This Ironman Stuff is Tiring...

I admit I have not been blogging much lately and that is because I have been early to bed, early to rise lately. I have all these great ideas I want to blog about and they always come to me out on the run or bike, but by the time I get back to the house, blogging is not a top priority. Here is just a sample of things I blog about in my head while I am running:

• July was my biggest training month this year, but I expect August to be bigger!
• The other day some random dude pulled up on my wheel while I was out riding without even letting me know. If I had not looked back, I do not think he was going to say anything. Not Cool
• The rain, we have had lots of rain lately and it makes it sticky hott here in Memphis.Many times I have said "screw it", I am running even though it is raining, only to have it stopped raining and get miserable, but I can't imagine running 9 miles on a treadmill now.
• I have determined that if I walk when I see people and run when there is no one around, I will get a lot more running done.
• An hour swim is nothing anymore, I already have hit over 4,000 yds in the pool, and while boring, it's not a big deal.
• My confidence is growing, not growing to the point of being on the podium or anything, but growing as in I can do this.
• I automatically wake up at 5:05 AM now days.
• It's weird that I am feeling leaner, but not really losing any weight, I am staying around 183.
• We dumped Direct TV and got U verse for cable TV recently
• School starts at 7 AM for my boys this year, that's a big change
• I am learning to become quite the mechanic. Me and a buddy have changed out a fuel pump and I recently learned to change my oil. Auto repair places are there to overcharge you, and I am not giving them any money anymore!
• I really want to look into an athlete tracker for my wife to use to track while I am racing.
• 6 weeks to go!!!!

So see, while I have not been putting things down on the blog, there is still a lot going on, but all I want to do is eat and go to bed. So don't forget me blogosphere, I am still around!!!

My Best Month Yet in 2012

March is over and here comes April, which means warmer temperatures and thunderstorms for us in Memphis. It also means race season is getting closer, so I have about 5-6 weeks of hard training before my Olympic race. If April is anything like March, then I am going to be happy. At the end of the month, I always like to look back and see if what I am doing is productive or am I just out there making it look like I am working hard. Again, this post is mainly for myself, but please feel free to make any call outs you see.

So let's dig in:

March Totals:
Swim       9.24   miles    5:14:11
Bike        214.1 miles    9:41:00
Run         56.28 miles    8:29:36

Now based on miles alone, it looks about right as far as more biking than running and more running than swimming. A total of 23 hours and 24 minutes was spent training in March, almost one full day. I know I was short on my monthly goals, but I am I did increase my monthly time of working out by over 6 hours and 92 more miles!

I also completed a half marathon in March that I was seriously under trained. My longest run had only been 8 miles leading up to the race. This was a real confidence boost for me also. I know I can do the distance under trained, so by September, I should be able to rock my half Ironman distance race and marathon later in the year. I am happy with my progress YTD as well. (Yeah I have those numbers also)

1st Qtr 2012
Swim    28.41   miles  16:25:53
Bike     493.2   miles   22:47:00
Run      141.38 miles   21:18:15

Now it was important for me to have the same ratios of swimming/running/biking throughout the year, meaning I want my biking to be the majority of my workouts, followed by my running. I need a strong bike/run for me to hit my goals. The swimming is not a problem for me much anymore, but that dang run always gets me. I know January was mostly running for the first two weeks which is why the times are closer than I would like, but I still feel like I am on track. Judging by last years totals, (swim 48 miles, bike 959miles and run 546 miles), I am going to totally blow 2011 yearly totals out of the water because April will be more miles than March, and after my May race, I start training for my half iron distance which will mean more miles in training! All of this is leading up to my date with my full Ironman in 2013! I get excited just thinking about it!

Also in April, I am going to focus on adding some core work. I have committed to myself to 4 core workouts a week and to really focus in on a better diet in the month of April. I am already down to the 188lb range, with a goal of 183lbs by race day (May 20). I think it is totally doable, I just need to focus on the eating part and make smarter decisions. So April needs to be another big month for me, but I am feeling confident about my race in  May already! I plan on sticking to my plan and missing as few workouts as possible while trying to stay healthy. Let's Bring It!

