I am still alive!!

And, I kept my Ironman title this year....

I concede, that dropping the blog like a bad habit with 84 days to go was a cheap, no good, silly thing to do. But this year was an experiment, and the data is in.

I wanted to see if I could handle training, a new career, being a husband, being a dad, going to grad school, maintaining friendships, AND doing the blog. With all those balls in the air, I admit, I dropped the blog.

But, I did manage to do all the rest! Suffice it to say, the Ironman St George course is a KILLER. Hardest course I've seen, and my SLOWEST Ironman time. I finished in 16:11 and change, but like everyone else that day, super proud of finishing on an absolutely brutal course.

I'm working on a race report, we'll see how long it takes to put that together. Another semester of grad school started on Monday, so don't hold your breathe!

If you're still reading this after 3 months off... Thank you. :-)

84 Days and Counting....

This one is going to be quick, as I am beat, but didn't want to skip posting today... Was on the road for work the last 2 days, and squeaked in a run when I got home today, as it was unseasonably warm and dry in Seattle!

I haven't even mustered the energy to plug in the Garmin to get the stats, but I know I did 6 miles in 52 minutes, which puts me a little less than 9 minutes a mile. I was hoping to go longer, but I was SHOT. Not feeling sick or out of sorts, just drained. Nutrition didn't help, though! I had a Sausage McMuffin and coffee for breakfast (I hate eating on the road!), a kashi bar for lunch, and 3 more cups of coffee on the road. AWESOME!

But, I got in the run, and didn't skip... And I got some Valentine's Day shopping done for Smokin Hot Wife!! She's going to love it.... And that is all I'm going to say. She is supportive, sweet, smart, and the best mom in the world, and she sometimes reads my blog, so the suspense will drive her nuts! :-)

86 Days and Counting... I'm back!

Okay, I've been out for a while... But I can say that though my blog has suffered, my training has NOT. I've been on my game with cycling and running the past 2-plus weeks. I have also been putting to good use the Garmin Forerunner 305 that Smokin Hot Wife got me for Christmas. This thing is AWESOME! It takes some of the "iron math" out tracking the data from training, and it comes with a killer software program that automatically downloads and maps my workouts.... So easy, and great info! I've experimented with my running a little bit due to how easy it is to mix things up. So, here are my run stats for the last little while:

1/23: 3.5 miles in 32.17 minutes, avg. 9:14 minutes/mile. 427 Calories.

1/25: 7.38 miles in 1:01:33, avg. 8:20 minutes/mile. 899 calories.

1/27: 8.96 miles in 1:20:23 , avg. 8:58 minutes/mile. 1086 calories.

1/31: 6 miles in 54:00, avg. 9:00 minutes/mile. 624 calories.

2/2: 3.56 miles in 27:00, avg. 7:35 minutes/mile. 437 calories.

It also records my heart-rate, which is of interest to me, but not that interesting to the rest of the world....

Interspersed with all that is 2 swim sessions, 32 minutes each, and 9 cycling sessions between 90 and 120 minutes.

Overall, I am feeling great, and have been super happy with how my legs have responded to the running. Each of the above runs was outside on the street, not on the treadmill, which is where my running base has been so far. I was stoked with my last run, an attempt at speed work (not my strength). 7:35 minutes a mile felt good, and I felt like I could have maintained it for a few more miles. If the weather holds in Seattle, I'll be able to test my speed a little more....

I have been doing better on the bike than I thought, in terms of punching the clock. I know I need more work there, but I am more focused on it than in past races, and will work on volume a bit more going forward.

Swimming has had the least amount of focus this go around, but I am not worried about it... My last two races, I've been top 25% out of the water on the swim, which makes me comfortable. It has been tougher to get out to the pool, as I don't want to miss out on time with the Munchkin. I am pretty happy with the balance, but I know I need to find ways to sneak in pool time. It just won't be at the cost of good family time!

103 Days and Counting... And more fire!!

Okay, I may be taking the fire thing about one post too far, but the flames are funny lately....

Anyway, today was a pretty good day.

Nutrition:

-Breakfast: Cinnamon raisin bagel with peanut butter, 2 cups of coffee.

-Lunch: Shrimp and asparagus fettuccini leftovers (homemade, no less!).

-Dinner: 4 pieces of pepperoni pizza.

-Snacks: Some chile/cheese and tostitos, half a bud light (wimpy, I know).

Training:

60 minutes on the treadmill. I thought I would squeeze in a bike ride as well, but never got around to it with the munchkin, who was FULL of energy this evening!

Started watching a scary movie with SHW, but had to stop it because she was getting a little worked up... I guess it isn't a good idea to have her watch The Shining for the first time at night in a 100 year old house! :-)

Back at it tomorrow!

