A mental punch to the groin

This afternoon I had a grueling run, including a mental punch to the groin.  I had to move my swim from Thursday to Friday, due to some work conflicts, but I didn’t think it would affect my run too much.  I’m not sure if it did or not, but today’s run was not good.  It was only an hour run, with the first half not being so bad; however, the second half was just horrible.  My back was killing me, it felt like I was running through one of those ball pits for kids (the ones that always smell like pee), and I was dragging along, feeling sorry for myself.  With about five minutes left, this Air Force weenie (no offense to my AF brothers and sisters), ran past me like I was standing still.  Now, I’ve been in enough races that I don’t normally care about that kind of stuff anymore.  I’ve been passed by old folks, young folks, big folks, little folks, boys, girls, you name it, and I’m sure they’ve all run by me at some point in my life; however, today was different.  How dare this dude run by me with such ease, while I sucked so badly?  Sadly to say, I converted all my pain and self-defeating attitude to a not so positive emotion, hate.  Then I spent the next five minutes focusing on two things:

1. Mentally trying to make the guy trip over himself. (it didn’t work)
2. Finish the run with some dignity and stop being such a pansy about it. (that did work).  

I finished the run, still felt like crap, but finished nonetheless.  I did do a 25 minute yoga session that focused on flexibility afterward and it actually made me feel a lot better, both physically and mentally. 

So, I guess I should thank that little guy for motivating me to finish up and thank God for not having the ability to move stuff around with my mind, like some crazy Jedi dude. I don’t think I’d be very nice.

I hope everyone has a great weekend.  Cheers!

Tale of the tape: Week three

Monday Morning Weigh-in

 

Starting Weight: 208

Last Week’s Weight: 205.7

Current Weight: 205

Weekly Difference: -.7

Total Lost: 3

This week wasn’t as productive as last, only a loss of .7 pounds.  But as many backpackers will attest, “ounces make pounds.”  I’m not overly concerned, though it is nice to see that scale display a little better progress.  I was about 204lbs late last week, so it’s pretty normal to fluctuate a pound or two on a daily basis.  I did enjoy half of a pretty awesome hamburger and fries last Friday night.  I had a major craving for some red meat… and fries… and beer; but, mostly red meat.  

Saturday was homemade pumpkin ravioli night, which was a pretty fun endeavor.  We’ve never used our pasta maker, so we gave it a run.  It’s actually fairly easy to make pasta, though it is a bit messy.  However, with a little Pinot Grigio and a beautiful wife, it’s a lot of fun.  So, by the end of the night, we had some aesthetically challenged, giant pumpkin raviolis and baked chicken, with a scallion cream sauce.  We definitely have some tweaking to do, but the trial and error is the fun part; especially, when there’s more wine to drink!

While I thought last week would have fewer temptations than the previous week, guess I was wrong.  I will need to buckle down a bit this week, because the following weekend I’ll be headed to New Orleans.  It will be my first trip there and knowing my gracious host, it will be filled with fine food and merriment… lots of merriment!  

This week's stats:

Beer: 2 x Abida Amber, 3x Sam Adams

Wine: 2 x Pinot Grigio, Sterling, Vintner’s Collection, 2012 (I would recommend if you like whites, good stuff)

Scotch: 1 x Ledaig, aged 10 years, “wonderfully peated” (To me “wonderfully peated” means, not so good. I’ll be sticking with the non-peated, like Glenfiddich 18yr or 21yr)

Champagne: 1 x Barefoot, extra dry (Not just for celebrations.  It’s kind of like eating breakfast for dinner… awesome!)

Water: Lots

Weeks without a soft drink: 3

Favorite meal: Abnormally large pumpkin raviolis and chicken

Biggest craving satisfied:  Hamburger

Replacement snack: Pistachios

Food we don’t normally have in the house that has got to go because I love them so much: Tortilla chips

Worst thing eaten this week:  Assorted alcoholic beverages.  (Alcohol is not only empty calories, but also suppresses the fat burning process.  A process which my body does not need help suppressing; old age does it well enough on its own!)

To make up for my transgression this past week and in preparation for Nawlins, I’ll be shooting for three pounds this week.  So it is written… so it is done!

Week Two Complete: So easy, a fat guy can do it.

Alright! Week two is complete.  I got all my workouts in, but I did have to cut both swim days a little short.  Not that the second set of swimming drills aren’t important, but if that’s all I’m short, it’s not too bad.  I’ll need to find a way to squeeze in an extra 10 minutes and then I should be good.  I felt pretty good throughout most workouts.  My long ride on Saturday started a bit slow, but got better after about 30 minutes in.  It took a bit of time to work out the fatigue from Friday's run.  All in all, it was a good week of training.

