81 Days and Counting...

-Breakfast: Packet of oatmeal, 2 cups of coffee.

-Lunch: Cup of Ramen, package of fruit snacks.

-Dinner: Clam linguini

-Snacks: Package of fruit snacks, piece of cheese, piece of fruit leather, Chex Turtle bar, cupcake.

-Training:

I... must.... swim.... laps..... Couldn't get to the pool today either, just feeling like getting my time in at home is smarter, and a better "bang for the buck."

I did 60 minutes on the bike, immediate transition to the treadmill, and did 3.5 miles in 30 minutes.

The bad news is I continue to be "lazy" when I get home from work, but the good news is I am still punching the clock, and managing to spend some time with my wife. Today was cool, at dinner (on the couch in front of the TV, sorry Mom!) we actually SAW baby girl jumping around! She was pretty squirmy, which I took as a sign that:

1. Baby likes clam linguini.

2. Baby likes Ironman.

3. Baby likes Daddy.

82 Days and Counting!

-Breakfast: Cinnamon Raisin Bagle with peanut butter, 2 cups of coffee.

-Lunch: Cup of ramen, piece of fruit leather.

-Dinner: Bowl of granola with 2% milk, stick of cheddar with wheat thins.

-Snacks: 2 packages of fruit snacks, a cheese quesadilla (small one with cheddar), and a brownie.

-Training:

Supposed to get a swim in today, but the day just got too full, and so decided to do 90 minutes on the bike instead, all RPE 6 (thank you Ian, for chatting with me on the phone for part of that!).

Not a bad day, but had a jam packed day, starting with an appointment at the Dr. Office for baby girl. Routine checkup, no issues, just hurry up and wait for her to get here. :-) We are excited all is well so far, just anxious for D-Day.

Gotta get in some swimming this week, as I have been "lazy" with the bike and treadmill the last 10 days or so. Still maintaining my race weight, so my monthly lapse into wings/beer seems to be forgivable.

84 Days and Counting...

I find myself at this point, letting little stuff fall off my plate on a daily basis, and I KNEW this was coming... Getting all the training in, and doing everything else I need to do, is a pretty tough juggling act. As you may have noticed, one of the first things to drop has been posting everyday! I promise to pick that up again (both of us are happier when it's done everyday)... I am also finding myself waiting to laundry on the weekend, pay bills on the weekend, call my parents/sisters on the weekend, and now getting some additional work done on the weekends too. NOT GOOD, because then the weekend sucks too! So, gotta pay attention and spread out the training/life stuff better. This means getting up earlier, staying up later, so time to readjust the alarm clock.

Yesterday, the food was pretty much the usual. I was supposed to get in a swim, but did 30 hard minutes running instead, and got in 4. miles in 30 minutes, one of my fastest sessions yet. Legs felt good, but I am finding I need to work on not getting distracted... I usually let my mind wander wherever it wants to go, but lately it's been stuck on work. As you can imagine, this does not make me want to run more. :-)

After the run, showered and headed out to the Wing Dome for some comraderie over delicious wings, and what turned out to be one too many pints of PBR. I slept like a LOG.

Got up this morning, and did 30 minutes continuous in the pool. I didn't have the whole pool to myself, but I did have my lane to myself (I seriously hate sharing a lane in the pool). Nothing unusual about the swim, but it was kept lively playing slalom through the 3 unusually large balls of hair that were magically floating in my lane. Yucky. Managed to avoid them, and came home to watch some TV with the smoking hot wife.

Off to the treadmill here pretty soon for a 90 minute run today, one of 2 long-ish sessions this weekend.

Oh, I almost forgot... They guy who works at the gym from a post a while back. His name is Bruce, and he has 3 kids; 16 year old twins, and a 6 year old. He said babies are fun, you learn to be a parent over time, and teenagers are "a blessing... but in disguise."

Sometimes talking with a stranger does not lead to violence-a-la-Fenway-Park. Sometimes it leads to... Bruce. :-)

86 Days and Counting

-Breakfast: Packet of oatmeal, 2 cups of coffee.

-Lunch: Cinnamon Raisin Bagel, honey walnut cream cheese.

