Tri Training, One Step at a Time

New Blog

2008-07-29T17:48:00.001-07:00

I have decided to create a new blog. Check it out:

http://shawnstriadventure.blogspot.com/

Almost there!

2008-07-26T09:18:00.000-07:00

First off I want to say congrats to all of those who ran the Blessing of the Fleet 10 miler. I will be there next year!!!!

I just rented my wetsuit for the Tri in August. I figured I would rent one this year and then next year buy one. I went with a sleeveless wetsuit since the water temp is around 70 degrees. This afternoon I plan on taking a 10 mile bike ride. Tomorrow morning I will hit the pool at the YMCA and get some laps in. Last night I went for a 3 mile run around Providence. Halfway through the run I started getting side stiches. That sucked! I just slowed my pace down and dealt with it. So lets see, I got a wetsuit coming, I bought my tri shorts and I will be buying a new pair of running shoes either today or tomorrow. I figured 3 weeks should be enough time to break them in. I do need to bring my bike into the shop for a tune up. So much to do.

3 mile run in Providence

2008-07-23T19:37:00.001-07:00

I had a great 3 mile run in Providence. It was slow, 3.15 miles in 31.30m but it felt awesome! Ankle pain....what ankle pain. The fact that during the entire run my left ankle didn't hurt was just awesome! I have been waiting for that day. My heart rate was still a little high. The only way to bring it down was to walk and I didn't want to do that so I just tried to relax and control my breathing which brought it down a little. Maybe I just have a natural high heart rate. I mean it was high enough to qualify for someone elses z4 HR. Anyways, with each passing run I feel more and more confident about the Tri in August. I have been thinking about if I should or should not wear a wetsuit for the tri. I don't know if I want to commit on spending lots of money on a wetsuit this year so I might rent one. I know that might sound gross, but I don't have the cash to buy a $300-$400 wetsuit. So until next time.

Great Weekend

2008-07-22T21:08:00.000-07:00

This weekend the family went up to Lake Hopatcong and stayed with my wife's uncle who owns a house. We had a great time. The kids loved swimming and fishing. Here are a few pics of Brady and Reese's fish. Reese caught her first fish!

I also took the opportunity to try open water swimming. I didn't go far since I was in a lake and I just couldn't stand up if I was tired. I did stayed close to shore and swam between 2 docks which was around 200 meters. I swam both Saturday and Sunday. Definitely different swimming in open water but I felt great both times. I know I will be ready for the .25mile swim coming up in next months tri. It was a great little vacation for us! Yesterday I ran 2.5 miles around Providence. I had my heart rate monitor on, just to see what my heart rate was. All I can say it was pretty high and I need allot of work to get it down. The run itself was good.

Next Wednesday is my last day of working 2 jobs! Boy I can't wait. The past 6 weeks has gone by fast. I just can't wait until its over!!!!!

See ya

Congrats

2008-07-20T19:18:00.000-07:00

A big congrats to Kim and Mark on completing Ironman USA! Awesome Job!!!!!

Finally Did It!

2008-07-16T17:55:00.000-07:00

Well here is the proof.

No backing out now. I am actually really excited about this. I have been waiting for over a year to get the chance to participate in a Triathlon. On August 17th I will!!!!!

Now I just need to get my butt in the water and get some swims in!

Hot Day

2008-07-14T18:50:00.000-07:00

Went out for a run today during lunch and it was hot! Days like today people would just want to stay in the air conditioning and not come out until winter! I did manage 2.25 miles in a time of 26 mins. I am getting there. I am still finding that the first mile or so is really tough and seems to get easier as the run goes on. I am trying to figure out a way to bring my bike to work so I can ride on the days that I am not running. I would just ride my bike to work, but I have to drop the kids off at daycare at 8:30 and I need to be at work by 9:00. So thats not going to work. Maybe I will just put the bike on the rack and bring it inside with me during the day. That might work. I really need to get on the bike. The family went camping this past weekend and at the camp ground is a really nice pond. The water was so warm, almost the same temp as my pool. I swam around for a few minutes and it felt great. I am glad I brought my goggles with me. I asked the life guard if I could go beyond the rope marker, but she said no. Oh well.

Congrats to all those who participated in Ironman 70.3 Rhode Island. I heard it went very well.

Happy Monday!!!

Good Luck to All

2008-07-11T15:52:00.001-07:00

Just wanted to say good luck to all of those who will be participating in the Ironman 70.3 Rhode Island. I hope everyone has a really good time in my home state and will come back next year. Maybe I will tri for it next year...you never know! I also want to say good luck to my buddy Mark who is running a 15K this weekend!

With all of the advice my blogger peeps have given me, I will do the Wild Dog Triathlon in Bristol, Rhode Island. As blogger Sherry pointed out the race could be a very positive and beneficial experience leading up to my tri in September. So all I need to do now is register and get my butt in gear and train for this race!

Have a good weekend everyone!

Could I be ready for a Sprint Tri in August?

2008-07-09T19:28:00.000-07:00

Since I have started running again I have been thinking about what races I could do in the next few months. I know I want to do the 3rd Annual Ocean Community YMCA Triathlon in September, but I also think I can be ready to do the Wild Dog Triathlon on August 17th. Not that any Triathlon is easy, but this one would probably rank as the easiest around. Its a .25 mile swim, 10 mile bike and a 3 mile run. So in my mind I could run during the week and then on the weekends hit the pool and get some bike rides in until August 1st. Then after I am done with these crazy 80 hour work weeks, I can add a little more swimming and biking into my training. Am I crazy? Probably, but I really want to do this Tri. These past few months have been so crazy and most of my goals have been washed down the drain due to injuries and job related stuff. So if I can complete 2 sprint triathlons this summer I would be very excited! Wish me luck and would love some words of encouragement...I'll need it!!!!!

Update!

2008-06-30T20:52:00.001-07:00

So I have been away from blogging for awhile. I needed to take a break from the running and training to see how my body would hold up to working 80 hours a week, yeap 80 hours. The company I am working for on 2nd shift is closing down and moving to a different state. So I found a job and I decided to work both jobs for the next 6 weeks so I can receive the severance and bonus package from the company that is closing. The first week was a little rough. But last week wasn't too bad. So at the end of last week I decided to start running again and slowly bring the swimming and biking back as well. It helps when the new company I am working for has locker rooms and showers and a few people that go running during lunch time.

Anyways things are going well. I took it slow and ran only a mile today. I will be building distance over the next few weeks and on the weekends hit the bike and pool. Then in the beginning of August (Thats when I will be on a normal 9 - 5 work schedule) I will be increasing my swim and bike training in hopes to be ready for the 3rd Annual Ocean Community YMCA Triathlon. I don't want to go through this year without completing a TRi. That was my goal at the first of the year and I don't want to loose site of it. As for my ankle, I have not seen a Dr. about it and I just took some advil before my run today and it was fine and didn't hurt at all today. Hopefully it will be fine.

Happy Monday!!!!

6 weeks

2008-06-13T07:07:00.000-07:00

For the next 6 weeks I probably will not be posting much of anything on this blog. I will be spending a lot of time working. So much so that I will be putting my exercising and training aside. I will explain more after the 6 weeks. I am going to be missing a lot during the next 6 weeks. I will not be able to attend and cheer on my peeps at Lake Placid ( I am really bummed about that one) and I will be missing 3 races. If all goes well, I will get back into training the first week of August, with the hopes of completing a sprint Tri in September. I also will take the time to figure out what is really wrong with my ankle.

Good luck to those who will be participating in the race at Lake Placid. You all have worked so hard and I know by the end of the day you will have accomplished something that is just so amazing and rewarding. For those racing...make sure you are Locked and Loaded for a long day and that Moonpies = good fuel for that long marathon run!!!

Until August.....

If its not one thing its another

2008-06-04T15:02:00.000-07:00

Ever since I started running after my Retrocalcaneal Bursitis was healed, I have had pain in other areas of my ankle. I just thought it was from not running for almost 3 months and it would go away with time. BUT....it hasn't. I went for a run the other day and had to turn around after a mile and walk back to my car. There are days I can run 3 or 4 miles with hardly any pain, and others when I can't even finish 1 mile. It has been like this for the past 2 months and I am getting very frustrated with the whole thing. Before the 5K race a few weeks ago, I took 3 advil just in case it hurt during the race. I guess that's sort of a bad thing to do. I have been very down lately because of this mystery ankle pain. I don't even feel like working out anymore. The other day it was so nice out I wanted to go for a bike ride, but didn't. Is it a mental thing...maybe, but I need to do something about this ankle before I just give up on the whole triathlon thing all together. So tomorrow I am going to call the Doctor's office and set up an appointment to have it checked out. What I really want is to have xrays or an MRI done. My guess is that they will tell me get one anyways. The pain only comes on when I run or move my ankle from side to side, and I know it is not tendinitis, my achililes feels great!

I will keep everyone up to date.

4 Mile Run

2008-05-28T14:50:00.000-07:00

Today I went for my first 4 mile run since January 1st! I was only planning on a 3 miles, but I was running on the nice and flat bike path and at the turn around point I decided to keep going since my ankle felt fine. I ran the 4 miles in 41 minutes. I was surprised on the time since I did take 2 walk breaks. After the run I felt great! I do have a long way to go before I am ready for the 10 mile blessing of the Fleet run, but I have have 2 months to get ready. On another note, I am part of the Hornet Juice Challenge so before my run today I drank some of the magic elixir and I really didn't feel any different during or after my run. I have a good 2 week supply of the stuff, so I will continue to use it and hopefully I will notice any sort of difference.

I am on the hunt for Tri shorts for my upcoming races this year and I am wondering if anyone has any recommendations on what shorts are the best? Keep in mind that I am a Clyde and skin tight shorts is not really the thing for me. Is there lose fitting Tri shorts out there? Any help would be great!

HAppy Hump day!

Happy Memorial Day Weekend!

2008-05-23T13:27:00.000-07:00

This weekend is the official start of the summer. I don't know about the rest of the country, but Rhode Island will have some great weather this weekend! Everyone have a fun and safe weekend. And on Monday, please take a moment to remember those who gave their lives for the freedoms we enjoy today.

First Race of the Year

2008-05-19T17:55:00.000-07:00

Yesterday's A Race to Grow 5k race a... lets just say a beggining of the race season for me. I knew going into the race that I was not going for a PR, just wanted to get back into racing, hangin out with other runners and enjoying the race itself. The day before I didn't know if I could even run the race. While working in the yard I twisted my ankle, yeap the bad one, yeap the same one from last weekend. So I took care of it and it felt fine Sunday morning. I took a few advil before the race just in case. My ankle felt great during my pre-run so I knew it would not be a factor. I normally like to start up front and to the side in the race, but I knew I was going to be slow right out of the gate so I stuck to the back (actually there were only about 75 people running so I wasn't far from the start). The gun went off and I started at a nice slow pace. I had set my Garmin 305 to alert me if I was going over 6.5 MPH and if I was going slower then 5.8 MPH. So for much of the first mile the Garmin was beeping at me to slow down. As you know, for the past few weeks I have been dealing with a wall that creeps up around mile 1.5 and lasts until mile 2, well I must have missed the wall because I didn't hit it at all during the race. I was really excited about that. Run time - 30min 44 secs for a 9:54 mile. I wasn't expecting any better. My next 5k race is Celebrate Summer 5k on July 19th (that's if I am not going to cheer on my peeps at IMUSA!).

A BIG CONGRATS goes out to Michelle who at the last minute decided to run and placed 3rd in her AG!!!!! WTG!!!!!

So what did I learn at this race? There is no wall, Its all in my head, I know I am faster then 30min 44secs, Take a couple advil before the race, Smile for the camera guy, and I have a long way to go before I am ready for the Blessing of the FLeet 10 miler.

Happy Monday!

Quick Upate

2008-05-14T19:37:00.000-07:00

This is a quick update. I hit the pool the other day for the first time in close to a month. Yeah I know I have been slacking on that. I completed 1000m and I felt really good. Everything felt really smooth. I did a TT for 50m, which I set a new best time of 51sec. Running has been pretty good too. Over the weekend I rolled my left ankle on a rock while walking on a path through the woods with Brady on my shoulders. Thank goodness I didn't fall. First thing I thought of was, "Oh crap not that ankle...I have a race coming up this weekend." But I walked it off and the ankle felt fine. Thank goodness for that one. I had a nice run through town today. Still really slow, but I know my speed will increase with time. As for the 5K race this weekend, I really don't plan on going for a PR or any time for that matter. I just want to get out there and race again. Nothing like lining up and running 3 miles with a bunch of people. It is so fun.

Ok, thats my quick update!

Finally Coming Together

2008-05-07T16:56:00.000-07:00

I had a decent run today. I was kinda excited about it. I started off doing some Nautilus machines and then a quick 10 minutes on the Elliptical before my run. I figured that should be a good warm up before my run. The first mile of the run was great. Then probably around 1.5 miles I hit a wall. I stopped and walked for about 30 secs and then started running again. Then I hit the wall again 4 minutes later. So again I walked for about 30 secs and then started running. From that point on I felt great! Breathing was awesome and my body felt great. I think I will stop trying to understand how fix this "Wall" thing. I am just going to keep running and I think it will work itself out. I plan on running again tomorrow. I normally don't do back to back running days so I will probably keep it under 3 miles, probably 2.

