110 Days: Getting Back in Form

I love my bike. Is that weird for me to say? To those of you who spend as much time on the bike as I do, I would hope your love for your bike is the same. There is just something about the wind and the road and the alone time. During my afternoon workout on my bike I fully realized just how much I enjoy riding my bike. I even gave Jamis a solid cleaning afterwards.

I am also beginning to realize the effect of finishing an Ironman would have on my life. To me, an Ironman is one of the top physical accomplishments any one person can achieve. Even with all the other participants, it comes down to you and the clock. 17 hours is what you get and hopefully is 5 hours more than I need. Finishing would show myself that I can go out and accomplish anything I set my mind to. There were people who said I was crazy for doing a few half-marathons, and I was crazy to do a few half-Ironmans but now others are starting to believe in me. They have seen what commitment I am willing to put into this goal and can see that it means a lot to me.

Author Howard Thurman once said "Don't ask yourself what the world needs; ask yourself what makes you come alive. And then go and do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive."

My passions have changed throughout my life but this is one that required money, organization and discipline. One that challenges the participant to give it their all, no matter if the weather is hot and muggy or cold and rainy. It's very hard to explain unless you've gone through a race doubting whether you can finish. Trust me, many of those moments come about in a half-Ironman and I guarantee they will in Louisville in August.

You have to persevere. You have to dig deep. You have to finish.

You can't fake passion.

Happy training!

Drew

115 Days: Reality of Keeping A Blog

I started out writing this blog with the intention of posting everyday. However as you may have noticed, the week has lacked posting. Not to mention some of the articles have included simple workouts, with no other significant information. This is going to change.

I am going to update the blog hopefully twice a week. It will include information on my diet and weight progress, key workouts that are to be completed and just about anything else I see fit.

I will be away from home for the next 3 days due to a bachelor party. The previous week I had been out of town for a business conference. I was able to keep up with my run training during these past days but I don't plan on doing anything but beer curls for the next few days. The diet will be in shambles and the legs will be aching to run but this is how the days will be.

While in Tempe, AZ I was able to get a couple good 30-60 min runs in before my sessions began each day. The weather was much dryer than I am used to and along with the heat and wind, you would barely develop a standing sweat. I would get back to my hotel room and still be dry because the sweat had been pulled away so quickly. It was strange but nice to not have a soaked shirt hanging off of me.

The hotel did have a long pool but not one that was suitable to swim laps in. I tried but after each flip turn and rise back to the surface I'd be 4 strokes from the next wall. There were also a number of shops in the area that rented road bikes but with an inconsistent schedule, I was hoping for a spin bike or the like at the hotel. The gym ended up only having an older recumbent which was something I have no interest in.

So you can see that this 10 days stretch is pretty hard on my workout schedule. But it'll be okay; I've got 115 days until the Ironman and 38 until my next half.

Happy training!

Drew

122,121, 120, 119 Days

I've failed these last couple days and I don't think tonight is going to be different. I just haven't had time to write in the blog. However, I'll let you know that I got a good 20 min, 8 mi ride today before I boarded a flight. I should be able to stay up on my workouts while out of town.

Happy training!

Drew

123 Days

Another day down...

Today seemed to go rather well. I started of with a lifting session followed by a core workout in the morning. By the time I got around to my swim I was somewhat sore which I figured would damper the swim. However, I was able to push through the soreness and have a very solid swim session.

Today's Workout

• Weights/ Core
• 3 sets, 15-20 reps
• Squat, bent-arm pulldown, leg press, seated row, leg extension, hamstring curl
• Core set #2, 2 sets
• Results
• 15 reps, 3 sets of all the above 
• Completed the core workout
• Reflection
• The weight session is always difficult when done in the morning. Even with stretching my body will occasionally seem to rebel against the idea of hauling weights. Starting off with squats doesn't really help either. The core session was done at a slower pace than normal but my form stay in line and I was able to sustain a solid burn.
• Swim
• No warm up
• 500 yd
• 5 x (25 right side kick, 25 left side kick, 50 medium effort)
• 500 yd
• 100 closed fist, 100 swim, 100 paddles, 100 swim, 100 closed fist
• No cool down
• Results
• Completed. During the main swim sets, 1:27 100yd splits
• Reflections
• Once my heart rate settled down at about 250 yards into the first set I was able to focus and grind the swim out.

