Starting the new year and the new training plan

It has really been a great year.  I am feeling pretty good these days.  The past couple of weeks I have been doing week one of my training plan just to keep in shape and get ready for the plan to start.  Jan 20 is when is starts.  This way I am getting my body used to the workouts and the structure. 

In the past I would start running around late Jan or early Feb to get ready for the "Derby Races".  Once I finished those races I would start riding and pretty much quit running.  As it got too cold to comfortably ride, I would slack off until time to start running again. 

This year has been the exception.  I have kept up with running and riding the whole year.  Went out and did a quick 20 mile ride yesterday quite easily.  A lot more easy that I would have been able to in past Decembers.  And I am still running.  Nice and easy 3 today since I had a hard swim this morning. 

I may not be in the best shape of my life right now, but I am in the best shape that I have ever been for this time of the year.  And it is only going to get better as I start to push my training. 

As I start the plan I will try to update my blog more frequently.  Thanks for reading.

As for the new year...it is what you make it.  Go out there and make it a good year!  Set a goal.  Sign up for a race and go do it.  Make a plan, stick to it, and make it happen. 

Getting over flu bugs and holidays.

I've been around, just not posted much...sorry.  Past few weeks have had ups and downs.  I got the flu and took a few days  off.  Got over that and then got an upper respiratory cold.  It was pretty miserable.  I managed to keep putting in a few miles here and there.  Did not lose much weight, but did not put any on so I guess that is OK.

I am back to felling pretty strong and healthy now.  Had a great 7 mile run today.  66:48.  9:32 av pace.  I did the Fast Freddies Five mile Foot Feast on Thanksgiving and had a PR.  Last year was 51 minutes, this year was 45 flat.  That is more than a minute per mile faster.  Plus it was cool and raining for the run.  Wet, heavy shoes are not made to be fast. 

I have not been out on the bike a whole lot, but have been running pretty consistently and have been hitting the trainer in the basement (for the bike) at least a couple times a week.  Have been trying to get out in the weather at least once a week on the bike.

Probably about 8-9 weeks give or take until the training plan starts. 

I am feeling pretty good about where I am at right now.  Everything seems to be right according to plan.

See you soon.

Sorry, it's been a while

I had a sinus infection last week, was on antibiodics so I dialed it back for a week.  Only rode about 30 or so and ran about 12.  I am back on track this week though.  Today I ran 6.7 with av pace of 9:38.  I was pretty happy with that.  Already have a couple good rides in and tomorrow is Thursday!  The day both kids are in school so I can take a nice long morning ride.  Probably be chilly though.  On pace to have about 21 mile run week and 100-120 miles on the bike.  

I played football this past weekend at my parent's fall festival and I seem to have hurt my hip a little.  Not bad, still able to do everything.  Just a little soreness at the front, right where the quads insertion point is.  It a little "inflamed" after my run today so I am not getting on the trainer tonight. 

I am still liking my runs, but it is getting a little harder to motivate myself to get out and get started.  I feel the need to keep going, keep getting prepared more and more, but I fear that I am going to be burnt out by the time the training schedule starts.  I may have to take a little time off in the next month or so just so I can be fresh mentally and physically for the training plan to start. 

Need to keep focusing on my diet.  That is the hardest part for me.  Have slipped a little the past 2 weeks or so, I always seem to be re-focusing on that part.  I guess that is part of the game.  Re-focus, re-focus. 

Anyways, thanks for reading.  Will try not to take so long the next time in updating.

Broken spoke blues

So I broke another spoke on my rear wheel.  Time to rebuild it I guess.  Dropped it by Bob so he can have a look at it.  Since I bought this bike used, it is hard to tell how many miles are on that wheelset.  Bob (Clarksville Schwinn ) should be able to make it all better. 

I still got it 35 miles today, but not as fast or hard as I would have liked.  I had to be gentle for the last 2/3 of the ride.  Did not want to break any more spokes and be stranded. 

