Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas!


For the past 6 mos my goal has been to get into shape for the three sports.  I believe I have accomplished my goal.   I feel confident in running 6-8 miles, biking 25-35miles, and swimming 2 miles.  Over the next two weeks I will need to develop a plan of attack for June 26, 2011.  Either a 24 week plan or increase my base training and then a shorter training plan.  I have information on a 13 week plan and a 24 week plan.   I hope to pick up a copy of the Triathlete training bible and add this to my data base.   I used a weekly training plan for my marathon in 2009 and it worked for me.  I have acquired a used treadmill, an indoor bike trainer and a membership to a local pool.  My family and friends are behind me.   My wife bought me my first touring bike, and my wet suit I hope to acquire in Feb or March.

I'll write more starting January 1st, 2011.......countdown to Couer d alene Ironman 20111!

Day 171

Two days until Christmas.


I am still having pains in my left ankle with running in my new inserts.  I could only run 5 miles yesterday.  Not sure what to do.  Knees and hips are better.  The ankle feels better after being out of the shoes for some time.   No lactic acid pains with holding my pace at 9 min miles.   It is a great pace for  feeling like I can run forever.   Amazing how dropping to 8:30 mile pace can make me ache afterwards.

Today I rode the stationary bike for 7 miles and lifted weights for 45 mins.  Felt good to get away from work and listen to some good music.

cheers

Day 170

Wow.  There was a lot of very experienced swimmers at the pool yesterday.   They say that all of the returning veterans will be starting their regular training in January.   I found myself trying to keep up as the passed by me in their lanes.   I swam for 60min.   I tried to hold a 50 second 50 yard pace.  That would put me at 2.25 miles.   My shoulders are a little sore today.  I felt pretty good after the workout.   Could I hold that pace and still ride 112 miles and then run a marathon?  We will have to see.   I am pretty sure I can hold that pace, but along with 3,000 other swimmers?   I hope that this summer I can meet up with some other swimmers and practice some congested area swims. 

I still don't have a formal plan.  I will wait until after Christmas to purchase any sort of plan.   Just in case my wife has bought any books.    I am hoping to get a plan and then tailor it to my needs.   I would like to get at least a dozen runs and dozen rides in on the course.   Especially since the course is so close.  Outdoor biking will be rare until March.

Today is my long day at work.....so back to the Treadmill I go after work.   I will try to run 6 miles..

Day 160 something:-)

Good morning:

Well I am closing in on the 6 month mark before the Coeur d Alene Ironman Triathlon.  For those of you still following my blog, please view the video/cartoon on YouTube called "I am training for an Ironman"   It pretty much sums up my insanity.   Warning, there is a few vulgar words in it.

Today is a swim day.   I am hoping to mix things up and use the kick board and hand paddles for the first time.  

Not real sure about this coaching thing.   Maybe I have not met the right coach.   Still looking into some training plans.


Cheers!

Day 166

Hello:


On Saturday I had a nice slow 9:00-9:30 pace jog on the treadmill.  I tried to keep my heart rate under 140 for the whole 6.5 miles.   I need to do some more reading on Lactic Acid Heart Rate thresholds.  Seems like this is the big topic in long endurance sports.   Keeping your body from utilizing your glycogen stores, and burning your fat more efficiently. 

On Sunday I did an easy 25 miles on the bike.  No hills as I am still worried about my left Achilles.   No calf pains for the entire workout.  I have been massaging my calf daily to keep it loose.

Today I will do some core exercises and some upper body weights.

Cheers

Day 164

Happy Holidays!


Another great work out yesterday.   One mile easy swim, followed by 4-100m sprints.   Then I rode the bike for 25 miles.   Just as I reached the 25th mile, I felt a pulling sensation in my left lower calf.   I have been pushing the simulated hills on the bike pretty hard the last few work outs.   I should have been just working into double days with straight bike, run or swim and not hills and sprints.   Especially since it is early in the training.  

So I am going ease up on my work outs for 14 days.   Add daily Nsaids, and massage.  Since it is my achilles...will avoid stretching and do a better job warming up before activity.

Cheers

Day 161

 Had a great workout last night.  One hour non-stop freestyle swim, followed by 10 miles on the bike.  My shoulders are a little sore, but otherwise feel fine.  Today I hope to run on the treadmill for some interval training.

It has been raining for about 10 days now and almost all of our low lying snow is gone.   Everything is soaked or flooded.  I even saw some bulbs poking up through the mud.   Well I am hoping for snow or dry weather as this 35 degree rain is depressing.   I need some sunlight!


Cheers.

Day 159

Good Day!

On Saturday I went for a 6 mile Outdoor run.  It was cold and rainy, about 35 degrees.    My normal pace is 9min, but was able to hold about an 8:30 pace for the entire run.  Felt great to run outdoors.  I have new orthotics in for bilateral pronation, and I noticed my ankles where a little sore after the run.   Late tonight or early tomorrow morning I hope to ride the trainer for an hour or so.

