Zip. Nada. Nilch. No weight lost, but no weight gained - I’m still sitting at 168.2. I will say that I probably slacked a bit this past week in terms of being good with my diet. With my sour attitude toward things as of late, I’m also finding it hard to adhere to the terms that I set out for myself initially. I’m not eating terribly, but it could be better. I grab a handful of Pringles here or there and in my worst of moods this past week, I succumbed to the power of a Chipotle(-like) burrito. Even so, I still do think I made progress this past week, even if Tanita won’t confirm it. I’m down another notch on my belt and I think I’m solidly in between my winter and summer jeans. I haven’t yet tried on the summer jeans, but the winter ones no longer stay up with my belly alone providing back pressure. Belts are a requirement these days, so I guess that’s good!

Thanks for the feedback on my last post. I know it was a bit crummy, but ehh… it needed to get said. I’ve pretty much decided that I won’t be doing the 1/2 IM that I signed up for in a couple months. More than likely, I’ll try either converting my entry into the Olympic category, or finding some other folks doing the race to do a relay. Just doing that helped my attitude towards things a bit. I don’t feel as much pressure to make weight by June. I don’t feel as much pressure to get my running volume (while nursing sore Achilles) up to 1/2 IM levels. I don’t have to worry about posting an all time worst 1/2 IM time. Training can now resume at a slower pace and we can see later where this season takes us.

The temperatures have finally gotten up a bit and hopefully the rain stays away long enough this weekend to get a nice longer ride in on Sunday. Ironmomjenny is putting together a ride this weekend. I think it’s a secret goal of hers to try and get a Guiness World Record for longest paceline ever. For any of you locals, I think the plan is 2-4 hours @ 18-20 MPH on Sunday afternoon. I’ll probably be at the smaller end of both of those, myself. :)

Have a great weekend everyone!

For those looking for their daily dose of inspiration and motivation, this isn’t the post for you. If you want to continue, be my guest but don’t say I didn’t warn you…

(more…)

So… I weighed myself this morning - 168.2. Not terrible for a little over a week. I have the feeling that I was a little more dehydrated than normal when I weighed in, but it should be close. I had a decent week last week of eating. I did splurge a little last Saturday utilizing my optional “special occasion” card (if you must know, was my birthday this past weekend. :) ). And I may have eaten slightly more than I was allotted on Easter, although if I did it wasn’t by much.

Three pounds in a week and a half or so is right on target, I’d say. I will say that I don’t strict calorie count so much as I sort of ballpark estimate everything. I think my guesstimates now doing this for a few years are pretty accurate though. And when I watch what I eat, I tend to eat the same things over and over and over again. Lunches are comprised of either a 6″ Subway Club (no cheese or mayo), or maybe a Quiznos small Sierra Smoked Turkey. Fruit I usually classify as 100 calories a piece. And I’m pretty in tune with my portion control. It’s amazing how little 1/2 a cup, or even a whole cup is for that matter! I still get very hungry at times, but this week seems to be better in terms of dealing with cravings and what not. I find that if I can ween myself off foods that I really like, I usually lose the desire to eat them in the second or third week.

I had forgotten how working out feels when you’re trying to lose weight, though. There have been a couple runs these past couple weeks where I just ran out of gas and had to cut my runs to walk/runs. Not so much because I was out of shape (although there is some of that), but more so because I was just completely out of energy. It comes with the territory I suppose. And probably better to have workouts suffer now in the early season than when the brunt of the training is supposed to come.

That’s it on the weight front. Everything else is going well. Training is slow going, but I think I managed 8-9 hours last week? I’m slow as molasses at running, I have no muscular endurance on the bike, and I feel like I’m swimming through jello in the pool. At least I don’t have one glaring weakness - I’m bad in all three! :)

The weather here continues to suck. We have a winter advisory here today until 7 PM and are expecting 3-5 inches of snow. :( Which just strengthens my case that I have to get out of this state sooner than later. I hate the weather here. It drives me absolutely nuts.

