Out and about

Looks like this week is going to be one of "those" weeks. I've been fighting like hell to keep up - so far so good.

I did get my run in on Tuesday. (Thank goodness!) I really needed that time to let my mind finish thinking about the day. It was pretty therapeutic to hear my feet and breathing for an hour. I also listened to a really interesting podcast from the SXSW Interactive Festival. James Surowiecki presented on "The Wisdom of Crowds". I have no idea why I found this facinating.

Yesterday was just busy. All. Day. I ended up taking an unplanned rest day so I could spend some time with my Mom and Grandma. I moved the Bike/Run brick to Friday. That means I have 4 days of 1+ hours rides starting tomorrow. If you see me walking funny on Monday, now you know. I think this week has been a bit of an eye-opening experience for my Mom. I don't think she really understood what I meant by "training". I can tell she's uncomfortable with the amount of time I spend training.

This morning I was up early again to knock out 3000M in the pool. I was not as quick as Monday - but still really happy with the results being below 1:55/100M average. Tonight: more running - 1h:15m on the schedule. I've already loaded up a couple of Zentri episodes that I haven't listened to yet - should be a nice run.

The Capital 10K is this weekend. I'm kinda sad that I won't be running - but it's for the best considering my first tri of the season is on the schedule for April 9th, next weekend! Good Luck to all you lucky folks - I'll see if I can get M and T to come along to cheer you on.

See ya out there...

Caught Speeding

Things have been out of control for the last 48 hours. Let's recap.

Monday. 'Nuff said. Ok, well, actually Monday moved at a downright frenetic pace. It was 2 PM before I actually made it through all my E-mail. Work is still crazy - full time client + presentation prep + website coordination / development + part time client = EEEK!
I left work around 3:30 to run a few quick errands and get in 3000M in the lap pool at LTF. The pace of the day carried forward into the pool : 1:49/100M average pace -- for 3000M!!! I did a 300 warm up, 5 x 500 and 200 cool down. Probably one of the strongest days I have had in the pool. Looks like the long sets on Thursdays are starting to pay dividends.

Afterward, I quickly got dressed and headed back downtown for a dinner meeting with the visiting big wigs. Stayed out late. Came home to a full house. My Mom and Grandmother arrived on an afternoon flight. M picked them up and they were already moved in and settled by the time I arrived home. After spending some time catching up and doing a couple of household chores, it was close to 10:30 PM. I finally climbed into bed around 11 and fell asleep while catching up on e-mail.

Tuesday. T was awake by 5:30. So, the day started off like a shot with diapers and cheerios flying around. Luckily Grandma and Granny were there to provide some early morning entertainment. The weather here was terrible. It took me 2.5 hours to drive 14 miles. That's when I felt it. I caught myself speeding. Something had finally gotten in the way and I was no longer able to keep up with the pace that I was trying to keep. I no longer had control of the situation. And. it. was. killing. me. I was so pissed at traffic I was actually making up new swear words.

I pulled into office #1 at around 9:30ish and was off to office #2 by 10:30. Made it to office #2 just in time to open my e-mail box before the 20th unread message arrived. Just. in. time. A couple of meetings on the docket today and I'll be off to fight my way home through the evening traffic jam - they're predicting more rush hour storms. Perfect. I have an hour of running on the plan for tonight. Looks like I'll have to get it in after some family time. So help me, I'll run through a damn thunderstorm tonight just to get in some decompression time in my running shoes.

I'm a bit concerned for my bike time this week. I have no desire to take my ride out in the rain. I don't have the gear or skill to be tooling around for an hour on wet streets and stormy weather with drivers that have just sat through a 2-hour commute. M, my official sponsor, gave me the green light on a trainer. Flatman gave me a few web leads, but I might just have to break down and pick one up at the LBS in the interest of time. I got a note today from Bicycle Sport Shop that their annual sale starts on Friday. Can I make it that long without a trainer? We shall see.

See ya out there...

Weekend Recap

We came. We saw. We biked.

