9 Months to Tri

So, as a side note, my wife’s grandfather is the old-style gentlemen. Whenever he visits, he never comes empty-handed. Since we have a 7 year old daughter that he loves, he often brings things that she likes. So, there’s a constant influx of items like Goldfish crackers, English Muffins, Cape Cod potato chips, Pepperidge Farm cookies, Cracker Jacks, and various Stop and Shop baked goods. Oy!

So, in order to keep such copious amounts of white flour and sugar goods OUT of our home, we tend to give a lot of it away. My daughter’s friends often go home with a bag of Goldfish or a tin of brownies may end up at work.

At home, we call it whatever it is, but with Grampa at the beginning. I.e., as I left for work today, I told my wife, “I’ll take the Grampa brownies to work today and share them with everyone.”

Then, EVERYONE is happy. I’m happy because I don’t have to eat them all or throw them away. My wife is happy because she doesn’t have to keep telling our daughter “no”. And the folks at work are happy because they get free brownies.

Yes, we’ve tried to talk to Grampa about bring so much junk over, but it only lasts a few weeks and then it starts again. So, we just let him do it now.

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Well, spent some time today ordering some gear for the upcoming Tri. If it gets here on time, I’ll be running this coming Tuesday. If not, I’ll race the following Tuesday.

So, I’ve got a new bike helmet on the way, and some Tri shorts. The Tri shorts may be a problem, though, since I’ve still got a 48 inch waist and most of the charts say that an XXL has a max of 42-46 depending on the manufacturer. So, let’s hope they fit.

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Well, I lost my computer for a couple of weeks there. Actually, I lost it for 2 weeks, then got it back, then lost it for another week. And having lost said weeks, I’ve been playing catch up ever since.

However, I haven’t let it interfere with workouts and the like.

So, I promised you numbers. They got held up a week while Garret was in North Carolina on business, and he had the numbers with him. When I got them, my machine was down. Oy! Anyway, here they are.

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Well, Its July 8th.

Its been 9 months since I started. I’ve learned a lot of things. I’ve discovered others. I think the first thing I realized is that its difficult to stay excited for 9 months. If I was going to do this over again, I think I would have set up smaller, 2 or 3 month goals that eventually led up to the final 9 month finale. Gym time has been hit and miss this summer. Some weeks I’ll do 4 or 5 days/week, others (like last week) I’ll only make it in twice. I thought I’d have MORE time to get out and exercise in the warm weather, but actually, I seem to have less (though, I do a lot more ’stuff’, such as yard work, walking around quaint New England towns, and the like).

As for the stuff I’ve learned, a lot of it has to do with nutrition. I can see that there’s still a lot to learn, but I’ve got the basics down, and have used them to build on. I’ve seen how easy it is to cheat (don’t need much of a reason, really) and I’ve also seen how easy it is to cross a line in my intake and go from losing / maintaining to gaining again. For the last 4 months I’ve been doing the exact same gym routine, and I can see that you’ve got to keep it fresh, because right now I’m horribly bored with it. I just didn’t want to change it up right before my race. So, after the race, I’ll change it up.

The best part is that now I’ve got a routine. That’s working well for me. And I enjoy it. Mostly, I enjoy the cardio stuff in the summer. I like the running. I really like the swimming. I love the biking. The gym has been kind of a drag since the weather has gotten warmer, but I think that’s a seasonal thing. I enjoyed it a lot during the winter, but now it keeps me from getting outside and ‘playing’.

OK. I think I covered a lot of this in my last post. I suppose I don’t need to rehash it.

I weighted in at 266 lbs. The 266 lbs seems to be where I’ve held for maybe 3 months now. Better holding than gaining, I suppose.

I did 40 push ups. That’s still NOT where I was at during month 6, when I knocked out 45 push ups.

In all, though, I’ve failed on a promise I made to myself a few months back:

I DECLARE: By the time this is done, July 1st, 2008, I WILL BE ABLE TO DO 50 PUSH-UPS IN A SET.

I DECLARE: By the time this is done, July 1st, 2008, I WILL WEIGH A MAXIMUM OF 250 LBS.

I ALSO DECLARE: I WILL STILL BE ALIVE. That last one I’m a bit worried about, but there it is.

So, I’m not able to do 50 push ups in a set, nor am I under 250lbs. However, I am still alive, and in all honesty, doing better than I was 9 months ago, and with some recent changes to my schedule, doing better than I was even a month ago.

Mike will be at a conference the rest of the week, so Garrett will be doing my final numbers tomorrow. Can’t wait to see how this goes.

