Ironman Attorney | What Can Blisters Teach Us About Life?

Yesterday, as part of my triathlon training, I ran 16 miles. I call it triathlon training, but really it is marathon training because I’m not doing any triathlons this fall. On the other hand, I’m pretty sure I’m doing the Richmond Marathon in November. In any event, about halfway through my run, I felt the annoyance of a blister on my heel. For some reason, I tend to get these every so often, always around the same place, and always on my left foot. There was nothing I could really do about it except to keep running or to stop and walk the 8 or so miles home. Being as how I didn’t want to spend the next 2 hours walking home, I kept running.

Today I am wearing a band-aid to prevent the blister from getting worse. But what if I didn’t do anything and just let my wingtips or running shoes do their thing to the blister? What if I kept walking around without putting a band-aid on? What if I kept running and biking without treating the area? It would continue to get worse, possibly infected, until it became unbearable and I couldn’t walk anymore with shoes on. Then I would have to wear flip flops which, as an attorney, wouldn’t really help with my professional life. Additionally, I wouldn’t be able to run and bike anymore. My life would be ruined! You get the point.

It’s a good thing I put a band-aid on as soon as possible, so that my blister can get on with healing and my life wouldn’t be ruined. We can apply this same principle to our lives. Dealing with small problems before they become big problems helps prevent a lot of unnecessary stress and headaches. This works in both our professional lives and our personal lives. The longer we ignore a problem, the worse it gets. The longer we wait to return a client’s phone call, the angrier the client becomes. It could result in a lost client, when a simple phone call could have a alleviated the client’s concerns. Likewise, the longer we wait to change the dirty a/c filter in our home, the more likely the a/c unit will break.

It’s the blister lesson. Take care of it while it’s an easy problem to take care of.

Ironman Attorney | The Over-the-Counter Triathlon Project is for a Good Cause

I changed my mind about the name of the Over-the-Counter Triathlon Experiment. To me, “experiment” conjures up images of the Scientific Method, Hypotheses, Theories, Results, Conclusions, etc. In seventh grade, I did a science “experiment” on which laundry detergent did a better job of cleaning a white cloth stained with coffee. Since I used bleach for one of the detergents (not technically a detergent), my science teacher downgraded me.

What’s the point of this story? Not much, except to say that I would rather call it the Over-the-Counter Triathlon Project. You see, “projects” in my mind are much simpler and don’t require any scientific method. Projects don’t break Rule 2 below, but they can still be great. I had a friend in elementary school who did his fourth grade science project on the Pythagorean Theorem. From what I remember, it was just an explanation of Pythagoras and his theorem. Granted it was way over my head in fourth grade, but its simplicity is what made it great. By the way, that same friend now has a Master’s Degree in finite mathematics from the University of Chicago and is just starting his Ph.D. program at George Washington University. The moral of the story is that projects work.

Now that we have that cleared up, without further ado, what is the Over-the-Counter Triathlon Project? Well, inspired by my chocolate milk Ironman Attorney post, I decided to figure out whether I can do better in a specific race based upon triathlon training with “over-the-counter” items rather than the fancy-schmancy expensive stuff that you can find at the specialty stores. For example, in this week’s long run, instead of using a carbohydrate gel (historically, I’ve used Clif Shots), I grabbed a few of my nephew’s Finding Nemo fruit chews and used them. The result? A “quick” 14-miler without any struggle. Note: triathletes really aren’t quick. We don’t spend time developing fast twitch muscle fibers. Devin Hester is quick. So “quick” is a relative term.

Okay, so what are the rules of the Over-the-Counter Triathlon Project?

Rule 1: Talk about the Over-the-Counter Triathlon Project. The opposite of the Fight Club rule.

Rule 2: The Over-the-Counter Triathlon Project is NOT Scientific. See above. If I wanted scientific studies, I would just read all about the fancy-schmancy products. I want to see for myself whether what they claim is actually accurate.

Rule 3: Year 1 – Only Over-the-Counter Triathlon Nutrition Products. Anything you can buy in your typical grocery story or supermarket. Year 2 – Fancy-Schmancy products.

Rule 4: No Performance Enhancing Drugs. I have no idea what a performance enhancing drug does, except that it probably enhances performance. I also have no idea where to get a performance enhancing drug. But, I’ve always wanted to have this rule apply to me, so I can feel like a professional athlete.

Rule 5: Have Fun! The most important rule.

So what’s the point? Actually, there are three points. First, I’m going to build in a fundraising aspect of the Project. Since I just came up with the idea this week, I’m still figuring out what this is going to be, but it will be there. Second, this site and this Project are about you, my readers, not about me. So I want to provide you interesting information and this is one part of that. Third, triathlon helps provide balance in my life which, in turn, makes me a better husband and father. Remember, my ultimate goal.