36 beautiful miles through Bastrop State Park and on to Smithville, TX on Saturday. It was hilly and sunny and downright beautiful. I went with D-man and a bunch of his buddies from work - my first ride with this group. It was a blast. Here is a rough map of the route we took. And, no, we didn't see Sandra in Smithville. Darn. This was a great ride for me. The front half had some really challenging hills. I did pretty well, but I need to get on the hills a little more to work on climbing. The second half was fairly flat. I spent about 45 minutes cruising at 24 mph. This was a great workout.

I had my last recovery week run yesterday - 6 miles on Brushy Creek. The legs were dead.

This week should be interesting. I start into the "Oly to HIM Bridge" section of my training schedule. On the docket : 4 runs ranging from 0:30 - 1:15, 3 swims ranging from 0:50 - 1:05, and 4 rides ranging from 0:45 - 1:15. I should top 10 hours of training this week!

The biking hours are starting to become an issue. There just isn't enough daylight to get in safe rides during the week. The dilemma: spend $150 on night riding gear or $150 on a trainer. I'm leaning toward the trainer. Anybody wanna offer up any guidance on a good trainer?

Also this week: my mom and grandmother are visiting! It will be great for them to see little T. He is just about over his battle with the bug he had last week. Whew. Sick kiddos are no fun.

And Finally... Congrats to Party Pat and J! They welcomed their daughter into the world yesterday afternoon. Mom and kiddo are doing great. Can't wait to meet the new baby!

Happy Monday to everyone.

See ya out there...

New Addition

Hey there...

I just added a new gizmo to the bar -->

Google is still turning out magic. Now I can mark interesting posts and they show up here automatically. This does nothing for you feed folks - unless you subscribe to the gizmo.

Geeked out.

Talked with D-man earlier. Sounds like the ride tomorrow is turning into an event. Should be fun - more tomorrow.

See ya out there...

Reality Check

Ok - Spring has sprung. Except in Central Texas.

Woke up today and it was 35*. 35*? That's colder than our so called "winter"!

I got to looking at the Hour-By-Hour on weather.com. Uh, it's supposed to be like 40* tomorrow morning. I'm a weenie and I won't be swimming, wetsuit or not, in 40* weather. Yipes!

Instead, I'll be heading to Bastrop State Park with D-Man for 25 miles or so on the bike. Should be fun.

Last night I ran: 9:12/mi - 2.7mi. Holy smokes that fast! Gotta love recovery week.

Lots to do today - I'm home with T. He's sick. Poor little guy.

See ya out there...

Learning : Introduction

I realized recently that I have learned a whole lot in the last 9 months about triathlon. I'm not an expert, coach, or professional athlete. I'm simply a middle of the pack age grouper that started from - well - literally, my couch. I have never been much of an athlete. After college, *gulp* 8 years ago, I settled into 10 hours a day in front of a computer, 5 hours a day in front of the TV, and the rest sleeping and eating (and eating and eating). By age 29, I was not in a good place. It was time for a change.

In June of 2005, I made some major changes and began embracing a new way of life. A Triathlete's Life. A life filled with movement, early mornings, late evenings, risk, reward, planning, learning, and personal achievement. I've met a ton of great people and done things I never thought possible. I became a Triathlete. I can honestly say I am happier and healthier than ever.

Honestly, I was overwhelmed in the beginning. Where do you start? How far do you go? Is it OK to rest today? What kind of bike should I buy. Do I really need a speedo?

Bottom line - Triathlon works for me. Yes - my schedule is full, but I eat better, use my time more effectively, and grow everyday. I've lost a bunch of weight (I actually weight less than I did in college) and I feel great.

There are lots of books out there on how to train better, develop training plans, run, bike, swim, eat, etc. I don't want to try to recreate that here. Honestly, I'm don't know enough about all that stuff to help anyone. I owe a lot to this great sport and it's time to give back. In fact, this season I'm going to go out of my way to try to give back to this sport. My goals for building these pages are:

1. Write down what I have learned and what I continue to learn.
2. Create a resource for those new to the sport of triathlon.
   

I decided to pick a handful of topics and create a 'page' for each one. As I get new information, I'll post new pages and/or content. I'll try to note the updates in my regular posts, so my everyday readers will know when I've updated.