So… with race season that’s going to be here before I know it, I’ve decided that it’s about time that I start doing the whole weight loss thang. And as I’ve been in contact with Wil and some others about this, I wonder if starting some kind of virtual “fat camp” wouldn’t be fun. You know… we all sort of keep each other accountable and maybe have a weekly weigh in or something? And a place to bitch about how bad dropping weight sucks. Misery loves company after all, right? :)

Anyway, I’m planning on keeping track of my progress here. I started out this week tipping the scales at 171 and change - about 20 pounds heavier than I really should be. My (drastic) plan is going to be the same as last year. My own personal guidelines are as follows:

• By being a living member of the planet Earth, I am entitled to eating 1,000 calories a day.
• For every hour I workout, I get to eat an extra 500 calories (yeah, I know that’s not exact, but it’s easy math).
• When I reach 1,500 calories in exercise, I’m done - regardless of what I did that day. Meaning my hard cap for caloric intake for a day is 2,500 calories. So a 60 mile ride warrants me the same amount of calories as doing a century.
• The calories that I eat should come primarily from good sources - fruits, vegetables, and lean cuts of meat. I can’t get all my calories from chocolate, for example.
• Training calories (i.e. gels, sports drinks, etc.) count towards the overall daily tally so take them wisely and only as necessary.
• Optional: Special occasions (i.e. birthdays, anniversaries, etc.) are granted some relief from this diet, so long as the occasion is truly special and I’m not gorging myself because it’s Friday or something silly like that.
• Optional: Every five pound milestone, I’ll give myself the option to take one “free” meal as a reward for hitting that next level.

I did this last year and I seem to be able to drop 2+ pounds a week while training. Sometimes the training days are rough and I need to just gut through them on pure will alone. That’s the price I pay for living the good life for eight months - suck it up. :) Caloricly sure, it’s probably on the low side and I’m sure some nutritionist out there will tell me that it’s way too little and that I need to eat more. Starving my body, eating away at muscle mass, slowing down my metabolism and all that stuff. But it’s pretty much the way I’ve done things every time I’ve needed to cut weight and it always works. And the more I read what the diets of elite athletes look like, the more I think that they’re closer to the above than not. Besides, if I were really starving my body that badly, I don’t think it’d allow me to train or anything on top of just existing. So I think it’s enough? Perhaps a topic for discussion, though?

In any case, I’m in. If anyone else wants to join in the fun, the more the merrier. You don’t have to abide by my rules above. I only posted mine so others could see how I would be working towards my goal. Any takers? :)

It’s about that time. That time where I wake up from hibernation and say, “Oh crap! The race season is going to be here before you know it!” It’s been weighing on me (quite literally as far as my knee joints are concerned) these past couple of weeks that I should probably start doing something other than being glued to my couch. These days, I’m pretty much disgusted with how far I’ve actually let myself go.

So for the first time in a long time, I ran. Well, I did something that resembled putting on running shoes and going outside. I wouldn’t so much say that I ran as I’d say I sort of shuffled along wondering if and when I’d go into cardiac arrest. And wondering if it was safe to run considering all the sludge that probably built up over the winter and if a big chunk of cholesterol was going to break off one of my arteries and end up lodged in my brain. But I went out and did something, and as much as the run itself sucked it reminded me that I actually like being outside and exercising. Sure, it was gorgeous out this weekend which totally helped. But it was actually a fresh change from being cooped up inside the house watching me have to go down yet another notch on my belt.

So this is it. Yeah, I think it’s it? OK, it’s it. Stamped on my blog and for you all to call me out on it if you don’t hear from me regularly. The season starts NOW!

Twenty pounds heavier than I should be and my HR was somewhere close to infinity just by standing up. But this is the bitter sweet part of the season. Every workout I do sucks, but almost every workout that I do brings me noticeable changes in weight, HR, and RPE of my workouts. It doesn’t feel like I’ll ever get back to where I was, but I’ll have to trust that I’ve done it in years past and that I’ll get there again. It’s good to be “back”.

See you all out there!

I’m out for Wildflower.  Sorry for the false alarm.

Well, folks. We’ve finally made it and race week is upon us. At this time next week, the cannon will have gone off in Madison and we’ll be a few minutes into our swim. Monona Terrace will be filled with spectators lining the helix and the upper level. A helicopter may even being doing circles overhead watching how the events of the day are going to unfold. I’m getting all psyched and jittery just thinking about the race start!

I’m still feeling pretty good here. I know that I haven’t posted that much over the past week or two, but life has been rather plain and ordinary here these past few weeks. My taper has had me bouncing off the walls at times, but I’ve been doing what I can to stay occupied without wearing myself out. I feel good an am cautiously confident about the race next Sunday. My body is telling me its ready. I still have that inner conflict of not feeling deserving of the fitness I think I have since I’ve suffered in training less this year than in years prior. But we’ll see. It could be that I’m not as fit as I think I am, and that will certainly be plainly obvious race day if that’s the case!

