A Rare Freestyle

This post is something that I wanted to post just for a bit of fun. KJ52 is a long time working partner and friend. During GMA week (Gospel Music Association), he dropped by my house during some downtime to just hang out and do some catching up. We had a good time and he was kind and fun enough to do a freestyle off the top of his head for my twin girls after they asked him to kick one.

KJ is a good sport and this is part of why he's made such a great career out of what he does. Everyone likes him and he seems to have time for everyone. It's been great to see his career thrive and flourish. He's a very talented guy and what he does on this video is certainly very hard to do off the top of your head. It takes tons of talent and practice - which is something that he stays sharp on.

Enjoy!

On a workout note, my swim session last night consisted of the below:

20 Minute Warm Up
20 x 25 :30, :40, :50
pull with band no buoy!
1-10 no paddles
11-20 pull with paddles if have them
8 x 75 1:30, 1:45, 2:00 Be sure to get enough rest after each 75
25 slow long strokes
25 fast short strokes
25 fast and long
Six Times::
100 FAST
100-200 Easy
7:00
Pull w/ buoy 10 x 50 10RI

Sunday Training Day

I'm writing this on Monday night because I haven't had a chance to upload any of the blogging due to work schedule. Work has been crazy in a good way. It's kept me busy!

Sunday was a day of some serious training after a tough day of riding on Saturday. It was nice to be outside during some good weather for a change. Now if the weather would just stick for a while so the outdoor training could be more consistent.

The ride was a 2.5 hour 45 mile ride that literally kicked my tail due to the cold and wind. The Sunday swim workout/thrashing was as follows:

20 Minute Warm Up
8 x 75 fins 1:30, 1:45, 2:00
25 tarzan swim
25 fly kick
25 free swim breathing every 5

Group 2, 31 x 100
6 x 100 @ 2:00
8 x 100 @ 1:55
4 x 100 @ 1:50
3 x 100 @ 1:45
8 x 100 @ 1:40
2 x 100 @ 1:35

Yesterday's TWO Workouts!

Yesterday was my day to meet my coach Richard Baker (@triswami) in the morning for a workout. He had originally planned for us to do an outdoor workout on the bikes that would include hill repeats. However, that didn't come to fruition because of the weather being bad. So his plan B was to do any indoor cycling trainer session that was a bit over an hour that would stay consistently in that zone 2 range. I have to say, I continue to learn and enjoy it as the old Triswami knows what he's doing and talking about. It's quite enjoyable learning the in's and out's of the sport and pushing my body to limits I previously didn't know I had.

Later that evening (after work, of course), I went to triathlon swim class where the class seemed a bit less crowded than usual. It looked like we only had about 60-70 participants rather than 100! At any rate, our coach Ashley showed no mercy on the feeble! It was a training session that left me beat to the point that I felt a little sick and going to bed at 9:00. That's usually unheard of for a creative night owl like myself.

It was a productive training day filled with other ups and downs. The Lord was heavily dealing with me yesterday. I count that a blessing as He's continuously letting me know that He won't let me get away. For that, I'm thankful!

Here's what yesterday's swim workout consisted of:

20 Minute Warm Up
500 Kick/ Drill by 50's with fins (work On streamlining past 3rd line off every wall)

8x50 pull @ :55
2x200 negative split @ 3:00, 3:20
4x100 fast @ 1:30, 1:40

300 pull smooth 6:00
2x150 negative split @ 2:10, 2:30
3x100 fast @ 1:30, 1:40

200 pull smooth 4:00
2x100 negative split @ 1:30, 1:40
2x100 fast @ 1:30, 1:40

100 pull smooth 2:00
1x100 negative split @ 2:00
1x100 all out FAST!!
100 easy recovery

100 cool down

Troy's First Ride of '09

Today was a monumental day in that Troy took his first training ride since our last triathlon back in October. It's been almost 5 months for him and as would be expected, he was out of shape but ready to back in to it. The weather was amazing and warranted the attitude of wanting to get out and be active. Troy caught the bug. . . thankfully. He's getting that itch again to get back into a regular regimen. It's been a week since he has gotten back on a good healthy weight losing diet, and if he stays with it along with exercise, he'll drop weight quick.