My first 5K of the year is coming up in 2 weeks. I am kinda excited about running a race again. My last one was back in November. If I didn't have my 3 month layoff from running due to my injury I think I would be setting a new PR in 2 weeks. But I am taking it slow for this race and hopefully I will not be hitting any walls. I have been averaging a little over 10 min miles on my runs lately. Pretty slow compared to where I was back in November. My running will come back and I know I will be better then ever!

Busy Week

2008-05-01T17:44:00.000-07:00

This week has been very busy. We are having a party for Reese's 2nd birthday on Saturday so I have been going crazy getting the house ready, doing yard work and shopping. At least I squeezed in a 3 mile run yesterday.

Same thing happened during yesterday's run. I used my Garmin 305 to make sure I wasn't running to fast. I figured keep it at a steady 6.0mph. I still felt like crap until mile 2. Then for the last mile I was running around 7.0mph with no problem. I even sprinted up the death hill leading up to the Y!!! I just can't figure it out. Some one at work thought I might be catching my "2nd Wind". Is there such a thing? I felt like I could have ran another couple of miles. But I am still taking things slow with running. I have felt no pain for the past few weeks so I am good to go and will probably start increasing the mileage.

Happy May everyone!

Running and Other Wonderful stuff

2008-04-28T13:30:00.000-07:00

Ok so I went running the other and part of my new pre-run routine includes lots of stretching. On some days I will hit the stationary bike for 10 mins to warm up. Anyways, I started my run and everything felt great. But I could not get into a comfortable pace until mile 1.5 and my breathing didn't settle down until mile 2. Did I not warmup long enough? Should I go longer on the bike? Should I do 2 miles on the elliptical before my run? Or am I just crazy and let my body figure out that I am running again and let everything fall into place. I will probably do the latter. Another thing I noticed is that I seem to be running faster toward the end of my run. I don't feel like I am holding anything back in the beginning of the run, so where is this energy come from? Running is weird, fun but weird.

So for the past week I have been working on a big wooden playset for my kids. We picked up all the parts last weekend and my father-in-law and I spent the past week putting it together. It was not hard at all, just takes allot of time. Here are a few pics.

I still have a few minor things to complete on the playset, but it is pretty much done. The kids enjoy going down the slide and using the swings.

Happy Monday!

New Priorities

2008-04-21T14:00:00.000-07:00

I have been holding back some awesome news from all you peeps out there. Today is the day I can tell all of you that my wife is expecting are 3rd child. We are so excited! We have always talked about having 3 and now it is becoming reality. We do want to find out what it is and will keep everyone posted!

There have been other developments that I have been struggling with the past month or so. The company I work for is now downsizing and moving to Grand Rapids, Michigan on or around July 1 (which just happens to be my birthday). I was offered a position there, but I will not leave Rhode Island or the Northeast. Nothing against Michigan, but there is nothing like New England. With that said, I have decided to alter my training and race schedule since my top priority right now is to find a new job. If all goes well my first triathlon will be the 3rd Annual Ocean Community YMCA Triathlon in September. I still plan on a few 5Ks and the Blessing of the Fleet 10 Mile Road Race in July.

So that’s it in a nutshell. Congrats to all of those who completed the Boston Marathon today!

Happy Monday!

Spring Time!

2008-04-16T17:32:00.000-07:00

The weather has been awesome lately! Today was in the 60's and with a slight cool breeze made for an awesome run today. I went for a nice 2.66 mile run. Only averaged 10 min miles but I knew if I wanted to go further then 2 miles I would have to keep it slow. It has been a slow process getting back into the swing of running but I have to learn to be patient, which I don't want to! The run went well except for the little pain I felt in my ankles. I think it's because I haven't ran much. I will probably keep the run every other day for now and when I feel better about my running, make it an every day thing. I actually need to get my butt on the bike. I really have been slacking on that.

For the past few days I have been battling some sort of stomach virus. The virus has been winning so far. But I am going to kick it's little butt soon. The only good thing about the past few days is that I was able to drop a few pounds! Talking with my brother last night I told him that this virus was probably a good thing. It has givin me a good chance to cleanse my body of unwanted crap.

Anyways, you peeps up here in the Northeast....Winter is over!!!!!!!

Bike Path Run

2008-04-08T17:58:00.001-07:00

Went out for a 20 min run today on the South County Bike Path. It was such a nice day I couldn't pass up the chance. There were a few bikers on the path which made me want to break out the bike from the basement and hit the road, which I might do tomorrow. I ran a little under 2 miles in the 20 mins. Still really slow from where I was at before, but I guess I can't just jump back into running 8:30 miles after not running for 3 months.

So for tomorrow I might ride the bike to the Y, jump in the pool for 1500 meters and then decided if I want to take the Spin class tomorrow or on Friday. Guess we will see.

First Outdoor Run!

2008-04-04T18:05:00.000-07:00

I went outside for my first run since recovering from my ankle injury. I ran a little over 1.5 miles. It just felt so good running outside and not on the treadmill. The whole time I was running I was concentrating on my left ankle. Every time my left foot hit the ground I was evaluating if it hurt or not. It was almost to the point were I was concentrating on my foot then where I was going. I am sure that will go away when I get more confident with my ankle. Anyways It was awesome to get out and run!

I signed up for my first 5K of the season, A Race to Grow 5k in May. I can't wait. There is another race at the end of April that I might run, but I will have to see how my running is progressing before I make my decision.

Have a great weekend!

Group Cycle

2008-04-02T19:58:00.000-07:00

Today was my first taste of Group cycle or what everyone calls it, Spinning. The instructor told us for the next month the classes will be beginner classes that last 30 minutes long. I liked it alot. I will be attending a class every week now. There were only 3 other people in the class, so I think Wednesdays at 1:00 is a good time. The instructor really didn't work us hard, but she said in the coming weeks she will push us a little more.

Tomorrow I am planning on taking a 1 mile run outside. I really want to start running outside again. I just feel so slow on the treadmill and that feeling of not going anywhere really bugs me. I like running around town and seeing differant things. So I am only planning on 1 mile. All goes well I will do it again on Friday.

Weekend Fun

2008-03-31T20:08:00.000-07:00

This past weekend the family and some friends headed into Connecticut for the 2008 Mystic Connecticut's Saint Patrick's Day Parade. We all had a great time and the kids just loved seeing the fire trucks. The highlight of the parade this year were the budweiser clydesdales! Those are some big horses!

And you got to love those Shriner's on their little cars!

Happy Monday!

Spinning Class Will Kick My Butt

2008-03-27T17:42:00.000-07:00

Today I went to the Y's orientation class for spinning. Before anyone can take a class they must go through the orientation. So today during class I was fitted for the bike and we went through a couple of different drills and techniques. The whole time I was there I was peddling away trying to get a little work out in. Once everyone was set with their bikes, the instructor gave us a 20 min lesson. Wow! This will be difficult. By the end of the session, I was sweating up a storm and dying for some water. I can't wait to complete an actual class.

Nothing much else is going on. I ran another mile on the treadmill yesterday. It was so nice outside and I just wanted to run on the road, but I don't think I am ready for that yet. I think by the end of next week I will take a crack at running outside. Until then I will suffer on the treadmill.

I am really excited that the weather is getting warmer. I can deal with 40's and 50's. I just hope that we are all done with snow.

Workout Today

2008-03-25T20:29:00.000-07:00

Today's WO:

Elliptical: 3.5 miles, 25 mins
Spinning: 6 miles, 20 mins

Ankle still feeling good! I am still a little cautious with my left ankle, who wouldn't be?

Happy Monday!

2008-03-24T19:41:00.000-07:00

I hope everyone had a great Easter weekend. Ours was filled with candy, easter egg hunts, family and tons of food! The kids enjoyed the easter egg hunts loved their special easter baskets from the easter bunny. Now Kim and I just need to survive sugar rushes!

Today was the first day of a training schedule that I have developed for the next month. It is just a general schedule filled with running, spinning, swimming and weight training. For the past few months I have really battled with working out and weight control and today I am taking control and going to bust my butt to get back to where I was in December. My mile run on the treadmill felt great! Again no pain. But my ankle was a little sore after I got home. Today's swim was a killer. Has anyone else had those days in the pool were you just felt like a brick and no matter how hard you tried you just couldn't stay afloat or even move forward? I had one of those days. The lifeguard asked how my swim was and I told her I felt like I was carrying a load of bricks while swimming against a rip current. Hopefully that will change on Wednesday. Tomorrow I will be spinning for 20 mins and then jumping on the Elliptical for 20 mins along with some weight training. Oh yeah, I signed up for my spin class orientation on Thursday. I can't wait to try that out!

Friday!!

2008-03-21T14:46:00.001-07:00

Not much to report. Had a great time in Florida. I didn't get much sleep, but who does on vacation. I will write more about it next week. I got one work out in this week. It took me a few days to get my butt in gear. So I ran for 10 minutes on the treadmill and rode 20 mins on the stationary bike. I have spent the last few days tweaking my training schedule for the next month. I am very optimistic that I will be ready for my first race of the season, a 5K on April 27th. After yesterday's workout my ankle was a little sore, but my achilles felt fine. I guess I need to work on that ankle a little more. Hope everyone has a wonderful Easter!

Off to Florida

2008-03-13T11:07:00.000-07:00

I am off to Florida for a few days. My brother and I are driving my parent's car down for them. On the way down we are stopping off at my dad's house and going to the NHRA Drag race in Gainesville, FL. It is just awesome watching these cars do over 300 MPH!

On the training side, this week I ran 1 mile twice with no pain!! YES!!! I will continue to the take it slow next week and just run a mile and then slowy build after that. Swimming has been great! And I am just starting to get some miles on the stationary bike at the Y. I figure something is better then nothing.

Have a great weekend!

Tagged, Update and Aero-bars!

2008-03-03T13:30:00.000-08:00

To start off I complete my 7 random things since I was tagged by IronMin the other day.

1. I served in the U.S. Navy for 4 years. It was a great experience and I am glad I did it.

2. My favorite ice cream is Chocolate and just love the Chocolate Chip ice cream from a little restaurant called Shady Glen’s in Manchester, CT.

3. I was born and raised in Rhode Island. A lot of tourists come to RI for vacations and whatever. So when I was a teenager I would wear a shirt that said “I am not a tourist. I live here and I don’t answer questions.” I didn’t like tourists back then.

4. I have 2 cats, Oreo and Fluffy. Oreo of course is black and white and my other cat Fluffy is an orange tabby. When Fluffy was a little kitten he was really fluffy, hence the name.

5. While stationed in Florida for the Navy I started inline skating and joined an aggressive inline skate team. We would do demo’s and host a clinic every Tuesday night for those who wanted to learn how to rollerblade. I miss those days, but I don’t miss the injuries.

6. For my first job I was a bagger at Stop and Shop.

7. Also while living in Florida a couple of friends and I auditioned for a Techno/Rave dance show at a club in Jacksonville called Club 5. We made the cut, but they only filmed one show that never aired.

So I will pass the Tag to the following peeps:
Moonpie
Chad in the desert
Jennifer – Runnergirl
Michelle
Chris

Onto other things. My ankle is coming along nicely. I hope to begin light jogging by the end of this week or beginning of next week. My physical therapist has been awesome! He also is a runner so he knows I want to get back out there and run ASAP! But he also knows that I need to take my time and start off slowly. I have had no pain for the past 2 weeks which is an awesome sign! I actually hit the Elliptical last week for 10 mins at a really slow pace and felt no discomfort. I will jump on that again a few times this week and start riding the stationary bike as well.

And to finish off I would like to say thank you to Tri-John for picking me to receive a set of Airstryke Aero-bars. Tri-John won these bars from Tri-Geeks Dream website. They wanted to give the bars to a newbie Triathlete. So Tri-John left a comment on why he should get the bars and WON! So this year Tri-John decided to offer the same bars to another Tri-newbie. So I left a comment and over the weekend Tri-John’s wife picked my name out of a hat to win the bars (there was only 2 of us who left comments so pulling a name out of the hat was the best way to decided)! So thank you very much John for the bars. I will definitely put them to good use and after this season I will pass them to another Tri-Newbie.

Tuesday

2008-02-26T13:30:00.000-08:00

This will be a short post. Nothing much has been going on. I have gone to PT a few times and I can definitely feel a difference. I think it is a combination of PT and the new sneakers. I have felt little to no pain for the past week which is very encouraging. I can't wait to start running again. I really miss it.

On Monday I went to the Y to hit the weights and pool. It was my first real workout in a few weeks and it felt really good. Tomorrow I plan on trying out the stationary bike. My PT guy said I should use little to no resistance and I should be ok.

Anyone else in the Northeast ready for Spring and Summer?

Retrocalcaneal Bursitis

2008-02-20T13:00:00.000-08:00

Thats what the PT guy said I have. Not Achilles Tendinitis, but Retrocalcaneal Bursitis or Achilles Tendon Bursitis. Most likly caused by my over pronation and low arch. So he gave me a few stretches to do and told me to ice it for 7 mins 2X a day. Also, he said I should get new running sneakers, motion control running sneakers. So I went to the local shoe shop and picked up a pair of Brooks Addiction™ 7. I have been wearing them all day and what a differance! These shoes are awesome and my left ankle has not hurt at all since I put them on (KNock on wood). I go back to PT tomorrow. I want to see this guy (David) as much as I can since his specialty is running mechanics. Tomorrow I hope to get to the pool and swim a few laps. I am feeling much better and should get my butt back to the Y!

