The Kindzia Blog

Nappy Time - June 29, 2008

I'm normally not a napper.  Actually, I generally try to avoid them even knowing the benefits of them from a scientific and physiological perspective.  The ability of professional triathletes to take naps (as they have the time) is one of the key advantages that they have over their working competitors who are age-groupers.

But, the last few days two things have been happening.  First, we've been getting these late afternoon thunderstorms from the heat which makes it easy to just sit back and watch the summer storms roll through.  Second, I've been so stinking tired now that things are really heating up on the training.  This week I logged over 18 hours in total training time dedicated to keeping the body moving towards my physical objectives.

Yesterday's 5 1/2 hour training day consisting of a 5 hour bike followed by a 30 minute brick was physically taxing.  I stayed in bed a bit longer than normal this morning before hitting the pool for a 4,000 yard swim.  A trip to load up on fresh food from two local natural food stores and when I returned, I ate dinner and then promptly feel asleep on the couch for almost 2 hours.  I should be well rested to watch the Olympic Trials which are being broadcast on NBC this weekend. 

Tomorrow it's right back to training as technically today was my "easy" day with only having to do swim session.  It was one of my longest sessions of the year (4,000 yards) and gave me a bit more confidence that my swim continues to improve.  Tomorrow will put me at 150 straight days of physical activity for the streak.  Not all of those have been gut wrenching workouts.  But my primary goal in life is to stay happy and healthy and if I'm drilling myself to a point that I can't do something physical the next day, I wouldn't classify that as healthy in the big picture.  Consistent physical activity is what I'm trying to execute.  I'd go so far as to say that I'm probably in the best shape of my life right now considering all factors.  And although I feel tired at times from the Ironman training, I go a step further to label my overall feeling as, "feeling like a million bucks."

By The Numbers

• Injured pretty much the entire year so far between plantar fasciitis and achilles problems on the left leg.
• 149 - Days in a row of consistent training 
• 3 - Days missed of training at least 30 minutes in 2008 (goose-eggs in 2008)
• 55 - Days remaining until Ironman Canada

Neighbors Needing Help - June 28, 2008

I often get asked, "Why do you blog?"  The answers are many (too many to list).  Like most enjoyable things in life that you may want to be good at, they take work, effort and time.  But hopefully the rewards are worth all of those sacrifices (sort of like Ironman?) 

Every once in a while I get a special message or email that sticks out.  Often it's from people that I have never met personally and/or could be from any corner of the earth.  I recently received one of those "special" emails.  Rather than summarizing the key points, I thought I would just share as it was written to me.  It's from Mr. Kelly Duhig from just around the bend in Australia.  I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

"G'Day Paul,

Must say I found your website by accident, but paused to have a look through it.

I have since sent the link to my Ironman buddies, one in particular who I am sure related to many of the things you have written about.

It is unusual for me to feel compelled to write to a stranger across the globe, but maybe I can give you the added belief to finally get that ticket to Kona.

Heres a quick bit of background.   As a kid played aussie rules footy, competed in Judo, fit healthy kid, but nothing serious, (no state champs or anything like that).

Got lost my way in teen years in more ways than one.   After a series of nothing jobs, joined the police where I have been working for over 20 years now, and currently a Sergeant.

When I first joined the police I fell into the shiftwork trap of bad food, alcohol and put on a stack of weight.   (No donut jokes !!).   I weighed around 110 kilograms roughly.   At that weight and size you tend not to weigh yourself.   Woke up in mid 90's started running and losing weight, but still ate garbage and drank too much, but at least my pants weren't exploding.   No racing just running by myself mainly.

In 2001 I did my first triathlon and thought this is pretty cool.   I had decided to try out for our Special Ops unit so was looking for a cross training type sport.   Short story is I didn't get into Special Ops, but discovered tri's.   Like so many people heard about this Ironman thing, sounds nuts.   After sulking for a week or 2 about the Spec Ops, decided to do something that no-one could take off me.   Regardless of whose mates with who etc etc.

So Ironman campaign started in June 2001.   Did a couple of sprint distance, 2 half IMs and then fronted up at Ironman Australia in April 2002.   Rode the first 90 far too quick (2.30 hrs what a dill), back half in 3 hrs, and crawled home in the run.   Went 10.48 so very happy really.   Next day decided - Kona is the goal.