After our short easy zone 2 (for all you triathletes) ride, I quickly hustled home to put away my bike and head to swim practice for a butt kicking session that ended up being about 3000 meters of sheer hell! Toward the end of practice, I started battling cramps in my feet which is due from fatigue and lack of hydration.

At any rate, practice was good and it was great to be back out on the bike with my partner/brother Troy.

Today was a good day.

Sunday's Swim and Run - Post #201!

This post marks the official passing of 200 posts! I can't believe that this is post number 201. I can distinctly remember beginning this thing back in May of last year. It's been quite a journey of ups and downs and, for me, it's quite interesting to go back and look at some of the progress that's been made and the hurdles that have been crossed. The documentation of this multi-faceted journey has been therapeutic for me in so many ways. I'm thankful that God has put this on my heart to do for myself and for my children down the road at such a pivotal time in our collective lives.

This morning started with all three of my girls and me going to church. I love it when I have the opportunity to take my little ladies with me to worship. It means so much to me. This morning the message was about Jacob and ultimately his name being changed to Israel. Initially, Jacob's life consisted of being selfish, deception, conniving, and everything else that was temporarily fulfilling. In fact, his name itself meant sup planter or to prey on others. In essence, he resisted God's hand for many years even though he was considered a chosen one. Ultimately he wrestled with God and lost (of course). But in this entanglement, he finally came to a loving conversion. It's a wonderful biblical story that truly spoke volumes to me personally. I've wrestled with God and "religion" for far too long and I want to be used fully by Him. I've been broken and I, like Jacob, want to be a blessed but broken man with a constant reminder of where I've been. I'm so thankful that the Lord uses misfits because, in that, I know He can use me!

Jacob sold out in order to receive a birthright what was not rightfully his. I, in turn, have sold out in the past for things done in all the wrong ways. God is turning those thing into glory for Him in ways that I can't describe. I can see it with my own two eyes and I know that He's got some amazing things in my future. For that, I'm grateful yet undeserving so I'm humbled. Thank you Lord.

For lack of making this post too long, I had a wonderful workout today that was much needed after the debacle of last week and the weather. The above video explains it all.

Thanks to all friends, family, and on-lookers who stop by occasionally to check out what's going on after 200 of these needless things. I appreciate the support and emails. Please keep them coming. Even after 200 posts, I still feel new at this. Any feedback is welcome. Any questions on training is also welcome. If I don't know the answer, I've got a great coach who undoubtedly does.

Compete Life - because life is competitive in different ways.

No Outside Workouts!

As you can see from the picture, the Nashville area is in the middle of bad weather for the 3rd straight day! It's hideous, and I'm completely sick of the winter, cold weather, and rain. I'm overly ready for spring and good training weather non-stop!

Today, the only thing that I really did and felt like doing was some indoor training that consisted of:

- 3 sets of 15 swiss ball push-ups with the Perfect Push-ups.
- 3 sets of 20. 10 lbs. dumbbell swiss ball crunches.
- 3 sets of 10 Turkish get-ups.
- 3 sets of 20 (w/10 lbs. curls) - Because I don't have heavier dumbbells.

My calf soreness has subsided from Tuesday after thinking that I may have slightly injured my Achilles or something to that effect. However, with the soreness now gone, I'm highly ready to be outside and doing my proper workouts on the road - be it running or cycling. The weather obviously has a whole other agenda, and it's quite discouraging.

At any rate, I'll be back at it soon and tomorrow is a tri swim team workout. It should be fun and tough at the same time.

Video soon to follow.

A Sunday T30

Today, I must say, was a grueling workout for only 30 minutes. In triathlon swim/training class, we were measured how far we could swim in 30 minutes (without stopping, of course). It was brutal to say the least but it was something that I'm glad that I did as a measuring stick for next time.