With two weeks down, I’m starting to feel it.  A friend of mine advised me to work in some mobility training throughout the week, or my body would hate me.  Being a guy who’s no stranger to triathlons, he was right.  My body is definitively reminding me that I’m 40 years old, I weigh over 200lbs, and that I have years 17 years of pounding to my body from the Army. That being said, I’m going to incorporate yoga, mobility exercises, and some additional stretching throughout the week.  This will obviously add additional training time per week, but I believe it will be worth it in the long run… no pun intended.  ;)

Monday

Rest Day

Tuesday

Swim: 300m warm up, 8x50m drills, 16x25m @10sec, 1x400m @60sec, 16x25m @10sec, 8x50m drills, 200m cool down
Run: 0:30 HR Zone 2

I had to cut out the second set of drills due to a work.

Wednesday
Bike: 0:30 HR Zone 2 (Quick Change to run)
Run: 0:15 HR Zone 2

Thursday

Swim: 300m warm up, 8x50m drill, 1x300m @ 40sec, 3x200m @ 30sec, 1x300m @ 30sec, 8x50m drill, 200m cool down
Bike: 0:45 HR Zone 1 (100+ RPM)

I had to cut out the second set of drills due to a work.

Friday
Run: 0:45 HR Zone 2

Saturday

Bike: 1:30 HR Zone 2

Sunday

Run: 1:00 HR Zone 1-2

Total Hrs: 7:00
S: 2:00
B: 2:30
R: 2:30

Week three... bring it on!!!

Mid-Week Update

So far it's been a pretty good week of diet and training.  I have found its been hard to get my entire swim work out complete in the time I have available.  I currently do not have the speed to complete the work out in the hour that the program prescribes.  It's not a big deal that I take longer than an hour, but I swim at lunch and sometimes I have meetings at 1pm that I can't miss.  When I'm short on time, I've been dropping the second set of drills, which equates to about 400m out of 2500m missed.  Unfortunately, the swim sessions only get longer.

This week began the first week of daylight savings, which means after work rides aren't going to be happen anymore.  Rides will probably be in the morning before work; however, it was 47 degrees this morning and breezy.  Now, that's not bad at all if you're running, but on a bicycle, traveling at 20+ mph... that's freaking chilly!  I'm a self-admitted "fair weather" rider.  I don't like to ride in the cold, rain, snow, dark, or any combination of those.  I guess it's time to man up; it's going to be a long winter.

The diet has been pretty good so far.  Fonda made a big batch of butternut squash soup that I've been destroying all week.  It's pretty health stuff, besides a little bit of cream, which we substituted with whole milk.  I am looking forward to a cheat meal this weekend. We're breaking out the pasta maker and making pumpkin ravioli, with cream sauce, and chicken.  We'll see if Wolfgang Puck knows anything about pumpkins.

Off topic... if ya'll are ever in Dallas, TX, go to the Five Sixty Restaurant, located in Reunion Tower (the big tower, with the giant ball, downtown). It is a Wolfgang Puck sushi/Asian inspired restaurant. The bar/lounge is pretty cool.... and the restaurant rotates 360 degrees (awesome!).  This place has great food and it's a cool place to hang out, even if you just want drinks. Check out the beautiful sunset and I'd recommend trying Pepino's Revenge: Patron Silver Tequila, lime juice, fresh basil, Japanese cucumber, and simple syrup.  It is basically a twist on a margarita, good stuff!

http://www.wolfgangpuck.com/restaurants/fine-dining/3917

Have a great weekend.  Cheers!

Tale of the tape - Week two

Week Two Monday Morning Weigh-in

Starting Weight: 208lbs
Current Weight: 205.7lbs
Difference: -2.3lbs

Alright, not a bad starting week; just a hair over two pounds lost.  That's not too bad considering I didn't eat overly "clean" throughout the week.  I did have a few beers and ate more chips and salsa than I should have, but all in all, I'm pleased. 

It seems that I do pretty well with breakfast, lunch, and snacks.  It's the evenings where I fumble a bit.  One beer on Halloween night while handing out candy and three beers on Saturday night; held up in my office while the girls had bunko night downstairs.  I did have a few sweets, which were left over from bunko.  I'm not normally a sweets guy, but they were just staring me in face, all day! I am lucky my wife didn't buy any Reese's peanut butter cups for Halloween though... holy crap I would have been screwed!  I can defend myself against Nerd's and Smarties, but not those delicious chocolate cups, filled with peanut butter.... YUMMY!!!

This week should be better.  I'll have fewer temptations than last week.  Wish me luck!

