SUB 9 BABY !

First things, first. My OW swim last night was awesome. I still didn't make that turn back to start another 1/2 mile. So that being said I'm only doing 1/2 mile open water swims. I don't know why ? I do more in a pool ! Why can't I just make that commitment and turn around and go again for at least the 3/4 mile swim. I''ll keep you posted, it's coming soon. it has to !
But my big accomplishment was on my morning run. Got up early and felt good, did a light stretch and talked myself into pushing through that thresh hold of 9 minute mile. I was convinced I could get a swift enough pace and hold it for the entire run. No surges necessary, just smooth and steady.
I started it out strong and just kept picking off distance markers, playing mind games with each to keep my speed up. Get to that pole down there, get to that stop sign, make your turn and get right back up to speed, get to that light, hold your pace etc.. you know the game we all play.
I ran my 3.4 mile loop in 29:27 !! that I believe is an 8.6 mile pace !!! YEAH !! running break though, I don't have them often and I'm very happy.

lunch time - core training 50 minutes at the gym.

dinner last night was home made chicken taco's
brown rice

breakfast- whey shake
snk 1 -whey bar
lunch- chicken and rice
snk 2 apple
dinner ??

Hot, Humid and Hammering

Wow, it felt awesome to be on the bike this morning. Being that 90% of my rides are at between 5:15 and 6:00 am start times it's usually a little chilly. But with this minny heat wave it was just great. No leg warmers, no long sleeves, just shorts and a tri top. It had only been 3 day's since my last ride but because I had a minor mechanical issue yesterday with no immediate repair resource it felt like a week had passed.
Got on the road just after 6:00 a.m. and the cooler air hitting me felt great. I loosened up real fast and after 3 miles of spinning I was ready to pour it on for the first 4 mile interval. I had an average speed of 24 mph on that first charge and was real comfortable in aero and cadence. I timed the next up coming light spot on and dropped for the next 3.6 mile charge, this has a slight little false climb at the end and I showed an average speed of 22.8 mph. At this point I have no real lactate build up and I feel fueled and charged, I make a turn on to PCH get up to a steady 23 mph and drop to aero position for a nice smooth 6 mile stretch crossing 7 lights and hitting all of them GREEN !!! Average speed was 21.7 mph and should have been into whatever little head wind that was out there, but you could actually feel the resistance. I made my turn off PCH and headed back home down Golden west st. keeping a smooth tempo but speed has slowed a bit now. I'm still trying to hold on to the 20's, I'm telling myself anything over 20 is good, 21 and above is bonus. I have about a 5 mile ride in from there and I kept on as hard and often as I could. I did finally hit a red light and I wasn't too pissed about that. I had emptied nearly both my water bottles by the time i arrived home and pulled numbers. I didn't write them down yet, but this is from memory because of all the sevens.
Distance = 21.7 miles, average speed 20.7 mph max speed 37.7 ( there is a pretty awesome short little down hill or two I get off on just hammering). I didn't pull the time but I'm guessing just at 1 hour.
Anyways I felt pretty stoked about the ride, I really felt I left it out there. I only wish this would have been a day where I could have taken the time to do a quick brick attached to it, just to see how ragged I would get.Although after thinking about it, I really had nothing in my system other than 1/2 of my protein shake I had drank before leaving and two bottles of water. I'm sure that would have made it interesting after a mile or so on the run. My recovery was awesome, and I've been bouncing around all morning long at work.
scheduled for a 5:30 p.m. OW swim for at least 1/2 mile, may go more if I have it in me.


food yesterday-

whey shake for breakfast
whey bar snack 1
broccoli salad and 1 turkey roll up for lunch
no 2nd snack
roasted veggie salad and 1/2 white cheese pizza from CPK.

food today

whey shake
whey bar
chopped chicken breast and grilled peppers
apple
almonds pre swim ( about 40 minutes before)
dinner ???