-Dinner: Rice-A-Roni made with turkey, and chips with guacamole (odd combo, I know, but good).

-Snacks: 2 Chex Turtle bars, handful of goldfish crackers, handful of wheat thins.

-Training:

60 minutes cycling, all aero, middle gears. Nothing too tough, but consistent effort.

Immediate transition to the run, 6.5 mph for 30 minutes.

The plan called for a swim/run today, but I was feeling too lazy to go to the pool after work. Is it possible for me to feel lazy? Yup. The trainer and the treadmill are often good excuses to NOT go to the gym! If I feel like watching TV at home (it is March Madness), I can, and still get in my mileage. AWESOME.

I'll get my swimming in on the weekend, as I am finding that I can have the pool to myself at 8am on Saturdays and Sundays. Can't emphasize enough how great that is...

Not much for news here, and I realize this has hit a boring lull for you, faithful reader. I find myself MUCH more mentally distracted lately with thoughts of my baby girl, and getting super excited for her to arrive. It's still scary, but I cannot wait to meet her.

And start practicing diaper changes.

88 Days and Counting...

-Breakfast: Fiber One bar and 2 cups of coffee.

-Lunch: Packet of oatmeal, package of fruit snacks.

-Dinner: FAT plate of nachos and guacamole.

-Snacks: Chex Turtle Bar, package of fruit snacks, handful of wheat thins, handful of goldfish crackers, small handful of potato chips.

-Training:

Bike for 60 minutes, nice solid effort in medium gear.

Immediate transition to run, and 3o minutes on the treadmill at 6.5 mph.

Gotta love the rest weeks... :-) It came at a good time, though I am planning on squeezing in an extra run session on the weekend. The legs feel good, and it will be nice to get in some outside mileage during the day!

Not much to say today, other than to pass along I am super excited to be headed to Utah for an IM race in 2010. www.ironmanstgeorge.com

Southern Utah is GORGEOUS, and it should be warm and dry in May. Though both Coeur d'Alene and Lake Placid should have been dry and warm the last two years! Either way, it is fun to think about taking the family down there for a race, and showing both Heather and our baby girl Zions, Bryce, etc. It's fun to daydream a bit!

89 Days and Counting....

-Breakfast: Packet of oatmeal, 2 cups of coffee

-Lunch: Cup of Ramen, piece of fruit leather

-Dinner: Turkey Breast and mashed potatoes

-Snacks: 2 packets of fruit snacks, peanut butter granola bar, chex turtle bar, small dish of ice cream (I HAD to eat it, there wasn't much left....)

-Training:

NOTHING. Rest day. WHAT?! Yup... I hadn't looked at my plan for this week until tonight when I got home from work, and was dreading a 2 hour session. I feel much better about the week, and have a mental plan of what I need to get done and when.

On another note, did anyone notice how CLOSE we are to the race?? 89 days is, like, nothing at all... That kind of hit me tonight, and I took a minute to think about how I feel about the training so far. I don't feel great (I felt like I did a TON more running the last couple years), but neither do I feel bad. I've been more focused on the bike, which has been great. I am swimming faster than ever, which is nice too. I may not be running as much, but I figure I'll be more motivated to get more mileage in when it warms up. I haven't skipped but one run session in the last 6 weeks, so I haven't scrimped, I just enjoy the running and so noticed I was missing it a little.

Another good sign, is that I have NOT been sick this year. I was knocked on my butt for about 6 weeks last year with bronchitis, and have avoided that so far...

Overall, I feel like we're on track. And while I feel like the race isn't really that far away, I am aware that I have 13 weeks of training left. It will go fast, for sure, but I have a LOT of time to build up endurance, and get in my precious running miles.

90 Days and Counting...

-Breakfast: Chex Turtle Bar, 2 cups of coffee.

-Lunch: Bowl of granola with almonds and raisins, 2% milk.

-Dinner: 2 pork/green chile burritos with 2% cheddar, and a dab of light sour cream.

-Snacks: Whole wheat bagel with peanut butter, 2 bottles of propel, fruit leather.

-Training: Another long, but good day.

