Prep It Out

January 31, 2009 -

So I took a rest today after five solid days of workouts. As I mentioned yesterday, we have the in-laws in town and I was more than willing to take it easy today and just enjoy a small break. However, I couldn't let the whole day go by with out doing something triathlon related. I mean c'mon, Ironman is serious business. So, in preparation for a bike trainer ride tomorrow, I converted my garage into a home movie theater.

I hung up a projector screen from the ceiling, precisely placed a projector, made a place for my laptop to connect, and set up the surround sound speakers....aaaahhhhhh yyeeeeaaaahhh....gonna be dope! Tomorrow I've planned a long trainer ride and wanted to do it in style, and yes......this should work.

So for the rest of this day, I will enjoy my lack of exertion and prepare to earn my Super Bowl indulgence with my long trainer ride tomorrow.

Day 31 Training Log - Today I worked really hard at doing nada! A day off is a much welcomed experience that deserves as much attention as a week of working out. Back at it tomorrow.

I Lift, Therefore I am

January 30, 2009 -

I'm fairly certain I will not get the two days of weight training a week I want, once "the plan" starts on Monday so I decided to throw a second day in this week....because I could.....and the rest of the muscles (legs mostly) were a little tired, so that seemed easiest.

I have been feeling a little fatigued all week after a 90 minute bike/run on Monday, a 2200 yard swim in drag shorts on Tuesday, a hard total body weight workout on Wednesday, a 90 minute run on Thursday and then another weight and abs workout today.

It is definitely time to start stepping up my nutrition, protein, and recovery supplements. I will get more into that stuff as the blog goes on, because, these are the days of our blogs....hahahahaha. Anyway, what I will start taking now is L-Glutamine three times a day, in times of heavy training.

It seems as in times of heavy training, L-Glutamine can help your muscles heal and recover more quickly and I can attest to that. Last summer when I was training a lot and I did my two 70.3 Ironmans within a four weeks of each other I was taking it daily and never had any issues with being sore, fatigued or anything else.

I have plenty of other things I like to add to my diet which, I will start talking about more as we move into the official training starting next week...so stay tuned...you just might learn something new....or at least different. And, if you know of something better, or more effective as I talk about this stuff, please let me know....I am still self trained and taught and always looking for advice and insight because...you don't know what you don't know.

Day 30 Training Log - Today I hit the weights. I started with abs, which was 4 x 25 of regular situps, 4 x 25 of leg-lifts with an extra extension on the high lift, and 4 x 25 of oblique twists with a 25lb plate. From there I moved to combo sets of bicep curls with 70lb curl bar for 4 x 25 mixed on the off sets with rows that were 4 x 10 of 142lbs. After that I moved to shoulders and triceps which were continuous sets of 4 x 10 at 17.5lbs of side raises then 4 x 10 at 17.5lbs of front raises and then 4 x 10 at 42lbs of straight-bar tricep pulldowns. After that I called it a day. I was not interested in working out at all today however, I knew I should....especially going into the super bowl weekend with.......the in-laws in town.

I Was Ruuunnning

January 29, 2009 -

I currently love the opportunity to wake up and train in whatever sport I feel like that day. As the "official training plan" start looms near with its strict schedule and its specific guidelines; I will miss my free-wheeling training days of doing whatever I want. For example, today I felt like running.....so....I was running....albeit Forrest Gump style.

I do have one beef with the gym though. I have mentioned in the past about this dope "cardio theater" that my Gold's Gym has. Full movie screen and surround sound packed with cardio equipment. The issue is this...running for long periods on a treadmill is hard enough as it is, however some rad movie like Predator, or Mission Impossible makes it go by so fast. So why, when I go in there today are they playing BS like that freakin Ya Ya Sisterhood! That is about the least motivating movie I could ever imagine running to.

I'm not trying to bag on sappy romantic comedies, or heart-felt dramas, but for a cardio theater I need motivating high action flicks or really great comedies. I ended up heading upstairs and running for what felt like and eternity watching my iPod Touch.

C'mon Gold's Gym cardio theater movie selection team....lets step it up a notch.