Researched place for a race, decided IM New Zealand would be the go.   Trained my butt off, and March 2003 was ready to get my ticket to kona.   That was until I got geographically confused on the bike course.   I take responsibility for this error, eventhough I was told by a marshall to go the wrong way, unreal.   Determined not to DNF I asked Technical Official what I had to do to finish.   Go back to where you left the course and go from there he said.   OK then.   After a 240k bike in a 7.52 split I was so angry I ran a 3.40 odd.   

Determined not to be defeated March 2004 back to IM NZ.   Went 10.38.   Gee 10 min PB in 2 yrs not what I had planned.   After this race I had personal difficulties, my wife worked out on me, (not IM related she had raced IM NZ in 2003 so she knew what it was about).   We had decided to race IM Germany  that year with another mate, (all 3 of us).   So my mate Dave and I went anyway.   Neither performed well at Germany, but it was a great mental break, I spent 2 months in Europe, (followed the TDF, etc etc).

Returned somewhat fatter 2 months of good food and wine, renewed and Kona bound.   Lost the weight trained super hard.   IM NZ 2005 would be my ticket to Kona.   Well it would have been if I was around 90 seconds quicker.   Went 10.09 and just missed out.   No roll downs nothing.   

IM NZ 2006 pumped beyond belief, ticket to kona time.   Weather went bad, they cancelled the swim, and halved the bike and run.   I did ok, but I train for IM not a 90 bike and 21 k run.   Didn't get close to a spot.   Gutted.

Talked a couple of mates into doing IM Korea.   Check out the times, these guys can't swim over there.   There bikes are ok, we've just gotta hold on in the run, I said.   The three of us go to Korea, and yep, the weather came in, no swim.   It poured with rain for entire bike, I flatted, and then the run.   42 deg C and 90% humidity.   Finished in some terrible time and collapsed into wheelchair and medical for a couple of hrs.   Hyponatremia.  Lesson learnt. 

IM NZ 2007, yeah I know it's my year.   Well that was the plan training well, new swim squad, had PB'd the half marathon and marathon in since Korea.   New girlfriend, bought a house together all is great.   At start of November, on the way yo swim squad, had bike accident.   Simply lost the front wheel going thru unfamiliar area, and lost it.   Spent around 20 to 30 mins unconscious laying in a carpark in an industrial zone.   After a while a guy helped me, made sure I was ok and I was able to ring Tracey to get her to pick me up.   I knew I had hurt my left wrist and certainly was in pain.   Trace arrives about 10 mins later and the pain is really kicking in.   "Would you mind if we pop by hte hospital for a check I say.   Shortly after arrival, I am given morpheine and undego series of CT scans etc.   I have managed to not just break my arm, but shatter my entire wrist and arm.   The orth surgeon comes and looks at scans and says, "are you an acitve person".   Yes, what sort of question is that, isn't my arm just broken.   He then goes on to tell me that they might be able to get some limited use of my arm back, if I'm lucky and do a solid rehab.   

You could have knocked me over with a feather, the thought that I'd really done something that serious never really occurred to me.   The short version is, I underwent re-constructive surgery, I now have 9 bolts holding my arm together, (but are they are titanium, woohoo), and they did some bone grafts as well.   I returned home about a week after the crash, and was on heavy pain medication for 2 months.   Couldn't work, the meds aeffected my thinking capacity, I'd be tired all the time.   Now most guys racing ZIM would be rapt to get 2 months off to train.   I am no exception, the more peolple told me that there was no point in even going to NZ the more determined I became.

I was back in the 2 weeks after the stack.   Complete with plastic arm brace.   Couldn't swim, but could kickboard and one arm drill.   After a few days of that, bored, on the magtrainer, you don't need 2 arms to ride one of those.   First set was 5 mins before my arm swelled up and started throbbing.   Well you can guess the rest 5 mins became 10, blah blah blah.   Then with arm in a sling started to walk, then jog and walk, and eventually started running.   In between these weird IM session I also went to rehab and did my wrist exercises.   They guy at the rehab joint must have thought I was mad, he'd say to 3 sets of this or that.   I'd say can I do 10 or 20 sets, or will that have anegative effect.   No he said, the more the better.   Never say that to a guy who races IM, All I did was do my weird IM sessions, and work do rehab.

Back to work in Jan, and off the meds.   Agai shall we change your leave you aren't going to do that race again are you.   The again bit really hurt I've got to say.   Yes I am, I could feel what they were thinking (you couldn't get a spot last time you've got no hope this time).   He have little faith I say.   

