Hacking is tougher on your body than Ironman Training

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A lot of my friends wonder why do I do an Ironman? All of that exercise, that training doesn’t it hurt? Isn’t it rough on your body?

This past year, for reasons out-of-my control, I went through a 4 month period where I was hardly working. Re-orgs, layoffs, etc.

As a result I wasn’t really working … But I was training a lot.

In February I got an awesome job at VMware doing stuff I love.

And so I started working long hours, sitting in front of a computer hacking code, learning about internal systems, etc.

And my body fell apart. My arms, shoulder, neck, and legs went numb because I was sitting down for 8 hours straight.

In three years of training, I have never thought I needed to go to the doctor. After two weeks of work, I had scheduled an appointment.

Ironman training, is tough but I have never been as much as a wreck as I was after just two weeks of being back on the job.

 

Back on track 

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I started working recently and discovered that the human body hates work.

I am also working on figuring out how to balance life,training and work…  The San Jose Sharks used to be a good team so they were in the mix of things I had to balance… Not this year.

As for weight we had a bad week last week but we are on track



The Half-Assing of the Bike Training

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The last couple of years, I’ve been mostly focused on finishing my triathlons instead of doing better. This year, I want to go faster.

Going faster means doing everything you did, just better. And unlike when I was 15 years old, time is working against me. Every year gets harder… not easier.

One of the areas ripe for improvement was my bike training. Bike training is boring. And I hated sitting in the garage endlessly pedaling.

And I wasn’t trying really hard. And you can see that from the average heart rate that was almost always routinely below the minimum target range.

Oh the excuses I invented:

  1. My legs hurt too much
  2. It’s too hard
  3. I don’t like this! WAAAAAAAAH!
  4. I need to pedal at 90 RPM and I can only do it at this more comfortable gearing that feels nicer!

This year, I chose to do something about it. And last night I did my first long bike ride where I chose to not half ass anything.

The pain. The excruciating pain. Oh the pain!

All of these years, I wondered why is biking so much easier than running? And the answer, much like the mystery of my weight loss, was hidden in plain site: because I push a lot harder when I run.

Back on the saddle and son wants to play hockey

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I just finished a 1:30 minute brick workout (bike + run). And my son had just gotten his new hockey gear.

All I wanted to do was sit down, all he wanted to do was skate.

We skated.

And skated.

And skated some more.

I was – possibly – the worst hockey player of all time. Nicholas is fast approaching the point where I am not good enough to play.

And therefore, in spite of the pain, I played because sooner than I like he won’t want to play with me…

Christmas Baggage

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Skiing, drinking and partaking in overeating have their consequences. I had a great Christmas Eve dinner at my friend Marcin’s and his family and then followed it up with a great Christmas Day Dinner at my house.

Two wonderful meals.

weightloss-2014-12-29

 

And might I add that if I don’t beat my time because I was off by 4 pounds, it was a fantastic four pounds of melomakarona, applie pie, cake, prime rib, sweet potatoes, and Lord knows what else!