10 pounds short? Just add carbs!

So, I’m currently sitting between 185-188 lbs. That’s just about ten pounds short of my 178 goal by race day. <Insert sad face here> I had some distractions the last couple of months and really couldn’t get back into the groove once I dropped below 190 lbs.  I’m not sure what those 10 lbs will equal on race day, but I do know the 20+ pounds I did loss should be pretty significant.

That being said, starting tomorrow I begin carbohydrate loading.  That means about 75% of my diet will be carbohydrates.  Unfortunately, that does not mean I can have a steady diet of Twinkies and Little Debbie’s, all though that does sound pretty good.  What it does mean is about 1 cup of Bulgar wheat, 3-4 times a day until the race.  I’ll also be supplementing the Bulgar with pasta to change it up a bit.  All said and done, it’ll be about five meals a day for a total of 600g of carbohydrates, about 2400 calories in carbs alone… ouch!  I wish some of those calories were Margaritas! No worries, I’ll still be getting my protein though.

Carb loading saturates the muscles with glycogen (energy to the muscles) which helps keep you moving and preventing the dreaded “BONK!” which is one of my biggest fears for such a long race.  Fueling the body is critical and without the fuel, it could be a short day or a very, very long painful day.  This will also cause me to retain water, which means I’ll probably be even heavy at the start of the race.  Not a big deal since the first hour and half I’ll be swimming and the water in my muscles will slowly absorb as the day presses on.

As far as the last ten pounds, it’s not over after the race.  The goal will be to finish off the last ten pounds by the end of June.  I haven’t done any strength training since I started training for the Ironman and I am really looking forward to getting back into the gym.  Studies have shown that the best way to lose weight is combination of cardio, strength training, and a clean diet. So, I’ll hit weights, stay on the cardio, and keep it clean.   I’ll be shredded in no time!  We’ll see about that…

Wednesday is three days and a wake-up!

Week 30 - This Is The End

The End - The Doors

This is the end, beautiful friend
This is the end, my only friend, the end
Of our elaborate plans, the end
Of everything that stands, the end
No safety or surprise, the end
I'll never look into your eyes, again

Can you picture what will be, so limitless and free
Desperately in need, of some, stranger's hand
In a, desperate land

Lost in a Roman wilderness of pain
And all the children are insane, all the children are insane
Waiting for the summer rain, yeah
There's danger on the edge of town
Ride the King's highway, baby
Weird scenes inside the gold mine
Ride the highway west, baby
Ride the snake, ride the snake
To the lake, the ancient lake, baby
The snake is long, seven miles

Ride the snake, he's old, and his skin is cold
The west is the best, the west is the best
Get here, and we'll do the rest

This is the end, beautiful friend
This is the end, my only friend, the end
Of our elaborate plans, the end
Of everything that stands, the end
No safety or surprise, the end
I'll never look into your eyes, again

Can you picture what will be, so limitless and free
Desperately in need, of some, stranger's hand
In a, desperate land

Lost in a Roman wilderness of pain
And all the children are insane, all the children are insane
Waiting for the summer rain, yeah
There's danger on the edge of town
Ride the King's highway, baby
Weird scenes inside the gold mine
Ride the highway west, baby
Ride the snake, ride the snake
To the lake, the ancient lake, baby
The snake is long, seven miles

Ride the snake, he's old, and his skin is cold
The west is the best, the west is the best
Get here, and we'll do the rest

The blue bus is callin' us, the blue bus is callin' us
Driver, where you taken us

The killer awoke before dawn, he put his boots on
He took a face from the ancient gallery
And he walked on down the hall

He went into the room where his sister lived, and, then he
Paid a visit to his brother, and then he
He walked on down the hall, and
And he came to a door, and he looked inside
Father, yes son, I want to kill you
Mother, I want to, fuck you

C'mon baby, take a chance with us
C'mon baby, take a chance with us
C'mon baby, take a chance with us

And meet me at the back of the blue bus
Doin' a blue rock, on a blue bus
Doin' a blue rock, c'mon, yeah
Kill, kill, kill, kill, kill, kill
This is the end, beautiful friend

This is the end, my only friend, the end
It hurts to set you free
But you'll never follow me
The end of laughter and soft lies
The end of nights we tried to die
This is the end

 

 

Week 28: Texas 70.3 review and some other stuff

Well it’s been a few weeks since Ironman Texas 70.3 and apologize for the delay.  I started a race review when I got back from Galveston… well, it didn’t make the cut. I noticed it was a long and drawn out account of my race, which seem overly wordy.  Not to mention I want out of town for a couple weeks, immediately after returning from the race. So I regret that the review kind of got pushed aside.

