The Kindzia Blog

It's Official - December 24, 2009

It's about 10:30pm and I'm starting to wind down. One thing is certain, I officially need some stretchy pants.



Goodness gracious...



Merry Christmas to all.

Pacing Myself - December 24, 2009

We made it safe and sound to Spruce Pine, NC last night. Plenty of snow left over from last weeks storm but it's melting fast. Tonight looks like freezing rain. I just don't want the power to go off. That would stink.



So far I'm pacing myself on food. I did well for dinner last night with only a few sweets. Breakfast was spot on solid healthy and lunch was in check (with only 4 little sweets to follow).



I'm ramping up to tonights dinner and tomorrows feast. That's when I'll take it to wide open. Gluttony...I need to be reminded of it's negative side effects from time to time.



Happy Christmas Eve to everyone. I miss Niagara Falls and my Fah-muh-lee (family) as my niece has pronouced it in the past around the holidays. I wish I was home at times but that's the tough part of having two families when married. But it is beautiful here and we are having fun, relaxing and enjoying our time with each other.



My family is a lot more loud, obnoxious and silly and I miss the constant laughing.

Fear of Change - December 19, 2009

I can tell I'm getting into full blown 2010 planning.  Thinking about my goals, my wishes, etc.

And along this path of planning, I can tell that there is a lot of hesitation in my ideas, plans and dreams.  Why?  I think it's natural fear.  Fear of changing.  Fear of the unknown.  Fear of failure.  All natural thoughts and emotions I guess.

Turning forty continues to influence me mentally.  I'm catching myself thinking things like, "I shouldn't do that, I'm too old."  Or, "I can't start something new at this age."

Why am I saying this?  Am I really too old?  Or am I allowing what society programs us to believe about ourselves?  There's been a number of good stories over the past few years of people achieving some amazing things, even physically at ages that have defied past history.  Look at Dara Torres the female Olympic swimmer.  Lance Armstrong making a comeback to the very top of competitive cycling.

Maybe we shouldn't concentrate on things we shouldn't do in life but rather concentrate on the things we would like to do AND CAN DO!  If we aren't going to try now, when will we try?  And if that leads us to never trying new things, will we one day regret it down the road when we look back and say, "I should have tried when I had the time and the chance.  Instead I just let opportunity slip by."

I also have to get over other excuses for not trying new things.  I have a habit of thinking I have to be the very best at something for it to be worth my time.  If I can't be good at it, I don't want to do it.  That leads to conflict (internally) because I think there are plenty of things I think I would like to do more even though I know I may not even be good at those things, let alone the best at those things.  Should that matter if I enjoy doing it just because I like it?

All things I'm pondering as I gather the courage to set new goals and endeavors for 2010.  Part of moving from Kindzia 3.0 (my 30's) to Kindzia 4.0 (my 40's) requires change.  Otherwise I'm just stuck with an obsolete model with no upgrades.

Other than that I'm getting ready for the holidays and looking forward to a bunch of days of downtime, reading, relaxing and spending time with Angela.

Calorie Driven Cardio - December 15, 2009

Most of my cardio lately has been completed with caloric output in mind.  Rather than trying to hit a certain pace or time length, I get on the treadmill and say, "Today I'm doing 400 calories!" and I don't get off until I hit at least my caloric goal.

It's an interesting change as it gives you a few options.  You could choose to go slower, but you are going to be on the treadmill a lot longer.  As speed increases and as the incline increases, so does the calories burned.  It leaves you with choosing between longer or harder.

I tend to mix it up.  I'll do 25 calories slower by walking or walking at a steep incline and then I'll bust out 50 or 100 calories by running at a faster clip.  If nothing else it's a fun game to keep my mind occupied while I watch CNBC in the morning and catch up on the business news of the day.

I told Angela how amazed I am to discover just how quickly fitness fades.  It's so disappointing.  Less than 2 months ago I was in Washington, D.C. and putting 30 miles on my legs in a single day.  If somebody asked me to go and run an hour at a decent aerobic pace, I'd struggle.  It just doesn't seem fair.  All that work to just fade away so quickly.