15 more days to go hard, obviously there will be a couple rest days in there, and hopefully life will stay calm. until Oct 16th Big Rock sprint.  
      

from the Clydesdale project

ck this out http://www.csn.com via The Clydesdale project

yin and yang

Well ill start by saying my computers on the Fritz, so this is via blackberry.
Had an awesome lunch swim yesterday, doing 4x100 then 4x200 2x50 cool downs, best swim yet, I will now start tracking times and keep logged.
That was the yin, the yang? Well it had to happen. I woke early and fresh for a 25 mile ride, I'm a tire pressure freak so I pulled my bike off  the wall rack and lo and behold I have my 1st flat. I laugh and thank the man above that it was here and not out there I proceed to pull my spair tube from under my seat, I figure before I dismount and mount it, ill check it. Its got a .5 inch split and I'm not riding. In waiting on two tires I ordered I guess I should have already picked up the tubes!! But I hadn't. But you can bet yer azz ill have them today.Worse thing is that 5 am ride today would have been awesome due to mid summer temps showing in fall. I still feel lucky. So what should I do? Drink coffee, whip up a smoothie? Watch tivo of IM- KENTUCKY, which I'm excited about seeing? They all sounded great but that's not how we get it done. So off it was to lace up the running shoes, program stupid expensive quicksilver watch {best used for surfing I guess}, program I pod and hit the road. Not being scheduled to run I really didn't have a mental loop I was geared for.So I went for an extended version of one I had done a few weeks back. My legs were a little sore in the beginning but they warmed up pretty fast. I ran out just under 5 miles in 40:26 that was a great run for me. And I just have to believe it was suppose to be this way on this day.
I do miss my pedals but its all good. I need to work on running anyway's.

well I though it was a great run

I must admit after yesterdays movie run with my son, splitting a large soda and popcorn I was motivated to run but the heat never let up. This being said I knew I would fall short of my 50 mile marker for the weekend and I was bummed but not wrecked over it.After seeing the effort my wife had put in to dinner preparations of fresh veggie and chicken kabobs, I kind of felt I owed it to her to hang and help with any last minute preparations. Even at the beach (or as relatively close that we live) it was dead wind and fricken hot in that house. So opted for an early a.m. run.This had to be extra early because I have to get my son up and have him to school by 7:45, 15 miles away from our house. So alarm went off @ 5:00 and I was up dressed, coffee made and stretched by 5:25. I POD on and legs turning over by 5:31. I started out pretty normal pace trying to wake up the body and get breathing regulated for 1st 3/4 mile or so, then seen my shadow cast next to me and watched my arms pump and leg turn over and said I feel good lets push this and make a PB. I really thought I was gliding quite well, straight back, shoulders up, arms sequential, but not robotic, legs pushing fairly pain free. I made my turn around point and got back to that same tempo quite quick and held it for what I believe is .8 mile stretch. Got through the light with very little interruption in cadence and again turned it back up for another .3. I made the corner in my 2nd to last turn and said this I want to be simulated all out race pace and then the last turn would be roughly a 100 yard sprint. I held on to that quick tempo and opened up my stride, playing the mental game to push through the thoughts of backing off, then made that last turn and did open up to a longer and quicker kick for the last 100 yards. All in all I was quite proud and felt some serious personal accomplishment considering less than two months ago I hadn't jogged at a snails pace for over a mile in a decade. It was still pitch dark so I kept fumbling at my watch to get the light on and finally did, to my shock or surprise I had hit the pause function instead of stop and it had rolled into 2nd run function already. So I did some quick math after some choice words to my watch and I still did not break the 9 minute mark it appears I ran 3.4 miles @ 9.11 per mile which is a PB, I just felt I left more out there. So anyways I did it faster, but I really believed I would be sub 9 minute miles. I know for most people and certainly you guys that sub 9 mile is pretty much a gate run and not really pushing but I'm not there yet, and my running has always seem to be a struggle, I'm adequate on the swim, I can push to punish on the bike and I give allot back on the run. I'll be damn if I don't continue to work on this hard. Keep you posted for what it's worth.
Lunch time pool intervals from 1200 to 1500 meters.

breakfast- protein shake of whey,blue berries and banana
snack 1 whey bar
lunch- chicken and broccoli
snack 2 apple
dinner boiled chicken for burritos with whole wheat tortillas,avocado and chopped salsa

hope every ones weekend was a blessed one, we are pretty damn fortunate when its all said and done.

ps . for a no brainer movie for some mindless laughs, I'm giving the nod for " dinner with schmucks"         

