Every month I reflect on the activities of the past month to see what I’ve done and to track progress. Today it’s time for: August.

August was focussed solely on my first tri. And I did it. My first triathlon. Totally cool experience and nice to see the hard work pay off. The time goal I stated, sub 3 hours, was also achieved so I couldn’t be happier. It was a wonderful day which really left me wanting more. If you want the full recap then check out  my race report of my first triathlon.

I worked out 10 days in August (of the available 31) so that’s about 32%. This is somewhat expected as I had two taper weeks leading up to the 2 Tri’s I had planned to do. One of them I had to unfortunately cancel because of an ear infection. A big disappointment but I did give me interesting perspectives on dealing with setbacks while realizing your dreams.

The results

Swimming
The swim during my first tri went pretty decent (time wise), so based on that I can’t complain. But overall milage is dramatic. Technique can still improve significantly. Really want to swim 2 times a week / 20km per month.

Cycling
Could be better, but won’t complain. During the upcoming months (in the autumn and winter) it will get harder to do some serious milage but we will see how it goes.

Running
80 km’s under the belt this month. That’s not bad at all (considering the two taper weeks). Really want to rock the 10 mile race this month and then continue training hard and religiously for my 1st 1/2 marathon in October.

Body statistics

Lenght: 1,95
Weight: 95,8 kg (-0,5 kg)
BMI: 25,2 (-0,1)
Heartbeat*: 53 BPM (-)
*measured after 2 minutes of complete rest during a 1 minute time span.

Looking forward

I’m focussing on running upcoming months with a 10 mile race scheduled 19th of September and a 1/2 marathon in October. Will do some longer bike rides to get some good base training (weather permitting). Furthermore I’m trying to strengthen my core with some easy-to-do-at-home exercises. After my first tri, in which my core completely failed on me, I really recognize this as one of the most important and underrated aspects of (my) training.

Goals for September
- Swim 15km / Bike 250km / Run 100km

- Complete a 10 mile race sub 1:15.

- Write 3 blog posts (wow!, a non-sporting goal)

That’s it. So keep living hard and enjoy!

The last months I had a decent preparation trying to build speed, strength and endurance. This time I wasn’t bothered by the ear infection which kept me out of competition two weeks ago.

I was ready. Felt ready, confident and couldn’t wait to measure myself against the challenge and the rest of the field. Want to know how it went? Please read on to find the race report.

Pre-race

The race was going to happen 1 p.m. I had a good night’s rest and woke up 07:00 AM. Went out of bed to eat an bowl of oatmeal before heading in. 08:30 AM the alarm sounded,  I toke a shower, had 3 banana pancakes (with jam), a cup of coffee and some chocolate milk.

I finished pre-race nutrition 4 hrs before the race and made sure all things were packed. Stuffed it all in my car, picked up my girlfriend and headed to Veenendaal (where?). Pre-race I had some good nervous but nothing to serious. I looked forward to the event and the experience. With 5 minutes left before the start I was getting scared and looked up to it. Couldn’t wait to start so that we could get over with it.

Swim - 32:55

*Bang* and off we went. The chaos wasn’t as big as I imagined and I tried to find some sort of rhythm.  I soon noticed that I found it very (very!) difficult to orientate during the freestyle stroke. Zig-zagging my way through the course I decided to switch to the breast stroke which would cost me some speed but what I would made up by covering less distance. When I exited the water I was happy with the time but even happier that the swimming part was over (not the first triathlete to think this).

T1 - 02:46

I came wobbling out of the water running to the transition area. 150 meters needed to be covered to get to my bike. Here I wondered for a sec if I should dry my feet (which I didn’t) before putting on my helmet, glasses, race belt, socks and shoes. I blasted my face with some water, collected my gels and off I went.

Bike - 1:10:48

4 laps of aprox. 9,5km - basically up and down one street . First thought on the bike was to calm down, let the impressions of the swim sink in and to let my heartbeat drop. I really focussed on nutrition taking 1 gel in the first 5km, one in the last 5km and drinking every 4km / 7 minutes.