IM NZ 2007, I PB'd went 10.08 came 6th in age group.   PB'd the swim and run, bike was ok.   Kona bound, and so IM NZ was one of my other mates, (the one who came with to NZ and Korea in 2006).   One of the best days in my life.   My girlfriend was there to cheer me on, I was so proud, so much work, disappointment, did I mention hard work.   All those guys at work, did you qualify this time?    Yes yes yes, it was hard not to jump around like a lunatic.

Kona 2007 was a great experience.   My girlfriend Tracey, my 2 kids, my mum, a good mate Dave (who is still trying to qualify), and even Trace's parents came to watch.   I had a difficult day, cramped in the swim, rode ok, and really fell apart in the back half of the run - Energy Lab.   Or lack of energy lab as I like to call.   I must say the best part was Allii Drive with my kids, I was so happy.   Worth everything I had been through.   

Since October the monkey is really off my back.   I've done the Hawaiian IM.   I love it, it's the self knowledge.   I love the spirit and the philosophy of life of IM.   Not so much the commercialism.   I don't agree with the brag for the rest of your life bit either.   You don't have to grab, you know.   Who cares what someone else thinks.   You know that's it."

Now there is just a bit more to the story.  Kelly (Kel) is competing at Ultraman in November.  For those unfamiliar, Ultraman is sort of like a supersized Ironman over many days.  It finishes with a double marathon.  One of my favorite role models, the Big G, G-giddy, Gordito, Gordo was Ultraman World Champion a few years ago.

Anyway, Kel is participating in Ultraman for a very special cause in November.  If you watch this video you'll quickly realize what kind of guy Kel is.  He's a guy who is making a difference in this world.

If the video impacts you the way it impacted me, you'll understand Kel's request for help and will go here and do your thing.  Our friend around the corner needs some help.

G'day mates!

By The Numbers

• Injured pretty much the entire year so far between plantar fasciitis and achilles problems on the left leg.
• 148 - Days in a row of consistent training 
• 3 - Days missed of training at least 30 minutes in 2008 (goose-eggs in 2008)
• 56 - Days remaining until Ironman Canada

The Joy Of Friday - June 27, 2008

Right now I'm a happy camper.  I'm home from work, another week done.  My run is done, my A.R.T. appointment with Dr. Pio went well and I'm in the mood to just relax.  AHHHH, the weekend is here.

Funny how a weekend for a long distance triathlete isn't the same type of weekend as a normal person.  Tomorrow, the relaxation will be interrupted by a 5 hour Ironman style bike ride.  And the legs, oh the legs are going to be a bit toasty.

I have a bit of fatigue roll forward.  On Tuesday, the 3+ hour bike took a lot out of me.  The fatigue rolled forward to Wednesday.  Wednesday was the 18 mile run which took a lot out of me.  That fatigue rolled forward to Thursday.  Thursday was a bit of an easier day, just swimming.  I was shelled but swam well.  And this morning, I had the residual fatigue still left over from Wednesday's run.  I was still within 48 hours of the 18 miler and had that "two-day" effect going on.  The kind where you feel worse two days after the workout than you did one day after a big workout.

Matt prescribed a 10 mile run at aerobic threshold.  That's basically the top end of my endurance zone.  I did pretty well through about the first half of it and then I proceeded to start getting some diminishing returns on the effort.  Mix in a lack of concentration during miles 7 and 8 and at that point I was just ready for it to be over with.  The heat kicked in, the legs were fried and so was my brain.  I got in just under 10 miles but it wasn't at aerobic threshold entirely.  It averaged out to be a solid aerobic run but I certainly wasn't "hauling the mail."  We'll see how the legs feel tomorrow for the long bike.

But for tonight, I am going to suck up all of that "weekend feeling" that I could get.  It's the joy of Friday.

By The Numbers

• Injured pretty much the entire year so far between plantar fasciitis and achilles problems on the left leg.
• 147 - Days in a row of consistent training 
• 3 - Days missed of training at least 30 minutes in 2008 (goose-eggs in 2008)
• 57 - Days remaining until Ironman Canada

Unknown Abilities - June 26, 2008

There's times where I just can't figure out how and why my body reacts the way it does.  I'll give you a "for instance."  For instance...on Tuesday I have a bike workout where I feel strong, bust a sweat, and cut a groove and yet my output numbers just plain old stink.  I end up getting fatigued from the workout and most likely was pretty fatigued going into the workout since my output left little to be desired.  So on Wednesday, I have to back that up with an 18 miler which proceeds to go solid, when I'm obviously fatigued, tired and coming off a tough workout. 