Patricks challenge

took on the distance challenge but I missed out on Friday because I used it as a recovery day. Was able to put in just under 40 on the bike saturday a.m. with a real strong ride, picking up and pulling some riders along with sucking on to a STRONG triathlete who I tried to rotate with for about 5 miles. His average was about 26 mph and he was effortless.I never got a name and he never acknowledged weather he appeciated the work or not. Hopefully he was cool with it, he was rolling with i pod so ?? Anyways I'm taking my 10 year old to the movies and hope to get in a good run tonight. II will likely fall short of 50 miles, but stranger things have happened and I'm feeling strong again so will see. Oh I did get in in core training session yesterday too.
diet is still good and energy is up.

open water swim was good

I say good because besides surfing, I haven't swam in open waters in a LONG time. And though Ive done triathlons years back, theres still something freaky in the beginning of OW swims that is kind of unexplainable. It still felt awesome to not be tracking floor lines on a pool and rotating off a wall. There something really cool about knowing theres a distant destination and that your fully in control and capable of getting there via your own strength.I might also add this was my first swim ever in a real triathlon designed wetsuit and it was awesome !!! It's a sleeveless and I was concerned about armpit rash as I know in years past wearing this type of wetsuit to surf in creates ISSUES and this was no different. So I will partake in the body glide and apply when ever used.I also will note I generally wear an XL and I bought this wetsuit in Large, knowing that it may be snug for a short time, but this to shall pass.And it was fine, I can see where it will fit better as I shed some upper chest and back thickness though.   
I cut the swim down to just 1/2 mile. My original thought was to do 3/4 then exit and jog back to my truck. I had the lungs and strength to do it with out issue but I was feeling a bit sloshy in the head, I felt this way after yesterdays swim and I hope its just from that short layoff, I hadn't really swam since the 9th and I had been swimming 3-4 x a week. Anyways I felt I had a good work out and there was no reason to push yet. I'm still 3 weeks out from my race and its a sprint. Though I will not take my fitness and training hap hazard or lightly because of this, there is no reason to go rictor this week if I'm feeling weird. Taking a day off today, will ride crack off dawn tomorrow and do some core in the afternoon. My wife has my/our diet pretty dialed back in again, having a nice portion of fresh green broccoli, and diced of chicken breast over brown rice last night. I dropped every bit of the 3 extra pounds I gained on said trip last week and will try and be between 202 and 205 come race day. current weight 209 lbs. If your next question is wondering what I signed up for in my upcoming race ? I opted for Clydesdale. I have never raced that division and I didn't really give it too much thought. I figure the downfall may be a late and mixed wave, but I believe the same race has an OLY attached so now I really don't know and don't really care. I'm going with pure stoke and excitement of returning. As long as I get through all legs with no mechanical or equipment issues ITS ALL A WIN, WIN from there.      

Body revolt

Man I tell you what, yesterday was a rough day with my body re adapting. Like I said a slothed through both work outs and powered water along with some clean foods through the day, but my body was telling me that If I ever do what I did again for that time frame I will pay a price. Headache from hell all day, tight shoulders and traps, gurgling stomach.UGGG,I just wanted to collapse in bed and start over. Thank God my wife heard me loud and clear, and I came home to salmon patties and a nice fresh salad with apples and tomatoes,green peppers etc.. (veggied out). no thoughts of desert and rest.
Woke up this morning a little dragging I'm sure I'm still dealing with the flight and time change, along with the 5:00 a.m. BUZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ to get up but it was on and back to good old routine. Whey shake, half before work out and finish upon return. She had a good menu of foods for lunch and I feel better already. Run was solid, not real fast (imagine that) but steady and effective.Ran 9 minute miles for just over 4 miles,and without a doubt I could have pushed a lot harder, but after yesterdays debacle I thought of the blah effect. Id rather be smooth and steady than pushing and possibly hurting something. I work up through this week and keep moving to faster and harder as my body reforms.
I will pass on the lunch pool swim today and do a 3/4 mile open water tonight. I certainly hope that goes better than yesterdays flounder and I'm sure it will.
Thanks for the motivation and kind inspiring words.

