Domestique Diaries - Athlete Suck Attack

Here’s how two consecutive evenings unfolded last week in our household. Typically, athletes are strong minded, controlled and very focused; however when an unplanned mishap interferes with their training schedule they have what I have named an athlete suck attack. It reminds me of the same genre of suck attack children often pull when they do not get their way, only the athlete version occurs when they realize that they may not get the training done. This is what happened last week, and as usual it made me laugh really hard and gave me a great post idea.

Recently, Brent has been riding the trainer and one day last week he finally decided to put his training tire on after getting multiple flats while riding the trainer. So one night after dinner i’m watching TV and Brent is in the other room at first silent however as time goes on he begins to curse and bang things around loudly. So I go check it out and he’s definitely frustrated, he has two broken tire levers and a screw driver beside him. So, I do the obvious and ask if I can help him put the trainer tire on he says no right away, so I leave and go back to watch my show. Minutes later out comes Brent with the tire and wheel asking for my help. I smile and agree as long as we can continue to watch my show. After 30 additional minutes of working with our four hands, the two more broken tire levers, and two screwdrivers we finally get the trainer tire on.

Immediately Brent puts a new tube in. Well the valve on the tube isn’t long enough so for the next 30 minutes, as I try to hold the pump on the valve and Brent pumps we try to pump up the tube but do not succeed. Brent comments that he has a tube with a long valve in the truck that only has a slow leak in it so off he goes to get it. When Brent arrives from the truck we put a little air in the tube and inspect it for holes and it seems to be holding the air well, so we both agree the problem is solved. Brent quickly puts the tube in, replaces the wheel on the bike and sets the trainer back up in front of the TV. All is good, for now at least.

The next day Brent is set to start his trainer ride at 5pm and i’m at the gym already. On my short walk home from the gym, I see this mad man with a touque and shorts hauling butt towards me. As I get closer I see it’s Brent. I approach him he doesn’t say a word, the suck attack is already in full force. Finally after pulling teeth I get out of him that he had two flats in the first 5 minutes of his ride, and right now all he needs to do is get the workout done so he’s settling for a spin bike at the gym. Obviously bitter, I walk with him to the gym, he’s stressing over not making it to the bike store on time for his next ride tomorrow morning and taking a suck attack that now he has to use a spin bike and is no longer able to measure power and cadence with the same accuracy for his workout. He’s difficult to speak to during this athlete suck attack. I think to myself I can’t deal with this athlete suck attack all night, so I tell Brent I will go to the bike store and get the trainer tire on for him. Immediately that brings the athlete suck attack level down by at least 50% and to me that means that remainder of the night will be bearable.

So off to the bike store I run with the tire. I tell all the guys at the bike store about the athlete suck attack. They heckle us for using a screwdriver on the wheel, which they notice right away.

Anyways, after Brent finishes his ride on the spin bike and comes home to a trainer tire on the wheel he’s already over his athlete suck attack.

All is good for Brent’s trainer ride that day. The next day I come home and find this in our coat closet. It’s the trainer tire! After all that work, he’s already taken it off cause he’s getting ready to ride outside!

You know you’re living with a triathlete when:

-you play bike mechanic in the evenings while watching TV

-due to equipment malfunction and the possibility of a not as accurate workout you’ve witnessed an athlete suck attack

Happy Trainer Rides,

Carley

January Update

It’s amazing how time flies when you’re logging the training and getting the work done for the upcoming season. I seem to be getting over the initial shock of the start of hard training as well as the pain and sore muscles associated with this time of season.

Every day I must remind myself that it’s early and most importantly that I must be patient with the process. I think Dan is sick of hearing from me about power wattage or average paces over long runs or heart rate comparisons to my fitness at the end of last season. Here are some good things I have heard from him over the last few weeks:

“Don’t beat yourself up on rides that aren’t perfect. You still get stronger from them, plus you will be tired from prior workouts – that’s the theme nowadays. You remember that from last year this time. Then form and fitness improve and it all comes together.”

“Just remember it’s January and your legs will come around. Ice and recovery will help. And remember, bad days keep you focused on the good ones!”