This week's stats

Beer: 4 (2 x LA31 Pale Ale; 2 x Fat Tire)
Scotch: None  :(
Water: Lots
Favorite healthy meal:  Homemade chili, with beans and lean ground beef
Favorite healthy meal turned unhealthy: Frito Pie (Same homemade chili + Frito's corn chips and cheese)
Favorite midday snack: Almonds
Favorite midday snack I'm getting tired of already: Almonds (I bought way to many!)
Bad late night indulgence: Chips and salsa
Good late night indulgence: Supreme spicy hummus with carrot sticks
Worst thing eaten: A piece of chocolate, swirl cheesecake (It wasn't even that good)
Unexpected appetite suppressant:  Pool water
Days without a soft drink: 15
Bottles of Chardonnay I looked at and then put back in the fridge: 1

Week one complete: The start of a long road.

My first week of training is done and I feel pretty good.  My legs are a little tired, but not too bad.  The weather cooperated most of the week, accept for Thursday morning and afternoon.  We had crazy thunderstorms, so I had to bike at the gym and bump my swim to Friday.  Not a big deal though, I got all my workouts in. I didn’t hurt that the average temperature all week, during the day, was about 75-80 degrees, perfect.  I love the South!

As mentioned previously, I’m using Don Fink’s book, “Be Iron Fit” for my training program. Below you will see that the first week is very doable for many folks.  I imagine the swim might be a hang up for those who aren’t big swimmers; but beyond that, the run and bike are very manageable. 

Monday

Rest Day

Tuesday

Swim: 300m warm up, 8x50m drills, 12x100m @20sec, 8x50m drills, 200 cool down
Run: 0:30 HR Zone 2

I had to cut out the second set of drills due to a dentist appointment.

Wednesday
Bike: 0:30 HR Zone 2 (Quick Change to run)
Run: 0:15 HR Zone 2

Extra swim outside of program: 1000m

Thursday

Swim: Moved to Friday due to weather
Bike: 0:30 HR Zone 1 (100+ RPM)

Friday

Swim: 300m warm up, 8x50m drill, 3x125m @ 20sec, 2x175m @ 30sec, 3x125m @20sec, 8x50m drill, 200m cool down
Run: 0:30 HR Zone 2

Saturday

Bike: 1:00 HR Zone 2

Sunday

Run: 0:45 HR Zone 1-2

Swim: 2 hours
Bike: 2 hours
Run: 2 hours
Total: 6 hours IM training

Week two, here I come!!

The price of pain... about $700

The deal is done.  I have officially registered for Ironman Texas, which will take place in The Woodlands, TX, about 27 miles north of Houston, on May 17, 2013. That’s a pretty easy three hour drive from our house. The race is on a Saturday and starts at 7AM, for the non-pros.  We’ll need to check -in on Thursday and then check our bikes in on Friday; so, it’ll be about four days of fun.  That’ll include the Saturday night celebration and driving home on Sunday.

I’m sure you are wondering what an event like this would cost, well it’s not exactly cheap.  The entry fee is $650, plus a processing fee of $39, for a total of $689.00.  Ouch!  However, that does not include the mandatory USA Triathlon membership, but it’s not too bad.  You can get a one day membership that will cover you for the race for $12.  You can obviously register for longer if you plan on doing more races or if you just want to be a member.  I’m still on a three year membership that expires on May 31, 2013… score one for me! 

Ironman Texas is broken down into three events, just like other triathlons: swim, bike, run.  The distances are what sets an Ironman apart from other triathlons. The swim is 2.4 miles and will take place in Lake Woodlands. It is an in-water mass start, which is pretty much like it sounds.  Everyone walks into the water and starts at the same time. Obviously, the fast/competitive folks are in the front and center, while everyone else finds their spot, typically based on ability (slower folks towards the back).  I foresee myself towards the rear and on the outside.  I may have to swim a little further, but keeping out of the congestion of the masses is worth it to me.  I hate being kicked in head from the swimmers in front of me or feeling someone’s hands on my feet from the swimmers behind me.

The bike route is 112 miles and takes place in The Woodlands and through some of Texas’ rural farmland.  It looks to have some hills, which already makes my legs hurt.  Fortunately, the last 20 miles look to be mostly downhill.

 

The run is 26.2 miles (marathon distance) and takes place throughout The Woodlands. Based on the run profile, there are a few nasty hills, but what can you do?  Just run through them! 

All said and done, this race is going to take all day.  I have no doubt my training program will prepare me for the worst of it.  I’ll really need to figure out my nutrition plan and make sure I stay hydrated and fueled up the entire time.  I’d hate to train for 30 weeks, just to bonk on the run because I didn’t have enough fuel in the tank.  Anyways, I’m stoked about the race and look forward to crossing that finish line.