I'm excited about my 18 miler but as the day wears on, I start to go down quick.  I start getting sore, stiff, fatigued, and sluggish.  I have one of those nights where I'm so tired I can't sleep.  The bed feels SOOOO good, the pillow so soft, the blankets so warm yet I lay there awake.  Although I can't sleep, I'm too tired to get out of bed.  When the time comes to get out of bed, I don't want to do it.  I pull a few of those, "Five more minutes!" to myself.

Eventually I stumble out of bed.  The legs are as stiff as telephone poles.  My willingness to put on my bathing suit and walk to the pool in the drizzly rain is about zilch, zippo, nada, no-go.  But I move forward and make it to the pool.  It takes me about 10 minutes to submerse myself entirely in the water (hey, the water felt cold.  Cut me some slack!)  And then I proceed to have the best swim workout of the season.  What the heck is going on?  I had unknown abilities.

Gatorade Marketing

Ok, sometimes I fancy myself as a business person. But I can't figure out the angle for the new Gatorade commercial where it's a commercial without them mentioning the product (isn't that the point of a commercial?)  Here's the link on YouTube - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4SqJz0NgnnE   Is there anybody out there that can explain this marketing angle to me?

I myself think it is smarter to just be more direct.  For instance, if I wanted you to know about my other blog which deals with wealth, health and happiness, I'd just put out a statement and say, "Go check out my other blog at http://www.thekindziablog.typepad.com/ and you'll learn about personal finance, health, happiness and a quest for higher personal achievement.  It's more direct to just say click here - http://www.thekindziablog.typepad.com/  People understand it, it's effective and there's no hidden message because it's direct.

By The Numbers

• Injured pretty much the entire year so far between plantar fasciitis and achilles problems on the left leg.
• 146 - Days in a row of consistent training 
• 3 - Days missed of training at least 30 minutes in 2008 (goose-eggs in 2008)
• 58 - Days remaining until Ironman Canada

A Full On - June 26, 2008

I'll supply a little background information in case any readers are reviewing this after the fact or reading from the archives in the future.  Today the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell more than 358.41 points or 3.03% to 11,453.42.  This represents a new low for 2008, topping the previous low set in March of 2008 when it closed at 11,740.

For reference, the last time the Dow was this low was September 11, 2006 when it closed at 11,396.84.  Oh what a difference 21 months make.  I highly doubt anybody is sitting here right now and saying to themselves, "Oh yeah, I remember September 11, 2006 like it was yesterday.  What terrible times.  I felt so poor at Dow 11,396.  I was eating cat food, taking the bus to work and searching for my third job.  The price of canned soup went up 4.2% that year.  I got really close to putting the kids for sale on eBay."  But somehow 21 months later, I think a lot of investors are having some tough emotional times.

But today, I spent more time having some giggles on the investment management game from the other side of the desk.  I had lunch today with one of my favorite clients who is the definition of long term investment success.  I enjoy working with him because he's a saver and is consistent in behavior.  He consistently keeps his living expenses down below his means (which are solid), lives under the radar, invests with prudence and discipline and just keeps making steady progress year over year.  He likes traveling (to places that I enjoy traveling to like Colorado, Wyoming, Utah) and spends time golfing (often with his father).

But back to my giggles.  My most successful clients don't seem to get emotional over markets whether they are up or down.  They know it's beyond their control.  But I'll share an inside secret that few investors know.  Do you know the crowd who often gets more emotional than individual investors when markets dip?  I'll tell you who; Investment advisors.  And they really get shaky if markets are down about four particular times of the year.

Let's go through a common scenario.  An investment advisor or stockbroker or self proclaimed "money man" wants to attract more business via obtaining more clients.  It's a competitive business with a lot of firms and professionals in the business.  The advisor often takes the angle of "superior market intelligence."  In order to obtain the client, they proclaim their ability to ascertain complexities that supercomputers haven't been able to calculate.  The dynamics of constantly moving factors such as interest rates, foreign currency exchanges, energy prices, federal budgets/deficits, tax implications, labor statistics, housing markets, inflation rates, consumer sentiment (and on and on).  If the "advisor" is not bold enough to proclaim his or her mastery over all of these inter-workings himself, then they might default to the common catch clause of, "Don't worry Mr. or Mrs. Client, the firm I work for is superior over all of the other firms.  Our research department can beat up everybody else's research departments.  We are so smart we know what is going to happen before it happens."

Now here is the interesting part of the "behind the scenes."  When markets go down (which repeatedly happens), many so called "financial experts" start pounding the phones to their buddies asking, "What are you doing?  What should I be doing?  What is going to happen next hour?  When is the downturn going to end?  What should I tell my clients?"

