Triathlon Training Day 42: 4 mile run

Today was my best day running in quite some time. I woke up and had a Whey Protein Shake and then waited about an hour to go run. For some reason I just felt wonderful today. Maybe it was because yesterday was a rest day and my body had some extra time to recover.

It was weird how my time went today. Mile 1 was done in 9:32 - not even near my fastest time! Mile two was done in 8:30, three was done in 8:25, and four was completed in 8:21. Usually, this progression is the exact opposite. My first mile is usually my fastest and I get progressively slower from there on! Part of the reason this happened today was that I ignored my HRM. It was still one of the 4 read-outs on my Garmin. Along with pace, distance, and calories, but I instead just ran on how I felt and not just in the aerobic zone. The weird thing is you would think by being at a higher heart rate for the majority of the run that I would be more uncomfortable. Well, that was not the case. Even after four miles I felt great and my HR was in the high 160's for most of the run?

Maybe it was a combination of the rest day and all the other aerobic training. Who knows, but I hope I feel this way on Race day.

I was going to go for a cycle in the afternoon but instead I did yard work. Annie is having a baby shower for a friend at our house tomorrow and 60 people are expected. That means I had to get the yard in shape. I worked in the front yard for close to 4 hours and I am exhausted. The Texas sun was sitting high and the temperature was in the low 90's. The yard work was probably the most calories I burned all week!

I haven't decided what to do tomorrow yet. Since the baby shower is going on for most of the afternoon I'd like to either swim or cycle in the morning. I might be playing golf with a buddy during the shower and if that is the case I will probably cycle since the swimming exhausted my arms and shoulders which would be a problem for golfing! And riding in the neighborhood on Sundays is usually nice because not much traffic is around. I am definitely doing ARX.

Thanks for Reading,

Jeff

Triathlon Training Day 41: Rest Day

Today I did nothing. Not sure how I feel about it. A little stir crazy. Also, for dinner I had a cheeseburger and fries at this local hole-in-the-wall. My eating had become so monotonous that something drastic needed to be done. This is the first cheeseburger and fries I have had in like 8 months! This used to be my diet every other day - weird I didn't even enjoy it that much! Tomorrow morning I will probably feel like hell and I plan on punishing myself with a long run and even longer cycle.

Jeff

Triathlon Training Day 40: Back & Biceps

It is about two months to go until my Triathlon and I am feeling great physically! Since I am only doing strength training once or twice a week I have noticed that some definition in my arms and chest has gone away. Not a ton but I'm not as ripped as I was at the end of P90X. It is more of a vanity thing at this point. You go from being fat and flabby to pretty ripped and you like the way you look.

The cool thing is I checked my BF% today on the digital scale and with calibers and I came in right at 10%. I was hopeful to be around 12% so the 10% was a nice surprise. I was around 17-18% starting my second round of P90X and if I remember correctly (too tired to fact check ..lol) I finished around 13-14%. So, in the 40 days of blasting myself with cardio I have dropped another 3-4% - guess this is why all the body builders do so much cardio before competitions.

Anywho, I did P90X Back & Biceps this evening. I didn't overdo it again and used only the 25lb dumbbells for most of the curls. Even though I haven't been weight training like I have in the past I almost feel stronger -- which doesn't make a lot of sense? Maybe the swimming is the reason because using the Total Immersion technique does give me one heck of an upper body/core workout.

Tomorrow is the last day of the month (fiscal) for me at work - which is always an adventure - I am planning on running tomorrow but I haven't taken a rest day this week so it may happen if things get crazy. I'd like to get up early and go but I have to be on the road by 6:45am so that isn't going to happen. Especially because Annie is working until 11pm tonight and I usually can't sleep until I know she is home. We shall see. If no run tomorrow then a brick on Saturday!

Triathlon Training Day 39: 1 Mile Swim

Did the 1-mile swim today. That is 71 laps of 25 yards each. That is a lot of swimming.

I am quite tired right now. Especially my upper body. Good news is my legs feel fresh and that is great news for my Tri.

Today I focused on my strokes per each lap and breathing. I would try and take a breath every 3 strokes and get some sort of rhythm going. I am going to have to work on this big time. I'd be moving right a long swimming downhill - 1-2-3-4 ...d'oh .... forgot to breath and then I'd have to take a longer one and screw up my rhythm. Practice will hopefully make perfect. I also was able to average about 16 strokes per lap. Quite an improvement from my 25-26 average on day one!

Also got in an Ab Ripper X session before the swim. I used a medicine ball (5lbs) again on the Mason Twists and it is an incredible burn like that! Wish I would have been doing that since day 1.

Tomorrow is going to be a Back & Bicep day and if I have time I might do some Yoga as well.

