Holy Crap it's Cold....and windy

Friday night....I decided to skip my swim.  It would have been nice to get it in, but we watched two episodes of Grimm for FMN and by the time they were done, it was 9:30.  Since the gym closes at 10p on Friday, there was no way I could have made it there for a swim.  I didn't beat myself up over it and, since I'm not worried about the swim, it was decidely okay to miss.....but lets not make a habit of this, I told my self. 

That afternoon I had dropped by bike off at the shop for a tune up, a freehub converter, and new cassette and chain to be put on my race wheels...and installed.  About an hour after I dropped it off, they called and said it was ready.  So after school, I picked J up and we went to get it.  Of course, she found some things in the Tri-Shop that she wanted....including an aero helmet for her "princess bike" and a pink carbon water bottle holder.  Helmet priced at $170 and the cage was $49.  LOL....she's already got "triathlete tastes".

C'mon daddy....I really want it.

Saturday morning, was up at 5:30am and ran 6 miles.  We had a lot going on and scheduled for the day....especially in the morning, so I wanted to get my run in.  Now THAT, I can't miss.  Running has been lacking in my plan as I'm focused on the bike...and the 112 mile sufferfest awaiting me.  I've done a marathon before (albeit very slow) so I know what it takes to get thru that.

On saturday night, I got everything prepared for Sunday's 4am alarm and 4:30am start time on the trainer.  Nutrition laid out, cages filled, extra water, clothes laid out for bike and run, shoes, headphones plugged in, Amazon Prime pulled up on the comuter and ready to hit play.  Start off with no stress or "looking for stuff" and it eliminates excuses.

 

The  ride was uneventful really, but the new components were great.  Could feel a hug difference in shifting and ease of peddling.  I got thru 5 episodes of Jericho, which was another recommendation.  Missed it the first time around on TV.  I ended up doing 3:40 on the bike....what I projected around 65 miles).

Then the run.....was planning on doing 10 miles and really felt good during the run.  I ended up with 6 miles and had some good times on the runs (9:45, 10, 10:18)......but the weather was Out Of Control.  A brisk northly wind that was whipping around.....like to the point of no matter how I was running, it was hitting me.  The temp was in the upper 30's and the winds were in the 30mph range....and that was sustained.  It was gusting up to 35-40mph.  I truly could have done more on the run, but was so miserable, that I stopped.

All in all....great weekend!!!!!

Purple Powerade = green poop

Catchy, but true, title.  I promise....that will be the last time in this post, that I refer to my poo.


Rode 3:00 last night on the bike.  Watched Serenity last night to complete the Firefly/Serenity series that I got engrossed in.  It would have been okay as a stand alone movie.....but coupled with the Firefly series, it was pretty damn awesome.  It really made the time fly by.

Thanks for the suggestions as what to watch next.  I have a 4 hour ride on Sunday.  Imma need something to keep me engrossed or I'll get bored and then quit.  No quitting!

This morning I was going to swim.  Up at 4:30, gym by 5:05, swim to 5:45, home by 6.  Great plan, right??!?!  Well....didn't get to bed/sleep until 12:15.  For those quick in math, you know that's 4:15 of sleep.  Not really condusive to recovery and good for the body.  So....I will try to sneek it in tonight after our regular Friday Night Family Movie Night.....which will actually be "Grimm" night as we have 2 of them recorded and the 7 year old LOVES it.  I know......what great parents, letting a small child watch Grimm.....meh.

Tomorrow is a 6 mile run, which....believe it or not....I'm actually looking forward to.  It's supposed to be 'chilly'....(in the 40's)....which isn't half bad for a run.

It's Friday again

Rest day and family movie night!!!!

On Wednesday night, while my daughter was getting over her strep/fever, guess who go a low grade and felt like complete ass.  I'll give you a hint......it's the only member of my family that types on this blog.  So, after taking it easy and getting some rest (which meant missing a run workout of 4 miles) I felt great on Thursday (I also had some left over amoxicillian so I started popping those too).

