I'm still here

Welcome back! I have not been diligent with my blogging since last fall/winter. I will attempt to catch up my limited audience with what has gone in the collective Russells' lives this past year. For those of you who have read my posts in the past, you know that my wife Tiffany and I are parents of a wonderful, soon to be(January) two year old Duncan. It is with him that I/we have spent most days doing the family thing. He and I spend a lot of time at the beach, even as it cools off. My beach cruiser bike has an I-bert seat on the handlebars that he really enjoys. This seat allows him an un-obstructed view of the world we are cruising. He has really progressed physically, such that I bought "us" a skateboard that he has begun to learn to scoot around on in the street and driveways adjacent to our house. I can not remember what I did before he arrived in our lives. I definitely do not spend as much time idling as I did before. We have become very structured with our schedules as is required when a child jumps in the mix. As for our training and racing, we took the entire year of 2013 off from racing. We are currently slated to race the Oceanside 70.3 triathlon in March of 2014, so we are busy training for that event. We have taken several trips to North Carolina this fall for Tarheel football games, followed by hilly bike rides in the greater Chapel Hill/Carrboro/Hillsborough area. It has been fun to workout with Tiffany again, as this is something we did a lot of before Duncan.

As for me, I hit the 40 year old milestone a few weeks back and I lived to speak of it. I plan on terrorizing the Masters division as best as I can now that I am officially in my 40's. I am following the old "train smarter not harder" gameplan. I am going to strive to keep up with this blog and keep everyone abreast to our goings on. Derek

Off season doldrums

Those of us who play amateur(or higher level) sports competitively do so with passion and emotion.  All of us need a break from time to time to recharge the batteries physically but more importantly emotionally.  The intense desire to train and/or practice frequently, intensely, and passionately has to be there in order to fully achieve one's fitness goals.  Doing the same things day after day gets dull regardless of how successful a result is achieved.
I experienced this dullness in October this year.  I had won my second local triathlon this season, a race I had long wanted to win.  That should have been the fitting end to my season, but instead I chose another race in Maryland to go after.  I enjoy training but unknowingly, I was getting burnt out.  I went to this race, a wet cold affair, and got mild hypothermia during the bike portion.  This was the first time I have ever had to pull out of a race without finishing.  I also strained my right IT band due to fatigue and stiffness from the wet 40 degree temperatures, and a lack of proper gear to stay warm.  I am now, over a month later, trying to figure out next season/year while trying to rehab an overly tight right IT band.  Luckily, I can run with no issues.  Running is something I don't do a lot of during the hotter months, so I am happy to be able to run now that it has cooled off.  I also am very much enjoying playing with my son and spending more time with my wife working on the house and other things we like to do together.  I know that the leg will come around if I follow my own rehab rules.... the doctor becomes the patient.  I am just waiting for that fire to train to re-light and the excitement to return.
I typically need a race on the schedule to get me going again, and as of right now, there is not one of any significance.  I am excited for my wife to get back into competition, something we have always shared.

So, for now, I am rehabbing the leg and working on building some upper body strength to keep my body strong for working on patients.  During the summers, I have let the strength training disappear, but now I am trying to emphasize maintenance of it for the duration.  Being able to provide for my family trumps triathlon success, although working out keeps me sane and fit for work as well.