Milestone #1!

Last Friday I did my first outdoor cycle/run brick. I rode 35 miles in the hills with 1800 feet of elevation gain, and ran 5.4 miles afterwards. It turned out to be a 3 hour workout, which is supposed to prepare me for the real thing. I felt pretty good throughout the ride, but when I got to the run my quads started cramping up. I walked from time to time and still averaged a 9:45 mile pace, which was very surprising to me. I thought I was going a lot slower. This is my biggest milestone during my triathlon training, and there are a few things that I learned from this workout.

The most important thing I learned is the cramping tells me that I need to  re-evaluate my nutrition prior to my brick workouts, and on the bike. I think I need to take in more sodium and gels, which leads me to my biggest worry. Taking in too much fluids. It makes my stomach feel bloated and full, and that's not a good thing for the run! I have to figure out a way to take in enough sports drinks, water, and gels without my stomach feeling full. Nutrition is very important to me, I don't want to bonk, and I want to finish strong.

I also learned how to deal with cramping (where I've never cramped before). I just kept moving whether it was walking or running.  I have a feeling that I might be dealing with this during my race. Stretching only seemed to give me cramps in other parts of my legs. Message worked a little better. Also, Shot Blocs worked really well, until I ran out. I'll have to remember to carry more with me for my run. I also ran out of Powerade and water about a mile and a half from home. Not good!!

Lastly, this workout took a lot out of me. I took Saturday off because I was really sore and tired. I swam 3300 yards Sunday, which was thoroughly exhausting, and not at the pace I was required to swim. Which means I have yet to recover from the brick, so I took today off too. I'm still a little sore and my heart rate was higher than normal. Both signs of not being fully recovered. (Side note: I read an article about an athlete that only trains 12 hours a week and won his age group in Kona and Vegas last year. His workouts are extremely intense, so he uses an Internet program, RestWise.com, to help him decide whether or not train the next day. I haven't tried it yet, but I'm seriously thinking about it.) So I took today off too, except for riding around town because my car is in the shop. Nothing intense or formal. Hopefully I'll feel better tomorrow.

Here are the details to my brick workout: http://tpks.ws/WhrW.

GEAR!!!

Let's face it....the gear for triathlons is very expensive!! Time Trial (TT) bikes range anywhere from $1500 to $15,000. Yeah, that's right!! Fifteen thousand dollars. Not to mention, an athlete can spend up $4000 on carbon wheels! Then you need a wet suit ($150 to $500), a tri suit or shorts and top ($80 to $200), running shoes ($80 to $200), tri cycling shoes ($100 to $300), swim gear ($100), and other miscellaneous gear ($200). Not to mention the entry fees and travel expenses for the races, where you can pay up to $1200 and get a t-shirt and a medal if you finish! So I'm talking about spending a minimum of $2,200 and upwards of $20,000 just on gear!!! There is no doubt that this a rich/upper middle class sport! That's why the largest participating age groups are 40-44, 45-49, and 50-54. People late in their careers, who have established themselves with their companies, and have plenty of disposable income. Well, I'm here to tell you how to reduce gear expenses. Especially if you're like me, an average guy just trying to make ends meet.

The most expensive piece of equipment is the bike. There are a few ways to save money when shopping for a bike. First of all, buy a bike that's relative to your abilities. You don't need a $10,000 Cervelo P5 if you're just starting out. If you are new to the sport, buy a road bike and throw some clip on TT bars. That way you could use it for training and group rides, as well as races. When you improve, then you can purchase a TT bike that you can use specifically for racing and special workouts. But save your money for now and use it for other gear. You can also buy new, old inventory from your local bike shop (LBC). Your LBC will offer some good discounts on the previous year's models. The best time to buy is at the end of the season and right before the new season starts. Besides your LBC, scour the clearance sections of sites like Nytro.com, All3Sports.com, and trisports.com. The best deal I've seen on the web is the complete Tri Package that Nytro and All3Sports offer. Everything is included to get started in the sport for less than $3,000, except for running shoes. Hands down the most convenient, one-stop shopping deal you can find!