Angela likes to remind me that it works the opposite as well.  "It comes back quick if you make it a priority," she said.  I know that to be true as well but those first few weeks of hitting it hard take a lot of effort and commitment to turn the ship.

My weightlifting is coming along fine and I'm really enjoying it.  I still would like to find a fitness class or gym that builds fitness like the mixed martial arts athletes have.  I still believe that those guys are the most well rounded athletes in the world.  If you look at power to weight ratio, speed, strength, endurance, hand/eye coordination, flexibility, explosiveness, mental toughness, technique, strategy, etc. I just can't see any other sports that compare in those categories.

Ten days to Christmas.  Holy schnikees.  The year is quickly coming to an end.

I've been doing a lot of planning and prep for 2010 at work and I feel very confident that I could hit the ground running and have a strong year.  So I'm looking forward to those opportunities.  I have a lot of good research projects going and a lot of good stuff in development.  So I'm confident that some good results are going to emerge from all the extra work and effort that I'm putting in.  And the best part is that I'm really enjoying it lately.  What a huge advantage.

I'm finally getting to the point where I love just about all areas of my job/profession.  A lot of the projects don't even feel like work at all.  I do them anxiously because I want to do them, not because I have to do them.  And of course when that happens, time just flies by.

Short Term Long Term - December 10, 2009

The cold that I've been fighting off took over the past 36 hours.  I'll feel fine for a stretch but then all of a sudden I'll crash and start sneezing, coughing, and have congestion.  And I'm I bit more tired than normal.

One paradox of our lives is the balance between short run and long run priorities.  Consider our own health and wellness.  It's extremely easy to make short term decisions that impact us in a negative way.  Perhaps it's choosing to eat an unhealthy meal, consume too much of an alcoholic beverage, skip a workout, cut back on necessary sleep, take on too much stress, etc.

In the end, it's so easy to ignore our health in the short run even though our health is the most important thing in the long run to our well being.

If we ignore our health, it will go away.

I see that many places around the country are getting hit with some severe weather.  It was 33 degrees this morning and I had some thoughts that made me laugh.  Angela and I always talk about how we are "going to Colorado".  Those are always fun and pleasant conversations that always last right up until the time where we walk outside and find ourselves standing in 33 degree weather.  Then it's like, "I'm going back inside really quick!"

But I suppose that a warm fire in a room with a big window that overlooks the mountains would be a pretty nice thing.  It might be 20 degree temperatures outside, but that wouldn't matter if it was 70 degrees on the inside!

And happy birthday to my Dad whose birthday is on December 11.  Happy Birthday PAPA NACHO!!!

Inspiration - December 7, 2009

Angela and I headed out for a movie yesterday.  We've been trying to purposely get out of the house lately.  Angela works at home with her business and I spend a lot of time working out of the house in the mornings and evenings.  At times, I love the fact that I don't have to travel far to be productive and I'm quite comfortable in my home.  We have just about everything we need except a full gym with pool.  Other than that, I can't complain.

But eventually, we get itchy to just get out of the house and I love going to the movies.  We did see "Precious" a few weeks back and I did think it was a great film albeit graphic.  If nothing else it is a film that can make you appreciate winning the genetic lottery in life; being born in the United States, educated, not in poverty, safe environment, loving house, etc.  We tend to take a lot of those things for granted when we determine our level of success in life.

Yesterday we saw THE BLIND SIDE .  I loved the film.  Although a couple of times I must have had something in my eye causing irritation because it kept watering up.  Fortunately the lights were dimmed to reduce further irritation... ;)  The film makes you laugh as much as it pierces your heart and triggers very strong emotions.  It again makes you feel fortunate for what you have and how lucky 'we' are.  It reminds me of that saying, "A lot of people were born on third base and think they hit a home run..."  If you are looking for a great film appropriate for the entire family, there you go.