Recovery

2008-02-19T17:53:00.000-08:00

I have been deathly ill since last Wednesday. It just hit me like a ton of bricks. Not a good way to spend a long weekend. Today was the first time I felt better. I still have a cough but it is definately going away.

Since I was sick I missed my PT for my ankle/Achilles tendon. So I will be going tomorrow for my first appointment. I really can't wait to get started. It hurts just as much now then it did a month ago. I really miss running and I hope to be back on the road soon.

Lets Just Go Swimming

2008-02-11T16:10:00.000-08:00

Update on my achilles: Nothing has really changed. It is still sore, but not as much. I have been using the arch supports and I guess they are working. I just can't wait to go the PT on Thursday. So in the mean time I will be hitting the pool and bike.

I have been really enjoying my time in the pool lately. I met this other guy in the pool last week who is also training for his first Sprint Tri this year. We have been talking about about drills and breathing and other swim related stuff. It is really cool when you find someone that you can relate with you. Today I did another 1500 meters. I think next week I am going to add another 300 meters to the workout.

I have a question for everyone out there, while running, how much money have you found? I know it is kinda of a wierd question, but I was thinking about how much I have found since I started running outdoors last May. I have found a total $66. A break down of three 20 dollar bills, one 5 dollar bill and a dollar. Now when I run, not recently, I find myself looking for money on the ground. Kinda keeps my mind away from the pain of running and stuff. Just curious.

Achilles Tendonitis

2008-02-07T13:15:00.000-08:00

The Doctor said I have a minor case of Achilles Tendonitis which was probably brought on by my low arches and running form. I guess from what he said I should run heel-toe to decrease the stress on my tendon. I have always thought that was not good form, but I will go with what the doc says. I will be attending physical therapy 2 to 3 times a week. He also told me to pick up a pair of arch supports to help relieve stress on the tendon. I asked about biking and swimming and he said I can do both...YES! So for the next few weeks I will be hitting the stationary bike and pool.

Today before the Doctor's appointment I completed 1500 meters in the pool. I have been using the pull buoy alot since my tendon injury, so today I wanted to see how fast I could do 50 meters with the pull buoy, 50 meters - 52 secs. Ok for some of you out there the can swim like a fish, that doesn't seem to fast, but for me, it is my fastest 50 meter time ever! So I figure that if I can go that fast without using my legs, what if I used them, 50 meters - 52 secs. What does that tell me? I am still having problems keeping my body straight, head to high in the water which lowers my legs creating drag.....an endless list of possible things to correct. I will just keep moving forward and correct as much as I can.

Tomorrow I plan on riding the stationary bike for 30 mins and then hitting the pool for another 1500 meters.

Good day everyone!

Hello

2008-02-04T14:30:00.000-08:00

Well it seems like I need to have a Dr. check out my ankle. Last week it was feeling much better, but then on Saturday I put on a differant pair of shoes ( I have been wearing my running sneakers for the past 2 weeks) and that night my achilles tendon and surrounding area was very sore. I will be contacting a local Dr. that actually completed Kona this year. I would think he would know something about running injuries.

I went down to check out the Super 5K road race this past Sunday. I really wanted to run that race. Actually the last time I ran was on that course. It was such a beautiful day for a race. I got there around 20 mins after the race started so I hung around to see Michelle set an PR of 23.30! WTG Michelle! Hopefully I will be able to run the 27th Annual CLAMDIGGER 5 mile race in April.

I really have been slacking lately becuase of the injury. I gained a few pounds also. That will all change this week. I jumped on the stationary bike today to see if there would be any pain. I didn't feel any but I am wondering if I should do that. So I figure it will be mostly pool and circuit workouts until I see the Doc.

Congrats to the Giants. I didn't think they would get it done. All the props to them. Bring on the Red Sox!!!

Weekend and Injury Report

2008-01-28T13:20:00.000-08:00

I will start with the weekend. We really didn't do to much over the weekend. On Saturday we went up to Boston and went to the Museum of Science. I haven't been there in years, probably since High School. I knew Brady would have a good time and he did. He loved the big dinosaurs and all of the other interactive things they had there. I wanted to see the lightning show, but I thought it would be to loud for the kids. In all it was really fun! We wanted to hit Chinatown and go to Kim's favorite restaurant, Grand Chow Chow, but the kids look like they really needed a nap and Reese practically fell asleep before we even left the parking garage. That was probably the highlight of the weekend. Next weekend will be a different story. We have Kim's birthday and we also get to watch the Patriots win their 4th Superbowl! Sorry Giant fans, your team will not win this one. Better luck next time.

As for my left ankle. I went to the Y today and did a 10 min test run on the treadmill and everything seemed fine. There was no pain so I am very happy about that. After my run I jumped on the stationary bike for a quick 15 min ride and then jumped in the pool for 1200 meters. I will test out my ankle again on Wednesday. The temps will be in the mid 40's on Wednesday, so I will take a short run outside.

Happy Monday!!!!

Sharing the Lane

2008-01-23T13:00:00.000-08:00

I went to the Y today to get some laps done since I have been slacking lately. I walk in and check out the pool. Only 1 person in the lap lane, cool. So I jump in and start doing my warm up laps. Oh yeah, the adult swim excersise class started the same time I did, so I had to deal with the strong "Lap Lane Current" or LLC again. It seemed a bit stronger then normal. I guess they had more people in the group today. Anyways, I am doing my laps when a 3rd person joins the lane. Ok I can do circles. So I try to stay kinda fast with my laps since I couldn't look slow. Just as I started to do my last set of drills, 2 more people join the swim. Ok has anyone shared 1 lane with 5 people before??? This was totally new to me. But I did get the chance to feel what a draft felt like. Pretty cool. I skipped the kick board drill and added another 100 to my pull drill. It was very interesting to say the least. Total Swim today: 1200 meters.

Mystery Injury

2008-01-22T13:45:00.000-08:00

I know I mentioned in my last post that my ankle was feeling better, well its not. I am getting worried that I might have really messed something up so I will be looking to a find a local Doc to take a look at it. I have looked on tons of differant websites and I can not pinpoint what is going on. From reading it doesn't sound like Achilles tendonitis or Plantar fasciitis. I can walk for about 5 mins before it starts to hurt, then I would move my foot around a bit walk for another 1 min and the pain would go away. Tell me thats not crazy. I guess I will have to leave this one to the Professionals.

I have really be slacking lately becuase of my foot. I know it is ok to swim and it the weights, but I guess I am just being over cautious. So tomorrow I plan on getting some laps done in the pool.

Have a great Tuesday!

Update and Stuff

2008-01-16T13:25:00.000-08:00

I woke up this morning feeling better then I have in a couple of days. I have been dealing with a cold that just won't go away. On top of that, I must have slept wrong a couple of nights ago and I woke up with a very sore back. Also I have been dealing with this foot/ankle/tendon pain for the past 4 or 5 days. But I am happy to report that my back is feeling better, the cold is gone and my ankle/foot/tendon is feeling much better. I still plan on taking it easy on my foot and not run for a few more days. I will probably test it out this weekend sometime.

Onto the swim today. Since I am a beginner swimmer, I don't know if I am should stretch before I jump in the pool. I do stretch my arms, shoulders and back alittle, but thats it. Should I do more? There is this one guy in the pool that all I see him do is swing his arms around and hit them against his legs. Apperantly he is the master swim coach for the Y so I guess he knows what he is doing. So I jump in the pool today and I had the lane to myself, oh wait here comes another swimmer, guess I'll have to share. At this time of the day, around 10:30 AM there is 1 lap lane, 1 swim excersise area and an open swim area. At 10:30 on Monday, Wednesday and Friday there is an older adult excersise class in one of the open areas. Today there was probably 18 people in the class. I started to do my warmup 50's and the class started their warmup group circle walk. Well let me tell you, that if you want to practice swimming in currents, come swim at 10:30 at the Y in Wakefield, RI. When they start walking in the circle, it creates a whirlpool effect in the entire pool. So for instance my first 25 meters down was really fast and then on the way back, at a certain point it felt like I wasn't going anywhere. The swimmer sharing the lane with me noticed the same thing and I told her it only lasts about 5 minutes. I was done with my warmup laps and decided to hold off on my drills until after the water calmed down a little. The one cool thing about swimming during the class time is the the instructor has music going which is great to listen too while doing a long set.

The whole swimming thing is getting better every time I swim. I was reading Ironmin's blog yesterday and she scheduled tests this week in all 3 sports to set benchmarks for herself and to look back months from now and see how much she has improved. Well I decided to do the same thing but only for swimming today. I figured I would set a mark for 250 meters since thats about the distance for the 8th Annual Triathlon by the Sea swim, time - 5mins 35 secs. I think I left myself some room for improvement. That is really slow compared to some of the times I have seen from last year race. I also did an all out 50 meter swim, Time - 57secs. So these are my marks that I will break in the coming weeks and months. I will test myself once a month just to see how things are going.

Happy Hump Day!

Hello Monday

2008-01-14T12:30:00.000-08:00

I will not be running for another week. I guess I some how hurt my achilles tendon on my left foot. Right now it feels ok, but as soon as I put weight on my left foot, in a certain way it hurts. So I will back off for a week and then go from there. I hit the pool today for 1500 meters which included some kick board drills and it felt fine. So for the week I will be spending most of my time in the pool and hitting the weights in the fitness center.

Thats about it. A nice and short post.

Enjoy the week!

Another Nice Day

2008-01-10T14:20:00.000-08:00

It was another great day outside and I took advantage of the nice weather and went down to the Narragansett Pier to run the Super 5K course. It was great to have company for the run. Fellow South Kingstown resident and awesome runner, Chris joined me for the run. Thanks Chris for putting up with my 9:50 min mile pace. After running the course, I could definately see a PR being set for this race, as long as it is not snowing with 30 mph winds!

I also got a chance to use the 305 for the first time. I didn't have the heart rate monitor going but just to see what my pace was and how far I have gone is just awesome. I can't wait to really get into all the functions of the 305. As for a review of the 305, I will have to use it for a few months to get a good feel for this product. So far so good!

On my way home from the run, my left foot felt a little soar and when I got out of the car, it hurt to put weight on it. This was very weird since I didn't feel anything during the run. It doesn't hurt all the time, just when I put my weight on a certain area of the foot. Really crazy. So I will not take any chances and stay away from running for the next few days. So this means more swimming and spinning, which is fine with me.

Happy Thursday!

Finally!

2008-01-09T13:30:00.000-08:00

Finally after a few months of waiting, looking for the best deal and just simply trying to figure out which one I wanted, my Garmin Forerunner 305 came in the mail today. I bought it on ebay last week. I was a little nervous buying this on Ebay but I got a really good deal and couldn't pass it up. So I can't wait to try it out tomorrow!

Hit the gym today and rode the stationary bike for 10 miles and then jumped in the pool for 1200 meters. Definately need to keep doing swim drills. Especially the finger drag and fist drills. I just can't hold my form doing those, but I guess after awhile I will get the hang of them. So the pool was jammed today with people. Ever tried doing drills while sharing the lane with 2 other people? And you know I am not MR. Speedy when it comes to swimming in general, let alone trying to finish up my kickboard drill. Thursdays are a little slower in the pool.

Another Day in the 60's

2008-01-08T13:30:00.000-08:00

I could definately get use to 60 degree days in January. But I know it will be short lived. Tomorrow will be in the 50's and by the weekend it will be back to normal high 30's low 40's. I am still waiting for that one major snow storm. I bought a snow blower when we moved into our new house a couple of years ago and probably only used it 8 times. Plus snow is really fun when you have kids.

As for my workouts today, I ran 3 miles around town and did 1000 meters in the pool. I wanted to go longer on the run and swim, but I needed to be home at a certain time so I had to fit what I could in a short time.

So in the pool today I started working on drills. Drills are definately hard, but I managed to get through them. I noticed that when I used the pull bouy, that I actually was swimming faster, by a good 6 seconds per 50 meters. I thought that was a little crazy. So when I was doing my cool down laps I just tried to relax my body and allow myself to just float in the water instead of fighting to stay afloat and it felt like I was moving through the water better then before. Does that sound right? Or am I just way off on this whole swimming thing. Also, I felt like a snail when I was using the kick board. I guess thats normal, well at least Moonpie thinks so. I am really thinking about joining a Masters swim class. But I need to find one that is held on the weekend because I work 2nd shift. So I will be checking that out.

Is it May Already?

2008-01-07T14:00:00.000-08:00

So, I know it is January 7th, but when I came out of the Y today I thought it was May. It was so nice and warm. The temps were close to 60! IN JANUARY! Tomorrow and Wednesday will also be warm. So I was thinking about jumping on the bike and getting a nice 15 mile ride in either tomorrow or Wednesday.

Yesterday I went for a 5.5 mile run around town. It was a little cool out and I definately over dressed for the run. By the time I got home I was soaked in sweat. I completed the run in a little over 55 mins. Kinda slow, but there is always room for improvement. I really was not prepared for the run. I did not drink enough water earlier in the day and I really didn't eat all that well for lunch, so that sat in my stomach like a brick for the whole run. So I need to be a smart runner and prepare my body before I head out.

As for today, since my legs were soar from the run, I decided to hit the nautilus machines and then jumped in the pool for 1200 meters. Swimming is definately coming around for me. Talking with a local triathalon coach, he said that I need to incorporate some drills into my swims and not just focus on distance. Becuase if I just work on distance with poor technique, I am just hurting myself in the long run. So starting tomorrow or when ever I am in the pool next I am going to start doing some drills. I actually stayed in the pool area after I was done to watch one the swimmers complete his drill work. I was watching this one guy who just glides through the water. His swimming seemed effortless and fast. Come to find out he is the Masters swim coach for the Y. So I will have to introduce myself the next time I see him.