For now appears the dogs are doing a great job keeping the coyotes away.....or maybe they are still full after eating the neighbors chickens.

Day 158

Hola!

I took two days off to rest my knees and ankles.    Weather is horrible here.   32-39 degrees and raining.
I would rather have 10 feet of snow, than cold wet rain. 

Eight of our nneighbors chickens were killed by a coyote.  We have been keeping our dogs out more often to hopefully deter them.   Hard to see them at night.  Cant poison or trap them without possibly hurting our pets. Too late in the winter to re-do the coup.  We will see what the next few weeks brings.

Today I mixed weights with aerobics for 1 hour.   Between sets if weights I would do one or two minutes of squat thrusts, jumping jacks, jumping toe touches, or other Billy Blanks boot camp exercises.

Cheers.

Day 157

Yesterdays workout was not easy.  Funny how some days you feel awesome after a good workout and others leave you feeling drained.   I swam 1 mile in the pool and then 24 on the bike.   Indoor bike setting was on Hills.   Calves are tight today. 

Met with Derek Garcia yesterday.   He gathered some data on me, and we talked about the pros and cons to speed workouts.   I plan to hire him for the first three months and he will help me develop a training plan.

Today is a rest day.

More later

Cheers

Day 156

Good morning:

Well we finally sold three of our lambs.   The buyers come tomorrow to pick them up.  That should help cut down on our winter feed costs.  The power went out in the chicken coup.   No lights so no eggs either.   Unless the Raccoons have been getting the eggs before me.  I will have to track down the cause of the power outage, and then set out some live traps.   The goats and sheep are eating the bark off some of the trees.  They must be missing some nutrients in their feed.   I will pick up a mineral, and protein block at the local farm store.

Yesterday I ran 4.5 miles on the treadmill.   My pace was a minute per mile faster than my expected marathon pace.  Today I hope to swim a mile and bike 10-25miles.   Then meet with Derek Garcia triathlon coach.

Cheers.

Day 155

Good morning!

On Friday I rode the stationary bike for 1 hour.  On Sunday I swam one hour.  I am a little tired after my one hour workouts, but I seem to recover pretty fast.   I have reviewed some on-line articles, and approx 4-6mos prior to an Ironman, I should be working out 5-7 hours per week.   I feel pretty confident that I have met this goal.  I meet with the coach tomorrow.  It will take quite a bit of dedication to increase my workout time blocks starting in January.  Finding an hour here or there has been easy...but finding 2-3hour blocks of time will be difficult.  

Today I will run 4-6 miles.

Cheers.

Day 153

Yeah!.....no snow today.  I was able to repair the plow cable and sheer pins, and finish plowing the Drive way.   Both cars made it up to the house.  I was glad as it be will very cold soon and any snow around will freeze solid.  I moved another 1/4 cord of Wood into the wood room for the wood stove.  Since adding the light to the chicken coop, they have started laying again.  With all of this snow, the lambs have been using the small barn more, so I added fresh straw to the floor.

Yesterday I ran on the treadmill.   I slowed  my pace by 30sec per mile, and then ran for 1hour and 15min.  The last 15mins was tough.   I have been running 45 mins for a few months, and it is amazing how fatiguing it can feel adding a little more can be.   My medial(inner) knees are sore.  I may need to get new shoes to avoid any injuries.

Have a great day!

Day 152

Good Morning!

While Tuesday I seemed to have plenty of time for a workout, no so for Wednesday.  It is my long day of the week and work was busy to the end.  Then my son had a basketball game.   It was the first game they have won all year and he had some good steals and rebounds!   We ended up getting home later in the evening.  Then we got both cars stuck in our slushy driveway.   And of course my plow blade and cable broke down.  Sooooooo I decided not workout and just call it a day.

Today I hope to get at least 1.5 hours on the bike or a 1 hour run. 


cheers

Day 151

Good Morning

We had another 4-5 inches last night.

Well one more month of base training, then onto a training plan.   I will be meeting with Derek Garcia, a Triathlon Coach, next week to plot out my next 6 months.   Scary yet I am excited to start my count down to IM 2011.

Yesterday I swam 1600meters straight, then did 4-100m sprints and 4-50m sprints.   Then 10miles on the stationary bike.   Felt great, but for some reason I sweated like a sprinkler!  I think the Kroc center staff was considering flood insurance.

More later!

Day 150

Well all of my farm animals survived the holiday weekend.  Neighborhood kids did a great job feeding them. Low and behold none got out on the highway.  Yeah!   We had about 8 inches of snow at our house, and after a few hours of plowing, our home no longer looks abandoned. 

