People are good...week 10

On Monday I sent Jen a message and said I had set the DVR and was planning to ride the bike in the evening while watching the Boston Marathon so I asked to know nothing about it.  She said, "good luck getting home without hearing anything."  To my surprise the news I heard was not how I had hoped to hear about the race.  Instantly my thoughts were on how people could be so evil.  Why are there so many people who do mean things?  Thoughts and prayers go out to all those impacted by the attacks.  Tuesday I was reminded that people are good...except a very small percentage of exceptions.  I received news on Tuesday of a person who made an anonymous donation to fund an entire iHope gift this school year!  I was so thrilled because I realize how this can be a life changing gift for a member of our community.  I truly believe that the gift on an iPad to a student who doesn't have a whole lot but works tremendously hard and treats others with the utmost amount of respect and humility can change their life in a positive way.  I believe that an iHope gift gives them more confidence.  When life can appear to be hopeless living in difficult circumstances an iHope gift can provide the recipient with a major dose of hope that there are people out there who believe in his/her abilities.  The confidence gained through this alone is invaluable.  The letter that accompanies the iHope gift is very important because it details why the student was selected.  It stresses how the way the student carries himself/herself has not gone by the wayside...that people see this and realize how important good character is. The mission of iHope is to provide low income students at Pleasant Valley Jr. High who display positive character traits and work habits with technological resources that will aid in academic achievement and success.  I have already begun to see with the recipient from 2 weeks ago how it can aid in academic achievement.  This recipient has a folder for every class on the iPad and uses it for class notes, assignments, and projects.  When I began this iHope Foundation I didn't know what kind of support it would receive.  While I have had the opportunity to get to know the students who receive iHope gifts and see how it affects them, people I call on to support the cause may never get to meet these individuals.  It's much tougher to give to a cause when you don't know the people benefitting from it.  I began this thinking it may end up being just me funding the iHope gifts through the start-up donation I made through money I was given from my grandma when she passed away and from my race winnings.  I was optimistic that a couple businesses would contribute through sponsoring me with an iHope donation and that some friends, followers of this blog, and family members would contribute as well but I didn't realize how much support it would receive.  The anonymous donation this week made me realize how great people are...how caring...how giving.  I've been asked what the goal amount is for iHope.  I would love to be able to provide gifts for the next 5 years or more for 2-3 students a year.  The biggest "dream goal" if you will would be to grow the foundation to where we could endow it with 1 gift a year.  To endow a $500.00 gift every year would require building the account to $10,000.00.  At that amount the interest alone could provide 1 gift every year.  To date iHope has received nearly $2,000.00 in contributions and I haven't even begun the race season.  I'm super excited that every penny I win will be matched by my parents to be contributed to iHope.  That motivates me to work harder, train smarter, and execute on race day so together we can potentially change a child's life for the better.  If you would like to help grow this foundation you can click here to make a tax deductible donation.  Nothing brightens my day more than getting an e-mail from our administration center notifying me of a donation received.  Any amount brings a smile to my face :)
My fitness is improving every week.  This was my 3rd week in a row running over 50 miles.  My total training has been low by my past year's standards but I keep thinking about how I want to race my best in August, September, and October so I know the longer I can wait to begin training like crazy the later I will peak.  I'm really excited by the improvements I've made on less training.  Saturday I planned to participate in two "give back" events supported by Live Uncommon.  They were both 5k races.  The first was to benefit Project Renewal, an after school house for youth in Davenport who don't have a positive place to go after school.  Project Renewal staff members help them with homework, keep them out of trouble, keep them active, and provide them with snacks.  The 2nd was the Autism Awareness 5k to benefit the Autism Society of Iowa.  My plan was to get 14 miles total with each 5k at a tempo effort.  I ran the Run for Renewal comfortably in 18:15.  When I got to the starting line of the Autism Awareness run I already had 10.5 miles in for the day but my competitive juices got flowing when I saw a bunch of kids from my class.  The race started and finished on the track at our high school at Pleasant Valley and I decided to test myself to see how hard I could push with the first run and miles on my legs.  I was shocked to run 16:02 for the 5k.  It was a great boost of confidence and made me realize despite being 12 lbs. heavier than this point a year ago and training less I am making big gains.  The biggest change is that I'm much stronger and my body is recovered well.  Last year after running hard my hamstring would hurt bad until Dr. Kaminski worked his ART magic on it.  This year I don't feel any soreness or tightness after hard efforts.  I'm excited for the races to begin over the next couple months.  Thanks for reading...and being great people who make positive differences in the world.  DREAM BIG!

