“Get it out of your head…” in a stern voice stated my run coach and friend Michael McDonald during track practice Tuesday morning. This was two days after the USA Triathlon National Championships. I was experiencing post big race blues which occurs whether things go well or not. I was disappointed with some elements of the race but overall it was a great experience and I have taken so many learnings from the race and preparation. Michael gave me the jolt I needed Tuesday morning. Now it’s time to turn the page.
I still have one big race left October 13, the USA Triathlon National Championships for another style of racing in which I have never competed. This will be an exploratory race so preparation started this week with the major difference being the bike portion. The bike leg is draft legal and on a road bike vs. a triathlon bike. This race is quite different so my expectations are tempered. In addition to this race, I will also be racing the bike leg for a relay team including Jennay Gump (swim) and Michael McDonald (run) on September 8 at the Tarpon Triathlon. This is just the type of race to get up for after a super bowl type of race. This will be a blast racing with great friends! Team JAM (Jennay/Alan/Michael) as Jennay named us when we competed at the St. Anthony’s Triathlon earlier in the year.
I spent a lot of time this week considering my racing goals through 2019. I’m excited with incorporating a new element to the plan. I’m pondering the integration and will share as soon as I solidify things.
At the conclusion of an expected lackluster week of training, I was pushed hard on Saturday morning with running mates Elia Luti and Anthony Douaihy. It was my longest run in probably five weeks as I was shortening my long efforts in preparation for Nationals. On top of not running 12+ miles I had in front of me, these guys are endurance runners and boy they are in shape. After running with them for 11 miles my legs were fading fast with still another 1.5 miles remaining. It was just the effort I needed to clear my head as I was so focused on hanging on it took all my mental and physical capacity. One of my favorite training quotes is from professional coach and endurance athlete, Chris Hauth, where he states, “get the body tired and then the training begins.” Oh the body was tired and I felt rewarded for the effort. They added in eight sprints post run…I’m not sure I felt rewarded after that…ha!
Saturday evening brought friends together at the condo with for a Healthy Giraffe Event. We cooked Corn Carbonara via Chloe Coscarelli’s latest cookbook, Chloe Flavor. It was amazing! So much so I made it again Sunday evening for myself. We all chipped in around the kitchen and then sat down to eat and watch a little bit of Dr. Zach Bush. I wrote about him in a recent blog titled, Chronic Illness & Inflammation Explored.
We watched two clips focusing on how chronic inflammation in our body is tied to chronic illness in the U.S. Dr. Bush does an incredible job sharing exactly what has occurred over the past 30 years to demonstrate the speedy rise in our diseases. The fortunate and unfortunate outcomes from this are that we have created these issues ourselves with pesticides we are putting on the ground and foods we are putting in our mouths. There is no disputing the facts he shares. I recommend reading my full blog linked above and watching the entire interview via the Rich Roll Podcast.
We shared our observations, discussed upcoming races, had our usual laughs and planned our next event. Thank you Michael Blue for identifying our next Healthy Giraffe Road Trip restaurant exploration. We will be trying out, Lotus Vegan, located in Pinellas Park on Saturday, September 15. Look for a separate post on the event shortly. I love trying out new healthy places to eat!
– Add Health to Your Life
The Healthy Giraffe 
Leave a Reply