The bike section went nice and smooth. I felt strong. On one straight I had the wind in my back and was pacing between 36 - 38 km p/hr during the 4 laps. Riding back I had the wind blasting in my face while I was averaging  31km p/hr the first lap. 30km p/hr the second, 29 the third when an alarm bell went off. I wasn’t ‘taking it easy’, I felt good and I went hard… too hard. Last lap back to transition I tried to pace and hoped that I would find my running legs in T2.

I entered T2 in 1:46:28 and dreamed about a 2:30 finish.

T2 - 1:22

This went pretty well. Hung my bike, threw off my helmet, switched shoes, blasted my face with some water before taking off.

Run - 57:24 (round 1 - 26:31 , round 2 - 30:53)

2 rounds of 5km. The first km went pretty well with a time of 4:40. And the rest… well… wasn’t as pretty. While I was able to run the first 5km in an okay 26:31 (5:18 pace) the second round was a battle of survival. My core was completely killing me (or was it the other way around), my upper legs were jelly while I tried to convince myself that walking a.k.a. quitting wasn’t an option. My soul entered the dark side, my vision narrowed and I fought for every step.

4km, 3km, 2km, last km and finally the finish where my girlfriend was waiting for me. Damn was I happy to stop moving. Completely exhausted was the feeling that dominated.

But I made it. Yes!

Overall - 2:45:13

I’m happy about the result; finished my first triathlon MOP, didn’t stop or quit and accomplished my time goal (3hr). Now it’s been a couple of days and I have bigger sense of accomplishment. I must say that I underestimated the intensity; damn it was tough.

It was my first, but certainly not my last. Still haven’t decided if my next challenge is going to be a 70.3 Ironman or a full distance Ironman. Key learnings from my first tri: focus on building a strong core, temporize and enjoy the experience.

That’s it. Up to the next. Thanks everybody!

What was supposed to be my first triathlon last week didn’t happen because of a nasty ear infection. It sucked big time and really was a big dent is my motivation.

It’s been 10 days but and luckily I have the opportunity to comeback with a vengeance on Saturday when I’ll enter my first Oly. Feeling good, stoked and curious about the event, the experience and my performance.

I reflected on this unexpected setback (me not being able to participate in my first triathlon) and drew some lessons which I want to share with you guys.

Be mentally prepared

Know that when you are chasing a dream or a goal that the road isn’t going to be paved all the time. It’s going to get tough and bumpy. Be prepared to deal with the setback and don’t let them throw you off.

Be angry

You trained hard. You sacrificed your body, family, friends and weekends. And now the final piece of the puzzle doesn’t fit. And that’s tough. Give yourself time to feel a bit crap and be angry about the situation. Don’t expect from yourself that you can shift gears on the spot and focus on the next event / goal in a sec.

Analyze - Learn - Adjust

What went wrong. Was it you, your training, preparation, nutrition (all physical aspects) or was it your mind state, the pressure (mental aspects). Those are internal aspects. But what about the outside: weather conditions, competitors, mechanical failures? Which of these variables can you influence and which you can’t?

Analyze the situation, extract valuable info, learn your lessons and adjust your training.

Grant me the serenity to accept the things I can not change,
The courage to change the things I can,
And the wisdom to know the difference.
- Dalai Lama

Don’t over-analyze

Once you did the analyzing stop. Don’t torture yourself by re-running the same movie all the time.

Take it easy

Trust me on this one. The last thing you want to do is rush into the next best thing. Chances are this will only lead to more disappointment.

Take your time to work out a plan, set a new goal, make your preparations, do your training and…

Come back with a vengeance

Go Bruce Willis on it. Yipikayee…!

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Every month I reflect on the activities of the past month to see what I’ve done and to track progress. Today it’s time for: July.

July was a great month. Was able to put in a ton of training; focussing on swimming and running while maintaining my current bike form (and trying to get used to my new bike).

I worked out 17 days in June (of the available 31) so that’s almost 55%. This will and must go up in the upcoming periods during heavy training months. But for now I’m happy.