Here are is the Cliff Notes of the race:

What: Ironman Texas 70.3

Where: Galveston, TX
When: April 6, 2014
Who: Me and my brother
Why: Crazy?
How: Standard 70.3 race (1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike, 13.1 mile run)
Finish Time: 6:15:16
Weather: Overcast, air temp 70’s, water temp 69 degrees

Details:  Overall not a bad race, considering it was my first half Ironman.  I finished at just over six hours.  The swim did not start off very well.  My age group was wave 13 of 20 and we started at 8am. I broke my wetsuit 15 minutes prior to entering the water and I decided to go without the suit.  The water was cold (69 deg F), but I’ve been in colder and didn’t think it was too bad.  That is mostly because I was concerned about the insane amount of chop that I was swimming headfirst into for the first 550 meters.  I made it out of the water unscathed, but a lot slower than I would have liked.

                                                                 Going in (one of the last)

 

                                                              Age Group Mass Start                                                             

 

                                                                         Donzo!!!

The bike went well.  The route was very flat and we had a tail wind on the way out and back (not sure how that happened, but it was nice).  I found an impromptu team mate and followed her for about 38 miles before I had to hit the port-o-john.  All said and done, I averaged 19.5mph for the ride and I don’t think I could have asked for anything better. 

A rough dismount

 

And I'm good!

 

 

To the run… it was very slow.  I pretty much committed myself to running everything, but to walk  the water stations.  They were about a mile apart; so, it was a good mental goal as I tried to finish up the race.  It was three loops with multiple U-turns... I wasn't a big fan.  However, the good thing about the three laps was you had lots of folks cheering you on the whole run.  Very cool.

                                                                      One more lap!!

                                                        With John (He finished 5:29:40)

All in all, not too many hiccups for the day. The wetsuit was obviously a big one. One minor mishap did occur prior to the start on race day.  Somehow we missed that the transition area was closing at 6:30am. I didn’t start unit 8am and John not until 8:15am; so, we were in not hurry as we arrived at 6:22am.  That’s when we heard the announcer say that all athletes had to be out of the transition area in eight minutes.  Needless to say, we had to run into the transition area, drop our stuff, get our swimming gear and get out, with barely a minute to spare.  So, neither of our transition areas were ready prior to the race.  That led to a very slow T1 time (7 minutes), but I wasn’t overly worried.  I was just trying to catch my breath and not forget my helmet as I got my bike gear together.  I also broke my bike computer sensor off at about 1/8 of a mile out of the transition area… not a good way to start the ride. However, it turned out well, so no biggie.

 

                                                                       Race breakdown

 

Only 19 days until the big race.  Am I ready... yes and no.  Yes, I'm ready to get that sucker knocked out.  But... no, I didn't get all of my training in and I'm going to pay for it.  However, because I know that, I'm that much more mentally prepared for the suck.  I can hardly believe I paid to do this!

 

So with three weeks until the race, I'm pretty much trying to get in the rest of my workouts and mentally prepare.  I don't have anymore work trips and my schedule is clear, thank goodness!  Here's to good weather. Cheers!

 

 

Week 24: Back from outer space... I will survive

Or at least, let's hope so. So my three weeks away was horrible for my training, both physically and mentally.  Obviously, I missed out on some pretty significant training, but psychologically it’s done some damage as well.  I’m seriously starting to worry about the race in May.  Only 45 days left!  Now don’t get me wrong, it is going to happen. Although it’s going to be a whole lot more painful than I would have liked.  One of my life rules is coming to mind: You can’t cram fitness.  I guess I’ll need to add an addendum to that rule: However, you sure as heck can try! (Safely of course)

So that being said, I had a pretty good week of training last week.  I got most of my workouts in, including the weekend long ride (60mile ride + 45min run) and long run (1hour ride + 2:15 run).  They weren’t all that fun and not quite where I should be at this point in my training; however, I didn’t think it was too bad considering the long break.  I also got some time in with the wetsuit, which obviously feels a little different, but isn’t too bad and very buoyant (bonus!).

