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.

Tale of the Tape: Week Eleven

Monday morning weigh-in

Starting Weight: 208 lbs

Last Week’s Weight: 202.0 lbs

Current Weight: 195.1 lbs

Weekly Difference: -6.9 lbs

Total Lost: 12.9 lbs

I think I finally got all of the bad stuff out of me from my week and half in Texas.  I’m back down to 195 lbs.  It’s amazing how one week of being off the right path gets you in to so much trouble. I figure I wasted two weeks total.  The first week of basically eating and drinking whatever I wanted, followed by another week of kicking myself in the ass just to recover.  Imagine if I stayed disciplined the first week and was able to loss a couple pounds, followed up with a kick ass training/diet week.  I’d probably be around 190 lbs, if not lower.  Instead I had to make up for the damage done.  What a waste.

I did really enjoy my time with friends and family, so I guess it was worth it.  That was the last time I’ll be able to do that until the summer. Maybe I needed to get it out of my system before the real training begins.  My current place of residence is lacking in all departments: good friends, good family, and good food.  I look forward to leaving this crap hole of a town, where I can at least enjoy things in moderation, instead of bingeing like someone finding an oasis in the desert, every time I visit civilization.  Sorry Leesville, LA, but you really do suck.

Although, it would seem that the lack of... well, "everything" here in Leesville, will be a distinct advantage to my training and weight loss program.  So, I guess I should appreciate where I'm at, but thank the Lord I'm out of here in July!!!!  YEAH!!!! 

 

Week Ten Complete: A Solid Week of Training

Coming off of the Christmas holiday I really needed a good training week.  It wasn’t perfect, but at least I completed all my workouts, in some form or fashion.  Friday’s swim and run were a bit lackluster and I didn’t finish them completely.  My body just wasn’t feeling it; so, I finished about half of each workout.  That being said, I did complete my three hour ride on Saturday, which was a bear I must admit.  Hour one was golden.  I felt good and the bike felt great.  Hour two, I started to get a bit tired, but nothing horrible. Hour three sucked.  By 2:30 my legs were jelly and it was all I could do to spin my way home.  The wind was completely obnoxious the entire ride, but I blame the lack of legs on missing some of my long rides over the last month.  Talk about biting you in the butt, or the legs to be specific. I knew it would eventually catch up to me.  All in all, I finished the ride and was able to knockout an eight mile run today, which wasn’t fast, but I got it done.

Monday
Rest Day

Tuesday
S -300m warm up, 8x50m drill, 1x300 @ 40sec, 3x200 @ 30sec, 1x300 @ 30sec, 8x50m drill, 200m cool down
R - 1:00 Z2

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

Thursday
S - 2500m

B - 1:15 Z1 (100+ RPM)

Friday
S - 2500m 1200m
R - 1:00 Z2  0:30 Z2

Saturday
B - 3:00 Z2

Sunday
R - 1:30 Z1 to Z2

Total Hrs: 11:00
S: 2:00
B: 5:00
R: 4:00

This next week starts the “Build Phase” of my training.  That means continuing to increase the training hours, an additional swim session, speed work, and two additional brick workouts, for a total of three. Brick: biking and then running, with minimal rest between.  Bricks are good training and preparation for the actual triathlon race. Those additional bricks will be challenging because they occur on my long ride and run days… like they’re not hard enough as is!

This should be a challenging week of training and hopefully I’ll be able to hit all my workouts.

Have a great week!