Swim, 50 minutes continuous ar RPE 5. Felt AWESOME. Strong and smooth. Ate my bagel as soon as I got home, and rested for 30 minutes before hitting the bike.

Bike, 2 hours indoor on trainer, RPE 4. Quads felt tight towards the end, but otherwise ok.

Immediate transition to the run, and did 60 minutes on the treadmill at 6.7 mph. Legs felt good.

Another weekend is done, and I'm left with a bit of running to catch up with next week, which is a rest week in my plan, so the timing is good.

91 Days and Counting...

Well, after a few day hiatus, I'm back... Tough week at work, and my mind was there, not with training. I got back in the saddle today, so here's the recap.

-Breakfast: 2 peanut butter granola bars, cups of coffee.

-Lunch: Bowl of granola with raisins and almonds, 2% milk.

-Dinner: Nachos (chips, shredded 2% cheddar), salsa, guacamole.

-Snacks: Peanut butter granola bar, package of fruit snacks, and a Mike's Hard Lemonade.

-Training: Good, long day.

Started with a 42 minute swim, continuous, at race pace (2:26/150 meters).

Came straight home, and hit the bike, for a 60 minute ride at RPE 6, big ring, pushed hard (higher intensity to make up for lower time).

Ate, recovered in front of some NCAA and my laptop for about 5 hours, and then hit the treadmill for a 60 minute run at 7mph (higher intensity to make up for lower time).

I think the few days of rest did some good for me, as I felt fresh for each session today. That's good, as I have another long day tomorrow to make up for a little lost time...

On a side note, I am very excited at a recent announcement. World Triathlon Corporation (owners of the Ironman Brand) announced that there is a new race in 2010, in St. George Utah! Of course, impulsive IM freak that I am, I checked with the smokin-hot-super-smart wife, and she gave the thumbs up... We're registered! So, I get to do a race in my home state, and show Heather a bit of the red-rock desert Southwest. Albeit in 14 monts, but we still get to go!

Til next time....

94 Days and Counting...

Been away for 2 days, so a catch up post!

Training Yesterday: 90 minutes on the bike, 20 minute recovery run, both RPE 3. Legs did not feel good! Nothing bad (no injury), just didn't feel energized. Took in 24oz. Lemon Lime Gatorade and 200 calories of shot blox.

TODAY

-Breakfast: Whole wheat bagel with peanut butter, 2 cups of coffee.

-Lunch: Packet of oatmeal, package of beef jerky, package of fruit snacks.

-Dinner: Big bowl of granola with almonds and raisins.

-Snacks: package of fruit snacks, 2 peanut butter granola bars, chex turtle bar.

Training:

70 minutes on the bike trainer, RPE 5. Felt better than yesterday.

Immediate transition to run, 30 minutes on the treadmill. RPE 5 also, 6.5mph.

Not much to report today... Just exciting to be about 8 weeks away from our baby girl showing up, and to see the countdown go under 100 days; race morning and daddy-hood are coming fast!

97 Days and Counting...

-Breakfast: Whole Wheat Bagel wiht peanut butter, 2 cups of coffee.

-Lunch: Enormous bowl of fruity pebbles and 1% milk.

-Dinner: Bowl of sausage/chicken gumbo, goldfish crackers.

-Snacks: Sticky bun (thanks Mike/Chan!), 2 cans of mountain dew (necessary to get through the torture of building furniture for the nursery), 2 sticks of cheese, glass of cherry-grape juice.

-Training:

Bike on the trainer, 2 hours, RPE 5. Spinning on medium gear, small ring, and legs felt really good! Took in 24oz. orange gatorade (150 calories), and 200 calories of shot blox.

Immediate transition to run, 50 minutes on the treadmill, RPE 4 @6mph. Legs felt fresh after the bike, which is a good confidence builder.

So another gym story today, but of a different variety... I usually find myself doing my long swims on Saturday or Sunday mornings; it just ends up working better with the work schedule, and I have found that if I get there at 8am when they open, I can usually get the WHOLE pool to myself. That may not seem like a big deal, but anyone who swims can appreciate it. If you don't swim, see the speedo post from a few days ago, and you have some idea why!