I’m sure some of you are wondering about the weight loss.  Luckily, I guess, I stayed pretty steady throughout three weeks of hotel living.  This past Monday morning I weighed 189.6 lbs.  I believe the boat for the sub 170lbs by race day has sailed.  I’m not even sure what’s doable at this point.  I really just need to make it through the race.  Maybe sub 180, who knows?

This weekend I have the Texas 70.3 in Galveston.  It’ll be a good test to see how I am physically, but I also need to keep in mind that’s only half of a full Ironman.  However, things are not looking good for the race.  Thunderstorms are forecasted (99% chance of rain), starting in the morning and going through the afternoon.  I HATE RIDING IN THE RAIN!  What concerns me is the heightened chance of a crash, which could wreck my bike, wreck me, or any combination of the two.   Normally not a huge deal, but it’s getting really close to the big race in May.  So if you thought the weather was bad enough, who would have guessed that a barge would collide with a ship, spilling 160,000 gallons of oil in to Galveston Bay. Seriously?!? Sooo, is Someone against this race from happening? I’m still going, but when the frogs start dropping from the sky, I’m officially out.  As of now, the swim is still happening.  We’ll see how things pan out and hopefully it’ll be a go. 

So, the hits keep on coming.  I’m going on a trip for two weeks, starting next week.  I will have my bike and I don’t foresee having as much work to do as I did on my last trip; however, it’s still going to be a huge distraction.  The key is to stay focused and to keep my eye on the prize. Although, I can’t keep from feeling like I’m on a sinking ship.  Life vest anyone?

FYI, I've been humming this song for the last hour... you're welcome!

At first I was afraid I was petrified
Kept thinking I could never live without you by my side
But then I spent so many nights
Thinking how you did me wrong
And I grew strong
And I learned how to get along
And now you're back
from outer space
I just walked in to find you here with that sad look upon your face
I should have changed that stupid lock
I should have made you leave your key
If I had known for just one second you'd be back to bother me
Go on now, go walk out the door
Just turn around now
'Cause you're not welcome anymore
Weren't you the one who tried to hurt me with goodbye
Do you think I'd crumble
Did you think I'd lay down and die?

Oh no, not I. I will survive
Oh as long as I know how to love
I know I'll stay alive
I've got all my life to live
I've got all my love to give and I'll survive
I will survive,
I will survive!

 

Time away

So, I will start by apologizing for lack of posts over the last couple of weeks.  I've been away for work and have been living in a hotel, which has been problematic.  Unfortunately, any reports on training or diet would only be negative; so, I'll just leave it at that.  For the last two weeks I've worked everyday for approximately 12 hours a day.  It's been extremely hard to squeeze anything workouts in for several reasons.  First of all, my day is packed with unavoidable deadlines and meetings and secondly, its just hard to get motivated to do anything with a schedule like that. I do have another week and half of hotel life and hope I can get somewhat back on track. 

That being said, I'm not sure how much these last few weeks will throw me off of my race.  I've made some moderate time goals for myself, but at this point I may just have to be satisfied with finishing the race.  We'll see though, all hope isn't lost.  Wish me luck... I'm going to need it.

Week Seventeen Complete

Week seventeen is complete and it wasn’t too bad.  I only missed two workouts, which is good, but unfortunately missed my long ride this past weekend.  Though getting all my workouts in during the week is important, I feel that my long rides and runs (weekend workouts), outweigh my weekday workouts considerably.  Two factors kept me from my ride this weekend. One was the weather and the other, I hate to say, was laziness.  It was raining all morning, so I waited for the weather to pass.  Once it did, I just couldn’t muster up enough energy to do a three plus hour ride.  It was a nice day of doing absolutely nothing, which I don’t see very often.  I guess you need that sometimes; although, I can’t afford too many more.  I have six weeks until Ironman Texas 70.3 and twelve weeks until the full meal deal. Yikes! Storms-a-come’n!!!

For this week’s training it was suppose to be pretty light, with an Olympic distance tri on the weekend.  Well, tri season hasn’t started yet and I felt it would be better to move on to the next week, instead of putting on my own personal Olympic distance event.  Skipping over this week will actually put me back on track anyways.  It seems I miscalculated by a week when I started, which was actually 29 weeks out from the race, instead of 30.  No biggie, but I get to look forward to a four hour ride this Saturday. I think I’ll make it an 80 miler!!!