Wow , how important food really is

As I said I would, I hit the pool today at lunch for my first swim work out in almost two weeks on top of my recent trip and lack of real nutrition. I was flat and struggled through every stoke. I did eek out 1050 meters but it was pathetic and recovery between 250 meter intervals were sad.
I have comfirmed and signed up for Big rock tri on Oct 16th, so I should be consistant with work outs and diet from here on out. I'll keep you posted.  

Home sweet home

Had an enjoyable trip back to see my father. Only got 1 run in though as my plans changed night to night and day to day. But THE one run I got was quality and lengthy, very hilly and super humid. My approximation was just under 5 miles, and more hills in one run than I have ever acheived. I ate good for about 48 hours and then things slipped, not so bad as main meals. I did manage some fish, some steak and a grip of veggies, but deserts were non stop. Funny thing is I could normally care less about deserts, but it's normally not fresh berry cobblers, and pies.Enough about that, I'm glad to be home and back on track . I even went as far as going to get protein powder and fruit to have a 4:30 a.m. smoothie in my system yesterday for the trip home. Showed Grandma how to make them and left it with her, encouraging her to partake several times a week.She liked them, so we'll see.
Got home yesterday around 11:00, milled around and then crash napped for 4 hours, Got up ate watched some Tivo shows and in bed by 9:30.
Up at 5:20 a.m. this morning and banged out a 17.5 mile loop that was incredibly hard after 11 miles. My diet was so "F'd" up that I was struggling to keep cadence on things and areas I have been blowing through. I just smiled and laughed then grimaced and swear ed and got through it. Cant wait for lunch to swim, and tomorrows another day. But I can guarantee my food will be right !!   

here in St Louis

At a cardinals game with my pops. Not really a big fan, but I'm a huge fan of my dad. So here we are. I have a 5 mile run Planned out for tomorrow. Run area looks awesome

just had to run today

I blew off my plan today for the 15 mile small ring spin on the bike and opted for a shorter run on a 3.4 mile out and back I do. Had my best mile to date out of the gate with and 8:26, slow I know but pretty good for me. I ran the last 2.4 in just over 9 minute miles, I think. I don't quite have the pause and restart function down on this watch yet. and I got held up at a light on the way back in. All in all, felt pretty decent for a guy with hairy legs still :-). And It's still a PB..

Fly out at 3 today for mid west, hope you guys have great races with some PB     

smiley face on the high way

Tuesday a.m. ride was chilli. Full leggings and fleece over jersey. Ive never been a sock in road shoe guy, which come race days is awesome, come ride days in the a.m. could be a different story. This may change, I don't know yet.
Anyway's there is a section of my ride, which almost no matter what trek or loop I take puts me on this same stretch of PCH. I love this section, wide enough, slight roll to it, only one light and you can usualy time it well. But I most like that when they previously did a road repair with ashpalt and slurry, that some clown laid down a big smiley face :-)  on the bike path. To me it's a mental marker, and I litteraly say goodmorning or hello to it every time I pass it. Pretty sad I know, but for 90 % of my rides that could be the only word said out loud the whole ride.
So I may be loosing it a little out there ? I don't care, he's still getting a word from me as I go by. If he ever talks back we will revisit this issue.
Ride was good and strong. I didn't quite eak out the miles I wanted, only got in 22. I could have made some weird extended pattern as I got closer to home but I didnt really see the point. I just need to get a little more reaquainted with some local loops to make sure I'm putting in the miles I want to.
I was in such a hurry I didn't check my monitor for time vs distance or even average speed and max speed. Maybe I will check at lunch, as I am not doing any double day work outs this week.      

Head down and hammer

Since I'm going out of town this Wednesday afternoon. I'm going to try and ride 3 days in a row. 15-25-20. Today's ride was a pretty fast 15 mile loop, and I clocked the 11 mile mark time vs distance to emulate a sprint, also focusing on staying in aero as much as possible the entire time(i would say I only sat up less than a mile combined) I hit my 11 mile mark 31:06 I think that was pretty good. My legs felt pretty fresh,and I was sporting some knickers and an undershirt for warmth, but I felt I was turning over pretty well. Thoughts on that time? Fyi- I don't think I drank enough water less than 1/2 bottle.
So tomorrow will be long 25 miles and just steady. Then Wednesday will be a 20 in small ring only. Thoughts on this plan ?

