I was in San Francisco Last weekend to do the Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon. I had been Excited about the event and felt I was well prepared. The weeks leading up to the event I had done Bay to Breakers+ bonus (15K) and the Armed Forces 1/2 Marathon in Concord (12K option) the week before I did The Herbalife 24 L.A. Triathlon (Olympic). So after three events in a row my and training my immunity was probably Challenged. Combine that with the 5 year old kid who plopped down next to me at the gate in LAX and started hacking and sneezing and low a behold I came down with a cold mid-week. By the time I got into S.F. for Alcatraz registration I was on the downslope of the cold but it was in the cough stage. Sat. night as I tried to sleep I was into a heavy coughing cycle and every time I breathed in a deep breath my throat tickled and I started to cough again.. Considering the possibilities I decided that the middle of the Bay while swimming and breathing heavily which I assumed would create undesired coughing it would be best if I scratched. It was a hard decision and I wan't sure If I was afraid, lazy? all negative input my inner voice sometime feeds me. I determined that since I do this for fun the potential benefits were not worth the potential risk. I am going to scale back my competition schedule next year and will circle Alcatraz. It was a beautiful calm sunny day on the Bay and was perfect weather. I can only hope for the same next week. Otherwise as an Aging Athlete I think its important that we keep our limitations in mind. Not barriers put up by negative inner voices but real limitations associated with who and what we are. Shawn

I did the Herbal Life 24 L.A. Triathlon this morning. Matched my time from earlier this year at Discovery Bay but the course was tougher. I got a good night’s sleep and only woke up a couple of times the last being 2:15, the wake-up call at 4 O’clock was a little jarring. I flew in yesterday and appropriately for June 1^st L.A. was covered in fog, June gloom. I don’t know if I’ve mentioned before that I am not a morning person so early this morning the inner gremlins were talking smack in my head “what the heck are you doing?” “I bet you’re going to be cold in this sleeveless wetsuit”. Luckily, I was able to ignore the negative talk and just embraced gratitude for the ability to do what I was about to do. The water temp didn’t bother me at all. The reported temp was 66 degrees but according to the race director it was 62, it felt like 66. The swim was fun and like bike was cool. There were a couple small hills but when do you get to ride your bike on the likes of Venice Blvd., La Brea Blvd, Olympic Blvd. by USC, Figueroa and Wilshire with no traffic whatsoever? I’m not a big fan of the loop courses which this one the run leg is 2 laps. Of course, my gremlins were back telling me to bail out on the Olympic 10K distance and just quit at the sprint 5K. Again, I ignored the gremlins and did the full course. I bought the V.I.P. upgrade for $99 and that included a post-race meal at Wolfgang Puck’s restaurant (that looks funny spelled out “Wolfgang Puck”) It also included a post-race leg massage (by a male masseuse) and then I took the shuttle back to the start at Venice Beach. The race was well organized, and I would recommend it and will probably do it again, did I mention it is the USAT Western Regional? The room I am in at the LAX South Travelodge serves its purpose, bed, shower, T.V., I would not recommend it for the family. The rest of the day is about car racing and the Basketball finals game later. The best thing about the room is the free shuttle to nearby LAX which I will utilize in the morning and fly home.

I'm half war through my four weekend in a row event schedule. First it was Bay To Breakers. You can check out my blog on that if you like. This past weekend Miss Adrienne and I did the 12K version of the Armed Forces Half Marathon. Our goal was 1:30 and we came in at 1:27. We had the opportunity to be bused into the Concord Navel Weapons Base. The run wound it way through the paved part of the base and we were warned at the start wondering off the path was a Federal offense, we didn't. From there it let out onto one of the main roads leading into downtown Concord. The run started at 7 A.M. and we were blessed with perfect temps. for a run. This was the first year of the 12K so it wasn't overly crowded. There was 2 water stations which was enough but I would recommend one more if possible next year. That being said I do plan on doing it again next year since its in my backyard. I couldn't think of a better way to spend Sunday morning of Memorial Day weekend than running in an event staged by the military. The participation medal (I chuckle every time I say that) was  Coast Guard themed with a ship on the medal and Coast Guard Colors adorning the strap. As I join the 21st century I will soon be able to post pictures. As I mentioned in the first sentence of this blog I am 2 of 4. This weekend is the Herbalife 24 Las Angeles Triathlon, the West Coast Regional for USA Triathlon. I'll blog on that next week. Then off to San Francisco for the Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon. I do my best to enjoy the process, but honestly my mind wants to wander past the swim leg of Alcatraz. I'm not afraid but just I believe naturally apprehensive. As for this week a little swim off Venice beach and bike through Downtown and a run from L.A. Live to USC, 2 laps. I'll let you know how it went next week, Shawn