Happy Monday!

Taking A Look Back at 2007

2008-01-03T14:00:00.000-08:00

I am trying to figure out how I want to put my 2007 season into words. Guess I will start from the beginning.

In the beginning of the year I was already on a weight loss program. In May, after talking with my old Navy buddy Moonpie, I decided to train for a 5K we plan on running in August while we where in Las Vegas. I also I decided to sign up for the Shoreline Biathlon which was held in September. This was a 5 mile run followed by a 16 mile bike. Since I couldn’t swim if my life depended on it, I decided a biathlon would be a great way to jump into multi-sport racing. So along with the running I dusted the cobwebs off of my mountain bike and started riding.

The training went well and decided to run the Celebrate Summer 5k in July. I finished the race in a time of 31:03. I was very excited about completing my first 5K and couldn’t wait for the Vegas trip in August and to run the Midsummer Nights Dream 5K.

The Vegas trip was awesome. I completed the Midsummer Nights Dream 5K in a time of 32:09. Slower then my previous race, but I would attribute the slow race to the 102 degree heat and the drinking and lack of sleep from the night before. Moonpie had a good run and we both decided that we will never run another 5K in Vegas again.

After the Vegas trip my focus was on the Shoreline Biathlon. I was running and biking as much as I could. I went out and bought a cheap road bike for the race. I really didn’t want to use the mountain bike because I thought it would slow me down and I really didn’t want to look like a newbie out on the race course, I did anyways.

The day came for the race and I was very nervous. First of all the run was 5 miles. I only ran 5 miles twice before the race and I was hoping that I would have enough in the tank to complete the 16 mile bike. Well I managed to pull off my first multi-sport event. I completed the race in 1:47:37. It was a great accomplishment for me. I was really excited and used this event to push me into training for my first triathlon in 2008.

After the race I completed a few more 5k races. I was setting a PR for every race. The last race of the season, Mews Gear and Beer 5K, I had no intention on setting a PR with the course containing a lot of hills, but I did with a time of 27:43. Awesome way to end my racing season.

Towards the end of September I started swimming. Boy it took awhile for me to feel comfortable in the water. It also seemed like it took forever to learn how to breathe. Practice makes perfect.

Going into 2008, I just can’t wait to complete my first Triathlon. I am still trying to figure out my race schedule for the year but my plans are to do a couple of sprints in the beginning of the season, throw in some 5ks, a 5 mile and a 10 mile road race, and end the season with an Olympic Tri and possibly a Half Marathon. We will see how the season progresses but I am really excited for this year. I hopefully will be heading to Lake Placid to cheer on my Bloggers Peeps and Moonpie as he goes for his first Ironman distance race.

So lets hear it for 2007!!!! Woot!! WOOT!

2008 WILL be better!

End of 2007

2007-12-31T11:28:00.000-08:00

What a great year 2007 has been. 2008 is almost here!!! I hope everyone has a wonderful and safe New Years.

See ya in 2008!

Come and Gone

2007-12-26T14:00:00.000-08:00

Wow. What a busy holiday for my family and I. I won't get into all the details but I really had a wonderful Christmas with my family. Here is a brief recap of the past couple of days:
Thursday - Day off from work, Christmas shopping with my mom who came up from Florida with my stepfather, saw I Am Legend; Friday - another day off from work, spent time with Kim getting last minute things done, Reese got sick; Saturday - nice 1000 meters swim at the Y, need that; Sunday - Christmas dinner with Kim's nana and dad, lots of food and presents; Monday - Drive to NJ for Christmas Eve at Kim's Uncle's house, more food and Brady becoming sick; Tuesday - Christmas day, presents in the morning, Drive to Kim's other uncle's house for Christmas dinner and then drove 3.5 hours back to RI, got to sleep at 12:30AM; Today - Dropped kids off at daycare, Kim sick, went home and slept for 2 hours then back to work. Well thats it in a nutshell.

One really funny story I would like to share. So we are at Kim's uncle Mike's house for Christmas eve dinner and people were spread out all over the house. Kids running around, going nuts. While walking around I spot a dish of cookies. Oh and they had one of my favorites, peanut butter kiss cookies. I love them! Of course I ate one or was it two? After a few hours, I sit down in the living room and I look over into the next room and see Reese and Kim's brother's little boy Dylan standing next to the dish of cookies. I think nothing of it, but I wanted to grab another cookie. So I start walking over there and I see that the two of them were eating the cookies! So I say "Hey, what are you guys doing!? " Reese doesn't even look at me, and takes off into the other room, while Dylan looks up at me with his cheeks all puffed out. I look at the plate and those little stinkers ate all of the Hersey Kisses off of the cookies! I look back at Dylan and notice that his mouth is full of chocolate kisses. I just started laughing. It was a great moment that I will never forget.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas!!!!!!

In the ZONE

2007-12-14T12:00:00.000-08:00

Ever have one of those days when everything just clicks. You hit that ZONE where no mater what everything feels right. I use to have those days every once in a while when I was either skateboarding or inline skating. I would just be able to land every trick I tried. I had one of those days in the pool today. Lets back up a little. This morning I didn't want to do anything today. I didn't feel like swimming or biking or whatever. Staying home and sleeping or just watching TV just sounded so good. Then I read Me and the Boys and read what a great day michelle had in the pool the other day. It just got me super motivated so I grabbed my stuff and headed to the Y. After my initial laps I was going to do as many laps as I could without stopping. I thought I would make it as far as 400 meters then stop. 400 meters, felt good and kept going. 500, 600, ......900, 1000! I stopped at 1000 meters!!!!! I couldn't believe how fluid my motions were and how comfortable I felt during those 1000 meters. I just felt so relaxed and I could have kept going, but I had to stop due to time constraints. In total I swam 1800 meters today. Simply awesome. Hopefully I will have more days like that (especially during race day). After the swim I jumped on the stationary bike for 10 miles. If I didn't have to leave I would have jumped on the treadmill for 3 miles, just to complete my first YMCA indoor workout triathlon! NExt time!

Have a great weekend everyone!

Hey

2007-12-11T13:00:00.000-08:00

So over the weekend we saw Santa a few times. The kids are great with santa. I finished putting up the rest of the christmas lights, well actually 2 reindeer.

On Monday I wimped out and only went for a swim. It was too cold out and I still do not have proper cold weather running gear, so I didn't want to chance getting sick or whatever. So I jumped in the pool for a great 1000 meter. Of course it was not all in a row, 4 x 50, 3 x 100, 1 x 200, 2 x 100, 2 x 50.

As for today, I went to the Y early and did 10 miles on the bike,

4 miles on the elliptical and a circuit on the Nautilus equipment.

So there is not to much to talk about. Just going through the daily motions. Actually today Kim and I tried to take Brady and Reese's picture for our Christmas cards. They both looked really cute and it only took about an hour and a half to get a decent picture.

Friday!

2007-12-07T12:30:00.000-08:00

Boy its funny how a week can fly by during this Holiday season. Went out for a 5 mile run around town today. I thought about running on the bike path but I just enjoy running through town. Don't get me wrong, the bike path is very beautiful, but there is something about people watching me run, kinda gets me motivated and keeps me going. The temp wasn't too bad today. It was probably around 35 degrees. I should have waited to run tomorrow when the forecast calls for 45 degrees.

Tomorrow I plan on getting up in the morning and heading down to the Y for a swim. I have a goal to swim 1000 meters tomorrow. That would be the largest distance yet!

So I have been thinking about what Garmin I should buy, the 301 or the 305. I know both have all the features I would need and I can care less about the size or the 301 over the 305. It basically comes down to cost. Both units get great reviews so I am leaning toward the 301. Plus I have found a few on Ebay that are under $100 for the 301. I should be careful about buying electronics from Ebay, but I figured if I could score a 301 for under $100, it might be worth it. I am still thinking about it.

Other then that, lets see....not much else is going on. I am still trying to decided what races I want to do next year. I know I will be entering a few 5Ks, the Blessing of the Fleet 10 mile race and probably a half marathon. I am still working on the Triathlon schedule. It kinda sucks that most of the early triathlons are either in Mass or Conn. My current thinking is that my first Sprint will be the Mystic River Valley Triathlon in June. I need to keep my schedule open for July 13 so I can watch the Rhode Island 70.3 Ironman and July 20 so I can head up to the Lake Placid Ironman. Both of those events will definately be awesome events!

Have a great weekend everyone!!!

The Weekend Report

2007-12-03T12:00:00.000-08:00

Saturday the family braved the cold weather and went to a local farm and picked out our christmas tree. Normally we take a good 30 minutes to find the perfect one, but since it was around 25 degrees with a wind chill in the teens, it took us probably 5 mins to pick the tree and get the kids back in the warm car. We got the tree home and Kim and Brady started decorating the tree while I went into the rafters of the garage to find all the christmas decorations. That night Kim and I went out with my sister and her husband to see a 80's cover band. We had a good time.

Sunday we chilled at home for most of the day. We went to a tree lighting party at a friends house in the late afternoon. Good times.

So here is my workout plan for December. I am really excited about it. I went over a little on today's workout, but I would rather be over then under!

Thursday

2007-11-29T13:00:00.000-08:00

Well its almost Friday!!! It has been a pretty uneventful week. Yesterday I helped my brother-in-laws rake their Grandmothers leaves. Today I went to the Y and did some strength training and then went for a 3 mile run around town. It was another nice day so I am going to take every opportunity to run outside and avoid the treadmill. After the run I jumped in the pool for 800 meters. It was a good swim that consisted of 4x50, 3x100, 1x200 and 2x50. I was pretty beat after the swim.

I am currently developing a workout plan for December. The plan will have a heavy focus on running and swimming. I am also going to find some good core workouts to incorporate into my everyday workouts. I feel that my body is lacking strength in my core. If anyone knows of any good books or core website please let me know. When I have the plan I will post it.

As for tomorrow, I will head to the Y and spend 30 mins on the stationary bike, 30 mins on the elliptical and 800 meters in the pool.

Have a great Friday everyone!

Thanksgiving and Other Stuff

2007-11-26T12:30:00.000-08:00

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I know I did. We had about 18 people over for a great dinner on Thursday. The night before I cooked a 17lb turkey just for people to have left over turkey to bring home and Kim did some prep work on a few things just to make Thursday go a little easier. Thursday morning I cooked a 22lb turkey and cleaned house for most of the morning. Our guests started arriving around 2:00 and we didn’t eat until about 3:30. Lots of food, not enough space in my stomach to hold it all. So at my house we say grace before every meal. Normally Kim, the kids and I fill our plates and then we say grace. Well on Thanksgiving we said grace before we had food on our plates. So I started saying grace the way we always say it (we keep it simple and to the point for the kids, and sometimes Brady says it) “Thank you God for our food…” and I look at Brady who has the saddest expression on his face, he looks down and says “daddy, I don’t have any food”. I never felt so sad in my entire life. He just looked so serious and sad. I looked at Kim and she looked like she was about to cry. It was that sad. So both Kim and I got up and gave Brady a hug and gave him some food. After that I really couldn’t finish saying grace, but I did and the eating began. After dinner we all sat around and relaxed. Some of us went to the basement and played air hockey. Then it was dessert time. We had apple pie, pumpkin pie, chocolate cream pie, ice cream….enough to feed an army. I had a piece of the chocolate pie and sat down and read through the sales flyers for Black Friday. After dessert everyone started leaving and after everyone had gone, we put the kids to bed and Kim and I went over the sales flyers again to plan our Black Friday attack. I found a really good deal on a Zune 30gig MP3 player at Toys R Us so I knew I would be getting up early to go stand in line for this thing.

So I get up at 3:50 and I was out of the house at 4:00AM just to make it to Toys R Us by 4:20AM. As soon as I got off the exit I saw the huge line of people waiting to get in. The store opens at 5:00AM so I have 40 minutes to wait in the cold weather for this MP3 player. I make it into the store by 5:10, get my Zune by 5:30 and I was home by 6:00AM with my new MP3,video, Podcast, picture player. AWESOME!!! Kim and I get ready to head out for a day of shopping and the crowds. Kim’s mother came over early to take the kids to daycare. We had a pretty successful shopping day. The crowds were not as bad as I thought they would be.

As for the rest of the weekend. We got the kids picture taken with Santa, took care of some more leaves in the backyard and put up some Christmas lights. I went for a short workout yesterday.

Today everything was back to normal. I went to the Y after dropping the kids off at daycare. Quick run on the treadmill and the elliptical. Finished the day with a 800 meter swim. The water felt great today. I was totally relaxed the whole time in the pool, even though MR. Splashy was right next to me the whole time.

So for not working out for a few days and eating a lot on Thanksgiving, I gained only 1 pound. I was thinking that I would have gained more. I am so glad I didn’t. Well I will have to lose that pound this week. I dropped out of the top 10 in the Challenge, so I need to step up my game.

Time Off and Happy Thanksgiving

2007-11-20T13:00:00.000-08:00

I will be taking a few days off from blogging. I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving. Please remember our Armed forces this holiday. If you know anyone in the military send a quick note or a care package or just remember them when your family sits down at the dinner table on Thanksgiving. As a former military person, the thoughts, prayers, letters and packages were very uplifting and welcomed during time away from family and loved ones.

