Inspiration Tuesday - Happiness

Try Something New

My top two suggestions for stress management are: try something new and eliminate something that is unnecessary.  I recently talked about eliminating the unnecessary.  With the new year upon us I thought I'd take a brief moment to talk about my other suggestion of adding something new.

Adding something new can bring a touch of joy to your day.  It gives you something to look forward to and a sense of adventure.  It doesn't even need to take more than 5-10 minutes.  I recently added swimming with bands around my ankles.  It was an attempt to improve my swimming and unexpectedly it has made swimming more exciting.

I've also been setting weekly goals for myself in a shared adventure with a few other athletes.  Each week, we'll attempt something new to improve our lives.  One week I massaged my legs for 10 minutes each day, another week I prayed for other people each night.  This week I'm listening to relaxing sounds on my Kindle Fire for 5 minutes each day.

Recently after listening to a podcast by Monica Reinagel, where she mentioned that she eats a new fruit each week to add pleasure and reduce her sugar cravings, I decided to take up her suggestion.  I tried Cherimoya (tastes like papaya), Persimmons (tastes like a mango), and Horned Melon (tastes like a cucumber with a touch of sweetness).  Below are a few other exotic fruits for anyone interested in trying this new venture:

Dragon Fruit

Aguaje fruit (Dec-June)        Cherimoya (Oct-May)                      Cupuacu (Jan-Apr)
Dragon fruit (June-Dec)        Durian (June-Aug)                           Feijoas (Mar-June)
Guavas (Sept-Dec)              Horned Melon (Aug-May)                 Jackfruit (Apr-Sept)
Langsat (July-Sept)              Lychee (June-July)                           Kiwi (Oct-May)
Kumquats (Jan-Mar)            Pepino (Feb-May)                            Persimmon (Oct-Feb)
Pomegranates (Sept-Feb)    Pomelos (Jan-Feb)                         Rambutan (Mar-Sept)

Here's to trying something new in the new year. I hope that the experience is equally rewarding for you as it has been for me.

Bryan

2014 Plan

      Each year I set new training goals for myself based on observations from the previous year.  For 2014 I have decided to focus on steady sustainable progress and saying 'no' to things that aren't necessary.  Over time, I have come to believe that an abundance of intense or long efforts is not going to dramatically improve my performance.  I see improvements as analogous to how a souffle rises.  Positive results require patience.  Too much heat and the souffle does not have time to rise.  In training, too much effort when the body is not ready leads to injury or stunted development.  In addition, I plan to focus on small intangibles such as percent body fat, mental resilience, and body awareness.

      I developed the details of my 2014 plan by reviewing notes from the coaches I admire most: Mark Allen, Arthur Lydiard, Tim Noakes, Brett Sutton, Darren Smith, and Gordo Byrn.  Mark Allen encourages athletes to train aerobically until they plateau then add in some anaerobic training until the next plateau.  Lydiard, the great New Zealand track coach, encourages periodization with plenty of hills and short fast speed work.  Dr. Noakes sites studies on VO2 max and threshold training that revealed benefits being maxed out at 3 weeks.  He also found research that said 4 minutes at 85% VO2 max and 30 seconds at 175% VO2 max were the best efforts to improve performance.  Brett Sutton used to limit Chrissie Wellington's long rides to 5 hr.  Darren Smith, who coached Lisa Norden to a silver medal at the 2012 Olympics, intentionally under-trains his athletes so they can maintain consistency without injury.  Gordo, who trained with Dave Scott and Scott Molina as well as co-wrote books with Joe Friel, limits all his athletes, even 50 mile runners, to 2 hour long runs.

Frequent Training
I will continue to train frequently, cycling and running 6 days a week and swimming 5 days.  I believe frequent training improves muscle memory and durability.  As the workout distance increases, there are diminishing returns on physiological adaptations.  Thus the suggestions from Sutton and Gordo to limit long rides to 5 hr and long runs to 2 hr.  By training frequently, I can be very efficient with my time and efforts.  


Fun Aerobic Efforts
I will alternate 8 weeks of aerobic training w/ 2 weeks of overload, in the spirit of Allen and Lydiard's advice.  Training for nonprofessionals needs to be fun.  It is not my source of income nor self worth.  Keeping it fun will also prevent burnout, aid recovery, and improve my sleep.  The goal is 1-2 hr of aerobic training each day.  If I'm not feeling up to my planned routine, I have the option to do any aerobic exercise for 1 hr.  I believe occasional deviations are good and the only way to maintain sustainability.  Otherwise it will lead to burnout, injury, or spending fitness trying to do something the body is not ready to do that day.  A touch of speed work, one day each week, will also be incorporated to maintain overload adaptations.

Overload
During my 2 weeks of overload, I will increase volume and intensity to shock the system and stimulate new growth. I will focus on 30 sec efforts at 175% VO2 max in accordance with Dr Noakes' research findings.