The absolute best deals that I've found are on Ebay. This is where I purchase most of my gear. If you have the patience, and know-how you'll get unbeatable deals. Buyer beware, that most of the gear is used or returned items, which doesn't make it bad. Just make sure you scan the pictures with a fine tooth comb and read the descriptions thoroughly before you bid. Also beware of snipers, bidders who will out bid you with just seconds left in the auction. One way to avoid them is to purchase items with the buy it now option.

I bought this wetsuit on Ebay for $106, shipping included.

Triathlons are expensive! Save money where you can, and use your savings for race entries, nutrition, and/or other smaller items that you might need for race day. Good luck!!

Obstacles and Set backs

Now matter how motivated I've been this week, there have been some major obstacles I've had to overcome. It's a recovery week, which means I cut my volume in half and do some performance testing to see where I'm at. My first test was a  30 minute treadmill run to estimate my lactate threshold heart rate (LTH). I did that Monday night during my son's guitar lesson. All was going well, and I was feeling great until the 18th minute of my run. My shorts somehow got tangled with the emergency stop line and prematurely ended my run. I restarted and ran for 12 more minutes. The end result was a my best guesstimate, which I  hate to do for testing! The only thing accurate about the test was my Average Heart Rate, which was a little high at 165 bpm. But it was a test, and I was pushing it, so I wasn't too concerned. So my best guess is 3.6 miles in 30 minutes, which comes out to 8:49 m/mile pace. It's an improvement, and I can live with it as long as I'm not too far off in my estimation.

Then, what I thought might end my pursuit to complete an Ironman 70.3! Tuesday night I started having chest pains at work. I left early and ended up spending the night at the hospital. I was released the next morning and the cardiologist on duty reassured me that it wasn't my heart. My EKG and blood work came back negative! I didn't even have to do the stress test. After all that, the worst part of being in the hospital was they didn't give me anything to eat and I only got 45 minutes of sleep. Lack of sleep really screws up my workout routines. So I slept all day Wednesday, and woke up at 1:00 pm on Thursday, which doesn't give me much time to train. So I took an extra day off.

Today I rescheduled my 30 minute bike TT, and felt great during my warm-up. Except for one thing! A lady rolled through a stop sign because she was looking at her phone, and came within 6 inches of hitting me. I yelled out some expletives, and she was very apologetic. So I just kept going. Here are my results http://tpks.ws/h5VS.

After all that has happened this week, I'm happy that I my health is in tact. Next week I'm back to the grind and excited to crank up the volume (now that I know my heart can handle it)! Stay tuned....

Rest Day!

You ever feel guilty about not doing anything? That's how I feel on my rest days. I feel like that I need to be doing something...anything physical! But I know it's necessary for recovery and to prevent burnout. Burning out is a major concern for me, especially now because I'm at the point in my training where I need to increase my volume. And because I'm old!! It takes me just a little longer to recover from hard workouts, and I need an extra day of recovery here and there. But it also feels like that I can't get enough done in one week to accomplish my training goals.  Therefore, a guilty complex! A common problem for triathlets from what I've heard. I'm contemplating on experimenting with 10 day training blocks so I can accomplish my training goals.

Next week I back off the volume for some quality testing to see where I'm at. Hopefully, my fitness has improved from my last tests. If not, I'll have to reevalute my training plan. Possibly going to the 10 day block that I mentioned above. Just 83 days left until St. George!!

Nutrition!!!

