Living to the Plus- Thoughts of the Day

My first thought about ending the year and the decade is it went too fast! Where does the time go? In 2009 Mathis was 2 and River was 5 now they are so big and smart. I miss my little guys but love my big boys. I was still married in 2009. Still had Seidel Productions- River Road Run, TXTri, San Marcos River Ranch Tri... All that has change and major life lessons learned. This past year was the first full year back at H-E-B and I am grateful for that. It has been a year of thinking, discovery and choices. Since losing my events all but still working with Texas State, where my career started and it has come full circle. It has been a year of trying to decide where I want to go with my career as an event promoter. Do I just sit back be lazy, earn my pay check from HEB and just be normal and boring?  Do I continue to pursue and re-create traditional events like runs and tris?  Do I pursue ideas I have about non-traditional events?  Do I create an entirely different business ar

This is a picture of my son River. River was running in the Texas State Triathlon, which I have directed over the past 20 years, wearing my Team USA Tri Suit. River and his brother were born because of this event, where I met their mom, so it's their existence event. I was very proud and it brought much joy to see him participating in this event. River is not a runner most of the time. He is an accomplished violinist at McCallum High School in the Performing Arts program. Yet River can still run, not as good as his old man at his age, he doesn't like it as much as his old man or as much as playing the violin but he runs. His soul has found music in the heart. But he was also born to run, like all of us. Running connects the soul, have you found that? Yes, we were born to run. The book Born to Run  by Christopher McDougall does a much better job than I can to explain all of the background and evolution, so I highly recommend reading this book. This book totally changed my

What to eat, how to move, how to get more energy, how to sleep better... the list goes on. AND there is sooooo much information out there and much of it is conflicting! What to do, what to do? Keep it simple like Nick to the Plus! Complicating and arguing over this and that with "other camps" is a waste of time and energy. Why? Because most "camps" agree on most things. Eat more whole food (things that don't come in a package or a box) Eat less processed food (thing that come in a package or a box) Eat more colors of the rainbow. Look at your plate, how many colors do you see. Try to eat all five colors at least twice a day or 7-14 servings a day or 20+ for athletes to reduce oxidative stress- Red (Lycopene)  Purple/ Blue (anthocynin) Orange/Yellow (Carotenoids) Green (Carotenoids, Indoles and Saponins) Brown/White (Allicin, Potassium) There are 10s of 100s of phytonutrients in these colors that are NOT found in animal products Want and

I love the river, I love swimming in the river, and I love doing river things with my boys. I am pretty sure if I had my own heaven, it would be swimming in the river with my boys forever. If I had a second choice it would be swimming, bike, and running in the Texas Hill Country forever with some r&r. So I was thinking right now, even though I love to swim in the river, you know what? I hate getting in the river. The cold every time, the chill, the discomfort. I am used to it, but I also don't like the weeds. I have not seen many snakes but I am always thinking about them, or if I will ever encounter one. I also don't like sharing. This afternoon when Mathis and I went swimming we saw three other people in the hour we were there. In the middle of summer, there are thousands if not millions that visit the river. They trash it, disrespect it, cloudy it up. I understand tubing is fun, relaxing and a great way to spend time with friends and family. But the river is a 3

October 1st, 2019

October 1st, 2019

We found Bolt at a race I was timing in Helotes that was benefiting a rescue shelter. I would often take the boys to timing jobs but this one was extra special because they had all the dogs out for people to run with if they wanted. River ran the 5k with Bolt and instantly fell in love with him. Bolt was already named because the movie had come out recently and he looked a lot like the cartoon. He lived up to his name because he was notorious for bolting in various forms and in the end, was his tragic demise. When we went to sign the papers for Bolt at the shelter they actually had diapers on him because I guess they thought he had a peeing problem there. I thought it was the silliest thing to have a dog in diapers. When we got home, we ripped those suckers off but he was always my baby dog. He only had accidents when other dogs had been around to mark his territory. Like I said Bolt lived up to his name, he was a free spirit and loved to run and sniff and mark around the neigh

