Rolling along…

"The person who gets the farthest is generally the one who is willing to do and dare. The sure-thing boat never gets far from shore." –Dale Carnegie



So I just finished up with a very solid workout on the bike trainer, 2:45 holding a decent heart rate for most of it. I was planning on a 3hr ride but literally got sick to my stomach during the final 15 minutes so I cut my losses and got off the bike, jogged a little, and stretched out my exhausted legs. It's funny, I can get on my bike and go ride for 5 hours on the road, only to experience fatigue during the final hour, but usually nothing to make me physically sick, just tired legs pretty much. However, riding on a trainer allows me to really focus on the workout, keeping a steady heart rate (HR), focusing on technique and nutrition. I can get a much better workout in much less time, which is great for me because I also have class and homework to do. The trainer is convenient and efficient, can't beat that. It also provides an incredible mental workout. Most people go to the gym and sit on the spin bike for 10-15 minutes. Try doing it for three hours. That takes some real grit. I plan on keeping this workout a staple of my Thursday afternoon, something I have to look forward to every week. At the moment, I am using a Spinervals DVD entitled "Tough Love" to keep me company along with iTunes. I hope to be at the point where I have trained my brain enough to be able to grind out the three hour ride with no music or DVD, just staring at the wall. It sounds a bit masochistic, I know, but I know my competitors will not be training like that. 1 point me.

Looking back, I'm pretty sure the reason I got sick toward the end was simply dehydration; I didn't drink enough water to compensate for steady, drenching sweat. Plus I had this industrial fan mere feet from my face so I didn't feel overheated at all. The fan was so powerful that the split-second a bead of sweat would leave my face it was rocketed about 2 meters away from me. (At one point, my friend Chu joined me and was cycling "downstream." I don't know if he noticed, or if he cared that my sweat was flying at him). I did drink a bottle of Endurox R4 during the ride which helped with my energy levels, though I need to dial in my nutrition a little better over the next few weeks to get that ride so I can sit and hold a 155-160 HR the entire time. At that point, I will know I'm fit. I also got in an easy 5 mile run this morning in the Duke Forest and did 18 miles yesterday, split between AM and PM runs in the Forest as well as 3500m swimming. The legs are a bit tired but really not too bad.  I feel like my recovery is enhanced because when I'm not training I'm sitting in class or sitting doing homework with my feet up and my Zensah compression sleeves on my legs.  They feel so good by the way. 

Right now, I'm beginning to take advantage of the abundant resources I have here at Duke, right at my fingertips. I'll be working with Franca Alphin MPH, RD, LDN, Director of Nutrition Services, for my sports nutrition monitoring as well as with Greg Dale, Ph.D. Professor of Sport Psychology and Sport Ethics at Duke University. He is also the Director of the Sport Psychology and Leadership Programs for Duke Athletics. Both of them are wonderful and I am very excited to absorb their knowledge and apply beneficial practices to my life. I am also training with the varsity cross country/track team a couple days a week in the afternoons. I love having training partners and all of the guys are great. They've received my presence very well and are welcoming, kind people. Thank you Norm Ogilvie, Head Coach, Duke Track & Field for affording me this opportunity. I feel like with all of this support in place, my development will be expedited both mentally and physically. I'll be ready for the race of my life come May.

I promise not all of my blog posts will be focused on training; this can get kind of monotonous and boring to read after a while, plus there is so much more to who I am and what makes me tick as a person. I'll use this blog as an outlet to channel many of my creative thoughts and ideas and to release my outlook on assorted topics, some of which will be very random. I also want to give readers a snapshot of what it is like to be a Duke student, something of which I am very proud. It is a lot different than people may think, or than it is portrayed by media-fueled stereotypes. I'll provide an inside look at some of the on-campus politics and news/social drama that may be happening at the time plus provide commentary on said controversies. Duke always seems to be in the media for some sort of controversy and I'd like to put in my two cents, for what it's worth.  I'll also let you know what the other Blue Devils are saying.  I can think of four off the top of my head that I want to address and are currently occurring.

Okay, this is definitely enough for now but check back in later and I'll have some good stuff for you to foveate on. Look that one up.