Training Log

Today was just a simple run on the treadmill at the rec center.  I headed over around 10:00am, since I had 2 hours free and wanted to make sure I got my workout in today.  Nothing major to report, no injuries to speak of and the run went all right.  I followed the run up with 110 pushups, 85 crunches, 3x15 25lb Dumb Bell curls and 3x12 25lb dumbbell shoulder presses.  Thinking about doing a 45 minute 200 watt ride tonight after the kids go to bed.  We will see how motivated I feel.

Workout:
45' Treadmill Run (5.5) miles

Weekly Totals:
Swim: 0'
Bike: 1:20
Run: 45 (5.5 miles)

The Ironman Is NOT a Cult?

I love these videos. When you aren't an Ironman you just don't understand the lifestyle.

Workout Log

I thought about starting my outseason plan today but ended up deciding to wait until after I got back from Sweden in two weeks to start.  I really didn't want to start it and then take a week off right away.  I may have to take a week off at some point during the plan but I don't want it to be right at week number 2.  It just seemed like a bad way to kick off my training for the year. Tonight's workout went well.  I ended up being almost 20 watts over FTP for most of the workout and was still able to do my lifting afterwards.

Workout:
15' Warmup
3x8' (2') at FTP (240, 250, 250 watts)
30' at 85% FTP (207)
5 minute cool down

Weekly Totals:
Swim : 0'
Bike : 1:20
Run : 0'

Training Log

Today was a hard choice it was nearly a perfect day out and i really considered getting on my bike for one of the last outdoor bikes of the year. Although to be honest by the time I decided to get out to workout it was really too late to do anything but run. Also when i started my run I was feeling really lethargic and quite frankly didn't feel like running at all. Surprisingly, though, I ended up running 7.5 miles in 59 minutes and felt really strong the whole time. I did, like nearly every run, develop a small blister on my left foot but nothing I couldn't deal with. Someday I have a dream when i can run and not actually develop blisters on my feet. It would sure be nice if i could get my feet in shape by Ironman Utah. I don't know if i need to start running barefoot, to toughen my feet up, or what but I need to do something this season because I'm sick of fighting blisters.

Weekly Totals:
Swim: 30 minutes
Bike: 2:15
Run: 1:40 (12.5 miles)

Workout Log

Today I ended up doing 2 workouts.  I started the morning off at 8:00am with a 30 minute continuous swim.  I really don't have to be swimming right now but I decided that I better swim at least one time a week or I will regret it come the start of my Ironman training plan in January.  The swim went alright.  I chuckle sometimes how hard it used to be to swim even 10 minutes.  The monotony of staring at the black line for any length of time just drove me insane but now I can zone out and swim for an hour or more without much issue.  I think that after 4 years of training for Ironman you start to develop the mental capacity for doing long and monotonous workouts. If nothing else you get a lot of time to just zone out and think.  Maybe it's like an active meditation or something. Anyway's tonight I told myself that if the Iowa State vs. Texas football game started to go crappy I would go workout instead.  Well halfway through the 2nd quarter the game went south so I took the boys upstairs for their bathes and then headed down for some time on the bike.  I did 10 minute warm up and then did a 35 minute interval at 216 watts, 5 minute break, then a 25 minute interval at 219 watts and finally a 5 minute cool down.  All in all not too bad of workout day for an off season fun workout.

Weekly totals:
Swim: 30 minutes
Bike: 2:15
Run: 5 miles (40 minutes)

Today's Workout

Given I'm still in my "offseason" I'm really not doing much of a workout plan right now.  I know that I shouldn't just be sitting around but I also know that the training season is long and hard and doing regimented workouts at this point in the year will lead to burnout later in the year.  Today I really wanted to get my workout in at noon time so I didn't have to do it tonight after family game night.  The original plan was to head over to the gym at 12:00 and workout until 1:30 but I got a call from my boss at 9:00 am and he told me that he wanted to do a working lunch.  I had a meeting scheduled from 2-4 and I had another meeting at 11-12 which left me with the dilemma, do I work out at 9:30am or wait until tonight after the kids go to bed.  I was worried if I waited until tonight that I may end up skipping the workout so I headed over to the gym at nearly 10am for a quick 40 minute run on the treadmill.  Ended up getting in 5 miles and had a good solid run.  Now tonight I'm going to try and sneak in some weight training and call it a day. 

Weekly Totals:
Swim: 0 meters
Bike: 60 minutes (Did FTP test on Wednesday night)
Run: 5 miles

Hello Again!

After talking big and bad in my opening blog entry, about how I don't want this blog to become one of the many triathlon blogs that only does a couple entries and then stops, I ended up doing exactly that.  After some thought I think I'm going to take a different approach to this blog.  I've come to realize that I just don't know that much about this sport and certainly not enough to update a blog on a regular basis with new and exciting content.  I've decided that I'm going to turn this into my blog about my triathlon journey and experiences with the sport.  The plan is to update it regularly with my workouts, injury’s, race reports and other things that I'm currently doing in the sport.  To some extent it will be a training journal that the whole world can see.  With my upcoming season including two Ironman races and a number of other races that I haven't decided on yet it should be pretty interesting to follow. 

Like I said in one of my opening posts I'm just your average middle of the pack triathlete and haven't dedicated my entire life to the sport of triathlon.  That isn't to say that that I don't train hard, you pretty much have to for Ironman races, it’s just to say that I don't do as much as most coaches would tell you that you should.  As a family man with 2 kids, a full time job, and volunteer efforts around town it is hard to navigate the fine balance of spending enough time at each responsibility and still get my training in.  This blog is intended to capture this so others can see that it is possible to do this race while still maintaining a somewhat normal existence.