Tonight's run was nothing spectacular on paper.  If you look at my training log you will just see 3 miles in 29:45.  Well off my usual pace for that distance.  But this is the kind of run that you learn from.  This was the kind of run that will pay off big time when I start my training plan.

The past 3 days I have put 82 miles on the bike, 35 of them this morning.  I have run the past 4 days.  My legs were tired.  They did not want to run tonight.  I made them anyways.  The first mile was not a lot of fun.  It got easier, but was still far from effortless. 

It has been a good week and I am going out of town tomorrow night.  No training on Sat, and prob just a short run tomorrow morning.  I could use a day off the way my legs are feeling right now.

Glad Harvest is over

It has been a good week, but I am a sucker for funnel cakes!  I can honestly say that I only had 1.  I actually split one with the family.  Has not been the best week nutrition-wise, we have had a lot of stuff going on.  I need to buckle back down this week and be better with my food intake.  Yesterday was Em's birthday and that did not help.  Cake, ice cream and pizza.  Oh, well.  Back in the saddle now so to speak.

Felt good on the bike this week.  Thursday I put the bike on the car and dropped Em off at preschool.  I get some weird looks when I show up in cycling gear!  So I rode the whole time she was in class, pulled in just as they were getting out.  35 miles that day.  16 av, very easy ride.  It was encouraging to have a decent speed over a longer ride like 35 miles at such an easy effort.

One day the kids wanted to play outside so I set up my rollers in the garage and rode some intervals while they were playing in the front yard.  Some of the neighbors came over just as Jen was getting home from work so they just sat out there chatting while I was sweating out my intervals.  A pretty weird experience.  Only did 88 miles on the bike last week, but some pretty quality miles.  Next week should be better.

Running was the story this week.  Did almost 18 miles.  Ran 5 days, all days were 3 miles except for my long day of 5 miles.  The long day my av pace was 9:47 (goal is to run 9:30's) and my fast day I ran 3 in 25:20 which is 8:27 pace (goal was 8:30).  That was on the tread mill though.  I will be happier when I can do that pace outside.   

I plan to run 5 days again this week.  I also plan to up two of the days to 4 miles, and the long run I hope to make 5.5 or 6 miles. 

Thanks for reading.  Now go do something fun.  Go burn some calories.  Set a goal and make it happen.

Another week down

So this week was decent.  97 miles on the bike, 14.3 running and 1750 M swimming.

Not bad when you consider that I took Friday off for being sick.  Missed a day of running and riding.  And today's workouts were pretty easy since I was sick yesterday.

I ran at the Y.  Stayed on the Tmill so I could be close to a bathroom, just in case...Ran 3.1 in 30.  Really just effortless.  Nice easy run.

Went out on the bike tonight just to get the legs turning over.  Did a quick 15 miles, again wanted to stay close to home.  Did a little 7 mile loop out by my house.  Has a nice little section that is flat and then a few little climbs.  I wanted to do the flat section so I could stay down on the bars to see how they felt since I had lowered them a bit.  This route goes up my least favorite hill on Old Vincennes road.  I hate that hill.  It is only a little over a minute to climb it, but very steep.  Can't spin up this one.  You need a triple or a compact, and I have a 53/39 double.  Even with a 25 T cog in the rear I have to stand to get up this one.  So I got to climb it twice with a headwind today.  Yay me.

There is also a one lane wooden bridge on this route.  As I was approaching it today I noticed a bunch of rocks piled up with a big sign that said "Road Closed".  It was straight out of the Dukes of Hazzard!  Of course I crossed it anyways.  Gotta admit that I was a little nervous the first time, but the second pass I hit it at about 19 mph! 

So anyways, the legs feel great, belly getting back to normal and I am down to 240.  Thanks for reading.

Out of commision

Well not the best day.  I wanted to do 35-40 miles in 2:00 or so.  Maybe 2:15...

I broke a spoke in the middle of nowhere and limped for a few more miles until Jen picked me up.  Got 27 in.