So, here is the list of topics:

• Tools - Training Logs, Websites, Special Gear I use on a day-to-day basis
• Swimming - All things Swim
• Cycling - All things Bike
• Running - All things Run
• Lifestyle - The 'soft' side. How do we get it all done?
• Events - The icing.

See ya out there...

Learning : Tools

Training Logs

It all started for me with a good training log. I'd never kept one before, but after just one week I knew I would love to watch the time and miles pile up. Logging the time and mileage became a religion for me. It's one I practice to this very day.I've found 2 great training log sites.

Top Pick : Beginner Triathlete

This log is easy to use and provides just enough functionality to a newbie as to not overwhelm. For a fee, you can turn on the extra functions and features. There is a great support community in the message boards and it was easy to connect with some regional triathletes. I haven't been to a race yet that didn't have a fellow BT'er. The whole site keeps the small community feel. I personally have contacted Ron, who runs the site, on several occasions and received feedback in a matter of hours. Pretty impressive.

Second Pick : TriFuel

This log is a little more advanced. In my opinion, it is more difficult to use and allows for more customization. There are also some great graphs and summaries. Again, I'm into easy to use - but this tool is fantastic for those with a little more time on their hands.

Heart Rate Monitor

I didn't buy a heart rate monitor for a long time. I don't know why I resisted, but I guess I figured I just didn't need one. I was wrong! This is one of the most important tools in my training toolbox.

Why?

Well, that's a good question. Go read a book. Lots of folks love to talk about the use of HRM's. I knew I needed one when I was completely decimated at the end of every week. I wasn't getting faster, more efficient, or having more fun. Everything was stagnant. I picked up the Polar S150 on sale on the web. I thought it would be good to have the bike stuff integrated. I couldn't get it to work.

My opinion : Don't spend the money on the bike accessories for a HRM. There are tons of Bike computers out there that measure speed, distance, cadence and HR a whole lot better than the S150.

There's a bit of research to be done in learning to use your HRM. I took a pretty direct approach and went straight to the American Heart Association. I figured they would know about the heart, right? I also used Google to find a bunch of information on what my target rates should be. Once you have a basic understanding of the HR, you have to mix this into your training. For me this was the change from "working out" to "training".

I started with running. 3 runs a week :

Run #1 - Short : HR 150 - 160
Run #2 - Med : HR not above 150
Run #3 - Long : HR Avg 145

Then I moved on to cycling with a similar plan. I still don't use my HRM in the pool.

Excel

Excel as a traithlon tool? Yes. Yes!

I use 2 Excel spreadsheets for to track a whole bunch of stuff. I'm a geek that way. E-mail me if you want a copy.

• Training Schedule - I use formulas to keep track of my plan by sport, day, week, and month. It's just easier to work with than the online tools for planning.
• Eats - Calorie tracking. All the online tools are too hard to use for quick calorie tracking. I wanted an easy way to drop in the calories I had eaten without having to search for foods or enter the % of vitamin B12... blah blah blah.
  
  I did find to great websites to help in determining calorie intake:
  
  http://www.thecaloriecounter.com/
  http://www.nutritiondata.com/index.html
  
• Routes - Some of the online tools will track these for you, but I liked having all this in one spot. I use the Gmap-pedometer to map my routes - you can recall them by saving the URL.
• Gear Checklist - For race day - I obsess.
• Race Day Schedule - I kept notes on my first couple of races to help me figure out what race day would be like. What time to wake up, when to eat based on start time.
• Race Goals / Actuals - I obsess. I admit it. I created a little formula box where I can put in my goal times and estimate my pace to see what my times would be. Yeah, this stuff is on the web too - again, I liked having it all in one place.
• Track my HR zones and descriptions. This helps in planning. I hate having to go back and look this up evry time I start planning.
• Weight, Waist and Neck measurements - This started out as fun. Now it's amazing.

Bike Computer

Ok, this one isn't essential. But it is worth the money. I love being able to see how fast I'm moving. I splurged a bit (Ok is an extra $4 splurging?) and got a Trek Incite 8i wireless model on sale. It's also nice to have the mileage available after a ride. Try sitting in front of the computer mapping out a 40-miler. It ain't fun.