I will be hitting the gym tomorrow and Saturday, but Thursday we have family coming over and Friday is the BIG shopping day.

Enjoy and again Happy Thanksgiving.

Last Race of the Season, New PR!!!!

2007-11-19T08:00:00.000-08:00

Going into yesterday's race I had my doubts about setting a PR. The course had a very large hills and the temp was around 38-40 degrees. Since I just began running in May I did not have any cold weather running gear so I had to make due with what I had. The race was a huge event. Talking to someone before the race, they said the first time the Mews Tavern held the race there was only 60 people running. Yesterday there were over 800 people running!!! As for the run, I knew it was my last race of the season so I wanted to break my last PR of 28mins 11 secs. The run starts with a nice hill that is probably about 1/4 long, definately a will breaker. After the hill I settled in to a nice pace and just cruised until the last hill. I told myself I would not walk any portion of the race including this last hill. I just put my head down and charged up the hill, passing walkers and other runners. I knew once I got to the top it was all down hill to the finish line. I made it to the top of the hill and started my decent to the finish. I looked at my watch and saw I had a chance to break my PR so I kicked up my pace. I saw this kid infront of me and made it my goal to pass him before the finish. I caught up to him at the turn onto Main Street. As soon as I caught up to him he started to sprint. SO I started to sprint with him but just couldn't pass the little bugger. We crossed the finish line almost at the same time. I told him I tried to pass him but he was too fast for me. Race time - 27 mins 43secs....NEw PR!!!
Just Awesome. I was really excited about me time and very happy with my effort. After the race there was a big BBQ and free beer for all who ran. Plus there was a huge raffle with over 40 differant items to win. I actually won a gift certificate to a local resturant, which my wife and I used last night. In all, it was a great racea and will definately run the race again.

The Weekend

2007-11-16T13:00:00.000-08:00

Well its Friday! We have a few things planned for the weekend. Brady has soccer tomorrow morning and in the afternoon we plan on going to the Mews to pick up our bib #, shirt and free bear! Thats about it for Saturday. The race on Sunday is at 1:00 so I have plenty of time before the race. I am definately looking forward to the BBQ after the race. It should be alot of fun. Last year there was close to 600 people running and they will probably have the same amount this year. As for a goal, I hope to run the 5k in under 28 mins. That would set a new PR for a 5k race. This will be the last race of 2007. I will write a 2007 year in review sometime in December.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Pre Race Run

2007-11-14T13:00:00.000-08:00

Today I decided to run the 5K course that I will be running on Sunday for the The Mews Tavern "Gear and Beer" 5k. I wanted to run it becuase the course is full of hills and I wanted to see what I was getting myself into. So I began my run at the starting line where the first 1/4 is uphill, and not a slight uphill either. It was tough but I pushed through it and settled into a good pace for the rest of the run. There were a couple more hills in the run but nothing like the last hill toward the end. I tried to push it all the way up, but I started walking toward the top. The cool thing is that once you get to the top of the hill, the rest of the race, probably a good 1/4 mile, is all down hill. So I cranked it up and basically sprinted to the bottom of the street and then made the turn onto Main Street and sprinted down to where the finish line will be on Sunday. As I crossed the line, or where it said "Finish" on the road, I looked at my watch and it read 27mins 56secs. What? I just PR'd the hardest 5K I have ever ran? That felt good and now I can't wait for Sunday's race. The only thing that I am concerned about is the Temp for Sunday. The weather guys are calling for temps in the 40's. Pretty cold considering that today's temp was around 60!!! I guess we will see what happens.

After the run I took Reese to the Doctors for her 18 month check up. She got 3 shots and didn't like them one bit. But once we got to the car I said she was a good girl and gave her some M&Ms, which she loves. I dropped her off at daycare and went home to get my swim stuff and then off to the Y for a few laps in the pool. The pool was crowded but I shared a lane with a nice slow swimmer, like me! 600meters complete! Nice swim. I am completing 1 lap (50 meters) every time now. I think next week I will go for 75 meters before taking a rest.

After the swim I cleaned up some more leafs in the backyard, which seems like it will never end.

Weekend

2007-11-13T12:00:00.000-08:00

Last weekend was pretty much uneventful. We had nothing planned which was a nice change. We actually found ourselves trying to find something to do. On Saturday Brady had his soccer class at the Y. He was so cute running around with his shin guards. Really didn't do to much for the rest of the day. Sunday was just as boring since the Patriots didn't play. We put together my new Lawn Sweeper so I don't have to rake leaves. I tried it out, why didn't I get one of these things years ago! As for Monday, I went to the Y and completed a 2 mile run on the treadmill and 600 meters in the pool. Then I went home and continued to cleanup the leafs in the yard. I made a huge pile for Brady to jump into. He loved it!!!!

No work out today. I had the kids and they don't like the YMCA daycare for some reason. I'll have to make up for it tomorrow.

Until then........

6 Mile Run

2007-11-09T12:00:00.000-08:00

Well I completed my first 6 mile run today. I was going to run through town but decided to run the bike path instead. The bike path has mile markers so it was easier for me to keep track on where I was since I do not have a GPS unit. Starting off was a little cold and stiff even after stretching. I would say it took a good mile to warm up and get into a nice pace. Running on the bike path was awesome. It was such a nice day and the scenery was just beautiful. I was surprised to find only a few people on the path. I completed the first 3 miles in 31min 5 secs. I was running at a slow pace since I knew I was going for 6 miles today. Around the 4th mile my right Achilles heel started to tighten up so I made a couple of stops to stretch it out. At the 5th mile I decided to run the last mile without stopping. I was using the 5:1 ratio for the run today but at the 5th mile I felt pretty good and thought I had a chance to run the 6 miles in under 60 mins if I didn’t take my last walk break. Unfortunately I didn’t make it under 60 mins but I was so happy just to complete my first 6 mile run. I completed the last 3 miles in 30 mins 17 secs for a total time of 1 hour 1 min and 22 secs. I was a little sore but nothing major. I am going to make this a weekly run, except for next week when I have my last 5K race of the season.

My power week is complete. I didn’t hit all my goals but I did make progress on my running and swimming. The one goal I did hit was swimming for over 1700 meters. For the next several weeks I am going to concentrate on bringing that number up. My running goal of 20miles for the week was doomed from the beginning since I forgot that in order to get 4 runs in a week I need to start running on Sunday, not Monday since I run every other day. So this coming week I am going to start my running on Sunday with hopes on making the goal of 20 miles. As for the weight, I did lose another 2.5 lbs. Still didn’t crack the top 10 of the Challenge but that just goes to show that the others in the Challenge are just as motivated as I am which is awesome!!

As for the Challenge itself, I love it. I love entering my daily workout totals and reading others comment on my workout days and I enjoy commenting on others daily totals. It gives me such a boost to have someone comment on my day so I make sure I leave comments for others. I WILL CRACK THE TOP 10!!!!!!

As for the weekend the family and I really don’t have too many things planned. We are going out tomorrow to have pictures taken of the kids and then soccer class with Brady at the Y. I might try to sneak in a couple of laps at the Y tomorrow. Oh yeah and rake leaves, ugggh.

Have a great weekend everyone!!!!!

And its Thursday

2007-11-08T12:00:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I was doing my blog rounds and came across a blog I think everyone needs to read. Stopping off at IM ABLE's blog, she directed me to Bolder in Boulder's blog. After reading his post I was full of emotion in which I can not put into words. So for anyone who reads my blog, please visit Bold's blog and help in anyway possible.

On Wednesday I went for a 5 mile run using the 5:1 ratio and it worked great. I ran the 5 miles in just over 50 mins. It's slower then my time for the Biathlon, but it was still a great run. After the run I was going to get a few laps in the pool but decided to go home and get some rest before work. That was about it for Wednesday.

As for today, I went to the Y and did some strength training and some laps in the pool. When I got to the Y there were tons of kids in the pool. I figured it was some type of swim class. During these classes there is one lap lane available, and there was already 2 people sharing the lane so I went and did my strength training first. After 40 mins I decided to check out the pool again. There was no one in the lap lane but all the kids were still there. So I decided to take advantage of the lap lane and threw my suit on and jumped in the pool. After one lap all the kids got out of the pool and headed for the showers....AWESOME!!!!! I had the entire pool to myself. It was me and the lifeguard. So for a good part of 30 minutes there was no one in the pool and I took my time and busted out 600 meters. Great swim!!!

Today is my stepfather's 51st birthday today. My brother and sister pitched in and got him a Homedepot gift card. Happy Birthday David!!!!

Tomorrow I am going to complete my long run for the week, 6 miles. I am going to use the 5:1 ratio for the 6 miles. I am totally looking forward to it. I hav never run 6 miles before so I am really excited. Wish me luck!!

Draft 2008 Schedule

2007-11-06T12:30:00.000-08:00

For the past few weeks I have been thinking about what I want to accomplish in 2008. Right off the bat I knew I wanted to complete my first Triathlon. So I started looking for my "A" race. During that time I decided, basically today I decided, to make my "A" race an Olympic distance Triathlon toward the end of the summer next year. I think the amount of time between now and the end of the 2008 summer is enough for me to train for that distance. So I searched for an Oly Tri in the area and found Park City Mossman Triathlon that will be held on August 10, 2008. The Tri is a 1500 meters swim, 24.9 miles bike and a 6.2 miles run. I think the swim and bike distance is a little short of an true Oly distance, but this is close enough. So the next step is to register for this event. Hopefully it isn't sold out. That would suck!!!.

So on top of my "A" race, I am going to do a Sprint Tri toward the beggining of the summer. I ws thinking somewhere around the first of June. The Sprint Tri will be a warm up for the Oly Tri. Also in 2008 I will be running a few 5ks and 1 10 miler (The Blessing of the Fleet Road Race).
So I just need to find the Sprint tri for June and I will be ready to go for 2008.

As for today, I went to the Y and busted out 4.75 miles on the Elliptical in 30 minutes and swam 500 meters in the pool. Great workouts!!!!

Until tomorrow.....!!!!!!!!

Power Week

2007-11-05T17:07:00.000-08:00

Ok thats the only name I can come up with. I am not good with my daily blog titles. I have been lagging behind on my weight loss for the THROUGH TH3 WALL Off-Season Shape-Up Challenge. I have lost 6lbs but I know I can do much better then 6lbs in 1 month. So this week I am going to increase my workouts. By the end of the week I want to run a total of 20 miles, swim 1700 meters and 20 miles on the elliptical machine. That might not seem like alot for some people, but it is to me. Along with that I want to shed another 4lbs. So let the POWER WEEK begin!!!

So for today I went on a new 4.5 mile running route through town. Basically took me all through town and a few minutes on the bike path. Great run! Then after the run I jumped in the pool for 500 meters. Straight freestyle swimming. Today was another break through day in the pool. I swam 100 meters before stopping. I didn't think I was going to pull it off, but everytime I would struggle getting a breath, I just relaxed and took it one stroke at a time. IT was great and I was very happy.

Tomorrow I will put in 4 miles on the elliptical, and circuit workout and some more time in the pool.

Halloween Report

2007-11-01T14:00:00.000-07:00

Last night was great. After I worked 1st shift last yesterday so I could be home to take the kids trick or treating. It has been tradition for my family that we have Chinese food on Halloween. I was really looking forward on eating general tso chicken and Singapore mei fun. As we did last Halloween, we invited our friends over Chris and Andrea and their 2 kids Mark and Quinn to partake in the Chinese and to trick or Treat in our neighborhood. My neighborhood is any trick or treater’s dream. It is a wonderful place to live and there are tons of kids here. Plus in several of the houses I think the parents enjoy Halloween more then the kids do and go all out on decorations and dress up themselves. The trick or treaters started showing up around 6:15 last night, just as we were finishing up dinner. We got the kids ready and headed out into the neighborhood. Reese was a butterfly and Brady was Diego from Dora the Explorer. Both were very cute as you can see from the pictures. Reese wanted to walk the whole time. She did a great job saying trick or treat and grabbing 1 piece of candy, sometimes sneaking up and taking another. Brady was an old pro remembering from last year. He loved it and had such a good time. Everyone was wiped out by the time we got home. Talking with the neighbor, they said they went through 15 bags of candy. That’s a lot of kids. Both Reese and Brady made out pretty well. All in all it was a great night and lots of fun for everyone.

Today was the day to get back on track. After I dropped the kids off at daycare I went to the Y and started my work out for the day. I started off with stretching, then moved onto the stationary bike for a quick 5 mile warmup. After the bike I went for a 3.5 mile run. The past few times I have ran it seems like it is getting a little easier each time. I feel so comfortable running and I am not tired. Of course I get winded and have to slow my pace down or take a 30 sec walk break but it just seems easy. Maybe I should push my speed up a little more. I have a 5 mile run planned on Saturday so we will see how that goes I guess. After the run I jumped in the pool for 400 meters. Today was the first time I actually swam full laps. Normally I swim ½ laps and stop, rest and then continue. Not today, I was swimming 1 lap (50meters) and then stopping. A great accomplishment and I was really excited. I am just taking things slow and easy and I know I will be swimming multiple laps soon.

Ironman 70.3 Rhode Island

2007-10-30T13:30:00.000-07:00

Ironman 70.3 Rhode Island coming to my home state on July 13, 2008. I was really excited to see that Ironman 70.3 is coming here. Unfortunately I will not be participating in the inaugural race but this will be my goal race for 2009. I will sign up to be a volunteer. How could I not!!!
I look forward to see if anyone out there in Blogger land will sign up for this race. Feel free to drop me an email if anyone has any questions about where to stay, go to eat....