I will blog more about my Aprils Abs goal in my next post. Thanks for reading!

January Deep Dive & James Day!

Since diving into my 2011 numbers at the end of last year and really seeing where I stood and what I did,it helped me realized that my workouts were not consistent. So, I figured that I am going to start really looking at what I am doing on a monthly basis. I want to know percentages, times and all that good stuff. So this might be one of the most boringest posts I have ever composed, but I am sure it will enlighten moi. So again, this is mostly for my benefit, but if you read this and see that I am way off with my thinking, then please let me know. (in a nice way)

I think first off I need to look at the overall totals. What did I actually do last month?

Swim 5:47:13      9.9 miles(17425 yds)
Bike  7:13:40      142.7 miles
Run:  6:33:35      43.46 miles

So looking at the pie chart, it appears that things lined up pretty much the way I wanted it too based on mileage. If I look at the percentage of time I spent training, the total amount of time I trained was 19:34. So if I break that down, it comes down to a 30/37/34 percent split, and that doesn't make me as happy. I would have preferred it to be more of a 20/50/30 split between the three disciplines, however; since I am measuring everything in miles according to the graph, I will stick with mileage.

Swimming:
In January, I swam 11 times with an average swim set of 1,584 yards per swim. I can live with that. Now remember, I also had a a recovery week in there, so I need to keep that in mind. My average 100 yd swim based off these numbers was 1:59 per 100 yards. Overall I am happy with where I am at currently in my swim. I was able to bust a 1:38 100 in January which is a new record for me!

Biking:
In January, I biked 8 times with an average bike of 17.8 miles per workout. I had an average speed of 19.7 mph. these miles were gauged by my bike computer being linked up to my back wheel and my bike being on the trainer. So these numbers will be a little misleading, but at least I have something measurable. I missed a few scheduled rides, so those numbers could have/should have been higher.

Running:
January had me running 10 times with an average run distance of 4.3 miles at a pace of 9:04. These numbers include two cross country trail races and a majority of the runs were treadmill runs. I guess I am OK with this, but I hoped my average pace would be better, so that gives me something to work on. February, I 'd like to see this under 9 minutes.

So that is my little deep dive analysis of January. I am wanting to continue this all year so I can really see what my progress is, and then you won;t have to listen to me whine in December about how I don't understand why I never got faster!!! I am preparing for higher numbers in February as my firs triathlon is not until May.

JAMES DAY!
Yes, tomorrow is James Day (or as others like to call it a personal holiday). James day was started last year when I took a surprise day off to do James Day festivities, like swim in the lake or go on a long run. By having a surprise James day, there are no honey do lists to be done or anything. It is quickly becoming one of my favorite holidays!!  I have a long run and bike planned! So please, enjoy James Day!!!  I know I will.

Feb Totals and Masters Class

I am posting this a little late, but here are my monthly totals fro February:

Bike: 142 Miles 7:42:58
Run: 50.59 Miles 7:13:51
Swim: 16,500 yards

Overall I am happy with my numbers. At this pace I will eclipse 2009 totals my mid year. I can tell that be me committing to my HIM in Sept, my training has been amped up a bit.

Master's Class report:

Today we had another butt kicking workout, it killed me. Here it is:

4 x 100 @ 2:10 for WU
400 yd kick
4 x 100 @ 2:00
400 yd pull (breathe every 6 strokes)
4 x 100 @ 1:50
20 x 25 @ :30


The last set was a killer. I am happy to report that I made all my times! I can tell I am getting faster and stronger in the water. So fast, that I might be able to beat my bride soon!

Yes, that is a challenge Babe!

Let's Talk About January...

January overall was a pretty decent month for me training wise. While it was bitterly cold for Memphis, and I had a bout with a stomach bug, overall I was happy with my training numbers. So let's talk numbers shall we?