Day 29 Training Log - So it has been a bit since I did any sort of mileage in the run so I hit 90 minutes on the treadmill today at a medium pace which ended up being (according to the treadmill) about 12 miles and 1150 calories burnt. Why is it that treadmills feel like some horrible eternal fate that you cannot escape and will never end? Cannot wait to get a majority of my workouts back outdoors. Typical Seattle winter weather is finally coming back to usher in February which is on and off rain/drizzle and moderate 45 -50 degree temps. That means back outside....victory will be mine!

Weights Are Heavy

January 28, 2009 -

Today was a gym weights day. Because of the amount of cardio I have been doing, my two days a week of weights has slipped to one. I hope not to keep this trend because I am learning one thing very quickly....weights are heavy, and they keep getting heavier....bah.

I was not sore from yesterday's swim with those drag shorts but I must have been fatigued because I tried to do pullups...what a joke.

Oh well, still was a rad workout, good lift and my muscles can stay swoll for another week. I just know I will be getting that call to shoot my calendar soon?

Day 28 Training Log - Started with chest hitting the standard bench press for five sets consisting of 8 x 135, 8 x 175, 8 x 185, 6 x 190, and 6 x 190. I have been bumping up slightly each week here so hooray for that. I moved from there over to incline bench on the smith machine. That was two plates (90 lbs) at 4 x 8. This one was hard for me, guess I have a weak upper chest. After that I met my demise at the damn pullup. (Why are these things so hard for me?). I did four weak sets of full dead hang, closed-grip pullups consisting of 6, 5, 6, 4....boo. I mixed in some elevated bosu crunches on the off sets for 4 x 25. I tossed the bosu ball up on one of the box jump stands, placed feet on the floor, laid straight across the bosu and crunched up; those were hard. Finally, I did a squat into a dumbbell bicep curl with 30 pound dumbbells. On the off sets I mixed in a plank to pushup back to plank on the bosu ball for 4 x 10.

That was it, I felt pretty tired after today's workout. My arm muscles felt pretty fatigued. Oh, well, back at some more sweet cardio tomorrow.

What a Drag

January 27, 2009 -

Today was a pool day. I packed running clothes this morning just in case it wasn't a pool day and I was just too tired to know it yet....but I planned on a dope swim. Well, by the time I got to the gym and had, in fact, decided it was a pool day, I realized something lame....I forgot my jammers...bah. (Highly important note: not me pictured...just an example of jammers.)

All I had in my gym bag was my Speedo drag shorts. If you don't know what these are, they are Speedos you would typically wear over your jammers or other shorts and their purpose is to cause extra drag in the water so you train harder through more resistance. Well, they look like a mesh pair of oversized granny panties with a small tight pair of Speedos underneath.

So I tried them on alone and....hell no! Was not happening which, I was bummed about because I actually was stoked for a killer swim. Well running clothes save the day. Because I had also packed for running, I had my Under Armour compression shorts in my gym bag so I tossed those on and then threw the drag swimmer over. The look itself was quite lame, revealing, and somewhat odd. But the swim....the swim was vindicating!

Day 27 Training Log - So if you have been following I swam three weeks ago for the first time in this reconditioning and started at 600 yards. The next week went to 1200 yards, and last week went to 1750. Today however, I hit 2200 yards which I felt very proud of because not only did I swim strong and focused on form....but I did the entire distance with those kooky drag shorts on. I definitely noticed the extra resistance and appreciated the challenge. The swim was all freestyle sets at a medium pace focusing on form. I did 1 x 400, 1 x 600, 1 x 1000, and a cool down of 1 x 200. After that.......spent.

Sweat It Out

January 26, 2009 -

So after the last two days off traveling I was definitely ready to get my sweat on today. You know those days...the ones when you need nothing more than to just work hard, and sweat. That was today, I wanted to get into the gym and just hit cardio hard for a bit.

And....sweat I did. Dripping off the Under Armour shirt and draining from the bill of my Nike dri-fit hat. Lil bikey...lil runny....it felt awesome. I was instantly revived. It's hard when you start to train an work out like this because you start craving it. Two days off felt like an eternity and I was only thinking about getting back to the gym today so I could work hard.

Now, I'm sure this may change at I get further into Ironman training and I start to get exhausted and burnt out....but for now....I want to work!