run run run

plans fell apart for a brick today, but did manage to get out and offer for a longer run(for me) longest run for me yet. Ran 6.8 miles in 1:03 56 so i;m guessing thats just over 9 minute miles :-O thats not very good, and honestly I never fealt a groove or any comfort in my stride. But it is what it is and I really wasnt just trying to bang out miles, I really wanted to pace and surge, but I'm telling you I never ,ever fealt any flow. Oh well miles in I'm happy and I guess it could be a lot worse, also leaves a ton of room for improvement :-)  

Saturday ride was good

Good little trek with Patrick today, always good to be able to put a face with typing or a voice. I know no one really reads this except Him and Kovas, however I will keep updates and keep pushing on. Was a fun ride with Patrick leading out and doing most of the work, we had some good paces going and headed down to the Long Beach Triathlon bike course. We looked for a 3rd party we were suppose to meet up with but that never happened. I'm almost 45 and married and still getting stood up on dates. (actually Patrick seemed like the guy should have really not been a no show), so that being said I hope all is good. Any ways we pulled away from Long Beach and headed back towards home and both looking to get in 35 + miles and caught a good tail wind we took turns and got back pretty quick. All in all a good ride with a void in the middle.Oh I also got schooled on where to do some open water yet calm swims.

thanks again for the session, looking forward to hooking up for more.

 

No A.M. work out is now just weird!

It's now weird to my body not to get up and train, I think this is a good sign. Had to shuttle the wee lad to school today, so I slept an extra hour ( uh what?) and got up made me and the wife a smoothie (fridged hers) and drank mine watching the VUELA on dvr. Which is awesome, because while i'm setting there watching yesterdays, todays starts taping. It's like that every morning and almost like a little gift when I get home. I watch part at night then the finish the next a.m. after work out. 
Anyways, lunch core was good yesterday, although I did miss swimming, but it all has to get done and fit into my wacked out schedule. Dinner was awesome, and sleap was bliss.

9-10-10 weigh in this a.m 209 lbs

31 lbs down from Jan 4th and 16 down from 6 weeks ago.

I'm taking a trip to see my father in the midwest next week or my first race back would have been this month. However it looks like my first race back will be a sprint tri "Big Rock" in Perris lake. Should be a decent test with lake swim,  and it looks like a couple of out and back bike and runs. Pretty stoked. October 16th I believe is the date, I'll comfirm entry this weekend.
2nd target race will be Bonelli turkey tri Sunday Nov 28th also sprint, but a bit more of a challenge, as Ive done an OLY here in the 90's and the bikes not flat, nor is the run. But the swim is open water lake again so yeah ! December I would like to pick out a 10k somewhere localy that is driven towards a cause, so I'll be looking.
Everyone have great day.

phrase of the day- " IF IT IS TO BE, IT'S UP TO ME" Tony Robins or Zig Ziglar can't remember.but still good.    

agony of defeat or thrill of victory ?

a.m. ride started off at 6 am and was damp, cold and a little headwind. I had and out in back in my head that is roughly 20-25 miles. At the turn around point in Newport I see a pack headed the other way, probably 10-15 riders, most matching but what the heck if I can hook up and not get spit out I'm game. But the light took FOREVERRRRRRRR and I spent the next 5 miles playing mind chess, that if I was hitting every friken light, surely they had to hit some. No such luck they diesled away, never to be seen again. I fealt defeated for a bit, then reminded myself how lucky I was to be back out here with the ability to do this. I say Victory !! 

ride- 22.8 mles
stoke - 100%

August numbers of 1st full month back

So I totalled my swim,bike and run miles for August and all the not huge I was quite pleased concidering its been over a decade that I have focused on real training. It was also pleasing to see the mileage increases after only a couple of weeks.

Swim - 7775 meters or 4.83 miles
Bike - 217 miles
Run - 19.6 miles

amazingly, I have already swam( with todays swim included) 4150 meters in September up to 9-8 with 3 unavoidable off days. Have rode only 33, but that will increase drasticly. And ran 11.6 miles in only 3 runs .

In fact had at PB of 9.30 mpm in 3.2 k run this a.m.- the first time I did this run 6 weeks ago I averaged approx 10.4 mpm.