So, this last Sunday I ran in the Bay to Breakers in San Francisco. As described, it is a 12k run from the Embarcadero at the base of the bay bridge to the North Beach part of Ocean Beach. I ran with my regular running partner my Cuz Jodi and newcomer to my circle but not to running Miss Adrian.  The night before the event was storming and the weather reports were calling for thunderstorms around the time of the run. Both running partners were still in. As usual the anticipation kept me up and I only got 4 ½ of sleep. I woke up at 4:30 a.m. before my 5:00 alarm. We got to BART on time for the first train at 6:15. On Bart both ladies were not happy about the forecast and I assured them it was not going to rain. We got to the City and headed to our corral (D) out of A-H the 11-12 min mile pace. Our goal was 2 hours. That included the bonus 3k along the beach for a total of 15k. As per tradition the tortilla shells were flying through the air, but I only got nailed on the back of the neck with a wet slimy tortilla once. As promised by me it was not raining and by the start of the run and for the remainder of the run the Sun graced us with its presence. Again as per tradition the was plenty of alcohol ( again I have been sober 2 years) but that did not bother me although I was intent on finishing before them. According to my running mates they counted 26 naked men and I counted 2 naked women. The run itself was beautiful, through the City and Golden gate park. We finished at 2:00:06 but that counted the time we stopped at the extra distance turn around to offload rain clothes to Adrian’s husband Tim. It was a great run and I broke personal best thresholds for best 1k,5k and 10k. The event was well organized and put on, I’m sure challenging to accommodate 40 runners. If your looking for a fun destination run or are local I recommend adding this one to the must do once list. Happy Trails, Shawn

I was reading the top 10 list of questions people have about Triathlon so I thought I would answer a few. First I must establish context, the answers I am about to give are for age groupers and weekend warriors of which I am one. This advice is not for Pro, Elite, are those determined to win their age group. #1. do you need a wetsuit? Use of a wetsuit is optional in all events and not allowed if ruled by the race referee according to water temperature. I recommend if allowed in your event you take advantage and use one as it helps with buoyancy and warm is better than cold. My last try the water was 67 degrees so I went with a sleeveless that improves range of motion and opens up breathing a little bit. #2. Do you need a special bike for Triathlon? I have a Tri bike better known as TT bikes for Time Trial as they are very aerodynamic and built for speed. Do to that and rider position T.T. bikes are less stable and frowned upon on group rides. I have both and used my T.T. Bike in my last Tri and will the rest of the year except for Escape From Alcatraz which is a hillier more technical coarse so I will be using my road bike. For occasional tri studs I just recommend a good road bike as you will probally get more bang for your buck. Draft legal Triathlon is gaining popularity and T.T. bikes are not allowed, just road bikes. #3. Combing 2 questions, do you need a tri suit and do you change clothes? It is best to wear something under your wetsuit. A tri specialized suit is good because you can wear it  under your wetsuit and straight through the bike and run. Otherwise I have worn a speedo or speedo shorts and after the swim either put on bike pants or shorts which include a padded chamois or just wear the speedo the whole way and risk a little groin chafing. This is the point where you determine how bad you want it and are you really going to improve your finish adding a layer or 2? Then preferably a zip up jersey as pulling a jersey on a wet body is difficult.#4. Do you wear socks? I can tell you my last event I didn't and ended up with open wounds on my heels. But I did take 40 min. off my time from last year, LOL. It is hard however again to put socks on wet feet. I hope this answers a few questions let me know if you have any more. Shawn

I was reading "Unlimited Power" by Tony Robbins, the chapter about food as fuel for energy. He touched on something I have become aware of over the last few months. Most diet recommendation that are doled out as the current best way to loose weight are actually marketing campaigns staged by a variety of food group lobbyist. It hard to find unbiased information on what is really best. Even the Doctors don't all agree on the same thing. There are some interesting coloration between the U.S. Government fight against heart disease starting around 1970 and the steady increase in obesity since. There also is coloration between the production of corn leading to surplus that was processed into cheap corn syrup. The last few years the dairy industry has been pitching dairy as a clean source of protein. Their current pitch to endurance athletes is chocolate milk as the perfect recovery drink. Let me point out I am not a Nutritionist I am only speaking from experience and observation. I do believe that when you eat and in what combination is important to mange. I have been doing intermittent fasting from 9:00 P.M. until somewhere between 9-12 A.M. and I try to work out in the morning in a fasted state. I was afraid of fruits and vegetables for a while do to the natural sugar "carbs" but have come full circle understanding the fiber offset and rapidity of digestion and assimilation in the colon. I have also read some claims that we Americans just need to eat less. Personally I have lost aprox. 20 pounds in around 8 months with steady exercise (triathlon training) and not eating highly processed starchy foods as well as some of the tips above. Shawn

