Opps, I Did It Again...

I have a race in 4 days, a sprint triathlon and I am not trained for it. This is starting to become a habit for me and it's a bummer. Things were going well on the whole training aspect until we moved, then it broke up a little bit and now I am here with a nasty head cold that leaves me only wanting to go to bed. I am suppose to be jumping in a lake in an hour to get in an open water swim, but I am not sure that being sick and jumping into a 65 degree lake is the smartest thing to do!

So I know I am not trained for this race, but the odd thing is this. I still feel like I can go out and hit a 1:25 for the sprint. A 580 yard swim should be around 10-11 minutes, a 13 mile ride conservatively should be 45 minutes (that's based on my trainer rides) and a 3 mile run, even giving myself 30 minutes, this all equals a 1:25 minus transition times. IS that so far fetched??  I'm not sure honestly.

Like I have said, I have not done this distance in a really long time. It should be fun. Yes, It should be fun, and I am sure I am going to get smoked because there are always really fast people at this race, but I could careless (yeah, I know, it means I still care by caring less, blah, blah, blah) This race is about me (and my wife and my friends doing their first triathlon). SO whether I smoke it it sludge through it, I am gonna have fun.

***Side note*** I have found the perfect weight loss plan for me. It 's called "Not eating on the new white sofa" plan. Seriously, since we got the new couch (see previous post) we have rules about eating on it. And apparently I am too lazy to get up and stand in the kitchen to eat a snack vs. taking it back to the couch to eat that I choose not to eat anything at all! I am down to 191 lbs! (And it ain't from training either) Maybe all these experts are right about diet!

Let's Get Caught Up...

Every time that I try to commit to blogging more, it seems that commitment has the opposite effect to my blogging! All though, in my defense, I have had a lot going on and I am going to share today! Here are the top things going on m=in my life and why I have not blogged in awhile.

1. We moved! My family moved to a new house in late April. We added a couple of bedrooms, a dining room, pantry and more space. We are loving it! It already feels like home to me, now if I can just get rid of all the boxes!
2. We got a new King size bed and I am loving it! It is so comfortable. I can't wait to go to bed at night to sleep!
3. We also got a new couch which is also very comfortable! See pics below.
4. My son Jared was in a school play and my wife was the "play mom", so they were out of pocket practicing everyday for awhile, so it was just me and my two boys most evenings. The play was excellent and of course my son did a great job!
5. Birthdays! In the past 2 weeks, my son Jared, my mom, my niece and my grandmother all had birthdays in April! Crazy huh?
6. NBA Playoffs are on!  I love the Playoffs! I only wish my Grizzlies could get past the Warriors!
7. Ceiling fans! I have been hanging ceiling fans in my house with the help of my new neighbor! I am not a handyman, so I have needed the extra knowledge to get this done.

So I have my first sprint triathlon in about 11 days from now. I am worried about how I will do. I have not been hitting my workouts like I should have and I have been blaming the move. Whether or not that is a legitimate excuse, it is what it is. I am still looking forward to the race and I know I will finish it, but after all is said and done, I am thankful to be able to race and I am going to have a great time!

The right way to use a couch

The Proper way to use a couch

I am going Old School...

Do you remember your first triathlon? Do you remember the first time into the water, the first bump, the first transition and so on? I do. I remember almost every little detail about my first real triathlon. (I say real triathlon because I do not count my indoor tri in the same manner as I do outdoor ones.)

I remember it because it was simply horrifying!

This was my 1st triathlon and I honestly thought I was either going to quit because the swim was killing me or that I was going to get pulled by the lifeguards before the first 200 yards! The water was so cold it literally took my breathe away. I knew there was no way I was going to finish that swim and I was not even sure if I wanted too! I swam a speedy 2:16 pace. I remember feeling dizzy coming out of the water and wondering how I was going to ride my mtn bike with slicks when everything was spinning! I remember taking 10 minutes in transitions! And I remember my first Olympic time of 3:44:03.That triathlon was none other than the Memphis in May Triathlon at Orgill Park on May 18, 2008. You can read my race report here if you'd like.

