What a year...

     Exactly one year ago today with the help from Carrie and my brother Scott and a little persuading from Travis County. I made the decision to stop drinking. There were others that supported me and guided me through the process of living without drinking. Not in any order, God, Sean, Richard C., Cliff , Richard T. my closest neighbors (Tom, Cindy, Jeff, Brenda, Kevin and Shannon) and of course my biggest fan, my mom. As the word kind of spread and as I told people about my decision I got a lot more support. One of my biggest supporters was an old high school friend, Peter Femino would inspired me to run and an old drinking buddy from my fraternity, Chris Stuttard who years ago also decided to stop drinking.
     Those first few weeks were the hardest, not because I wanted to drink but mostly because I was bored.  All my activities included beer, watching TV, eating dinner, hanging outside with friends, playing golf, posting on Facebook, you name it I drank beer.  It seemed like I had a lot of free time now that I wasn't drinking and a little extra money since I wasn't buying a 12 pack of beer everyday.  What was I going to do with all this energy and "extra" money.
     The phone call that changed it all. Scott called one afternoon and said "I have a crazy idea. We should do a triathlon together.  There is one in Lafayette LA which is midway between our houses. It's in September, so we have time to learn about triathlons and train". I've always been fascinated by The Ironman in Kona Hawaii so I said "...yes, that's a great idea, you're on!".

    Now I'm not going to go into great detail about training but I had a lot of work to do to prepare for my triathlon, so I started running. I was hooked immediately, all I wanted to do was run. I ran at least once a day, before work, during work or after work. Work was just filler between runs. I bought running books and got a subscription to Runner's World. Then I discovered trail running and got a subscription to Trail Runner magazine.  The more I ran the more the weight started to come off. When I stopped drinking I weight 219, I was fat!
     I've always been a bike rider so I wasn't worried about biking leg of the triathlon. I rode occasionally, just for the sake of riding and did some "brick workouts". A brick workout is doing two of the three activities of a triathlon back to back like, bike/run, swim/bike, swim/run etc...I learned the importance of these later, for now, I knew I had to do them so I did.
     Now the swimming part of the triathlon scared me to death. I can swim but it's usually from the diving board over to get my beer or vice versa.  I had Carrie video me swimming one day at the pool and had a buddy, Jonser (an Ironman), look at it and he gave me some advice, a lot of advice.  Clearly I needed some lessons or coaching. Reading our local newsletter I saw an ad for the Masters swim team "...no experience needed..." right up my alley.  One draw back I saw was the Monday and Wednesday team practices were at 5:30AM, the Sunday practice was at 6:30AM, I could sleep in a little. I signed up and bought the require training aids at a swim shop; fins, goggles, pull buoy and a kickboard. On my first day I really felt like a fish out of water.  People were putting in the lane lines, others were swimming, some were stretching, I was looking for the coach.  John came over introduced himself, asked about my swimming history and then said "why don't you jump into lane 1". It was open so I thought nothing about it, only later did I learn it's called the "slow lane". John was instrumental, he was patient, encouraging and always gave me the time I needed. He explained what I was doing wrong and why I needed to do it "this" way. He transformed me into if not a swimmer at least someone who could swim.
     As time went on my running got better, in time, form and distance.  My swimming improve 1000% which is easy when you start with zero.  Swimming became my favorite training activity. I looked forward swimming more then anything else and joined a gym that had a quarry so I could do open water swimming. I eventually moved up several lanes and now swim with Louise who has become my permanent lane mate.  We swim at the same speed and laugh between sets about how hard the workouts are, we give solace to each during each session.

     The Cajunman Triathlon came and went. Scott and I did great.  We both survived the swim and beat our time goal of 2 hours. We wanted to finish together and as we approached and crossed the finish line we grabbed hands and raised them in victory.  This really kicked off the obsession with training and racing.
     Since then Scott and I have both spent many hours reading, training and talking about triathlons.  We have both perused triathlons and other related events.
     So, where am I going with this...prior to this year not only was I not willing to commit to training for triathlons I wasn't physically or mentally prepared for it either.  Why? In a word, beer.  This year has been one of the most liberating years I've had.  Without drinking I have energy, I'm not hung over, I'm not fat, as I write this I weight 174 pounds.  Do the math, I'll help you: 219 - 174 = 45 pounds.  45 pounds!   I'm free of worrying about driving after I have been drinking.  I don't have to worry about being a bad example for my kids. I've learn to cope with stress and everyday crap without drinking.  My job performance is better.  I've read books I've always wanted to read...I'm free!
     This year hasn't been a solo effort. Without the support of my family and friends I surely would have gone back to my old ways and never been able to achieve the things I've done this year.