What I've Learned About Triathlon

I've learned a lot about Triathlon. I'm no expert, but I've managed to wrap my head around this sport enough to keep going and have fun. I'm creating a series of pages to try to help other new folks learn some of the stuff it took me almost a year to figure out.

• Introduction
• Tools - Training Logs, Websites, Special Gear I use on a day-to-day basis
• Swimming - All things Swim
• Cycling - All things Bike
• Running - All things Run
• Lifestyle - The 'soft' side. How do we get it all done?
• Events - The icing.

Lap Pool Closed

I read those words at 4:27 AM this morning from a sign conspicuously placed at the steps of the lap pool. There I was standing in my Nike Jammers, bleary eyed, bed head - my goggles dangling from the tip of my right index finger. I slowly closed my eyes, gently rubbed them and re-opened hoping the sign had vanished. Nope.

Crap.

I went back to the locker room to grab a shirt and go ask, "What gives?!". Turns out the chemicals are all jacked up in the lap pool - again. It must be all those folks who pee in the pool. (Thanks, Kahuna). I was invited by the LTF staff to swim in the "Leisure Pool".

Hmm. Let me draw you a picture. There are 2 "lap" lanes in the leisure pool. These lanes start right next to the 3' 6" sign. That's right. My fingertips drag on the bottom of the lane. Flip turn at your own risk - risk of death! Oh, and the lane is about 12M long which means about 2 good strokes before you need to turn around.

There would be no "Leisure Pool" lap swimming today.

I guess it was just too early because I wasn't really that mad about the pool being closed. I was mad about no good coffee shops being open at 5AM. Dammit. Texas is arresting drunks in bars to keep us safe. How about forcing a few coffee shops to stay open so I don't fall asleep on my way to work.

Anyway, I think this whole pool situation is actually a sign from the pool gods. You see, I bought my wetsuit a few weeks back and I have yet to get in any practice yards in it. I did take a wetsuit lap around my living room to show it off to M - but I don't think that counts.

I do believe that I will be making up my swim early Saturday morning in a wetsuit at Barton Springs Pool. It's the right thing to do. Perhaps I could get M and T to meet me for a bite to eat afterward. What's the name of that cool taco place on South Congress?

So anyway, here I sit at work at 5:40 in the morning. Ah, the life of a triathlete.

Quick Update

Just a quick update on the happenings around Casa de TTUTri...

Recovery week is coming along swimmingly... Actually, I just got back from a quick 1350M in the pool. The swim tonight was more of a mental training session than physical. Although, I did 1200M at race pace. LTF has family swim time from 6 PM to 9 PM every night. This means that the indoor pool area is jam packed with people when I go for a late swim during the week. I had to wait on a lane, because most of the folks in the lap pool are just killing time while their kids swim and don't know how to split a lane. This means I stand around like a turkey vulcher for 15 minutes trying to make eye-contact with everyone doggy paddling in the lanes.

Swimming during the family swim time actually feels more like race conditions. There is a ton of activity outside the pool to distract me. It can be very loud and the water has lots of splashing and waves. It took a little more mental effort to get my mind on my form and keep track of the distance. It was a good exercise for mind and body. I was also surprised by the results : 1:49 100/M. This is a pretty fast pace for me.

I also knocked out a quick 50 minutes on the bike this afternoon. My legs are still feeling the effects of last weekend's effort. Overall, pretty good day of training/recovery.

That reminds me -- The Shiner BASH is coming up soon. I gotta remember to get registered for this ride. It looks like it will be f-u-n. Turns out BASH stands for Bike Austin San Antonio Houston -- Rides leave from each city and meet up in Shiner, TX. Anyone else out there planning on this one?

Work is still grilling me pretty hard. I've had zero time to finish out the "What I've Learned" pages - so, I'll shoot for trying to get them published this weekend. Unless the Tax gods take over my entire weekend. Ug.

Resting tomorrow - another double workout planned for Thursday : Swim / Run.

See ya out there...

Weekend Recap

This past weekend was huge. It was the peak of my latest training cycle.