Tomorrow starts off with a Run session in the morning and a Bike session after work. The legs are feeling great and hopefully I will get some solid sleep tonight!

Happy training!

Drew

124 Days

I started this morning off with a bike ride on the trainer. It turned out to be excellent. My body is still trying to get used to more intense workouts before work. I've been getting out of bed at 4:40 every morning so that I can complete one of my daily workouts and get to work on time.

Today's Workout

• Bike
• 30 min warmup
• 30 min time trial, push the pace and heart rate
• 15 min cool down
• Results
• 15 min warmup, 12-14 mph
• 30 mins trial, 15 min at 18 mph, 15 min at 24-26 mph
• 15 min, 16 mph
• Reflection
• The ride was great and I felt strong throughout. The bike is quickly becoming my strong point over the swim. I guess after a year of riding the same bike it has been tuned and adjusted to fit me perfectly. 

I am looking forward to my weight session and swim tomorrow. The weights will be in the morning prior to work.

And in other news, I finally pushed through 196 lbs and hit 195 tonight. Big accomplishment! 15 more to go!

Happy training!

Drew

125 Days: Paleo Diet

I decided that my diet needed a change, possibly temporary, but a change to push through my current weight plateau. I decided to give the Paleo diet a try. For those who are unsure of what this diet consists of, think back to era of early humans. This was when processed food did not exist and yet the species thrived. The diet is all about eating foods that haven't been processed such as grain products (bread, cereal, etc.), dairy (milk, cheese, ice cream), salty foods and sweets. In addition, if you are trying to lose weight like I am, it is best to avoid starchy vegetables like potatoes.

I really can't speak for the benefits of this diet yet because I have only been on it for a day and a half but I did notice no drowsy period in my day. The diet allows for your blood sugar to maintain a constant level, avoiding the peaks that processing carbs causes. I still plan on drinking one cup of coffee a day but more than that just is not necessary.

I will keep everyone posted on how it goes. If you are interested in a food list for the Paleo diet, check out this link:
http://desertcrossfit.typepad.com/Paleo_Food_List.pdf

There is also a number of videos on YouTube that talk about the benefits of the diet. Hopefully it works for me!

Today's Workouts

• Run
• 15-20 min run
• High knees, butt kicks, skips, karaoke, strides (x5-10)
• Results
• 20 min run, followed by assigned drills, 6 strides
• Reflections
• The morning Run session went very well. I wasn't expecting to be fully into the workout but once I started moving things fell into place. My hips opened up early on the run, allowing me to push the pace early
• Swim
• 400 yd swim, 8x50 swim (:15s rest intervals)
• 1000 time trial
• 200 swim
• Results
• 300 swim, 8x50 at :40 sec pace
• 500 swim
• 200 swim
• Reflections
• Unfortunately the time trial did not go well. I simply could not get a rhythm going and was really straining to maintain form. I decided to cut the trial in half in order to save my shoulders and sanity. It's unfortunate but it happens. Hopefully the next swim will go better!

That is all I have today. Off to bed so that I can get my Bike session done in the morning!

Happy training!

Drew

126 Days

Today was going to be an off day but following yesterday's slow ride, I felt that I would get back on the bike and bang out some miles.

I wasn't going to do more than 30 mins of hard riding it order to have somewhat of an off day. I went out for 27 mins, and averaged 19.5 mph. Not too bad if you ask me. I also managed to hit 42 mph at one point on the ride (downhill, wind at my back).

In other news, I am slowly switching my diet but I'll write more on that tomorrow.

Happy training!

Drew