"Did you get all your macros today" " I have my macros all dialed in" "What are you macros"... These statements drive me crazy! So many people put emphasis on how much Carbs, Fats, and Protein they eat. Let me ask you, when was the last time you saw a starving person or a person that was macro deficient? Maybe if you go downtown and see the homeless or you live in a third world country? The fact is, in most of our day to day lives we don't see many starving people, the opposite in fact! most of us are over fed and under nourished. Quiz: 1. Do you know what happens when you are macro deficient? A: Hunger (commonly caused by dehydration) 2. Do you know what happens when you are micro deficient? A: Disease My recommendation: Get at least two of each color above a day. Also shoot to get 7-14 servings of fruits and vegetables a day. If you are active or an athlete get 20 or more servings a day. How will this help? More phytonutrients = m

So I have been with TriDot since 2016. One of the things I like best about TriDot are the DOTS! What are the Dots you ask? Well, TriDot is based on big data and analytics to plot (Dot), map and guide you through triathlon fitness and training. The DOTS are a ranking system (1-100) to measure your current state and improvement in the individual swimming, biking and running and overall Tridot Score. Does the fitness plan or triathlon training plan you follow have a raking system to track your fitness and improvements? When I started with TriDot here were my Dots- SwimDot- 64 BikeDot- 53 RunDot- 62 Composite- 57 My Highest Dots were SwimDot- 64 BikeDot- 56 RunDot- 68 Composite- 61 Current TriDots after this weeks Assessments, after not training or racing last season. I workout out here and there and my fitness varied, but now I am coming off dealing with some family history health issues, focusing on work and not eating 100% great... SwimDot- 58 BikeDot-

Wrath of the Titans (2012) Cyclops Attack Scene - Cyclops Battle - Movie Clip HD TM & © Warner Bros. (2012) Fair use. Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 This is what I think about when I think about mono-cropping. This is strictly from my experience and from what I have learned, I am not an expert. Mono-cropping, has one crop, one function, one eye, one perspective, one intention, and one fatal outcome.  Mono-cropping with Glyphosate is like everywhere the Cyclops was he had deadly farts to everything around him. This is not to fart from the truth. I honestly don't not know what Glyphosate smells like, but it for sure is deadly to all biology except GMO it touches. Did you know Monsanto started out as a chemical weapons company in Vietnam and... Bought by Bayer in 2018 In 2019 was ordered by a California jury to pay $2 Billion in damages to a couple affected by Round-Up Texas City Disaster in 1949 1960s-70s produced Agent Orange 1983 one of the fi

Do you like the cold and rain? I personally will pick the hot and sweaty day over cold every time. Do you have any cold stories while working out? I think my worst cold experience was 2012 or so Tall Texan Triathlon. This was a half distance tri 70.3 It was a cold and windy day, about 45 degrees air temp with about a 20mph gusty wind. The water temps were in the 60s. The swim was the warmest part of the whole race! Getting on the bike, all I had was my wet tri suit and some thin arm warmers. The 45-degree air and 20mph headwind the first 20 miles of the bike ride. I was freezing and wanted to quit, but I saw other crazies in front of me so I kept going if they were going. I ended up getting top 1 overall that race! Here are my top 5 tips for staying fit during the colder wetter months.  Either do it or don't, decide, let it go that 20min or however long you are going to be working out or competing in the cold. get over it.  Wear appropriate gear, make sure

Love my Boys The other day I ask my son Mathis how he was doing in school. In elementary school, I think he made two Bs with the rest As over the 5 years. Mathis is very smart, way smarter than me! Mathis is now in 6th grade, the middle school years. He has been struggling in school a bit, not making the As he used to. I asked him "why does he think that is?" He said, "because middle school is different than elementary school, it's more work". I then asked my son, "do you think this is a limiting belief, Mathis? Do you think that is you telling your self it is different and it is harder or other people telling you that? OR is it more work than you are used to and are you not stepping up, are you being lazy?" He said, "Yeah" Self-limiting belief or what Ryan Stewman calls it the FORCE OF AVERAGE is what my son is experiencing. If our environment, experience or acknowledgment changes we are fighting the force of average. When other p

What does "shred" mean to you? Is it an office practice of shredding paper? Is it those guys in the guys in the gym at are ripped/ shredded? Or does it mean shredding poor habits in order to shred life to the PLUS? This last one is what it means to me. You see, growing up and being an adult athlete, I often get the impression that people think I am 100% healthy 100% of the time. This just is not true, I am human like you, I make mistakes, have slips, have ebb and flow in my health and motivation just like everyone. The goal is to be as good as I can today and if I am not perfect to be forgiving of myself to get better for tomorrow. Shred10 is a program designed by two great individuals- Dr. Mitra Ray  and Jake Kelly Mitra being a scientist, researcher and Ph.D and Jake being an Division 1 athlete in college these two know about nutrition, health and performance. The philosophy behind Shred10 is that anyone can make changes for 10 days and then continue with m

