LIVE

"Let us live so that when we come to die, even the undertaker will be sorry."

-Samuel Clemens

Reason #1,030,457 as to why my Mom is awesome

Her Blueberry Pie!!!!

Sure it's not a Thanksgivingy type of dessert but anytime I can showcase Mom's most awesome combo of pie crust and great filling I take to it like triathletes at a compression sock sale.

Step one... homemade pie crust dough. Family recipe... and totally NOT in line with my nutrition plans. Ha... SO WHAT! :)

Step two... chill the dough. *chillin'*

Step three... roll out and fit to pie plate









Step four... make fruit filling *mix and stir*









Step five... fill pie plate and roll out top crust









Step six... all prepped and ready for the oven









Step seven... PERFECTION!!!









Step eight... tomorrow night with friends.... enjoying it!

Give Back

"Life is precious. Do something that is optimistic—that is good for society. Don't sit on the couch."

-Meb Keflezighi

Health and Training status report

Just a quick little update on the health of the hand.

Pins (skewers in the human shishkebab) got pulled late last week and I started running just a little bit every day. Last nights tour of the res at sunset was beautiful. So great to be back outside! Got my ITU bike built back up and rode it (on the trainer) for the first time yesterday, but only ~20 minutes. Aside from not having my cute little wattage numbers to stare at my wrist was very uncomfortable. Sitting up right just feels really awkward and as I'm about to hop back on for another go of it here in a few will need to devise some method of wrist relief. Grasping is still a difficult task and not much strength associated with it either. I still got my pincers tho! (index & thumb) Went in to Altitude Physical Therapy yesterday and had Em seemingly beat my hand to death in an effort to flush out all the crud and scar tissue, etc. that's in place. Dexterity jumped a ton! Still a long ways to go and the green light for water time is Monday. That'll be fun. ;)

Off to Phoenix for a quick trip to Ironman Arizona this weekend for a bit of work then back here for the holidays. Getting antsy about doing more "real" training but have to be patient for now. Plotting an extended trip to Tucson in January to get this engine up and running and the season kicked off. Still working on solidifying some sponsorships for the next year as well as locking in a more definitive schedule. Looking forward to some big changes. :)

See ya!

Taubes and low carb

Another short preamble to the still coming "food as i see it" post. Some little tidbits that came up today courtesy of Chris.

Gary Taubes, author of "Good Calories, Bad Calories", in the video link below discusses some high level science (or rather his collation of it) with regard to human physiology and obesity. Just a warning, it's over an hour. If you do not know much on this topic pass it up but if you are beginning to understand the relationship with how the human body stores, or does not store energy, it would be a good watch. I've only skimmed around his book but now feel compelled to give it a solid go. Despite going though Pollan a second time. :)
http://www.dhslides.org/mgr/mgr060509f/f.htm

Ten new hypothesis...after he debunked all sorts of hypothesis from the last 50+ years.

Dietary fat, whether saturated or not, is not a cause of obesity, heart disease, or any other chronic disease of civilization.

The problem is the carbohydrates in the diet, their effect on insulin secretion, and thus the hormonal regulation of homeostasis—the entire harmonic ensemble of the human body. The more easily digestible and refined the carbohydrates, the greater the effect on our health, weight, and well-being.

Sugars—sucrose and high-fructose corn syrup specifically—are particularly harmful, probably because of the combination of fructose and glucose simultaneously elevates insulin levels while overloading the liver with carbohydrates.

Through their direct effect on insulin and blood sugar, refined carbohydrates, starches, and sugars are the dietary cause of coronary heart disease and diabetes. They are the most likely dietary causes of cancer, Alzheimer's diseases, and the other chronic diseases of civilization.

Obesity is a disorder of excess fat accumulation, not overeating, and not sedentary behavior.

Consuming excess calories does not cause us to grow fatter, any more than it causes a child of grow taller. Expending more energy than we consume does not lead to long-term weight loss; it leads to hunger.

Fattening and obesity are caused by an imbalance—a disequilibrium—in the hormonal regulation of adipose tissue and fat metabolism. Fat synthesis and storage exceed the mobilization of fat from the adipose tissue and its subsequent oxidation. We become leaner when the hormonal regulation of the fat tissue reverses the balance.

Insulin is the primary regulator of fat storage. When insulin levels are elevated—either chronically of after a meal—we accumulate fat in our fat tissue. When insulin levels fall, we release fat from our fat tissue and use it for fuel.

By stimulating insulin secretion, carbohydrates make us fat and ultimately cause obesity. The fewer carbohydrates we consume, the leaner we will be.

By driving fat accumulation, carbohydrates also increase hunger and decrease the amount of energy we expend in metabolism and physical activity.

Arriving at this...