I seem to be back in a good rhythm and am starting to feel the fitness come back which I am very happy about. I have just finished up a few bigger workouts and have thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it. Some of my favorite workouts over January have been:

-3x 8 min’ hill repeats (I have done this session a few times; it doesn’t get easier )

-Lots of time trials in the pool. Last week for example one of the good days I did a 1650 for time at the end of a workout. Two days later I swam a 1 hour TT, in super hot water, it was fun but hard.

-One of my favorite over gear sessions so far in January was 2 x 20 minutes @ 50-55 rpm’s.

Things are rolling, I have a new training partner and this past weekend we ran almost 14 miles @ 6:00 min per mile average. Since he is super fast it was easy for him, it was evident when he was maintaining most of the conversation at this pace and I sort of just said "yah" the whole time. I’m stoked as I will have my work cut out for me and I am positive this Texas ATM star runner will help me get my running to a new level.

So enough about January, it’s now February and the workouts are starting to get longer. I will be off to Victoria next week for a mini training camp. But first I have to get through an epic Super bowl training weekend here. I want to thank Priya and Tino from K-Swiss Canada, I just received a pair of my favorite K-Swiss Misoul Tech shoes! They are awesome especially when I put my fast insoles in and I can really float down the trail.

February will bring lots of fun adventures in preparing for the season so more stories and photos will arrive soon. The first race of the year will be LoneStar 70.3 in April and I’m already very excited to start racing.

Here are some awesome race weight meals that Carley has made me to help me get down to fighting weight. Carley has been awesome in keeping me well fueled with dinners prepared as I come home from my afternoon workout.

Do you notice the lack of variety, we like to buy in bulk from Central Market and Carley likes to stick with what works. We also don't have a lot of time to be too creative with meals, but the good thing is meals are made fresh every night with organic vegetables and meat. And Carley ensures there are planned overs for my lunch the next day. If there was an award for timed veggies cleaning and chopping, Carley would win.

Thanks for reading,

Brent

Domestique Diaries - Bedtime Routine/ Workout #4

Our favorite time of the day is bedtime, hands down. After working, training/workouts, errands, making dinner and socializing, it feels so good to hop into bed and finally relax only to start the cycle over again the following day. However, lately these triathlete bedtime routines are turning into a hour long ordeal in which i’ve had nearly 40 minutes to read by the time Brent gets to bed, and then i’m caught laughing so hard I can’t fall asleep.

In our household we have renamed Brent’s wild bedtime routine to Workout #4. He takes it as strict as a workout, it’s nearly as long, and we have a good laugh about it all the time!

Let me demonstrate through a comparison list. To the “average person” my bedtime routine is moderately lengthy, and consists of:
-floss teeth (3 min)
-brush teeth (3min)
-wash face, tone face and apply two different moisturizing creams (5 min)
-moisturizing cream to hands, Blistex on lips and i’m set and in bed! (2 min)
TOTAL TIME: 13 minutes

Brent’s Workout #4 has grown since he’s been getting back into training, it wasn’t always this complex, but here’s what it is these days
-quick stretch (7 min)
-apply BioFreeze to legs and let soak in (7 min)
-put on heart rate monitor and watch (2 min)
-get into compression gear (6 min)
-look at himself in the mirror while flexing (5 min)
-brush teeth (3 minutes)
-drink one glass of water refill and place full glass on bedside table (4 min)
-set alarm for some unseen early hour of the morning and recheck at least once to make sure it’s still set (2 min)
TOTAL TIME: 40 MINUTES!!!

Finally, 40 minutes later in strolls Brent looking completely different in his compression gear. He looks somewhat uncomfortable with a slight waddle in his gait, yet the minute he hits the pillow he’s out cold.

Brent is sound asleep and i’m left with a sore stomach from so much laughter and burning nostrils from all the inhaled BioFreeze. Finally, after I calm myself down and I’m just about to fall asleep Brent’s legs start to twitch. Sometimes I think his whole body clears the mattress by at least an inch and I assume that must have woke him up however he doesn’t even seem to notice.
He tells me Workout #4 helps him to wake up and feel like a million bucks. Workout #4 causes me to regardless of my day go to bed with a smile on my face and therefore i’m waking up “feeling like a million bucks” too!

You know you’re living with a triathlete when:

-Workout #4 starts promptly @ 7pm
-you’ve grown accustom to restless leg syndrome and can sleep through it

Happy Dreaming,

Carley

Domestique Diaries - There are benefits!