iHope Gift Awarded...Week 9

The highlight of week 9 for me was being able to award our first iHope gift.  iHope was created to seek out students in our community that go to my school who have outstanding work habits and character traits but have not had everything handed to them.  We have an iHope board that nominates students and then we check academic and behavior history before seeking input from other teachers.  We had an outstanding student that met all the criteria and had outstanding referrals from teachers in our building.  With funds from iHope we were able to present this student with an iPad, a protective case, an iBook gift card, and a letter detailing why the student was selected and encouraging him/her to one day "pay it forward" when the opportunity presented itself.  I called the student's single father the evening before presenting the gift and he was so excited!  He called me the next morning and asked if he could come out for the gift presentation so he could take pictures because he wanted it to be a moment that was "never forgotten".  It was an awesome feeling knowing that my grandma's initial donation combined with donations from local businesses and individuals could make such an extreme impact for this student.  You could see the excitement on the student's face and he/she has already set up folders for each class and begun using the iPad for taking notes and completing school work and projects.  We would love to be able to do this once or twice a year for many years to come but that is contingent on raising funds.  The primary fund raising will be dependent on how well I race this summer.  I want no more than to race well so we can continue making this potential life-changing gift for more students who do everything right but have many doors closed.  My parents have pledged to match whatever race winnings I earn for iHope.  I'm also hoping friends, followers, and even people I don't know realize the impact this kind of gift can make on these outstanding children and help contribute to iHope.  You can make a tax deductible donation to iHope by clicking here.  We appreciate any support you can give. 
Week 9 was a great week of running for me but also a recovery week overall.  I have been dealing with a sinus infection for about 10 days and it has made me very tired.  I opted for extra sleep over biking late into the night on a few different occasions.  I was able to run 52 miles and am feeling more fit every week.  Yesterday on my run I had stuff coming out of my nose that made "Hawkeye" gold look white.  I'm hoping that as I get this stuff out of my system I begin to feel less tired.  I think the infection is coming to an end.  I ran a 5k in Geneseo on Sunday to benefit the Geneseo school district.  I enjoy doing races that support non-profit organizations and this was one on the Live Uncommon race circuit for 2013.  I won the race but the time wasn't extremely fast.  I ran 16:58 and although the time was slow I was excited because the conditions were not great for fast running.  It was 20 degrees warmer than our days have been recently and the wind was blowing out of control which made for a tough run being that it was almost entirely a cross wind.  I was more excited when seeing some of the other guys who do local races were nearly 1 minute slower than they have raced 5k's in the past month.  I can feel myself getting more fit each week which is the goal right now.  I need to make a big push to get to race weight over the next 6 weeks.  I'm still about 10 lbs. off and that should help my running.  I've learned that when I'm tired I have a much more difficult time controlling sugar cravings.  I'm still at least 5 weeks from racing a triathlon and maybe as much as 8 weeks away.  I'm being careful not to overdue things too quickly this year like I did a year ago.  I feel like I'm on schedule to race my best later this year.  I'm still adding strength as opposed to losing it like I did last year when I got really lean.  My weights on the leg lifts are higher than they have been in the 4 years I've been doing this.  Thanks for reading!  DREAM BIG!