• Resolution 5K
• Dell Fit 10K
• The Warrior Dash 3 miles with 11 obstacles
• Thundercloud Turkey Trot 5 miles
• Rock-n-Roll San Antonio 1/2 Marathon
• Bandera 25K Trail Run
• Cajunman Sprint Triathlon
• Calaveras Duathlon
• Hike to the roof of Texas (Guadalupe National Park) 

     To all of you have supported and helped me knowingly or unknowingly, I say "I love you and THANK YOU!

Gear and Training Sponsorship

     Over the Christmas holiday my brother Scott told me he had just been picked up by a sponsor, Falkee Triathlon Competitive Age Group Triathlete. Needless to say I was a little envious, it would be cool to have a sponsor as an amateur athlete. He said "...you should apply to, I'll send you the link...", I agreed. So I filled out the application.  Falkee offers all kinds of deals on gear as a sponsored Triathletes. We are going to buy the gear anyway so why not get a discount on it? As the weeks went by and I didn't hear anything I started to get a little discouraged. Finally I got the email I had been dreading. It was the "thanks but no thanks" reply. I was clearly disappointed.
     Scott called me a few days later and said he could get a deal on a cool transition mat and did I want one. If you can't be a sponsored athlete having a brother who is, is the next best thing. I happily replied "yes! I'd love to have one". I think it was the following day Scott informed me of another entity who was polling for MOP (middle of the pack) age groupers to sponsor on the triathlon forum Slow Twitch. I thought what the hell it's worth a try. So I filled out another application with my past events and my planned events for 2011 and sent it off. Slow Twitch has a lot of people on it's forum so 1000's of people saw the advertisement for the sponsorship deal. I realized my chances of getting into this deal were pretty low so I wouldn't have high expectations.
     Sunday morning I fired up my computer and start reading worthless emails as I start most of my days this way. One of the emails caught my eye, I recognized the sender's name and the subject line was "Sponsorship inquiry". This is when I thought the other shoe was going to drop with a "thanks but no thanks" email. I reluctantly open the email only to be greeted with "On behalf of Gear & Training, we welcome you to the 2011 Gear & Training Triathlon Team". I read the email quickly waiting for the part about not being selected. When I didn't see that part, I read the email again.  Holy crap! I got selected! I got selected! Gear and Training.com selected me to be on their team.

     What does this mean? It means I'm part of a triathlon team who will get to wear logo merchandise from Gear and Training.com. I will be able to buy gear that I need and want at discounted prices. I can extend my discount to friends and family. You can use code "BA2" for 20% off + free shipping on orders over $150 at gearandtraining.com. This is so cool! I'm really excited about representing Gear and Training this year and spreading the word about their high quality gear and apparel. 

     This is a great opportunity! I feel very fortunate to be in this position. 

Calaveras Duathlon

     Earlier this year when I was planning my race season I noticed there weren't a lot of triathlons planned during the winter. Even though winters are mild here in central Texas a lot of people just aren't keen on the idea of swimming in cold open water. So I started to explore other types of racing and I came upon a listing for a Duathlon. At first I thought that sounded kind of boring, only doing a bike and a run. But after reading the description of the race there was something that appealed to me. First off a Duathlon can be any kind of two activities done back to back but most involve some kind of running and biking.  There are winter Duathlons with cross country skiiing and running, XTerra Duathlons with running and mountain bikes, you get the point. Put two activities together and you got yourself a Duathlon.