Thursday (3/16) - Brick : 8mi Bike; 5.25mi Run
Friday (3/17) - Personal St. Paddy's Day Tri : 4000M Swim; 23.50mi Bike; 3.4mi Run
Saturday (3/18) - R&R
Sunday (3/19) - Brick : 22mi Bike; 4.4mi Run

You're probably wondering if it gets any better. Oh Yes. Stay tuned. This week is a recovery week, then I get to work up to another level again. HIM bound!!!

M, T, Raider and I all went on a quick road trip to San Antonio on Saturday after the Personal Tri to see the in-laws. Pretty quick little trip but it was really fun. Roberto got a great video of T trying out Amers new car. Should be a post of it coming soon. Thanks for everything guys - we had a great time.

I spent the last few nights working on my bike. The little tire incident ended up requiring a trip to the LBS for a couple new tubes. I got to tinkering last night and ended up needing to replace the front tire too - the darn stem on the front tire went bad while I was working on the back tire. Tonight I gave the 'ol girl a bath and lubed the chain. I love getting geeked about my bike.

Today sitting in my cube, I noticed that I hadn't quite gotten all the grease off my hands from the night before. It looked so cool. Just picture it : A few grey streaks of grease across my knuckles, my wrists showing that great "glove tan" from my ride a few weekends back, my forearms peeling from the sunburn. I looked like a weekend warrior today - back from the front line to my 6x8 container to wait for my next release.

God I love this.

See ya out there...

St. Paddy's Day Triathlon

Good Morning!

Today I'm going to complete a personal Triathlon -- The first annual St. Paddy's Day Personal Tri.

06:30 -- Just finished 4000M in the pool at the club.

Up next - A long ride. Not sure of the distance yet.

10:00 -- Just got back from the ride. It was great! Nice weather. Party Pat joined in and we were cruising. Ran across a patch of nails and things ended rather abruptly. Listen in as I stand by the side of the road waiting for M (the most beautiful SAG wagon driver) to pick me up:

We managed 23.5 miles before the tire issues. Sweet.

Up next -- Quick recovery run

10:35 -- Just back from the run. Covered just under 3.5 miles. Great day for running.

All in all this was a great first St. Paddy's Day Personal Tri. This one is dedicated to my Dad - Happy Birthday, Dad. I hope it's a great one!

Special thanks to M for being a great support crew with T in tow. You're the best.

Till next year everyone. See ya out there...

This is war

This post is not for the faint of heart.


The opening shots of this seasons' war with The Lawn were fired this week. In a show of solidarity with my sanity and keeping me firmly on track toward my Half-Ironman dreams, M joined my alliance and went nuclear. She let loose an army of mercenaries. That's right ladies and gents -- M hired someone to cut my lawn for me every other week.

Clearly The Lawn did not see this coming. The first cut brought it to it's knees. Honestly, it looks so good that I actually think it was caught off guard. And, I don't have to worry about The Mower.

Thank you M.

Thank you.

See ya out there...

Big Weekend Plans

The tough work week keeps rolling on. Almost done...

I planned to take tomorrow off a few weeks back. Glad I did. I have lots planned to fill my off time...

Tonight - Short Bike / Tempo Run Brick.

Tomorrow - Long Swim (hopefully my first 4000 yard'er) followed by a long ride (2h:30m) then a short recovery run. It's my own personal St. Paddy's Day Triathlon! I'm trying to get D-man and Party Pat to join in on the ride.

Saturday - Hiking: more on that later

Sunday - Long run.

M got a me a totally kick @ss St. Patrick's Day shirt. I'll post a few pics on Friday. After my personal tri, I'll be search for green beer to go with my shirt.

Everyone should take a second and check out Steven's new ride. I feel like I'm walking faster today just having looked at pictures of that beautiful machine.

The new "pages" are just about ready for release. I need to spend about another hour or so getting things tweaked then I'll start posting away. Stay tuned...

See ya out there...

Have a nice day

Hey folks --

Could 4 days have really passed by without a single post? My goodness. I was just looking over my training log on the BT site and noticed it has also been 4 days since the last time I did any core work. Arg! I will fix that today. (No wonder I've been able to sit up straight and roll over without any sore muscles -- what was thinking!)

Things have been absolutely crazy the last couple of days. We had planned to go to Dallas on Saturday to catch up with everyone - but little T was feeling a little under the weather. It was not the kind of thing I wanted to take chances with while driving for 6 hours. 'Nuff said.