Yesterday I ran intervals on the treadmill listening to music.   After 3 mins of warm up, I ran one min at each of the following paces:  10min mile, 9min mile, 8min mile, and 7min mile, then started over.   I did this for 5 cycles.   On the 6th cycle I added a 6min mile on the end.   Then a 10min cool down.

We have another snow storm coming today with 5 more inches expected.    This will make the snowiest November on history for our area.

I hope to go to the Kroc center for a one hour swim workout....maybe a short bike afterwards.

Cheers.

Day 149

We went snowshoeing yesterday in fresh powder about 3 feet deep.   It was incredible how much harder it is breaking trail on the way in, compared to coming back.  The views of the ski resort and surrounding mountains was awesome.   I worked up quite a sweat and used a lot of different muscles.   It was a refreshing break in my base training.   The snow continues to pile up and my back has gotten a workout also. 

I saw a women in her mid-50's jogging along the icy road this morning.   Quite impressive as she was running up hill at about 5,000ft elevation and the temp was 25 degrees.  She made me feel guilty for taking a holiday break.  She was wearing some black rubber studs over running shoes, and was getting pretty good traction.   I will have to add a pair of those to my Christmas list.

I hope to do an indoor 90 min Brick tomorrow.  

Cheers

Day 148

Good Morning and Happy Thanksgiving!

I tried to enter a new post with my Droid, but I cant seem to make it work.   Need to hit my Tech-no buds up for some advice later.  

We had a great Thanksgiving here in Sandpoint Idaho.   5 inches of new snow.  Finally warmed up into the 20's, but not yet warm enough for an outdoor run.  I have mild asthma, and the cold air can make my runs miserable.  I usually do not have any problems when the temperature is 30 or higher.  I ran 4 miles on a my aunts treadmill, and did not need my inhaler.   Anything over 4 miles without music or a movie is too difficult indoors. 

Tonight is Pinochle, and domino's.

Tomorrow I hope to go snowshoeing for a few hours.   Maybe the local pool also.

Ah yes.....now on to more pumpkin pie.


cheers

Day 146

6 degrees today.....light snow.

Yesterday was a great day.  I swam one mile in the pool.   Afterwards a friend challenged me to do some speed workouts to get me out of the rut of long endurance swims.   We did 5-100 meters, followed by 5-50 meter sprints.   While I was totally exhausted, it felt great to go faster.   My endorphins must have been up, as afterwards I did 10miles on the stationary bike listening to Nickleback.  

Ya....I am paying for it now.  Feel pretty tight all over.  I ran on the treadmill at lunch for 4 miles easy today. 

We were able to get a neighborhood kid to feed our sheep, chickens, and goats for the 4 day holiday.  Will take the dogs with us.  Fish will have to fend form themselves...haha.   

cheers

Day 145

Good Morning:

I got up today at 4:00am to put the dogs out and stoke the fire.   Then off  to plow the driveway and entrance to the pasture.  Wind chill was 15 below.  The girls(lambs) did not seem to mind the cold.   And were very happy for another round of alfalfa.  Next week we are selling 3 lambs.   I will keep two for breeding next year.  The goats and chickens looked healthy.

After this I decided it was too darn cold for an outdoor run.   I will be going to the Krock Center for a 2 mile swim.   Maybe a short bike also. 

No school for the rest of the week, so the kids are headed up north to Sandpoint Idaho for a family gathering.  I will join them tomorrow night.

Yikes....5 more inches expected for this Friday.

Cheers

Day 144

"Its beginning to look a lot like Christmas"

Well 7 days in a row are enough.  I am going to take a day off.   Besides, we have almost a foot of new snow, and I am sure I will be doing some shoveling sooner or later.  I am glad I put the plow blade on my 4 wheeler.  

My student laughed and said I should put my bike in the office and sit on it during paper work.   To build up saddle time.......you know this might work.

Cheers

Day 140

Well..... Winter is upon us.   Silver Mountain ski resort has had 32 inches of the white stuff so far.   I have borrowed a treadmill and put it in the basement.   Mike Sampont loaned me his bike trainer for this winter, it is next to the treadmill.    I am ready to take on indoor training.

I put in 3 miles on the treadmill yesterday.   Did not want to do too much after the Olympic.  Tonight I hope to put a least an hour in on the trainer.

Will be in Sandpoint Id for the Thanksgiving Holiday.   I hope they have a gym up there, as I really do not want to go 5 days without a good workout.

Cheers.

Day 139

Hello out there!


My training partner Casey and I just finished our Olympic Triathlon.   The 1600meters in the pool was refreshing and took about 30 mins.  The 25 miles on the bike was okay, but trying to keep my RPMs up above 90 for the whole time was difficult.  The bike portion took about 1 hour and 15 minutes.  The 6 mile run was okay for the first half, and then quite painful for the last half.   Total time of  2 hours and 50 mins.   We had about 6-8 mins transition times between events.   Riding the stationary bike was weird.   No outside physical cues to change and adjust to.