Not all triathlete ways of living leave me thinking to myself, “this only ever happens if you’re living with a triathlete.” Rather than skeptically pondering those frequent situations that make me laugh yet think, to the contrary sometimes my palate and stomach are left utterly satisfied and craving more of pure wholesome goodness.

After one of our errand scenarios, Brent baked the best/healthiest (in my opinion) cookies I have ever tasted. Watching him bake is a masterpiece. My usual baking occurs in a rush when I

have somewhere to go, I throw all the half hazard measured ingredients in a bowl mix once and place huge pieces on a cookie sheet. Brent, takes his time accurately measuring all ingredients, mixing when instructed to and making all ingredients combine together so

precisely. I usually delegate myself to clean up crew so I can watch Brent bake from the sidelines. Anyways the cookies were made with almond meal and coconut flour and had nutmeg, cinnamon, and cloves in it. They were fantastic and a definite benefit of living

with a triathlete.

The finished masterpiece:

Halt! Then out of nowhere I came home to find this in the kitchen pan:

You know you’re living with a triathlete when:

-You always have fresh cookies on hand that you can eat for breakfast,

lunch, dinner and/or snack.

-You come home to find dinner still moving in the pan!

Happy Eating,

Carley

Domestique Diaries - Errands

“ Well, um, actually a pretty nice little Saturday, we're going to go to Home Depot. Yeah, buy some wallpaper, maybe get some flooring, stuff like that. Maybe Bed, Bath, & Beyond, I don't know, I don't know if we'll have enough time.”

When we have errands to run, which is pretty much every weekend, Brent recites that line from Old School. We don’t usually go to Home Depot, or Bed Bath Beyond, we’re more of a Costco, Vitamin Shoppe, Central Market and the Mall type frequenters. However, the goal is always the same tackle the things on our list and get home for Brent to rest his legs. We’re usually on a strict “see how Brent’s feeling timeline” which means I have to plan this outing logically before even pitching it to Brent. I know the stores he likes, so I start with one of those which happen to be close to one I want and build upon that cycle until ending with “renting a movie on the way home”. The movie part always solidifies my chances with an agreement to the overall plan.

After Brent’s first training session in the morning we set out to run our weekly errands. Brent packs up a nutrition bar and at least 2 water bottles. This is where the problem starts. By the time we arrive at the first store I’m already feeling like I’m shopping with a two year old. I can honestly tell you where the bathrooms are in every gas station and store in the Fort Worth area thanks to Brent. He plans these bathroom breaks strategically too. Immediately when we get in the store he runs to the bathroom and tells me he will meet me somewhere. Then one of us gets sidetracked and we end up shopping ourselves for the list and meeting at the check out. As we are checking out Brent goes to the bathroom again, perfect timing for him to avoid either paying for the items or loading them all in the car. We get to the car just in time for Brent to down more water and the cycle repeats itself at the next store, or we don’t even make it to the next store with out stopping at a gas station first.

Overall, I’m thinking it might be more productive to leave Brent at home during the errands.

You know you’re living with a triathlete when:

-The word hydration has taken on a whole new meaning, “to supply a triathlete with a diaper due to excess fluid balance to avoid constant stops at all bathrooms”

Be hydrated,

Carley

2009 Summary & 2010 New Adventures

"Even if you fall on your face, you're still moving forward"

2009 has come and gone and we are now on to a new year and a new race season. It was a long season in which I had the opportunity to spend six weeks in Hawaii for a training camp with some great athletes. I competed in the following 70.3 races: Disney, Kansas, Buffalo Springs, Vancouver Subaru, Calgary, Muskoka, Longhorn, and World 70.3 Championships. Overall, I progressed and improved throughout the season finishing 6th in Calgary thus earning a spot for Clearwater. An unfortunate penalty in Muskoka, and sub four hour races in both Austin and Clearwater helped end my season in a positive and strong manner. As oppose to becoming fatigued and burnout out as the season grew longer I became strong and continued to improve and gain excellent fitness. For this I am very grateful as this proved to me that with hard work and dedication I will achieve my goals.

After Clearwater I had some great run races, finishing 10th at the Dallas White Rock half marathon where I faced some stomach problems, nonetheless continued to improve my run performance.