But the emotions are extra supercharged if downturns happen during the following four times of the year; end of 1st quarter, end of 2nd quarter, end of 3rd quarter, end of 4th quarter.  Many investment advisors are paid on the assets that they manage.  So when assets take a plunge at the end of the calendar quarter (like the end of June!), two things happen; First, they have some major explaining to do if they previously proclaimed that they know what markets are going to do in the short run (bad mistake) and second, they see their paycheck dwindle as it is tied to the value of their clients portfolios (and perhaps worse, their clients leave them for somebody else that can predict the markets better in the short run).

I'm shocked to see how many investment advisors are living paycheck to paycheck.  If markets come down 20%, client portfolios come down 20%.  If client portfolios come down 20%, guess what happens to advisor fees?  You got it.  They come down 20%.  Now, imagine a situation where you have an individual (like an investment advisor) who is really trying to impress people with a big home, a fancy car, slick clothes, a gold watch, and cherry wood furniture throughout a corporate office that overlooks a metro skyline.  Then continue to imagine how emotional that person can get when they find out that there is an excellent chance that their pay is going to be slashed 20% (or far more if they were taking on far more risk than prudent). 

So rather than spending time focusing on instilling the behaviors of success with clients and the investment process, they are dealing with what could be called, "A Full On Pants Shitter!"  All energy is spent wondering how they are going to make the BMW lease payment after the quarterly fee run.

What is probably the best financial place to be in life?  A place where your auto is paid for, your fixed living expenses are low, you don't have any debts, you have some cash in the bank and a long term investment plan that is executed with logic.  There's a pretty good chance you'll enjoy the sandwich that you ate for lunch and it's highly doubtful that you remember what it felt like on September 11, 2006 the last time we were at these levels on the Dow.  Just like I highly doubt you'll look back in 21 months from now and be filled with negative emotions because of where the Dow closed today Thursday June 26, 2008.

A Full On - June 26, 2008

I'll supply a little background information in case any readers are reviewing this after the fact or reading from the archives in the future.  Today the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell more than 358.41 points or 3.03% to 11,453.42.  This represents a new low for 2008, topping the previous low set in March of 2008 when it closed at 11,740.

For reference, the last time the Dow was this low was September 11, 2006 when it closed at 11,396.84.  Oh what a difference 21 months make.  I highly doubt anybody is sitting here right now and saying to themselves, "Oh yeah, I remember September 11, 2006 like it was yesterday.  What terrible times.  I felt so poor at Dow 11,396.  I was eating cat food, taking the bus to work and searching for my third job.  The price of canned soup went up 4.2% that year.  I got really close to putting the kids for sale on eBay."  But somehow 21 months later, I think a lot of investors are having some tough emotional times.

But today, I spent more time having some giggles on the investment management game from the other side of the desk.  I had lunch today with one of my favorite clients who is the definition of long term investment success.  I enjoy working with him because he's a saver and is consistent in behavior.  He consistently keeps his living expenses down below his means (which are solid), lives under the radar, invests with prudence and discipline and just keeps making steady progress year over year.  He likes traveling (to places that I enjoy traveling to like Colorado, Wyoming, Utah) and spends time golfing (often with his father).

But back to my giggles.  My most successful clients don't seem to get emotional over markets whether they are up or down.  They know it's beyond their control.  But I'll share an inside secret that few investors know.  Do you know the crowd who often gets more emotional than individual investors when markets dip?  I'll tell you who; Investment advisors.  And they really get shaky if markets are down about four particular times of the year.

Let's go through a common scenario.  An investment advisor or stockbroker or self proclaimed "money man" wants to attract more business via obtaining more clients.  It's a competitive business with a lot of firms and professionals in the business.  The advisor often takes the angle of "superior market intelligence."  In order to obtain the client, they proclaim their ability to ascertain complexities that supercomputers haven't been able to calculate.  The dynamics of constantly moving factors such as interest rates, foreign currency exchanges, energy prices, federal budgets/deficits, tax implications, labor statistics, housing markets, inflation rates, consumer sentiment (and on and on).  If the "advisor" is not bold enough to proclaim his or her mastery over all of these inter-workings himself, then they might default to the common catch clause of, "Don't worry Mr. or Mrs. Client, the firm I work for is superior over all of the other firms.  Our research department can beat up everybody else's research departments.  We are so smart we know what is going to happen before it happens."

Now here is the interesting part of the "behind the scenes."  When markets go down (which repeatedly happens), many so called "financial experts" start pounding the phones to their buddies asking, "What are you doing?  What should I be doing?  What is going to happen next hour?  When is the downturn going to end?  What should I tell my clients?"