Instead we took advantage of the great weather and had breakfast downtown at HEB Central Market. They have a great playground. I had a great time climbing, running and... wait, uh, I mean T had a great time running and playing on the playground. Yeah - that's the ticket. After a couple of hours of playground fun, we headed down to the capital. T hadn't been inside the capital before. We walked all over and showed him around. We figured the capital would be a great place for a Saturday. Only, we failed miserably. You see, people spending time in the capital are supposed to waste time AND money. We only managed to waste time. Darn.

T fell asleep on the ride home. He was very tired. I suited up and headed out for a 46 mile ride. It was great weather and a great ride. I even managed to get a little sunburned. Nice. After about 90 minutes I found myself in Georgetown! It was pretty windy coming back south - but I managed to do the whole 46 in 2:30.

Sunday, I headed out on an afternoon "hot" run through Brushy Creek Lake Park. I've decided to make an effort to train in the heat to get my body acclimated as quickly as possible to the pending summer weather. It was about 85* and I was beat after only 7.5 miles. It is amazing what a little heat will do to my HR.

Last night, I headed out for another ride. This time Party Pat came with -- which totally saved me. I have such a motivation problem in the late afternoon. We headed out Parmer and turned around on the far side of Kittie Hill -- man that hill kicks butt. We killed off about 25 miles and still managed some time to check out a new neighborhood and finish off a plate of cookies. That's right, Party Pat's wife, J, made us fresh, homemade cookies! M, T and I finished the whole thing in one evening.

Party Pat and J are expecting a new baby girl any day now. M is so excited she's about to bust wide open. She asks me everyday if we don't see them: "Do you think they're at the hospital having the baby?!"

Work has been a bear lately. I have 4 projects all going strong at the same time involving 2 different customers, creating materials for a training class on Project Management I'm scheduled to give next month, and producing content for a new internal website for our PM team at the company. Oh yeah - and raising my son; spending time with my beautiful, funny, amazing wife; playing with my giant dog; training for a Half-Ironman; paying bills (no thanks to Party Pat - inside joke); and completing all the other regular chores. What else? Oh yeah - my arch nemesis is coming back to life. The Lawn.

The Lawn and I have a bitter feud every spring & summer. The damn thing tries it's best to grow no matter how much I neglect it, ignore it, and poison it. But, alas, it never fails. I always end up spending 2 hours a week cutting all the tops off it's silly green (ok - mostly brown) heads. I hate - no, loathe - lawn work. It has rained about .0001 cm since last year and I walked out last night only to find The Lawn green and growing. Round 1 in our epic 2006 battle will come this week. I just know it - unless the lawn's sidekick gets in the way: The Mower.

That about wraps it up. Apologies for the long layoff between posts and this long makeup post. If you've made it this far - check you HR, grab some Gatorade and a Builder Bar (my new post workout fave) and cool down.

See ya out there...

Training Update

This has been a great week of training. I finished up my short workouts with a blazing fast (for me anyway) tempo run last night -- 8:40/Mi pace. This morning I started the long workouts with a long swim. I had 4000M on the schedule but had to quit after 3500 - nausea?! I'm thinking it was a little bit of dehydration, no food, and about 100 flip turns. Either way it was a good swim.

I started a little side project here on the blog earlier this week. I haven't published any of the template updates or posts yet. My plan is to start laying out all the stuff I've learned about triathlon in my first year. After talking with a few folks who are exactly where I was a year ago, I realized how much I've learned - there's been a lot of ground covered in more ways than one.

I picked a handful of topics and I think I'll start building pages on each topic and expanding as I come to new things. It should be interesting.

This weekend should be fun. Lots of stuff planned. Tomorrow - Long Run; Sunday - Long Bike. More on that later.

A cycling question for all those enlightened ones out there in blogland -- How do you figure a % grade of a hill. For example, the BSLT course has several 8%+ hills. I want to make sure I'm training on some hills that match. Thoughts? Thanks!

See ya out there...

USAT

Has USAT jumped the Shark?

Fancy new logo, votes on bare torso's, banning headphones.