Monday
Rest Day

Tuesday
S -500m warm up, 8x50m drill, 4 x 200m @ 20sec, 6 x 100m @ 15sec, 8x50m drill, 300m cool down
R - 1:00 Z2 (at 0:10, insert 3 x 6 min Z4 @ 2 min jog)

Wednesday
B - Trans: 0:45 Z2 (QC)
R - 0:30 Z2

Thursday
S - 500m warm up, 8x50m drill, 16x25 @ 10sec, 600 pull, 8x50m drill, 300m cool down
B - 1:15 Z2 (at 0:10, insert 6 x 5 min Z4 @ 3 min spin)

Friday
S - 500m warm up, 8x50m drill, 10x50 @ 15sec, 4 x 100 @ 20sec, 10x50 @ 15sec, 8x50m drill, 300m cool down
R - 1:15 Z2 (at 1:00, insert 10min Z4)

Saturday
B - 3:30 Z2 (QC)
R - 0:30 Z2

Sunday
B - 1:00 Z1 (100+ RPM)
R - 1:15 Z1 to Z2

Total Hrs: 14:00
S: 3:00 2:00
B: 6:30 3:00
R: 4:30 4:00

Tale of the Tape: Week Seventeen

Tuesday Morning Weigh-in

Starting Weight: 208 lbs

Last Week’s Weight: 191.8 lbs

Current Weight: 190.1 lbs

Weekly Difference: -1.7 lbs

Total Lost: 17.9 lbs

Even with a spectacular four-day weekend in Colorado, I still managed to drop another 1.7 lbs.  The biggest factor was a good week leading up to the trip, and not completely over doing it to during my travels.  We did spend Saturday and Sunday carving up the slopes, which was fairly taxing at times and a pretty considerable workout.  I assumed my cycling and running would have helped the legs and calves… nope.  Specificity is a bitch!  Skiing has its own brand of leg torture, but I love it.  So we kept the meals pretty light both days, except for dinner.  We did keep warm with a flask of Gentleman Jack; so, there were some empty calories consumed throughout the day, but what are some calories shared among friends? I’ll tell you what it is... AWESOME!!!  By the way, if you’re not a fan of the bite that usually comes with Old Number 7 Jack Daniels, I recommend going with the Gentleman Jack.  It costs just a little bit more than regular JD, but is totally worth. Very smooth and can be enjoyed on the rocks or neat; or, even better in a cold flask on a ski lift!

Including this week, I have seven weeks until my half Ironman in April.  At my current rate of loss, assuming I can maintain it, I should be able to break the 180 lbs barrier by race time.  Following the half, I’ll have six more weeks of training and potential weight loss before the Ironman in May.  Best case scenario, I’ll break the 170 lbs marker by race day: very doable, realistic, and healthy.  It’s hard to imagine what it’ll be like to have 40 less pounds while riding and running.  I’m sure my knees and back will throw me a party!

Hope everyone has a great week. There is no try…DO!

Week 16 Complete

I just got back from an awesome four day weekend in Colorado. It wasn’t a great week for training due to the weekend travel and the weather again.  Though the temperatures were pretty moderate all week, it rained and thunder stormed Tuesday and Wednesday. That kept me out of the pool except for Thursday and kept off the road and at the gym. 

On the bright side, I spend eight hours skiing on Saturday and six hours on Sunday.  It was a great weekend with some awesome friends. My legs and calves are utterly destroyed, but totally worth it.   Unfortunately, this was the last weekend of fun until my race in May.  I say unfortunately, but it’ll be a good thing when it comes to hitting all of my long weekend runs and rides. 

This week I am really going to focus on hitting every workout.  It has been awhile since I’ve completed all my workouts for the week, but this week it’s happening!  Come hell or high water!

Monday
Rest Day

Tuesday
S -500m warm up, 8x50m drill, 200-300-400-500 @ 45sec, 8x50m drill, 300m cool down
R - 1:00 Z2 (at 0:10, insert 5 x 3 min Z4 @ 1 min jog)

Wednesday
B - Trans: 0:45 Z2 (QC)
R - 0:30 Z2

Thursday
S - 300m warm up, 8x50m drill, 12x100 @20sec, 8x50m drill, 200m cool down
B - 1:00 Z2 (at 0:15, insert 5 x 5 min Z4 @ 3 min spin)

Friday
S - 3,000 straight swim
R - 1:00 Z2 (at 0:45, insert 10min Z4 @ 3 min spin)