I ended up swimming 1700 meters in 30 minutes and was relatively happy about that considering it was my first time at doing anything like that. I have a problem with pacing. I'm so used to everything being about finishing quickly or sprinting that it's been hard to shift my mentality to that of going out slow and methodical. I'm no longer a basketball player or sprinter so I have to stop thinking that way which has been quite tough. At any rate, I now have a barometer from which to measure from next time and I certainly did learn a thing or two about how to approach going about swimming a timed swim like that. . . or a long triathlon swim for that matter.

Church was wonderful this morning as the twins and I went to our Grace Chapel. Steve is continuing to go through the bible chronologically and this morning's message was about Isaac, Jacob, and Esau. I love how Steve can take an old and often heard story and make it so relevant and personal in today's world. It was almost as if he were speaking directly into my own situation. Praise God for the way He's using that church and Steve Berger to speak and minister into my life.

Sunday's 3000 Meters

Triathlon swim class. Today I went out to practice with probably 35-40 other people. For me the practice was a bit unlike Wednesday's practice in that I purposely saved some at the beginning in order to have some left for the end. This was an obvious smart move because during Wednesday's workout, I ended up getting multiple cramps in my feet. This was due to not being adequately hydrated and going out too hard too early. Both of these were taken care of today. At the end of today's workout, I felt good and not too fatigued. That was nice, and I felt pretty good about being in good enough physical shape to not feel whipped at the end of the workout.

The workout consisted of (in meters):
- 500 easy warm-up
- 20 x 50's on 1:10 - stretch/glide drills
- 4 x 200 stroke swim
- 200 warm down

This coming week is the start of my official coach induced training schedule. I'm looking forward to the challenge and the gained knowledge of both the sport and how my body will respond. It'll be fun and tough at the same time.

Tri Swim Class & A Run

Today has been an absolute crappy day for reasons untold. However, after my swim workout last night, I didn't know how my daily run would go. In actuality, I wasn't as sore as I thought I'd be. At any rate, the day's run was tough but it was good. I dread next week when I'm with Coach Baker as he'll undoubtedly work to kick my tail. Be that as it may, my alone time was great and well spent. I found myself, once again, listening to the Katinas' Lifestyle worship album as I was running. That record speaks to me in such profound ways. Some of the lyrics that rang out to me were:

Lord I give you my heart. I give you my soul. I live for you alone. Every breath that I take, every moment I'm awake. Lord, have your way and I'll obey.

That, lately, has been my prayer and what aspire to live by - as hard as that is for a selfish guy like me (and trust me, I've been told many times that I am!). At any rate, it's a daily process and I'm thankful for the strength and grace that I'm afforded from the Lord on a daily basis. I'm tragically flawed, and this I know. I'm just thankful that with each new day comes a fresh new start and that's exactly how I view it.

As for the actual run, it wasn't that spectacular after the hard swim workout. I ran for about 36 minutes and the previous days' swim was clocked in at over 3000 yards. It was a rough go.

Consider the blameless, observe the upright; there is a future for the man of peace.

Psalms 37:37

The Centennial Park/Swim Meet Run

Today was a day spent all day in downtown Nashville. Shelby and Taylor had a regional high school swim meet, and I happily took them to the Sportsplex to watch them and spend the day there. Those types of meets and days are extremely long, arduous, and time consuming. However, I'd do it for the girls every day if I had to. After their teams warm-ups in the morning while waiting for the actual meet to start, I decided to walk across the street to do some running in the beautiful Centennial Park. The weather was in the low 30's which made for a very cold run but it was sunny and clear. I bundled up in my cold weather running gear and off I ran. It was a beautiful day and after the hour of running I felt pretty good considering I haven't run in almost a week. I must admit however, I'm a bit sore now after running 6 miles. It's a good sore though.

Not much "spiritual connection" today as I listened to a bunch of podcasts on my head phones. It was a nice diversion and escape.

Looking forward to doing some training this weekend if the weather permits. One can only hope!