     After some introspection I signed up for the race.  If nothing else it would give me motivation to continue training for Triathlons planned for later this year and a good idea of my fitness level this early in the year. The race was to be held 15 miles Southeast of downtown San Antonio at Calaveras Lake State Park.
     Since I already have an active training plan for an Olympic distance Triathlon scheduled for April I wouldn't need to do any other special training for the Duathlon. I'd use the race as a hard training day. The timing was perfect. The training planned for race day called for a 20 mile bike ride and a 6 mile run. The Duathlon course was a 5K run, followed by a 21 mile bike ride then finishing with another 5K run. The stars must have been aligned just right for this two event to over lap so precisely.  Some sort of cosmic coincidence.
     As race day approached I began to become a meteorologist almost to the point of obsession. Becoming obsessed is nothing new for me, anyone who knows me will tell you that. I did the normal pre travel stuff, I booked a hotel, packed my stuff, made a check list, unpacked my stuff, made another check list, repacked my stuff, I did this routine for days leading up to the race.
     The plan was to leave Friday afternoon after the kids were out of school and head to San Antonio to pick up my race packet, check into the hotel and scout out the location for the race.  I'm a pretty nervous traveler and I don't like to leave any thing left to chance.  After successfully doing those things I relaxed and focused on getting the kids dinner, pizza, my choice as it is now my pre race ritual and then head back to the hotel to watch Flying Wild Alaska and Gold Rush. I'm obsessed with those shows. At the hotel I unpacked, repacked and unpacked my stuff again another pre race routine.  The kids were asleep in bed, I set three alarm clocks and went to sleep. At 4AM I felt wet, no I didn't pee the bed but Lilly did. Why was Lilly in my bed to begin with? I jumped out of bed, turned on all the lights, stripped Lilly down and ripped all the sheets off the bed. Carrie dressed Lilly and now Reid, Lilly and Carrie are in one bed and I'm in the towel laden, pee smelling bed with only my thought of "I wonder why hotels don't have a water proof barrier on the beds", oh well not my problem back to sleep.
     5:30 AM, I'm up with a plain bagel and peanut butter. By 6 everyone is dressed, packed and ready to go. We load up the truck hit Starbucks and head to the race location. It's 60 degrees and raining slightly harder then a drizzle. At least it wasn't humid. I can deal with cool temps and rain. Humidity is a different story.

     At the race location I did all the prerequisites for racing. I checked in at the transition area, got my body markings which is a fancy way of saying some guy with a big sharpie gets to write my race number on both arms, the front of my legs and my age on one of my calves. I racked my bike in the transition area and laid out my gear for racing. I was a little self conscience with my one piece racing suit as I have never worn it before, but looking around I soon realized I fit right in with the other Lycra loving racers.  7:40 the race director held a pre race meeting giving instructions about dos and don'ts, giving course descriptions and telling us how to avoid be disqualified. 7:59 we lined for the start.
     3, 2, 1, go...after about 100 feet I realized I'm running much faster then I can sustain and I'm still not keeping up with the front group, I let them go. The run course was a 1.5 mile loop, we had to run it twice. It was pretty flat and went out and back along the lake. On the first return trip near the start I could hear Carrie and kids yelling "go daddy, go daddy". I was feeling pretty good so I picked it up to show the kids how it's done :-).  On the second return trip I thought mostly about the upcoming transition and bike ride.  I ran into the transition area stopping my 5K run at 24:11. I was pretty happy with that time it was my fastest ever. I fiddled around with my running shoes put on my helmet, grabbed my bike and ran to the mounting line.  On the road course I started passing people immediately. I was yelling "on your left". The course was a 10.5 mile loop we had to ride it twice. After the first loop I passed about 15 people, I was feeling strong. As we approached the turn off for the people who were doing the short course a lot of people were peeling off and heading back in.  I started out for another loop. I started passing more people at about mile 15 one guy passed me. He was the only person who passed me in 21 miles.  As I started towards the transition area I looked at my watch 1:04 for 21 miles 19.4 mph. I racked my bike, struggled to tie my running shoes and took in a Powerbar Gel.  I started out for my last 5K. Carrie and the kids were stilling yelling "go daddy, go daddy". The was a real spirit booster. I started running with intent of running as hard as I could. On my first loop back Reid ran next to me for about 100 yards before I started back out for the 2nd loop. What a rush! I felt great, I knew I was having a good race and I was feeling pretty good.  As I was nearing the end, I looked at my watch, I knew I was going to beat my 2 hour goal but it was going to be close. At the finish the announcer said "racer 152 Brad Askins will finish at 1:58:53".  At the end I got a hug from Carrie, Reid and Lilly we shared that great family moment as I tried to regain my breathe.  We milled around the finish area for awhile, I chatted with other racers about course and drank sport drinks and ate bananas.  Then we packed up the truck, headed to the hotel, showered and hit the road back home.
     What a great day and a great race. I'm so glad my family got to share in a race with me. I must have inspired Reid and Carrie, when we got home they signed up for a 5K. My next race will be with my family!

VO2 Max Testing

In an effort to perform better in all endurance events as such Triathlons, Duathlons, 1/2 Marathons etc...I decided I needed some information to ensure I was getting the most out of each one of my training sessions. So two weeks ago I made an appointment at my Gym, Pure Austin (3D Model), to have a VO2 Max test performed.  Now you may be asking yourself "what is a VO2 Max Test?" good question.

(Abbreviated definition but enough to get the picture)

VO2 max is the maximum capacity of an individual's body to transport and use oxygen during incremental exercise, which reflects the physical fitness of the individual. The name is derived from V - volume per time, O2 - oxygen, max - maximum.

