Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Sweetness
Monday, November 21, 2011
13.1, done!
Saturday, November 19, 2011
Pick up the packet, uh huh!
Friday, November 18, 2011
BOOM!!!! (that was my head exploding)
If your interested in the league glick here
That was when my head exploded
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Wednesday Weigh In (on Thursday)
Weighed in at 165.8 yesterday, Wednesday, 11/16/11. I was about 157 when I raced Ironman Lake Placid 7/24/11; eight pounds gained in 4 months. Not too terrible I guess, but I was hoping to drop below the 157 after Ironman. I had dropped weight prior to starting full on training and wanted to get back to weight loss after the race. I knew it was foolish to try to lose weight while building fitness for such a grueling endurance event but figured I could just pick right up with where I left off. Oh, I picked right up; I picked up food. I kept my caloric intake pretty much the same but my training volume dropped significantly. So, I'm getting back at it. I'll be weighing in every Wednesday.
I decided a few weeks ago to stop eating sweets and dessert type stuff through the end of the year. No cookies, no candy, no cakes, no pies, no ice cream none of the stuff my wife bakes so well and I love so much. Now I need to get the workouts cranked back up and reduce the caloric intake a bit more. No more second helpings or two lunches ;) I'd like to get down to 155, but am more concerned about body composition that the actual number. I want to be leaner and lose the spare tire and fat deposits around the midsection
I have a half marathon race this Sunday, and then I intend to get back to a balanced SBR regimen of 3x ea per week, with 2 strength training session. I am pretty excited about the strength training because I am going to be working out with my son. He's certified in Crossfit and is working on some sort of Olympic weight lifting certification. I've got 3 weeks left of 2x per week with Dominic (the trainer I've been working with once a week for years) then I am turning myself over to Tim. Should be fun. And painful. I'll keep you posted.
Friday, November 11, 2011
What, not why
I thought I had recommitted myself to training, but the proof is in the pudding. It was a wish, a weak brab at an idea, not a commitment. What will it take?
Saturday, November 5, 2011
Getting back at it
Sunday, October 30, 2011
Going mobile
Saturday, October 22, 2011
Dude, long time no long board
Friday, October 21, 2011
Once more, with feeling
Monday, May 16, 2011
Monday, May 9, 2011
The road to hell
Part of it (part?) is due to my personal nuttiness. I don't like typing on the lap top, I don't want to spend too much time blogging at work, and I don't make the time to get on the desktop computer upstairs. So, I don't do it at all. Not that anyone really noticed which begs the question, "Why am I blogging to begin with?". I don't really know except that I enjoy writing. Does something written need to be read?
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Compassion
It has been suggested in some quarters that I take a more compassionate approach to step parenting. On one level, being more compassionate won't be too hard. If I am brutally honest, I have little sympathy at all for K, so there's plenty of room for being more conscious of her suffering and desiring to alleviate it. The hard part for me is to get past the visceral disdain she has for me, and her sheer disgust at my presence.
On another level I have been very compassionate, though my desire to alleviate her suffering through order and discipline is clearly not working. I cannot break her defiant spirit to reveal the loving child. The walls of anger need to chipped away at with a sculptors chisel rather than smashed with a wrecking ball. Time to get on with sculpting and leave the wrecking behind.
It is not me, but the Father within, who does the work.
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Cake
On to cake. It's quite timely that this past Sunday Scribblings prompt was"Cake"; my son and I went to see the band Cake in concert a few weekends ago. I enjoy their music very much and one song in particular, The Distance. The refrain of "He's going the distance, he's going for speed" is relevant for me as I think about triathlon. I got into this sport with a very specific goal of doing an Ironman while I'm 50 years old. I've been working at this for over three years. Longer really, if you factor in that first moment many moons ago when I thought, "I'd like to do that someday." "Someday" will be July 24 2011, and while working towards that goal I've trained and raced my way to longer distance and faster finishes.
Now, here's where distance and speed get really interesting. My last triathlon was a smallish sprint distance race where I took 3rd place in my age group, qualifying me for an award. The competitive side of me (yeah, ok, that's every side of me) is very excited by this and sees the potential for actually taking 1st place in my age group in some of these shorter races. I doubt I could ever finish that well in longer distances but I think I can go pretty fast in a short race for a guy my age. So there's where the gotcha is; do I go for distance or do I go for speed? Of course I'm 100% focused on and committed to Ironman, but after that's done.......