A low-calorie, high-carbohydrate diet will make you lethargic as chronically high insulin levels will try to convert glucose to fat while not leaving sufficient calories for the remainder of your basal metabolism.

This final conclusion having been summed up by this review here.

If you have the time and, again, already have a bit of insight into this view have a look at that summary. I'll go back to my write up and see if i can't throw more endurance sport anecdotals into the mix. :)

Next up... "the low insulin diet". :)

Potential Race Schedule?

Ya gotta start with a rough draft right???


January
1/-- ARG CC Oly-d-legal
1/-- CHL CC Oly-d-legal
1/-- Pucon Half

February
2/27 Ed/Bronwyn Wedding

March
3/28 Mooloolaba WC Oly-d-legal

April
4/11 Sydney WCS Oly-d-legal
4/18 New Orleans Half
4/25 St.A's Oly
4/25 Galveston Half

May
5/9 Rev3-Knox Oly
5/29 Pelican Fest Sprint
5/31 BB 10k

June
6/6 Oliver Half
6/6 Rev3-CT Half
6/12 Boise Half
6/20 CDA IM
6/20 5430 Sprint
6/26 L2L Oly-ish

July
7/11 Peak Oly
7/11 LTF-Minn Oly
7/18 LTF-NYC Oly
7/18 Racine Half

August
8/1 Calgary Half
8/7 Hansen Wedding
8/15 L. Stevens Half
8/30 LTF-Chi Oly
8/30 Canada IM

September
9/12 Rev3-Cleveland IM

October
10/10 Kona IM

Pursuits

“The supreme accomplishment is to blur the line between work and play.”
- Arnold Toynbee

"Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life."
- Confucius

Where _does_ it all come from and what does it all mean? My trip to the grocery this evening.

*This is something of a precursor post to my still coming (and currently drafted but still cleaning up) post on nutrition and what I've learned throughout the year.

After a weekend in Seattle with some good friends and evenings and talks filled with the hot topic of food sourcing, quality, transportation and it's connection to our athletic performance I arrived home to an empty fridge. So with a day of work behind me I begin to head home but need to fill up on my necessities.

I think I walked around in the store for 45 minutes to an hour. And it's not even that large a store. Suddenly my head is now filled with all sorts of dilemmas.

So why the consternation. I have been reading (and re-reading) several of Michael Pollan's works over the last few months (holistic, properly sourced sustainable practices...summed up with healthy earth, healthy body). I have supplemented this with some of Taubes (no carbs) and then capped it off with viewing "Food Inc." while in Seattle. The movie hardly touches upon what they could have shown but i guess when you are walking around a sketchy organization with cameras and microphones and a journalistic attitude you likely are not going to be granted much access. Also whilst in Seattle I had many a debate (on all areas expressed here) with my friend Chris, with whom I was staying and also who jump started me on my own research in this area. Finally wrap it all up with what I have been learning from Bob (low carb but w/a sports angle to it) with regard to metabolic efficiency in aerobic activity and you've got one world of a storm swirling around in my head!

So now that I've prefaced my mindset as I was getting out of the car....let's go shopping.

First I set foot into the prepared foods section. As this stuff tends to be pricey over raw product I skip it without a thought 19 times out of 20. But since I've been feeling more saited on meat and fat alone and feel no need for carbs i thought that just maybe the turkey and pork carnitas would be calling my name. Darn...they were there (top right of pic). As I reach for them I begin to think....how was the pig/turkey raised? What did it eat? What did it live in? How far did it come to reach my store? Whatever... toss a couple in the basket... it tastes good.

Next... produce. Fruit....oh so lovely fruit. Hmmmm wait... you are filled with sugar and carbs and right now while in the midst of minimal activity i am trying to teach my body (by way of what i eat) that sourcing fat is the way to go. So nope...you aren't a part of the game plan...for now...i'll visit you again come training season. Now onto the veggies... mushrooms.... well... they are from the awesomeness of Colorado so they haven't traveled too far but man do we gotta put them in a styrofoam tub? Adds three to basket. Greens... bulk spring and bagged spinach. I know where this is going. When in California it blows my mind how much cheaper any salad green is there. I come home and boom...double the price. So i can only think that that price increase comes in the form of petroleum. Grrrrrreat. Hey "i need my greens" so toss them in.

Meats....since reading the Pollan chapter on the life cycle of a beef cow and what it eats, how it lives, etc. I have not touched beef save for some grass fed, organic, free range that I got in Kona for the whopping price of 2.09 a pound. Now I can't look at any meat product without the images from the book and elsewhere floating through my head. You really have to read the books/see the movie to get this. Needless to say no meat went into the bin here. Wild fish from the freezer it would be.