Weight Training
I will conduct wt training sessions 2-3 x week with a mixture of moderate to heavy weights depending on the training period.  Through wt sessions, I hope to reduce age associated muscle loss, stimulate beneficial hormones, prevent injury, and strengthen stabilizing muscles.  Weight training is also an opportunity to induce more load on the muscles than possible through swim, bike, or run.

Core Training
I will engage in core stability exercises 6 days/wk for 10 minutes to improve balance, form, and to provide a strong link between the upper and lower body.

Mental Training
I plan to practice sport psychology exercises 6 days a week for 5-10 minutes to improve my confidence, ability to maintain focus, and reduce the perception of pain.

Assessment
I will assess my physical state 6 days a week, through morning heart rate and muscle soreness, to prevent over-training and to stay in line with principles set forth by Allen and Darren Smith.

Be Lean
I will reduce my percentage of body fat to improve my watts per kg.  The fastest athletes tend to have the highest watts/kg.  Lean athletes also have less weight to carry and less mass to cool.

To hold myself accountable I will routinely ask myself: "Am I building fitness or am I spending it?"  I will do my best to train to my physical and mental state each day.  I believe these practices will allow me to have success and sustainability.

Inspiration Tuesday - Morgan Freeman

This Academy Award winner (Million Dollar Baby) paid his dues working for several years as an unknown actor.  At the age of 52, he came into his own playing chauffeur Hoke Colburn in Driving Miss Daisy.

He was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2011 from the American Film Institute.

Balance and the 80/20 rule

Triathlon is a unique sport which profoundly illustrates the point that doing more does not always lead to better results.  The key is to train smart by investing your time wisely.  Single sport athletes may be able to get away with a lot of volume, but triathlon already starts out with a lot of volume.  One has to train for swimming, cycling, and running as well as the nutrition and mental aspects of the sport.  By comparison, a runner can do up to 100 miles/wk and still be under 12 hours/wk of training.  A bare minimum for a half or full Ironman is 12 hr per week with many doing 15-20 hr/wk.  That doesn't leave a lot of time for physical recovery, mental recovery, family, work, or other obligations.

One thing that I have found helps is being efficient with my efforts.  In life and triathlon, I can't always do everything I want.  It's good because what I want is not always what I need.  Jesse Thomas talked about the 80/20 rule in a recent Inside Triathlon article.  He says that 80% of the things we do can be accomplished in 20% of our time.  We can always do more, but not everything needs to be perfect.  I could spend 20 hours on this blog or spend just 4 hours and accomplish the same result while also having time for my wife, career, and other activities.  By intentionally limiting my time commitments, I have the necessary time for when things do need to be perfect.

Half and full distance Ironman training requires a fair amount of time.  In a recent interview on IMTalk Tyler Butterfield discussed the differences between ITU Olympic distance racing and the Ironman.  One of the reasons he believes more ITU athletes are not successful in the Ironman is a lack of patience.  In ITU, training hard produces great performances.  In the Ironman though, one must be patient, conserve energy, and balance a lot of variables.  Tyler has trained with a lot of great athletes including 3 time IM World Champion Craig Alexander.   One thing that stood out for him was that he never saw Craig overexert himself on a mountain climb during group rides.  Craig would usually finish around 5th, saving his efforts for when they counted.

Volume and intensity require a balancing act. In a recent interview with Bob Kennedy on Competitor radio, Bob said the difference between African runners and American runners was that the Africans knew when to cut a run short or reduce their effort. The body and mind breakdown if we try to do both for too long.  I think about tax season for accountants, they cannot maintain that intensity year round or much more that a few weeks.  In triathlon, the great Simon Lessing tried to maintain his high intensity training when he transferred to Ironman.  He had one good race at Lake Placid then disappeared due to injury.  I believe the same thing happened to Bevan Docherty this past year after setting a course record at IM New Zealand.  The best athletes know how to balance their efforts.

Mirinda Carfrae recently discussed what she had learned since leaving then returning to coach Siri Lindley.  She found that most training programs are roughly the same.  The key is having people you trust to help with the mental aspects of training and racing.  People to prevent you from worrying too much and not balancing your efforts.

Although not always easy, I strive to build my life and training around the core ideas of balance in doing too much vs. not doing enough, being effective with my time and efforts, and surrounding myself with people willing to tell me the brutal truth.  Just because I have the time or money to do something, doesn't necessarily mean it's a good idea.  Everything has a cost.  Some costs are readily apparent, while others reveal themselves over time.  Kia Kaha

Celebrating the Holidays in Cincy

Recently I found myself in a chat on Facebook discussing fun things to do in Cincinnati. As some of you may already know, I am passionate about this city and I love getting out to enjoy everything it has to offer.  It's not hard for me to come up with something fun to do with my best friend (and husband) Bryan. Upon realizing that many may not know what this great city has to offer during the holidays, I wanted to dedicate this post to celebrating the holidays in Cincy.