Now you may be asking yourself, why is he talking about this again? Because the Memphis in May Triathlon is going back to Orgill Park! The last few tears, the race has been held at Tunica, in an ideal venue. I set my PR in this new venue (2:47:58), and I loved this venue. So let be clear on this next statement. I DO NOT LOVE ORGILL PARK.

I have nothing but bad memories of that place. So when I got the email saying that MIM Tri was going back to Orgill, I was alittle excited and a little freaked out. (MIM lost the venue in Tunica when the host hotel closed, so the race was in question of even happening) I mean I am thrilled that the MIM tri is happening, but I am not looking forward to Orgill, because of the above paragraphs. So will 5 years of triathlons make a difference?

You bet it will. After a few minutes of thinking about this race, I am attacking it. I am going back to Orgill to make it mine. While I am only doing the sprint this year, I am going to after it like it stole my girl scout cookies! (Tag-alongs please) I have my training plan set, my race fee paid and the best part is I know a bunch of first timers that are going to be there,  which always ups my game!  (Vanity at its best right?)

So with this race going back old school, I thought I'd leave you with some old school music. Enjoy and your welcome!

I Asked Myself 3 Questions...

Last year at this time, I was only thinking about heading to Ironman. Everything revolved around Ironman. Right now though, I am having a hard time focusing on a sprint triathlon, and this has me confused.

Maybe it is normal to go through an "Ironman funk". Maybe I am a one timer, I am not sure. All I know is that even though I want to S/B/R, I am having a hard time training, or more like a hard time getting excited about training. I really thought that last weekend would jump start me!

The Memphis in May triathlon was last weekend. Normally I do the Olympic race, I have for 4 of the last 5 years. It is a great race and normally it is the one race to do around Memphis. Everyone is there, and it is a good measure of where you stand in the tri community here in Memphis IMO. I choose not to race, partly because my wife was doing her first sprint race and I wanted to be there to support her and make it here weekend since she has been to many of my races waiting at the finish line! And the other part was that I just could not get excited about training.

Is it normal after a 140.6 to have the mindset of not be able to get excited about a 3.1 mile run?

I really expected me to get back into "it" after MIM and being around the atmosphere and seeing my bride do so well in her first race but I am still fizzling. So I had to ask myself some questions to find out what's up!

Question 1: Do I still want to race?Answer: Yeah I do. I like racing, I love racing. I still have visions of me crossing the finish line, and I still want to get my second 140.6 under my belt!

Question 2: Is it a weight issue?Answer: I know I have put on weight, but it is muscle. I have been working with a trainer for the last 14 weeks. I know I gained 3 pounds of lean muscle and my bidt fat is at 14%. My core is stronger than ever, so it is not a question of being in shape.

Question 3: Why don't you sign up for a race? That is motivation right?
Answer: Yeah, I'm right. That is what I always tell people also. Sign up for a race, pay the money and then you will do it! So I am committing to doing the Mighty Mite Sprint Triathlon in July.

Maybe this is just a down year for me, a year for me to just be, and then to come back strong in 2015! I don't know. I know Goosepond HIM is definitely not a definite race anymore. More to come on this I am sure, but right now I need to get registered for Mighty Mite and go back and see what my old times are and see if I can beat that. I have no doubt in my mind that I can cover the distances now, because I have been training, but man, is it tough to get out there.

So tell me all you Ironman finishers, did you have a "funk" afterwards? And if so, how do you shake it??

Today was the Day...

12-23-13 and I ran.