Anyways, today was a busy day. Went and got my flu shot today. Then went out for a 3 mile run. Not a very exciting day. At least Kim and the kids were home today.

Have a good night everyone!

WORLD CHAMPION BOSTON RED SOX

2007-10-29T14:00:00.000-07:00

Congrats to the Boston Redsox on sweeping the Rockies to win the World Series. It was an awesome year and hopefully they can do it again next year.

So I spent the most of the weekend in my bed. Friday I came down with some sort of virus and by 9:00 friday night I had a 101.5 temp and felt dizzy any time I would stand up. By Saturday I still had a fever and was very weak. I can't remember the last time I felt like this. I don't get sick very often, maybe once a year if that. By Sunday morning I was feeling much better and my fever was gone. Still, I didn't push it and basically stayed home and did nothing except watch football and play with the kids. Go PATRIOTS!!!

Today I was so busy there was no time to get any workouts in. I really wanted to at least get a run I, but I figured it wouldn't hurt to give myself an extra day of rest. Brady had his first dentist appointment today. He did an awesome job. Kim and I were thinking that he would maybe sit in the chair and have the dentist count his teeth and that would be it. Nope, he sat in the chair for an entire cleaning. I was so proud of him. He got a toy and a new Shrek tooth brush. Good job Brady!!!

Weekend Recovery and Then Some

2007-10-23T13:15:00.000-07:00

I took a few days off from working out to let my sore back recover. It was a good move on my part. By Monday my back felt great and I was ready to get back at it.

As for the weekend, I had a lot of fun. Saturday night Kim and I attended a dinner party over a friend’s house. We have a core group of friends that get together every 6 weeks or so and we all take turns holding the dinner party at each other’s house. So for this party Kim and I made stuffed artichokes and some type of spinach and orzo dish. I hate spinach and don’t care of artichokes either so I guess Kim made both dishes. The hosts, Tara and Randy, made tenderloin and served some sort of Cosmos which were really good and the other couple, Mary and Jeremy, brought over a cheese spread with bread crisps and smashed potatoes. The hosts invited another couple who were their neighbors, but they didn’t bring anything to eat. During dinner we were invaded by more neighbors who brought along the lady’s sisters from Scotland. The night just got crazy from there. The dinner party turned into a drinking party. We played drinking Jenga and ended the night with a well played game of Asshole. But the best part of the night is watching the Red Sox take game 6 of the ALCS. Got home at 1:00AM. Fun night.

The next day I woke up at 6:15AM so I can meet Jeremy at his house so that we can drive down to New Jersey to see the Giants vs. the 49ers football game. I am not a fan of either team but I never been to a professional football game. I was a little hung over from the night before but not too bad. Tailgating was great. We had steak tips and hot wings. I couldn’t fathom drinking a beer so I just drank water and sodas. It was a great game. Giants kicked the 49ers ass. But I really enjoyed watching the out of town score board where I saw the Patriots dominate over Miami. After the long drive home I tried to stay up and watch the Game 7 of the ALCS, but just couldn’t keep my eyes open. I woke up the next morning and the Sox won the game and are now heading to the World Series!
GO SOX.

On Monday I started to get back into the swing of things. I went out for a short 3.2 mile run and then hit the pool. A couple of laps into my swim I lost my left eye contact. Oh man what do I do, keep going and chance losing the other one or just get out now while I still have one good eye. I decided to get out. I didn’t want to risk losing the other one and driving home.

Today I planned a 1.5 hour bike ride but chickened out when I saw that it was very windy outside. So I just went to the Y and cranked out 4 miles on the Elliptical, a couple of circuits on the Nautilus equipment and swam 500 meters (I brought an extra pair of contacts with me today, just in case). Depending on the weather I will try and get in the bike ride from today. If not I will hit the Y again.

Thursday, October 18

2007-10-18T14:15:00.000-07:00

After 5 hours of sleep last night I was considering just going back to bed after I dropped the kids off at daycare. But I didn't so I grabbed my stuff and set off for the Y. I dropped my stuff off in a locker and went to stretch before the run. The run was good. The first outdoor run since the 5K a few weeks ago. I was alittle concerned about my ankle, but it felt great for the entire run. I was scheduled for a 4 mile run, but the new route was only 3.8 miles, I guess I can live with that. During the run I was thinking about if I should do a few laps in the pool. I figured it wouldn't hurt and I brought all my stuff with me so why not. I changed and jumped into the pool. Boy was I tired from the run. I did manage to bust of 350 meters. Not bad for me and I actually swam 1 lap without stopping. That is huge for me. Things are coming together since I don't have to concentrate on breathing.

Tomorrow I have a scheduled 1 hour bike, 500 meter swim and circuit training. hopefully I will be able to do all of it without falling asleep. I can't wait for the weekend.

Swim, Bike, Circuit Train

2007-10-17T13:00:00.000-07:00

I was singing that this morning with Brady. Swim, Bike, Circuit train. While I was singing, I was also doing the motions for each one. Then Brady picked it up and started to sang and do the motions with me. It was really cute.

I created a new training schedule for myself that last through the end of the month. The schedule focuses on swimming, running, biking and circuit training. For today I have a 60 min bike followed by 450 meters in the pool and a circuit on the nautilus machines. So I stuff all my gear into my backpack and rode to the Y to drop off my stuff in the locker. Then I continued my ride through town and onto the bike path. I was going to ride back to the Y but I decided to ride home instead and drive back to the Y. Bike ride – 13.3 miles in 56 min.

I open my locker and pull out my shorts and towel from my back pack, but I couldn’t find my goggles. I must have not put them in the bag. So I just decided to do the swim without them. I get in the pool and just floated around for a few minutes and decided to drive home and get my goggles. Out of the pool, dry off, throw some shorts on, drive home, find the goggles, drive back, put on cold wet shorts and then back in the pool. After a few stretches I was off and swimming. Today for some reason everything clicked. I had my best swim by far today. Breathing just came naturally with every 3rd stroke. At the time there were only 2 lap lanes open and I did a few laps by myself and then a lady came into my lane and asked if she can join me. I said sure but watch out, I was a beginner. She laughed and said no problem. So after a few more laps, I was leaning against the wall catching my breath and the lady came up to me and said, “Don’t tell anyone you’re a beginner, you don’t look like it.” That made my day. I was really excited that she said that. 3 weeks of practicing has started to pay off. Swim – 450 meters in 30 mins.
After the swim I jumped on the nautilus machines for 30 mins and then home for some lunch. Great workout day. Tomorrow I have just a 4 mile run schedule, but I might squeeze in a swim. But it all depends on the time, I need to mow the lawn, priorities.

Weekend Report

2007-10-15T14:00:00.000-07:00

Didn't do to much on the fitness front during the weekend. Both my mother and father were up from Florida and wanted to spend some time with them. Saturday morning I met up with my father, brother and his family and my sister and her family down at the beach for some early morning surf casting. My father comes up from Florida every year at this time to catch the Hot Surfcast fishing. Its the last run of the year for Bluefish and Stripped Bass. This Saturday morning was probably the best fishing we had in a long time. There were fish everywhere. They were so close I could have just walked into the water and grabbed one. Everyone caught a fish and my brother's son caught 4! Its always a good time fishing, but getting up at 5:00 am is a little hard. I will post some pics later.

Sunday was a normal Sunday. We went to the Fantastic Umbella FActory in Charlestown and met up with some friends. Just to clarify there are no Umbellas at the place, just a few little shops and some farm animals for the kids. Besides the animals, the best thing about the place is store that has penny candy. Even though they are running alittle low since it is the end of the tourist season, there was plenty for us to grab. After that we went home and Kim started on her homemade sauce and I defrosted some chopped meat for meatballs. 4:00 came around and we all watched the Patriots defeat the Cowboys (very happy about that). My mother came over and had some pasta with us and stayed the night. She goes back to Florida on Tuesday.

Today I went to the Y after Brady's 3 year check up. I had a good swim workout. It seems to be getting easier, but still struggle with the breathing. Just need more practice. After that I did a circuit on the Nautilus equipment. I was going to hit the bike path for a 3 mile run, but I was convinced by my mother to have lunch with her. She put on the guilt trip about her leaving tomorrow and stuff, so I couldn't say no.

Tomorrow will have to be my off day since I have to work 1st shift and will have the kids at night while Kim goes away for business. I might try to see if the kids want to go to the Y, but Reese doesn't like going to the daycare they have. Brady could care less, but Reese just doesn't like it for some reason. Oh well.

Rain Rain Go Away!

2007-10-11T13:30:00.000-07:00

Before I start I just want to say how much of a pain in the A#@ it is to come up with titles for every post.

Ok, I planned on taking a 4 mile run today but after I looked outside and saw the rain, I went to the Y and ran on the treadmill. My ankle felt really good for the 3 miles. So I was thinking that on Saturday I will be going for a 5 mile run. Also I jumped on the Elliptical for a quick 2 miles before I hit the pool. Thursdays are great for the pool. It is really quiet and I had a full lane to myself. During my swim today I felt like I have made great progress in the past weeks with my breathing. I felt more comfortable in the pool today then I ever have. I did notice that once I get tired and I lose focus and start breathing heavy and start losing my form. So I just flipped over onto my back and kept moving until my breathing slows down and then I would start over again. I guess this is all normal for a beginner. Good thing is that I have all winter and spring to improve and bring it to the next level.

Tomorrow will be a busy day. I bring my son to the Dr's office for a check up, then hit the Y and after that go out to lunch with my mom who is up from Florida. I'll need to be mindful of what I eat for lunch tomorrow. I have lost 2lbs already for this challenge and I don't need to take any steps backwards.

TTW Off-Season Shape-Up Challenge

2007-10-10T14:00:00.000-07:00

Ok so I have taken up the THROUGH TH3 WALL Off-Season Shape-Up Challenge. Basically the challenge will "track measurements, weight, workouts and whatnot all winter, and the person who makes the most overall progress by January 1, 2008 will win a Podiumquest Duel Chamber Hydration System from NUUN and 9 tubes of NUUN to go with it. I was excited to sign myself up for this challenge. Superhero Ben from Buckeye Outdoors set up a website to track everyones progress. So let the challenge begin. I will be posting a Before picture shortly.
Here are my stats as of October 09, 2007:

Weight: 234.5lbs (gained a little over the past few months)

Body Fat %: 18.79% (Rough Estimate. I will obtain a better measurement shortly)

Goal: Lose 34.5 lbs by January 1, 2008 (Even 200lbs sounds good!)

I will be using this challenge to not only lose weight, but to get myself into better shape for the upcoming race season. Winter time is not the time to be slacking. Just becuase it gets darker earlier in the day and the temp drops below 40 degrees does not warrant a trip to McDonalds or Taco Bell. If anyone else is interested click on the link above and COMMIT.

As for the St. Francis 5K, it was a great race and was very happy to set a PR. Halfway thru the race I didn't think I was going to PR since my ankle started to hurt and I walked for 30secs. But some how I pulled it off. I got a huge boost during the race when I saw Kim, Brady and Reese at the top of one of the hills with a cup of cold water. Brady ran out and gave it to me. The water was ice cold and seeing my family there gave me that little extra energy needed to finish the race. After the race, the church had apple crisp for everyone and lots of prizes to hand out from local resturants and stores. It was a great event and will definately add it to my race calendar next year.

My ankle is feeling better. I have not been running lately becuase I want to give it a few more days. I did run on the treadmill at the Y yesterday for 2 miles and it felt fine. Maybe tomorrow I will run 3 miles on the bike path and see how it is. I don't want to push it. Running is a big factor on my weight loss.

Good luck to everyone in the challenge!!!!!

New PR!!!!

2007-10-06T11:00:00.000-07:00

St. Francis Fall Festival 5k Road Race & Walk - 28 mins 11 sec. New PR!!!!!
Great race!!!

5K Tomorrow

2007-10-05T12:00:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow I will be starting my 4th 5K of the year. If I was going to set a PR, this will be the race to do it. It is a fairly flat course with a few small hills and the last mile is completely flat. I have run the route a few times so I know it very well. I am glad I rested my ankle this week. It feels really good so I should be all set for the race. I will do a warm up run in the morning just to see how the ankle will hold up.

After this race I have one more 5K and that will be it for the season. I probably won't do as many 5Ks next since I will be concentrating on my long distance running (Blessing of the Fleet 10 mile race) and hopefully at least 2 sprint triathlons and the Shoreline Biathlon. I am really looking forward to next season already. I just wish they would post the 2008 schedule so I can start planning my training schedule.

Sox Take the First Game!!!!

2007-10-04T13:00:00.000-07:00

Lets hear it for the Redsox!!! That was a nice win against the Angels last night. Beckett was awesome! Hopefully Daisuke can pitch just as well on Friday.

Spent another 30 minutes in the pool today. I felt a little better with my breathing but still not comfortable with it. I actually made it down to the end of the pool without stopping for air, which is a huge accomplishment for me. I can't wait to read this a couple of months now when I can swim laps to the moon and remember how hard it was just to breath correctly. Untill then I will keep practicing.

Other then that it was a pretty uneventful day. After the swim I jumped on the elliptical for 3 miles and did a few ab workouts.