I think it’s pretty healthy at this stage to doubt. Well, to have doubts so long as you believe. Wil did a great piece on her blog on that subject. If you roll into Ironman with nothing but doubts, eventually those doubts will get the better of you and your mind will give up far before your body will. On the other hand, I’ve known too many athletes rolling into an Ironman with nothing but confidence and buckling once something doesn’t go their way. They have a picture perfect race in their mind and when something doesn’t go quite like they expect it to, their confidence goes out the window because they certainly didn’t plan for this. Some coaches may disagree with my sentiments here, but I think a good combination of nerves and confidence are healthy here so long as there is a good balance of the two. You’ve got to respect the distance. The course has this way of sensing arrogance and it’ll be ready to chew up and spit out those folks that don’t give it its deserved respect.

So… I’m leaving for Madison on Friday morning! I psyched to meet so many of you that I’ve known only virtually for the past few months. It’s going to be great to put faces to names and to hang out with many of you. I’m psyched to see Ironman Village again and to walk through the expo. Heck, even the idea of walking through registration has me all smiles. Life has largely revolved around this one day for the the past few months. Be sure to bask in the Ironman atmosphere and take it all in. It’s going to be a great weekend!

Well, we’re almost half way into the first week of a three week taper. It doesn’t really feel like a taper yet. I’ve been reading and reviewing theories and protocols on tapering and everyone seems to have their own ideas an opinions to how much you should be doing of what. So, I’m trying to adapt and incorporate the best ideas from each plan and fit tailor them me knowing my strengths and weaknesses. The unifying theme throughout all the theories is to maintain intensity while you decrease volume steadily. After weeks of going long, the idea of backing off with a date with destiny just around the corner is nerve racking. Sometimes, you just have to believe…

So… yesterday was my final long run of the season. FINAL. LONG. RUN! For those of you who have tuned in for a while, I’m sure you know by now that my running is my Achilles heel. I tolerate it, but I don’t think that even after three years that I can say I like it. I like that I’m making progress. I like that it burns the most calories per hour of the three sports. But I don’t know that I ever get excited to be able to go out for a run, which is probably why it remains my Achilles heel. I’ll probably try and do eight or nine miles still for a longer run next week. That’s going to feel like a cake walk compared to the stuff I’ve been doing for the previous weeks.

I’m not entirely certain what I have in store for this weekend. Part of me wants to follow the “reduce 10-20% from last week” plan (ala Dave Scott from his most recent article in Triathlete Magazine) and ride 80-90 miles this weekend. Another source (Friel and Byrn from Going Long) says to do a four hour brick which would mean only 60 miles and an hour run afterwards. Hmmm… maybe 75 miles and a 45 minute run afterwards would be a good compromise? I’ll play it by ear and see.

I’m still feeling good and am in good spirits. I constantly have to remind myself to take it easy and that I’m supposed to arrive at each workout this week fresh and worried that I’m not doing enough. At this mornings swim session, there was a set of 6×175 on the 2:30 right at the hour mark of practice. That definitely an aerobic set, but probably harder than I should be swimming at this point. So I packed it up after 3 of them and got out, worried that I wasn’t doing enough. Tonight, I’m planning to ride with the tri club (if the weather holds up) or a date with the trainer for an hour. A hour on the bike? I normally wouldn’t even put on my gear to just ride for an hour. As happy as I should be that I get to relax a little, I’m bouncing off the walls on the inside.

Most importantly… the Minnesota State Fair starts tomorrow! Thank God I’ve already hit my goal weight. It is entirely possible that I throw down 10,000 calories in an afternoon there. If I can limit myself to half of that, I’ll consider the day a success!

Happy hump day, all! :)

“It’s a bird… It’s a plane… It’s SUP… oh wait. It’s just me.”

Well, I’m just about done here with my last BIG week. Tomorrow, I’ve got my final training century of the year and hopefully a six mile run afterwards. And then… ahhhh, the taper begins. *phew*

I’ve been feeling strangely good this week. Starting Tuesday, I did my last LONG run of the season. I think it was around 16 miles (although my Nike+iPod combo thingie told me it was 17). I got done and other than my stomach wanting to eat itself alive, I felt pretty darn good! I felt like I could have run more, and that may be the first time in my history of triathlon training that I can say that after a run of that duration!