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First of all, congratulations to Brett. New job, new baby on the way, and now a new racing business. We’re hoping him all the best out there in Arizona, and can’t wait to get out there and run with him in the 100 degree weather. What? Who said that?

As for me, its been 22 days since I’ve made an entry. Things have not been up to snuff for a while now. I just weighed in at 268 lbs., and I’ve missed both my 8 and 9 month weigh-ins (which at this point have been reduced to weight and push-ups). I’m still not doing the 12 minute run, which I probably could, except that I’m staying away from the treadmill as I’ve been advised to do so from my doctor, my physical therapist and even Garrett and Mike from the gym have agreed it would be a bad idea. And there’s no new body-fat monitor, so that’s still out as well.

Anyway, after weighing in at 268 lbs., I spent a lot of time thinking about where I am now in my training as regards to where I was 8 months ago. Its not great, but its not unrecoverable, either. I think. Before we get into it, don’t worry. Nothing horrible is going on. There’s nothing here that I’m crying for help with or anything like that. Its just life, and the way life can sneak stuff in on you when you’re not paying attention. Or, sometimes it doesn’t so much sneak as pound you over the head, but you know what I mean. Happens to all of us from time to time.

My Head

The first thing I’ve come to realize is that when I first started I was highly focused on the training. It occupied a large portion of my thinking, whether I was training or not. Perhaps artificially so. For the first month or three, it was new and exciting. For the next three months, it was winter and what the heck am I going to do anyway? But then there was this stupid knee problem, and a number of things I’d either been putting off or just plain ignoring started to exert pressure on my time and attention at home, and of course not to mention the changes at work. Not that I wasn’t busy before, but some of these are just more mentally draining than others, and my head, as they say, simply isn’t in the game.

Also, where before I could at least make the 10 hours/week to get to the gym or pool, it seems to be difficult to squeeze even 6 hours in a week these days. I’m not sure I can say I’ve made it to the gym more than 3 times in a week for over a month now. When you factor in drive time each way, showering, changing and exercising: 2 hours = 1 workout.

Now I’m about 2 weeks away from when I’m supposed to be running a race, and I haven’t even picked one out. My head is so far removed from the goal, that it feels like it sneaked up on me. Its hard to hit a goal that you aren’t really shooting for.

My Training

Working out has become something of a habit for me, which is nice. Its the habit that’s kept me going. Its no where near enough, but its better than quitting cold turkey. I come to work every day with my gym bag packed and ready to go. I’m still making progress on my cardio, though I’m wondering about my weights. There’s no doubt in my mind that I can finish a sprint triathlon. The question is whether I will finish it strong, or jogging in at a turtle’s pace.

So, what have my workouts been like, lately? I’m not sure I can really answer that well, since I really shone new light on my situation this week, and surprised myself. First of all, my workouts this week were Wed, Thurs, and Friday. I think its the first time in a long time I’ve worked out 3 days in a row, and I’m really feeling it. In fact, I’m in a bit of shock that I can’t remember the last time I felt this kind of sore. It hasn’t happened recently, and it should be happening more often.

Anyway, weight days have been reduced to 2 sets, rather than 3. Its the only way I can finish and get back to work in 2 hours. I’m really thinking I need a new routine, though, since I feel like I’m going thru the motions at this point. Maybe I’ll hit Mike up for a new one after the race. Last thing I need is to start bashing on muscles that haven’t been worked in a while just before a race. Swim days haven’t really changed much over the past 8 months. In fact, yesterday I got in just under a mile in about 30 minutes. I was really sore from the weights the day before, tho, and it took me a quarter mile before the stiffness left my arms and I could really open it up. And today, I did 12 miles on the stationary bike and then ran 2 miles. I hate the stationary bike. I need to just start riding my own in. There’s a serious comfort factor, and a bike is supposed to sway a bit from side to side as your weight shifts with the pedaling. This bike just causes pain in places it shouldn’t and is unnatural. Also, while you can make the resistance go up and down, its just not the same as a road changing its grade as you ride on it. However, the 12 mi ride and 2 mi run is a new personal achievement.

My Nutrition

Like the workouts, a lot of what I’ve been practicing has really started to stick as habit. That’s good. When was the last time you’ve had someone set a steak in front of you and been disappointed that it wasn’t a nice piece of salmon or tilapia? 9 months ago I would have watered over the steak, but now I yearn for fish. Chicken however, doesn’t hold that much sway. I’m sure I’d take a steak over chicken, any day. And the occasional cheese burger attack still occurs, though less every month.

