December is for Data Gathering...

Life is made up of a series of judgments on insufficient data, and if we waited to run down all our doubts, it would flow past us. -- Learned Hand

Data is the kind of ubiquitous resource that we can shape to provide new innovations and new insights, and it's all around us, and it can be mined very easily. -- David McCandless

So.  I've been working on Athlete 2.0...as you know.  And it's, well, it's coming along.  I'm working on better fueling, better living, better training, etc.  But it's kind of like - what's better?  I'm trying to lose weight.  I'm trying to get faster.  Those are measurable, but what sort of "better" am I creating in every day life?  Because I'm not going to be faster every day (or even any day - good Lord am I slow right now).  And I'm not going to be thinner every day...although I can tell you that I lived through Thanksgiving feasting and gained about 1 pound.  Booyah!

Anyway, I decided that maybe I need to know where I am, on a daily basis, to better see how to improve.  I've been logging my food...but so what?  What's the value of that information (other than it occasionally keeps a cookie out of my mouth because I don't want to log it).  There has to be a better use for all of this information.

Also, IronSherpa got me a fancy new 920xt...so I have sleep data.  And steps data.  And even data about which foot I favor while I run, although I haven't actually seen much value to that tidbit yet.  So if I have all this data at my fingertips...like literally - on my phone and computer, pretty much all. the. time.  If I have all this data, shouldn't I be able to figure out some insights about how to be better every single day?

But I also know December is hard.  I mean there's holiday parties, and lots of wine, and Christmas cookies, and raindrops on roses, and whiskers on kittens.  All of my favorite things!  And so I've decided...December is for data gathering.  How much sleep am I getting at night?  Is it good sleep?  How well am I eating?  Am I in the right calorie range?  How close am I getting to enough protein?  Enough carbs that aren't wine?  :)  What's my general activity level on various days - training and not training?

With mittfuls of this data, I think it will be easier (and more realistic than my earlier protein goal) to make some positive changes.  After all, if I know where I am, I should be able to figure out what direction is forward...or perhaps even the
direction to perfection...

Another head aches, another heart breaks

I am so much older than I can take

And my affection, well it comes and goes

I need a direction to perfection, no no no

Yeah, I kind of love The Killers.  What can I say?

The Good, The Bad, The Ugly

The good and bad things are what form us as people...change makes us grow.  -- Kate Winslet

Terms like 'good' and 'bad' are extremely simplistic in what is a far more complex situation. -- David Icke

So.  It turns out making changes is hard.  Even little changes, small shifts.  For a while over the last few weeks, I felt like I was doing good.  But then towards the end of last week, I did pretty bad.  But this isn't exactly right - it's a lot more complex than that.  Even when I thought I was making progress, things still were not good...and even though I'm not super proud of my choices over the last few days, some good came from that too.  Good and bad - it forms us, it makes us grow.  But a binary classification as good or bad - that just doesn't really explain everything, does it?

I'm trying to make Athlete 2.0 - the better, healthier, fitter, and faster me.  I know I can't change overnight or go from 0-60...so I'm working on small changes.  The first small changes (logging and liquid) were going pretty well - although I did "break" my rule about liquids this weekend...beer!...and I have slacked a little bit on logging.  But I think having a few beers here and there is fine and being a little slack here and there on logging is OK - as long as it doesn't continue.  So even though I haven't been the best with either of these, I feel like the slips are just tiny dips - and I'm back on track.  Back to logging regularly.  Back to drinking wine, water, and coffee (or tea).  I know I'll drink a beer here or there - and I know that there'll be times when I don't log my food, but I also know that the habit is formed and I will get right back on plan.

The other shifts I was trying to make were more protein, more veg.  These shifts have not stuck quite as successfully.  Protein, particularly the amount that the Roar book suggests I eat, is actually pretty hard to do.  I've definitely increased my protein intake (thank you, logging, for showing me this much progress)...but the amount is still too low.  And eating veg at every meal...well, it turns out I don't actually like veg at breakfast - at least not yet.  :)

I'm going to spend another week or two with these goals - perhaps if I can't get to the level I'm hoping to reach, at least I'll understand where I'm at and be able to use that as a floor to improve from.  These two shifts may have been either too big or too nebulous - I'm going to still keep my eye on improving my protein and veg, but I'm really going to focus on data gathering.  And speaking of data gathering, I have some more of that going on too.  I got a Garmin 920xt and have been tracking my sleep and steps too.  More on this later.  I'm going to build Athlete 2.0 one data point at a time.

So - that's the "bad" - now for the "good."  This weekend's long run, done at the same basic intensity level, was about 15-20 seconds faster/mile than last week's long run.  Yeah me - this training thing is starting to show some benefits again...which is awesome.

Destination No Longer Unknown...

All you need is the plan, the road map, and the courage to press on to your destination. -- Earl Nightengale

One's destination is never a place but rather a new way of looking at things. -- Henry Miller

For the past few weeks, I've felt a little at sea - Destination Unknown...kind of like this perfectly trippy 80s new wave song, no?  Where would my next chance to become an Ironman be?  We were holding out for Ironman North Carolina - logistically the best option...but yesterday we learned that IMNC has been "discontinued."  And even though I knew deep down that was the likely outcome, I couldn't help but feel disappointed that that dream was no longer an option.

Even though I'm sad about IMNC (and actually a little sad for triathlon in general, more later), I need to change my way of looking at things.  After all, part of the blahs I've felt for the last few weeks were related to having a plan but no end result in sight, no destination to shoot for.  It's hard to get jazzed up about another year of training without knowing where it will lead.

(OK, stop laughing...I imagine there are people out there who would find it hard to get jazzed up about a year of training even if there were unicorns and leprechauns and millions of dollars and unlimited sushi at the end...but I do get excited looking ahead to my A races.  I also get excited about unicorns and sushi.  Leprechauns creep me out a little bit.  If I had unicorns and sushi, I probably wouldn't need millions of dollars, but that would be OK too.)

Anyway, it now seems that we have a destination.  2017 will be the year of Chattanooga.  IMCHOO will be where I finally become an Ironman.  And it better happen this year...because as far as I can see, WTC (the company that owns Ironman) is trying to kill triathlons - this is why I'm sad in general.

See...here's the thing.  WTC is buying up all sorts of triathlons that used to be run by smaller, local companies or organizations.  And of course there's plenty of reasons why the local companies are selling the races - races are hard to put on, expensive, possibly money-losers, etc. and more.  But the problem is that WTC is buying these races and then making changes...up to and including cancelling them.  Just like IMNC.  IMNC used to be Beach2Battleship and was known as one of the best non-WTC long course races out there.  Doing it had been on our bucket list - not the least of which because they gave out flannel pajama bottoms to finishers.  If WTC keeps buying up these races, they're going to end up with an unhealthy (and possibly unlawful, but hey, I'm not an antitrust expert) monopoly.  And then they will cancel a ton and jack the prices on others and do all sorts of non-triathlete-friendly things.  And then maybe I won't be a triathlete anymore.  I hope I am wrong, but this turn of events (buying IMNC and killing it within one year) really bothers me.

OK.  Off the soap box.  On to training.  The destination is known.  The plan is in place.  I have a roadmap to get there.  Now I just have to change my way of looking at this and enjoy the journey.