But the emotions are extra supercharged if downturns happen during the following four times of the year; end of 1st quarter, end of 2nd quarter, end of 3rd quarter, end of 4th quarter.  Many investment advisors are paid on the assets that they manage.  So when assets take a plunge at the end of the calendar quarter (like the end of June!), two things happen; First, they have some major explaining to do if they previously proclaimed that they know what markets are going to do in the short run (bad mistake) and second, they see their paycheck dwindle as it is tied to the value of their clients portfolios (and perhaps worse, their clients leave them for somebody else that can predict the markets better in the short run).

I'm shocked to see how many investment advisors are living paycheck to paycheck.  If markets come down 20%, client portfolios come down 20%.  If client portfolios come down 20%, guess what happens to advisor fees?  You got it.  They come down 20%.  Now, imagine a situation where you have an individual (like an investment advisor) who is really trying to impress people with a big home, a fancy car, slick clothes, a gold watch, and cherry wood furniture throughout a corporate office that overlooks a metro skyline.  Then continue to imagine how emotional that person can get when they find out that there is an excellent chance that their pay is going to be slashed 20% (or far more if they were taking on far more risk than prudent). 

So rather than spending time focusing on instilling the behaviors of success with clients and the investment process, they are dealing with what could be called, "A Full On Pants Shitter!"  All energy is spent wondering how they are going to make the BMW lease payment after the quarterly fee run.

What is probably the best financial place to be in life?  A place where your auto is paid for, your fixed living expenses are low, you don't have any debts, you have some cash in the bank and a long term investment plan that is executed with logic.  There's a pretty good chance you'll enjoy the sandwich that you ate for lunch and it's highly doubtful that you remember what it felt like on September 11, 2006 the last time we were at these levels on the Dow.  Just like I highly doubt you'll look back in 21 months from now and be filled with negative emotions because of where the Dow closed today Thursday June 26, 2008.

A Full On - June 26, 2008

I'll supply a little background information in case any readers are reviewing this after the fact or reading from the archives in the future.  Today the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell more than 358.41 points or 3.03% to 11,453.42.  This represents a new low for 2008, topping the previous low set in March of 2008 when it closed at 11,740.

For reference, the last time the Dow was this low was September 11, 2006 when it closed at 11,396.84.  Oh what a difference 21 months make.  I highly doubt anybody is sitting here right now and saying to themselves, "Oh yeah, I remember September 11, 2006 like it was yesterday.  What terrible times.  I felt so poor at Dow 11,396.  I was eating cat food, taking the bus to work and searching for my third job.  The price of canned soup went up 4.2% that year.  I got really close to putting the kids for sale on eBay."  But somehow 21 months later, I think a lot of investors are having some tough emotional times.

But today, I spent more time having some giggles on the investment management game from the other side of the desk.  I had lunch today with one of my favorite clients who is the definition of long term investment success.  I enjoy working with him because he's a saver and is consistent in behavior.  He consistently keeps his living expenses down below his means (which are solid), lives under the radar, invests with prudence and discipline and just keeps making steady progress year over year.  He likes traveling (to places that I enjoy traveling to like Colorado, Wyoming, Utah) and spends time golfing (often with his father).

But back to my giggles.  My most successful clients don't seem to get emotional over markets whether they are up or down.  They know it's beyond their control.  But I'll share an inside secret that few investors know.  Do you know the crowd who often gets more emotional than individual investors when markets dip?  I'll tell you who; Investment advisors.  And they really get shaky if markets are down about four particular times of the year.

Let's go through a common scenario.  An investment advisor or stockbroker or self proclaimed "money man" wants to attract more business via obtaining more clients.  It's a competitive business with a lot of firms and professionals in the business.  The advisor often takes the angle of "superior market intelligence."  In order to obtain the client, they proclaim their ability to ascertain complexities that supercomputers haven't been able to calculate.  The dynamics of constantly moving factors such as interest rates, foreign currency exchanges, energy prices, federal budgets/deficits, tax implications, labor statistics, housing markets, inflation rates, consumer sentiment (and on and on).  If the "advisor" is not bold enough to proclaim his or her mastery over all of these inter-workings himself, then they might default to the common catch clause of, "Don't worry Mr. or Mrs. Client, the firm I work for is superior over all of the other firms.  Our research department can beat up everybody else's research departments.  We are so smart we know what is going to happen before it happens."