104 Days and Counting...

I am feeling a bit of momentum lately! I've squeaked in several sessions this week, and am not feeling like I've neglected Smokin Hot Wife, the munckin, or school...

Yesterday was a 90 minute ride, RPE 5.

Nutrition:

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

-Lunch: 2 granola bars dipped in yogurt, one handful of trail mix.

-Dinner: Chicken Teryaki and white rice.

-Snacks: 2 cans of ensure.

I haven't gone back and calculated my total volume in the last few weeks, but I know this is the time it needs to start picking up. I haven't been too nervous about my fitness to this point, but I want to make sure I ramp it up over the next couple weeks to a higher volume. I am still glad we got the treadmill, but I am finding that this year the treadmill is more dreaded than the bike!! The bike the last few years has been my achilles heel so it is nice to feel more motivation there, but I am praying for some dry weather. Doesn't need to be warm (it's January, it won't be!), just dry enough to get outside in the neighborhood for some asphalt running mileage.

I also realize that the photo above makes me look demonic, I just didn't want to mess with the red eye in iPhoto (haven't learned that yet). Munchkin had fun talking to me while I was riding last night, and SHW snapped a quick photo!

105 Days and Counting!

So it's been a couple days since I posted, but I am proud to say the training has gone well.

-Tuesday was a 90 minute ride on the trainer, RPE 5.

-Wednesday was a 33 minute continuous swim.

Diet has been good so far as well, but I'm a few days behind so won't rehash 2 days of meals... Suffice it to say, it's been more chicken and rice than M&M's and Beer!

Legs are feeling a bit sprung this week, but in a good way. I missed this feeling, that I've pushed it a little bit in terms of volume, but that there is still more in the tank. A nice place to be 2nd week of January!

109 Days and counting... And no flames today. :-)

So a blog-buddy asked a question on my post yesterday on an issue that has to this point gone un-noticed by me... Apparently I am showing some pyro tendencies in my photos! I will claim that it is a subconscious effort for my "burning desire" to compete, and nothing more! But I will go at least one day without using a flaming photo... Instead we'll use a pic of the cutest kid ever!

On to the goods! Yesterday was a good day:

Nutrition:

-Breakfast: One Nutri Grain bar, one peanut butter granola bar, 2 cups of coffee.

-Lunch: One bowl of vegetable beef soup, goldfish crackers.

-Dinner: Two small buffalo chicken sandwiches.

-Snacks: Handful of M&M's, string cheese, and some wheat thins.

Training:

30 minute run outside, with the munchkin in the stroller. Pace was slow (9:54), HR was pretty normal for the effort (159bpm). But considering I was pushing the stroller on a pretty hilly loop, I am quite happy.

Today, I squeaked in another good day.

Nutrition:

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

-Lunch: Chicken/Sausage gumbo, with goldfish crackers.

-Dinner: BBQ pork, green beans and potatoes, and 3 pieces of corn bread.

-Snacks: Handful of M&M's, wheat thins, and string cheese.

Training:

-30 minute run at 6.5 mph.

-Off to complete a 60 minute ride at RPE 4...

Happy Training!

110 days and... Christmas!

WOW! Another long layoff... The holidays certainly are glorious, but it makes it WAY too easy to lose track of training!

We are back, and hoping (planning, rather) on picking up the focus again. I hate to say it, but I kind of expected to drop off my training around Christmas. We had our annual Christmas Eve party with the gang, a quiet holiday as a family, and then had my mom visit for a week between Christmas and New Years. Overall, a WONDERFUL time!

It also served as a good mental break going into training in 2010, and yesterday was an awesome restart. Good diet, good training...

Nutrition:

-Breakfast: 2 nutri grain bars, 2 cups of coffee.

-Lunch: Can of chicken/sausage gumbo, goldfish crackers.

-Dinner: Hamburger and some Fritos.

-no snacks today (working off chocolate and beer from the break!).

Training:

-90 minutes on the bike, RPE 5, solid spinning effort, good cadence.

-30 minute treadmill run, 6.5mph.

-Lots of stretching!

Today is going to be an OUTDOOR RUN! I am excited, as it seems Seattle has dried out for about 24 hours... This afternoon we'll bundle up the munchkin and get some fresh air in the jogging stroller. It will also give me a chance to try out the new gift from SHW, a Garmin Forerunner 305!!

I lost my previous GPS unit in an unfortunate car accident (okay, I left it on the roof of my Jeep when I was driving to a bike ride and it got smashed in the street). This one has more features, is more user friendly, and is SMALL! I am stoked... And kudos again to SHW for being awesome. :-)

Here's hoping you all gave/got what you wanted to for the season, and are focused going into 2010!