Then got home and got the GI bug that has raped my family.  Fever, N/V/D, the whole 9 yards.  Oh well, I needed a few days of rest.  I bet I lose a few more pounds too!

This would normally be a time that I would go for a night run since Grey's Anatomy and all of the other Thurs night crap is on...but looks like I am going to be hanging out on the internet sipping fluids tonight.

Got a new stem today, thanks roadfrog!  As it is adjustable, I am going to use it to lower my bars gradually on the front, making me more aerodynamic.  Once I am down as low as I can go, I will buy a new stem.

Great run last night.  3 miles at 9:18's.  Times are coming down as I add more volume.  I am getting closer to the 8:30's that I would like to run on my shorter runs.

Thanks for following, now get up and go do something to be faster, stronger, or just create a calorie deficit!

cooler weather

Had a good run today.  Really enjoying this cooler weather.  Did 5 miles at probably a 9:30 pace.  I would love to be able to keep this pace as my long run pace.  I figure I just have to keep adding distance slowly and keep the same pace.  I would like to be able to run my shorter runs at an 8:30 pace.  Hopefully this is possible as I continue to lose weight.

Nice ride today too.  I have ridden 4 out of the last 7 days.  My legs sure are tired tonight. 

Hope to swim in the morning.

Another week in the books

Hi everone (both of you!)

A pretty good week.  1500 M of swimming.  93 miles on the bike and 13 (?) miles running.

I had an excellent week on the bike.  Really starting to feel strong agian.  Had a great Thursay ride.  Thursday is my day since both kids are in school and Jen is usually at work.  I like my Thursdays.

Run was good and bad this week.  Good in the sense that I am feeling better when I am outside now.  Bad in the sense that I only did 13 miles.  I have been purposefully keeping the distances extremely low in order to get more days in.  Due to work and/or soreness I only did 4 days this week, goal was 5.  So next week's goal is to run 5 days, ride 4, swim 1.

Diet has been good this week.  Trying some more new things and really sticking to my calorie plan.  Last night went to a party and avoided all things sweet.  No brownies, cake or cookies.  Baby steps...

Tonight I am hosting the euchre club and intend to make this a "cheat" night.  I will not eat everything in the house, but I will still not count every little calorie tonight.

And it looks like I am about 243 this week.  Down a few pounds.  Not huge progress, but progress nonetheless.

Thanks for reading, now get out and do something.

Sunday

This has been a good week.  I had some cauliflower and some broccoli.  Also had sweet potato fries (baked) with the burgers I grilled.  Portion control was pretty good through the week.  Sat night a little too much pizza, and today not so good at the family reuinion.  Too many sweets and hot wings...  I plan on trying more new foods this week as well as starting to use an iphone app to start tracking my calories.  I plan to start logging every calorie I eat or drink.  I will let you know how it does.

The running is continuing to get better. Had a great run last night, really stretching it out at the end.  Still pretty short though, nothing over 5.  Did almost 15 on the week.  Did almost 60 miles on the bike last week and swam a measly 1000 Meters.  Also one spin class.  Feeling pretty good.

The aero bars seem to be doing good.  I have put about 50 miles on them with no issues.  A little soreness, but nothing too bad, nothing that seems like cervical trauma.

My brother-in-law loaned me a trainer to use instead of the rollers I have.  It is a device that sets up under your bike so you can ride it inside, out of the weather (or when you watch the kids).  I will report later on how it does for me.  Thanks Eric. 

All in all, things are going well.  This week I hope to run 5 days, shorter distances, and ride 4 hopefully. Maybe hit the pool once or twice.  I think that some good benchmarks are to run 20 a week, ride 100 and swim 3000 per week while I am building up to start the training program. 

Well, the Colts are on so that is it for now.  Will post more in the middle of the week.

Bad Run, New Bars and Carrots

So yesterday's ride to and from work went well.  It was a little hotter than I expected.  I got up for today's run feeling OK, but once I was out there felt like crap.   Ended up doing 5 miles, but was just not feeling it.  I think that it was a combination of the heat and dehydration.  This is a process, and I have to take the highs and lows.  This is what I get for doing so many runs on treadmills over the summer.  The runs will get better.

