Work hard - Play Hard - Stay Disciplined!

When you are training for an Ironman, celebrations and special occasions will arise. While you balance the week with working hard to help others and train for miles, its important to play too! The KEY is to remain disciplined and surround yourself with those that will encourage you, spur you on and even train with you. I am one blessed man to have both at home and when I travel.

Oh man what a crazy two weeks it's been. For the first time in at least 15 years we are finally getting a normal monsoon season and the rain has been great however the humidity is definitely something that I'm not used to. The bikes are getting longer and there's definitely always something that competes with the time to train. However there is no substitute for doing the homework and as they say the test is easy if you've done the work. Sarah and I were heading out for our long bike a couple weeks ago and we were able to catch this elusive full rainbow. So many sights to see and God’s glory is all around us if we just stop and take the time to be present.

It was birthday this past week, I turned 46. If you didn't see my top 46 inspirational quotes and words of wisdom, check out the birthday post here: https://www.myanthemhealth.com/post/happy-birthday-dr-b. Everyone asked me what I wanted to do to celebrate. I wanted to spend time with the people I care about and find some cooler weather to train in. We headed out to Minnesota to stay with some good friends, Justin and Christy Nye, who operate an 8 Weeks Wellness Center in Woodbury, Minnesota for a long weekend. These people helped me stay discipline and focused on training as well as FUN!

Just so happened that Sarah and Heather could tag along so they were there to support me. Too much to type but it was an amazing weekend spending time with those that live a wellness lifestyle and spending time on the lake. Very grateful for the time to relax and different scenery.

Here’s a recap of each Ironman discipline of swimming, biking and running that I have been focusing on in between working hard and playing hard.

Swimming - have not swim for exercise in several weeks. The right shoulder is coming along so this is the week we get back in the pool and put it to the test. I've been doing some strength training and stretching and having bodywork done on the shoulder in hopes that it would come around in the injuries would be something that I could tolerate.

Biking - our long ride is up to about 75 miles and since biking has always been my strongest discipline, we are right on course for where we should be at this point.

Running - while this has never been one of my favorites, with the help of my training partners, it definitely seems to be coming along. Ran a half marathon for training this past weekend and the cooler temps definitely made a difference. Knowing the route we were running, Desiree, along with the Nye family, would stop along the way and cheer us on and give us more fluids and other stuff. So nice to see those smiling faces over the course of a couple hours while we were running. The scenery was amazing and Heather and Sarah set the pace so we just ran and took it all in.

Between the weather and life, it's been a great two weeks. I'm just thankful for my support, moving my body forward with getting the work and miles in and healing my shoulder. Training for an Ironman requires discipline and a WHY- grateful I have both!