I was supposed to do 2:00 on the bike last night but couldn't find a comfortable pace, comfortable position, and generally didn't want to be there.  So....knowing what JFord would say, I managed to get 1:15 on the bike while watching FireFly.....which is an AWESOME show.....space ships, cowboys, pirates, pirate hookers.....guns.....women.....dark humor.....what's not to love.....

After the ride, I decided to go and get the swim workout from Wednesday in that I missed.  I cranked out 1300m (plan was 1200) in 24:18.  First couple of 100s were rough, as I was still a little sore from Monday's swim but that worked itself out and I was able to focus on form, feel, and breathing.  I also have to 'remember' how to sight also.  Usually every other breath on my left side, I can lift my head as I'm turning to breathe and sight.  I aslo practice different breatheing patterns.  Every few 100m, I'll switch from every 3 stoke bi-lateral to every 4 strokes and breathe only left.....then the next few 100, only right, then I'll go to 5 stroke bi-lateral, then repeat.....this helps me mentally to focus on that....and also get comfortable with different breathing patterns.  During my 70.3 in 2011, the first leg of the swim.....the wind was pushing from my right and creating waves and some caps.  Every time I'd breathe to the right, I'd get a face full of water.  I had to switch to breathing only left until I got to the bouy where I could go back to bi-lateral....then on the next turn, heading back to shore, the waves were on my left so I could only breathe right......knowing how to bi-lateral and being able to switch it up on the fly saved my swim that day.  Practice, Practice, Practice!!!!

Tonight is Ironman.....the movie.  never seen it so I'm looking forward to it!!

I didn't take an after pic of the ab challenge this morning.  I will take one this weekend and post on Monday.

99 Days

Crap....really?

99 Days until IMTX.  Why does that seem so short?  Why when it was 102 days, it seemed far enough away to get acomplished, but now....3 days later, it seems that it's closing in.  I know that it's mental but still.  It's becoming more real.

Did 1:30 on the trainer last night, followed by 250 sit ups.  This was on top of the 100 sit ups that I did yesterday morning.

This morning, my lovely wife gave me a compliment, very unexpectedly.  She told me that I was starting to look skinnier and that I was starting to get definition.  This led to Magic Mike style dancing and a flexing session in the mirror.  I asked her if it "did anything for her".  While she said no.....I know that she really wanted to jump all over this.  :)

Today is a scheduled off day and Family Movie Night.  Got a recomendation for "Hotel Transylvania" and she seemed good with it.  Guess it's a Redbox night.

Tomorrow was supposed to be a 10 mile run and Sunday was a 30 mile ride.  However, due to the weather that's supposed to push in, I'm going to ride tomorrow morning and fun on Sunday afternoon/night (after the rain pushes out).  Also....we're supposed to go (weather permitting) to Downtown McKinney to watch the Krewe De Barkus....a dog parade and expo.  That should be entertaining.

Have a great weekend followers!


Total crunches (through 2/7):  950

February Ab Challenge Started off....

....with a hit of the snooze button.  Well, shit.....

My plan, in addition to my training plan, is to get up in the mornings and do some ab/core work along with some resistance exercises and then at night, do whatever is on the training plan.  However this morning, reaching for the snooze button was the only stretching I got in. 

Got time for the reason. .....excuse.....  I normally am doing my evening workout by 8:15.  Well....last night with a fussy baby I didn't eat dinner until 7:30, then I had to go to the grocery store to get some items for this weekends Super Bowl (am I allowed to say it?  I know that I don't own the rights to say it, so I should say "Big Game") party at our house.  We don't have anyone coming over....just us....because we like to actually WATCH the game and WATCH the commercials without interuption.  We went to a party several years ago and all the men were watching the game and all the ladies were chatty.  Annie, however, ended up joining the men to watch the game and then during the commercial breaks, everyone would get up and mill around leaving me and her to try to see the commercials.  So....we decided, from then on, that we'd watch at our house....alone. 