Swimming: January I got in 8200 yds swimming or roughly 4.65 miles. I know my swim intensity has increased over this month, but the best thing for me was joining a Master's class. Yeah, it kicked my ass, but I can really see how it will make me faster in the water, so I am sold on it. Just the other day when swimming, I was on lap 40 of a 44 lap planned swim (cause that was roughly 1.2 miles), and then "john", my rabbit from an earlier post, that I always chase jumped in the lane next to me. I know he waited for me to hit the wall before he took off. I am a competitive person by nature, so of course I took off harder. We stayed even until we hit the wall, the BAM, flip turn and I was off. I continued to hit him with the flip turns for the rest of my session! Anyways, it was good for me to finish strong and to be pushed towards the end of my workout.

Biking: In January I was able to get in 93 miles, all trainer miles, so my distance might not be accurate to the inch, but good enough for me. Trainer rides are boring and always makes my ass hurt! I could never do a 112 mile trainer ride like Mike (www.26.2ismycooldown) This will really be the first season with my new bike, not the one in the picture above. It is amazing what a good bike fitting will do for ya, I love riding in aero now!

Running: January's running totals were less than I wanted. I ran 28.8 miles, but again, I was sick and we had crazy cold weather here. I have a half marathon (1st one ever) coming up in March, so I really wanted to have some decent mileage piled up. Alot of these mile came via the dreadmill, so I need to be careful when talking about my Mile times. I mean on a treadmill I can run 8 minute miles forever, but I know that on the road it will be different.


Thanks for reading, and also thanks to all the bloggers I read. It is motivating to read that we are all going through some of the same things this off season!

A Look Back at 2009

As 2009 has ended, and we begin 2010, it is always a good time to reflect on how good a year it actually was. The best part of 2009 was the birth of baby Jesse. What a great way to start off a new year. He has been such a blessing and is a really good baby. He is already starting to walk! He will grow up way to fast as my other 2 boys have!

Also in 2009, I think about the strides I made with my racing. I bettered my times in every race I ran in 2008. I think I have really learned more about how to go fast and I am not a back of the front pack racer! I am really excited about 2010, because it will be series of firsts for me in racing. 1st Half marathon, 1st HIM, 1st marathon, all big milestones on my path to becoming an Ironman!

So I spent some time this week looking over my 2009 training and dissected it. It was eye opening and not really what I expected, so here it goes:

Swimming:
According to my training logs, I swam 156,092.5 yards (88.68 Miles). I swam a total of 94 times throughout 2009 and my average swim was 1,660 yards (.94 miles). I spent 49 hours 50 minutes and 37 seconds in the pool. My average for swimming 100 yards was 1 minute 55 seconds. In 2008, I swam 235215 yards (133 miles), so I had a major drop-off in swimming, but I believe I got smarter with my workouts and I just didn’t jump in the pool and start swimming.

Biking:
According to my training logs, I biked 804.79 miles. I biked a total of 44 times throughout 2009 and my average ride was 18.29 miles. I spent 41 hours 55 minutes and 55 seconds riding. Based on these numbers, I averaged 19.19 mph. In 2008, I rode 924 miles, so again, another drop-off in mileage.

Running:
According to my training logs, I ran 365.49 miles. I ran a total of 84 times throughout 2009 and my average run was 4.35 miles. I spent 54 hours 42 minutes and 38 seconds running. Based on these numbers, I averaged mile was an 8.59 minute mile. In 2008, I ran 338 miles, so I increased my running mileage slightly.

So bring it on 2010, I am ready for you. I hope to increse the numbers even more as I prepare to take on my Half Ironman in September and my full marathon in December.

