New Year New Season

I seem to have found my motivation for 2013.  Really pumped about a potential sponsor and a big schedule.  Started off the year with a solid swim set and a nice speed set on the treadmill with my brother who is also training for Ironman Louisville. 

Turned around the following day and hit the weights and did a hard interval session on the spin bike. 

I'll be putting 7 miles on the treadmill tonight and I must be losing it because I'm actually looking forward to it.  :)

Been doing some off and on training and fun stuff lately but nothing to structured.  Ran a trail race at Otter Creek Park in December and finished 5th in my age group.  I've also spent some really quality time with my kids.

Life is good!  Never give up!

Will power, where did you go?

I'm struggling...  Been struggling since Ironman Louisville.  Finishing that race and being in the best shape of my life was amazing.  I put everything I had into that race and the prep for it.  All those early mornings and all those late nights were so worth it, but now that it's done I'm slipping.  Slipping away from all of that and back into my old schedule of wanting to train but always having excuses not to.

I'm the kind of guy that has to have goals.  It keeps me going and not just in sports.  I have family goals, career goals, faith goals, money goals and athletic goals.  All of these goals keep me moving forward and striving to achieve something more.  My wife often says what's next?  She knows I've always got the NEXT thing on my mind.  Often times to a fault because it causes me not to focus on what is at hand.  It's funny because she asked me that soon after Ironman and of course I was already thinking about it.

I have Triathlon goals for next year and I need to get them on paper and post them on the fridge along with a schedule.  This is what I do to get myself going and that is the goal for this weekend.  That and try to let go of what has been a crazy week at work.  It's also date night with my wife, woohoo!

Getting back after it...

Since my last post I raced in the Bourbon Chase with my triathlon club team (Louisville Landsharks) and had a great time.  For those of you that don't know what that it is, its a 200 mile relay running race.  It's split up into 36 legs and we had a team of 12.  My 3 legs were on the easier scale, but I ran them hard.  Lots of hills make sub 8 minute pace hard for me, but I got it done.  Overall it was a great event and harder than I expected.

The week after that race (last week) I didn't do a thing workout wise.  Took the week and fully recovered from a long season.  It also happened to be a very busy work week and I found out I'm getting a promotion!

Well I'm back after it this week.  Monday and Tuesday I got early morning 5 mile runs in and those felt great.  Took Wednesday off and I'm planning to hit the bike tonight.  It's helping motivation to see all the Kona stuff this week.  That's a big carrot for me.  Maybe one day!

Asthma can't stop this Ironman!

For my post today I'm sharing a link to a guest blog spot I did for SoundAsthma.com.  This organization is doing great things in the Asthma community, check them out! 

http://soundasthma.com/father-of-three-and-endurance-runner-talks-about-his-life-with-asthma/

Overcoming physical struggles to become an Ironman

Dave Mull: Overcoming physical struggles to become an Ironman

The Louisville Ironman was Aug. 26, and some of our associates participated this year. How do these athletes do something so intense? What is their motivation, and who inspires them the most to push them through that finish line?

Some of the participants have written their Ironman stories, and we're sharing them with you over the next few weeks.

Financial Consultant Dave Mull was one of a few associates to be sponsored by Humana Vitality in the race. This is his story:

Athletics have always been a part of my life. Primarily baseball through high school, but I enjoy pretty much every sport. Luckily for this I’d always been in relatively decent shape until about 5-6 years ago. I found myself spending more and more time at work or on a couch.  When my wife was pregnant with our first child (4.5 years old now) I gained a bunch of weight and really got out of shape. I started playing basketball in a pickup league shortly after he was born and blew out my ACL and pretty much my entire knee. That was a turning point for me.  After having my knee repaired and dealing with some back pain I decided enough was enough. I bought a bike and started changing my eating habits. I really enjoyed the bike and started riding in club rides and racing mountain bikes.  As the fitness came back and the weight dropped I started running again. This got me thinking. I’ve always been interested in triathlons, so why not give that a shot. So I did and really enjoyed it.

I’ve never been a person that could do things halfway, so it was only natural for me to quickly realize I wanted to tackle what I once thought was insane, the IRONMAN.

So now at 6’2” 182 lbs I’m in the best shape of my life. My back pain isn’t a problem any longer, my Asthma is more controlled than it’s ever been, and I feel GREAT. Training for this challenge has prompted much of my family and friends to also tackle weight loss goals and other fitness related changes. I realized this fitness
thing is addicting, and I love what it’s done for me and for people around me.

I’ll finish by saying another major reason for doing IRONMAN is so my kids and anyone else willing to pay
attention to my story know that anything is possible. I was once a 230 lbs, asthmatic with slight spina bifida and scoliosis. I’ve had knee
and shoulder surgery, and now I’m an IRONMAN.  If I can do this, anyone can do this!

Never Give Up!

Dave Mull, MBA

Where it begins

I'm going to try this blog thing again.  After completing my first Ironman on August 26th in Louisville Kentucky I have a renewed passion for sharing my story and my journey.  I hope to keep my posts short, meaningful and frequent.  This week I plan to post a bit about my background and my journey to the Ironman.  My goal with this blog is to share my life around endurance sports and more in hopes that the readers will come away with a feeling that they also can reach their dreams and achieve more than they may have ever felt possible.