Brothers don't shake hands... brothers gotta hug!

I officially have a training partner, my little brother, John.  When I say little, he's actually 31 years old, but I do outweigh him by a good 50lbs.  Mostly because he still has the metabolism of a 20 year old and I still enjoy eating nachos, pizza, and beer… like a 20 year old.  Oh yeah, he’s also in phenomenal shape and has already competed in several Ironman 70.3s, half the distance of a full Ironman (which is crazy long in itself).

John’s experience with the halves will be a huge benefit for my training. Unfortunately, we live about six hours from each other, so we can’t work out together.  However, we can hold each other accountable for work outs and motivate one another, which is a big bonus. 

The commitment to an Ironman is pretty extreme and I don’t know how any athlete could do it without the support of friends and family.  Luckily, I have that support and I appreciate every bit of the encouragement I am receiving.  Especially since this is only the third day of my training… I’ll need a whole lot more when I’m on a bike for five hours on a cold, rainy Saturday morning. So, keep those positive comments coming!  Negative works too… “Get your lazy butt out of bed and hit the road!!!”

Needless to say, I’m pretty stoked about John and I working together as virtual training partners; however, I’m even more excited about both of us finishing the race on May 17^h.  Now, by the time I finish, he will have probably cooled down, changed clothes, had a couple of beers, and taken a nap, but that’s OK.  I’m just looking forward to that big brotherly hug at the finish line… and I’m sure if there are tears, it’ll be due to the sweat in my eyes.

Tale of the tape - Week one

Tale of the tape – Week One

I’ve designated Mondays as my weigh-in day.  This morning I weighed a rather soft 208lbs.  I definitely have enough poundage to get me through a long winter of hibernation; unfortunately, I’m not a bear.  That being said, my goal weight for the race in May is around 180lbs, but I’m going to round it off to an even 30lbs.  So, I’ll call it 178lbs. 

30lbs in 30 weeks, seems pretty doable.  Most fitness gurus suggest around 2-3 lbs a week for healthy, sustainable weight loss. I’m sure being on an Ironman training program will be extremely helpful, but I’m no longer a spring chicken anymore.  The days of eating and drinking whatever I want and then doing a ten mile run for the fun of it are pretty much over.  Let’s face it; it is going to be all about the diet.

When I say diet, I don’t mean the grapefruit diet, the baby food diet, or the beloved cookie diet (eat up to nine 60-calorie cookies a day… YUM!).  I’m talking about all the food that goes into my body on a daily basis, as my diet.   My plan is to try and keep my diet at about 40% carbohydrate, 30% protein, and a 30% fat.  Currently, I don’t plan on worrying about my basal metabolic rate (BMR), counting calories, or all the other scientific mumbo-jumbo, but we’ll see how things pan out over the next month.  I have counted calories in the past and have found it to be somewhat of a pain. 

I will be shooting for five-six small meals a day, with lots of water consumption.  That’ll be breakfast, lunch, dinner and a couple snacks. I’ve actually gone the last seven days without a soft drink… yeah me!  Too bad I drank some delicious Fat Tire last Saturday though… boo me!

This actually brings me to one of my larger diet obstacles: <standing in front of my chair> Hello everyone. My name is Scott… and I like Scotch… and wine… and beer.  Before everyone rallies the troops for a friend/family intervention, I don’t have a drinking problem.  I can actually bring the glass up to my mouth fairly well, thank you.  Anyways, I do recognize that alcohol is a huge training inhibitor and I need to be cognizant of that while training.  School nights aren’t ever a problem; it’s those Friday/Saturday night get-togethers where over-indulgence may occur.  So, if you a need a designated driver, I should be available. <My wife is currently raising her hand>

Worst... Blogger... Ever.

So, I turned 40 this past August (2013) and I've decided for my 40th year of life, I would compete in my first Ironman distance triathlon. Oh... and also document my trials and tribulations on a blog (also a first for me).  I say compete, but more than likely 'survive' will be a better description of how I will contended with the race.

Over the years I have finished various sprint and Olympic distance triathlons, but nothing compares to an Ironman:  2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike ride, and 26.2 mile run.  I find it disturbing enough just typing those distances on a computer, but actually physically doing them must fall somewhere in the insane department.  My first mental obstacle is the fact that I have never swam, biked, or run any of those distances singularly, much less all three in a row.  

That being said, I will be using a 30 week training program, which will ‘hypothetically’ prepare me for the inevitable pain.  The program was designed by Don Fink, from his book “Be Iron Fit.”  It’s a very good book and has three 30 week Ironman training programs: competitive, intermediate, and just finish.  The competitive program requiring the most hours of training per week and the just finish program requiring the least.  I have chosen the competitive program because I believe it will best prepare my race, but I can always switch to a less time intensive program if needed. 

There is one aspect of the competitive program I am concerned about, the swimming.  I’m just getting back in to the swimming groove and the swimming workouts get pretty intense, pretty fast.  Specifically, the first long swim in week three is 2,500 meters straight; compared to 1,600 meters in the just finish program.  I’m counting on the four swimming working outs prior to the long swim to getting to the 2,500 meter mark.  We’ll see how it goes.

As far as first blogs go, hopefully it wasn’t too painful for everyone.  I’m excited about starting my training program.  Tomorrow is going to be a great first day… Mondays are REST DAYS!  YEAH!!!