SO I SAY HELL YEAH !  

catching up

Saturday 9-4-10 ran 5 mile loop from my home and back and felt no abnormal pain. This was my longest run since I have returned to training now for just over 5 weeks. I was pretty stoked on the distance and pace although snails pace slow, I'm calculating around 10 min miles :-O, but I'm good with that for now. It has literally been a decade since I have ran with any regularity and over a mile at a time. This leaves a ton of room for improvements.

9-5 and 9-6 out of town. ate well and stayed pretty diciplened with beers or cocktails. ONLY a couple over 3 days.

9-7 am bike ride starting in the dark and didnt realize until about 6 miles in that speedo was not regestering. I opted to keep hammering due to I new the basic distance on the route and was exicted to be training. Got stopped at a light finally on PCH and Warner and found the magnet on the wheel had spun a bit. Fixed it and now had info. The only thing I was really missing was speed for tempo. There was a bit of headwind this a.m. and its always nice to see if you are really pushing or letting yourself get lazy. Anyways finished 18 miles showered and off to work.
Will pool swim 1000 meters at lunch .
2x75 warm ups
2x350
1x250
2x50
which is actualy 1200 with warm up and cool down laps   

rest days

rest days give me anxiety attacks. I will suffer more starting tomorrow to make rest day a little easier on the mind.

thought I should update

I have no real time splits as of yet, I really have just started truly watching run ,swim and bike times, but I'm sure I'll be more diligent this month.
I have my eye set on two sprints and surely a 5k or 10k before the year ends. I'll let you know when there set and inked.

I'm still 5'9":-)
weight pre ride this a.m. 212 lbs.
reserve wardrobe is already starting to shows signs of life !!

Tender hammies

Went to bed last night with a one foot in ,one foot out attitude about training this morning. Set the alarm for 5am and woke up at 4:45 on my own. Was it a sign ? probably not, I'm just getting used to waking at that hour. So up I go quietly not to wake the wife who 90 % of the time these days is up @ 5 also due to work related obligations. But not today, so I wanted to let her sleep in a bit if at all possible.
Rumble in to the kitchen like a bull in a china closet, make coffee, go into garage get down bike, check tires and grab a water bottle to fill. Grab some shorts and a jersey off of a drying hanger in the garage in the now never ending rotation of cycling, running and swim clothes. Slug down half a bottle of water and choke down half a protein bar and start a lite stretch. Ive went kind of hard this week, considering Ive only been back training at this pace since the beginning of August. Anyways I decide on a 15 mile loop spinning only, NO large ring a stay in aero position for its entirety. Leave the house at 6:05 and start the warm up to PCH, knowing that is the mile mark were it really begins. Legs and body feel good, I drop to the arm rest and I'm off. Ride went really good. Pace was clean and smooth at average of 20.3 mph in small ring, never waited at a light and time flew, almost to quick. I was thinking damn maybe these quick loops are already a thing of the past, I'm thinking 20 miles maybe the new fast loop distance. However I feel my hamstrings today twinging a bit so maybe it was a perfect day and rest is needed tomorrow.

food today:
pre ride- 1/2 protein bar
post ride- protein shake with banana, whey, plain yogurt, flax seed, and peanut butter (all in moderation)
2 cups of JO. and a bottle of water

10:00 protein bar/bottle of water

12:00 most of a full chicken breast, with a 1/2 cup of pasta and some mixed veggies/bottle of water

2:00 peach /bottle of water

4:00 grapes/water

6:00 homemade lasagna with ground turkey (yum)

take care

      

September brings new light !!

9-1-10

AM run 3.7 miles, I thought I had it at 4.1 miles, but I was wrong. I was very angry at first because this was the day I was upping my running miles. Damn .3 was not what I had intended. But I got over it thinking of how much better my breathing and stride where today. It was still a victory.
Lunch time was 2x75 warm ups and then 750 meter swim straight with 100 cool down. Felt good .

meals:
breakfast: GU pre run with a bit of water.
post run- bagle with pb and honey- cup of coffee and 16 oz water

10 am- protein bar

1:30 turkey sandwich, 33.8 oz water and a pickle

3:00 peach and hard boil egg

6:00 dinner chicken breast with brown rice, and salad.  