This weekend another great looking film opens up called INVICTUS .  The story of Nelson Mandella and world cup Rugby.

What exactly is Invictus?  Invictus was a short poem by English poet William Ernest Henley written in 1875.  A victim of tuberculosis that resulted in amputation of a diseased foot and disability.  Invictus is Latin for "unconquered."  Nelson Mandella kept a copy of the poem in his prison cell.

Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the Pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds and shall find me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.

 

Am I Or Am I Not - December 5, 2009

I woke up a few times last night feeling like I was at the beginning of the "getting sick" process.  A sore throat, nasal congestion and of course I couldn't sleep.  I was also a bit cold but I think that has more to do with Angela turning the thermostat down to about 43 degrees at night.  Good grief lady.  We could pay the heat bill fine?  Let's splurge a bit shall we?

Anyway, the dogs eventually got me up as they wanted breakfast and as I started moving around and am enjoying my morning tea, I'm starting to feel fine.  I had this happen about a month ago where I thought I was getting sick, but it was just a false alarm.  Keeping the fingers crossed.

My legs are still shattered from my P90X DVD routine the other day.  I was hoping to run on the treadmill this morning but am unsure how that will play out.

One of the main things I learned this year is that I need to get a better handle on the actual numbers of the calories in/calories burned equation.  I think last year I weighed in at 184.2 when I did the New Years Day resolution run (which I just got my flyer in the mail this week to do it again) and I remember thinking to myself, "My gosh, I am SOOO out of shape at 184.2).  Well, fast forward one year and add in some recent weightlifting while drastically reducing endurance volume and I'm typically floating around 188 pounds (sometimes more, sometimes less).

It looks like I'll now have the same New Years Day resolution as everybody else in America; lose 10 pounds.  The only thing that is starting to bother me is that as a whole, I eat really really well.  I certainly can add more vegetables into my meals but I eat very little processed food, very little sugar and I don't eat things like most people like chips, ice cream, etc.  I don't drink any alcohol (never have) and yet, my frame can carry a lot of natural weight on it.

I've learned that getting and maintaining my weight below 175 just takes too much time and energy.  It happens without dieting if I work out 20 hours a week but I'm also at that stage where working out 20 hours a week is no longer attractive (it's actually frightening).  I'd much rather work and read.

Staying between 175 and 180 takes a decent amount of exercise and focus but I feel good in that weight slot and can have good overall fitness.  190 to 200 is probably my natural weight if I just did things like weight lift and ate balanced.  But yet, I don't like being that big and heavy.  And I'm so slow at that weight.

I'll probably do a few days of counting calories just to get an idea of where I'm at as far as consumption and what I need to cut back to if I were to drop a pound or two a week for a few weeks.

Tonight is free UFC on Spike TV at 9:00pm.  Don't miss it!

Blogging Vacation and P90X'd - December 2, 2009

I've actually been enjoying my blogging sabbatical/vacation.  But I've also missed it.  It's another reminder as to how important habits and routines are for me.  I went years (literally) posting everyday and sometimes more than once a day.  And when I stopped the daily posting, I saw how quickly not posting could become habit.

It's pretty easy to use the time in other capacities; work, reading, holiday activities, other hobbies, etc. 

I see the same thing happening with my Ironman training (or lack thereof).  When you are in a groove, it's really easy to keep it rolling.  It's habit.  It's daily discipline.  But if you stop, it's really hard to get it going again.  In science, "a body in motion stays in motion until another force is present to halt the motion."  A freight train rolls along steadily without much additional energy.  But starting a freight train from a dead stop takes a lot of energy.

This morning I found myself crunched for time (and it was pouring rain).  So rather than driving all the way to the gym prior to a meeting on the other side of town, I popped in the P90X DVD for legs and did that for a bit over a 1/2 hour.  That is an entirely different kind of strength and fitness versus an endurance routine.  I not only couldn't do all the exercises with all of the reps, by lunchtime I got up to leave the restaurant and immediately felt my legs seizing up.  That's bad news for tomorrow and the next day as it always gets worse over the following day or two.