The results

Swimming
Yeah, training is starting to pay off! Still no pro, but able to do 2,5km within a hour which was a big milestone for me. Was on schedule to do 20km this month, but a ugly ear infection is ruining my progress.

Cycling
Getting used to the new bike and happy about the progress. Strong rides followed by hard runs still is a bit of concern.

Running
Satisfied with the 2nd part of the month (40km). Learning that I got to increase my total milage not to sudden but . Had to battle shin and calves soreness during high intensity weeks.

Body statistics

Lenght: 1,95
Weight: 96,3 kg (-1,7 kg)
BMI: 25,3 (-0,6)
Heartbeat*: 53 BPM (-)
*measured after 2 minutes of complete rest during a 1 minute time span.

Looking forward

As said before; right now I’m dealing with a serious ear infection which is maybe standing in the way of my first tri (this is tomorrow). That sucks big time but I have another coming two week from now (21th of August), so maybe it’s wise to get healthy first and to let this one pas. It’s a though decision and very demotivating. Fucking ear. Really looked forward to it.

Goals for August
- Swim 12km / Bike 200km / Run 70km
Taking it easy because of the races and the low intensity week before them.

- Complete first triathlon, olympic distance (1,5 / 40km / 10km) within 3 hours.

That’s it. So keep living hard and enjoy!

Together we shed blood, shared tears and drowned in our sweat. One look at each other is enough. We know what we sacrificed and the sacrifices we asked from our loved ones.

The long practice hours; before work, after work, during the weekend. Waking up at 6 AM to do a light swim work out. Skipping after-work drinks, nights out with the boys or family obligation because you’re working on your bricks. Our idea of a nice weekend breakfast is first do a 80km bike workout, followed by a nice a lovely meal.

We don’t have to explain why. We know. We try to explain our passion to others, but we realize that there will always be people that ‘will never get it’. No, swimming in open water won’t kill you and yes we prefer a run work out above watching re-runs of Lost.

We track progress and we count. Calories. Watt. Heart rate. Speed. Carbs. Weight. Cadence. Transition times. VO2 max. We (try to) eat healthy, because we know that when the input is crap, the output will be too.

And we love our gear. It’s not only about the bike. A new taste of gel can get us stoked and eager to try out. We drool over running shoes, watches and the tiniest bits of equipment… because it will make a difference and make us faster (even if it’s only between our ears).

Because that’s what it’s all about. Be faster, stronger, better .

I’m your competition. I want to be stronger than you. I want to be faster. I want to kick your ass. I want my better to be better than your better. But I respect you. Because I know. You know.

This is the Band of Athletes.

And Crispin Crispian shall ne’er go by,
From this day to the ending of the world,
But we in it shall be remembered-
We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
For he to-day that sheds his blood with me
Shall be my brother

- William Shakespeare in The Chronicle History of Henry the Fifth

It’s great to support others. To cheer for them. To applaud for them. To wish them the best of luck. To follow them during their quest. To be proud of them. To want to see them succeed. To celebrate their wins and to share their losses.

But please be inspired by the greatness of others and let it be your motivation to want to perform on that next level. Don’t be the sucker who only observes but doesn’t take action.

Visualize that you’re not the one who’s rooting but you’re the one they’re rooting for.

To watch greatness and history happen is nice. To be the one who’s doing it is brilliant.

June was an intense month with a lot of training mainly focussed on cycling while maintaining my current skill level of running and swimming. I tried to maintain a ’schedule’ of two shorts and one long ride a week combined with an occasional swim or run training.

I worked out 15 days in June (of the available 30) so that’s 50%. I should increase this metric although I sincerely believe it’s not about the total amount but also more on intensity.

The results

Swimming
Short said, I must do more mileage. I’m too weak of a swimmer and I’m completely exhausted after a good 2km swim. It’s a strong point of focus for the upcoming month.

Cycling
Can’t complain about this one. Good distance and strong rides; usually above 30km per hour. Happy about (distance and intensity) it because it was my main goal this month. Rewarded myself with a new bike!