Thanks for Reading,

Jeff

Triathlon Training Day 38: 20 Mile Cycle

I am really beginning to enjoy cycling. However, I am getting bored riding around my neighborhood. Venturing out onto the roads is a rather dangerous proposition considering the large amount of traffic in the area. So, I guess that purchasing a rack for my car is the next best thing. I found a good looking 25 mile ride map here online that is on some rural back roads. This might be how I spend next Saturday morning!

Anyways, I did manage to get in 20 miles in my neighborhood this evening and the wind was non-existent so I averaged 19.4 MPH. My Garmin said I burned 1254 calories but that seems a little extreme to me. I got home from work at about 5pm today and was ready to go but the outdoor temp was 94 degrees - wow! So I waited until 7pm and the temp was all the way down to 89 degrees but at least the sun wasn't as high in the sky and the humidity wasn't bad either. So the ride was actually very pleasant. I was still a sweaty mess at the end but it was still fun.

Also, I am really getting the bug to purchase a Triathlon bike. Right now I have a Schwinn Prelude Road Bike that I got at The Academy for $220 bucks. Overall, the bike is excellent for the price. It is lightweight. It has decent Shimano components. But only has 14 gears. I really feel like this is limiting my top speed. Now the smart thing to do would be to hold off until I finish the Triathlon and see if it is something I'd like to keep doing. And if it is then go buy a nice Tri bike. I keep thinking I need aerobars and clipless pedals but don't want to spend the cash on these accessories when they would be part of the new bike package! Decisions, Decisions...oh, what should I do?

Tomorrow is my scheduled off day but I really want to go swimming. Last swim I did 62 laps and when I got home I realized a mile was 70.4 laps. I missed it by only 8 laps - it has been bothering me ever since and I need to remedy that!

Thanks for Reading,

Jeff

Triathlon Training Day 37: Memorial Day + 3 Mile Run

Happy Memorial Day to everyone and Thank You to our Military!

***If you are easily offended skip down to the page break ***

I am a big fan of Memorial Day and not just because we get a day off work. Because it is a day that reminds us of all the brave men and women of our military who have made the ultimate incredible sacrifice for the love of their country! It is also a day that reminds me of my Grandfather who was a WWII vet and someone who was very proud of the America that he and millions of others fought for. This day makes me feel good to think about the past and what our country used to symbolize to the rest of the world and the pride that came with it.

Unfortunately, Memorial Day also makes me realize that all those glowing symbols are quickly becoming a distant memory. It pained me this morning to see North Korea launched 7 more missiles as they advance their nuclear program one more step. Then, completely unrelated, Iran sent 6 war ships into International waters to do nothing more than flex their military muscles. All this followed by reports from Israel that Iran is receiving Uranium from Venezuela and Bolivia because lefty Dictator Hugo Chavez hates Capitalism and the United States. And the reason this pains me is because America will be standing on the sidelines as the U.N. issues strongly worded letters to the offending countries that will result in no action taken. It pains me because we used to be a country that would speak softly and carry a big stick but under this current administration we are a country that speaks profusely and carries a wet noodle. And mostly, it pains me because I know my Grandfather would be very disgusted with the way this administration is trying to "change" the America that he thought he was preserving for future generations.

I know this is a fitness blog but it is MY fitness blog and I needed to get that off of my chest. I usually try and stay away from Politics on this blog but, as you can probably tell, I follow both Politics and World Events very closely and passionately. Comment if you like, but unlike 54% of the voters in this country, come prepared because I will be.

*****************************************************************************************************

Today's workout:

My Triathlon is the first week of August. In Central Texas the average temp is about 95 degrees and humid as hell. This will not hurt me swimming because I'm staying cool in the water. Or Cycling because of the wind blowing in your face while going 20 MPH. But running? It maybe and issue! So, I was going to run this morning while it was 68 degrees but decided to wait until the middle of the day to see how I handled the heat. I started at 3:30 and the temperature was 90 degrees and the sunny was large in the sky. I was already sweating about 100 yards into the run. My first mile was laborious but I still did it in 8:39 seconds. My Heart Rate though was in the 155-165 (anaerobic) range entirely too much. About 4/10ths of the way into the 2nd mile I bonked something bad. The Garmin had my HR at 174 BPM so I slowed considerably - almost to a brisk walk. The 2nd mile was completed in 12:22 - by far my worst mile since I have began running. And I was soaking wet with sweat and feeling whipped out. Midway through the 3rd mile I had already swigged all the water from my two 10oz Nathans water bottles and was wanting more. I completed the 3rd mile in 10 minutes flat and immediately slammed a P90X recovery drink and about 4 additional glasses of water.