Monday Night with the Twins

As I write this, it is 4:41 AM and the girls and I are preparing to leave for swim practice when we get notice that it has been canceled due to icy road conditions. Therefore, I'm going back to sleep!

Yesterday was a good solid workout as you'll see in the video.

What I also wanted to mention was the church service on Sunday and the message that Pastor Steve delivered. He basically talked about the fall of man starting with Adam and why it continues. The main reason is our natural sin nature but these were the notes that I jotted down during the service and wanted to put them here to preserve them.

The Fall of Man continues when we:
1. Allow the word of God to be questioned in our mind.
2. Listen to Satan’s lies.
3. Believe that God is withholding good from us.
4. Disobey God’s commandments.
5. Try and cover or hide our sin.
6. Blame our sin on everyone else.

You will never sin and it not effect someone else.
- Steve Berger

This is something to really think about and ponder. . . at least for me. In the past, I've been guilty of all of the above but through God's grace and mercy I'm forgiven and covered for my sin. God continues to do a work within me, and through my training, he speaks to me. I am in Christ and I'm blessed and not cursed. I am the head and not the tail. Thank you Lord!

The Black Hole

In the above video, I spoke of a song that the lyrics left me. The song is called, "God of the City." It's an amazing song written by Aaron Boyd from the group Bluetree. They're from Belfast, Ireland and they have an amazing ministry in Thailand. At any rate, I've been vastly convicted by how the Lord is using these guys and in particular, Aaron. He wrote a song that speaks deeply to my soul. Some of the lyrics are:

"Greater things have yet to come, and greater things have yet to be done in this city."

In context to the song, it's powerful and worth looking up on itunes or youtube. God is doing a massive work in this man and the group Bluetree and I'm humbled by being able to see it happen first hand. God is also stirring and working within our company at Maxx. I just feel priveliged to be a part of something that I feel God is working in. That hasn't been my prayer in the past. My prayers have been selfish in wanting God to bless what I do. Now I've realized that I want to find where God is working and moving and join in. I feel I'm in that situation now!

This morning, I was back to a bit of training and it felt good after not being able to do anything for a few days. I woke up, once again, at 4:30 to get the twins off to swim practice and I get a training swim in as well. I had a 40 minute session that consisted of:

- 500 yd. warm up
- 500 yd. kick/drill
- 500 yd. swim
- 500 yd. pull w/pull bouy
- 4 50 yd. sprints on 1:00
- 200 yd. easy warm down

Things felt good this morning. My only regret is that I haven't been able to be totally consistent with my training due to my work schedule. However, I'm certainly not complaining. God is working in His timing and I'm okay with that.

Another Swim Day

Today was another early morning swim day. Get up at 4:30, get the girls going, off to the complex, then commence swimming. It's tough doing all of that that early I assure you. Even going to bed at 9:00 pm, it's still tough to wake up so early. At any rate, today's workout was an intense one. I decided last night that I wanted to do some long endurance sets with less sprints. I wanted to see how my body would do to the long continuous swimming without any sprint intervals with rest in between. I must say, my body responded a bit better than I had anticipated. I knew that I could do it; I just didn't know how arduous it would be on my aerobic levels. Needless to say, I was fine and felt relatively comfortable. That encouraged me.

My workout consisted of:
- 1000 yd. moderate swim
- 500 yd. kick/drill swim
- 500 yd. swim @ race pace
- 5 x 100 50 yd. sprints on 1:00
- 300 easy warm down

Also, my thoughts during my workout drifted toward my devotion that I had yesterday concerning praying for God to do big things in my life. Things that could be far beyond my control that would truly make himself known. I thought to myself that God is a God of increase. Where I am today is not where I'm supposed to stay. He has greater levels of favor and blessing in store for me. I have to dare to dream big and dare to keep a God-sized vision in front of me! I want to learn to take hold of every blessing that the Lord has in store for me - and I know there are many!

By the way, still no sign of Troy. I know he wants to jump back in to things and has mentioned it to me on a number of occasions, but I'm not pushing. He wants to "re-commit." However, I didn't realize we "un-committed" to begin with.