Swimming is Hard

2007-10-03T13:30:00.000-07:00

Went to the Y today and did 4 miles on the Elliptical and 2 sets around the circuit. Then I jumped in the pool for more practice on form and breathing. This stuff is hard. While in the pool today I was thinking that I don't feel comfortable in the water yet. Maybe I am just thinking about too much while swimming. If I didn't have to breath I could probably swim forever. I will just continue to get the time in the pool and I am sure everything will come together.

My ankle feels better today. I was thinking about running tomorrow but I told myself not to push it. I'll just take a little warm-up run on saturday morning before the race. No matter what, I am still going to finish the race, running or walking.

Baseball playoffs started today. Good luck to everyone's favorite team and LETS GO SOX!

Office Olympics and Going Forward

2007-10-01T14:00:00.000-07:00

So last Thursday my company held their first Annual Office Olympics. I was the captain of team Green Eggs and Cham, don’t ask about the name. There were various events such as compact discus, rubber band archery, stress ball dodge ball, and memo relay. So our team was doing very well and it was time to do the memo relay. For this event we needed to run around a portion of the office building one time and hand off a memo to the next person. Well I thought I would show off my running abilities and go really fast for my leg of the relay. There were a few tricky corners to get around. After my run I felt a little discomfort in my left ankle, but it went away after a while. I woke up on Friday and my ankle hurt. At times it was hard to put any weight on it. I had a long run planned for Saturday morning, but that was out of the question. Today I went to the Y to test out the ankle and I went .35 miles on the treadmill before I had to stop. So I am going to take it easy for the next few days and test it again on Wednesday or Thursday. I don’t want to push it and hopefully everything will be better by the 5k race on Saturday.

As for working out, since I couldn’t run on the treadmill, I thought I would test it out on the elliptical. BINGO! My ankle didn’t hurt so I did 4 miles in 30 mins. Before the elliptical I did a circuit on the nautilus machines. I drove home and grabbed my swim gear, went back to the Y and spent the better part of 30 mins practicing my breathing and swim technique for a distance of 400 meters.

Last Friday was Brady's 3rd birthday. Reese was in daycare for the day so Brady had special time with Mom and Dad. We had alot of fun going to Toys R Us were he proceded to ride whatever bike he could find around the store. Then we were off to Chuck e Cheese for some games and then too Cold Stone for his free birthday ice cream.

Here is Brady making his birthday cake!!!!

This week I will be going back into weight loss mode. I am going to bring down my running distance to 2 – 3 miles a day and bring back the elliptical and more strength training, and also swimming. I need to focus on my weight loss since I haven’t really been thinking about it for the past couple of months. Since August 1st I gained 5 lbs and now stand at 233. I don’t want to go backwards anymore. Lets Go!

A Little Faster

2007-09-25T18:42:00.000-07:00

Yesterday's run was great! I ran 3.4 miles in 31mins which is a 9:08 pace. My fastest so far this year. As the end of my 5K race season comes to an end, I would like to go out on a high note and set my goal at 3.1 miles in 28mins. If I could hit that, I would be very happy. My first shot comes in 2 weeks. The St. Francis Fall Festival 5k is a local and the race route is almost the same one I run at least once a week. I know in race conditions I can bust out a little over 9 min mile. Lets just hope and see.

Salve Regina's 5K Mansion Run

2007-09-22T10:26:00.000-07:00

Last minute 5K race.
Salve Regina's 5K Mansion Run - PR!!!! 29:02 - 9.21 pace.

2 Days in a Row

2007-09-20T14:00:00.000-07:00

Well I learned a valuable lesson today, don't run 2 days in a row. Yesterday I ran a little over 4 miles and today I thought I could go out and do another 4, nope. Around mile 2 my legs tightened up and were very sore. I did manage to make it to the 3 mile marker but I had to walk the last mile back to my car. I don't think I will do that again.

Tomorrow will be an easy day. I will bike to the Y and hit the cross trainer for 30 mins, and then jump in the pool for a few training laps. I need to practice breathing!!!! I am going to take every opportunity I can to get in the pool and practice.

Back to Normal

2007-09-19T17:53:00.001-07:00

It was back to normal today after taking a few days off. Went to the YMCA, did a quick nautilus circuit and then out for a 4 mile run. I tried to add some speed to my run today. I ran the first mile in just over 8 minutes. After that I settled into my normal pace and finished out the run with conquering the hill from hell. I decided that I can't be a hill wimp anymore. So from now on I will be running up that hill, even if it kills me.

At the Y I checked out the pool schedule to see when they had all lanes available. I figured since I am not really focusing on any events for the next several months that I should at least start swimming. There were 5 lanes available at noon, so I went home for an hour changed into my bathing suit (what do people wear at the pool? The only thing I have is my board shorts. I guess that will do until I get a few pairs of Tri shorts) and I was off to the Y again. Got to the pool and there was an empty lane, YES! I jumped into the pool and the water felt great. I put my swim goggles on and thought about what I wanted to accomplish today. Basically just get in the water and try to swim a few laps practicing my breathing and my arm positions. Everything about the swim today was great except for the breathing. I had alot of trouble with the whole breathing out in the water and breathing in from one side or another. I could not get a rythum down and choked on alot of water. In all I swam 250meters. I didn't feel tired at all. My body felt great, I just need to work on breathing and I should be good to go!

Shoreline Biathlon Race Report

2007-09-18T13:30:00.000-07:00

The day was finally here. After a morning or making sure I had everything I need, double and triple checking my list, I was off to the race. You couldn’t have asked for better weather clear skies, little wind and no humidity. I got to the race area around 10:00. The race didn’t start until 11:00 but I wanted to get there early. After check in, I set up my bike in transition and then walked around checking out all the other cool bikes. I went into this race with a few goals in mind. The first goal was to simply finish the race. Second would to finish the race in less than 2 hours and the third, to run the 5 miles in under 50 minutes. Before I knew it, it was 11:00 and the race was about to start. After some announcements and a picture we were off.

Like the other races before this one, I started in the back knowing that a lot of these people are much better runners then I was. As it turned out, I passed a few people and only couple passed me in the beginning. There were no mile markers on the course so I just went by my previous split times to figure out were I was on the course. So for the first mile or so I felt really good. I set a comfortable pace for myself and even passed 2 people, YEAH! Starting from the back you can really see how the group of runners really spread out over time and people settle into there runs. I was with the same group of people the whole 5 miles. A fellow blogger and future Triathlete Michelle ran past me just before mile 2. I tried to keep up, but she is definitely a much stronger runner then I am. There was a water station around the 2.5 mile mark which I decided before the race I was going to walk through. I grabbed 2 cups of water, downed both and I was off again. From there to the end I really didn’t keep track of my time. I was just trying to stay in my rhythm. Within the closing mile or so I focused in on a guy and a girl that was just in front of him. I wanted to pass them before transition, so I kicked my butt in gear and passed both of them right before the entrance into transition. 5 mile run – 47:32 Goal Complete!

Transition went fast. I sucked down a vanilla Cliff Shot gel, drank some nice ice cold water, put on my helmet and was off. The coolest thing happened when walking with my bike to the bike start, someone yelled “Go 157!” How cool was that! Someone was cheering for me. What a boost that was. I grabbed my bike and lifted it over the guard rail and was off. I did that because there was a huge puddle at the exit out of the parking lot and I didn’t want to have a big line of mud going up my back.

At the start of the bike ride my legs felt great. I was totally expecting them to be screaming in pain or really tight, but everything was good. Around the first mile, the girl I passed right before transition passed me and I didn’t see her for the rest of the race. Around the 2nd mile, the race leader blew past me like I was standing still as he was just starting his 2nd lap. I would have to say the bike portion of the race went by pretty fast in my mind. I was mostly alone for the 2 laps. I probably passed 2 or 3 people who were on mountain bikes. I told myself I would take it easy on the first lap and then try to kick it up on the second. Once I started my second lap, I could feel the energy slowly slipping away. I just kept thinking to myself, just finish under 2 hours, just finish under 2 hours. With a mile to go I gave it everything I had. Coming up to the finish line I saw Kim and Brady also Michelle and her husband Scott cheering. Its so cool hearing people cheer for you. 16 mile Bike – 58min 25sec, with a total race time of 1:47:37 including transition. Goals Completed!!!

I had nothing left after crossing the finish line. After my first 5K I felt like I could have run harder, but after this race, there was nothing. I left everything on the course. I came in 65th out of 80. Not bad for my first multi-sport race. There is room for improvement in both the run and bike which I will start working on ASAP.

It was a great race and I can’t wait to do it again next year. Next year – 1 hour 25 mins!

Race Complete!

2007-09-17T13:24:00.000-07:00

Well I survived my first multi-sport race yesterday. It was awesome! I completed the race in 1 hour 47 mins. Guess thats my PR for that biathlon. I ran the 5 miles in 47 min 32secs, which I was hoping for under 50mins. The bike took a little longer then expected, 1 hour for 16 miles. I can see I really need improvement there. Anyways I will post a full race report tomorrow.

Ready for Race Day

2007-09-14T14:00:00.000-07:00

After 4 months of training, which includes running a total 113 miles, biking 199 miles and two 5K races, I am ready for this biathlon. Back in May I could barely run a mile and didn't touch my bike in probably a year. Looking back it has been so amazing to see how far I have come. Now I just have to go out there on Sunday and give it everything I have, and to not only complete the race, but to have fun and celebrate this major accomplishment. Thanks to everyone who has supported me and I will post my results Sunday.

Bike Course

2007-09-13T16:35:00.000-07:00

I took a ride on the biathlon's bike course today. I didn't want to go full out but I did push it a little. The course is a 8 mile loop that will be done twice. It is mostly flat with a few small hills but nothing major. I completed the 16 mile ride in 54mins 40sec. A good time for me. I figure I will be around the same time on sunday since I didn't run 5 miles before today's ride. I am going to shoot for 50mins on Sunday. So If I can run the 5 miles in 45 - 50 mins and bike the course in 50mins, I am looking good for a sub 2 hour total time.

So tomorrow I plan on a short 3 mile run just to stay loose and to give my legs a little rest. Saturday I will not run or bike so I will be ready to go on Sunday. 3 days to go!

Last Long Run Before the Race

2007-09-12T13:45:00.000-07:00

Today I set out to run my last 5 miles before the big race this Sunday. I planned on just running an easy 5 miles with no goal in mind but to finish. After a few minutes of stretching and getting some water into me I was off and running. I had a little trouble getting into a good rhythm but it worked it self out quickly. After the first ½ mile I noticed that I was running a little faster then normal. How could this be? I wasn’t going any faster then I normally do, I think? First mile – 9mins 13sec. Pretty fast considering I still have 4 miles to go.

While running the second mile I began to think about my running form, specifically how my feet hit the ground while running. I have noticed in the past that most of the time I am a heel to toe type of person. And from what I have read, that could be a bad thing, especially when it comes to shin splints. So today I began to land more on the mid portion of my foot rather then the heal. Second mile – 9mins 30 sec. Wow another sub 10min mile, Nice! But would I regret it later in the run? I was running faster then normal and I can only think it was my new foot placement while running that made me run faster. Third mile – 8mins 02 sec – Holy Cow??? Still going along at a good pace and felt great. Fourth mile – 9mins 19sec. On the last mile and I started to feel tired and my breathing became very heavy. Looking at my watch I knew I had a chance to run 5 miles in 45mins. So I struggled to continue my fast pace and had to stop for a 20sec walk break to catch my breath and relax and then back off again and once I could see the mile marker I ran as fast as I could to come in at a time of 45mins 30secs. That was awesome! If only I can repeat the time this Sunday it would give me a huge boost in my confidence to finish the race in under 2hours. I just don’t want to drain all my energy on the run. So I will see how everything is shaping up on Sunday to determine how fast I am going to run.

I got my bike back from the shop I plan on taking a ride on the bike course tomorrow. That would give me a great sense of what is in store for me on Sunday.

Mock Biathlon

2007-09-10T14:00:00.000-07:00

For today’s training I went to the bike path and did a 4 mile run and a 12 mile bike. I wanted to see how I would fare completing one right after another. The run was good. For once I found my rhythm right away. It normally takes about a mile or so to find my running stride and breathing. I ran the first mile in 9.41, Second – 10.03, third – 9.55 and fourth – 9.44 for a grand total of 39.24. This is a great time for me and I did not walk once.

The bike portion was a little slow considering all of the stop signs and cross walks I had to stop at. This was the first time riding the new bike. I put it together so I was a little nervous about really kicking it up and riding fast. But the bike was great. What a difference between riding a mountain bike and a road bike. After training I dropped my bike off at the bike shop for a tune up. I want everything to be ready for the race this weekend. As for the training, I did 12 miles in 50.30 on the bike for a grand total time for bike and run, 1 hour 29 mins (if my math is right).

What this showed me is that I have room for improvement in the run and bike, but I can definitely finish the race. Going into this weekend I have a goal of completing this race and a side goal in completing it in less than 2 hours. It would be really cool to finish under 2 hours, I mean it is a race and I should push myself to go as fast as I can and to finish strong!

5 Miles

2007-09-08T09:41:00.000-07:00

Ran my first 5 miles today with a time of 53 mins 32 secs. Great run on the bike path. It was a little humid but there is a lot of shade on the path and there was a nice breeze which definately helped.

4 miles Down!