My little experiment showed me that the extreme heat is going to do a number on my body and I need to be prepared. A few things I plan to focus on are: (1) Hydration before the runs are going to be monitored closely. I usually do a good job of drinking a ton of water or green tea each day but on running days I am going to track each bottle. (2) Training in the heat is also going to have to become more frequent. (3) Scrape the Treadmill. As the weather is getting warmer here I have been planning on hitting the treadmill but after today the treadmill is going to have to be a reward and not the norm - looks weird typing this because I hate the Treadmill! My body needs to be prepared for a hot day on August 2nd and training indoors is not going to accomplish that. It is going to be hard and I am going to have to punish myself some, but if it was easy everyone one would do it, right?

Thanks for Reading,

Jeff

Triathlon Training Day 36: 7 miles Bike + 1550 Yds Swimming

Got up this morning and had a big old dose of Protein - Whey shake, turkey sausage, and egg whites!

After that I let everything digest and jumped on the bike. It was about 72 degrees and a little overcast outside. Not very humid and no wind at all - the quiet before the storm! So I was on about 6 miles in the the skies opened up on me ....big time! I was a mile away from home and it was pouring. I rode as hard as I could to get home and by the time I did I was soaked. The ride was about 13 miles shorter than I planned. I was going to go later in the day to make it up but we kept getting rain showers so off to the indoor pool.

Now the pool was a good time today. I felt a little sluggish on my first few laps but that quickly subsided and I got into a nice groove. My total ended up being 62 laps or 1550 yards. I wanted to do 60 and once I hit that number the last two were done as fast as I could. I need to start timing myself with the clocks on the wall to get an idea of where I am. My Tri is a 500 meter (546 yds) swim so I am feeling very confident right now. I just need to get faster because right now I am pretty slow with my freestyle stroke. My problem is that when I try to go faster my Total Immersion technique goes to crap. The good news is I still have time to work on it and I should be able to do the swimming portion of the Tri even if I am slow!

Tomorrow is going to be a jog in the morning.

Thanks for Reading,

Jeff

Triathlon Training Day 34 & 35: Rest Day + Jog + Bike + ARX

Yesterday I ended up stopping by a bar for happy hour to see a friend and order our plane tickets to Madrid, Spain. We both had our laptops and aircards but the Continental Website was so slow that it took some time. So, we ended up having a couple of beers. Then Annie had made dinner plans with some other friends so she picked me up at the bar and we didn't get home until late. That effectively whipped out any chance of getting a workout in! The good news was that I still ate very clean despite having the beer and I had not taken a Rest Day this week yet so this was actually okay to do. My body was a little weary too so it probably worked out for the best.

This morning I wanted to go for a run. It was overcast and humid out so I decided to go to the gym. I started out on the treadmill and was having some pain in my shins. Not like a shin-splint pain, but more like a muscle pain. I ended up doing 2 miles on the treadmill before I got to the point of it hurting too much to continue. I did some stretches and it felt a little better. I then jumped on a stationary bike that had handles on it just like my road bike. I went for 25 minutes here so I felt good about getting in both a short run and a bike ride. I just hope the shin problem was an isolated incident and doesn't continue.

After the bike ride I went to the back of the gym and did another strong Ab Ripper X workout. By the time this was done I was pretty nice and wore out!

Tomorrow morning I'd like to get in a decent bike ride. If the weather is crummy then I will go swim again.

Thanks for Reading,

Jeff

Triathlon Training Day 33: 1250 Yard Swim + Ab Ripper X

Whew ... I am TIRED right now! Just got back from doing 50 laps at the pool. This was by far my best day swimming to date. I planned on doing 40 laps but just kept on going after I hit that number. If I wasn't so hungry I probably could have done 60 or more. For some reason my Total Immersion technique just clicked today. I took one, 1 minute break after lap 20 and did some deep yoga breathes but that was it for the day as far as rests went! I never thought that I would be ready for the swim portion of the Triathlon this quickly. I believed that the swimming was going to be the most difficult part and it probably would have been if Boomer would not have recommended the book, "Total Immersion". This book has made the swimming so enjoyable - thanks Boomer!

I also did Ab Ripper X at the gym today. I really turned up the intensity with ARX today and got a great burn. I lost count but I am guess I was around 450 total reps.

One quick story about an annoying lady today: I was in the back of the gym on a yoga mat doing the ARX. During the Mason Twists I decided to use a small medicine ball for added resistance (highly recommended!). So I am sitting there with my legs up just grunting away and this woman, 45ish, walks over and just stands in front of me and is staring like she really wants to get my attention. Well, I have my head down and I am on about rep 10 or so. She is beginning to annoy me so I look up at her (first mistake) without stopping and she says, "What ya doing?" Being that I am sort of an asshole I do not respond. She does not take the hint and then says, "Boy that looks hard!". Now at this point I am at about rep 40 and really want to stop but if I do I may be forced to have a conversation so I continue. She finally realizes that I am not in a talkative mood and says, "cya" and leaves. Now I could have stopped and talked but I was at the end and really doing well and just wanted to get my work in. So, the point I am trying to get across here is if you see someone working out wait until they are finished to have a conversation - this is why I tried to avoid the gym at all costs.