Yesterday was kind of a perfect storm, as with the bad weather in Seattle I ended up being the only person IN THE GYM at 8am. I went into the locker room, and bumped into the janitor; I said, "Morning, how you doing?" If you know me, this should not come as a surprise; I talk to strangers. On the ski lift, in elevators, anywhere; I am not bashful about saying hello and making small talk. Sometimes it backfires, like the time I almost got beat up outside Fenway Park for saying hello to some guy, who apparently wanted to kill me for it. Heather was not amused. But, I digress...

So I said to the janitor, "Morning, how you doing?" His response was to smile wide, and say "Blessed! Have a good workout man!"

It was a pretty innocuous exchange, but it stuck in my head. I've been doing well staying focused on training, despite balancing it with being a husband and employee. But despite keeping my balance, I still get preoccupied with worriesl I worry about work, I worry about being a dad, I worry about having to re-paint the house, I worry about the electrical panel in the house.... But I can sometimes forget how good I have things. I do noot necessarily take it for granted, just let my worries get the best of me and focus more on them.

Moral of the story? If the guy whose job it is to clean up the gym (and we know how gross the gym can be) is having a blessed morning, maybe I ought not bellyache as much as I might be tempted to. The self-fulfilling prophecy cannot be ignored, and I need to keep my head on straight, and create my own luck. At work, at home, and in my training.

98 Days and Counting...

Abbreviated post today! I missed it yesterday, but no workout either... Not a bad day, was just... sleepy. Not beat up or sore or achy, just sleepy. So, took a cue from the body, and just went to bed instead of squeezing in the swim that was scheduled. Saved that for today...

Saturday Training:

Swim, 56 minutes continuous at race pace (1:36/100m). Felt GREAT!

Then did one hour on the bike at RPE 6, high cadence on a medium gear.

Food was average... bagel, bowl of cereal, some tacos, and a couple of beers to help celebrate Heather's baby shower!

More tomorrow.....

100 Days and Counting...

-Breakfast: 2 peanut butter granola bars, 2 cups of coffee.

-Lunch: Chex turtle bar, packet oatmeal, packet of fruit snacks, handful of goldfish crackers.

-Dinner: Turkey Parmigiana and pineapple-orange juice (courtesy of smokin hot wife).

-Snacks: Package of fruit snacks, and a few cadbury mini-eggs Heather brought home from the store, glass of pineapple orange juice.

-Training:

Swim, 30 minutes of hard effort, RPE 6. Felt good, except for the other guy in the pool. See below.

Run, 100 minutes, unfortunately on the treadmill (too dark and cold to do it outside). I started off strong, and the legs felt great. But, I overestimated my ability to digest turky parmigiana, and I had to throw in 7 minutes of brisk walking, as my gut was threatening to stop working. It settled down, and I finished the 100 minutes at 11 miles total, and feeling good.

So, another gym story today, and this one is about the inappropriate speedo... As you may have read in an early post, I don't wear the man-panty style speedo. In almost all circumstances, those are not appropriate, and few, if any, can get away with wearing one. If you do, you damn well better be ripped, "gifted", or an Olympic caliber swimmer. If you aren't, you are violating Speedo Rules. Yes, even if you are European.

Below are all of the Speedo Rules Violations that I observed today at the gym. Amazingly, ALL of these rules were violated BY ONE MAN. You can imagine my distress.

1. If you look like the guy in the picture above, you cannot wear a speedo.

2. If you have body hair like Chewbacca, and do not laser/wax/pluck/shave or otherwise remove it, you cannot wear a speedo.

3. If you do a freestyle stroke, breast stroke, back stroke, and dog paddle ALL in one 25 yard length of the pool, you cannot wear a speedo.

4. If you complete the ridiculous swim routine above, and cap it off with a flip turn at the wall, you cannot wear a speedo (and you should be punched in the throat).

5. If you complete the ridiculous swim routine above, and cap it off with a flip turn at the wall, and then have to immediately stop, stand up, and catch your breath, you cannot wear a speedo.

6. If you violate Rule 5, and don't realize that you have to catch your breath because you have the worst, most inefficient flip turn in the world, combined with the swim technique of a drowning cow, you cannot wear a speedo.

