February update – broke in the tri season with a cold opener, work is sending me to an early grave, and gaming is coming back with a vengeance.

February 2017

I started my new job on 1 February 2017 and it’s been an interesting ride so far.  It’s more stressful, has longer hours, and my ability to control my schedule is wiped, so I’ve had to keep a very tight training regimen with few deviations.  This has the side effect of annihilating most of my social life, which is somewhat of a buzzkill, but I’m still able to train consistently, so it’s pretty much just work and training.

By the numbers:
Swim – 34,035 yards // 10:04:39 // 14 swims
Bike – 285 miles // 16:32:08 // 13 bikes
Run – 84.1 miles // 10:50:12 // 15 runs
Strength – 3:45 // 5 sessions
Total – ~41:12

 

Here’s a better summary of the nerdy info:

Of note, I averaged close to 700 TSS/week on roughly 10-11 hours of training.  This is sustainable week in, week out and this is where you grow real fitness.  In my 20s, I was all about throwing down big smokefests on the weekends with long building blocks to races, etc.  However, over time and with Coach Mike’s guidance, the key thing I’ve learned over the last few years is that sustaining a consistent regiment that you can repeat day after day and week after week is where you make real gains.  Here are some good articles that explain more in depth:

Article 1 – Slowtwitch Read

Article 2 – Slowtwitch Read

The chart above is a screenshot of something in Training Peaks called the “Performance Management Chart” or PMC.  I’m not going to go in-depth as this is covered here.  Suffice to say, my fitness as of this writing is almost the highest it’s ever been, and I’m pretty much in the best shape I’ve ever been in…right now.  This means that 2017 will be a great year!

Other happenings in February

“Tri”cation in Atlanta

I took a short notice trip to Atlanta in mid-February to visit my friends Ed and Michelle as well as a few other friends in the Atlanta Triathlon Club (ATC).  One of my other reasons for traveling on this particular weekend (Feb 10) was to see John Wick 2.  Seeing everyone and catching up was great, and I also got in a really good block of training (13.1 mile run on Saturday, 2x back to back indoor bikes at Energy Lab on Sunday).  Ed and I also rifted really hard, which leads me to my next February update.

Diablo 3 – Back to Rifting

For those reading this who have no clue what any of this nerdery means, check this out.  I hadn’t touched Diablo 3 since the end of one of the seasons in April 2016, but we hit it hard.   We powerleveled a barb on my end but we decided that wasn’t optimal and went Witch Doctor instead.  The most viable and fun build I’ve tried is the Heltooth / Gargantuan build.  This build has proven quite effective in high end Greater Rifts, but right now as of this writing we’re stuck in 71 and can’t proceed.    I’ll keep grinding out this WD until the end of the season or when Mass Effect Andromeda comes out…we’ll see what’s first.

Television – fun times while Foam Rolling

I’ve been stuck on two shows this month, and I’ll shamelessly describe them here.

The Bachelor

Those who know me well know of my affinity for “trash” tv but I have no shame here.  I’m not going to get in the weeds as there’s plenty of other info out there, but suffice to say I’m still #TeamCorinne and her time will come.

Taboo

Taboo is probably one of the best shows I’ve seen in recent memory, and I think it will end up ranking up there with my favorites like GoT (some of the actors are familiar to my fellow GoT watchers).  I won’t spoil anything, but for those reading this and wanting to find a new show, I highly recommend checking out Taboo.

Future Planning

With this new job, my free time and ability to flex is severely limited, so I’ll most likely curb any travel races and only travel for weddings and special events while keeping the rest of the races local until next spring when I fulfill my year-long commitment at work.  The next few months will be filled with hard training to gear up for the late fall races.  The struggle now is to find the balance so I can keep up with my mobility, meditation, and healthy eating.