However, I’m not focused on the nutrition right now. I’m coasting. And any racer will tell you that if you’re coasting, you’re slowing down. I’ve noticed that. An extra cookie here. An extra helping of mashed potatoes there. Did somebody just open a bag of Doritos? It does seem related to the keeping of a journal, but not entirely, as I’ve noticed that my journal entries have progressively gotten worse, too. I’ve seen it in the numbers as I’ve put back on roughly 5 lbs over the past 2-3 months. I’ve run into this problem several times before. See, I get working hard, and my calories go up to compensate. Then, I stop burning, but don’t scale down my eating to match, and now I’m taking in way more than I need, and I put on weight. 17500 calories worth of weight actually. While I was still working out 4-5 days per week, I was maintaining. Once I slipped below 4 workouts per week, the weight started creeping back on.

Here’s a numbers game:

1 lb of body fat = 3500 calories.

I burn just over 1000 cal/hour when I run.

I have to run 3.5 hours to burn 1 lb of fat, and that’s assuming I’m taking in 3500 calories less than I need, otherwise I don’t actually burn any fat, I just burn the calories I’m taking in.

The Project

Finally, its not just the workouts and diet that have been affected. It probably took me a good half-hour per day to keep track of my food intake. Seriously. It seems like a small thing, but remembering to stop everything and write down what you’ve just eaten is kind of this horrible burden when you’re really busy. Its 3-4 hours/week of your time and mental energy. I could probably do it privately in a notebook easier, but I was trying to do it as a companion to this blog, which meant I had to find a computer and log in every time I wanted to record something.

And blog posts take time. This one will probably take 60 - 90 minutes as I sit here and try to formulate what I want to say. So, when time started disappearing, so did blogging. After all, blogging one hour every 3 weeks certainly takes less time than blogging a couple times a week. Though, updates once a week would probably be all I really need to do.

The Future

I’m not sure this is the way to go, but this is where I think I’m at. Summer is crazy. The kid is out of school. We’re all over the place on the weekends (even if its just in the back yard). I want to do this run, and set up another one for mid to late September. I’ll regroup in October and see what’s coming up next.

Further nutrition training will probably have to wait until October. Unless someone feels like making me a menu that my wife will actually cook, I think I’ll have to continue coasting thru the summer, but I will be paying more attention to calorie intake.

My ideal workout schedule for summer will be M-weights / Tu-Bike & Run / Wed-Swim / Th-weights / Fri-Bike & Run. This will change based on weather forecasts and the like, but there it is.

I’m going to keep weekly blog posts, probably at least thru my September race, but I might switch over to either a paper food journal, or an online journal that does more than takes notes. Not sure yet, but the electronic one I’ve got now obviously isn’t working, since I feel its more a drain on my time and returns very little.

Well. That’s my plan. Let’s see how it goes.

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[Brett] Ok, I mentioned this a few posts back and Kristen and I decided to make the plunge… We’re officially starting TRI PHX and will be announcing new events soon. Mike & Jenny are doing such a great job with TriSport Media that we were excited to get back in the game.

We’re targeting a 5k & 10k for early fall on Norterra Parkway in Phoenix, and hopefully a sprint dirt tri at Lake Pleasant in late fall. Right now we are figuring out all the specifics and should be posting new info soon.

I’m also branching off into my own blog, at http://blog.triphx.com. My plan is to start reviewing the races that I do and hopefully get some great correspondents to do the same for races I do not participate in. Jason and I just signed up for the 2008 SOMA 1.2 IronMan on October 26 in Tempe.

I’m still staying involved in Chris’ progress, just posting most of my rambling elsewhere.

~b

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[Brett] Today was a blast, my first tri as an AZ resident and the first time for Jason and Ilia. We hit the Tribal Sprint Triathlon at Lake Pleasant for a 1000 yard swim, 15 mile bike at 3.6 mile trail run. The course was amazing, with the most spectacular views I’ve ever seen. The road conditions were hilly - but otherwise great, and the trail run was beyond words. The course had featured a point to point bike ride that seemed unusual to me until I realized they wanted to get the racers onto the trail section around the lake. The trail run was primarily on single track and had some amazing climbs, rocky conditions and switchbacks between the valleys… not to mention some snakes! I heard a rattlesnake about mile 1 of the run, Jason and Ilia said they saw 3 or ‘em. Speaking of wildlife, I nearly met my end during the bike section: Top speed, downhill in gear 20, full aero position pedaling hard down a hill and thankfully the woman I was passing yelled “Horse!”. There, in the middle of the road in front of me was a full-sized donkey that had gotten loose and was a bit spooked. As I squeezed the brakes, he bolted off the road and danger was averted. A couple miles later a good sized jackrabbit bounded across the road in front of  a few bikes causing a couple swerves but no crashes. So, apparently when you tri in AZ, you tri along with nature!

