I'm currently in the middle of moving, and it's not leaving me with a lot of time. Life is pretty busy too, so fitting in workouts while making sure I have time to rest in between is getting tough. I've been getting somewhat serious with my runs too, so that makes it even harder. So far this week, I've ran once (5.11 miles in 46:48, about average of 9:08 mile), lifted in lite workouts twice, and swam once. I had planned on doing a full lift workout and running one more time before this week ends, but here I am sitting at work. I went out last night too, so I couldn't squeeze in the run I wanted to. But, it's a slow day and I've found the perfect thing to help!
With my limited action with my full lifting workouts, I've done more pushups and curls than I really wanted. This is leaving my back feeling pretty ignored and me with okay posture. While going about my work here, I found an extra 5 gallon Poland Spring bottle--full. So I'm going to fit in some deadlifts and some rows. Heck, I might even do some shoulder presses with it! Workout anywhere, people.
Last weigh-in:
170.0 lb.
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Saturday, October 30, 2010
Saturday, October 9, 2010
Finished the triathlon!
It's been almost a week, but I did wind up doing the triathlon. Saturday night, when my cousin came up, I was coughing up a storm. I was barely recovered from whatever I had, and I doubted if I could even finish the triathlon let alone survive the swim. But I did it.
When I woke up Sunday morning at 5:30AM, my cough wasn't there. I felt pretty good, but the fear of drowning during the race came back. At the same time, I knew if I didn't do it, then it would've been because I wussed out. It was almost time to leave, so I dressed anyway and grabbed my gym bag and helmet. We went to pick up another cousin who would photograph and I contemplated grabbing my bike. I decided not to, but LI cousin convinced me to bring it just in case. We got to the YMCA and all I saw were pretty fit people with road bikes. I had a heavy mountain bike with hybrid tires, bar ends, and a non-working third gear. More fear. I walked LI cousin to the registration and I stood outside. Then I realized how stupid it was and I went to register. There was a funny scene where the race director was shocked at the time I wanted to change my swim time to, but whatever.
Leading up to the swim, I was nervous as heck. I got inked up with my numbers, setup my transition area, and warmed up a bit in the pool. Seeing how I doubted my ability, I lined up near the end of the 122 people pack. The first guy that finished did it in about 4.5 minutes. Craziness. Meanwhile, I stood there with some first-timers and worried how it would look to rest every 25 yards I swam. Until...until I saw a guy kick on his back the whole 250 yards. That immediately put me at ease. It finally got to me, and I freestyled the first 25 yards. I opted not to rest and went under to the next lane. I got on my back and did a combo of kicking and "jellyfishing" for three laps since I wasn't sure how I would feel without stopping for any rests. I hit my head on the wall and decided I couldn't do that the rest of the way. I wound up doing my back kick for most of the remaining laps with me switching over to freestyle near the wall so I could see. I finishe the swim at 11:28 instead of the 20 minutes I thought it would take.
I jogged to the transition, put on my top, socks, shoes, sunglasses and helmet. I ran to the bike mount area and started biking. I thought it would be better to put on my gloves on the bike, but I nearly wiped out twice. Bad idea. Did the 3-loop 10.1 mile course. Hopping off the bike, I felt my calves cramp and seize up. Not good. I hobbled/jogged to transition again, racked my bike, whipped my helmet off, and was off to do the 4.5 lap 5K. My legs felt like they were gone. I stripped my gloves after the first lap and just kept reminding myself to run like I trained. I ran through the cramps, ran through the pain, ran through the fatigue that was creeping in. I kept telling myself, "You did this. Remember the bricks? You did this." The last half lap, my LI cousin came to run alongside. He had finished much earlier. A 42-year old lady started cheering me on as she finished too. I started pumping my arms harder, and just like in training, I switched to a sprint near the last 50 yards and bolted to the finish. The feeling was pretty kick*ss. Time? 1:29:34.
It was quite the accomplishment, and I would definitely do it again. By signing me up, my LI cousin effectively forced me to finish learning to swim. Now I have to work on my technique. Triathlon season is pretty much over, so I have plenty of time to get better before the next one. I did get sick again afterwards, but I'm almost good again. I'm already working out again, albeit a bit softer 2 - 3 times versus 4-5 per week. I'm thinking of doing a 5K in a couple of weeks. In training, I'm hoping to reach the 10K mark too. Exciting stuff. Now to get a real bike.
Last weigh-in:
169.5 lb (while sick, so probably more like 170.5 - 172.0lb)
When I woke up Sunday morning at 5:30AM, my cough wasn't there. I felt pretty good, but the fear of drowning during the race came back. At the same time, I knew if I didn't do it, then it would've been because I wussed out. It was almost time to leave, so I dressed anyway and grabbed my gym bag and helmet. We went to pick up another cousin who would photograph and I contemplated grabbing my bike. I decided not to, but LI cousin convinced me to bring it just in case. We got to the YMCA and all I saw were pretty fit people with road bikes. I had a heavy mountain bike with hybrid tires, bar ends, and a non-working third gear. More fear. I walked LI cousin to the registration and I stood outside. Then I realized how stupid it was and I went to register. There was a funny scene where the race director was shocked at the time I wanted to change my swim time to, but whatever.