2007-09-05T12:53:00.000-07:00

Since I have been training for the Shoreline Biathlon coming up in 2 weeks, I knew I would have to up my mileage on my runs. So last Saturday I went to the local bike path which is nicely measured out and ran 4 miles. It was a great run. It took my 40min 58 sec. to complete the run. I was definitely happy with that and knew after the run I could run the 5 miles in the biathlon.

Today I went for another 4 mile run. I went to the bike path again and set out to do an easy 4 miles. Just before I started my run, a lady ran passed me. Watching her stride, it looked like she was going about the same speed as I normally do. So I started running with the full intent of catching up to her and passing her. I figured it would be like a race setting where you find that one person in the pack that you want to pass. I caught up to her within the first mile! I still had 3 to go. So I started talking with her and we chit chatted about running and kids and stuff. Next thing I knew we were at the mile 1 marker, I looked down at my watch and it read 8:30! I never ran an 8:30 mile! So I asked her what her normal pace was and she replied around 8:30. This was cool. So we agreed to run with each other for awhile. We hit the 2 mile marker, which was the turn around point at 18:20. Wow what a great 2 mile time for me! I was still feeling good at the turn around and I thought that I might be able to finish the run without taking a walk break. We separated around mile 3. She started running a little faster then me and I didn’t try to keep up. I did end up walking for approx 30 seconds, but it was good to slow down and catch my breath. When I started running again I could see the girl that was running with me and decided to try and catch up to her again. Well I didn’t catch up to her but I did post an awesome 38:32 for my 4 mile time! It was so cool that I ran the 4 miles under 40 mins and blew away my previous 4 mile time by over 2 minutes!

So this leads to this weekend in which I WILL run 5 miles. I have no doubt that I will complete the 5 miles this weekend which will boost my confidence going into my last week of training.

No Walks for Me!

2007-08-30T13:30:00.000-07:00

Today I reached a milestone with my running. I ran 3 miles without stopping for a walk break. Now I know it doesn’t seem like much too some people, but to me it means a lot. I actually felt like a runner today. I found my stride right off the bat. I was cruising at a good speed, faster then normal. And nothing hurt. Just an all around great run today. So now my plan is to run 4 miles on Saturday, just to see how I do. If I can run 4 miles with maybe 2 walk breaks, it will give me a lot of confidence going into next weeks training runs and eventually the race on the 16th.

I just wanted to give a quick note about some fellow bloggers that completed their journey on becoming an Ironman. 140.6 miles: An Ironman Training Journal (Courtney) completed the Ironman Louisville race this past weekend, and Fat Girl to Triathlete (Jessica) completed Ironman Canada also held this weekend. Both of them did an awesome job and both are very inspiring not only for me but everyone who visits there blogs and followed their journey. Congrats to both!

3 Weeks and Counting

2007-08-27T13:30:00.000-07:00

Well let me start off by saying that I didn’t have a recovery week last week, I just didn’t do anything last week. I really can’t say that. My schedule at work was changed due to training, my mother came into town from Florida and I was preparing the house for a family party on Saturday. I know I could have found time to get a run in, but I was just too darn busy.

I did realize something during the end of last week. Something I never thought I could imagine, I missed running. Kind of crazy but it was true. I couldn’t wait for Monday to arrive so I can get back into my little training mode, getting ready for the big showdown next month.

Speaking of the Biathlon, it is rapidly approaching. I have a little less than 3 weeks of training to go before the big day. Every run from now on must be over 3 miles with a focus on getting to 4 miles by the end of next week. Then try for one, 5 mile run a week before the race just to get a feel for what I need to get myself ready for. Sometime this week I am going to head down to Westerly and check out the run and bike course. I might even try to run the course once before the race.

So today after my bike ride I jumped in the pool and tried to swim a few laps. I did maybe 2 laps before everything came apart and got tired. I will need to focus on that some more after the biathlon.

Have a great day!

Run Hard and Bike Hard

2007-08-17T18:13:00.001-07:00

So after yesterday’s little rant on lack of motivation, I went out today and ran hard and biked hard. That’s the best way to get back in the saddle and get things moving. So I took off on the bike and went to the YMCA, which is where I start all of my runs. I went inside the Y to stretch and do some abs stuff, then back outside to start my run.

The run was good, not great. About half way thru my run my right shin and ankle started to tighten up. That never happened before. I didn’t know if I should run through it or stop and rub it or something. So I stopped running and started to walk. After about 30 seconds it felt fine and I started running again. About a half a mile later it started to tighten up again. This was crazy. So I started walking again for a minute and then started running again, this time I wasn’t going to stop. Everything else felt really good. My left leg wasn’t sore and I wasn’t tired or breathing hard. Once again my right shin and ankle tightened up, but not as much as the previous times so I just continued to run to my finish point today. 2.77miles in 28:20mins. Would have been better but there is always tomorrow.

After the nice recovery walk up the hill of death (there is a big hill that the YMCA is at the top of. I normally start my runs at the top of the hill and end them at the bottom, but today I wanted to at least run up half the hill. I have only ran up the hill once, just once) I drank some fluids and jumped on my bike and headed into town. I really didn’t know where I wanted to ride my bike today. I only knew I wanted to go for a long ride. So once I got into town I decided to head down to my brother-in-law Mike’s new Mexican grill which was about 7 miles out toward Scarborough beach and Point Judith. It was a nice flat ride out there. Once there I found a seat inside and ate a powerbar and had some water. Mike was way to busy to talk so I just poked my head into the kitchen and said hi. So after my little break I got back on the bike and headed down to the beach and back home. I took Ocean drive home since I wanted to ride past Narragansett beach. The ride home was long and I started to get tired and my legs started burning. By the time it was all done, I rode a little over 16 miles, which is good considering that’s the distance of the biathlon next month. After this long ride I asked myself how much easier would the ride have been if I did this on a road bike instead of a mountain bike. I am hoping to get a road bike soon.

Well off to New Jersey this weekend. See you all on Tuesday!

Where is my Motivation?

2007-08-16T19:26:00.001-07:00

Today was an off day for me. I had plans on going out for a 15 mile bike ride, but after I dropped the kids off at daycare, my stomach started hurting so I went home and relaxed.

Looking back on my training log, it appears that I have been slacking off on my work outs and training for the past few weeks. Is it because of the few days in Vegas or last weekends trip to Atlantic city? I don’t think that’s it. Could I be burnt out on the whole training thing? I look at my training log for June and July and see just how committed I was, going all out almost everyday, getting ready for my first 5K. Now, I should be just as committed since I have a biathlon coming up in less then a month and I haven’t touched a bike in almost 3 weeks. Its almost like I had slacked off because I reached one goal and that’s good enough. It seems to change every day, my lack of motivation, drive to achieve, commitment. What is it?

We are going away this weekend to Kim’s Uncle’s Lake house in New Jersey. It will be a welcomed peaceful weekend. Far cry from the past 2. I was actually thinking about trying to get some swimming in at the lake. I would love to see how far I can actually go.

I am sure this little phase of mine will pass. It better, or my times at the biathlon will suck!

Vegas Report

2007-08-09T14:00:00.000-07:00

Standing at the starting line of my 2nd ever 5K race, I thought to myself, what am I doing? So here is the break down. I was in Vegas for a little vacation with some old buddies from my Navy days, Naret and Mark. We booked the room and flights about 3 months ago, just about the same time I started really training. So I figured it would be a good idea to see if there was a 5K road race in Vegas that would be my goal race to prepare for. After a little searching I found the Midsummer Nights Dream 5K/10K. Well if you have been reading my blog, you know that I have already completed a 5K 2 weeks ago, so this was not going to be my first race.

Anyways, so we get to Vegas on Friday the 3rd and the first thing I noticed was the heat. I knew it was going to be hot, but not that hot. Of course we go hit the clubs that night and get back to the room by 3:30AM. Just a little tidbit of info, if you calculate the time I got up to catch the plane in Providence which is 4:00AM and the time I went to bed, 3:30AM and add the 3 hour difference in time zones, I was awake for over 26 hours. So with probably 5 hours of sleep and drinking water all day, Mark and I get to the race with about 15 mins to get ready.

The course was a 2 loops around a drainage basin and a little path thru a park. Seems simple enough, no hills! At the start everything seemed good. Then around a quarter of the way thru the first lap my mouth started getting dry. Around half way thru the first lap I needed a drink. Did I mention it was hot? They had 1 aid station set up at the start finish line, which I think they should have had one at the other side of the loop. By the time I finished the race I was sucking down cups of water and Heed like it was going out of style.

I finished the race in 32:09 mins, not a PR but I am just glad I finished. Mark ran it in 28:18. We met a girl from Texas who was also on vacation with her husband and decided to run the race as well. We had celebratory beer while waiting for the cab to pick us up and drive us back to the strip.

I am glad I ran the race. I would probably do it again, but maybe in the winter time.

5 Days to next 5K

2007-07-30T13:45:00.000-07:00

So I have 5 days until my next 5K. This one will take place in Las Vegas! Its the Midsummer Night Dream 5K\10K . This is the race I have been training for the past 3 months. Just think, 3 months ago I couldn't even run a mile and now I am running my second 5K in 2 weeks! Feels pretty good! The only thing I am worried about is the heat. I mean come on, it is Vegas in the middle of the summer. I looked at the forecast for Saturday, 102 degrees. Nice! yeah right. Good thing I am only doing the 5K and not the 10K. So tomorrow I am going to change my training plan a little and bike tomorrow as planned but run 3.5 miles on Wednesday becuase I am working during the day on Thursday and won't have any time to run.

This past weekend was the Blessing of the Fleet in Narragansett. This is a huge weekend event in the town and it is kicked off by a 10 mile road race and seafood festival. A few of my friends ran in the race. I wish I could have been there to cheer them on. Next year I will be running in the race. I'll have to put that on my goal list! I guess I should get ready for the biathlon first.

Slacking

2007-07-26T14:00:00.000-07:00

Ok I have been slacking on my posts. But it has been a rough couple of days with my daughter waking up at 12:30 and not going back to sleep until 2:30am, then waking up at 5:30 with my son and on and on. But I have managed 2 runs so far this week.

So I have developed a training schedule to get me ready for the 17th Annual Shoreline Biathlon which will be held on September 16, 2007. It is a 5 mile run and a 16 mile bike. Since I have not ran 5 miles and probably only rode my bike 16 miles once, I created a structured schedule that incorporates a gradual increase in time in both running and biking. I figured with this training schedule instead of going for a certain distance I would put in times for both areas for the given day. With 7 weeks to train for this event, I should be able to finish with a decent time.

Today I hit 228 for my lowest weight so far. My goal of 220 before myVegas trip might not happen, but 225 or so will do just fine. I figure by the biathlon I should be around 215 - 210. Hopefully by tomorrow I can lose 1 more pound to 227 and that would put total weight loss at 40 lbs! We'll see!

First 5K!!!

2007-07-21T08:06:00.000-07:00

What a great race today! My first 5K done and over with. It was a good event. I would say there was about 300 people there. I started at the back of the pack to let all the fast people go ahead of me. Well lesson 1, don't start all the way in the back. it took me a good 20sec to even start running, then I had to watch out for people slower then me, what a traffic jam. So next time I'll start in the middle. My goal for this race was to come in under 32mins. I figured a little over 10 min mile pace would be a good goal.

The first mile was good. It took me a while to get a good pace going for myself. It was differant to me seeing people on the side of the road cheering and handing out water. I grabbed a cup of water and tried to take a sip but half of it went up my nose. Guess I need to work on that.
First mile done in 9min 55sec.

The second mile was pretty more of the same. I took a 45sec walk break to catch my breath and give my legs a rest. After the break I was ready to go again, feeling nice and refreshed.

Heading into the final mile we turned the corner and there I saw Kim, Brady and Reese. It was great to see them there, cheering for me, even though once Brady saw me he wanted to run to me. The final mile felt like it took forever. But at the turn around I picked up my pace a little bit and when I saw the finish line I ran as hard as I could.

Final time: 31:03min @ a 10min mile pace.

Lessons learned:
1. Pee before the start of the race.
2. Dont start in the back of the pack
3. Leave it all on the road, you can rest when you cross the finish line.

Now I can't wait for the Vegas 5K. That will be alot of fun!

Race is on for Saturday

2007-07-17T18:05:00.001-07:00

Well I signed up for the Celebrate Summer 5k that will take place in Snug Harbor. I am kinda nervous already about the race. I know I can finish the race. I just need to do it! So now for the next few days I need to prepare myself for it. So since I will be working until midnight on friday, I will get as much sleep as I can before work on Friday.

As for training, I ran 3.6 miles today with one, 1 minute walk. My main reason for signing up for the race is becuase of the distance run today. Plus, I found a $20 bill on the ground while running so I kinda took that as a hint to run the race. The run felt good. I find if I concentrate on my breathing helps me not think about my legs getting tired and other things. For some reason the first mile seems harder then the other 2 miles. Plus the walk break works wonders!

Well now I have my first race coming up and I can't wait.

Do I or Don't I

2007-07-16T18:37:00.000-07:00

For the past week I have been thinking about running the Celebrate Summer 5k in Snug Harbor. I know I can run the race and finish, but how well I do at the run is questionable. Maybe I should just do it. I was checking the times from last years race and it seems like I at least won't be last. I will think about it over night and talk it over with Kim to see if we have any plans for that morning.

So today I took a nice long bike ride around town and up the bike path to the train station. In all I logged a little over 14 miles. I definately need a road bike, or at least a mountain bike that fits me to make the long rides a bit easier.