Cycle in the morning!

Thanks for Reading,

Jeff

Triathlon Training Day 32: P90X Chest, Shoulders, & Triceps

Well -- Today is normally my scheduled rest day but I was feeling pretty good and decided to do Chest, Shoulders, & Triceps. This is such a great workout and I miss it now that I am in hardcore cardio mode.

I was seriously considering just taking the rest. I got home around 5:30 today and was completely exhausted. Part of the reason is because I missed lunch. It has been a long time since I missed a lunch and my body reacted by telling me it wasn't please with this. I sat down on the couch to check my work email. The pugs jumped up on my lap and I passed out for about 45 minutes. I woke up when my wife got home and she was hungry so dinner had to be made. Then we started watching the Idol finale and by the time that was over it was after 930pm. Annie went to sleep and I decided to do C/S/T. The little nap did wonders for me and I would have felt guilty if I didn't take advantage of that energy boost.

I didn't kill myself like I usually do on the P90X workouts, but I still was able to Bring It pretty hard. I have lost some of my strength as my reps were down from when I finished my 2nd round of P90X. On the Pike Presses I used the chair and was able to only do 11 reps, I think I did 17 on my last attempt. Not awful but still not what I've become accustomed to! My triceps and shoulders are sore right now and I bet I feel it tomorrow morning!

Tomorrow I am supposed to do a 15 mile cycle. If it is as hot and humid as it was today I may swim instead and do the cycle early on Friday morning. With the holiday weekend coming up a lot of people are off on Friday so traffic should be light and make the bike ride that much more pleasant!

Thanks for Reading,

Jeff

Triathlon Training Day 31: 3 Mile Aerobic Run

I am watching American Idol on the DVR right now. I haven't watched too much of it this season but the two kids they have in the finals are really good. The Lambert kid is extremely talented. Not really my type of music but you still have to respect his skill. Probably should have watched more this season ....

Anyways, I wanted to do a 5 mile run this evening but I ran out of daylight. I didn't get home until 7:30 - my options were to go to the gym and run on the treadmill (which I hate) or go run in the beautiful 72 degree Texas evening! Pretty much a no brainer! Only problem was that it got dark on me rather quick. I didn't want to end up roadkill so the safe decision was to call it a night and be happy with 3 miles.

Being in a hurry to get out the front door I forgot to put on my chest strap for my heart rate readings. I still had the Garmin but couldn't run by using my heart rate readings. So, I decided to take it slow and just chug along at a slow pace. In the end my time was 30 minutes for 3 miles. If I had to guess my HR it probably averaged around 145 BPM.

Usually I don't really enjoy jogging all that much. But today it was somewhat euphoric? I have been working a lot of long hours over the last few weeks and it was so relaxing today to just get away from the cell phone and computer and just run. For some reason I really needed this today and people who don't exercise probably have no idea what I am talking about because mentally I feel so much better.

Tomorrow is old school P90X Chest, Shoulders, and Triceps and maybe ARX.

Thanks for Reading,

Jeff

Triathlon Training Day 30: 1000 yards Swimming

Today is a good day! My company sent my new computer to me and the best news is they just swapped out the hard drive from my old one so I don't have to worry about reinstalling anything!

I had a very cleaning eating day again and am really beginning to feel my supplements kicking in - despite long hours working and training my energy level is solid!

This evening before the 24 season finale I went and got in 40 laps at the pool. I did not work on my swimming drills at all but instead focused on keeping my form and doing laps. At about lap 20 I realized I wasn't rotating with my hips as fluently so I paused and took some deep yoga breathes for about a minute. I had to do it again at about lap 35. Overall, I had a great endurance swim. I'm still not very fast but I am a million times more comfortable compared to day one and my legs felt great when I finished up today. If my legs feel like this on the day of the Triathlon then the bike and run are going to be fun.

Going to do ARX right now and then off to bed!

Not really sure what I have scheduled tomorrow and I am to tired to even click on my google calendar to check!

Thanks for Reading,

Jeff

Triathlon Training Day 29: 15mi Bike + 3mi Jog Brick

What a great day to get outside and train! Sunny, 73 degrees, a breeze - doesn't get much better than this!

I set up my garage as the Transition Area, put air in the bike tires, slopped on some sunscreen and got ready to go! In order to start to get my legs used to transitioning I broke the Brink into 6 legs today: Cycle for 5mi, transition, then run for 1 mile. Repeat, repeat again. So, I got to work on the transitioning from bike to run 3 different times.