Week 8...BCA Update

Week 8 was another one in which I could feel the progress coming along nicely.  I trained for 22 hours total swimming 12,500 yards, biking 181 miles, and running 50 miles.  I had my longest single day in all three disciplines.  On Thursday my swim workout totaled 5,400 yards which was my biggest swim workout yet this year.  My longest run of the year was Saturday at 85 minutes or 12 miles, and my longest bike ride this year was in beautiful weather on Sunday when I felt very strong riding 60 miles.  In fact, this week I had my first two outdoor rides of the year and didn't know how I would feel after spending a lot of time on the trainer without doing much intensity so far.  Wednesday night was the group ride and I felt really comfortable back in the group even when we got going really fast.  I often have people ask me what they should be doing to get faster with running.  Most runners just run.  They run about the same pace every time and often run the same distances as well.  What works for me isn't necessarily what will work for everyone but I can quickly tell my fitness improves if I can get 3 key running sessions in each week.  Unless something is out of the ordinary I run 6 or 7 days a week.  Most weeks so far have been 6 days but as I increase the mileage I'll run 7 days a week.  The 3 runs that are most key for me are intervals, tempo, and long run.  Once a week I try to get intervals that change in distance by the week.  This week my interval session was 12x 90 seconds hard with 60 seconds easy after each one.  I did it on the roads.  I enjoy getting to the track but have done so less often over the past year.  Getting intervals on the roads is simple.  It can be done anywhere and I don't have to worry about pace.  I just run hard for X amount of time and recover for X amount of time and then repeat however many times I set out.  Last week my interval session was 7x3 minutes hard with 2 minute recoveries.  The week before it was 5x4 minutes hard with 2 minute recovery.  The tempo run is about the only run I actually prefer to do on the treadmill because it is easily controlled.  The treadmill takes out variables like hills, wind, weather...etc.  I like to run my tempo runs progressively meaning each mile is faster.  In my first tempo run of the year on week 2 I did 1x2 miles at tempo.  I then did 2x1.5 miles tempo the next week, 1x3 miles tempo the week after, 2x2...etc.  I gradually build the total tempo distance up and will get up to 8-10 miles for my tempo work.  I aim to increase the speed slightly each mile and always run the last mile at about 10k effort.  This week was 4 miles tempo and it felt great.  I went 5:59, 5:54, 5:46, 5:34 for the miles.  I know from how much easier this is feeling I am getting fitter each week.  The 3rd key running workout is a long run.  I started the year with a long run of 50 minutes.  I typically increase 5 minutes every 2 weeks.  This week was my first at 85 minutes.  The 85 minutes now is easier than the first 50 minute long run.  I'm searching for a race in late May at this point so I have at least 6 weeks until I race a triathlon.  The first one I'm signed up for right now is June 8.  I am also racing on June 9th. 
This week I had my 2nd body composition analysis done at Kaminski Pain and Performance Care this year.  A Body Composition Analysis is a good way to track your fitness gains and overall health.  They are running a special right now of 3 Body Composition Analysis session for $50.00.  You can pick how far apart you want to get the tests.  Most people don't chance much in a short period of time so they recommend every few months.  Because I am training a lot my body can change fast so I will keep getting the test every month or so.  My first one was a month ago.  I was slightly disappointed to have my body fat % only drop from 16.3% to 15.4%.  I weighed 9 lbs. less...163 vs. 172 and was hoping the majority of that weight loss was fat.  As it turned out most of the weight loss was due to fluid loss.  I went from 47.3 liters of total body fluid down to 44.9 liters.  My pounds of fat only went from 28 down to 25.1.  I shouldn't be too disappointed because progress is progress.  I had 2 great weeks after my last test but then fell off the wagon and started getting sugar cravings like crazy.  I have learned most often these come when I'm not getting enough sleep.  Sleep is the most difficult thing for me to keep a handle on while balancing a full-time job, 2 children, wife, training...etc.  When I'm tired I have learned I'm less motivated to train and I make poor nutritional choices.  When I'm well rested I am very disciplined with my nutrition and I have a desire to train all the time.  Probably the biggest downer of the BCA was that my Basal Metabolic Rate (amount of calories burned each day without moving) went down considerably from 1,916 to 1,762.  That is due I'm sure to cutting back calories in my effort to get to race weight.  I learned awhile back that people who reduce food intake cause the body's metabolic rate to drop because the body is less sure about when the next meal will come and it learns to hang onto the calories longer.  This explains why so many people go on crash diets where they drastically reduce calorie intake to lose weight but then over time the weight comes back on because their body begins conserving the calories and the metabolism slows way down.  I'll continue tracking this next time.  I'm sure there are factors to the test that throw things off a bit.  For example, yesterday I had a big training day and I was not feeling very good today.  I think recent training may have some impact on the test results so if I wanted the most accurate results I would have to keep all variables the same every time I was tested. 
