed to change my path and proceeded to try and do so by myself.  I started working at a dog kennel in Boulder and drove this 92 accord to and from work every day listening to a set of cd's in the trunk.  During that time, I was still dealing with trying to rid myself of bad habits (heck, still doing that today), and had gotten very into music production and sound engineering.  I had always been into music, but at this time in my life it had become a better friend.  Things were going to get better.

2007 came, and things were about to change.  I was living on my own and still working at that kennel.  I was staying busy... still driving in that car, forming memories while listening to that same set of 10 cd's in the changer.  I went to Maui with my family over Easter and was consciously trying to make things better with my Mom, Dad, and pregnant Sister.  I decided to get back into triathlon that summer and met my future wife at the Longmont Tri in late May.  My nephew was born in July of that year and realized where I wanted to get to...  I knew that being a dad was something that I was looking forward to experiencing.

I was engaged in early 2008, then married in January of 2009.  Beth and I had one of the most amazing weddings ever.  No joke - it was awesome.  We had bought a house together in mid 2008 before we got married, so it was easy coming back and starting our life out together as a married couple.  Somewhere in 2009, I stopped listening to music in my car and turned to NPR exclusively.  Those CD's sat in that changer in the trunk unused.

By march of 2010, we knew Beth was pregnant and were expecting a child in November.  This was planned and unplanned at the same time.  I had signed up for my first Ironman while on vacation over new years.  I was supposed to race an ironman and have a kid within days.  It ended up happening that way...  I raced IMFL on Nov. 6th and we had Aiden on Nov. 15th.  November of 2010 was a month that took me to another level in life.  It was - and may always be the greatest month of growth I have ever experienced.  I still was not listening to those cd's.  They sat quiet.

Fast forward two years.  I have lost both of my grandparents (on mom's side), had two new nieces come into the world, gone back to school and am about done with my degree, coached for two different swim teams, started coaching triathlon, formed new friendships, raced three ironmans in the span of two months, finished Kona, had two birthday parties and three christmases with my little boy, along with lots of other things.  During this, that set of cd's sat in my trunk not spinning.

So yesterday, while trying to put on some christmas music in the car, I realized that the radio wasn't working.  For the first time in a long time I flipped the stereo to the cd changer.  I threw on a Guster cd that was in the trunk from 2006.  I looked in the rear view mirror at my son Aiden and was able to see where I have come from six years ago.  It was an awesome feeling.