Made the AM Swim!

Well - I made it to swim practice this morning - 5:30am! yeaaaaah. Walking on the pool deck and there was Mark, just like old times! I knew Roy and Linda wouldn't be there because they had an excuse - just did IMLP. Harriet - where was she? and did see Banks and Jen and Paul - everyone else - know idea who they were as they looked as me as I was a newbie.

Well, one thing I had going for me this morning was Thomas never woke up in the middle of the night for a feeding so now the next challenge will be to wake up in the middle of the night, feed my cute son and THEN goto swim. Until that time, I will enjoy the fact that my workout is done, focus on staying awake at work and feel guilty because my wife will not be able to sleep in a little today.

churning along...

Had a great ride home from work last night and kept in Z4 for most of the ride. Got home about 6:30, ate dinner, spent a little time with Thomas and then worked on my fitness room in the basement until 9:15, read a book to Thomas for awhile and feel asleep around 10pm. Woke up at 4am to feed Thomas, back to sleep around 5ish, up at 6:15 ish, and had a steady bike to work. Showered and now ready to start my day at my deck. I tell ya, you do whatever you can to fit it all in!!

Tomorrow morning's goal is to wake up and make the 5:30am swim practice. I have yet to do it this season but did so religiously 2x per week when I trained for CDA. Heck, if I can get up at 4am to feed Thomas, I can just stay up and leave for swim at 4:50am, right???

Hot & Steamy!

It is going to be a hot and steamy week this week. I ran just under 5 last night and it was pretty humid! Man, what is the deal with me running and having to go number 2. AGAIN, last night in the middle of my run I am scurrying around for a bathroom! I finally got to one and RELIEF!!! I need to make sure the system is cleared before I go running again because there will not always be a bathroom!

Congrats IMLP!!!

Congrats to all those who raced in IMLP on Sunday! You guys did awesome! It was great tracking the race online and wish I was there to cheer! Also, on TV was the Hawaii IM world championship from 2008. I seem to get all choked up watching these races and watching everyone cross the finish line. It reminds me of when I volunteered for Florida IM last year and worked the finish line. It was an amazing experience watching racers cross the finish line and realizing they just completed their dream knowing the time and sacrifice they put into training to make that moment possible. It is an incredible moment that one cannot fully appreciate it until it happens as it did with me in CDA.

Drama!!

Well not to go into too much specifics here but apparently I need to watch what I say to people. At least that was the message to me in a very surprising email from a friend of mine. Now I know that at times I just so happen to say the wrong thing or have been known to "stir the pot" so to speak. But in the case, I can clearly say that I was being supportive in my actions. Emails like that are touch to receive because they just cause tension later on. We shall see.

Recovery week

Ahhhhh, the beauty of recovery was last week although I certainly didn't feel like i was recovering. I realized on Thursday/Friday that I was over tired and was not getting enough sleep at all. I suppose 3-weeks of good training combined with getting up in the middle of each night to feed Thomas caught up to me. On Friday night, both Carol and I passed out on the couch at 8:00pm we were so tired. Needless to say, I was able to catch up on some sleep and feel a little well rested.

Over the weekend, instead of doing run on Sat and bike on Sun, I just did a brick on Saturday so I could hang out with the family on Sunday. In total, I rode 20 and ran just under 6 on Saturday and ran into Gayle and Harriet in the park.

Here are the totals for the week:

Swim: 1.5 m
Bike:45.2 m
Run: 5.7 m
Total: 52.4 m, 5:04 hours

A nice solid week!

Had a good week of training and felt like I'm starting to get into a groove as I got in 6 workouts. I was able bike to/from work one day this week. If I can do that one to two days per week it would be huge to get those bike workouts in like that! I try to go hard and keep it in Zone 4 so I feel like I am getting a little speed workouts in. Thursday I woke up at 4am to feed baby Thomas and after I got him to bed, I put on my running clothes and went for a run at 5:45am! That was a first for me but I need to keep doing that to get my workouts in. Yesterday I ran 6 miles and today biked 61. That was the longest I have gone since Couer d'alene! Today's ride was in Gainesville, VA and was pretty hilly. The scenry was beautiful and the weather was perfect with low humidity and in the 80's. It feels good to be out there training again and still be home enough to be with Carol and Thomas.

