I guess I should start this post with the sad news first.  I had to say goodbye to one of the most loyal friends I’ve ever had. Maverick, my Weimaraner, crossed the Rainbow Bridge on January 29, 2017.  The poor guy had congestive heart failure, valve disease, and arthritis, and still wagging his stubby little tail at me.  Try as we did, the medications and treatments were not helping.  One of the hardest things you have to do as a pet owner is to forgo your selfishness to hang on and let them go and be pain free.  Maverick my friend, one day we will be together again.  Please don’t forget me, as I will never forget you.  R.I.P. Buddy.

Training has been going well, even with dealing with the emotions of the past week.  We have a challenge at work where you get extra money placed in your health savings account for completing 2 hours of exercise a week for 10 weeks.  Guess what? I’m done . . . Before the end of week 2!  I smile when people say to me “How to they expect me to fit in two hours of exercise a week?”  Maybe I should tell them that this Saturday I swam for 1:10 and biked for 1:45 after that…and I’m not in peak season yet!  But I guess it’s a matter of what’s important to you . . . If you want it badly enough, you’ll make the time.  Which leads up to the next topic/challenge I’ve had to face…

My department at work moved locations, and it could have thrown my training into disarray.  See, I was right across the street from the YMCA, and could get a lunch workout in, and then only have one evening workout left.  It was a great arrangement.  But moving to the new location, with the work gym less than satisfactory for what I needed, a change was in order.  So now I’ve become a member of the EMC (Early Morning Crew).  I get up at 4am to get to the gym (which is a few miles away from my office, and a YMCA) which opens at 5am.  I am now one of the people I used to laugh at…standing at the door, waiting for them to unlock it and let me in.  But I can get a good workout in and still be at work well before 7am.  Then all that’s left is an evening workout if I have two scheduled.  If there’s a will, there is a way!

I mentioned last Saturday, and the swim/bike brick that I did.  While my coaches, Jennifer and Jeff Keil (seriously, go to elevenathletics.com and look them up…amazing people and awesome coaches) had a structured bike workout, the only thing in the swim was a ?.  I took it to mean maybe swim if I felt like it, but what to do?  So I got to the pool and did this..

1000 yards freestyle (non-stop) 1 min rest

1000 yards pull (non-stop) 1 min rest

500 yards free – :45 sec rest

500 yards pull 

It didn’t take long, and I just cruised, so I wasn’t worn out for the bike.  I dried off, changed, and hit the bike right away.  The problem with spin bikes are the are not accurate on the mileage.  So after doing a little research, I’ve determined that a 1 hour spin for me is approximately 17 miles.  So I rode approx. 30 miles after the swim.  Not a bad days work!  But I feel sorry for the buffet I stopped at after. LOL

So, until next time, remember to believe in yourself, dream big, and have the courage to step out of your comfort zone and give it a try.  You’ll never know how amazing you can be if you don’t try.

Live healthy, be happy!

Travis