I was really excited this week to find out that Green Buick GMC joined on as a supporter of iHope by making a contribution.  We are going to make an iHope award in the next couple weeks.  It has been great getting support for this cause from local businesses.  I'm still searching for more local businesses that want to help out.  I have laid out contribution amounts to get a business logo on my jersey, sticker on race helmet, logo on blog...etc.  I'm thrilled about all the support of iHope.  My mom and dad also informed me they are going to match whatever race winnings I accumulate this year for iHope.  That is TREMENDOUS!!  I couldn't ask for a better sponsorship than that.  Every paycheck I earn at races is now doubled for the iHope Foundation.  If you would like to help this foundation and support our cause to provide low-income students who display outstanding character and work ethic traits you may make a tax deductible donation by clicking the link on my home page.  Every dollar makes a difference.  Thanks and DREAM BIG!!

Week 7 Training...More Support for iHope

Week 7 was a designed recovery week after 2 big weeks in a row.  I did not quite get as much volume as planned due to some things that popped up but I'm not dwelling since the goal of the week was to get rested a bit and allow my body to adapt to a couple really good weeks of training.  I got called from school to pick Owen up sick on Wednesday.  Thursday I stayed home with him all day and found out he had strep throat.  I worked a track meet at our high school on Thursday night and my typical training routine was not in place.  Friday morning my throat was on fire so I knew I probably had gotten strep from Owen so I called the doctor and started a prescription right away.  The highlight of the week was the Easter Egg Scramble 5k on Saturday morning.  This was the first year of the event and thanks to great race organization and sponsorship from Wal-Mart there was a pretty nice cash prize purse for a local 5k.  The top 3 overall would win $1,000.00, $750.00, and $500.00 respectively.  They also had prize money for age groups based every 10 years with 1st, 2nd, and 3rd getting $100.00, $75.00, and $50.00.  I was hoping to get some money for my age group to donate to iHope.  Every little bit makes a difference to a small foundation like we have created.  Due to the lack of training and being out of my normal eating habits I was not feeling fit on race day.  I contemplated just running with Jen to try to help her to a high overall finish in the female race.  There were a few really good females from out of town.  Just before the race I told her I would run the 1st mile with her and than see how things were going and maybe race the rest.  When the gun sounded we took off and it felt really slow.  The course started up a long hill over the first 1/2 mile or so.  Half way up the hill it felt too easy and I decided to start racing at that point.  I had no idea what my pace was but I moved up quickly through the race and got myself into about 10th overall where I would stay for the remainder.  I ended up earning $75.00 for iHope which I was proud of.  My 5k time was 16:48 which I was thrilled about.  Feeling how I did before the race I thought it would take a miracle to break 17:00 over the course with a big hill in it.  The highlight however was Jen finishing in 17:39 to take 2nd in the women's race to pick up a nice $750.00 check which she promptly donated to her sister's wedding fund.  It's been awesome seeing how much her road racing money has helped put this wedding together. 
The other highlights for the week for me were hearing from a couple outstanding local businesses who contributed to iHope.  Happy Joe's donated a really nice gift basket including 12 free pizzas and we auctioned it off at school and it brought in $200.00 for iHope.  Then over the weekend we received a really nice contribution from Russell Construction.  Russell Construction has been a HUGE provider for so many non-profits in the Quad Cities including the birth of Live Uncommon.  Both Happy Joe's and Russell Construction are active in giving back to the QC through volunteering and financial contributions.  I no they are both active in Junior Achievement in our school systems.  It has been amazing getting support from the community for iHope.  You can make a tax deductible contribution by clicking here. 