And the most egregous of ALL the rules that were broken today, was the Universal Speedo Law. the one EVERYONE knows, even the ones who break ALL the other Speedo Rules.

Don't talk to me. Don't say hello. Don't even look in my direction.

YOU'RE IN A SPEEDO.

101 Days and Counting....

Back at it after a brief hiatus!

-Breakfast: Packet of oatmeal, peanut butter granola bar, 2 cups of coffee.

-Lunch: Cup of Ramen, package of fruit snacks, piece of fruit leather, handful of wheat thins.

-Dinner: Can of vegetable beef soup, handful of goldfish crackers.

-Snacks: Package of fruit snacks, 3 sticks of cheese, wheat thins, goldfish crackers.

Training:

Yesterday: Had to squeeze it in between work and the last baby class, but got 60 minutes in on the treadmill; 6.5 mph with 8 mph strides every 5 minutes.

Today:

Swim, 30 minutes continuous at RPE 5. Felt really good after being out of the pool for a few days; focused on good hard effort but keeping things smooth.

Bike, 2 hours, hard effort, RPE 6. Mix of big and small ring, but kept focused on pushing a big gear. I was surprised how good I felt, but I guess that means the time in the saddle is paying off!

I find myself writing this next story at the expense of repeating myself (another gym story), but I think it warrants putting this gem out there for everyone...

They gym is gross. Anyone who's ever been to one knows this. They smell gross, the humidity in the locker room is gross, the wierdos in the shower are gross, the random bits of flotsam in the pool are gross, the machines that get sweated all over are gross... It's all gross. We put up with the gross because it gets us what we need in terms of fitness/exercise. As long as you don't wallow in the grossness, you can put up with it. But then there are days like today, where the grossness ends up in your mouth.

I was swimming my laps, focusing on a smooth form, but hard effort, and feeling great, until... what the hell is that in my mouth?! ugghrth!! shjktrrrgh!! UUURRRGLLLAAACCCK!!!!

I swam right through the middle of a toupee, or the leftovers of that big biker-chick's armpit hair from the lane next to me. Yucky.

But, I am proud to say I manned up (or ironmanned up, if you'll let be arrogant for a second), and once I got the ball or hair out of my face, I finished my swim strong, and focused.

You're welcome, everybody.

103 Days and Counting....

...and today was just one of those days.

With IM training you always worry about burnout, and overdoing the training. 20 weeks of prep is a long time, and you tend to feel as if you didn't run 10 miles and swim 2 everyday, that you didn't do enough. It's easy to let the intertia of training get its claws in you, and make you do too much, at the expense of some much needed rest.

So while the plan called for 90 minutes of cycling and a 60 minute recovery run, I took today as a "mental health day."

I have to be careful that this doesn't become too frequent, but some days the stress of work/life just kick you in the face a little harder than usual, and you need a day to bounce back. Not that I got terrible news today, or had a horrible day, just a bunch of things wrapped up in a "perfect storm" that catches you a bit off guard.

Today was one of those, so we took a rest, and we'll be back at it tomorrow.... But, today was also a good reminder of what good friends can do for your mindset, and help you out. A plateful of wings, and a couple beers with good people, and all the rough parts of the day fade into the back of your mind. It helps put into perspective how lucky you really are, and how many good things happen on a day to day basis.

No training today, but today was still a good day.

104 Days and Counting...

-Breakfast: Peanut butter granola bar, 2 cups of coffee.

-Lunch: Wheat thins and cheddar cheese, and a plate of stuffed mushrooms (thank you Chantel!!), bottle of vitamin water.

-Dinner: Corned beef, mashed potatoes, green beens, 12oz of grape-cherry juice.

-Snacks: Bowl of pineapple coconut ice cream.

-Training:

LONG ride today, of 2 hours and 40 minutes. I had high hopes to get this ride in outside, but it snowed last night into this morning, and the first part of the day... Call me wimpy, but I am not cycling in the snow. So, an episode of Gangland on the History Channel, and 10,000BC On Demand, and we'd knocked out the ride.