Jason and Ilia did a great job for their first tri, this was the most difficult sprint tri that I’ve done, so it was an awesome job by them to do so well! Jason kicked my butt in the swim, when he gets a big boy bike then maybe he’ll hang for the whole race!

Jason’s Pictures of the event

Tri Hard!

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[Brett] Marathon #3 is in the books. Of the 50 states I’d “like” to do, CA, NC and AZ are checked off the list. I’m not 100% that I’m setting the goal of running a marathon in all 50 states, but I’m leaning that way. Does IM Louisville count as a marathon? I’d like to accomplish an IM and check Kentucky off the list at the same time.

Some quick thoughts and notes about San Diego Rock & Roll Marathon 2008:
I’m sure San Diego is pretty and I know Kristen and I will come visit, but the course was nothing all that special. All in all, there may be no prettier and friendlier courses (and easy) as OBX Marathon. There were parts of this course that I loved (the north part of the course above Sea World) and parts I absolutely hated; there were several times where you ran for a long stretch on the side of a hill where one leg was considerably higher than the other. The most notable part was during the 5-mile climb up the highway, the grading of the road and off ramps was so severe that it took a nasty toll on my hips and ITB. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the only time the road was steeply graded; I estimate 25% of the course wasn’t level. I don’t mind hills, but I’ve never met anyone who can tolerate running on the side of a slope. The other part that I really didn’t like was the frontage road and turn-around from 20.5 to 23. The road was tight, hot, congested and bumpy… and annoying at the absolute worst time (for me). I lost my mental focus while I was complaining to myself during this period. It was “interesting” finishing the race at an Air Force base. It was annoying for the spectators to wait 45 minutes to get checked and the commute in and out was delayed, but the cool part was it kept any bandits out of running to the finish line; there were armed guards checking for bib numbers before entrance into the base for the last 1/2 mile. I most likely wouldn’t choose to do this course again, but promised Matt I would run next year if he does. If so, I hope they change the course considerably.

The logistics of holding an event with 20,000 runners are amazing, and I think Elite Racing did an wonderful job. There were plenty of port-o-potties, all the water stops were very well stocked and it felt like everyone was pulling together to put on a great event. No amount of effort on Elite’s part can offset the crush of 20k running on the roads, and the course constantly felt jammed. Part of the course being so tight had to do with  the fact that the traffic into downtown was so bad. Since there was “no” parking at the start, folks had to figure out a drop-off method. Matt and I were gridlocked about 2 miles from the start, so I had to walk to get there in time. The race actually started while I was in line at the port-o-potties and I started the race in corral #24… the very end of the pack. There were 20,000 people in front of me, including the walkers. I spent the first 3 miles trying to find some space to run, and never came anywhere near to an actual “pace” until about mile 8 (during the 5 mile climb on the highway). I’ve never seen that many “runners”, and I was always in a sea of people - it’s a “big city” race, and it’s to be expected. I wish I had started farther forward, but that’s my fault for not getting there sooner (as it was, I woke up at 4:30am!).

*Updated*
My original post had some undue criticism of Team In Training (TNT) because there was an absolute “sea of purple” around me. I took some criticism myself in a comment and decided to do a little bit of research on TNT myself and have changed my stance. TNT is doing an awesome job, and I will support them at any event where I am a race director or participating.

http://gallery.mac.com/brettestewart#100048

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[Brett] I’m keeping tabs on Chris’ progress, and still doing my own thing out here in AZ. Kristen and I were so jealous (in a big-brother/sister sort of way) of Mike & Jenny’s success with the 5k & 10k @ Lake Compounce on Memorial Day (TriSport Media) and are even entertaining the idea of putting a race series together out here… I’ll keep you posted. Speaking of “you”, Chris and I have been wondering who exactly has been following his blog - feel free to check in and leave comments like “I’m following Chris” or anything like that so we can get a feel of who’s out there. Maybe that’ll keep Chris motivated to post even though he’s so busy.
Tomorrow I’m headed to San Diego for this weekend’s Rock & Roll Marathon. Here’s my drive:

View Larger Map

I’m excited for my first marathon in 4 months, I can’t believe the AZ Rock & Roll Marathon was that long ago!