No Swim Lessons

This morning was the usual 4:30 AM wake up with the twins. We all got up, got ready, then headed off to swim practice. I swam for 30 minutes, which today was a relatively light day for me swim-wise. My sets consisted of:

- 500 warm-up
- 5 x 100 kick/drill sets
- 8 x 100 50 yd. sprints on 1:00
- 100 easy warm down

After the swim workout, it was off to the weight room where I had to get in some upper body and core work in. Overall, a good training set this morning, but it's still so tough to get used to the early early mornings no matter how early I go to bed.

Lately, I've been emailed and asked how I got into the swimming and if I've had lessons. That question is answered in the above video.

So, what big things are you praying for in '09? I've come up with a few!

Thursday AM Swim

Today and yesterday were good training days but I found myself being quite tired for some reason. I think it has a lot to with the fact that I'm having to wake up very early but not being able to fall asleep at night. It's catching up to me for sure. However, I had a really good workout this morning that included 45 minutes of swimming and 30 minutes of weights and core work. I'm falling back into the groove for sure.

Tonight I'm actually going to my first bicycle maintenance class and I'm moderately excited about it. Since getting into this cycling thing, I've been quite fascinated with how the bike works and wanting to be able to work on and fix it. Tonight will be the first phase in getting to learn about how to do basic maintenance on the bike which will be quite good for me. We'll see how it goes.

My thoughts today during my workout consisted (oddly enough) of this. I'm not sure why. Maybe the Lord quietly speaking to me in different ways again. Whatever the case, here's what was impressed upon my heart.

"Sometimes our lives have to be dismantled to be built back up."

Many weeks back, my pastor (Steve Berger) said this in one of his messages and it hit home with me back then and really made an impression on me this morning for some unknown reason. Again, and hopefully, it's a spiritual thing where the Lord is working in my life.

Speakin' In the Rain

As usual, it's raining again. It seems lately that that's all it's been doing. It's so miserable and I hate it when it's cold - much less when it's raining AND cold!

This morning was the return of the early morning wake up routine. The twins and I have to wake up at 4:30 a.m. to get going to the swim complex for their high school swim practice. It is so hard going to bed early and waking up that early to get started. It makes for a time in the afternoon where I hit the wall and get really tired. I can't imagine what it does to them! However, it makes me proud that the girls are so dedicated to waking up on their own and getting themselves ready that early in the morning. Never once have I had to wake them up. They always are responsible in waking up on their own in order to get to practice. And I told them, "As long as you are dedicated to wanting to do something like this - I'll make sure that you get there and on time." They've never swayed in their dedication and in turn it's kept me accountable to my word. I'm so proud of them for that.

This morning was a good swim workout. I actually felt better than I thought I would considering it's been at least a couple of weeks since I've been in the water. However, I found that my endurance capacity was better than I had expected. Evidently, the distance running IS actually paying off in more ways than one. BUT, . . . swimming is my strength of the three disciplines and it comes rather naturally when I'm back in the water. I don't really worry about the swimming aspect of training. I just do it to stay sharp and on form and because I enjoy it.

After my 45 minute swim session, I went to the weight room and got some body weight bearing sets in along with some core work. Overall, it was a good training day and a good start to the "early morning" routine again.

Also, I weighed for the first time in a long while this morning. I can tell I've put on some winter weight and the scale proved that theory. I weighed in at 192 lbs. My optimum mid season training weight should be 185 lbs. Not too far off and I feel I'm right where I need to be. This time last year I was closer to 200 lbs, so I'm satisfied with how I managed during the holiday and down time.

Philipians 4:13 was running through my head again this morning. Happens many times during my swims. Is the Lord trying to tell me something? I'm ready to know.