I was able to finish and shower before Heather got home from work at about 1pm, so we got to spend a lazy afternoon on the couch together. She has been very patient with me squeezing all these sessions in, and continues to be extremely supportive, so I was pretty happy just to veg out with her.

As I mentioned yesterday, we both signed up for Facebook, and are addicted. Can't believe I held out this long, but thanks to Mike for explaining the extent of their privacy settings (they are extensive), we joined the rest of the world, and its pretty fun.

Til we meet again, tomorrow.....

105 Days and Counting...

-Breakfast: Whole wheat bagel and peanut butter, 2 cups of coffee.

-Lunch: Bottle of vitamin water, wheat thins and cheese, box of junior mints (thank you Heather!), plate of chicken wings.

-Dinner: Chips and Salsa, bottle of vitamin water

-Snacks: piece of fruit leather.

-Training:

NONE! Rest day, on a Saturday no less! Good planning and execution this week, and a FULL day off... Very relaxing.

Got some house cleaning done today, and took the Awesome wife out for a movie in the afternoon... Babysat for Mike and Chan in the evening, so a pretty nice, slow day.

On a sidenote, I joined Facebook after years of resisting. I have to admit, it is pretty cool.

That is all.

106 Days and counting....

-Breakfast: Whole wheat bagel with peanut butter, and 2 cups of coffee.

-Lunch: Bottle of vitamin water, packet of oatmeal, peanut butter granola bar, package of fruit snacks.

-Dinner: 4 pieces of pizza, and 2 beers. Frickin AWESOME.

-Snacks: 2 crab cakes, handful of wheat thins, chex turtle bar, 12oz. cran-raspberry juice.

-Training:

EASY day, with just 30 minutes continous swimming at RPE 4. Felt awesome, just focused on good form, and keeping things smooth. My first and middle 100 were at 1:38 and 1:36. On my last 100, my watch said 28:30, so I again tried to do my last 100 in less than 1:30, pushing it a bit. I did my last in 1:25!

Kind of a funny story today, about the gym... Anyone who goes to a gym knows this, but you see some REALLY funky stuff there. From homeless guys talking to themselves in the shower, to people swimming in their underwear, to things so gross and unholy, I won't mention them here. But you also see losers. Big ones. People so out of touch with reality, it makes you wonder about the unstable future of the human race... I saw one today.

I am pretty unassuming at the gym. Yeah, I see the weirdos, but I keep my head down, avoid eye contact, do my training, and go home. I may be judgemental, but at least I keep it to myself (until blog time). Today, I got stared down. Some guy, wearing long sweats, and a black hoody sweatshirt, with his hood on. Yeah, in the middle of the 80 degree gym, he's wearing sweats and a hood.

It started when I walked in; he was sitting on a machine by the door, not exercising as far as I could tell, just staring down everyone who walked in. This game may be legit in South Central LA, but in Tukwila, WA? Please. So what do I do? Stare back. All the way past him, then I went in the locker room and changed for my swim. It bugged me for a few minutes (it always does, I hate tough guys), then I spaced it and was lost in my meditative swim session.

BUT, on the way out? I saw the guy again, and I got my payback... As I walked out from the locker room, he was at the front of the gym, just going out the front door. As I got outside he was talking to his MOM, who was apparently late picking him up. ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! Waiting for your mom to pick you up at the gym, and you're playing tough guy?! What the hell...

So, attempting being a good, patient person, I chuckled to myself, and walked away... But in my head I thought of about 5,376 insults I wanted to send his way!

Moral of the story kids? You can't be gangsta if your mom drives the get-away car.

107 Days and Counting...

-Breakfast: Whole wheat bagel with peanut butter, and 2 cups of coffee.

-Lunch: Two crab cakes, and a glass of cran-raspberry juice.

-Dinner: Bowl of vegetable beef soup, handful of goldfish crackers, stick of cheddar cheese.

-Snacks: 2 pieces of fruit leather, package of fruit snacks, handful of wheat thins and crab/cheese dip, 1 girl scout cookie, bowl of pineapple coconut ice cream.

-Training: LONG day.

Bike, 90 minutes easy spinning, RPE 3.

