Light Bulb went off!

So, I have an idea.  Please tell me what you think?

Many of us read blogs to inspire us, encourage us, make us think of new training ideas, keep us accountable, and the list goes on.  So, why not create a tradition within the triathlon blogs of just that, a glimpse into our lives via pictures of the trials and tribulations of training.  At the end of the day we are triathletes (well me not yet) but we are also Fathers, Mothers, Friends, Co-Workers, Employers, Training Partners, Sisters, Brothers, so on and so on.

Here is the idea....post a blog post once a week that has pictures, funny pictures, serious pictures, any pictures of your week.  We as a community can then see how others train, what equipment they use, where they train and the conditions.

At this point you might be thinking, how am I going to take pictures all the time?  Well, i have a smart phone, which is frankly smarter than me most of the time that takes pictures.  It's easy, there are apps and there are just standard pictures.  For example, while on a run this morning I took this picture.....

At each weeks blog post we should have somewhere between 2 and 10 pictures or so, depending on how much you are into pictures!  Want to give it a try?  I will be posting my first "tri" at this on Friday with a link at the bottom of my post where you can leave your blog address of your picture post.  Next thing you know, we might have a good ring of participants and give us all some much needed encouragement, education, and inspiration.

Train hard, Train smart.

Mini Tri

So last night I completed my little training plan that consisted of each sport. It went well and I am glad I did it, but here is the recap.

Pros

• Was able to do all three sports



• Felt amazing when I finished and felt very accomplished



• Able to get in good training with great focus

Cons

• Was starving when I woke up and felt very drained



• The muscle along my shins cramped, again. I need this to stop so I can run longer distance!



• Mountain bikes make a funny hum on pavement and don't very fast



• Did not complete the full distance in my swim

All in all I am glad I did it if for no other reason i at least know where I stand for my triathlons in June. My main focus for each sport here on out.....

Swim - Finish the distance with no breaks

Bike - Need more saddle time. Just for comfort.

Run - Need my legs to stop cramping (any suggestions?)

Any experts or Ironman's out there have any suggests on moving forward?

Big Training Night

Here it goes! I have a big training plan for tonight. Most of you reading this are going to think one of two things,

1) Are you crazy?

2) Man, that is just my warm up routine.

So, here is the plan. I am going to park my car at "The Club" and get ready for some fun. First I plan to take a run around the lake (yes we have lakes in SoCal, although it is man made). The run will be the same distance as a 5K since I plan to run 2/3's of the lake and then turn around and run back. I will then change straight into my riding shoes and complete the same route as my run, but possibly do it twice (10K). Then I will put the bike back in the car and check in at "The Club" and take a dip in the pool. The pool swim will equal at LEAST a 1/4 mile.

So, am I crazy or am i just doing your warm up routine?

Success!

So, after the epic fail earlier this week, today I had success. This morning, due to my work schedule I had some extra time in the gym. So, I did the one thing I hate after my typical Thursday workout....I ran! I only did a fraction over a mile, but I will take it and all the positive things that go with it. I can now officially say that i have started my morning running program.

Epic Failure

This morning the alarm went off at 4:30am. Yuck. The plan was to get up, get ready and get out the door! I was planning to run this morning before my weight training session. Well, next thing i know it's 5:10am and I am scheduled to meet up for weight training at 5:30am. Yikes!

So, I tore out of the house in my gym attire, with the wrong shoes on no less and my protein shake and Xtend in hand. Arrived at the gym and was met by 75+ cars in the parking lot.....thankfully the gym had some kind of class going on and it was not busy at all.

Completed my weight training but was unable to get a run in before work. Epic Fail.

Now I am off to softball, hoping to have a great game and maybe even sneak in some extra running during the game. Would that count?

66 Days

There are 66 days until my first triathlon. Yikes!

I have been in the pool doing my laps, both straight swims and some _x25's and _x50's. The next couple of swims I am going to bump up to _x75's and within two weeks be at _x100's. In addition I have been on the bike in spin classes. Last night was an intense class that really pushed me to the next level both physically and mentally. Now, I just need my bike fixed so I can get on the road......hope it is not going to cost me an arm and a leg.

The area I am lacking on is running. I hate running. Any suggestions on how I can push myself into running more often? Some ideas have been to do a short run or elliptical stint before weight training in the morning. That would get some running in and then save my longer runs for days where it is my only focus.

Suggestions welcome.......

Positive Run

This morning I was able to get out and run, it was awesome (well kinda).

So, once most of the kids were up, wifey starting getting ready to face the day while I went out for a run. Today i decided to go over to the local high school, which is only a block away and yes I walked / ran to the high school, no car was used. The odd part about it is that I was having flashbacks......it's the high school I went to many years ago. Its also the track I ran around as punishment for the different sports I played. It's funny to think what used to be a punishment is now my "sport"

So, I ran the stairs a few times (maybe 100 steps in the flight) and then off to the track to run some laps. I ran a solid mile and then back to the stairs for some more punishment.

My run was odd. I recently have been having problems with the muscles on the outside of my lower leg that run along my chin bone. While running, at about 1/2 mile the muscle completely cramps.....it sucks! So, I have done a ton of reading on the subject and the only two ideas that keep coming up are to run slower OR run and push through the pain and it will go away. I opt for the run through the pain, but the jury is still out on that.......

The funny part in the morning was when some high school age kids started to run with my around the track as a warm up for their run. Cool right. But then it happened. During their light warm up they were able to lap me twice on the same lap! Oh well, not much I can do about some 16 year old kids that weigh a buck thirty (I remember those days!)

The joys of running. I love the sense of accomplishment, but really at what point do you really start to enjoy this "sport"?