Anything and everything will help us to provide resources to low-income students who display outstanding character and work ethic traits.  We are going to provide and iHope gift this year thanks to all the amazing support iHope has received!  This week is going to be a big week of training.  I'm super excited to announce that both Jen and I signed up for Beach 2 Battleship full Ironman distance race on October 26th in North Carolina.  Jen has always said she wanted to try an Ironman distance race when she watches mine and she decided since her running season will be over she will take her chances in North Carolina with me.  I'm thrilled to be racing this event because this race gives back to the local YMCA in Wilmington, North Carolina.  They also don't charge near as much as an Ironman branded event.  They were very welcoming and I couldn't have asked for a better event to complete my 2013 season.  It will be awesome seeing Jen out on the course as well!  The website for Beach 2 Battleship is http://www.beach2battleship.com/  If you are looking for an Ironman distance race in 2013 check it out.  It has been rated by Triathlete Magazine as one of the top 5 Ironman distance races in the world!  The weather is starting to turn and my bike is tuned up and ready to go fresh out of the shop at Healthy Habits so I'm excited to spend some time away from the trainer on real roads.  Week 8 will be a good one.  Thanks for reading!  DREAM BIG!!

iHope Support and Weeks 5 and 6

I've been very busy lately working to help build the iHope foundation that seeks to provide low-income students who display outstanding character and work ethic traits with technological resources.  In lieu of obtaining sponsors to help me with my racing I've gone to local businesses in our community seeking support for iHope.  I have laid out various levels of support for the iHope cause.  In return I will race through 2013 representing those businesses that support iHope.  I am also hopeful of getting friends, family, followers, and fans on board to support this cause realizing that an iHope gift could potentially be a life-changing gift for these students.  At times I wondered if all this work is worth the effort.  I know it is.  I am so thrilled to announce that local grocery chain Hy-Vee and local bank First Central State Bank have both contributed to the iHope foundation. 

 
 Hy-Vee and First Central State Bank have always been into giving back to the community and I'm so glad they thought iHope was a worthy cause.  Hy-Vee has invested a lot of money into helping Iowa reach the Governor's goal of becoming the healthiest state.  They are sponsors of countless local road races, they are the main sponsor of triathlon's biggest prize purse race in the world, the Hy-Vee Triathlon which is held annually in Des Moines, Iowa.  In addition Hy-Vee contributes so much more.  I recently noticed Hy-Vee gives an annual scholarship to a Pleasant Valley graduate.  The Hy-Vee that supported iHope is the one on Devils Glen Road.  I worked there from the time I was 16 until I graduated from college and I learned the values of hard work and working as a team during my time there.  Thanks Hy-Vee for supporting my race effort by supporting iHope! 
First Central State Bank is also very committed to making the community a better place.  They have banks in Le Claire, Eldridge, Long Grove, and DeWitt, Iowa.  They have been the title sponsor of the First Central State Bank Crossroads Triathlon since the start of the race nearly 10 years ago.  They are very active in Le Claire in setting up annual Tug Fest events as well as an important part of Chamber of Commerce in our community.  I'll be racing with a First Central State Bank sticker on my helmet this year!  I realize the businesses have chosen to help build the iHope Foundation not because of my racing but because of the good they see in this foundation.  If you are willing and able to help with the foundation I'd be grateful to any amount you can give.  You can click here to make a tax deductible donation.  I have an iHope page at the top of this blog where you can read the story about how iHope was born and learn more about how we aim to make a difference in our community. 