Immediate transition to the run, 60 minutes at RPE 5 (race pace, 6.5 mph), with 6 20 second strides at 8.5 mph for 20 seconds (building some neuro-speed).

So my question to you, faithful reader (both of you), is would you consider a triathlete lazy? The answer, at least today, appears to be... Maybe.

I have sunk to a new low! As you know, I do a lot of my cycling indoors, on the traininer. I normally watch some On Demand TV, or a movie, or some awesome History Channel. Today, since my ride was only an RPE 3 of easy spinning, I decided to try and play video games while spinning.

You read that correctly, I played Nintento Wii while spinning. I managed to actually shoot some killer zombies for about 45 minutes while spinning... At first I thought I was pretty creative, as I was in the aero position the whole time, blasting away at the European Villagers who had been possessed by a long dormnat virus that made them crave the taste of human flest. And then the creative feeling was slowly replaced with a sheepish embarassment. I was training for the toughest single day endurance event in the world... by playin Resident Evil 4.

So, I stopped, finsihed my spin, and pushed hard on the 20 second strides in the run.

And I managed to not poop my pants for 2 days in a row.

108 Days and Counting...

-Breakfast: 2 packets of mixed berry oatmeal, piece of fruit leather, 2 cups of coffee.

-Lunch: Cup of Ramen, bottle of vitamin water, package of fruit snacks.

-Dinner: Can of vegetable beef soup, handful of goldfish crackers.

-Snacks: 2 peanut butter granola bars, 2 pieces of fruit leather, handful of wheat thins, 2 sticks of cheddar cheese, chex turtle bar, 2 Thin Mint Girl Scout cookies.

-Training:

Swim, 40 minutes at RPE 4, focused on nice easy stroke, and good form. I only timed my last 100, to see if I could do it in less than 1:30 (my watch said 38:30). Got it done in 1:28! Other than that, I didn't push it.

Run, 45 minutes RPE 4, 6mph. Nice easy recovery run, that I almost ruined... Allow me to explain:

It really challenges the daily schedule to get everything in. I still have to work, do laundry, cook dinner, eat dinner, do the dishes, get the mail, take out the garbage, feed the dogs, iron my clothes, be an attentive spouse... All that takes time, and squeezing in the training, though fun, makes you do weird stuff. I made dinner for Heather tonight (cooked up some tortellini for her), but I wasn't feeling the tortellini love, so I made soup. But then I got a mad-scientist type idea...

In the interest of cramming as much into every minute as possible, I cooked, and ate my soup, whilst Heather's meal was still in process. I was so proud that I managed to save 15 minutes by speeding up my dinner and combining my tasks! But, have you ever eaten a huge bowl of vegetable beef soup, and then 10 minutes later tried to run 4.5 miles?

I thought I was going to have to quit at 30 minutes; I felt like I might poop my pants, but it passed. Same feeling at 40 minutes, but I gutted it out. By 45 minutes (my goal time), I was feeling significantly more "discomfort." But, we made it, and I realized what I already knew... Don't smoosh too much into the day, don't get in a hurry and skip the details, and don't, under ANY circumstances, risk pooping your pants while running. Especially in your living room, with a toilet about 10 feet away. That would have been hard to explain....

And you all thought reading this blog might be a waste of your time! Sheesh....

109 Days and Counting...

-Breakfast: Whole wheat bagel and peanut butter, 2 cups of coffee.

-Lunch: Packet of oatmeal, peanut butter granola bar, package of fruit snacks, 2 pieces of fruit leather, Chex Turtle bar.

-Dinner: Teryaki turkey (leftovers) and mashed potatoes.

-Snacks: Handful of wheat thins with crab and cheese dip, 2 pieces of fruit leather, package of fruit snacks, 2 bottles of vitamin water.

-Training:

Swim, 30 minutes continous. 25 minutes at RPE 6 (started off with a 1:26 100, slowed it down to a 1:33 on my middle and last 100s), 5 minutes cool down RPE 3.

Bike, 1 hour 45 minutes. 90 minutes mix of big and small ring, trying to keep a solid cadence in all gears, roughly RPE 6. 15 minutes cool down, easy spinning. Took in 20oz. of Orange Gatorade.

