The new year, training journals and keeping after it.

[teamalty]

Twenty-five days, no misses with thirteen sub 32s and 257 miles;56 hours. Only one race, another coming this weekend and the next. I've added this week heavy weights (3 days) and spin bike (2 days) to weekly mix. Next week starts long distance (17-20 mile) workouts twice a week. And, yes the races are training races and won't get in the way. Smile.

[supthecreek]

go teamalty.... go.
hardcore for sure. SUP is a great sport to age into... low impact, high energy... high on passion!
Keep charging.

[ADKSUPr]

My friend Strava'd mowing his lawn.  He was disappointed that no one attempted to beat his record.

[SUPinside]

Twenty-five days, no misses with thirteen sub 32s and 257 miles;56 hours. Only one race, another coming this weekend and the next. I've added this week heavy weights (3 days) and spin bike (2 days) to weekly mix. Next week starts long distance (17-20 mile) workouts twice a week. And, yes the races are training races and won't get in the way. Smile.

BEAST!!!

[sup_surf_giant]

My friend Strava'd mowing his lawn.  He was disappointed that no one attempted to beat his record.

That's hilarious. A true training geek.

[XLR8]

This week I have used my journal as a confrontation tool.

Been iced in for almost two weeks now, coinciding with a fever pitch pace at work.  Bad combo.  Beer tastes better.  Salty snacks replace dinner.  I havent been training like a contender in a race.  I live in what the kids would call BFE and am truly on my own with initiating fitness.  So I force myself to face the music with a good mental browbeating.

And that has turned in to a couple of days of xc skiing.  And now the weekend.  So we'll get a decent bodyweight workout in and a couple bigger skis.  I find skiing to be somewhat similar in some ways to paddling, in particular riding bumps.  Read the terrain, time your strokes, footwork, harness momentum...

I miss wearing my wetsuit.  Who says that?

I'm determined to make the last couple of weeks my low...my departure...which means I should now be on the return.  I turn 40 in less than two weeks, which I think still makes me a baby on the Zone.  And if the age doesnt make me the baby, then certainly the whining about my training gap will...or may teamalty could post again and shame me into doing something massive this weekend.  We need a thaw.  I like skiing and sanitized gym-like workouts to a degree but nothing cleanses like watertime.  Still, after this cup of coffee I'm gonna keep after it.

[teamalty]

Two thoughts after reading your post: your area, and goals. While living in the NW for 24 years and being a competitive cyclist, training every day was a chore. When I couldn't ride outdoors, I hit the trainer indoors (working full time then), and I took up xc-ski racing--both traditional and skate. You can see where this is going. Goals. I knew my main goal was racing bikes, but XC would take its place in the winters. Enough of the bandwagon. But what worked for me was, "Do something for me every day", so after work, if I didn't ride,  I jumped on the trainer before doing anything else. An hour later, or more, I could go on with life. End of month journal report:

  One down, eleven to go: rolled up paddle numbers like 338 miles, 31 days, 71 hours on one Lake. Journal indicated more: spin days, weight days, cold days, two-a-days, ugly wind and current days, and lately warm days--smile.

  This week has gone well with warmer days. More are coming out to the lake, and miles are up. Seventy miles by Friday, not planned totally, yet Friday was 70 degrees and a planned "Rest day" paddle of six miles ended up being eight. No big deal. Pre-race paddle Saturday, race on Sunday. It's only five miles, and I do two laps just for kicks. I'm sure I'll have company because our group is crazy like me. Smile. Not to preach, but do something for YOU every day and look at your goals.

[juandoe]

XLR8, you need a fatbike.  No snow where I am but it is the most fun I have had on a bike...ever.  Some bike store has gotta have Moonlanders up there.   When I XC skied, the snow was always too iffy.  With a fatbike, you just go.  Snow, no snow, mud, whatever.

[PonoBill]

I'm going to start a journal today. I'm tying to shed about 40 pounds and keep my muscle. I want a little board for surfing and I'm tired of getting beaten in races by all these young, skinny punks.

My biggest foe is that I'm also trying to tune up my electronics chops and that stuff is pretty sedentary, even though I've switched to a stand up desk and benches. I think I might be able to do some of the reading as audiobooks, I've never tried that for technical stuff.

On a positive note, I have my SUP autopilot breadboarded and it actually works  (or seems to).

I'm fairly certain I'm going to have to mostly curb my eating, I get a lot of exercise--not like Team, but at least a few hours a day. My genes are working against me.

[covesurfer]

40lbs is a lot of rice bags. I read an article about carrying extra weight in endurance sports and how even 5lbs is a lot to carry around. The writer suggested going to the grocery store and picking up a 5lb bag of four or sugar and carrying it around while shopping. It is really surprising how much even five pounds feels like after a short time walking around carrying it.

PBill, I can appreciate your 'young skinny punk' comment and I'm SURE I shouldn't take that personally  because I'm closer to 60 than 50 these days.

I was a big (fat) guy when I was bike racing at 5'8"/150 lbs! I got beat all the time by guys with sunken chests and arms like toothpicks. That hurt. At least when I get beat on the SUP, the guys look healthy and not like they were just released from forced starvation.

[headmount]

I thought this was our journal... the zone.  When I want to mark days I refer to the DW threads. 

Maybe I'm a wimp but a day of rest really helps me.  I could go every day when I was younger, but pushing non stop  will erode my general state of health.  Have to keep sharp so I can hold off Covesurfer when he returns. (I know you'd kill me on the flats)

All this talk about bags of sugar.  You guys moonshining?  It's against the law you know... but I won't turn you in.

My goal is 5 more lbs... to 180.  Then hold.  I've learned how to say no... the magic word.  Everyone wants to feed me, like I'm some kind of refugee.

Obey the bumper stickers.  Don't feed the hippies, especially old ones.

[XLR8]

This younger hippie has a knack for getting the munchies  .

I got after it today with a good ski and enough burpees to push me to failure.  And, good news!  The river opened up so I'm going paddling.  Things are coming together.

Teamalty, you make some good points and I get derailed from goals periodically, that's true.  I would love to get an indoor trainer for the early darkness of winter but those suckers are expensive.

And I would LOVE a fatbike even more but that's big money too.  Im scraping to get to work each week and that damn simmons thread has me skimming some off the top in hopes of a new surf sup by spring.  Now there's a goal to work toward.

[covesurfer]

Ha! HM, I have another tip: Don't ride in the Funmobile with PB when he goes to pick up pizzas.