A buddy of mine from the bike forum sent me some aero bars to try.  Aero bars are bars that bolt to your handle bars and allow you to "lay down" on your forearms and become more aerodynamic.  Over 112 miles, this can really be a huge time savings for the same amount of work.  I used to ride them on my tri bike until I crashed and hurt my neck.  We will see if I am able to ride them again without neck pain.  The picture above is my road bike with the aero bars on it.

One the eating front:  I ate a serving of carrots tonight.  For those of you that know me, this is big!  Really trying to work out diet, portion size, etc.  Tomorrow, cauliflower. 

Tomorrow is supposed to be my ride morning.  Both kids in school, I have 2.5 hours to ride...and they are predicting thunderstorms!  Of all the days...

Monday!

It's been almost a week since I signed up.  I have really been hitting the training fairly hard for 3 weeks now due to a tri that I did in Lexington last weekend.  I had been running and riding over the summer, but just for the fun of it.  I did not really have a purpose.

Last weeks training actually felt good.  I had a purpose, a reason to push a little faster or go a little farther.  I love that feeling. 

I have been doing some shorter stuff.  I am trying to do 2 workouts a day, just shorter ones than I have been doing most of the summer.  I am trying to bring up the intensity a little, trying to add a little more speed in.  This is good for me for several reasons.  1. it helps to change gears a little bit. 2. It helps to keep me out a little less time.  I have some long days ahead of me in the future, so I don't want to use up all of my kid watching "favors" this early into the training.

The shorter workouts also help to get my body used to doing 2 workouts a day.  Most of the summer I had a nice ride, or run.  Fairly infrequent.  I might only run two times a week.  Now I am going to be hitting it fairly hard twice a day.  I need to get my body used to running 4-5 days a week again.  And I need to get it used to running outside on the hills again.

Had a nice little run tonight.   It was very short and actually nice and easy.  My calf was hesitant to loosen up and something from dinner did not agree with me.  Might also be the hard spin class I did this afternoon?  So I slowed way down and stayed close to home.  I just love running as the sun is going down.  Very relaxing.

So I am preparing to ride to work tomorrow.  For those of you that know me, you know that it is about 18 miles there and then 18 home, the last 6 being uphill.  Should be fun. 

I will try to update later this week.  Take care and get off of the couch and do something!

Getting started

Ok, so this is my first post in my first blog, ever.

The purpose of this blog is to let all of you know how my training is going.  I feel like all I talk about is running or riding and people get bored hearing it.  So this way I don't have to bore everyone with the details, and those of you that are actually curious can get all of the details that you want.

So 2 nights ago I signed up for Ironman Louisville 2011.  I have done multiple shorter triathlons, completed a full marathon, and even completed a half Ironman.  For those of you who do not know, an ironman triathlon is a 2.4 mile swim, followed by a 112 mile bike, followed by a 26.2 mile run.  You have 17 hours to complete this event. 

I have almost a year to get ready for it, and I am already feeling the time crunch.  I feel like I am in decent shape right now, but I am not sure that I am even to a point where I could start the training plan.  So I plan to run a lot over the next few months.  I need to work on that more than anything. 

Right now a longer run for me would be 5-6 miles.  A long bike for me would be 35-40 miles.  Those need to be beefed up just a bit before I can start the training program.  I feel fairly confident that I could start the swim now. 

I also need to drop weight.  Not too long ago, I was up near 300 pounds.  I am currently at 246.  I was down to 224 last year for the half iron.  I would like to get down to that by the time I start the training program.  Realistically I would like to be around 205 or so to actually run the ironman.

I would hope that this will keep some people up to date as to what I am doing to prepare.   I am going to post some workouts both good and bad.  I will also post my weight and any diet changes that I try. 

Thanks for reading, I will see you soon.