Damn You Germs!

After a week of being sick with what I would describe as one of the worst colds I've ever had, I finally got a chance to get a workout in today. That wasn't necessarily the plan, but after 5 days of feeling like poo-poo, the last 3 coughing my head off, I had anticipated spending this last day before starting another work week resting on the couch to ensure that I was well enough to make it into the office to see my clients and not have to cancel any appointments. But after getting some homemade chili in me, and vegging out to 22 Jump Street, my body couldn't take the laziness anymore and was just BEGGING to get in a little sweat session. (Side note: This is how I know I'm an actual "athlete" now and not just going through some phase - when my body actually goes through withdrawal from exercise after a certain period of time, and I'm jonesing for some kind of physical activity). Not really feeling up to a swim just yet, I decided to go at it with the trainer once again. I still had at least the second half of Scrooged to watch since my last ride, so I climbed upon my humble steed and off we went for a 60-minute spin. I have to say, the hour went by fairly quickly and I felt great afterwards. Not only physically, but mentally as well. I'm really looking forward to getting the tri bike on the trainer at some point and trying my hand at that new piece of machinery - in fact, I'm not sure why I don't at this point. My Garmin 920 won't be in for almost another month or so, so there's really no reason for me to NOT hop on and get some time in the saddle. I think it still intimidates me, though. I need to just get over that part of it, I know, because heck - I did just drop a few dollars on the sucker and it is (supposedly) gonna make me a more efficient and faster triathlete, so what am I waiting for? I also got some new gear for the bike, and for my up-and-coming amateur triathlete career - a water bottle for the aero position (I'm sure there is a technical name for this, but I couldn't tell you what it is at this point), some nutrition for my training and practice-races, a Total Immersion swimming book/manual, and an awesome new tri bag to boot. Again, when you're receiving this kind of swag as a Christmas gift, you know this isn't just a game anymore - or, at least, you're wanting to look the part. :) Regardless, I'm hoping that now that this cold is (nearly) over, I can schedule some upcoming workouts and get back at it. Only 2 months or so left before the REAL training begins for the Half IM in Muncie. The next 8 weeks is gonna be interesting to say the least.

Picking It Up

Well I've been on a kick now for about three weeks, which means that I've worked out approx. 4-5 days out of the week, every week. Whether that be swimming, biking, or doing Orange Theory classes (which incorporate strength, endurance and running), I've kept it up pretty well. Can't say that my motivation has improved much, however, and it's been hard to get up in the morning to get going - especially on those days when I don't have an accountability partner. I did end up getting a new tri bike a few weeks ago, but since it's Winter here in Kentucky I haven't been out on it, and did a 45 minute spin on the road bike on my trainer last week. I'm still a little intimidated by this whole "tri bike" thing, since I've never once used aero bars and I got a new type of shoe and clip - which means that my right of passage of falling over within the first month of riding is inevitable. Still, I know I need to get more workouts in before the "real" training begins. According to my calendar, my 6 week base building really doesn't begin until January 12th, so I'm just trying to get a little bit of the three sports in when I can. The half IM training starts February 23rd, so I'm looking ahead at that to see what it will entail, so I can go into it pretty confident that I can keep up with the workouts. I don't want to be swimming 1000 meters at a time thinking I'm crushing it, when the first workout has me doing 2500 meters total (which, by the way, it does). The swim doesn't really concern me though, although I do plan on a lesson or two to make sure my efficiency and form are what they need to be (my goal is to not get in "junk miles" - or meters in this case). My biggest concern is the bike. 112 miles just seems so daunting at this point, and thinking of being on a bike for 6-8 hours when my booty gets sore after just 45 minutes is intimidating in and of itself. Not to mention the physical endurance needed to go that far within the cut-off, as well as the hills. Oh, the hills. Not my strong suit by any means. And although I've completed 5 marathons, none of which were spectacular, I know that I can do a run/walk method and get by on that. Again... it's the bike. With that said, I'm just gonna have to force myself to get on the trainer more. Maybe get some DVD's that will guide me on some good workouts rather than merely watching a Netflix film and peddling just to pedal. Who knows, maybe I'll even get up the nerve to do some spin classes and go from there. All I know if that after that first 45 minute ride last week my legs felt like steel - for 20 minutes at least. I just need them to feel that good ALL the time.

Let The Base Building Begin....

I've been in the pool a few times over the past week, and although the first day was a struggle, I'm finally starting to find my groove again. I'm getting excited about getting into the actual training for the Half and Full Ironman's I have coming up, and have input a training program into a calendar, consistent with the weeks leading up to both races. I'll start training for the HIM February 23rd, and the IMLOU training will be 8 weeks in when I complete that race, so I'll just pick up where that one left off. As I was plugging in the workouts, I noticed that the week after my half (Muncie), there is a Recovery Week for the IM plan - which actually works out great. I'm also thinking of doing another half about a month later - which would be approx. 2 months prior to the full. The Laurel Lake half is apparently a pretty hilly bike course, which is exactly what I need. I need to train on hills, as much as I hate them, so that my mind doesn't get the best of me come race day. So, this blog will mostly consist of my training workouts and some race reports for the races I will be doing while training. Today's workout was nothing but swim: Laps: 50 Meters: 1250 Calories: 308 Average Strokes: 17 400M Time: 11:50 Strokes: 16 Efficiency: 64 Total Swim Time: 50:25