I hope to earn as much money as I can racing this year for iHope.  Weeks 5 and 6 were big steps towards the goals I have.  The mountain that looked so dauntingly big when I began 6 weeks ago is not looking nearly as large any more.  I still have a long way to go but I'm starting to feel pretty fit.  For the first time this year I weighed in under 160 lbs. so I'm getting closer to race weight.  I am glad I'm not racing a triathlon for awhile but I now feel like if I had to race this weekend I could hold my own.  Week 5 was a nice week of 20.5 hours training time with 170 bike miles, 41 run miles, and 12,500 yards swimming.  Week 6 was a huge week with spring break.  My total training time was 26.5 hours.  I biked 235 miles, ran 53 miles, and swam 16,000 yards (all highs for the season).  My swimming has seen big improvements over the past few weeks.  I'm also starting to feel the run fitness come back.  I've been meeting a nice group for Sunday morning runs and this past weekend was my longest this year at 80 minutes.  6 weeks ago my first run was 22 minutes and every minute was tougher than any of the 80 minutes this week on the long run.  I feel stronger and my weights are as high as they were all of last year.  This upcoming weekend I'm going to race a hard effort in a local 5k.  I want to find out where my fitness is at.  I also know the race will serve as a great workout.  I am looking forward to the weather turning so I can begin riding the bike outdoors more often although I do enjoy riding the trainer and will continue to do so for part of my training even when the weather is nice.  I'm waiting to hear back from more businesses and have one tentative right now that I'll wait to announce.  If you know of a business that would be interested in sponsoring me by making an iHope contribution please let me know and I'll get the information sent out.  It's been a lot of fun knowing that getting into great shape is for a much greater cause than just me.  Hopefully by this time in the year you have laid out some fitness goals you would like to achieve this year.  I can tell you it is never to late to begin working for those.  I started so much later than I ever have and I'm realizing already what a good move this was.  I'm feeling extremely fresh, healthy, and most importantly motivated.  Thanks for reading.  DREAM BIG!

The Birth of iHope

I'm more excited than ever to be racing for a great cause in 2013.  The cause is a non-profit foundation called iHope that I helped create in the Pleasant Valley Community School District, the district that I have enjoyed teaching in over the past 11 years.  The story of how iHope was born is here. 
In July of 2009 my grandmother, Evelyn Lehman passed away.  My grandma was an awesome person.  Her and my grandpa gave time, energy, and money to their church, community and to their grandkids who they spoiled.  When my grandma died she left all of her grandchildren some money.  I knew I wanted to use this money in a giving way because that would make my grandma proud.  The first time was when Jen and I were out for dinner at Granite City in the fall of 2010.  This night happened to be the night of Homecoming in my school district.  While we were eating dinner we noticed many of my former 8th grade students enjoying dinner with their friends and classmates.  I remembered reading about a time when former NFL player Kurt Warner was in the Quad Cities eating dinner during a homecoming night and the newspaper wrote a story about how Kurt Warner picked up the tab for a group of students.  How cool is that!  Jen and I decided this was not something that could be done by just an NFL football player but was something we could do as well.  We used some money from "Grandma's Fund" to pick up the tab for a group of 24 students before we left. 
Last spring I had a student that displayed outstanding work habits and character traits.  This particular student came from a low-income family.  They did not let the circumstances affect how they treated people or how hard they worked.  There were no excuses.  This student had been working hard on an extra credit project for my class and when I asked one day if it was finished they pulled it out of their bag fighting back tears telling me how the storm the night before caused it to get all wet in their bedroom.  The project resembled what the student told me.  My heart broke for this student as I realized the situation they were living in.  I went home and told Jen about it and we decided right away we wanted to do something for this student.  We decided to use "Grandma's Fund" to buy the student an iPad along with a heavy duty protective case and some iBook gift cards.  When I presented this gift to the student it was immediately noticable what kind of impact it had.  Along with the gift I gave the student a letter telling why we felt this gift was merited.  I explained that the student's character and work habits were something that made me believe they were going to be successful in life.  I mentioned how I hoped this student would use the iPad to help with school and look to a future beyond high school.  I also encouraged the student to pay it forward some day when the opportunity was there.  The student said it was the best gift they had ever received.  It made a big influence on me as well.  I realized this was something I wanted to be able to do more often...maybe once a year...or more perhaps.  This is when the idea of iHope was born. 