I/m working on a book that is part autobiography and part journal of my escapades this summer. The point of the book is to encourage aging athletes to not let fear or self doubt keep them from going out and competing. Part of my story is about recovery so he book is a combo of aging athlete and recovery experiences. To that point I was listening to an Audible book during my 2 hour ride this morning, Matt Fitzgerald's "Life is a Marathon" at one point he was interviewing a race promoter asking "who is your typical customer"? to which the promoter answered people with "addictive personalities". I couldn't help but chuckle to myself. It was just after finding my longest stretch of sobriety in over 30 years that I started training for the San Diego Rock N Roll Marathon in June of 2018. It was also around that time that I did the 2018 Discovery Bay Olympic distance Triathlon that I referenced in an earlier blog. I have been training "addictively" ever since. My idea of a bad addiction is something you can't control and has negative consequences. At this point I don't consider training to have "negative consequences" so I'm going to keep it up. Also Matt mentioned that some people can be considered lazy but not. What that means to me is I'm having a hard time dragging my ars out to pull the weeds in that front yard, the ones I pass just before I go for a training session. So I think I fit that profile. Since I started training hard 2 years ago I have either been listening on audible or reading hard copy books that are motivational. Usually somebody else sharing their journey. That's what inspires me to write a book. I think there is plenty of material out there, some of which I'll mention along the way. In the meantime I believe my book has the potential to help at least one person, maybe you. Otherwise another book added to the list of hours of reading potential can't hurt. On a different note some Religions consider this Easter Sunday as the day of Resurrection. I can't help but think how wonderful it is that we all get second, third, unlimited chances to live our best life. As for me today I believe I am, I am still very flawed but am thankful for my redemption (in progress). Shawn

I finished the Discovery Bay Olympic distance Triathlon this past Sunday. That's 2 events down of the seven I have scheduled for this summer. My goal was to win, not just finish but compete. I have been training six days a week to accomplish my goal. I have put the individual times (swim, bike, run) that I have to achieve to meet my goals. I have posted those time goals on my home office desk and in my shower. I was not reaching those goals before the event but knew I must continue to try. I did run into a conflict in positive self talk and visualization and the reality of my daily performance. In the end I concluded that I needed to reset my mind back to the point that I reminded myself that I do Triathlon for the love of the sport. The joy I feel afterword and the satisfaction of the accomplishment is the desired outcome. I did not win my age group or podium but I bested my event last place time of last year by around 40 minutes. I still have 5 more Tris this Summer to improve on that time. That's enough to keep me motivated. It inspires me to go out and train at least 6 days a week. I've been reading a book by David Coggins called "You Cant Hurt Me". It is about a young Blackman that grew up with an abusive father and went on to overcome seemingly unsurmountable odds to become a Navy Seal and an ultra endurance athlete. I recommend this book for those of you who are looking for inspiration to overcome your own personal odds. By the way that is who I am trying to reach with this blog. If you want some more of this, like, share, invite a friend and most of all come back. Together we can do great things. Shawn

Two days away from my first Olympic distance Triathlon of the season is just 5 days removed from my half Marathon. One of the most important part of the process is proper recovery. First things first, the best recovery happens during sleep so its important to get the proper amount of sleep. I'm not going to tell you how much sleep you need, I can't even tell you how much I need. Personally some nights I get 6 and feel great others 9. For me I have not used an alarm or didn't wake up before the clock was set to go off for many years including race day and travel days. Point is I don't force sleep but I don't short myself sleep either. Next thing I have been doing is Cryotherapy. I have been doing it a couple times a week for at least the last 6 months probably longer. You stand in a stall with your head sticking out the top and the stall is flooding with liquid nitrogen vapors. I have been doing - 190 F for 3 minutes. There is a whole list of health benefits associated with cold therapy. My understanding is that it improves blood flow to damaged tissue, reduces inflammation and a few other attributes but those first two are enough for me. And as a Triathlete being in the extreme cold gives me a chance to acclimate to the cold environment. Every swim I've done has been in cold water. The next thing I do and have done twice this week is get a sports massage. I can explain the benefits of working toxins out of your muscles and increasing blood and lymph flow but suffice to say who doesn't love a massage. I'm not a nutritionist but for me protein post event or workout is important and quality carbs to restore the Glucose stores. I just realized I'm running late for the dogs vet appt. I'll catch you on the next blog. Shawn