Saturday
B - 3:00 Z2 (at 2:50 insert 5 min Z4) (QC)
R - 0:30 Z2

Sunday
B - 0:45 Z1 (100+ RPM)
R - 1:30 Z1 to Z2

Total Hrs: 13:00 4:15
S: 3:00 1:00
B: 5:30 1:45
R: 4:30 1:30

Tale of the Tape: Week Sixteen

Monday Morning Weigh-in

Starting Weight: 208 lbs

Last Week’s Weight: 193.5 lbs

Current Weight: 191.8 lbs

Weekly Difference: -1.7 lbs

Total Lost: 16.2 lbs

So I’m about a week past the half way point and I’m pretty much on glide path for my 178 lbs goal by race day.  Things seemed to be going really well until January.  Once I hit 195lbs, I was there for about four weeks or so.  That really put a damper on my weight loss progress and brought me back to my one pound a week projection.  I guess that’s good in way, but I was hoping for a little bit better results.  The one pound a week was very conservative, but health and realistic.  Below is my progress so far:

 

 

I really feel like I could easily get to a sub 170lbs, which would be awesome for my race.  That’s a realistic goal, but I’ll really need to buckle down.  I figure that’s just a hair less than two pounds a week, for the next 14 weeks.  My biggest challenge will be living in a hotel for three weeks in March and two weeks of April.  I will just need to plan out my meals throughout the week and avoid all the restaurants my work mates will be dining at every night.  Oh yeah, the other challenge, I haven't weighed less than 170lbs in over 17 years.  It'll be a good race weight, but I don't see me sustaining that weight much more after the race and I don't think I'd want to.

I'll really need to keep it clean throughout this week because we're headed to Colorado on Friday.  That'll mean knocking out black diamonds and potentially some really good (meaning really bad) food and spirits in Vail, CO. The upside is that we normally keep breakfast and lunch fairly light and we'll be skiing all day.  The downside, it's easy to have way to much fun at Vail!!!  But I guess that's the point.

Cheers!

Week 15 Complete

This week’s training wasn’t that great.  I did get all my runs in and most of my rides, but didn’t make it to the pool.  Between the weather and work again, it just didn’t happen.  We've got some more crappy weather coming in this week, I'm going to have nut-up and swim anyways. I had a pretty decent long run on Saturday and a good ride on Sunday, at least until it was cut short.

I had some bike issues this week, which affected my weekend rides.  I put on some new carbon wheels (Reynolds), but couldn’t get the wheels to settle in correctly.  I am not bike mechanic by any stretch of the imagination and it really showed this weekend.  Google and Utube are my go to moves, but I couldn’t figure out the issues.  So, I ran on Saturday and moved my bike to Sunday.  This gave me time to switch back to my other wheels.  Unfortunately, Sunday’s ride was cut short due to a flat at the midway point, which sucked because I was feeling really good and was averaging about 20 mph up to that point.  Normally flats are not an issue, but I left my bike leavers, which assist in getting the tire on and off, back at the house.  I’d been messing with my new wheels and forgot to return my leavers back to my bike bag.   That’ll learn me.  I rarely get flats, but you always seem to get them at the worst possible moment.  Mine happened to be halfway through a four hour ride, in a Dollar General parking lot.  I still don’t know what caused the flat, but my lovely wife came and got me.  Thanks again honey.

So… I had a first on this ride.  I actually had someone throw something at me.  As a white pick-up truck screamed by me, one of the passengers threw a plastic cup full of Coke at me.  Luckily it wasn’t too close to me, but it was definitely close enough to not be an accident.  I replied to the gesture with some choice words and some hand gestures of my own.  I’ve had more problems riding in Louisiana than any other state I’ve ever road in… that’s 17 years of riding and about seven different states. So I ask you Louisiana, why are you the biggest bunch of A-holes when it comes to cyclists?  Any Louisiana natives want to defend their red-neck, inbreed brothers?  This is why I hate riding off post.

I’ll be headed to Vail next weekend to hang with some good friends and hit the slopes; so, I’m not sure how I’m going to manage my workouts.  I’m definitely going to focus on the swimming and maybe I’ll be able to get my long ride and run in before I take off.  We’ll have to see.