The Brick today went very well. I did the first 5 miles on the bike in 16:30 and the first 1 mile run in 8:45. It took me a good two minutes for my legs to not feel like rocks after the transition. A buddy of mine who has done a few Triathlons told me to kick my heels up to my ass and even high steps a few times just to get the blood flowing. I did this and even though my neighbors are probably still talking about me it actually seemed to help with the goofy leg feeling! My second 5 miles on the bike was 18:30 and the run was at 9:00 flat. The final 5 miles on the bike was 18:30 again and the last run was 9:55. I was a little winded for about the last half mile of the run and decided to keep my Heart Rate in the aerobic zone instead of trying to sprint for a better time! This was probably a wise decision because I feel pretty darn good right now - I could almost go do a P90X Strength Training video - almost!

Tomorrow is a Swimming Day. I'm going to work on my freestyle stroke and try and get in 40 laps or so - 1000 yds.

Thanks for Reading,

Jeff

Triathlon Training Day 27 & 28: Missed Day & Swimming

Sorry I have missed a couple of days posting. I have a laptop that is given to me by my company and it needed to be shipped into corporate for repairs. The screen was cracked and the internal modem was on the fritz. So, I have been without my trusty laptop for the last couple of days. Hopefully I will get it back on Tuesday. And hopefully I end up wtih a brand new computer!!! I have been using Annie's laptop but she is very stingy with it!

On Friday I left for College Station at 6am for work and didn't get home until late in the day. Then we had to go scope out a couple of foreclosed properties we are looking at rehabbing. By the time I got home it was time to go to the restaurant for the dinner plans we had scheduled and before you knew it my day was done.

Saturday was another busy one but I was able to get in 30 laps (750 yards) at the pool. I got to the gym around 7:15pm and they were closing at 8pm so I had to move it along rather quickly! I came home and did Ab Ripper X just so I could get in some core work. Then Annie and I went to see "Wolverine" with some friends. It was just okay. About a 6/10 rating. I am hopeful that the other big movies: Terminator, Star Trek, Transformers, and GI Joe will be better. I love summer blockbusters!

The temperature has been in the 90's here in Houston the last week or so. But last night we had a cold front come through so the temp right now is 73 degrees! It is overcast with a pretty high chance of rain but is supposed to clear in the next couple of hours. I am going to try and do a brick in a different way today. Here is how it is going to work: Start with 5 mile bike ride, hit the Transition area (my garage) and do a 1 mile run. Then do another 5 mile bike ride and 1 mile run and repeat again. I still get in the distance that is required (15 miles riding/3 miles running) but get to practice transitioning and getting my legs used to biking to running. Last time I did a Brick my legs felt so weird trying to run after biking. I have been reading a triathlon book that recommends doing it this way and it will greatly help to acclimate my legs to this. We shall see!

Be back a little later today!

Thanks for Reading,

Jeff

Triathlon Training Day 26: Cycling

I got home from work today and had to do some more work for my Real Estate company. This is the 3rd evening this week that I've had to do that! I guess it is good to be busy so I can't complain!

I got home around 7pm and got changed, stretched, and pumped up the bike tires! And the patch that I applied the other day blew up again. So it was time to put in a new tube. Now I haven't changed a tube on a bike tire since I was probably 15 years old. It took me about 45 minutes to get the damn thing figured out and back on the frame! It is better to learn how to do it now than during the race!

The bad news was that since it took me so darn long to change the tube I was running out of daylight. I got in 7.5 miles before it got to dark to continue riding. I could have easily went for 2 times that but what can you do? Now the good news was that the wind was a little less severe today. It was still a hindrance at time but nothing like the last few times out. I averaged about 19 mph today and was cruising around 21 mph for a lot of the ride. My goal is to average 20 mph or a 3 minute mile during the Triathlon.

Tomorrow is going to be a swimming day. I want to work on my TI drills and practice the form. I have to leave the house at 6am tomorrow and will probably drive about 200+ miles and this has been an extremely long week so not too sure if I'll have the energy to swim 1000 yards again!

Thanks for Reading,

Jeff

Triathlon Training Day 25: Rest Day

Well I didn't want to take the scheduled Rest Day but I had no choice. I left the house at 7am this morning and just got back about a 1/2 hour ago (8:30pm). I still would have tried to go to the pool but I needed dinner first and I;m completely exhausted! Oh well, the Rest Day was scheduled so I can't be too upset but I really wanted to Swim!

My nutrition was still solid today despite the late dinner. And I am starting to feel the energy from the Nitrix and Cell Mass so that is exciting.

I believe that I have Swimming scheduled for tomorrow.

Thanks for Reading,

Jeff

Triathlon training Day 24: Run + C/S/T

Okay so last night after watching Jack Bauer save the world - again - I read a post over at Boomer's site about how he just did Chest, Shoulders, and Triceps. Well, it motivated me to jump up to the home gym and do the same! Man, that is a great workout. Probably my favorite of all the P90X strength training DVDs.