A little warning: I am bit biased as I tend to focus on downtown. But there other fun things going on in Greater Cincinnati. We simply find it difficult to get out of downtown when it has so much to offer. High class problem, I know. 

Last Sunday we enjoyed the day in Eden Park. At first we simply planned to walk around and enjoy the newly fallen snow. After several hours of walking we wondered into the Krohn Conservatory.  Initially it was to use the bathroom and warm up, but then we decided to stay and view their holiday display "A Cincinnati Scenic Railway". We thoroughly enjoyed our time there observing miniature replicas of famous Cincinnati sites. After our little detour we started walking home. While going through the park we saw people sledding, cross country skiing, and walking their dogs.  People were finding all kinds of interesting ways to have fun in the cold.

Below is my list of fun ideas for this Holiday season in Cincinnati.

Theater:

• Cincinnati Ballet and SCPA both put on the Nutcracker
• Know Theater: This season their improv group has a show at Arnold's The Naughty List
• Playhouse in the Park: For a more traditional show there's Christmas Carol 
• Shakespeare Theater: Every Christmas Story Ever Told 
• Ensemble Theater: For a non- Holiday show there's  Around the World in 80 Days

Shopping:

• Findlay Market: Cincideutsch Christkindlmarkt
• The City Flea: This is a one day Holiday shopping experience in Washington Park Wrapped up Holiday Market
• Rhinegeist: Another fun event is Art on Vine at Rhinegeist brewery. 

Enjoying "Luminaries":

• Krohn by candlelight
• Light up OTR
• Luminaria Mt. Adams

Other fun stuff:

• Naughty or Nice Christmas
• Reindog Parade
• Eggnog Jog  If you want to get in a "fun run" before Christmas, there's a 5k run through Mt.Adams.
• Ice skating Downtown
• Festival of Lights

Movie Night:

Last year my husband and I started a tradition where each week in December we watch a different holiday film. Below are our favorites. 

The Holiday

White Christmas

Elf

How the Grinch Stole Christmas

Love Actually

Christmas Vacation 

  

Lastly, what would the holidays be with out a few libations. This is a list of our favorite places to enjoy a few drinks or a tasting:

Market Wines We love popping into this store/bar. It's got a great neighborhood feel. You can go there any night of the week and have a drink at the bar or make a quick run in to pick up a few things for home. On Tuesday and Sundays they have tastings.

Rhinegeist This is a new brewery/bar that's best enjoyed with a big group. In addition to enjoying their beers you can have fun watching sports on their flat screens, or play a game of corn-hole or ping pong.

1215 Wine Bar This is a great place to go on a date or with another couple. My favorite night is when there's live music. Who doesn't enjoy listening to someone play the guitar. 

Eight Ball We recently came across this little gem while shopping at the Party Source. They have 42 different beers on tap, each available for 4 oz beer flights.

Everything's d'Vine Every Friday night they have a wine and beer tasting.
Pedal Wagon This is something that has been on my bucket list. It's a 2 hour pub crawl with 15 other people. They take you to some of my favorite places; Neon's, Arnold's, Lackman's, and Rhinegeist. I can't wait to pin down a time to do this.

Onwards & Upwards, T

Foods We Love: Zula's

For those that may not know, my husband and I live in Cincinnati, OH. Lucky we live within walking distance of the downtown area where we can walk to some fabulous restaurants.  We love sampling new foods and new restaurants throughout downtown Cincinnati. We particularly enjoy grabbing a bite in Over the Rhine (OTR), an area of downtown that's in the midst of a renovation with new shops, businesses, homes, and local eateries. One of our favorite new restaurants in OTR is Zula's.

Zula's is located on the corner of Race and West 14th street near Washington Park. They specialize in tapas, which encourages sharing items with friends.  My favorite items (in full disclosure, the only thing we've tried) are their mussels and flat breads. They have a few traditional entrees, but the mussels and flat breads are their specialty.  The mussels come in a large black pot, submerged in a variety of broths.  The broths are so good, we often find ourselves requesting a cup to drink every last drop.  Our favorite, thus far, is the "Funghi" followed closely by the "Thai".  "Funghi" may not sound appealing, but it includes a savory blend of mushrooms, apple wood smoked bacon, garlic, and cream.  Order a bowl of bread or one of their fabulous flat breads to soak up the broth.  The Goat Cheese flat bread is a personal favorite.

They also have an extensive wine list with a variety of reds and whites.  During one of our most recent visits we were introduced to the white wine Torrontes. It is a refreshingly balanced white that pairs well with mussels, cheese, or all by itself.

Should you decide to check this place out, make sure to get a reservation as it's really popular.  Parking  is available on the street or in the garage under Washington Park. In the evenings, the garage is only $3, unless there is a special event.

Visit ZulaBistro.com for a full listing of their menu and for some beautiful Bossa Nova music. If you like what you hear, check out Ceu.



Onwards and Upwards, T