Monday
Rest Day

Tuesday
S -500m warm up, 8x50m drill, 4x200 @20sec, 6x100 @15sec, 8x50m drill, 300m cool down
R - 1:00 Z2 (at 0:10, insert 2 x 6 min Z4 @ 2 min jog)

Wednesday
B - Trans: 0:45 Z2 (QC)
R - 0:30 Z2

Thursday
S - 500m warm up, 8x50m drill, 16x25 @10sec, 600 pull @ 10sec, 16x25 @10sec, 8x50m drill, 300m cool down
B - 1:00 Z2 (at 0:15, insert 4 x 5 min Z4 @ 3 min spin)

Friday
S - 500m warm up, 8x50m drill, 10x50 @15sec, 4x100 @ 20sec, 10x50 @15sec, 8x50m drill, 300m cool down
R - 1:00 Z2 (at 0:45, insert 7.5 min Z4)

Saturday
B - 4:00 Z2 (at 3:50 insert 5 min Z4) (QC)
R - 1:50 Z2

Sunday
B - 1:45 Z1 (100+ RPM)
R - 1:30 Z1 to Z2

Total Hrs: 14:00 7:50
S: 3:00 0:00
B: 6:30 3:30
R: 4:30 4:20

Tale of the Tape: Week Fifteen

Tuesday Morning Weigh-in

Starting Weight: 208 lbs

Last Week’s Weight: 192 lbs

Current Weight: 193.5 lbs

Weekly Difference: +1.5 lbs

Total Lost: 14.5 lbs

Well I followed a bad week of training with a 1.5 pound increase in weight.  Ugh! Though it wasn’t the best week of food intake, it wasn’t that bad.  I did have some pizza, a hamburger, and a little crappy food at a Super Bowl party, but come on!!!  I still got in seven hours of cardio!  My body hates me. 

The only thing to do this week, is make it a better one.   

Week 14 Complete

Ouch… not a good week of training.  With two snow days mid-week and an uber busy work week, I missed a lot of training. On the bright side, I did salvage my Friday run and both Saturday and Sunday workouts.  Saturday’s ride was my longest solo ride ever, just about 60 miles.  Though my legs were wasted afterward, it felt pretty good.  Sunday's run wasn’t too bad.  It was raining and windy, but I knocked it out and I wasn’t the worse for wear. 

 

Monday
Rest Day

Tuesday
S -500m warm up, 8x50m drill, 200-300-400-500 @45sec, 8x50m drill, 300m cool down
R - 1:00 Z2 (at 0:10, insert 2 x 4.5 min Z4 @ 1.5 min jog)

Wednesday
B - Trans: 0:45 Z2 (QC)
R - 0:30 Z2

Thursday
S - 500m warm up, 8x50m drill, 7x125 @ 20sec,7x75 @ 15sec, 8x50m drill, 300m cool down
B - 1:00 Z2 (at 0:45, insert 7.5 x min Z4)

Friday
S - 3,000m straight
R - 1:00 Z2 (at 0:45, insert 7.5 min Z4)

Saturday
B - 3:30 Z2 (at 3:20 insert 5 min Z4) (QC)
R - 0:30 Z2

Sunday
B - 0:30 Z1 (100+ RPM)
R - 1:15 Z1 to Z2

R +:15

Total Hrs: 13:00 7:00
S: 3:00
B: 5:45 4:00
R: 4:15 3:00

This week will be better work wise and the weather doesn’t look too bad.  I really need a good solid week!

Tale of the Tape: Week Fourteen

Monday morning weigh-in

Starting Weight: 208 lbs

Last Week’s Weight: 194.7 lbs

Current Weight: 192 lbs

Weekly Difference: -2.7 lbs

Total Lost: 16 lbs

To go along with my training week, I didn’t have a bad weight loss week either.  Just over two and half pounds is pretty good… I’ll take that.  I averaged about 40% Carbohydrates from total calories throughout the week, which isn’t bad.  I really picked up the carbs later in the week and throughout the weekend, in order to prep for my 10 miler on Saturday and the long ride on Sunday.  I had about three days where my protein intake was less than 20%, which is about half of what I’d like to see it at.  I really need to plan a little better this week to make sure I’m getting all the protein I need. I think a nice filet mignon might be in order.

The food log hasn’t been too bad of an ordeal.  I repeat a lot of foods, so it makes it easier to cut and paste on excel.  I haven’t broken out the scale yet and have been pretty much eyeballing my quantities;  I’m sure my micro nutrition counts might be a little off, but I’m close enough to get an idea of my food intake.  