Well, the downside of doing Swimming, ARX, and C/S/T all on one day is that the next day you are a little sore. And this morning was no exception! Still I wanted to see how fast I could do a 5K and pay no attention to my Heart Rate. It was about 84 degrees and humid when I started my run today but that did not deter me. What did deter me was the huge cramp I got in my left calf about 1.5 miles into the run. I was jugging right along and "BOOM" my calf cramped big time. I had to drop down in someones front yard and stretch it out. It was one of those painful calf cramps too! I ended up walking about a mile until it started to feel a little better and then I slowly jogged the last half mile home. Lessons Learned: Hydrate on hot days, Stretch and Stretch some more, and Give myself more than 9 hours of recovery time!

My first mile was done in 7:34 seconds. My heart rate was up to 176 BPM at about the 1.2 mile mark according to the data I downloaded from my Garmin! The funny thing was that I still felt pretty good and wasn't really winded even though I was running fairly fast. Oh well, I will have to try and do a timed run again in a couple of weeks but until then it will be back to the aerobic running. On Saturday I am going to try and do 5 miles!

Tomorrow is supposed to be an off day but I am going to go swimming again. The freestyle "total immersion" stroke is coming along and I want to keep working on it.

Thanks for Reading,

Jeff

Triathlon Training Day 23: Swimming & Ab Ripper X

I am officially at the 12 week point until my Triathlon and I am feeling really good about my training. When I decided that I was going to do a Triathlon I set two goals for myself: #1 - Just Finish the Race; and #2 - When I am at the starting line do not have the thought that I should have trained more! I figure if I make sure #2 happens than #1 will take care of itself!

This afternoon I went to the gym and decided to push it pretty hard in the pool. First I went to the aerobic area and did Ab Ripper X. I did 40 reps on every move except Fifers, Oblique Raises, and Heels to the Heavens - only the standard 25 on these! I was pretty sweaty after that and then went to the pool.

Now that I am getting better at my freestyle technique the next step is to work on adding some speed! So I started out and swam 10 laps (250 yds) slow to just warm up. After that I decided to use the lap clock and time myself for a hard 10 laps. When I hit the final wall I was at 5 minutes and 15 seconds. I was very pleased with this time. The Triathlon I am competing in has the swim portion measured at 5-- yards. If I can do this in around 10-11 minutes I would be thrilled!

After I sprinted the 10 laps I stayed and worked on my form and did the Total Immersion Drills. I probably did a total of 40 laps today! I am really enjoying swimming.

Tomorrow morning I am getting up early and am going to do my 3.1 Mile Run.

Thanks for Reading,

Jeff

Triathlon Training Day 22: 13.1 Miles Cycle

Well back on the horse today! After sleeping and feeling re-energized I got in a 13.1 Mile Bike ride.

The fun part was that I walked out to grab my bike and the back tire was flat. So, I had to patch my tire. The hole was found rather easily and the patch kit I had was simple to use. It took me about 5 minutes from start to finish to patch the tube and then I was on my way! Good practice in case this happens during the triathlon.

It was 87 degrees when I began riding today and once again the darn wind was blowing hard but at least it helped to keep my a little cool! I used my Garmin 305 for the ride again to track all of my vitals and statistics. I got home and downloaded the info and the funny thing was that when I was going 13-15 mph my heart rate was significantly higher then when I was going 18-21 mph. When I was going 13-15 mph it was because the wind was blowing right in my face and I had to work harder to keep even that pathetic speed up! According to my Garmin I burned 694 calories on today's ride and my Average Heart Rate was 140 bpm. Very good workout. Next time out I am going to try for a 20 mile ride. Hopefully the darn wind will go away!

Another positive event to report - I am back on my BSN Supplements (CellMass, Nitrix, & N.O.-Xplode). I used these for 12 weeks while doing P90X and they were great. The manufacture recommends taking 4 weeks off once you finish the 12 week cycle so I did. Yesterday was the end of the 4 weeks. I noticed a big difference energy and strength-wise once the supplements were out of my system. It takes about 10 days for the Cell Mass and Nitrix to start making a noticeable difference. I am very curious to see if these supps will work as well as they did for this training compared to when I was doing P90x!

Tomorrow is a swimming day and then Tuesday will be a running day. This is supposed to be a rest week but since I took 3 days off I am going to try and add a few strength and yoga days in this week as well!

Thanks for Reading,

Jeff

Triathlon Training Days 19, 20, & 21: WORK

I am back folks. The last three days at the convention were very long and tiring and I am glad to be home! As mentioned in the last post I was unable to get in any long workouts. On Friday morning I did ARX and that was it. Overall I was able to eat pretty clean. On Friday night I had a few chicken wings and a few glasses of beer. I really didn't want to but the options were only chicken wings and beer! The rest of the time I was able to find grilled chicken salads or fish so I don't feel too bad today.

The heat has dug its way into Texas already. The last 3 days in San Antonio the temperature was 98 degrees! When I got back to Houston last night it was 84 degrees at 9pm! Today's high is supposed to be 92. I might have to start utilizing the treadmills at the gym and get myself an indoor trainer for my bike.