Also, we’re getting geared up for some tris here in AZ, I finally broke Jason Warner down and got him to sign up for his first tri. Saturday, June 7 we’ll be racing in the Tribal Sprint Triathlon about 15 miles away at Lake Pleasant. I’ve heard it’s a hilly bike, and the finish line is after a mile-long hill. We’ve also convinced another couple of co-workers here at 41st to join in too - let’s see if we get ‘em hooked!

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Its been a while since I updated here last. Workouts have been averaging about 3 per week. Days like today are too abundant. Since Brett left and Jim moved from the multimedia group, we’ve gone from 3 people to handle all of these graphics project to just me. Monday night I was up until 3:30 AM for a last minute rush job. My manager is pushing back as hard as he can, and we’re looking to hire help (we’ve got an empty headcount), but help or no, until this new intranet launches in June, I’m not anticipating that things will get easier.

The other thing is that we’ve got a new communications exec who’s all fired up. Don’t get me wrong, he’s got some GREAT ideas, but the fact is, there’s no one but me to really support the graphics end of his plans, and I’m already up to my neck in the routine stuff and the new intranet. In fact, people are starting to get mad, because we’re saying ‘no’ as much as we are.

So, life is beyond hectic for me. The wife was out of town for 4 days last weekend, and time to workout completely vanished. The kid and I were active, to be sure, but its just not the same as a run or a workout at the gym. Its VERY easy to see how single parents might never have the time to work out. But even when the wife is here, my time seems to be fleeting.

Last week should have been the 8 month weigh-in, but I was so tired, I was ready to fall asleep. I just couldn’t make myself do more than a basic workout. I felt like I was a member of the walking dead.

And now, its 1 a.m., and its the first time in a long while it seems that I’ve been able to make the time to sit down and blog. In fact, I had to FORCE myself to sit down and do this, and the only reason I felt so strongly is because I’ve got some numbers I need to share.

Anyway, these numbers, amidst all of this feeling like I’m not getting anywhere, are a strong notice that I HAVE gotten somewhere. Looking at the big picture, I’m pretty happy with where I’m at, even though I know I still have a lot of room for improvement. Yes, I’m still holding steady at 266 lbs. Been there for the better part of 2 months it seems.

That being said, for the last few weeks, I’ve been out running farther than I have in years. I can easily run a 5K, and a couple of weeks ago I ran 4.3 miles. Taking some advice from Scot Little, I’ve started riding the stationary bike for 8 miles, then jumping off and heading out onto the road for a 2 mile run. Next week I’ll get myself up to 12 miles on the bike, then the 2 mile run. When you consider that when I started this I could barely do the 2 mile run, I’m feeling pretty good about myself.

Yesterday the Health Center had a Health Fair. I got my cholesterol screened and my blood pressure taken as well, so I thought I’d compare those to numbers that I’d gotten way back when this all started.

Optimal blood pressure is 120/80.
My blood pressure when I started was 150/100.
My blood pressure is currently at 136/90.

Optimal total cholesterol is 150 mg/dL or less.
My previous total cholesterol was 238.
My current total cholesterol is 223.

Optimal Glucose is 100 mg/dL or less.
My previous glucose had no number, but was rated as ‘normal’.
My current glucose is 90.

Optimal HDL (good) Cholesterol is 40mg/dL or higher
My previous HDL cholesterol was 42.
My current HDL cholesterol is 46.

Optimal TC/HDL Ratio is 4.5 or less
My previous TC/HDL Ratio was 5.67.
My TC/HDL Ratio is currently at 4.85.

Neither my LDL (bad) cholesterol nor my triglycerides were measured at the health fair, though I think its safe to say that based on my total cholesterol count, my LDL, while its probably down some, is most likely still high.

This wasn’t a full work up, and its time I actually went in to get a current test from a lab, but all of the numbers here have improved. Its been a while since I’ve gotten that ‘rapid heartbeat’ feeling from just getting up and moving around. That’s the kind of feeling that makes you feel like you’re on the edge of dying.

In a few more weeks, I should be getting a full workup from Mike as well. We’ll see how the new measurements add up to the old ones.

Now, if only I could find the time to get to making updates to the tri-team website. Egads.

I’m planning to workout tomorrow. Not sure what I’ll do. Then Monday is Memorial Day, so there’s this 3 day weekend ahead. I’ll be out of town on Saturday and Sunday. Might hit the hotel gym Saturday night, or if they have a pool, I might go for a swim. Monday, there’s a congregation picnic. It starts kind of early and goes all day. Lots of fun to be had there. Volleyball, baseball. Just kickin’ around. And the talent show, too!

Have a great weekend, all of you!

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