I spoke with our Superintendent and he was very supportive of the iHope idea and helped me set up a foundation through the school district where money would be saved to use for low-income junior high students that display positive work habits and character traits.  We will use the money to purchase technology that will hopefully give these students hope for a bright future.  These are students that statistics would say will not go to college.  They are students that statistics would say will end up living in poverty through the vicious cycle.  They are students that we believe differently about.  They are ones that we believe with a little extra help and hope from us can make it through the cycle of poverty to become whatever they dream of becoming.  We also decided that the iHope fund can be used to provide other things like athletic shoes, school book bags...etc. for students who lack those things.  I started the iHope foundation by donating $500.00 from "Grandma's Fund" today and a pledge to donate any money I win at races in 2013 to the foundation.  I realize keeping this foundation going for the long haul may not happen without outside help.  I would love your help with this investment on the youth in our community.  A donation of ANY amount will help a worthy child.  All children who are presented with iHope gifts will be given a letter telling why they were chosen (by a board set up at our school).  The letter will also encourage the students to set goals and believe in those goals.  Lastly the letter will encourage these students to pay it forward when the opportunity arises.  The students must display positive work habits and character traits...the things we think will help them be successful and things that are very important in our school district.  All donations to iHope are tax deductable.  You may donate a couple different ways.  One way is to click here and you will be able to donate online and will be given an immediate tax deductible receipt.  The other way is to make a check out to iHope Foundation and dropped off or mailed to the Pleasant Valley School District.  Checks should be mailed or dropped off to:
Pleasant Valley Foundation
525 Belmont Road
Bettendorf, IA 52722
Racing in 2013 will be extremely exciting for me.  Knowing I can help make a difference for a child in our community fuels my motivation more than ever.  Even if I can earn just a hundred dollars at a race I know that will make a big difference.  My goal is to earn $1,500 through racing this year.  I'd love to have your support and help.  I cannot stress enough that we'd be thrilled for ANY help you can give...$5.00...$10.00...everything will make a difference.  Together we can help give a student in our community the HOPE to DREAM BIG...the HOPE to change their life...the HOPE to build a better world.  Thanks!!

Weeks 3 and 4...ups and downs

Week 3 was a great week of training.  I continued to build on my first two weeks of training by getting my highest training volume of 2013.  My total training time was 17.5 hours with 36 run miles, 141 bike miles, and 9,200 yards of swimming.  I felt much stronger by the end of the week when I completed my longest run yet of 70 minutes.  On Monday of last week things took a turn for the worse.  I had been experiencing some pain in my lower back and by last Monday it had me walking hunched over.  I couldn't walk pain free let alone think about running.  It had bothered me pushing off the wall swimming on Sunday afternoon so I made the decision to get it taken care of without trying to push through it.  I decided I would get a high volume week on the bike but shut down running, swimming, core work, lifting, plyometrics, and jump rope until things calmed down.  This was a great move.  After two visits to Kaminski Pain and Performance Care for ART sessions and laser treatment I was feeling near 100% by the weekend and ran 6 miles on Friday and 10 on Sunday both pain free.  Although my total training time took a step back at 15 hrs. 45 minutes I did manage to put in 10 hours or 200 miles on the bike.  Dr. Kaminski informed me that my hip flexors and quad muscles were so tight it was causing me to run with a forward lean and this was creating a lot of stress on my lower back and I had a good deal of inflamation around one of the discs in my back.  This is near 100% as I begin week 5.  When I was in on Thursday I decided it was time to do a Body Composition Analysis.  He has a high tech machine where they strap some electrode pads on you and it gives a full body composition analysis.  Last year I had this done 3 times.  The first time was when I began training and I was 18.4% body fat weighing 171 lbs..  I tested about 7 weeks later on Feb. 28 of 2012 and although I had lost 9 lbs. my body fat % was still 16.7%.  This was when I went nuts counting calories and eating 100% healthier than I ever have over the next month.  4 weeks later I tested my lowest ever weighing 151 lbs. with a body fat% of 9.3%.  I have been frustrated by my lack of weight loss through the first three weeks of training.  