After a good negative split season, I was scheduled for my first triathlon break in all of my career. Breaks are not something I do well, probably due to my ADD tendencies. I always went from triathlon to swim season and vice versa, or triathlon to Cycle Cross, or Triathlon season to early winter race season. However this season was different, I took a two week holiday from the sport. It was tough and I have to thank Carley for putting up with me. I have to admit we were the only ones driving around the streets on New Years day at 9 am looking for any open stores for me to walk around aimlessly. Coming off a break I feel great and ready to go, and I know this was essential for my physical and mental performance. Getting back at it has had its ups and downs as I have been feeling a little flat lately however I feel as though I am quickly gaining and surpassing last years fitness level .

I would like to thank my Sponsors from 2009, Coach’s, training partners and of course Carley and all other friends and family for your outstanding support. Thank you!


It is now time to move forward and all I can say is: Bring it on 2010! I am excited and motivated for this season. I am starting to get along a bit better with my alarm clock after the first few episodes of it going off for an early morning swim practice and Carley having to get up to turn it off. This season will be action packed with plenty of racing and some hard training camps. With all of the new races spread out across North America my race season is still in its planning stages.

Just like all of the New Years Resolutioners I will be back at it in the gym building up my strength. The drag suit is on, the running shoes are out of the closet and the computrainer is warm and set up in the middle of my living room (sorry Carley). I also have a new pretty cool food scale in the kitchen to weigh out some of my foods, just in case the American serving sizes have grown on me.


Next up will be a tentative race schedule, tales from the Domestique and some fun pictures from New Years. 

Thanks for Reading,

Brent

Domestique Diaries – Workout Chores

Athletes have an innate determination to push themselves to the limit, both physically and mentally in key workouts and during a race. They have the ability to push through the hardest circumstances and constantly test their athletic ability. They strive for excellence, and hit every workout to the tee regardless of external circumstances. These are personalities that make not just an athlete, but a world class athlete. These personalities carry over into the athlete’s life and other pursuits and if wise enough into household chores; here’s how I found the link.

Household Chores/ Workout

Brent has the athlete personality to plough through everything and sometimes this can be to my advantage. I’m a cleaner-extraordinaire no need to lie, I love cleaning and am convinced I have mild OCD when it comes to cleaning. Anyways since living with Brent I’ve been content with doing all the cleaning myself, cause then it’s done to my standards. Well since Brent has been on down time, he has willingly asked to help with weekly chores by volunteering to clean the bathrooms. So the first week, I pick Brent up some manly blue rubber gloves and he sets off to clean the bathrooms while I clean the rest of the house.

Brent, having that personality ploughs through it and when I go to check it out it’s done just a little sub par. I’m not saying it’s bad, it’s just different from my way. I don’t want to tell him it’s a little sub par, so I grin and bear it. Later in the week I start to question his process during conversations and I find him answering things like “you don’t need to wash the shower because the soap from showering cleans it every time you shower”, and “the floor didn’t look dirty so it didn’t need to be washed this week”. So inside I’m having a little anxiety attack, the next day when I’m home before Brent I re-clean the bathrooms. Mentally all week I rack my brain about how to approach this minute dilemma, I don’t want to turn Brent off of chores so soon by telling him about his sub par performance, especially since he was so happy about it.

Then it hits me, a workout chore with all the steps written out for Brent to follow and plough trough just like he does his workouts.

So I buy a chore checklist and write out the following for Brent:

Focus: Clean bathrooms

WU: remove and shake/vacuum all carpets from bathroom and kitchen

MS: 1 x shower and tub scrub

2 x toilet bowl, seat scrub (1’)

300 m vacuum- all floors

CD: 2 x Windex mirrors (1’)

2 x wash floors in bathroom (1’)

Fold laundry in laundry room

The result was a magnificently cleaned bathroom. Just as suspected Brent hammered through this as accurately as he does a workout. I realized later if you don’t put a date on the top Brent wants to hammer it out right away. So as long as the date is there, on that day no matter what else he has going on, he will hammer through that workout chore and with sufficient detail on the workout he will do it exactly as it appears on the workout. I have to admit its a little fun for me to write out a new workout chore every week. I change it up all the time so it never gets boring for either of us. And that athlete determination shines through even in weekly chores. What a household!

You know you’re living with a triathlete when:

-your chores are written out in workout form and are hammered out with determination and mad skills.

Live laughing,

Carley J