So that’s it. I’m working on a frequently asked questions page, and will post it when it’s ready. For now, just know that the target race is Eagleman 2011 for the first year and Eagleman 2012 for the second year.

Ironman Attorney | Crash!

Last week, my triathlon training tip was to ride carefully.  As kharma would have it, maybe I should have ridden a little more carefully following that post.  This past Thursday, during a routine strength and speedwork ride, I had a slight mishap.  I was on a road that I’ve ridden so many times that I could probably ride it with my eyes closed.  When I’ve ridden a road enough times, I generally know where the bumps, potholes, etc. are.  But on this occasion, someone thought it would be a great idea to place a pole in the middle of the road, which I didn’t see until I was right on top of it.  So I avoided it with an Armstrong-ian evasive maneuver (see below):

Actually, in reality, it was more like this:

Okay, so I fell.  But miraculously, there wasn’t a scratch on either me or my bike.  I guess when I think I’m riding like these guys:

I really am going much slower.  Oh well, I’d rather still have my bike with no broken bones.

While we’re on the subject of Lance Armstrong, or at least I mentioned him earlier in this post, I wanted to include this video because it’s inspiring:

Tomorrow, I’m going to tell you about an idea that I had….. the Over-the-Counter Triathlon Experiment.

Ironman Attorney | Six Miles, Chocolate Milk, and Twitter

What do these three things have in common?  Nothing!  But they are what Ironman Attorney was thinking about today.

Six miles. 

For some reason, that is my threshold.  I don’t feel like I have gotten in a good enough workout unless I run six miles, or do the equivalent on my bike (18 miles) or swim (1.5 miles).  I don’t know where this threshold comes from.  Perhaps it’s because that is the point where the workout, assuming I’ve paced myself correctly, turns from normal to long.  From “easy” to “hard.”  I put those two words in quotes because everyone is different, so easy and hard is all relative.  For an Olympic marathon runner, the easy/hard threshold might be, well, a marathon.  The point is that I try to get at least that workout every day.  Then I don’t have to worry about what I eat most of the time!

Chocolate milk. 

Speaking of eating, the experts say that, after a workout, you should try to recover your muscles.  You should replenish a portion of what you’ve burned with some sort of nutrition – a combination of carbohydrates and protein.  While the studies differ slightly, they generally recommend that the ratio between carbohydrate calories and protein calories be 4:1.  That means for every four calories of carbohydrate recovery, you should have 1 calorie of protein recovery. 

Of course, there are companies out there that make “recovery” drinks.  Through their research, they have come up with the perfect solution for muscle recovery, and they put it in their very own drink for you to consume without worrying about getting that magic ratio.  I’ve tried a few of these and even used one (Endurox R4) for a couple of years after just about every training session.  Most of them are very good products and do exactly what they say (i.e. help you recover better and faster, so you can get that next workout done better and faster).  But they all have one thing in common: they are expensive. 

Enter chocolate milk.  I don’t remember who turned me on this idea, but chocolate milk actually has a very similar carbohydrate to protein ratio to many of these drinks.  So I started using it as my recovery drink.  My absolute love for chocolate milk aside, it really works.  Plus, it costs only a fraction of what those fancy recovery drinks cost.  It’s a win/win and a great triathlon training secret.

Twitter.

Ironman Attorney is on Twitter.  I listened to a podcast by Lee Rosen and Erik Mazzone a few days ago, and they praised Twitter and its possible effects on your business.  While skeptical of Twitter, and the attention it has received over the last couple of years, I played around with it this week.  After only a few minutes (okay, maybe I got sucked in for a couple of hours), I’m sold on the idea of Twitter.  In theory, the opportunities to help expand your network and make some new friends seem limitless.  So, as any DC DUI attorney trying to grow his practice, I’m willing to try a new marketing technique (with the knowledge that I really have to invest the time in creating and cultivating good relationships for it to work).

Ironman Attorney | Reston Century Ride

Ironman Attorney Triathlon Training Tip of the Day: Many people say, “It’s not if you fall off your bike, it’s when you fall off your bike.”  Make sure you ride safely and minimize the “when” moments.

This past weekend, I did the Reston Century Ride, put on by the Reston Bike Club out of Reston, Virginia.  The Club offered three distances: a true century ride, a metric century ride, and a shorter thirty mile ride.  To be honest, I had heard of the Reston Century Ride, but never thought about doing it until one of my friends invited me along about a month ago.  It’s been a while since I rode more than fifty miles, so I didn’t know what kind of shape I would be in, but we decided to do the metric century (which actually turned out to be 65 miles instead of 62).