                         
Lowest calorie day: 1134 Kcal
Whole Egg
½ Whole Wheat Sandwich Round
Avocado

Chili with lean beef

Saltine Cracker (8)

Almonds (23)

Chicken, Skinless Thigh

Mixed Salad
Carrots

Extra Lean Hotdog (2)

Ketchup

 

Highest Calorie Day: 2311 Kcal  (10miler day)

Greek Yogurt
Banana

Stinger Energy Wafer

Banana

¼ Supreme Nachos w/ Chicken (BWW)

Buffalo Wings (5) (BWW)
Fat Tire

Chicken, Skinless Thigh
Brown Rice
2% Milk
Pinot Noir (4oz)
Glenlivet (2oz)

The trip to Buffalo Wild Wings (BWWs) was the killer, with over 1300 calories from BWWs alone.  I pretty much negated the entire 10 mile run that morning in just 30 minutes… ouch.  I don’t know if it was worth it, but I haven’t been to BWWs in months and it was pretty damn good stuff. 

 

I do like having the food log because it helps keep me honest.  I hate having to write down bad food, so it helps me not give in if I know I'll have to write it down.  I plan on sticking with the log through the race in May, but hopefully I won't need it after that.  Although... it might help me keep that six pack! <fingers crossed>

Week 13 Complete: Jell-O legs

Not a bad week of training; however, the weather really wreaked havoc with my midweek rides and swims.  I only got one swim session in and no rides.  I set my bike up on my indoor trainer, but that was a debacle. I couldn’t get the tension settings right and when I thought I figured it out, my rear-derailer started to make a strange noise. So, I opted to just sit in the living room, next to my bike hooked up to the trainer, and watch Star Trek Into Darkness… KHAN!!!! (I love saying that)

I’d say the highlight of my training this week was the weekend workouts.  On Saturday I drove to a park near Shreveport, LA, and participated in a 10 mile trail run. That was furthest I’ve run during my Ironman training and it was somewhat of a smoker.  The hills and the constant switchbacks were a killer.  I swear the last mile was all up hill.  By that point my legs felt like Jell-O and the only thing keeping me going was not allowing the two women behind me to pass me.  Fortunately, their legs pooped out before mine and I was able to keep the machine going all the way through the finish line.  My pace was a lot slower than I would have liked, but going into the race, I didn’t account for the trails constantly switching back and forth, the ups and downs, and all of the other fun things associated with running through the woods.  All in all, it was a good hard run and I’m glad I went.

Sunday’s ride was good.  Three hours on the bike and my legs felt surprisingly fresh, considering the torture I put them through the day before.  Light winds and about 60 degree, the weather was perfect.  That being said, after the ride I ran for 30 minutes, which sucked!  My legs suddenly remembered the ten miles from the previous day.  But, I trudged through and finished out the week feeling pretty good.  I’m definitely looking forward to my rest day tomorrow; however, some downward facing dog might be in order.

Monday
Rest Day

Tuesday
S -500m warm up, 8x50m drill, 6x100 @ 15 sec, 8x50m drill, 300m cool down
R - 0:45 Z2 (at 0:10, insert 3 x 3 min Z4 @ 1 min jog)

Wednesday
B - Trans: 0:45 Z2 (QC)
R - 0:30 Z2

Thursday
S - 500m warm up, 8x50m drill, 16x25 @ 10sec, 600 pull, 16x25 @ 10sec, 8x50m drill, 300m cool down
B - 1:00 Z2 (at 0:15, insert 2 x 5 min Z4 @ 3 min spin)
Friday
S - 500m warm up, 8x50m drill, 10x50 @ 15sec, 4 x 100 @ 20sec, 10x50 @ 15sec, 8x50m drill, 300m cool down
R - 1:00 Z2 (at 0:45, insert 5 min Z4)

Saturday
B - 3:00 Z2 (at 2:50 insert 5 min Z4) (QC)
R - 0:30 Z2
R- Sport Spectrum 10mile train run

Moved to B/R to Sunday

Sunday

B - 3:00 Z2 (at 2:50 insert 5 min Z4) (QC)
R - 0:30 Z2

Total Hrs: 12:00 8:15
S: 3:00 1:00
B: 5:15 3:00
R: 3:45 4:15

The weather is supposed to get bad again this week.  Hopefully it won’t throw me off too much.  Hope everyone has a great week.  Cheers!