Day 26 Training Log - So as I mentioned, I just wanted to put some time in today and sweat it out. I started on the stationary bike for 55 minutes of interval training. I did medium resistance to hard resistance alternating every three minutes. I am seeing the most improvement so far on this exercise as each week I have done this I have bumped up both the high and low level resistance two notches each time and still keeping the same pace and distance for the time. After 55 mins on the bike I moved over to a med-pace run on the treadmill for 25 mins. After that I was not exhausted, mostly just bored so I called it a day. Cannot wait to get back outside to train....(today was 27 degrees in the am....bah).

My Girl Likes To Party All The Time

January 25, 2009 -

My girl likes to party all the time, party all the time, party all the tiiiiimme. Yeah...old school Eddie Murphy. So today I flew home from Dallas which, I was pre-assuming I would not work out as per most cases when I come home from a trip. I hug and play it out with the kiddos and then it's time to get our party on. Sometimes it's out to Redhook, sometimes to the Kirkland Waterfront or the Slip....but today, it was to Oddfellows. I love this place because it's NEVER busy...at least when we go in the middle of the day. As a parent this is critical because when no one is around, you can loose the grip on your children which, allows us to relax a little and get a chance to talk over nothing less than the most rad chili-dog west of the Mississippi....true story.

Day 25 Training Log - as you can imagine with the whole chili-dog thing and just flat out tired, as when I was getting up in Dallas to head to the airport, it was actually 2:30 am in Kirkland where everyone else was sleeping soundly. Anyway, I took the day off...duh. I'm sure this will be my last two-day off streak until after Ironman however, can't make any promises at this point, you never know when these things will pop-up. I do feel rested and ready to attack my last week of conditioning before official Ironman training starts one week from tomorrow.

Hittin The Town

January 24, 2009 -

Woke up this morning and had to work all day. Went over to the event and tracked down my shipping, got setup and prepared. Had not totally ruled out a workout, but was pretty sure today it was not going down. Worked my event all day, worked with people, answered questions, gave a speech and at 6p after working all day, I was finished. Loaded up, took everything back to shipping and made my way back to the hotel....where....there was no freakin way I was working out tonight. After nine straight days, tonight, I am taking a well deserved rest.

I think I'll hit the town and head up to the West End District of Dallas. It seems to be packed with restaurants and night life.

Day 24 Training Log - So nine days on, today was off. I'm on an early flight home tomorrow and hope to sneak in a workout, but usually when I get home from a trip it's family time so we'll see. One more week to go before official Ironman training starts. I have done well at getting conditioned to start, but I will really have to step up my nutrition and supplements plan.

Hot Hot Heat......Kinda

January 23, 2009 -

I left this morning on an early flight to Dallas, TX for a couple days for work. I travel quite a bit for work and typically fail at training on the road. After a full day of travel I usually like to check out the city and find some great food. However, I am working a new strategy this trip. I packed a few healthy food items to have accessible when I'm hungry and thought a good way to check out the city would be to run it.

Well somehow it was 75 degrees today in Dallas. I'll tell you what, it has been a loooooong time since I have ran in any kind of heat so running today felt something like running while someone followed blowing a hair dryer on you. I must have had this combo heat, tired, dehydrated thing going on paired with not taking a day off for the last eight days because the run felt like an eternity and ended up being quite slow for me. It was also a lot of that start/stop and sprint to make the stoplight kind of city running.

With that crying out of the way, it was quite nice to run outside in the warm sun and see a new city. I scoped out all of the places I will go back and check out tonight and tomorrow. Way to go Dallas.

Day 23 Training Log - Today I laced up the nikes, stepped out the front door of the Westin and took to the streets of downtown Dallas. All in all the run ended up being a little over five miles (but felt like 10). I was like a sweaty turtle trying to sprint.....bad news. I was pretty starving, dehydrated and tired so I called it a day after that.

When You Just Don't Want To

January 22, 2009 -

Today I had no motivation to work out even though I had planned on it. I was feeling tired, a little sick, and still had that pinched nerve in my neck...I know...call the waaaambulance. Then, I got to work and there was all this work lameness going on which, also killed my motivation. So the best thing I could think of was, rather than go the gym, which I had no motivation for anyway....go for a nice big beer.

Then....my trusty friend Marcus (whom I work with) decided not to fall prey to my lack of motivation and was bound for the gym with or without me. Never wanting to be that lonely sad guy at the end of the bar, I decided I would go work through it.