Nutritional art! Omega explosion! What do you know about omegas? Have you heard of Omega 3 and it's benefits? Have you heard of Omegas 5 - 6 - 7 - 9? Did you know the lack of Omegas is one of the biggest nutritional deficiencies in the U.S. among other countries?  I am still learning, so my questions are- if we are not getting enough of these omegas, how are we functioning or what are the symptoms of not getting enough?  How many omegas are we getting from food? How much of our food is "fortified" with omegas and what is the quality or quantity of the omegas we are getting? How many of you take fish oil capsules to get your Omegas? What made you decide to take the product you are taking? Were you influenced by marketing or did you make an educated decision to take that product for omegas? This is how I understand the process of fish oil omegas are produced.  First there is a little fish to medium-sized fish who eat algae that contains omegas. Ques

You might not have heard much about gut health before 5-10 years ago or so. Why? Well in 2003 a 13-year project to discover the 20,000-25,000 genes in the human systems. This cascaded a number of other discoveries into the human inner-space and beyond. One of the main things that have been studied more is the microbiome. Do you remember this Pixar Short Film with an alien learning how to operate the space ship system? Well, imagine the switchboard on the alien ship is our Gnome, all of our genes. The microbiome, as an illustration, is the alien or what affects the gnome, what switches are on or off. Are you still with me? The student alien in the short film, as an experience undeveloped form, represents a piece of junk food. Our body doesn't really know what do to with some junk food. This is because a lot of junk food out there does not have any nutritional value. So, in turn, that substance or fake food, kind of wonders in our gut, until it works it'

First solid week back on Tridot and I did most of my workouts, with assessment tests this week. Monday is usually my rest day, tomorrow I have my functional threshold test. This will be a marker for where I am in my fitness. These are two things a lot of people take for granted- rest and tests. If you are in a overall fitness program vs a competitive training program it might not be as important, as long as your are getting out there to be active and fit. In competitive training programs especially training for long distance tri, it is important to get in your rest and tests. We get into our training, get into a rhythm and we forget to rest or eat right for recovery. Do you follow a schedule or a plan? If you miss a day or don't hit a workout 100% to skip the rest day? Do you have a rest day scheduled? Do you FOMO (Fear of missing Out) if you take a rest day? Rest and recovery is one of the most important parts of working or working towards gains. You might put in the work,

Today I’m picking up the boys to go take them to see Mimi. She is over 100 years and she may be drawing to the end. My mother and her brother have had her moved to a kind of a hospice/ comfort facility. I don’t know if it’s the best to do but I asked the boys to write Mimi a letter, for River to play something for her and Mathis draw a picture. I love my Mimi. In my family, we always say goodbye by saying Ily Ily (I love you I love you). Thinking about my Mimi’s life inspires me. She lived through the depression, she was a mom, she was a nurse for many years. she volunteered as a hospital escort for wheelchairs and such. My Mimi is one of the sweetest people I know, I am not saying that just because she was my grandmother. It makes you really think about life when you have a 100-year-old grandmother or anyone you know. Will I last that long? How does she feel? What goes through her head throughout the day? Is she afraid? Will I be afraid? Does she feel content with her

This morning we slept in. I guess when I have the option, I’ll sleep in. Most days I’m up before 6, 6 is the latest. Most Saturday’s I am up for an event, working, volunteering, supporting others or racing. This is TriLife. I love waking up before the sun. The morning air, hearing the birds wake up. The calm that most people are not up and no traffic. My absolute favorite way to wake up is swim in the Comal from LPE ( Last Public Exit) I also love the feeling, that is not too often, is waking up on a Saturday and not having to go to work, but to work on the things I want. How do you fell when you don’t have to go to work but you can work on the things you want? I am not talking about doing yard work, carting family around, paying bills... I am talking about the things YOU want to do, the things that make you feel like you are creative, like you produced something, something that is a personal accomplishment. This can also include exercise, self development, learning. How often d