November Totals

If you recall, I stated that I wanted to hit 60 miles running in November. I also was scheduled to do a race on Thanksgiving (read previous post). well, I am happy to report that I hit my goal of 60 miles. I really had to maintain a strict schedule and go on some runs that I really did not want to go on, but I did it. 18 more miles running and I surpass last years total in running! Here are my monthly totals:

November's totals:
Bike: 1h 33m 19s - 27.8 Mi
Run: 9h 20m 05s - 60.36 Mi
Swim: 2h 29m 46s - 4.2 Mi

2009 totals
Bike: 41h 55m 55s - 804.79 Mi
Run: 49h 39m 23s - 332.07 Mi
Swim: 44h 42m 32s - 80.27 Mi

Ocotber's Totals

October's totals:
Bike: 45m - 13 Mi
Run: 4h 41m 48s - 30.6 Mi
Swim: 4h 30m 39s - 8.06 Mi


2009 totals
Bike: 40h 22m 36s - 776.99 Mi
Run: 41h 28m 59s - 278.81 Mi
Swim: 42h 53m 07s - 77.15 Mi

Well, October was not that great a month as far as mileage goes. the bike really took a hit, and I suspect that it will stay low for the next couple of months while I focus on my running. The swimming also slowed down some as I am only swimming 2 days a week now, again to focus on my running. I missed beating last months running mileage because I have to remember that this is my hobby and sometimes other things have to come first. I am really focusing on the half marathon in Mar, but just today I signed up to run the Turkey Trot 4 miler on Thanksgiving, which should be fun and gives me something to look forward to that is closer than late March!

I am hoping to hit 60 miles this month!

Sept Training Totals

September's totals:
Bike: 3h 30m 17s - 87 Mi
Run: 5h 12m 05s - 35.92 Mi
Swim: 4h 22m 33s - 6.9 Mi


2009 totals
Bike: 39h 37m 36s - 763.99 Mi
Run: 35h 37m 30s - 241.11 Mi
Swim: 37h 42m 07s - 67.9 Mi

Not a bad month overall. I did one race and had a week or so of taper and rain, so I feel pretty good about it. I am looking to ramp up my monthly run totals going forward and I'd like to average 100 miles a month on the bike, although a lot of the miles will probably be on the "drainer".

Jan Totals and Anniversary

January's totals:

Bike: 7h 34m 21s - 143.7 Mi
Run: 4h 17m 36s - 30.46 Mi
Swim: 3h 45m 46s - 6.36 Mi

January training totals were pretty good incuding that I took a week off basically when Jesse got here! The pool is closed the first week of Feb, so we see how it goes, but the numbers should increase...

Today I have been married to my wonderful bride 12 years. It does not seem like it has been that long actually. We have been through alot and came along way from when we first married. I love my wife!!!

Decemeber and 2008 Totals

.

Dec Totals

Bike 185.7 miles

Run 26.8 miles

Swim 11.23 miles

.

2008 Totals

Swim: 133.64 Miles 78 hours 03 minutes

Bike : 924 Miles 54 hours 18 minutes

Run: 338.59 Miles 52 hours 18 minutes

.

Last January 2008, I started keeping track of my daily mileage when I trained. I wanted to see how far I ran, swam and biked through out the year. I had set up some goals, which at the time I thought were pretty lofty. Anyways, it was really cool to look back and see exactly how far I went.

For 2008, I ran 338 miles (52 hours and 18 minutes). These runs included races and training runs, mostly around my neighborhood and the city. I went through 2 pairs of shoes. Usually if it was warm enough, my sons would ride their bikes along side of me as I ran.

For 2008, I biked 924 miles ( 54 hours and 18 minutes). Alot of the mileage toward the end of the year came on trainer rides, which I rode in front of the television. It is hard to get away, except on the weekends, and ride long distances. I am very fortunate I did not have any serious crashes, although there were some falls, but that was mostly because I forgot I was clipped into my pedals.

For 2008, I swam 133 miles ( 78 hours and 3 minutes). Majority of these miles are pool miles, although there are some lake swims, besides the races. Swimming was always my weakness event and the one that scared me the most. it is intimidating to not be a good swimmer and get in the water with 250 others all trying to swim over you. I have really worked and now feel comfortable in the water, even love it now. Towards the end of the season, I was in the top 10 out of the water in my age group!

So for 2009, I expect to really increase those miles, I would like to get 200 miles biking, and close to 1000 miles running, not sure I can add any more miles swimming, but I am swimming longer distances faster, so we will see.