Saturday, April 30, 2011
It can't really be that hard
What the hell is wrong with the guys at the gym who can't figure out what hook to use in the showers? There is one hook for every stall and they are located on the "far" side of each stall. By far side I mean furthest from the entrance to the shower area, or closest to the back wall. When guys use the wrong hook it just messes up the entire order of the Universe, not to mention that it can create an uncomfortable situation where there is an open stall but no open hook.
You see, I believe in order. Order makes sense, it creates harmony, it helps the natural flow of energy. Unfortunately, I am all too aware when things are out of order. It hurts my soul when I witness things like roads where two lanes merge into one and people violate the every other car rule, or when I'm cycling and well meaning motorists will yield the right of way when I have timed my gearing and/or my unclipping to my expectation of them following the orderly flow of traffic (and the law too, but let's not quibble). It gnaws at my very being when people start to line up at each individual self check out at the grocery store when clearly there is a single line where we all wait in an orderly manner for the next available check out.
What bothers me the most is when I'm driving and other drivers simply ignore the rules of the road; they jump the light to make a left, they pull out of a driveway into my lane just to drive slowly, or they have no freaking idea how to navigate a four way stop and pull out in front of me when it's my turn to go. Some day I am going to buy a big old Buick. I am going to reinforce the frame with steel I beams, and replace the bumper with rail road ties. Then, when the next guy makes a left turn in front of me when I have the green light I am just going to plow right into him. Oops, so sorry. Did I hit you when you turned right in front of me? My bad. Gee, did you fail to yield the right of way and I plowed your nice new BMW? Oh well.
In the mean time, I will continue to "nicely suggest" to others that they follow along in an orderly manner. We'll all be better off.
Friday, April 29, 2011
NFL draft
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Oops I did it again
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
If it's Tuesday
Ok, so here's the deal; my workout schedule is pretty random. I used to know day to day what I'd be doing because I did the same disciplines on the same days every week. With this 20 week intermediate IM plan, not so much. Today I ran at lunch and I have a swim after work. I swam yesterday too, but that was because I moved my Sunday swim to Monday. I've biked 3 days in a row and have a bike tomorrow too. Guess what I have in my gym bag. Better stated, guess what I don't have. Swim jammers. Once again (this is the third time since starting this plan) I will be swimming in running shorts. Good times!
Monday, April 25, 2011
100 mile weekend
After the race I recovered a bit and then bundled up (it was rainy and chilly) for a 2:20 ride. I took the Specialized since it was really wet out and I figured I'd be on the hoods for handling purposes much of the ride. Besides, I didn't want to drown The Mistress. Got in 37.72 miles in 2:25:07 for a 15.9 mph avg. A bit slow, but it was wet and I did seek out some hills.
Yesterday was the polar opposite weather; sunny and beautiful and I went way out past Phoenixville. Next time I go out that way I'll get on Rt 23 instead of staying on 724. Too much traffic and a horrible shoulder. Totals for the day were 3:32:30, 60.95 miles, and a 17.2 average. Ended up with a farmers tan on my arms and a white band on my ankle from my Road ID.
So, 5 mile road race, 37 mile ride, and a 60 mile ride equals 102 miles.
Hey, half of 100 is 50, and then the 2. 52!
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Ninety in ninety
Today was Eastern, and Max's birthday so we had some family over for dinner and that was nice. Good food, good company; always nice. Got in a 60 mile ride in the beautiful sunshine but had to put off a swim until tomorrow. Took some time this morning to work through some angst on the home front, but it's all for the good. I love my family :)
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Hey, how's it going?
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Headed in the right direction
Saturday, January 8, 2011
The Weather Outside is Frightful
What's an FTP test you ask? This is:
After 10 minute warm up, you are going to run for 30 minutes as hard as you can for the entire 30 minutes. After starting the run, hit your 'Lap' button so you record the average HR over the last 20 minutes. This can be run on track or measured course (flat). Record the time and get a 10 minute cool down.
It's designed to help you calculate heart rate zones for running workouts. It can also be done on the bike. When done right, it's no fun at all :) I did it in the spring but my plan calls for it today. I would like to see where I stand since the last test.
Monday, January 3, 2011
The rest of it
Saturday, January 1, 2011
1111
This in the year of Ironman
This is the year of deeper spiritual growth
This is the year of an even stronger partnership with my wife
This is the year of professional growth
This is the year of dreams coming true
This is THE year!
It's on!