Onto Eggs: I think I spent 8-10 minutes staring at the eggs alone. All this talk about veggie fed, organic, free range, blah blah blah. The mind begins to spin. Then you stop and think... "why the hell are birds eating veggies?" Last I checked birds eat things like bugs and worms and grubs and scavenge for food. Not veggies. Oh well.... so i gambled and went with the nearest egg producer since they all basically said the same thing. The packing plant is 30 miles away....done.

Dairy.... this about falls in line with the industrial meat production. The industrial organic is not much different except for the cows maaaaybe getting a hair more room to move around and the consumption of organic corn. My patience with the store and all the thoughts rolling though my head was wearing thin, I hedge my bets and go with what i feel might be okay. I can only imagine what grass fed milk tastes like. As for the almond milk.... i have no idea... i just like it's taste. (note: normally i dont eat dairy (what mammal continues to consume dairy once weaned from mother's milk?) but have been persuaded by the docs that it's a good idea for the busted bones)

In the end I can't dwell on it all too much or my head would just explode. I'll do my part to try and be a local-vore and promote sustainable practices as best I can. I'm a realist and know that I'll continue to buy my (relatively) cheap salad greens from California rather than close by (economies of scale). I'll still eat the organic corn fed dairy products (but really do desire to taste some grass fed butter) and try not to think about the fuel going into transporting organic produce from China or Chile.

Funny.... time for some more T.Roosevelt.... "do what you can, with what you have, where you are"

....and dark chocolate ALWAYS has it's place.

Another good one from Teddy Roosevelt

"Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs even though checkered by failure, than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much because they live in the gray twilight that knows neither victory nor defeat."

-T. Roosevelt

Seattle Bound

Well.... it is seattle after all *sigh*

30+ days there over the past decade and only one has been sunny. Keep going at the wrong time of year! :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_VlK2BOhmvU


Nov 5

Rain / Wind

57°
47°

100%

From the South

18mph

Fri
Nov 6

T-Showers

51°
44°

90%

From the South Southwest

16mph

Sat
Nov 7

Rain

48°
43°

90%

From the South Southwest

16mph

Sun
Nov 8

Few Showers

49°
43°

30%

From the South Southeast

6mph

Mon
Nov 9

Showers

49°
43°

40%

From the South Southeast

7mph

A good summation on my coaching

Can't really direct the credit for this as it was simply a post on the wattage list but i felt that it describes my style. I think it goes nicely with my assertion that I coach people and that I "read" people quite well, always have.

*************************************

In my opinion, every athlete I coach is an uncontrolled experiment. There are basic instructions I can give them, basic data I can collect, and basic parameters I can identify and tweak, but I will not get the same results using the exact same inputs for each athlete.

Coaching is both a science and an art.

Marc Genberg put it very well when he identified what are also for me 
the top 3 reasons why someone works with a coach, and it has nothing 
really, in my opinion, to do with whether they are a "leader" or a 
"follower" (these are simplistic terms used by people who want to 
merely divide the human race up into camps, in my opinion) but more to 
do with why people want to be the best they can be:

1. Structure 

2. Accountability 

3. Collaboration

#1 provides a framework within which an athlete can work. Most people 
can't and don't do professional work at home because they need to have 
the structure of going to work to earn a living, for example. The 
same is true for most athletes. No structure, no work. Some people 
are good at developing their own structure, others less so.


#2 is related to #1: we can't all be our own bosses at all times. All 
of us need to have someone else to report to, who can give us feedback 
on whether they believe we are doing a good job and/or are working to 
the best of our ability, based on a careful examination of the work 
performed. Some people don't need another person for that. I for one 
am not divinely inspired. Wish I could be, but we all have our 
limitations....


#3 is also a natural extension of #2: most people work better when 
they work with someone else. If you prefer just following orders and 
doing what you are told, collaboration may not work for you. For me, 
I need dialog and feedback: "Why should I do this? What's the point 
here? How is this going to help me?" The athletes who I have worked 
with who asked those sort of questions, and provided that sort of 
feedback, are those who -- most of the time, but not always -- get the 
best results and show the greatest improvements.

Everyone has their own personal constraints and limitations. Working 
hard to address these three core elements is what good coaches do, in 
my opinion. People are not simple machines. There's a big, 
complicated CPU sitting on top of the engine with 16 quadrillion 
interconnects. Coaching is far more complicated than just pushing 
some buttons, or writing a little bit of simple software. It takes 
knowledge -- both academic and empirical kowledge, experience, 
judgment, and wisdom. It also takes the ability to see each athlete 
as an individual, requiring individual attention, consideration, and 
counsel.

If you don't need any of these things, and are comfortable and 
successful working on your own to achieve your own goals, you don't 
need a coach.