Now here is the interesting part of the "behind the scenes."  When markets go down (which repeatedly happens), many so called "financial experts" start pounding the phones to their buddies asking, "What are you doing?  What should I be doing?  What is going to happen next hour?  When is the downturn going to end?  What should I tell my clients?"

But the emotions are extra supercharged if downturns happen during the following four times of the year; end of 1st quarter, end of 2nd quarter, end of 3rd quarter, end of 4th quarter.  Many investment advisors are paid on the assets that they manage.  So when assets take a plunge at the end of the calendar quarter (like the end of June!), two things happen; First, they have some major explaining to do if they previously proclaimed that they know what markets are going to do in the short run (bad mistake) and second, they see their paycheck dwindle as it is tied to the value of their clients portfolios (and perhaps worse, their clients leave them for somebody else that can predict the markets better in the short run).

I'm shocked to see how many investment advisors are living paycheck to paycheck.  If markets come down 20%, client portfolios come down 20%.  If client portfolios come down 20%, guess what happens to advisor fees?  You got it.  They come down 20%.  Now, imagine a situation where you have an individual (like an investment advisor) who is really trying to impress people with a big home, a fancy car, slick clothes, a gold watch, and cherry wood furniture throughout a corporate office that overlooks a metro skyline.  Then continue to imagine how emotional that person can get when they find out that there is an excellent chance that their pay is going to be slashed 20% (or far more if they were taking on far more risk than prudent). 

So rather than spending time focusing on instilling the behaviors of success with clients and the investment process, they are dealing with what could be called, "A Full On Pants Shitter!"  All energy is spent wondering how they are going to make the BMW lease payment after the quarterly fee run.

What is probably the best financial place to be in life?  A place where your auto is paid for, your fixed living expenses are low, you don't have any debts, you have some cash in the bank and a long term investment plan that is executed with logic.  There's a pretty good chance you'll enjoy the sandwich that you ate for lunch and it's highly doubtful that you remember what it felt like on September 11, 2006 the last time we were at these levels on the Dow.  Just like I highly doubt you'll look back in 21 months from now and be filled with negative emotions because of where the Dow closed today Thursday June 26, 2008.

Visualization Gone Crazy - June 25, 2008

On the agenda first thing in the morning was the "old long run."  An 18-miler.  For whatever reason, some big workouts are causing me a bit of anxiety, nervousness, and stress.  It's just a workout, a single training session but I keep thinking, "What if it goes bad?"  "What if I don't hit my power numbers, or heart rate?" "What if I don't finish strong?"  And on and on.

So this morning, I started getting that nervous feeling again.  This was a key workout and I knew it.  So I started doing some visualization exercises which helps mentally prepare for race day.  I started to visualize it being race day, how I would feel in the morning, how I want to perform and how critical it was for me to do my best.  But things got worse.  I started getting so nervous that it really did feel like the morning of an Ironman.  I was actually getting nauseous and kept wanting to go to the bathroom.

Then the stalling officially started.  Maybe I'll stretch a bit more.  Maybe I'll take down a bit more water, I don't want to dehydrate.  Maybe I'll go to the bathroom one more time.  But with each passing minute, I knew I was just delaying the inevitable.  The bottom line was, the sooner I started, the sooner I would be finished.

I have a run course that is a 3.5 mile "lollipop" course.  It's a mile out, then two times around a 3/4 of a mile circle (for another 1.5 miles), then the mile back home for a total of 3.5 miles.  At the end of each "loop" I had my water and gels laid out and would do a few quick stretches to prevent my body from locking up.

The first loop certainly didn't feel good.  Slow, mushy and it just didn't feel sharp.  I was aiming for a sub 30 minute loop which would put me at 7.0mph (8:34/mile pace).  I came in at 30:13 and thought, "Oh boy, this could get ugly."  But I did better on the second loop and proceeded to build the efforts with each passing loop.  Soon enough, my 18 miles was in the bank and I was pleased with the numbers.  Here's the data for 5 loops of 3.5 miles each;

          Time           Pace Per Mile         Heart Rate          

1. 30:13                 8:37                   131
2. 29:29                 8:24                   135
3. 29:33                 8:28                   137
4. 29:22                 8:24                   142
5. 27:52                 7:56                   148

I did the final 1/2 mile at 7:45/mile pace with a heart rate of 148.  So my last 4 miles were sub 8's which was very pleasing albeit it took some higher perceived efforts.  Notice how it takes a higher and higher heart rate to basically maintain the same pace as we fatigue, dehydrate and go glycogen depletion.