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
- Philipians 4:13

Today Was An Odd Day

Yes, that's right - today WAS an odd day. It all started out normal enough with an early wake up to get the girls to swim practice. I also got in a 43 minute intense swim workout and I felt good about getting it done. I'm so ready for the weather to start warming again (as it we're currently in an ice storm here in Nashville). Anyway, after the workout and some working in the studio, I received some troubling news from Troy that I would covet the prayers of all who may read and see this post. Troy is struggling and I seem to be taking it quite a bit tougher than even he is. I feel that I can endure the hits that life seems to dish out, but it's a different thing when it effects someone that I love so dearly that seems so undeserving of some unfortunate news. Be that as it may, that is what we like to call life. Life isn't always easy and in fact, we're not even promised tomorrow. So I have to concentrate on living for today and having ultimate faith in my Lord and Savior to provide for all my earthly needs. He's watching over me. He's also watching over the ones I love so dearly. This I know.

This is the verse I always pull up in my mind when things get tough. It seems to help me and give me hope. I know that I need to put my faith and trust in the one who provides my daily life and strength.

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Philipians 4:13

Sweating It Out

Have been sick and trying to fight it with real oranges, water, and Gatorade. Shelby is sick as well, yet we both went to her Meet of Champs swim meet so she could swim and I had to work. Bad mistake! It only made things worse for the both of us! I feel so bad for her. She seems to have gotten the worse end of the stick.  As for me, I'm struggling with the achiness and fever but nothing compared to little Shelb. I still didn't learn my lesson. I figured I'd try and sweat out some of the toxins by getting in a 60 minute stationary ride. Again, bad mistake! Guess I'm just going to call it a night and try and sleep all this crap off. Not much else to report.

Convicting verse that I just read. Jeremiah 29:11-15

The above Picture is of my sweet little Shelby swimming the 400 IM. She didn't do as well as she normally does. She was really struggling from being sick and feeling weak.

Sunday With the Girls

Today was a day of hangin' out with all 3 of the girls because Ashley had something to do today. I certainly didn't mind because I love going to church with all of my little ladies. I get such a fulfilling feeling on these types of Sundays. 

The service was geared toward the whole family. Therefore, I got to sit with the twins in the service and listen to Steve speak about the effects of our culture on us as Christians. He spoke from Revelation chapter 2 and it was one of those messages that hit close enough to home to spark some dialog amongst the girls and myself on our way back home after church. They seemed to really soak it in and understand what was conveyed and agreed with the message from the pastor. That made me feel good and proud in a since that God has His hand on my children and speaks to them in small ways. I pray for them daily and earnestly, and I pray that they will be leaders for Christ in a world of insecure followers.

Today I had the intention of swimming with the triathlon class but it didn't work out exactly how I had planned. I was enjoying being with the girls too much to break away and go do my own thing. There will be other days that I'll be alone and able to train intensely. Today was a day that I wanted to soak in and enjoy before all three of my princesses go away for a week on Thanksgiving break. Today was my Thanksgiving day. I had many reasons to be thankful and I felt compelled to take in every possible minute.

Monday Junk Food

Okay, I'm going to fess up and admit that I'm in a slight slump. Am I as excited as I normally am to get out of the house and train? NO! Have I been really stringent on watching what I've been eating? Not even a little bit! Today I ate TONS of Halloween candy that was brought in by different people at the office. However, the one saving grace that I did have is the fact that I got a good workout in this morning. I swam for an intense 35 minutes then worked out on some strength training in the weight room while the twins finished up their practice. It was a good session, but I feel like I've negated everything by "comfort eating" the chocolate and candy.

Today was a bit stressful in that I had a meeting with my financial guy and as those things go, I've never known one to go well. I felt like the sky was falling in due to me not being able to afford to keep my house. I desperately need to sell it or I'm about to be foreclosed on. That is hugely stressful and the market is not letting up in the slightest. Desperate times call for desperate measures. I'm now looking into what's called a short sell on my home. I don't really know what that is, but I'm trying to find out if that may be the best way to go to salvage my credit rating and get rid of the house at the same time. I just don't know, but I'm trying not to let that completely over take and rule me. God is in control and I have to keep reminding myself that on a daily basis. I feel as if I'm getting a bit stronger by the day and that things are looking up, but it's situations like these that remind me that I'm still not out of the hole just yet.