Creativity

"Hey Dad - wanna play baseball?" I groaned inwardly. This is not a request I can turn down. No matter how worn out and tired I am I cannot deny an invitation to play with my kids. It's that important to me. I spend quite a bit of time away in events and training. Someday both my kids will have interests that will take them far away from me. So I cannot let these moments pass. I must take full advantage of them. I'll rest when they grow up. Rest is overrated anyways.

However, "baseball" for my son and daughter basically translates to "fetch" for Daddy. Basically they hit the ball, and I chase the ball. I feel more like a dog then a fielder. We play a lot so they're both getting pretty good at hitting. This means a lot of chasing for me. What I really wanted to do was play catch with the crosse (Lacrosse stick). Why not both I thought?

I try never to repeat the same races - unless I have a good reason or point for doing so. I like doing new races because I get to see different scenery, people, and face different challenges. I often alter my run and bike routes to keep them interesting. I mix up fartleks, long intervals, and accelerations to keep my runs interesting. The birds help keep my runs interesting as well. If I didn't do these things the daily routine of training would drive me crazy. Getting creative with my training keeps me focused and interested. It's very easy to get caught in the drudgery of routine. Mixing it up keeps it fun. And as I tell my kids often - if it ain't fun, it ain't worth playing.

Our new game was a blast. The kids wailed on the ball. The extra reach the Lacrosse stick gave me made catching the ground and fly balls pretty easy. It also gave me a chance to work on throwing the ball accurately with the crosse to get it back to them. My son thinks I'm a genius. My daughter however still thinks I'm a nut. Oh well - it's all about balance.

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Workout Summary

1200 yard swim at tempo

45 minute spin class - intervals

5 mile run - multiple accelerations between AT and LT

Got up a bit late so I had to shorten the swim. Game one of the Stanley Cup was on last night and it was just to good to sleep through. So I went shorter than usual but balanced it by going harder than usual.

In spin class the instructor saw me and changed CDs for one that didn't have Coldplay on it. Oh the power I wield. People think I'm a nut because I usually don't do what the instructor is doing and I pick at least one song to do single leg pedal drills.

The run went well - I had trouble keeping my heart rate down - probably from going too hard in spin class - so I decided to do accelerations instead of my planned tempo run.