But I'm also interested in developing my health and fitness towards general health and strength first as a priority and then adding endurance, speed and triathlon related fitness only after the fact and based on time management.  This is the plan at least for the next few months during the winter which is also a pretty good time to do things like general fitness during the offseason.

I'm also thinking about reinstating my personal streaking challenge to myself back from 2008.  I want to shoot for at least an hour of exercise a day with a minimum of 30 minutes.  It could be any type of exercise; weights, cardio, yoga, biking, running, group fitness classes, swimming, etc.  And in a pinch, walking/pushups/situps is better than nothing.

Happy Thanksgiving! - November 26, 2009

As my sister Stephanie said, "Gobble till you wobble."



I'm holding tight up in Spruce Pine, North Carolina. We arrived early afternoon. Our big feast is tomorrow but there was still plenty of opportunity to make the off-season more focused on weight loss.



So far only two (small) brownies and two pieces of blackberry bread (delicious) to lead me towards the bad side of the nutritional fight.



Tomorrow starts the war.



Happy turkey day you turkeys!

Matt Erbele - November 25, 2009

In May of 2005, on the island of Florianopolis, Brazil, while racing Ironman Brazil, I met someone who I remained friends with over the years.  Matt Erbele was also participating and we were staying at the same hotel and basically kept running into each other at meal time.

Over the years we would not only trade emails and phone calls but we would also hook up for training camps.  I still vividly remember when we made arrangements for Matt to come down and stay with me in Atlanta one winter so we could "do big miles".  Right before Matt's arrival, I came down with a cold.  I did my best to "gut it out" during some ugly Atlanta winter weather that included cold rain.  I really didn't mean it when I rode through the cold rain, sick, while thinking to myself "I hate this guy!"

I've written about Matt in the past.  You could see one of these archived HERE

Matt isn't much for words (he'd make a fantastic monk) but he's the type of guy that you could quickly assess just by watching and observing.  There's also a lot to learn from a guy like Matt.

(Above - Matt's one of the few guys that can keep a tiger calm with his easy personality.) 

Although he grew up on a cattle farm in the Dakota's (hence my nickname for him "Farmboy") where work is 7 days a week, 365 days a year (the cows don't take vacations from being fed), Matt proceeded through college, left the farm and ended up in the big city of Chicago working for Motorola.

While his fondness for endurance athletics grew and enabled him to become quite an Ironman (well into the double digit Ironman finishes) and marathoner, Matt eventually began to question big city life, the daily grind, and the meaning of it all.

All those close to him received the same email one day which went along the lines of, "I'm taking some time off from Motorola (he never returned), packing a backpack and doing a little looksy of the planet...."  He went through with it.  He put his bike in storage, canceled his gym membership and put on his hiking shoes and then traveled the world.  Oh yeah, by himself.  With no timetable.

Matt eventually came back to the states lived in the Colorado Mountains (I believe near Leadville), now resides in St. George, Utah and is doing some coaching.  A man of few words but with plenty to say if you listen carefully, I recently had Matt agree to do an interview style exchange which I enjoyed so much, I thought I would share with everybody.

Although we spent a lot of time on Ironman and endurance athletics, I think you could substitute a lot of other endeavors into that slot and find all kinds of wisdom and insight in his thoughts.  On that note;

On how we sometimes take our athletic careers too seriously, worry about things that take our focus away from things that really matter;

No one will care in 10 years that you had a <9 Ironman (most people couldn't tell you who won Kona in 1999 and hardly anyone could tell you the top 5), but your kids will be deeply impacted by the time you did or did not spend with them.

Values - can tell what a person values by their actions.  Athletics can be fun and I believe that health is very important part of life, but unless athletics is your job, spending 20+ hours/week doing it is bound to impact other areas of most peoples lives.

On how athletics can just be a distraction for people that are really struggling in other areas of life;

If you have problems in other areas, finishing an Ironman won't solve them (although Ironman might provide people with more belief in themselves).  I think most people's problems can be traced back to an ignorance on their part of what will make them truly happy.