Tonight is Family Movie Night and "breakfast for dinner" night too.....nom, nom, nom.  Not sure of what movie J will pick out for us. 

Tomorrow is an 8 mile run

Sunday is a brick.....a 25 mile ride followed immediatly by a 5 mile run.  This will be the first real test on the bike since the fit.  I rode 1:15 last night and it felt great (a little tenderness 'down there' but not as bad as it was with the old seat/set-up.

I was Runn'ning

Still been chilly and somewhat crappy weather for DFW.  Did another run on the treadmill for 38 minutes.  The schedule called for 4 miles (40 minutes) but the movie I was watching got over and as the credits rolled, I thought....meh, this is good.

I hate the treadmill, but I guess (and here's the admission part)......I guess it will make me better.  Ouch - hurts to say and even type.

Tonight is another "lovely" (think positive, right) treadmill run. 

Tomorrow, Friday - for those keeping score at home - is a 45 minute triainer ride.  That may be done in the morning since it's Family Movie night at the house.  X-Men 2 "X2" is what's on tap for the main feature.  I love the time with the fam.

As my boy JFord said to enocurage me......... "Do Work, bro....Do....Work"

Maybe he isn't so much of a No Talent Ass Clown as I make him out to be.

Follow his blog....and follow mine, dammmnitttttt.

Happy Gnu Year (or Happy Nude Year)

On 12/31, the plans we had that night were a little thrown off.  My 11 week old was diagnosed with RSV and my wife had the same crap I had (haha!!!! - no....just kidding).  So I texted the people we were going to hang with and they got a little freaked out because their BIL and SIL didn't want to expose their 3 week old to anyone that had been in contact with someone who was sick.  Ummm....okay.

So....we did Family Movie night and watched the Avengers....and J fell asleep at 10:45, I went to bed with the baby around 11:30....and my wife came in aroudn 12:15 and said "Happy New Year" *kiss*....and that's about all I remember.  Meh....when you're in your mid-30's and have kids, the whole NYE thing is different.  I'd rather do that then get shit face drunk and regret the morning.

I had 11 - 13 miles planned for 1/1.  Well....being off for a little over 2 weeks and the fact that it was 28 degrees with a wind chill of less than that, I got a whole mile in.  I started coughing due to the cold and thought....no way I can do this.  Went home and did Power 90, did stuff around the house, watched football, cleaned up some Christmas, went to the store (all produce was picked WAY over....it's like the gym....it'll be like that for a while, then people will think "making a salad is hard" and "fruit goes bad" and it'll be okay again), then we watched X-Men 2 last night for our Tuesday Night Family Movie Night.

137 Days to IMTX!  Better get on the Ball!

New Watch for the Run

So....whilst in Chicago, my cousins best friend, Mike....refer to one of my first posts....gave me his "old" Garmin Forerunner 210.

After setting it up on Friday night, I was prepared for my Saturday long run.  After setting out, I pushed the wrong button aroun mile 1.89.....which caused it to 'lap', so my next mile was at 2.89.....so it threw me off.  And trying to do math during the act of a long run is comical.

Anyway, it was a pretty uneventful run in the fact that nothing glamorus or funny happened between mile 0 and mile 7.5.

But when I got home and uploaded the data, it was STRAIGHT UP AWESOME!!!!  It showed my exact path that I ran, my splits, elevation, and gave me a clue to where waldo was.

Saturday night was a Jili/Daddy night.  We rented a Disney Princess movie, made a 'pilot' (pallet), got lots of pillows, and slept in her play room.  Only trouble was that it was not comfortable.  Apparently it was comfortable enough for me to fall asleep aboput 30 minutes into the movie (which we started at 8:00pm) but not comfortable enough to not wake up in pain.  I don't recommend recovering from a long run by sleeping on the floor.......that should be common sense, but I just want to toss that out there.

Didn't run on Sunday and slept in today.  Maybe run tonight......maybe.