Update

Man, while it seemed like a great idea at the time, this blog thing is getting hard to keep up with.  I said it up front but I’ll say it again, the purpose for capturing this adventure was many-fold: to provide entertainment, capture some of the my training protocols that may or not be successful, pay tribute to my sponsors who all allow this sport to remain “affordable” for me and lastly to capture some honest thoughts so if I ever have a notion that doing this with a working spouse and 2, going on 3 kids, is a good idea, this blog will be a reminder of the sacrifices required and that it’s not all fun and games.  (that was a really long sentence…F-it, I’m keeping it).   

My plate is full.  Work is crazy.  Home life is crazy.  Squeezing in the training that I feel is required to be successful is crazy and is teetering very closely to not being  much fun anymore.  I do want to send one strong message to Ironman and to my 4 regular readers.  “I won’t quit you”.  It’s not in my blood.

Damn, I had to check that because I thought that was a Broke Back Mountain quote…,nope not quite…F-it, I’m keeping it.

On to the update….

1. To my readers from across the pond who continue to find my site with the Google search “bad ass giraffe”.  Not sure how that relates to triathlon, but I’m glad to see you sticking around.  Maybe one of you could be so kind and school me:  what exactly are you hoping to find when you search ‘bad ass giraffe”?

 

Umm, oranges...I'm starving again!

2.  Training Camp – Florida was awesome.  Sunny and hot and humid.  It was perfect.  I got in 7 hrs of training during my 8 day camp.  No where near up to snuff with the Epic guys…but when it’s 7 hrs of running in a week, for me, that’s epic. (up near 60 miles).  I started off super enthusiastic (read: too fast) and fizzled in the middle a little, but recovered and finished up strong.  With only 7 hrs of training and no work, that left a ton of time to spend horsing around with my boys.  Like I said, the trip was perfect.

It took me a few days to recovery from the run load, but I'm back at a manageable, consistent training load.  8-10 hrs/wk.  Run focus through the end of March.

3.  Primal Diet – I’m over two weeks in.  I’m not gonna lie, the first week sucked and basically meant detoxing my body from all my favorite processed carbs.  I’m eating like a hog still but only natural things (kill it or grow it), with a few exceptions.  I’m already down 5 lbs.  I’m a ridiculous creature of habit and when I find a combination of foods that are easy, taste good and fill me up on a daily basis, I stick with it.  No I don’t get sick of it.  So here’s a run down, my typical day going Primal:

Breakfast – banana + yogurt(not primal NP)

AM snack – carrots + celery + cherry tomatoes

Lunch – turkey sandwich w/ lettuce (bread NP) + apple

PM snack – hard boiled egg + pear

Dinner – chicken breast + tons of cooked veggies or enormous salad

Workout Recovery – Ultragen or Protein Shake + Orange + cup of mixed nuts.

That’s it.  I’m still eating like a pig (quantity) just without all the bread and noodles that I love + all my carby pm snacks.  Surprisingly, I’m not craving sweets at all.  I am craving a overflowing plate of noodles, a bag a tortilla chips and a whole box of cereal.  Yes, that’s a ton of simple sugars in all that fruit.  I don’t care, I’m getting super lean with minimal effort and still powering through and recovering from all of my workouts.

4.  Sponsors – they kick ass (period).  Their generosity, expertise and innovation is part of what makes this fun.  Big ups to De Soto Sport.  I’ve been a $30 Nashbar bike short guy for like 7 years.  De Soto's gear is incredible.  Now go click on their banner and buy a bunch of stuff from them.  You won’t be sorry. 

5.  Family – while it’s the last in this list, it's the first in importance.  My boys are the best and tons of fun.  My wife is amazing at everything she does and she cracks me up.  Tearing myself away from them to train is the hardest part.  Baby #3 arrives in about a month.  Still not sure how we’re gonna swing all of this, but just like the Bad Ass Giraffe, you never know until you try.

A genuine bad ass, imagine if he had never tried!