My Day calander is counting up the number of days I have trained to build my "Base" physical fitness.  Starting in January my days will count down to the Ironman Triathlon. 

I have my first meeting with a Triathlon Coach on December 7th.


Cheers!

Day 137

Good morning: 


I am going to take the next two days off in preparation for a hard workout on Tuesday afternoon.  Most Coaches will tell beginners that they should be able to finish an Olympic sized triathlon 6 months prior to starting  an Iron man training program.  On Tuesday I will attempt to  swim 1500 meters(0.93 miles), bike 40km(25miles), and then run 10km(6.2miles).   This should take me about 3 hours.   I will figure on drinking fluids every 15mins and bites of protein bars every 15-30.    Except in the water as that would be pretty messy.

Amanda asked how to keep from getting board.  On some of my long workouts I will have music, and this can be quite motivating.  Unfortunately the IM series triathlons have made it illegal for electronic devices while doing the Iron man races.  My college background is in wildlife biology.  I ride my bike on the Rails to trails system in the silver valley and it is filled with wild life.  Many of my runs are on back roads, and it always amazes me on the diversity and change with the season.   My life is also very busy, and it does my mind good to digest the days activities and plan for the upcoming week.   I can day dream on flat surface runs for 15 mins at at time.   Sometime I have broken out in laughter and people around me are thinking I am nuts!

More later

cheers

Day 136

Great!    I know it sounds wierd, but I have not lost any weight for the last month.  I lost five pounds in the beginning.  I have lost 4 pounds this week.  Either I am trading fat weight for muscle weight or an efficient carboholic. "C" is for Cookies and thats good enough for me!!!

 Last nights swim was tough.    I really wanted to get out of the water after about 30mins.  The pool has a clock in every corner.   This was my second week of swimming twice in one week.  I thought for sure someone was pulling a prank on me and slowing the clocks down.   I knew I needed to complete the hour.   I feel that I need these distance swims in my base training to develope some muscle memory.  A lot of the 24 week plans have different swim work outs and that will start in January. 

I looked up that trainer's web site.  I will have to look a my budget, and see what I can afford for advice.  It is amazing how many gadgets are out there for triathlons, and I have yet to buy touring bike.   My goal is to finish an IM triathlon without going broke.

I have to work this weekend and I am on call for our group.  The kids have sports try-outs and one has a game.   I bought a bright head lamp for jogging at night so I can still squeeze in a workout in the dark.  My ITB's(Ileotibial bands or Lateral thighs) are a little sore from the spinning class, so today I will go on an easy run after work.   A good stretch afterwards.   Probably 4 miles, but if I feel good half way through I will go to 6 but no more. 

Cheers!

Day 135

Good morning:  

Awoke this morning to 34 degrees and 1 inch of white slushy snow.   Now the Walmart Chistmas displays dont look so out of place.   Yesterdays spinning class when well.    I really need to work on my quads.  Calves still sore from the stair workout the day prior.  I met a Triathlon coach Derek Garcia.  He is 27 yo and just finished the Kona Hawaii IronMan championship race in less than 10 hours.   I will be meeting with him in the future to plan out my training plan from Jan to June.   I will not only need to get into better endurance shape, but need to figure out hydration, electrolyte replacement, and meals during my 15 hour adventure. 

Tonight I will be going back to the Crock center to swim two miles(74 laps/148 lengths).

I better get to work.

Have a great day.

Day 134

Good morning!

Wow are my calves sore.  Yesterday I ran approximately 1000 stairs at Teeters football field.   Probably good to work different muscles.  While trying to get into shape,  I have been running most of my miles on flat ground.   Tonight the whole family is going to the Crock center in CdA.   I will bike in an endurance spinning class for an hour, the rest of the family will spread out and do their thing.   I hope to gain some insight to riding indoors, as winter the Pacific Northwest does not allow for much outdoor bike riding.   I will need to develop some serious butt pain tolerance to riding a bike for 7 hours in June.

Day 133 Continued

Well it is really stinking cold out there..40 degrees..yikes......so I decided to run stairs for 30mins instead.  We actually have a football  stadium here in Kellogg.  I got a phone number to a Certified Triathlon coach at the Crock center.   I will be calling her soon to arrange a meeting.  Hopefully she can help me formulate a training plan for the last 6 months.   I plan on joining some endurance classes at the crock center.  

Day 133

Ah yes.....IM lingo....  I have been working on my Base now for 133 days.   Approximate four days on and one day off.  Today I am going to run for 4 miles.  Recently replaced my orthotics for a fallen arch.  I dont really want to push it on new orthotics and injure my ankles.