Today was the day I started back with my training. I literally have done nothing since late October. I have not even wore my running shoes since Ragnar. Have wanted too, so I didn't. I figure the lack of desire to run meant that my body was tired. A lot of people asked me if Redman took that much out of me, and at first, I thought yeah, it did. But now as I look back, it was much more than one race. If you are a regular follower of this blog (meaning my mom who reads and my wife when I make her), you know that I have been going pretty good the last couple of years. Sometimes racing up to 14 times a season, which is a lot I think. So the break has been good for me, but it is time to get back to it.

So the first thing I did was go get a physical. I am 42 and have not been to the doc in...I cant remember when I was at a Dr last, except for a clinic for a cough or cold. I really expected the doc to do a lot more than he did, but really all he did was take some blood and run some tests on it. He said everything came back as normal, so I guess that is good!

Step 2 was to make out a plan. The first race is and always will be the Memphis in May triathlon... in May. I really like this race. It's fun. It is a race that my family can go to and hang out at the pool while they wait for me. This is one of the first races I did, and I swear I thought I was not going to make it out of the swim! So I made a plan for MIM.

I used the custom plan from BT (www.beginnertriathlete.com), which will have me doing two swims, three bikes and three runs a week. Plussssssssssssssssssssss I am going to be working with a trainer twice a week. Yeah, I am going to be doing like weights and stuff! this part excites and frightens me a little. She is totally going to kick my butt. My wife has been working out with her for awhile and my wife is fit! She can probably do more pushups than I can, so I know I will get some good results.

The last thing I have done is start working on my diet. I know, it's Christmas time and probably the WORST time to worry about what you eat, but I seriously need to drop about 15 pounds. I want to get lean and mean again.

Other than those things, I have not planned out 2014 race wise yet. And I am probably only go to look at MIM and a HIM, but 2015 is all about beating Brad. (scroll down a few posts).

With all that said, I want to wish you all a Merry Christmas!  And remember, a new year means the gyms will be crowded again!!!!

I Made some Decisions...

I know that we are all busy, but sometimes I have to remember to pull back and not worry about my training schedule. This does not mean that I will not be bringing it, but sometimes I have to Bring It to other parts of my life, namely my family. February has been very tough so far with traveling for work and other duties I have as a husband and dad, that I felt pretty worn down. Let me give you some of my schedule last week

Monday: 1400 yd swim, then work, then 22 mile trainer ride
Tuesday: Valentines Day, 2350 yd swim work, mushy stuff ;) ;)
Wednesday: work followed by a 6.45 mile run, then meeting at church, followed by small group I lead (6th grade boys group I lead in small groups at church)
Thursday: 1800 yd swim, work, science fair, coach a basketball game (we are 6-0 now), dinner, then 16 mile ride
Friday: work, 5 mile run (was suppose to be 9) then worked security at the youth event at church
Saturday: unscheduled rest day
Sunday: 27 mile ride in lieu of a muddy wet dank trail race I was scheduled to do.

Now I am in no way making excuses, but I could tell I was tired, physically and mentally, so I deviated off my schedule and I am glad I did. I know I do not have to make every workout, because I can't, but I know I have to make every workout count, which I did.

Other notes:
I have decided that I am not going to race IM Augusta 70.3 this year after all. I have decided on another non IM branded race near Nashville. When I got to looking at travel time and cost, it just did not make that much sense to me. I would have to pull the boys out of school for a week again and it is just not worth it for my hobby. The Nashvegas Half distance Triathlon appears to be every bit as challenging as Branson. I have already done an Ironman branded race, so it being a non branded race is not a big deal to me. I know it will be a great race. Plus the money I save will be great. Another advantage is that Nashvegas  is a few weeks earlier, which will give me more time to train for the St Jude Marathon (I have to beat my previous time).

I have also really been aware of what I am eating and drinking. I want to be down to around 180lbs my the time MIM comes around in May. Right now I fluctuate between 186 and 189lbs, so hopefully I am on the right track. I also want to be able to wear my square legged Speedos my wife bought for me and not feel ridiculous! It's good to have goals right? 

That's all I have time for right now, thanks for reading!