I knew I was still hovering around 170 lbs. although I felt like I was getting thinner.  I couldn't figure out why I was still weighing so much so I knew it would be good to get tested.  I weighed in at 172 lbs. and my body fat % was 16.4.  This was a good boost of confidence for a few reasons.  The % was actually slightly lower than last February when I weighed 11 lbs. less.  The difference this year is that I had 4 lbs. more fluid in my body which is a sign that I'm better hydrated and I also had 6 lbs. more muscle in my body.  My actual pounds of fat was at 28 compared to 27 when I tested in February of 2012.  This was exciting for a few reasons.  Although I'm weighing more it is not bad weight.  I do believe I have been ridding myself of bad weight while adding muscle early in the training this year.  It also gives me a lot of hope that I can get my body fat % back under 10% by race season.  I tested a slighly lower % of body fat on three weeks of training this year compared to last year in February when I was 10 weeks into training.  It also reminded me of how hard I worked on eating healthy when I saw last year's numbers and realized over the course of 4 weeks I went from carrying 27 lbs. of fat down to 14.1 lbs. of fat when I tested at 9.3%.  This has renewed my focus on eating healthy.  Right now most of my workouts are at a base building intensity which doesn't require me to have a lot of carbohydrates.  At the lower intensity the body uses mainly fat for energy.  Because I don't need a lot of carbohydrates and have a lot of fat to burn I need to be careful not to consume a lot of carbohydrates except for the couple days a week when I do add intensity into the workouts.  I'm a little worried about carrying 6 extra lbs. of muscle but it is so early in the year it probably doesn't hurt to have that now because I know I will cut back the focus on weights as I get closer to race time.  There is a lot of statistics on the report they give after doing a body composition analysis so if you are interested give them a call at Kaminski Pain and Performance Care and schedule your BCA.  Now that I'm a month into training I'm beginning to start getting into higher volumes of training.  I was very careful not to increase too fast too quickly.  In my experience the most common injuries come either when beginning a new training cycle coming off a break or when increasing too quickly.  I've been very cautious through the first month.  Now I'm at a level where the volumes start to look bigger.  We begin spring break on Friday so I'll have 1 extra day without work this week so I'll get a bigger than normal Friday in.  Next week I'm planning to roll the dice a bit and substantially increase my training for my spring break week in what will be a bit of a training camp.  I'll tear myself down pretty good and then take an easier week the following week.  I'm hoping the weather will turn so I don't have to sit on the trainer for all my bike rides.  I don't mind riding 60-90 minutes on the trainer but much more than that gets cumbersome unless the hawkeyes are in a great game in which I can squeeze out 2 hours.  I have my race schedule almost finalized.  I have a busy month in June with 4 races, 2 in July, 3 in August, 1 in September, and 1 in October.  I'm swimming much less right now than I did early in training last year.  My swimming did not progress like I would have hoped with much more time in the water a year ago and i've decided with a full-time job, two children, and a wife at home it is not worth spending all the time in the pool this early.  My plan is to stick to 10,000 yards/week in March, 12,000 in April, and 14,000 in May.  My longest swim day will be about 4,000 yards in March, 4,500 in April, and 5,000 in May.  I'm hoping that will get me close to swimming where I was last year although I'd always like to be faster if I can continue fixing my techinque.  Speaking of that I attended Stacey Zapolski's swim clinic at Augustana College yesterday and it was well worth my investment.  We had a small group and were spoiled to get so much individual stroke feedback.  I have 2 really important things to work on before the next clinic.  Stacey even video-taped us swimming and we broke down the tape which was valuable to see the things she was telling us about our stroke.  If you are interested in attending the next clinic send me an e-mail and I'll get you the details about when it is.  I'm beginning to feel the excitement for training and racing I had lost in the ladder part of 2012.  It's a lot of fun.  I have recently created a non-profit foundation called iHope in my school district.  The mission of iHope is to provide technological resources to low-income students that display positive work habits and outstanding character traits.  I will discuss this more in detail in my next post but if you would like to contribue to iHope and help make a difference to a child in our community click here. Work hard towards your goals and make them happen.  DREAM BIG!