So I went to the gym and ended up having a great swim. Considering I am traveling the next couple days where workouts always are in jeopardy, it ended up being a great thing. It's great to have motivated friends on days like today.

Day 22 Training Log - So I reluctantly hopped in the pool and cranked out a mile. I started with a 600 yard warm-up. (300 free, 200 pull, 100 kick). Then I went to 400 free, rest, 500 free, rest, and 250 free....stop. I still have a ruthless amount of work to do on my technique and in simply building up my stamina in the pool, but...today.....on a day when I didn't want to do it....I got back to that mile mark after just my third swim back in the pool.

Post Script - I have a feeling Ironman training is going to be a continual process of making those kind of decisions. Pushing yourself when you don't feel like it. Like Barack said in his inaugural address...we have to pick ourselves up....dust ourselves off.... and begin to do an Ironman......or at least it was something like that.

Lommis Nearus Ironman

January 21, 2009 -

Well I got a 20 week official training program for Ironman that starts on Monday February 2. I started to fill in my calendar with the first four weeks of workouts and got moderately intimidated. As official Ironman training looms near a much higher level of sacrifice, training, time, nutrition, and discipline also closes in....it will be go time.

I am excited, even as I fully understand what this commitment means. I will have to change, adapt, and work much harder than I have to this point. I do feel to this point, three weeks into my prep training that I am getting stronger, my cardio is better, and my levels are ready to launch into official training.

I just nailed down a great house to rent in CDA for the Ironman. Ended up being offered to us by an old college friend at a great deal. So details, (training plans, house rentals, travel arrangements, equipment purchases) are all falling into place to the point where the only thing left to do is train, train, train, train.

Day 21 Training Log - I intended to swim today, however sometime yesterday between getting off the bike trainer and hopping in the shower I got a pinched nerve in my neck which was only aggravated by the weight workout yesterday. Today it was better but I'm still turning half my body to look sideways in order to avoid those sharp pains. So today I decided to adapt and do some biking. I hopped on the stationary bike at the gym and put in 56 minutes of interval training. The intervals changed every three minutes then entire time going from medium to medium hard at a hard pace. After the time on the bike I moved over to an easy 20 minute run on the treadmill. Good solid day. I can feel my cardio getting better and my strength increasing.

Early Bird Gets The Worm

January 20, 2009 -

I hate training first thing in the morning. You know....those people you see out there at 6 or 7 am, running or biking by your house while you are just rolling out of bed and putting on a pot of coffee....that is not me.

Day by day however, I am coming to terms with the fact that in order get the workouts in with the rest of my schedule I will need to have some early morning training. So, today I made it out of bed at 6a and hopped on the bike trainer. It is a small start, but I hope to build and embrace the AM.

Day 20 Training - I started the morning at 6am putting in 30 minutes on my bike trainer at home at a med to med-hard gear. Stayed in the same gear at the same pace for the entire 30 minutes. Then, later in the day I hit the gym and went for another total body weight experience. I started with the bench press (the chest foundation). I did five sets, 10 x 135, 10 x 155, 10 x 175, 8 x 185, 7 x 185. From there I moved to some crazy type of pushup I can only call a swiss-ball rollout to alter-arm medicine ball pushup. Basically, you put your stomach on a large swiss-ball, palms down on the floor and legs suspended straight out. Then, using your arms you roll your body out on the swiss-ball until your feet are on it and you put one arm up on a medicine ball with the other on the floor and pushup, then roll yourself back to the starting position. The next time you switch pushup arms. Repeat that for 4 x 10. Mixed with that I put a bosu ball up on a step bench and did some inverted bosu crunches for 4 x 25. From there I moved to one-armed pull-ups on the pull-up machine. I used 175lbs of extra help from the machine and did 4 x 10 of each arm while you place the other arm across your chest. I mixed those sets with leg-lift, knee raises on that leg lift machine. I was pretty much spent after that.

Slippin In a Quickie

January 19th, 2009 -

So today I wanted to go for a quick swim however, I was a little sore from yesterday's 8 mile run and series of 100 jump squats so the motivation was not high but I wanted to at least slip in a quickie.

I get to the gym and the pool as usual, is filled with people. Two swimmers in every lane and I did not have the time to wait. So, I went with some last minute modification. I stared with some abs and moved into the stair climber.

