Where have you been?

Glad you asked. Hibernating. Cleveland winters generally suck and this one is no exception, maybe even a little worse than usual. So, I put my head down and waited. I haven't quit training but also haven't had much to write about and I don't want to post just to say I ran 4 miles today. Boring.

Well, no matter the weather the race is barely 6 1/2 months away so I needed to get a little more serious. I'm running more and riding again, still not doing much swimming. I'll continue to ramp it up until I start a more formal training plan probably around 20 weeks out.

I haven't decided which races I'll do. The REV3 is the only one I've actually registered and paid so far. Some other possibilities are: St. Malachi's 5 miler, Hermes 10 miler, Twinsburg Duathlon, Cleveland Marathon (half probably), Winking Lizard Shot in the Dark, Greater Cleveland Tri, and Bellefaire Biathlon. I'll probably also try to do a few additional multi-sport races. Most decisions will be race week because of everything else going on with the family. That's OK. I don't want to burn out.

Gettin' back to it.

The gym finally re-opened in our building. Yeah! And, I survived without too much damage. Considering my sporadic workout schedule, the holidays, and the weather at the end of December I did OK. I only gained 3-5 pounds (depending on the scale) and didn't lose too much fitness. Now I am back at it in earnest, both training and blogging.

We are in the same calendar year as the race. Scary! It is barely 9 months away so it seems more real than ever. I guess I can no longer claim to be in Phase I of my training but I would say it was a success given where I started in August. I didn't lose quite as much weight as I hoped (probably because I went backward in December) and I am struggling with running now because of the weather. However, the progress I made before then convinced me I will be ready come September 12th!

For Phase II I need to start ramping up the sport specific training. That means more swimming and biking along with still doing as much running as possible. The weather makes the running more difficult (we have about 20 inches of snow on the ground right now) but I'll do as much as I can. Luckily Twinsburg Fitness Center has a nice pool and I still have my trainer at home so biking and swimming won't be too bad. It's just a matter of making the time.

Phase II will last until about 25 weeks before the race when I will begin a regimented daily training plan that will carry me through to the race. That number "25" seems pretty daunting considering I've never trained more than 6-8 weeks for anything before in my life. It will be interesting so stay tuned.

Changes = Challenges

Just when I was getting back in the groove after being sick, the gym at Progressive is closed for 6 weeks for renovations. That, coupled with the weather getting colder makes training a bit tougher. So I have to adapt a bit.

I hate running outside in the cold but am coming to grips with the fact that I must. I am hoping for twice a week in the winter along with one indoor run at the T-burg fitness center. That should get me through. I also finally put my bike on the trainer (I think it's been a month since I said I was going to!) and rode it the other night. I hope to do that 3-4 times a week and even get up before work once in a while to ride. And, there is always swimming.

Ohio winters suck!

Ding Dong the cough is gone!

I was finally able to run today for the first time in about a month without having a coughing attack at some point during or immediately after the run. And, while I was at it I ran a 4.5 mile PR of 36:18. I may yet become a runner.

It's been just over 3 months since I decided to do the race and started training. When I began I weighed 210 pounds and couldn't even run 3 consecutive 9 minute miles. Today I weigh 186 pounds and (as noted above) can string together 4+ miles at just over 8 minutes a mile. Not nearly world class, but a lot of progress for me.

I haven't yet set any concrete goals for the race but the improvements I've made so far make me think I should be fine with my goal of breaking 13 hours total. I swam again yesterday and felt strong and was also pretty fast. Based on what I was repeating for 200 meter intervals in the pool I am pretty confident I'll be able to go under an hour in the swim for the race. I am also thinking I will be racing at less than 180 pounds so that will help a lot on the bike and run. Who knows, I may get delusional and start thinking about breaking 12 hours! After all, you've got to set goals.

Still Couging

It's gotten to the point that I hardly even notice the cough any more. It has become normal, sort of like breathing, so I am ignoring it. It's not a bad cough, it just won't go away.

In spite of the cough I did my first Saturday morning triple workout over the weekend. I did a spinning class first, then I swam 2000 meters, then I went to Bootcamp where ironically enough we ran! Sort of a mini triathlon only out of order. I hope to do more of these in the coming weeks/months. I can't this Saturday because we are helping Janet move but I may try to at least do spinning before we go.

The swim was surprisingly easy, especially since I haven't been in the pool in months. Before I started I hoped to get at least 1000 meters in but I felt really good so I kept going. I did start to get fatigued at the end, but it's a good sign.

And finally, yesterday I went out for my first run over 5 miles in about 3 weeks (6.5). I felt pretty good and held a decent pace but I definitely could tell I've lost a little bit. I am sure this will not be the only bump in the training road between now and next September, but I hope there aren't too many or that any of them is too tough. We'll see.

Returning to normal

It's been 2 weeks to the day since I started coughing. I am not 100% percent yet, but I am resuming normal activity. With any luck I'll be completely over the cough by early next week.

I ran 5 at work yesterday and my pace was pretty decent. I started strong and held it for most of the run. I didn't feel as tired at the end as I did on Monday either so that's a good sign. We then ran another couple miles at Bootcamp and I felt pretty good there too. I only had a couple minor coughing fits.

Today I'll ride the bike and lift at work and then have Bootcamp tonight at the fitness center. Hoping for circuits today. I don't really want to run.

Never thought I'd say this...

...but I missed running. The minor setback turned into 10+ days of coughing and wheezing and I wasn't able to do much cardio. Not for a lack of trying though. I headed out to run on at least 3 different occasions but was turned back each time. Today I broke through.

It started Saturday after Bootcamp when Carol made me stay after and run 2 miles with her. Thanks Carol!! That got me jump started and today I went out for 4.5 at work. It was a bit slow and I was fatigued at the end but it felt really good to get back out there. It's amazing how quickly the stamina fades when you can't run, but I am confident I'll get it back pretty quickly too. Just in time for winter. Yeah!!