Leading up to the swim, I was nervous as heck. I got inked up with my numbers, setup my transition area, and warmed up a bit in the pool. Seeing how I doubted my ability, I lined up near the end of the 122 people pack. The first guy that finished did it in about 4.5 minutes. Craziness. Meanwhile, I stood there with some first-timers and worried how it would look to rest every 25 yards I swam. Until...until I saw a guy kick on his back the whole 250 yards. That immediately put me at ease. It finally got to me, and I freestyled the first 25 yards. I opted not to rest and went under to the next lane. I got on my back and did a combo of kicking and "jellyfishing" for three laps since I wasn't sure how I would feel without stopping for any rests. I hit my head on the wall and decided I couldn't do that the rest of the way. I wound up doing my back kick for most of the remaining laps with me switching over to freestyle near the wall so I could see. I finishe the swim at 11:28 instead of the 20 minutes I thought it would take.
I jogged to the transition, put on my top, socks, shoes, sunglasses and helmet. I ran to the bike mount area and started biking. I thought it would be better to put on my gloves on the bike, but I nearly wiped out twice. Bad idea. Did the 3-loop 10.1 mile course. Hopping off the bike, I felt my calves cramp and seize up. Not good. I hobbled/jogged to transition again, racked my bike, whipped my helmet off, and was off to do the 4.5 lap 5K. My legs felt like they were gone. I stripped my gloves after the first lap and just kept reminding myself to run like I trained. I ran through the cramps, ran through the pain, ran through the fatigue that was creeping in. I kept telling myself, "You did this. Remember the bricks? You did this." The last half lap, my LI cousin came to run alongside. He had finished much earlier. A 42-year old lady started cheering me on as she finished too. I started pumping my arms harder, and just like in training, I switched to a sprint near the last 50 yards and bolted to the finish. The feeling was pretty kick*ss. Time? 1:29:34.
It was quite the accomplishment, and I would definitely do it again. By signing me up, my LI cousin effectively forced me to finish learning to swim. Now I have to work on my technique. Triathlon season is pretty much over, so I have plenty of time to get better before the next one. I did get sick again afterwards, but I'm almost good again. I'm already working out again, albeit a bit softer 2 - 3 times versus 4-5 per week. I'm thinking of doing a 5K in a couple of weeks. In training, I'm hoping to reach the 10K mark too. Exciting stuff. Now to get a real bike.
Last weigh-in:
169.5 lb (while sick, so probably more like 170.5 - 172.0lb)
Saturday, October 2, 2010
A Big Question Mark
So...I haven't trained that much at all this past week. After my buddy's wedding this past Saturday, I wound up with a sore throat which quickly was accompanied by some small body aches, stuffy sinuses, and a low fever. I've only started to feel better Thursday, and tried swimming again, but energy level is very low. I still have an itch which makes me cough now and then. All this leaves me with a big question mark.
As much as I dread the swimming leg of the triathlon, now I'm left wondering if I can even make it through the bike and run legs as well. I know I'm not 100% over whatever I had (cold? small flu?), so I'm not sure how much I have in the tank, so to speak. I swam Monday just as I was getting sick, and even though my form felt good, my endurance still sucks. My muscles screamed after one 25M lap too; effects from my illness, of course. Thursday swim was okay, but after getting out of the pool, I was light-headed and queasy from the effort. This does not bode well at all. I question my ability to do the 10M bike and 5K run.
It's already Saturday and the race is tomorrow morning. I can go through with the prep and see how I feel tomorrow morning, but I just don't know what's going to happen. It's unfortunate that I got sick the week before. I put a lot of time into this race, even if my swim portion was ever so frustrating. In the back of my head, I'm trying to justify quitting by committing to some road races before the year is out. We'll see what happens.
As much as I dread the swimming leg of the triathlon, now I'm left wondering if I can even make it through the bike and run legs as well. I know I'm not 100% over whatever I had (cold? small flu?), so I'm not sure how much I have in the tank, so to speak. I swam Monday just as I was getting sick, and even though my form felt good, my endurance still sucks. My muscles screamed after one 25M lap too; effects from my illness, of course. Thursday swim was okay, but after getting out of the pool, I was light-headed and queasy from the effort. This does not bode well at all. I question my ability to do the 10M bike and 5K run.
It's already Saturday and the race is tomorrow morning. I can go through with the prep and see how I feel tomorrow morning, but I just don't know what's going to happen. It's unfortunate that I got sick the week before. I put a lot of time into this race, even if my swim portion was ever so frustrating. In the back of my head, I'm trying to justify quitting by committing to some road races before the year is out. We'll see what happens.
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