I had good, 30 mile rides Wednesday through Friday. Thursday’s ride was the best. It was just one of those no-chain rides and I felt like I was pushing hard but my HR just wouldn’t leave zone 2 no matter what. By the end, I had averaged 20 MPH (I think for only the second time this season on a training ride) with an average heart rate of 133.

So the body is giving me good signals - very good ones. I almost feel guilty since I think I’ve worked harder in the past two years than I have this year. I think my running has improved largely because I’ve lost the excess around the mid-section recently; running is a whole lot easier not having to carry around a 12-pack of soda all the time (a 12 pack is 9.8 pounds - I weighed it the other day and I’ve lost more than that!). I’m sure the weight loss has helped my power to weight ratio on the bike as well. But I guess I’m finally starting to believe now that real progress at this long distance stuff takes years to develop. You read all the time of folks saying that if you want to go to Kona, it takes five years of commitment. Well, I’m not Kona bound and am only into my third year of this long stuff. But maybe… just maybe my body is starting to finally adapt? I don’t know. I don’t feel deserving to have a PR year since I haven’t put in as much work, but I suppose the past two seasons of work doesn’t just get erased because there is an off-season in the middle. I’m not saying that I’ll PR because you never know what you’ll get on race day, but I can’t remember feeling as good as I do now in seasons past. So… we’ll see! I certainly don’t want to count my chickens before they hatch, but I’m in good spirits going into my taper.

One more century. It sounds odd to say, but I think I’ll miss these routine centuries on the weekends. At this stage, 100 miles is just another another ride. I’m going to miss being in this kind of shape in the months to come post Ironman.

With Ironman Wisconsin rapidly approaching, I suppose an update of where I’m at with my training is in order. I seem to have been posting about everything but lately…

So last week was a rather epic week of Ironman training. Well, epic for this season anyway. Despite having not one but two goose egg days, I still managed to get in 18 hours of training in last week. I normally give myself one day totally off from training, but my legs were just totally shelled midweek so I gave myself another full day before the weekend came so I’d be fresh for my long ride. Fresh, mind you, is a totally relative word at this stage of the game.

While Sara and Wil are off tapering, I am at summer school of sorts trying to make up for my miscalculation of how long I had left until the big day. So I still have a harder week this week - I’m going to do one last long run and one last long ride (or long brick) before I start decreasing the volume. And at anytime that I feel exceptionally tired, I’ll rest.

It’s a little strange that I’m four weeks out from the race and not really feeling stressed or nervous in the least. I’m not sure if it’s the fact that I’ve had a busy summer so am not really expecting a PR at Wisconsin this year (although I do feel that I’m in decent shape?). Or maybe with this being my third go around at the distance, the idea of traveling 140.6 miles in a day doesn’t seem quite as daunting. Whatever the case, in 26 days I’ll be back in Madison. Back to swim out to the start line and tread water with a mass of 2200-some odd athletes all waiting to do this crazy thing called Ironman.

Sure it’s a race, but it’s also a celebration of sorts. Soon, it’ll be time to cash in all those hundreds of hours and thousands of miles that you travelled while training earlier in the summer. A time where you can look back and can really utilize those things that you learned during training and know that when the going gets tough, that you have the strength to keep pressing forward as you’ve done it many times before. It’s a time for camaraderie and realizing that although you may have struggled for the last few months balancing training with the “real world”, that you’re certainly not alone. It doesn’t take more than stopping for just a second and to look around you to see that you’re entirely surrounded by people who went through the many of the same things as you have - all the aches and pains and all the hours sacrificed training when “normal” people were out doing normal things.

The unity of athletes is one of the things that I think makes Ironman truly special. That simple fact that everyone making the 140.6 mile journey has experienced similar events, both good and bad, for the past several months. And for that one magical day, you have 2000+ of your brothers and sisters out there with you. It’s been a long, hard journey to just get there, but they all know first hand how truly difficult it has been as they’ve been beside you all this time. They haven’t walked just a mile in your shoes - they’ve walked thousands! Suddenly, you’re not flying solo anymore, but are instead travelling with a family of 2000+.

So, for everyone that I’ll hopefully see in 26 days, don’t forget to take time to “smell the roses.” Enjoy the atmosphere of the few days before the race and take a really good look at all the people around you because come September 10th, your family is going to get a whole lot bigger.