4/8/19

I promised you I was going to review products, destination and events. Today I am reviewing the weekend I had in San Francisco where I participated in the Rock N Roll half marathon. The original forecast was for rain, but the weekend turned out nice sans the fog that lingered throughout the event but made for a comfortable run even though my close where wet at the end. Rock N Roll marathons is a class organization and they know how to manage an event (this is my second, San Diego last year). Check in was easy and the Health and fitness expo is always worth spending time visiting. The live music on the course always pumps you up and takes your mind off the task at hand. San Francisco could have used some more live music, but I can understand where the logistics of operating in the city and on the Golden Gate bridge was difficult. The best band in my opinion was the Uniformed (Navy?) Band at the turnaround and half way point at the Vista point on the Marin side of the bridge. I caught the last part of a Prince song and the beginning of a Heart song. Speaking of the bridge running across the bridge is what mad this a bucket list event and it lived up to the hype, how many people can say the crossed the G.G. on foot? San Francisco is just that, San Francisco. As a native Bay Area Nocal kid I am not totally impressed. I think the City is Crowded, Dirty and run down. Staying at the Sheraton Fisherman’s Warf is a good location and reasonably priced for the location that puts you within walking distance to Pier 39 and Fisherman’s Warf and most of the attractions. Its close to transit and the city is home to Uber so getting a right is easy. The product I would review is the GoPro camera I bought in January. For the second time I tried to record an event over time it shut off prematurely. Also, for some reason as I approached the finish line it would not go on and I believe it was a battery issue. I have not yet scoured the operating instructions but so far, I’m not sure it out performs a cheaper version of another brand. I got it for the water proof capabilities but have yet to use that function. Thanks for reading my blog and remember like it, Recommend it come back.    Shawn

4/5/19

Welcome to my blog for the “Aging Athlete” The purpose for this blog is to provide you with reviews from my experiences on, Products, Participant events (Triathlons, Marathons, Cycling etc.), Destinations, Books and anything that I think might help you in your decision making process and information collection and overall health and fitness. I am not a Doctor. Any advice I give are just opinions. I went back to school online last April and in the last year did 2 Biology classes as well as Psychology, College Algebra and Digital Communications. I am working on a degree in Health Sciences. I am a USA Triathlon Level 1 Certified Coach and a L+

evel 2 USA Cycling Certified Coach  I am 53 years old; my current level of fitness is good. I have lost 22 Lbs. in the last year and would like to lose another 15. I had I “minor” stroke 5 years ago and am lucky to not have any lingering effects. My stroke was probably brought on by AFib that was probably brought on by the 30 years of heavy drinking that I was able to finally get honest with myself and have been sober 2 years March 26^th. I did my first half Ironman Tri in 2007 and my first Marathon last year June 2018. After training since January of 2018, I am planning on doing an event packed 2019. It starts this Sunday with the Rock N Roll ½ Marathon in San Francisco, a charity run for St. Jude’s (email me if you want my donation website). I will do a review of the event and my overnight stay in San Francisco next week. From there next weekend April 14 I will be doing a local Olympic distance Triathlon here in Discovery Bay Ca. (Olympic is my distance unless otherwise mentioned) May 19^th is Bay to Breakers in San Francisco. June 2^nd is the Herbalife 24 Triathlon of Los Angeles (USA Triathlon West Coast Regionals). June 9^th is Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon in San Francisco, an event I had to win a lottery to gain entry. It is also a bit shorter nontraditional distance. July 14^th is California Triathlons Folsom event. July 20^th is the Legacy Triathlon in Long Beach (Sprint Distance), it is I trial event put on as a precursor to the 2026 Olympics in Los Angeles. August 10^th finds me in Clevland for the USA Triathlon Age Group Nationals. September 15^th is the Nautica Malibu Triathlon and I will wrap it all up with a Marathon on the Las Vegas Strip, at night November 16^th. From these events and my training throughout I will be bringing you reviews and tips. I hope you find this Blog helpful to you. I will also be posting Vlogs on YouTube occasionally. Look for Shawn Beddingfield on Instagram and Twitter as well as Facebook. And please invite a friend.  Shawn