I've noticed more and more races around the country that are not sanctioned. What's going on here?

See ya out there...

Tuesday Shoot Around

Hey folks - busy times at casa-de-TTUTri. Lots to fill you in on so I'm going to jump around - try to keep up...

Training

Holy smokes. The love affair with Frank-chesca is in full swing. Three days - Three rides - Sore Arse. I'm really settling in nice on the new bike equipment. My average speeds are already inching upward. The weather here is great - I mean really great for cycling.

I borrowed a jogger from Party Pat on Sunday and took T with me on the run portion of my brick workout. He had a ball and it was a lot of fun to spend time with him. The jogger messed with my form a bit and I ended up with sore ankles. Yipes.

I had a great swim workout tonight. Average 1:45/100M in the pool. Everything clicked and I just swam like crazy. It was a little weird to be smoking folks in lanes on the right and left all night long. The swim on Friday is going to be in the 4000M range. Look out.

Rest Day Tomorrow.

Passion

I got some mixed feedback on my Passion post a few days back. Just wanted to reassure everyone that I'm fine - really. I had an interesting conversation with a guy from work the day after I posted. It was strange - I barely know the guy, we grabbed lunch and got on the topic of triathlon. He knows nothing of the sport - what's new, right? - and thinks I fly to Hawaii to race a couple of times a year. *Sigh*. Whatever. Anyway, out of the blue he turns to me and says "It sure is great to see you have such passion for something." Not kidding - those were his exact words. So, maybe I learned something here.

Food

I've been eating like a fat whale. I just can't seem to fill up my stomach. Here's the rundown -- Friday - Lunch out; night - Chinese; late - snack :: Saturday - waffles; big dinner at D-man's place; Ice Cream :: Sunday - Chuy's; Ice Cream! :: Monday - More Ice Cream. Arg. I haven't really gained any weight - but I just can't get full! I gotta find something that stays with me longer. As I write this I'm watching Emeril cook pancakes - I'm actually considering making a late night breakfast snack. Ug.

The Ripple Effect

I wanted to give a shout out to my mom and M. Mom has been riding the lifecycle they bought for the house -- to the tune of about 20 - 30 miles a week. Way to go Mom! Keep it up!! M took the borrowed jogger out yesterday and turned in her first run workout. She's been going to cardio classes twice a week at LTF and now has taken on running. Who knows - maybe we'll be running a marathon together next winter!

Great work. You made it through. Check out this cool down comic and grab some water.

See ya out there...

Great ride

Couldn't resist trying out the new audio stuff again. Pretty cool.

In other news, check out this bike posted up on the Wired site.

See ya out there...

Half Ironman - Things to Learn

I'm starting to know what I don't know.

This is good - progress. People who don't know what they don't know fail. Sometimes they don't even know they fail.

Here is a list of things I don't know much about - things that I will learn before BSLT.

1. Half-Ironman Nutrition. I've estimated using about 4000 calories during the Half Ironman - that sounds high doesn't it? How the heck am I supposed to fuel my body through that.
2. Aero cycling - a totally new area for me. Heck, I'm relatively new to cycling in general. The bike fit session really brought into focus how much I need to learn about cycling.
3. Proper weight training - The last thing I need is to hurt myself out there.

Here are the top three from my list - according to Neal Whitten that is all I should focus on for now.

If any of you tri-studs and tri-studettes out there have any thoughts, links, or general babble please comment or e-mail. I'd love to hear about it. I'll do my best to post everything I learn up here for future generations.

See ya out there...

Training Update - Read: February- What the?!

OK. Damn it.

I've had a couple of posts cooking for a couple days - let loose the flood gates cause here they come...

February Training Recap

Two words: Holy Crap.

My overall volume for February was close to half of my January numbers. Crap. I've got a huge race coming at me like a fastball and I'm reducing my numbers?! On the upside, I was faster -on average - in every sport. Significantly faster.