I was pleasantly surprised with both the organization of the event and the course itself.  A biking event of that magnitude is inherently flawed in that there are so many people with so many different experience levels.  The Reston Bike Club kept these flaws from outwardly manifesting themselves in the form of crashes, pedestrian irritation, or driver frustration (at least insofar as I could see).  All in all, it was a great event, and I’m happy I did it.

After the ride, my friend and I drove over to Ray’s Hell Burger for one awesome bite to eat.  I had never been there, but I have been to Ray’s the Classics in Silver Spring.  Hell Burger uses some of those same flavors and applies them to a great burger.  I have to say it was at least one of the top three hamburgers I’ve ever had.

My triathlon training has gone pretty well.  I’m considering signing up for the Giant Acorn Triathlon, which takes place the first weekend in October.  To be in top shape, I have a few more lbs. to lose first though.

Finally, the blog has taken a new form.  Rather than posting my training schedule for every day, I’m only posting once per week.  Let me know if you like the new format, or if you’d rather me go back to the old way of posting my triathlon training schedule and tips everyday.

Ironman Attorney | Where is My Motivation?

Right now, I am in “okay” shape.  My triathlon training has taken a backseat to some other priorities in my life.  It happens.  In fact, I haven’t done any triathlons this year, and the next race I’m signed up for is next June.

But beyond all that, I feel different.  My motivation is waning.  But not just my triathlon motivation; I’m also feeling more tired and less motivated to get other things done.  My lack of motivation is creeping into other parts of my life – parts that are top priorities.  This is a problem, and I imagine it is a problem for many people in various points of their lives.  So what do we do about it?

When I was in college at the University of Richmond, I went through a period during my first semester where I didn’t want to do anything.  It maybe lasted a couple of weeks, but I just felt tired and unmotivated.  My roommate, who I have been friends with for my entire life, still teases me because I woke up one morning and the first words out of my mouth were, “Where is my motivation?”

In any event, at that time I came up with a three-step process to help me deal with these dry spells.

The first step is to evaluate and reminisce.  I evaluate the problem and think back to the times in my life when I have had similar experiences.  This way I can determine how I’ve dealt with my lack of motivation and what worked in the past.   

The second step is to set goals for getting back on the proverbial wagon.  The goals I set must be specific and defined.  Otherwise I won’t know how to get there and my goals are useless.

The last step is to go about achieving the goals and then rewarding myself at the end.

So for my current motivational problem, I will need to evaluate where exactly the problem is.  For example, is it in my work life?  Is it in my personal life?  When have I dealt with a similar problem?

Then I will set goals to achieve.  For example, I will cross three things off my to do list every day this week.

Finally, I will reward myself.  Take an afternoon off.  Splurge on a nice dinner with my wife.  Something that reminds me why I need to get things done in the first place.

These steps are neither revolutionary nor original.  But they are simple and effective.  They have helped me through a lot of difficult times.

Last week I posted about my trip up Hallett Peak.  Here is my group at the top.  What a spectacular view!

Ironman Attorney | Vacation

Ironman Attorney Triathlon Training Tip of the Day: If you miss a few days, or even a week, of workouts, don’t try to go back to where you were. Take a week or two to work your way back to the distances and effort you were putting out before your break.

Today’s Projected Workout: Run 8 miles.

Today’s Actual Workout: Run 8 miles.

I apologize for not posting over the last few days. I was on vacation with the family to Estes Park, Colorado. I did workout during the trip, but didn’t do anything traditional. My goal was to do as many “outdoors-ey” things as possible. So I went on several easy hikes, ran around the track at Estes Park High School (with the mountains as a backdrop), and cycled around a beautiful lake.

But the highlight of the trip was a hike I took last Friday, to Flattop Mountain and continuing up to Hallett Peak.
Total elevation – 12,713 feet. Needless to say, even walking is hard in the thin air at that altitude. Looking at this picture, I find it hard to believe I made it all the way to the top of that mountain, especially with no climbing experience at all.

So that’s been it for my triathlon training for the past week or so.  It was a much needed break and I enjoyed my vacation immensely.

But now that I’m back, I’m getting the “itch.”  The itch to work hard.  The itch to set goals.  The itch to do another Ironman.  That’s right, I said it. 

In fact, in the midst of my itchiness, I signed up for Eagleman 2011.  Yes, I know this is an Ironman 70.3, but it’s a stepping stone on the way to doing 140.6 in 2012.  Actually, it will be a perfect convergence of my personal, professional, and triathlete lives.  The Maryland State Bar Association annual meeting takes place the week before Eagleman.  Being a member of the MSBA Leadership Academy, I am required to go (of course, I went this year and I was planning to go next year anyway).  It’s in Ocean City, MD where I stay at my in-laws condo (thank you a million times to them for being generous).  Then on the way home, I’ll stop in Cambridge, MD for Eagleman.

Next I need to plan out my end of season and next season, so I can start setting those goals.