AUGUST TRAINING - to the best of what I wrote down

8-8-10 - road bike 20 mile loop
8-9-10 - road bike 15 mile loop
8-10-10 - A.M. road bike 13 mile loop and 450 meters in the pool at lunch .( 75 meters then 10 second rest) hahaha.
8-11-10- lunch swim 650 meters- likely in 75 meter intervals

8-12- 10- 15 mile a.m. bike and core training for hour at lunch

8-13-10 -ran 5k in a.m.

8-14-10 saturday solo 27 mile bike ride- felt good to suffer again.

8-15-10 rest day

8-16-10 - A.M. bIKE 14 miles.

8-17-10- AM run 3.3 miles and core train and a few pool laps at lunch

8-18-10 AM bike 15 miles and 850 meters of interval swims at lunch

8-19-10 AM run 3.3 miles and 850 meters im pool at lunch

8-20-10 AM bike 22 miles.

8-21-10 rest

8-22-10 AM run 3.4 miles (pool closed at lunch I was pissed !!)

8-23-10 off ? dont know why

8-24-10 20 AM bike 20 mile- 1050 meter intervals at lunch

8-25-10 AM run 3.4 miles and 1250 meter lunch swim with 3x250 intervals plus warm up and cool down (getting better)

8-26-10 evening 1.4 mile walk with wife

8-27-10 AM ride 14.5 miles and PM pool swim at 750 meters

8-28-10 AM bike 22 miles

8-29-10 swim 650 meters

8-30-10 AM run 3.4 miles and lunch swim @ 1000 meters

8-31-10 AM ride 20 miles lunch core strength for 45 minutes

  

ROUND TWO seems appropriate

Ive read so many blogs as of late I have felt inspired and compelled to join in. Weather it's just me reading it, or someone else checking it out. I have done this one other time at the beginning of this year and tracked training and food, which I will do here also along with other tales from the dark side.

FYI- previous blog of training was nothing more than a commitment to lose weight and stay focused on training to keep me regular and interested.

I'll be more diligent in keeping miles,sessions and meals this time. Hoping for critics,encouragement and hopefully to get others out of a rut and off the couch. (will see)

For this first blog I'll start by stating this is my 2nd go around for multi sports. I'm 44 now have 3 boy's from 29 to 10 and 2 grandchildren. Happily married to a wonderful supportive wife, blessed to be working although it's very regularly 50-60 hour weeks and  I'm happy to have a job. From 1985 to 1991 I ate,slept,and bleed triathlon or some form of self inflicted pain. More on that LATER.
Ive never fell out pf love with the sport, just fell away. Life happens and I went in other directions, always following cycling and televised swimming, running, and Ironman comps.
Something was different this year, I really wanted something more in a lifestyle change.
I'm 5'9" and had ballooned up to 240 lbs. :-O. Hated the thought of past life experiences that I had lived and now this ?? WTF, what happened. You can use any excuse you want, and we have had a grip of them to turn to.But really would you rather go through tough times a slug or fit and alert ? I'm choosing the latter.

January 4th this year I committed to the gym 3 days a week and eating fairly healthy. That turned into 4 days a week and eating really clean and lean. Alternating weight training with body weight exercises and self taught kick boxing routine.
I did that religiously for 5 months 3-4 days a weeks, and walla dropped 25 lbs and looked pretty solid vs roli poli.
I liked where I had gotten but wanted to kick it up a notch.

DVR became a savior. I began to tape and watch the tour, every minute of it, and bang I was mentally hooked to cycle again. But wait you jack ass, you have sold off everything that was relative to that life over the years. DAMN ! what now ? make do and make it work. I still had a mountain bike that was 10 years old and although I rode the hell out of it, it was in good shape because that's how we roll. SOOOOOOOOOO ride it, start spinning at the gym, swim a couple laps, run on that treadmill you always look away from !
Guess what, fat and all I still had drive, I still had the voice inside that pushes you through thresh holds we don't now we can go through. SWEET !!! By July I had convinced my wife to let me get a used bike (thank you craiglist) with out you I would not have concurred. I started swimming intervals with website info, I started running on the road again !! YEAH !!!! The sport I love to hate, and hate to love. So yeah as many others here I have caught the fire, caught the bug again. I sickly and shamefully can't wait to train every day, log miles and see progress and failures.

So this is where it begins, AGAIN !!