I am going to get in a bike ride today unless it begins to rain and if that happens I will head over to the indoor pool!

Jeff

Triathlon Training Day 18: Swimming + Ab Ripper X

Got to the gym today and went and did Ab Ripper X! I was able to blow right through it again and add in a bunch of extra reps. When I stood up I was a little winded so I might have overdone it some. So before I got changed and jumped in the pool I stayed in the back of the gym and did about 10 minutes of stretching to loosen up some.

After that I did 6 laps to get the feeling of the water and then started practicing my Total Immersion Drills. This was the final Drill (#14) to practice and it went very well. I'm becoming very comfortable in the water and am really enjoying swimming. I ended up doing about 40 laps today. A cool story - in the lane next to me was a guy who I have seen at the pool a few times now. We have talked a few times and he told me he swims in a masters program and tries to swim at least 5 times a week. So, he was swimming laps next to me and I waited for him to get to the wall so I could see how I compared. He beat me by maybe 1 or 2 seconds but what I really noticed was that he was doing at least 2 strokes for every one of mine but was only barely ahead of me! This Total Immersion book really is worth its weight in gold!

Tomorrow I am leaving very early for San Antonio and will not have a chance to workout. I am hopeful that I can get a run in on Friday morning but it will probably be unlikely. Same goes for Saturday. If I get home early enough on Saturday night I am going to try to get in either yoga or core synergistics.

Chances are that I am not going to be able to blog or answer comments over the next three days so I hope everyone has a nice active weekend and I'll be back on Sunday!

Thanks for Reading,

Jeff

Triathlon Training Day 17: 3.1 Mile Jog

It was a hot one today. Not so much the heat, but the humidity - I always laugh when I hear that one!

Well, I was going to bike today but as I was driving home the wind was blowing my car all over the road. It is not fun to run in high winds, but compared to cycling it is a picnic! Of course as soon as I began to run the wind subsided some and by the time I was finished the wind was gone! I should have biked!

Seriously, it is 9:30 at night and still 80 degrees outside! By the time I hit my 2nd mile today I was SOAKED! I need to get some sort of water belt because I need to hydrate in this type of heat and it is only the beginning of May. What am I going to do in July?

Anyways, I hid the timer on my Garmin again today so I could focus on just my Heart Rate. My screen is the Distance across the top, HR in the bottom left, and Calories in the bottom right. This Garmin lets you customize your screens anyway you want! I averaged a 153 BPM and did the run in 28:04. I didn't even sprint at the end to try and get a better time! All the experts say this is the best way to training for distance so I am going to keep doing it. I must admit that it is very tempting to look at my time during the run but if I do this it will ignore my HR -- I know myself all to well!

This week is going to be difficult. I have to go to a convention in San Antonio on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. I will be pretty much working from the early AM to the late PM everyday so I might not be able to get any workouts in. I am going to bring all my clothes and try but these things really leave you with no time to do anything!

Tomorrow is supposed to be my rest day but that doesn't make sense with my upcoming schedule so I am going to get up early and do a bike ride and then go to the pool in the evening to work on my freestyle technique.

Thanks for Reading,

Jeff

Triathlon Training Day 16: Ab Ripper X + Swim Drills and Laps

Started out this morning with my normal whey protein shake. I have been feeling a little parched the last couple of days so I brought 2 gallons of water with me in the car. It is amazing how drinking tons of water throughout the day makes you feel very good! I had a Balance Bar for a snack and then went to lunch with a customer. We went to a pasta place and I was able to get whole wheat penne - I wish more restaurants offered healthy selections like this! I had two handfuls of almonds for an afternoon snack and had a whole wheat turkey sub for dinner. My carb intake today was higher than usual but I needed some extra energy since I was going swimming.

After work I went to the gym and got a good stretch in and then jumped into Ab Ripper X. I started a little sluggish and had to refocus before I jumped into the Fifer Scissors. After that I was able to do extra reps on everything but the oblique raises - sometimes these just shred me up!

Then I jumped in the pool and did 10 slow laps to warm up. After that I worked on my Total Immersion Drills. I am now on Drills 7 & 8 (after I finish I will recap all of the drills) and am starting to feel comfortable in the water. On Friday I felt like I took a step backwards swimming but today I took a huge leap forward! For some reason everything I have been practicing just clicked for me? I practiced my drills for about 30 minutes and did about another 15 laps while doing them. After feeling pretty good about my practice I finished up strong by doing another 10 laps. The best part about today's swim was that my legs felt great after the workout. Which is a very good thing since swimming is the first part of the triathlon!

Tomorrow is a cycle day - going to try and get in at least 15 miles.

Thanks for Reading,

Jeff

Triathlon Training Day 15: 3.5 Mile Run

My new Garmin 305 Forerunner absolutely rocks! I took it on my jog today and the instant feedback it provides is so critical to training. This HRM is so much more accurate than the crappy Reebok one I had been using and I love having instant distance feedback while running.

