May Day

Happy May everyone! I know some parts of the country still have snow on the ground, and we barely got out of the 50's last week here in NC. But it's spring! Surely warmer temps and girls in sun dresses aren't far away. I keep seeing commercials with skinny people on the beach, let's make that happen May!

April's Totals:

Swim: 31,650 yards, 10 swims
Bike: 72 miles, 5 rides
Run: 12 miles, 2 runs
Strength: 8 times
Yoga: 15 times
Average weight: 175.5 lbs
Bodyfat: 18.7% average

April contained no races, but I did have Easter, going to the Masters golf tournament, and Evil Genius going to Spring Outing again. And thanks to the new tattoo I couldn't get in the pool until the 13th. So really that 31k in the pool was only during the 2nd half of the month? that's insane. My plan for the summer is to swim like a madman and it looks like I'm off to a great start. The most I've ever swam is 33k in one month, so it looks like I'm going to smash that. Trying to get 4 or 5 RAM team practices in every week to get ready for the big 12 mile Swim Around Charleston. Eventually that will need to go to 5 or 6 practices a week.

The rest of the numbers descend from there. 72 miles is my best bike month since the ironman in september, but still really pitiful. At least I got to ride 5 times. Only getting in a 5 mile and a 7 mile runs on different weeks is really sad. But the good part is that I had absolutely no hip pains. I finally got enough rest to let that hip flexor really heal up, and now can run comfortably - it only took 8 weeks with a few test runs thrown in there. Now I have to build back my monthly mileage slowly to get ready for the fall marathons. I think the root cause of that problem was a combination of high volume (of treadmill usage) and lack of strength work.

Weight lifting pairs very nicely with heavy swim volume, and I have really been enjoying lifting heavy things lately. Lots of core work was instrumental in repairing my hip flexor and will also be preventive in rebuilding my running volume. The other correction that needs to happen is to cut out the treadmill running almost entirely. It is my safe haven where there's always a bathroom and water fountain nearby and I don't have to carry my own food, but the never changing terrain and constant motion I think was a big contributor to the problem. Running outside is easier now that spring is here and I usually have morning open for running outside. Make it happen!

Also in April Kelley and I got to try out a new yoga studio in town! She wanted to explore yoga a bit more, and this studio also has TRX classes. So we got to try TRX and loved it, and several different levels of yoga. Cary Flow Yoga is a great studio filled with fun teachers. We really enjoyed it, and I think it really helped me get more consistent with my practice. I also made it back for a hot yoga class at Firefly.

Shifting priorities always shows up when you look at final number, there are some things you can't hide from. The volume of swimming, strength work, and yoga shows the priority list, and the weight & bodyfat percentage show the result. I've been holding right at my plateau training weight. It's getting a bit frustrating not being able to lose more, but all I can hope to be is consistent.

May Day was actually pretty rocking. I took the afternoon off from work so I got to put in a few more laps after the regular swim practice was over. Stretching RAM practice to 4000 yards was an awesome way to start out the month! Then I got to have a sweet date night with my sweetheart since Kelley's mom came into town unexpectedly. We got dinner at Chubby's Tacos then saw American Sniper at the cheap theater. That was one amazing movie! Bradley Cooper was incredible in there. The book is still way better, but I couldn't think of a better way to start out the month.

Date night selfie