VO2 max is expressed either as an absolute rate in litres of oxygen per minute (l/min) or as a relative rate in millilitres of oxygen per kilogram of bodyweight per minute (ml/kg/min), the latter expression is often used to compare the performance of endurance sports athletes.

Measuring VO2 Max:

Accurately measuring VO2 max involves a physical effort sufficient in duration and intensity to fully tax the aerobic energy system. In general clinical and athletic testing, this usually involves a graded exercise test (either on a treadmill or on a cycle ergometer) in which exercise intensity is progressively increased while measuring ventilation and oxygen and carbon dioxide concentration of the inhaled and exhaled air. VO2 max is reached when oxygen consumption remains at steady state despite an increase in workload.  

Having done some research online and watching this YouTube video I knew what I was getting myself into, sometimes ignorance is bliss. Needless to say I was pretty anxious about doing this test. 

The information I got said the test would take any where from 1 to 2 hours including preperation, warm up, the actual test, recovery, cool down, reviewing the results and recommendations on how to use this information. The trainer added a helpful bit of information "...eat something the day of the test as you would do before a race, you don't want a full or empty stomach, neither is good..."  The morning of  and 2 hours before test I had my pre-race meal and plain bagel with peanut butter. I arrived at the gym knowing I was in for at least one hour of pure hell, I was not wrong. 

At 10 o'clock I entered the torture chamber, went over what was going to happen and hopped on the treadmill for a warm up. After the 10 minute warm up I donned a head strap, ventilator mask and chest strap heart rate monitor. The mask was bit claustrophobic, all the air I was going to inhale and exhale was through a plastic hose and into a machine that analyzed my Oxygen level .  The instructor told me from here on out I was to communicate to his questions with hand gestures as he wouldn't be able to understand what I was saying. The hand gestures would be: thumbs up, thumbs down, using both hands to indicated the level of exertion from 1 to 10 with 10 being an all out effort and the throat cutting gesture indicating I was about to die.

The instructor started the treadmill and bought me up to a pretty easy jogging pace, it was suppose to be a pace I was able to maintain for a long time as if I was going for a very easy run on the street. This was the pace I would use for the entire test. I thought "this isn't bad". The test has started! From here until the end of the test the following would take place. Every three minutes for the next x number of minutes the instructor would increase the incline of the treadmill until my exertion level was a 5. From that point on he would increase the incline every minute until total exhaustion. When I reached level 5 the incline on the treadmill was at 10. The treadmill only had 15 levels so I knew it was going to start getting a lot harder. At this point I was working pretty hard but able to maintain good posture and leg turn over. Every minute for the next 5 minutes my level of exertion increased with each increase of incline. By the time we got to level 15 I was at my max, so I thought. This is the most critical part of the test. I must go as long as I can until complete and total exhaustion. At this point I was working my ass off barley able to run against the treadmill at such a steep angle. Every 30 seconds the instructor asked how I was doing. It was getting hard to show my thumb gestures. I continued to run. It was hard to breath. Thoughts of quitting were getting pretty strong. "NO!" I told myself keep going. 30 more seconds passed "keep going" the instructor shouted. My legs were starting to get wobbly and my arms were getting heavy. 30 more seconds "you're doing great". My lungs were on fire and my eye sight was getting blurry. 30 more seconds "you're looking strong". I was starting to panic about not being able to breath. At this point the instructor put his hand on my back to let me know he was there. 30 seconds "man you look great". I thought I was going to pee my pants as I could only focus on moving my legs and trying to get air. 30 seconds "man, you're doing awesome!". I knew the end was near as I was being moved farther and farther towards the end of the treadmill. 30 seoonds "keep going Brad, you're doing great!" I started planning my exit strategy for getting off the treadmill, I was eying the emergency kill switch and I started to reach for it when the instructor yelled "keep going, keep going, you can do 30 more seconds!". I continued to labor and for another 15 seconds before I reached out and hit the kill switch and struggled to hold onto the hand rails. The instructor quickly took off the mask and I was trying to suck in as much air as I could. I got down on one knee, the instructor bought over a puke bucket and placed it in front of me. When I realized I wasn't going puke he told me to get back on the treadmill and do a recovery and cool down walk. Man was I glad that was over...!

Reviewing the results the instructor he told me I did better then about 75 percent of the people who do the test and I was in superior shape. He reviewed my heart rate zones and my Oxygen levels. My maximum Heart rate was 172 beats per minute. He helped me plan out how to use each of one of the 5 heart rate zones to increase my performance during races and how to effectively use the zones for training.

Now it's up to me to use this information and execute each one of my training sessions accordingly.