Running
Just 3 runs this month; one coming of the bike. Can’t complain although it would be wise to increase the total of runs to 5 or 6 in ‘non-running’ months; a.k.a. more running of the bike.

Body statistics

Lenght: 1,95
Weight: 98 kg (-1,1 kg)
BMI: 25,9 (-0,2)
Heartbeat*: 53 BPM (-)
*measured after 2 minutes of complete rest during a 1 minute time span.

Looking forward

What I’m really struggling with is my energy level. The current workload, intense training sessions, busy personal live and the high temperatures are killing me. I must get more ‘active’ rest and sleep.

Concerning training I’m focussing on swimming and running this month. Furthermore some good, long and hard rides on my new bike so I can get used to it.

Goal
Swim 20km / Bike 250km / Run 150km

I will decide in the upcoming week if I will participate in my first (70.3) Ironman the 8th of August. I would love to it, but I’m not feeling fully prepared at this moment.

That’s it. So keep living hard and enjoy!

Once upon a time I was a fairly heavy coffee user drinking 8 to 10 cup of joe’s a day. It wasn’t the good stuff either, it was low quality / even worse taste coffee made from real coffee powder. Yeah! Then one day I decided to quit. Cold turkey. I suffered 3 days of headaches before giving in and getting a shot (which relieved me from my headaches). This was the moment I realized that drinking large amounts of coffee each day probably wasn’t the best thing to do. From that day, 1,5 year ago, I’ve started lessen my coffee consumption.

Recently I, once again, drastically cut down on my coffee. Two weeks went by without drinking a cup and… it felt really good. I was way more relaxed and could focus more easily. I had more real, raw energy, energy not coming from a coffee-buzz or high.

Looking for motivation to cut down on coffee? Look no further, hereby the 8 reasons to stop drinking coffee.

Dehydration

We need 8 glasses of water a day to stay hydrated and to let your body perform to an optimum. For each cup of coffee you drink you will be increasing that number and put yourself in a deficit from the get-go. Say goodbye to coffee and hello to water.

It’s expensive

Ever wondered why it’s called the latte factor?

Addicative

Coffee is a psychoactive drug, just like cocaine, heroin and LSD. Drink coffee and you can be troubled by headaches, nausea, fatigue, dowdiness, anxiety, irritability, inability to concentrate, irregular heartbeats, diminished motivation to initiate or to complete tasks and sometimes a mild depression. Good times!

Yellow teeth

Do you want to be that guy? And it’s true; it is called the Maillard Effect.

You’re hurting others

Most coffee farmers are getting oppressed and are being taking advantage of by global corporations. Stop drinking coffee and give more power to the farmers. Or at least drink Fair Trade Coffee.

Bad breath

Drink coffee = bad for your breath. Trust me. Or trust the expression of others when you just finished your cup of joe and are talking to them.

It’s crap

It really is shit.

Real, raw energy

Stop enjoying your coffee buzz and that fake, artificial energy. Go natural and unleash and enjoy your real, caveman energy. It’s stronger and way better.

You’ll enjoy it even more

If you only drink one cup of coffee a week you’ll really enjoy it. You will cherish every hot sip and get an active sense of every taste. So if you love coffee, stop drinking it and you will love it even more!

Enjoyed this article? Then don’t hold it back from your friends and share the love!

The whole movie is based on complex and intense dialogues  and possesses some great one-liners.

So hereby I present you an overview of the 7 inspirational quotes and lessons (in business and life) from Inglourious Basterds.

1.

Quote:

Adolf Hitler: [slamming his hand on a table] Nein nein nein nein nein nein!

Lesson

Learn to say no.

2.

Quote:

Lt. Aldo Raine: That’s what I like to hear. But I got a word of warning for all you would-be warriors. When you join my command, you take on debit. A debit you owe me personally. Each and every man under my command owes me one hundred Nazi scalps. And I want my scalps. And all y’all will git me one hundred Nazi scalps, taken from the heads of one hundred dead Nazis. Or you will die tryin’.