Not sure what it is about that stair climber machine, but that thing kicks me in the junk every time I get on it...which isn't very often. This is that monstrous machine with full set of rotating stairs. I always do the "fat burner" program because it is closest to interval training and because it kicks my butt. I would challenge anyone to try it on as high of level as they can stand for 20 minutes.

You will never be the same.

Day 19 Training Log - So today I was limited on time but wanted to work so I started with abs and did 4 x 25 of regular full situps (feet on the floor, no support), 4 x 25 of high leg lifts with high ab curl, and 4 x 25 of oblique twists with a 16lb medicine ball. From there I went to the stair climber machine and did 20 minutes of the "fat burner" program on level 14. I wanted to go 10 more minutes but fortunately did not have the time....as I may have required medical attention. After 20 minutes at that level I was drenched in sweat, red-faced and out of breath. I look forward to continuing to add this into my cross training at higher levels for longer time.

Sasquatch Is Real!

January 18th, 2009 -

There are a lot of little things that need to take place in order to run longer distances comfortably, and they vary from person to person. However, each is critical and each is something that may not be noticed on a shorter run. Things like the famous nipple, thighs or underarm chaff, toenails issues, forgetting some chapstick or sweat band or hat, sun glasses, sports goo. Whatever it may be everyone has their things that bug when you start packing on the miles and, as I mentioned, you never notice these things in small distance runs, they only rear their ugly heads when you get into distance.

Well today was my day to remember what I forgot. It is gorgeous in Seattle right now, 50 degrees, clear and sunny, light breeze. It's my favorite weather to run in. So, there was nothing else I could do today except hit the long run. I haven't been running a lot of long distance since December when I did the Las Vegas half marathon so I decided to start slow and just go for 8 miles. Little did I know that I would feel so great, just hauling and loving the run.

However, around mile 6 I realized that I could not remember the last time I cut my toenails? Uh-oh. The last couple miles felt great but had the small annoyance of some type of stabbing feeling into one of my toes. I get home to find a bloody sock and some sasquatch resembling toenail....woops. Gonna have to stay on top of those little things from here on out.

Day 18 Training Log - So today I got out for an 8.2 mile run and I felt great. I ran a 7:40 pace and love this run because mile 1 and 5 are all downhill but mile 4 and 8 are all uphill and a pretty good grade at that. After the run I put in 4 x 15 on the perfect pushups mixing with 4 x 25 on Bosu crunches then I moved to 5 x 20 of Bosu leg lifts mixed with 5 x 20 of jump lunges. Great workout, great day.

An Entertaining Ride

January 17, 2009 -

I love being able to watch TV when I'm at the gym running or biking, or on the trainer at home. If you get the right show on it makes the time go so much faster. Today I went and did some training on the stationary bike at the gym and brought my iPod Touch along. They have this really sweet cardio theater there which, is a full size movie screen and surround sound and the room is filled with cardio equipment, and they keep it dark. Only issue is, sometimes they plan non-cardio inspiring movies aka...sappy dramas. Hence, the reason why I brought my own entertainment today.

I download TV shows or movies from iTunes and load'em up so I'm good to go. Right now I'm wathcing this showtime original called Dexter. A little strange, but entertaining. The best part though, is while I'm cranking away, I'm also entertained. Before I know it, an hour has gone by and I am drenched.

Can't wait to get into the longer rides on the trainer and throw on movies like 300 or Gladiator. That should make for a good ride.

Day 17 Training Log - Today I hauled the kiddos into the gym daycare and hit the stationary bike. I did interval training for 55 minutes alternating every 3 minutes between hard resistance and medium resistance. Good hard ride...as per usual...very sweaty. My quads feel a little tired...whatever.

Attn. Swimmers...Drowning Prohibited

January 16, 2009 -

Back in the pool today, second time since my 600 yard disgrace earlier in the week. Today was a much more solid performance. I swam twice as long and felt pretty solid. I could feel different aspects of technique starting to come back.

A buddy gave me a pair of shorts to try out that cause extra drag and wow....they work. I swam 600 yards with them on and then, pulled them off to see the difference. After I swam with them off, it felt like I was gliding through the water (in a non-graceful way of course). I liken it to training with ankle weights of a weight vest.