Today was another jam packed exercise in time management!! FULL work schedule, and a big day of training to shoe horn in, while still not being a neglectful husband... I got the bike done indoors, watching Scrubs, Chelsea Lately, and How I Met Your Mother with Heather (who got in her and baby's training on the treadmill!!). That was nice, as I have really enjoyed training with her.

For those who don't know, she and I signed up for IM Florida 70.3 this past year (half-iron distance of 1.2, 56, 13.1), and got to do ALL our training together, and then completed the entire race together; 5 months of swim/bike/run, just what every marriage needs.... :-) It was a GREAT experience for me though, as we got to spend a ton of time together. It may sound a little silly, but with as much time as an average person spends working, driving to/from work, watching TV, sleeping, and taking care of personal business, you just don't get to spend THAT much quality time with friends and family. To have built in an additional 10 hours a week of training, plus car time to/from training, it really was awesome! She has always been a good sport with my routines, and will watch TV and talk with me while I'm on the bike, just like tonight. Plus she always smiles and looks interested when I talk about pacing, calories, speed work, and my sore biker-bum, even though she's heard the same stories dozens of times.

I think that through all of it, my most fond memory of that 70.3 training/racing experience was during the actual race... At mile 55 of the bike leg, things were going smoothly. She was maintaining about 16mph on the bike (well ahead of our needed pace), eating and drinking well, and looking great (as evidenced by all the male competitors who passed us, ignored me, and chatted her up). I pulled up along side to see how she was feeling, and she told me she would kill me if I ever asked her to do a full Ironman.... And she meant it.

I may be dumb enough to risk it, people!

110 Days and Counting...

-Breakfast: Whole Wheat bagel with peanut butter, 2 cups of coffee.

-Lunch: Wheat thins and cheese, piece of fruit leather, granola bar.

-Dinner: Bowl of granola, 2% milk.

-Snacks: 4 pieces of fruit leather, handful of wheat thins, handful of goldfish crackers, bottle of vitamin water, chex turtle bar.

-Training: 60 minute run at RPE4 today, all on the treadmill. Did 6.25 miles, took in 16oz. of orange gatorade during/immediately after.

Today was a lesson in how planning and flexibility are super important, especially now that the volume ramps up a bit in the first build phase of training. I'd maxed out at 10 hours of training in February, and this week starts off with 12 hours.

I was supposed to do a swim today, but there was no way it was going to happen... I was plugged into the matrix (working) by 6:50am, and it was non-stop phone calls, all the way up to 4:30pm. Interviews, follow up, returning messages, making job offers, confirming job offers... Just a butt-load of phone time, and NO WAY to sneak to the pool after work, and before baby class.

So, I strapped on the shoes, fired up the treadmill, and knocked out the run that was supposed to be done on Friday; on Friday, I'll do my swim, and not miss out on any sessions. I also have the rest of my training tucked into my schedule for the week, without any extraordinary effort. Just lots of time on the bike, late into the night! At least we have On Demand movies...

111 Days and Counting....

-Breakfast: Whole Wheat bagel, peanut butter, 2 cups of coffee, 1 piece of fruit leather.

-Lunch: Bowl of granola with raisins and almonds.

-Dinner: Teriyaki turkey, white rice.

-Snacks: 1 piece of fruit leather, bowl of pinapple coconut ice cream, package of fruit snacks.

-Training: 60 minutes on the bike, 20oz. Orange gatorade. Cut the bike short by 30 minutes, because my BUM hurts. :-) I have been putting all my time in on the trainer, and I would REALLY like to get outside... Didn't feel bad about shortening this ride though, as I have been twice as focused on the bike this year as I was last year. Cycling is my least favorite, so in my first 4 weeks of training, 30 minutes isn't making me feel bad!

I had a pretty productive day outside of the cycling... Did about 6 loads of laundry (yes Mike, it has not been folded and is in a giant pile upstairs), did the dishes, grocery shopping, paid bills online, and found shot blox on clearance at http://www.reioutlet.com/ for $16.93.

Today was a good day...