Lesson:

Make a plan. Take action. Commit to your action.

3.

Quote:

Major Dieter Hellstrom: That was the sound of my Walther pointed right at your testicles.
Lt. Archie Hicox: Why do you have a Luger pointed at my testicles?
Major Dieter Hellstrom: Because you’ve just given yourself away, Captain. You’re no more German than that scotch.

Lesson:

Authenticity rules. If you’re not authentic, it will kill you.

4.

Quote:

Lt. Aldo Raine: That’s Sergeant Donny Donowitz. But you might know him better by his nickname… the Bearrrr Jewwwwww… Now, if you heard of Aldo the Apache, you gotta heard about the Bearrrrrr Jewwww…

Lesson:

It’s all about word of mouth and reviews.

5.

Quote:

Lt. Aldo Raine: Well I speak the most Italian, so I’ll be your escort. Donowitz speaks the second most so he’ll be your Italian cameraman. Omar speaks third most, so he’ll be Donny’s assistant.
Pfc. Omar Ulmer: But I don’t speak Italian.
Lt. Aldo Raine: Like I said, third best. Just keep your fuckin’ mouth shut. In fact why don’t you start practicing, right now

Lesson:

Know your strengths and weaknesses.

6.

Quote:

Lt. Aldo Raine: [the Basterds are breaking Sgt. Stiglitz out of jail] Sgt. Hugo Stiglitz?
[Sgt. Stiglitz nods]
Lt. Aldo Raine: Lt. Aldo Raine. These are the Basterds, ever heard of us?
[Sgt. Stiglitz nods]
Lt. Aldo Raine: We just wanted to say we’re a big fan of your work. When it comes to killing Nazis…
Nazi Guard: Uggghhhhaahhh… [one of the Basterds shoots him]
Lt. Aldo Raine: …I think you show great talent. And I pride myself on having an eye for that kind of talent. But your status as a Nazi killer is still amateur. We all come here to see if you wanna go pro.

Lesson:

Work hard and you will be rewarded.

7.

Quote:

Lt. Aldo Raine: You probably heard we ain’t in the prisoner-takin’ business; we in the killin’ Nazi business. And cousin, Business is a-boomin’.

Lesson:

Find a niche and become an expert. Even better; become the expert.

Love it? Hate it? Looking forward to your feedback.

(The quotes were derived from IMDB.)

May was a month dominated by short breaks and big parties a.k.a. bad input for training. Although I’m very much committed on completing the Ironman I’m not planning on living a mormon lifestyle in which I don’t have the opportunity to exploit the wonderful pleasures in life.

Enjoy life and train/party hard. But do it both responsible and create the best of both world. Keep in mind that while you party at night you must be prepared to wake up at 08:00 am to kick some serious ass. That may sound as a bit much but trust me, I’ve been there, it’s all worth it.

Now lets continue with the breakdown.

Body statistics

Lenght: 1,95
Weight: 99,1 kg (-1,8 kg)
BMI: 26,1 (-0,4)
Fat %: unknown
Heartbeat*: 53 BPM (-2)
*measured after 2 minutes of complete rest during a 1 minute time span.

Training distance

Total km* swum - 1,5km / 40 minutes (but did do some serious surfing)
Total km* biked - none (-270km)
Total km* ran - 51,3 (+22,3km)
*in the month of june

The Feedback

The progress wasn’t what I imagined. Looking back on the schedule I saw there were to many periods of 2 or 3 days rest in which I could have done more  (procrastination is a bitch). Still don’t believe that I will be able to run 42,2 km in one day considering what I’ve done this month. I should train harder. I will train harder.

What I should mention that although I only swam once, I did surf 10+ times in may (went on an amazing surf trip for 5 days). So that counts for something and I noticed during my first swim in open water that I’m not a total loser in the water.

Goals for June: time to shift focus bicycling while picking up on swimming and maintaining my running. Aiming for 10/350/30.

Enjoy!