With everyday I am starting to crave more cardio and longer workouts, so.... I guess that is good. Victory is eminent!

Day 16 Training Log - Today I hit the poolio and swam 1200 yards. 600 yards of which were in a Speedo Drag Suit. As soon as I took that thing off I could tell and immediate difference. So the swim was a 600 yard warm-up including 300 freestyle, 200 arms only freestyle using a leg floaty, and 100 on the kickboard. Then I went for straight 400 freestyle, then 100 hard arms only and 100 freestyle hard. After 1200 yards I was done in the pool but wanted to get a little more cardio in so I hopped on the treadmill for 30 minutes at a medium pace. Good day, felt solid.

Lazy Days

January 15, 2009 -

Packed a gym bag into work today but just never quite had the motivation to make it in so I took a chillin day today. Actually a nice day. With the extra time I got a bunch more work done I was looking to catch up on, and had a nice lil lunch with some friends.

I never actually plan days off. Everyday I am ready and prepared to train in some way. That must be what makes those days off so fun, it is not planned but spontaneous and based on that day's circumstances. I am aiming for one day off a week but usually take two, so we will see how that shapes up in the coming weeks.

I'll be back in hittin it tomorrow, but until then I will savor the rest of today's inactivity.

Day 15 Training Log - Nada.......golden!

She's Like The Wind

January 14, 2009 -

I wanted to take advantage of the dry weather and get outside on my bike since I have only taken it out twice since getting it a month ago and those were really just test rides. So, I got all suited up for a cold ride and hit the road. I did a 25 mile loop around Lake Sammamish which, I have never done before.

Couple things....I love the new bike. She's like the wind (I figure it will be a she since we'll be spending so much time together). The bike is fun, fast, and easy...(that's what she said). The only thing about today's ride...it was a balmy 37 degrees out. First half was nice but the last half was this serious, freezing headwind.

I never realized how cold I actually was until I got back and started to thaw except most of my parts stayed frozen. Then that tingly feeling. You know the one you get in your fingers and toes as they go from frozen to "back to life". All in all, out of all three disciplines, I will be spending the most time on the bike and so it was an encouraging ride just getting used to it and getting back to feeling all those little cranks and muscles that only come from laying down on the bars and hauling. Gonna make a few tweaks and get back out there.

Day 14 Training Log - So obivously I hit the road. Left my office and did a 25 mile bike ride around lake Sammamish. The ride took 1:24. This was not a great time but was slowed by just getting into riding and a myriad of lights in the beginning and midpoint of the ride. It will be fun to continue this ride and track the time improvement.

Pull-Ups - Arch Nemesis

January 13, 2009 -

So back at it, another day at the gym. Today was a weight day. Going on thirteen days since the revolution and I was not out of shape but I definitely had lost a lot of where I was when I peaked this summer doing the half Ironman's.

However, I was inspired today as I really worked hard at the gym and realized it's all coming back. My strength is building quickly, and my cardio and endurance is returning. It was a bright moment that as daunting a task as Ironman training, it does get easier and you are always happy with where you have come from.

Until then, there is one thing that I HATE HATE HATE and yet continue to punish myself with and that would be the pullup. About two years ago I decided I should do some pullups because that is what guys should be able to do. I get up there...hang...and....nothing. I can't even do one pullup from a dead hang.

So I make it my focus building up over two years to four sets of 10 wide-grip pullups each time going down to a dead hang. Then I take some time off and now......suck. It is like death or what I imagine death to feel like. So I am working back up and will one day get to my goal of four sets of 15....but not today.

Day 13 Training Log - Another weight workout day and went for the total body thing. Started on the bench press hitting 4 x 10 at 185. Then moved to incline bench doing single arm raises at 50lbs for 4 x 10. Then moved to closed grip pullups for four sets of 10, 9, 8, 6. I mixed the pullups on the offsets with a series of jump squats cradling a 16lb pound medicine ball followed with 10 lunges to knee raises on a stability block and cradling a 16lb medicine ball. That was four sets of 30 (10 jump squats, and 10 lunges each leg). After that moved to straight-armed lat pull-downs at 50lbs for 4 x 12 alternating with elevated leg raises for 4 x 30 which, sucked...destroyed the abs.