Athletics/tv/work/alcohol/drugs/UFC(Don't go there Matt, that's sacred turf...)/food - distractions are everywhere.

Main goal in life is to be happy.  If you are not happy now, why will you be happy after achieving 'x'?

There is no happily ever after, there is only happily right now.

One of the things I really love about endurance athletics is that it is one of the easiest ways for me to be in the present moment.

On how there is more to athletics, health, happiness than just Ironman events;

WTC (World Triathlon Corporation) does a very good job of marketing their events and putting on memorable life experiences.  Humans don't need a life of ease to be happy.  All that we really require for happiness is something to be passionate about.  I think Ironman provides that for many people.  The problem for many people is when they start putting too much emphasis on certain times or placement.  I don't feel there is anything wrong with setting these goals.  I just feel it is inappropriate to tie our happiness to them.  The real beauty I find in endurance athletics is reaching the point when all you want to do is quit and then finding a way to dig a little deeper and move past your mental limits.

In the grand scheme of things, Ironman really isn't that hard.  The difficulty is mostly in the mind.  Great grandparents had it way harder just surviving on a day to day basis.

On what you learned about yourself and about the role of athletics when you traveled the globe and had time to clear your head and remove the noise of the United States;

I really enjoy being physically active, but I don't really like competition.  But I knew this before I left.  I can be fit without working out 20+ hours a week and actually feel much healthier.

If I'm miserable, I may be working out too much.

It's easier to lose weight when my only exercise is walking than when training 20+ hours a week for an Ironman.

On how it is important to have goals but how it should be important to know what the real benefits of those goals are and what expense we are willing to pay to accomplish those goals.  More like, "Be careful what you ask for, you might just get it and then realize it really didn't make you happy."

I've never found achieving my goals to be all that rewarding.  It was more the process of achieving them.  It's good to have an end to journey towards, but it's the journey that matters in the end.  Having goals that you're excited about is important to get you up and moving.  If you don't have something in your life that you're working towards, it's pretty easy to waste large chunks of your life.  I don't think you'll find anyone on their deathbed who will wish that they had spent more time watching TV.  On the other hand, I don't think we should tie our happiness to goal achievement and if achieving a goal compromises your values (family, long term health), it may be wiser to not pursue it.

On how to get over the fear of trying new things or reinventing yourself (How did you get the balls to quit your corporate job and pack a backpack and wave goodbye to everyone?)  What advice would you give to people that want to change but think that they are stuck?

I never get over the fear.  It's still there.  Feel the fear and do it anyway.  Fear is not proof of cowardice.  Fear is the opportunity for courage.

Life is too short not to do cool stuff with cool people.

The only thing I know for sure is that at some point my physical body will cease to exist.  Everything that we physically experience is temporary.

"The value of life lies not in the length of days, but in the use we make of them; a man may live long yet live very little." - Michel Eyquem do Montain

You can spend your life any way you want, but you can only spend it once.  Choose wisely.

On what the most important lessons to be learned while competing in adult athletics;

The harder you work, the better you get, but make sure you are working on the things that matter to you (values).

Technique is the limiter for how fast you can go.  Focus on technique before fitness.

Beginners mind - trying new things without the pressure of being good at them.

Anything worth doing well is worth doing poorly at first.

The only limits are in our minds.

On how the rest of the world differs from the U.S. and how there are plenty of people living somewhere else with far less "stuff" who are just as happy if not happier than Americans and why you think that is.

What you focus on/peer group.

Money is good in that it gives you more options.  When everybody around you has roughly the same options, you don't feel the sense of lack.

Many are just seeking enough to eat and a warm place to sleep.  After that, happiness is largely a matter of what you focus on.

 
(Above - I like to joke and say, "Matt's the guy on the left...") 

If you would like to contact coach Matt or drop him a line, you could do so either at HIS EMAIL or HIS WEBSITE