Tale of the Tape: Week Thirteen

Monday morning weigh-in

Starting Weight: 208 lbs

Last Week’s Weight: 196.0 lbs

Current Weight: 194.7 lbs

Weekly Difference: -1.3 lbs

Total Lost: 13.3 lbs

All right, I know I initially said I wasn’t going to write down my food intake or count calories, mostly because it is a pain in the butt; however, I decided that if I’m going to be serious about my training, I also need to be serious about my diet.  I was also tired of being stuck around 195 for the last three weeks.  I hate being stagnant!!! That being said, I’ve started to record all intake and keep track of calories, protein, carbohydrates, and fat.  I hate it, but honestly it’s really the only way for me to be discipline with what I eat and see where I'm going wrong.  I had a really good week keeping the protein on the high side and eating good, clean food. I had a little slippage on Saturday and Sunday night, but nothing to horrible.  That being said, I averaged around 1300 Kcal a day.  That’s pretty low, but I never really felt hungry; probably because I ate a lot of protein and cut down on the carbs.  Simple carbohydrates contribute to insulin spikes and results in hunger and eating more crappy carbs (i.e. chips and sodas).  Protein on the other hand keeps you feeling full longer… YEAH steak!

So… based on my great week of training consisting of nine total training sessions at an hour or more a piece, one of which was three hours long (a total of 7,000 Kcals of exercise), coupled with an average of 1300 Kcal a day of food, plus just everyday calories burned from living and breathing, how in the world did I only lose one pound?  It would seem physiologically impossible… well, apparently it’s not.  I just did it.

This is why losing weight can be so infuriating.  However, there are a few factors to consider when jumping on the scale.  On any given day you can fluctuate several pounds, due to several different reason, one being water retention.  Also, muscle weighs more than fat weighs. So, best case scenario is that I was retaining water this morning and gain some muscle over the week(s).  Who freaking knows… the reality is that I believe my body truly hates me and enjoys in making me suffer through workouts and eating “clean” food, only to reward with losing one freaking pound. 

I’m going to continue to fight the good fight.  I’d like to see another week of healthy food and  another 100% on the training. One day at a time…

My body will submit to my efforts!

Week 12 Complete: Back on track!

Know that at least one person called me on missing last week’s posts and I apologize (thank you Nate for keeping me honest).  It was just one of those crazy weeks.  The weather was crappy, I didn’t get all my workouts in, and my weight was just stagnant.  I didn’t feel like I had much to write about that didn’t make me feel worse than I already did.

 

 

So, now that the pity party is over, let’s get down to week 12. I had a great week of training. I was able to hit all my workouts for the first time in weeks.  One of the more challenging things about the “build” phase is the addition of a third swim workout.  But I got them done and even swam 3,000m straight freestyle for the first time… ever.  I felt good and I even felt like I could have continued on.  My speed isn’t overly great, but at least I got the laps in.  I had an extremely tough ride on Saturday.  It started out as a 2:30 ride, but turned into a 3:00 ball buster.  The 1:15 on the way out was awesome.  I averaged very close to 20mph. However, on the turnaround I hit the most ridiculous headwind.  It felt like I was pedaling through mud for the next 1:45.  For you mathematically challenged folks out there, it took me an extra 30 minutes to get back.  All motivation from the first half was gone within 10 minutes and I cussed aloud for the remainder of the ride.  It sucked!!!  But I got through it, even though the thought of calling my wife to pick me up did cross my mind… at least once.

Monday
Rest Day

Tuesday
S -500m warm up, 8x50m drill, 200-300-400-500 @ 45sec, 8x50m drill, 300m cool down
R - 0:45 Z2 (at 0:10, insert 5 min Z4)

Wednesday
B - Trans: 0:45 Z2 (QC)
R - 0:15 Z2

Thursday
S - 500m warm up, 8x50m drill, 7x125 @ 20sec, 7x75 @ 15sec, 8x50m drill, 300m cool down
B - 1:00 Z2 (at 0:15, insert 5 min Z4)

Friday
S - 3,000m straight
R - 1:00 Z2 (at 0:45, insert 5 min Z4)

Saturday
B - 2:30 Z2 (QC)
R - 0:15 Z2

Sunday
B - 0:30 Z1 (100+ RPM)
R - 1:00 Z1 to Z2

Total Hrs: 11:00
S: 3:00
B: 4:45
R: 3:15

This next week is similar to last.  Speed work continues to be added to all runs and rides, which makes for an interesting workout.  I definitely need it, but they are challenging. Nothing worse than doing sprints in the middle of a long run, knowing you still have miles to go afterward.

I'm getting close to the halfway point of my Ironman training.  I have a feeling that the race is going to be here sooner than I know it.