Nutrition is a huge part of endurance training. Some say it's their secret weapon when it comes to training, racing, and recovery. Recovery being the biggest part of training, and nutrition the biggest part of recovery. My nutrition sucks! The biggest problem I have is when to eat, and how much! My workouts are usually the first thing I do when I start my day. But my day is a little off compared to most peoples' schedules. I work swing shift, so I don't usually get to bed until 3:30 am, wake up around 11:00 am, and on the road or in the pool by 11:30, unless I do a long ride or a brick. Then I have to get up by 10:00 am and be on the road by 10:30. I have about a three hour window because I have to pick my son up from school at 2:00 pm. So...when do I eat solid foods?

I don't like to eat solid foods during workouts. I get my calories from gels or sports drinks. I hate the chalky texture from energy bars, especially Cliff bars (not that I don't like Cliff Bars, just not during workouts). Post workout meals are very important to help repair damage done to the muscles during exercise. I've found it very beneficial to eat a protein bar or drink a protein shake within the first 30 minutes to an hour after working out. Side note: Back in the late 90's, early 2000's, I was coaching high school track. I went to a coaching conference for all sports where I attended the University of Arkansas Head Cross Country and Track Coach lecturing. They dominated the NCAA Track and Cross Country endurance events during this era. When the Coach (who's name I don't remember), made this discovery about protein, the NCAA made it illegal for coaches to distribute protein bars and supplements to athletes. They said it was an unfair advantage!!

I don't usually have my first meal of the day until I sit down for dinner with my family before I go to work, around 4:30 pm. So I haven't had a solid meal for almost the first 6 hours of my day. Sometimes I'll try to sneak in snack or sandwich if I have time before I pick up my son. I'll eat two more times at work, and once when I get home. I get enough calories throughout the day, I know this because I'm not loosing weight, but I really don't think this is the best way to do it! For me, it all comes down to convenience! What's available and how easy it is to make. I welcome all opinions, criticisms, and suggestions!

My last two workouts: Tuesday: http://tpks.ws/rdlm and today's: http://tpks.ws/CJ5b

St. George Ironman 70.3

Well after a stressfull day of trying to scrounge up enough cash to register for St. George Ironman 70.3, I finally did it. No thanks to my good friend and training partner Johnny. Man....these things are expensive!! But I'm in, and look foward to the challenge. Wait a minute... 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike ride, and a 13.1 mile run!!! All in the same day! What the hell did I just do?!? Can't back out now!! But with the help of some good friends and support from my family, I should be able to accomplish this feat.

Here's today's workout http://tpks.ws/ntF9 I'm still new at this, and trying to figure out how to link my workouts. I'm using Trainingpeaks.com to plan and log all of my training sessions, and 98% of my workouts are from Joel Friel's Triathlete's Training Bible. If you want more info about my workouts, just ask, and I'll give you all the info you want. There aren't any secrets out there about training, you just have to go out and do it!!

Intro. to Triathlon

A little background info about why I'm training for a half Ironman as my first triathlon.  I've decided to take this challenge because this distance intrigued me the most. Never having swam more than 1600 yards and never having run more than 7 miles, I believe that a 70.3 Ironman would be the greatest physical challenge of my life so far. That and the fact that I have heart disease, a battle that I'll have to fight for the rest of my life! My disease is due to bad genes and I'd like to prove to the world that a person can have heart disease and still live an active life style. Maybe not to this extreme, but it can be done. And what better stage to do it on than a 70.3 Ironman!

I started out cycling after my first heart attack (yeah...I said first! I've had three), and from some persuasive urging from a couple of training buddies Johnny and Gary I've decided to take this challenge! It's not like I haven't been training, I have, but not for all three sports untill the last few months. I have a training regimine in place that has my year planned out through October.

In the months leading up to my first trialthon, I will share my workouts, diet (which is my worst aspect of training), the gear I use, supplements and medications I'm taking, races I'll be entering, and stories about what I'm going through in my quest to become an Ironman! I don't endorse any products or condone any of the things I do or say! But what I hope to do is inspire a few people to get off their lazy asses, and live an active life style before  encountering some major health issues! It's not easy, but it's doable!