I did something very different today and that was hide my timer feature on the Garmin. I want to train by keeping my HR in the Aerobic zone for the majority of my runs. Lately, I have found myself pushing a little too hard to get a better time and the downside of this is that my HR would jump into the Anaerobic zone as I'd sprint to hit the 1st mile marker or close out the last half mile. I also ran a different route so I wouldn't have any landmarks for distances. The results were that my average HR was 154 BPM and I did the 3.5 miles in 30:49. Not my fastest time but definitely my most efficient!

It was freaking hot today too! The temperature was only 82 degrees but the humidity was excessive. By the time I got back to the house I was drenched. Once we start hitting the brutal temperatures of the SouthEast Texas summers my training is going to have to start during pre-daylight hours! I am not looking forward to this but it is going to be necessary - and my Triathlon starts at 8am so it will be good to get my body used to the early start.

Oh, I officially registered for the Triathlon this weekend. And I signed up for a years membership the the United States Triathlon Association (USTA). So no turning back now!!

Tomorrow is going to be a Total Immersion Swim Day again. I am going to continue to practice my drills and get in as many laps as physically possible!

Also, I am now 6 days away from starting my BSN Supplements again. Really, I cannot wait. I can honestly say I have not done any research to see of Nitrix and NOXplode are used for Triathletes but I can see a big difference in the intensity of my training since I have stopped using them! It will be interesting to see if I notice a difference.

Thanks for Reading,

Jeff

Triathlon Training Day 14: Cycling - 9 miles

Saturdays are always tough to find time to get in your workouts. I got up early and drove to Katy, TX to help a doctor with a dental implant case. It went extremely well so this outcome made me feel good about working on a Saturday morning. I got home around 1pm and went to pistol range with my neighbor. He got a new glock and wanted some pointers on how to use it so we did that for a couple of hours. The range was more crowded than I have ever seen - Texans are a little fearful/defensive about the current state of affairs in the nations capital! After that I got home and set-up my new Garmin 305 Forerunner!

Man, this thing is NICE! The GPS is surprisingly accurate and the speed and distance calculations are spot on. I programmed it for my bike and then went out and got a 9 mile ride in! Once again it was very windy so I had another difficult time. I am hopeful that on race day there will be no wind and I will be able to fly because I am so used to getting my butt kicked by the wind! I wanted to do another 5 miles but Annie and I had to go downtown for a friends birthday party so I had to call it a day. But according to my Garmin I burned 485 calories!

Computer software comes with the Garmin that tracks routes, distances, pace, pace/mi, avg speeds, elevation changes, HR, Avg HR, ...etc. Pretty much every thing you could ever want for training and tons of more stuff that is just gravy! I just downloaded it all to the computer and it is pretty awesome. I can't wait to get a few more workouts in because this will really help me determine if I am getting stronger and if not what I need to do better. Statistics do not lie when used correctly!

Annie and I were going to get up early today and get a run in but we didn't get to sleep until after 3am last night. We went to a friends Bday dinner and ended up at some Country Bar. We wanted to leave but Annie's friend wanted to stay out so we were stuck. We aren't used to staying out that late anymore - at least we didn't drink so I still feel okay today. We are going to go try and get a run in soon because all that crap weather that hit Dallas yesterday is coming for us this afternoon.

Thanks for Reading,

Jeff

Triathlon Training Day 13: Swimming + Ab Ripper X

Practiced my Total Immersion swimming drills today. I feel like I took a small step back today. For some reason I just didn't feel as balanced in the water today? At times I did, at times I just felt awkward - very weird. I guess this is to be expected when learning something new but it is still frustrating.

Overall, my swimming today was still pretty good. I tried to keep track of my laps and did close to 35 total ... plus or minus a couple. It was a crowded day at the pool and I got caught up in conversations with people and lost count a few times.

Before I did my swimming I went to the weight area to stretch and do Ab Ripper X. I've done ARX so many times now that I no longer need Tony and the video. They have a soft mat there that is much better than the Yoga mat I use at home. I added reps to every move and did a total of 400 in all!

A funny thing happened right after that. I was walking to the locker room and a guy came up to me and asked if my name was "Jeff". I said yes, but didn't recognize him? He asked if I did, "that P90X blog?" .... I started to laugh. His name was Ken, so Ken is you are reading, it was nice to meet you and good luck getting started with P90X!

Tomorrow I have to go help a Doctor with an Implant case at 11am. So, I am going to try and get up early and get in a 20 mile Bike ride before that. I'd like to get in Core Syn or Yoga tomorrow too but I have plans with a buddy in the afternoon and then Annie and I are going out for a friends Birthday. Might have to wait until Sunday!

Thanks for Reading,

Jeff