So, next week is recovery week already! AHHHHHHHHHHH. Here are the totals for this week:

Swim: 1.7 Miles
Bike: 86.4 miles
Run: 11.7 miles
Total: 99.8 miles, 8 hour, 32 mins of training!!

Decent swim last night

Finally - a decent swim at the pool and a busy night. Swam at Takoma Swim Center and got in about 2700m as it was a nice workout with a little speed work as well.

Parents! They just don't understand...

SO this past Sunday we went to my mom's house for my dad's birthday and we had a nice time UNTIL I made my announcement that I am training for Florida IM. You talk about a party killer, you think that I told them that I was moving out of the country and never returning. Their reaction still really bothers me as they were grunting and moaning asking why I want to do this and I'm never going to see my son because of the training - blah blah blah. They didn't want to listen how I plan to train to maximize my time at home. Man I was and am still pissed. You know, it's one thing not to have their support but to act like that is beyond me. How about a response like, hey, that's great, we know you will do well. I tell you, it is reactions like that, the naysayers that motivate me more to do it. It's always at the hardest part of a workout or towards the end where you need to push yourself just a little more that the naysayers come into mind and forces you to push harder and go a little further.

Sunday's Ride

Today's ride was nice as we did the Harwood route through Southern, MD. I always enjoyed this ride in the past. The humidity was somewhat low but you definitely felt the heat and the hills towards the end. We road just under 50 and the sag support was awesome. I rode mostly with Mark and his new tripped out tri bike! Below are the totals for this past week:

Swim: 1.3 M
Bike: 59.5 M
Run: 18 M
Total: 79 M (7:40)

Trying hard to get those workouts in

Monday - went to swim and was only able to get just over a mile in before the life guards closed to pool down for some unknown floating object - i didn't stick around to see what it was. Not sure if I'm going back to that pool again.

Tuesday - nothing - had to work late and wanted to get home to see Thomas.

Wednesday - ran the hills of Rock Creek - got in about 6 miles

Thursday - early am - woke up at 4am to feed Thomas and after I got him back to sleep at 5:30 I jumped on the trainer and rode an hour. Glad to get the workout in! Also, I went to the Doctors to get a physical. Carol is worried about my health and getting ready to seriously abuse my body the next 4 months. Doctor said I'm in great shape and wished all his patients were this healthy. Nice smooth heartbeat, low blood pressure - so far so good - i get blood work next week.

Friday - massage - awwwww felt so good. My hamstrings, quads, etc... were very tight and I still have this issue with my lower back. May need to get a massage more ofter to keep things lose.

Saturday - long run. Finally got started around 9am so it was little warm and sunny. Ran in Rock Creek doing 1 mile run, 1 minute walk and averaged 10:10/mile. Not bad but I could not keep my heart rate down. Need to keep working on that.

Gearing up....

I traveled down to Florida last November and registered for Florida IM 2009. At the time, I knew Carol was pregnant and was on the fence as to whether I should sign up. I knew with a newborn coming in May, training was going to be difficult. Somehow I managed to train for Columbia, then 2 days later Thomas was born and 3 weeks later I'm in the water at Cambridge at the start for Eagleman Half Ironman. Both races went well for me and somehow, I was able to fit in the training. For the past few weeks I have been experimenting with my training, figuring out ways to work out and still be home to see my wife and son. I have come up with schemes to bike to and from work, go for a run or swim in between Thomas taking naps and still trying to figure when I can get my long runs and rides in let alone be able to sleep. My wife is on board, but remains skeptical that I will be able to keep up with everything. Most important to me is spending time with her and Thomas as I train the next 4 months!



This past week, I rejoined Team Z, and signed up for Luray Oly and Bassman 1/2. Now that I have gotten my schedule squared away, its time to get in some serious training. This past week was a recovery week for the Team. I used this week to continue my base work. Below are my totals.



Swim: 1.6 m

Bike: 69 m

Run: 13 m

Total: 83.4 m, 7:39