I think many times athletes will go out and run 12 or 14 miles fresh at their "expected" Ironman heart rate for the run and find that they blow themselves and can't hold that pace.  The fade kicks in and they wonder, "What went wrong?  I usually can run so much faster at that heart rate."

If you want a good read on a pacing philosophy that I like to follow check out the following from Jeff Shilt over on Gordo's Alternative Perspectives site.

Streaking Challenge

Here's the latest and greatest stats for the streaking challenge.  You could see that the top people continue to be awfully stubborn and there hasn't been any movement.

Download streaking_challenge_june_22_08.pdf

By The Numbers

• Injured pretty much the entire year so far between plantar fasciitis and achilles problems on the left leg.
• 145 - Days in a row of consistent training 
• 3 - Days missed of training at least 30 minutes in 2008 (goose-eggs in 2008)
• 59 - Days remaining until Ironman Canada

Trick or Treat - June 24, 2008

I went into the training room this morning to knock out my bike ride and on the table in between the bikes was a bowl of "triathlon goodies" that reminded me of Halloween.  Trick or treat!

It had all of my favorites of gels and bars.  I had to think to myself, "Either Angela really doesn't want me to bonk during my rides or this is a little hint that she doesn't want me to come out for a while?"  Maybe it depends on the day :)

Some days you have it in the legs and some days you don't.  This morning, I didn't have it.  I did my ride.  It was a good ride.  I felt good (and strong).  I was cutting a nice groove.  The sweat was pouring out of me.  But when I downloaded the data it was dog poop.  Not impressive.  I'm not sure why.  What was strange is that Matt wanted >50% of the ride at 220 watts or higher.  So I thought I would do 3 X 30 minutes at 220 or higher and break it up into intervals like that.  When I downloaded the power file, I literally could barely tell when I was "on" or "off" the interval.  It was just a flat power line.  But, that's how it goes sometimes.  Not every workout can be a new PR or breakthrough.

Tomorrow is another challenge.  My first 18 miler of the build phase.  It's a bit daunting to think about it.  Mostly because I know how long it will take (that's a long time to run on a Wednesday before work).  Luckily the temperatures should be a bit cooler in the morning so that should help.

By The Numbers

• Injured pretty much the entire year so far between plantar fasciitis and achilles problems on the left leg.
• 144 - Days in a row of consistent training 
• 3 - Days missed of training at least 30 minutes in 2008 (goose-eggs in 2008)
• 60 - Days remaining until Ironman Canada

Daunting Numbers, Or Are They? - June 24, 2008

I came across some interesting numbers during my research this week.  The first interesting number I came across is that the number of worldwide millionaires (the number of people around the world with at least $1 million in financial assets EXCLUDING primary residences) grew 6% to 10.1 million individuals.  That's just 0.15% of the world's population of 6.7 billion.

I'm trying to keep things in perspective.  There is a lot of poverty around the world (and a lot of people in third world countries).  There is over a billion people living in China and another billion living in India alone (most of which are not showing up on the Forbes 400 list...)

In the United States, with a population of approximately 300 million individuals, the number of households with a net worth of $1 million or more (including home equity) is still under 5%.  If we take out home equity, the number is somewhere between 1% and 2% of the American households. 

So if we look at the numbers from this perspective, they look rather daunting.  "How could I achieve millionaire status?" most would ask.  It looks so difficult.  Almost impossible.

But it's not, especially if one chooses to execute a financial plan over many years built upon savings, sound investing and consistency.  (Let's throw in determination, discipline, desire and dedication.  The big 4 D's as I like to call them.)

I often see individuals getting competitive with their neighbors.  We all want a nicer house, a finer automobile, exotic vacations.  Keeping up with the Jones's next door becomes a mission, built upon envy.  But if you take a solid look at the statistics, the Jones's next door are a bunch of financial buffoons!

"BUT PAUL, you just told me that less than 5% of Americans are millionaires!"  Yes I did.  And truth be told, logic tells us that if you want to be in the top 5%, then you must be willing to do what 95% of the others aren't willing to do.  But, if we dig a bit deeper, that's not that hard to do.

The Bureau of Economic Analysis just released some additional data.  The personal savings rate in the U.S. is basically zero.  And that's an interesting stat because consumer debt continues to escalate into the hundreds of billions of dollars.  What that means is that your neighbor (the good looking Jones's) most likely won't be saving anytime soon either.  They still need to pay off a mountain of debt to keep up their apparent lifestyle.

So how hard is it to get ahead of people that basically aren't doing anything (or even going backwards?)  If you ask me, it's not that hard to beat people that beat themselves.