Looking through my logs I see that missed almost an entire week to the Half-Mary taper and recovery. Also, February is a short month, which cost me a few more days. In other goals: 1) Finish a Half Marathon - Check. 2) Finish a Half Marathon in under 2 hours - Check 3) Drop my weight below 185 - Check 4) Complete Phase I of the training plan - Check; this turned out to be a decent month. I guess maybe it isn't ALL about mileage. Here's the breakdown:

Bike: 5h 41m 17s - 95.6 Mi
Run: 8h 31m 14s - 52.65 Mi
Swim: 3h 34m 09s - 11920.38 Yd

I completed a tempo run last night - the legs felt great. It is taking some serious adjustment in trying to get used to only two runs per week. I've had three-run training plans for a long time. But, it does feel good to push a little harder knowing I don't have to conserve as much for later in the week. Last night was great.

This morning I completed an epic swim - my long swim for the week. I haven't checked, but I think it might have been the longest swimming distance to date: 3700M. I felt strong the whole time considering the weights session this week and the new aero position on the bike. I was a little concerned that this much adjustment would leave my arms tired. Apparently not. The new nutrition strategies I picked up from the GYGO podcast and Tri-Daddy seems to really be helping recovery.

This weekend I'm heading out with a couple of buddies for a long ride - 40 miles. Should be fun. Then on Sunday, 8 - 10 miles of low intensity running. Can't wait.

See ya out there...

Passion

The theme of my week is Passion. Not my choice, but it reared up and smacked me in the face a couple of different ways this week. How strange. I've been going through my yearly life crisis recently. It happens every year around my birthday. You know what I'm talking about - that annual "State-of-the-Union" you go through where you have to take a step back and assess how far you've come since the last time you checked. Then, decisions must be made on new focus areas and layout a plan to get there. A few years ago these episodes would result in a change in job, moving apartments, joining the Marines. (I didn't, by the way, end up joining.) I'm trying to learn how to deal with these urges with a little more finesse. M will be happy to hear that, I'm sure. :-)

So, how does passion fit in to all this? Well, earlier this week I attended a conference presented by Neal Whitten. His presentation touched on lots of subjects. Mostly he gave lots of best practices on how to be a good project manager. His closing topic talked about how almost everything has a greater chance of failure unless you have passion to see it through. You must have the inner will to make it happen. It is key to success.

Today, I found a copy of the LTF magazine in the mailbox. I opened it up to the cover story and - BAM - a guy talking about the importance of finding passion in life to create balance. People seek balance. The only way to achieve success in life is through passion and balance.

And finally - Wednesday. Or, Ash Wednesday. The beginning of Lent - a liturgical season finishing with the Passion. Is this some kind of weird coincidence?

So, what exactly is passion? Google defines it as (edited a bit - click the link if you *need* to see the original - trying to keep the search engines in check here):

• strong feeling or emotion
• heat: the trait of being intensely emotional
• rage: something that is desired intensely; "his rage for fame destroyed him"
• mania: an irrational but irresistible motive for a belief or action
• love: any object of warm affection or devotion
• the suffering of Jesus at the crucifixion

Is passion a character trait which results in a high level of energy applied to everything you do? Does passion exist in all of us? Where is my passion? What am I passionate about? How do I ignite a passionate response in my life? How do I teach my son to be passionate?

I went on a tempo run tonight - a short 40 minutes. Spring is in the air - it was nearly 80*. The sky was completely clear. The moon looked like a large grinning smile hanging over my head, egging me on - "Go on, you only get to run twice a week now - let 'er rip". During the run, I decided that I must be passionate about triathlon if I will succeed in June. I've now heard stories of at least 3 people claimed by the BSLT course in past years. Like seriously "claimed" - stories of 2 month hospital stays, ambulance rides, the works. Not that I doubt those folks were passionate - but, for me it will be the difference on the road to success. I will passionately research hydration and nutrition information to fuel my body - I'll train passionately with the end in mind - I'll plan for success.

Life balance is something different. I'm beginning to question if I'm really passionate about what I do on a daily basis - you know "work" - the stuff that I decide to spend time on between training. ;-) Part of me thinks that if I'm asking the question - then something must be wrong. I'm going to keep thinking on this for a while. 30 is a bit of a wake up call - I don't really want to spend any more time on things that, at the end of the day, I'm really not passionate about. Because, I am a passionate person and in the end - that would be a waste.

See ya out there...