Last Weeks Trainer Ride

A little update on the trainer I filmed last week.

Before and After Run

Just a couple of clips I took before and after my run this morning. This training time is precious before the baby comes. Thanks a ton to Rebecca for the hour she gave me this morning.

More Podcast Shorts

Hello there! Just another quick blog to let everyone know that I am still "Tri-ing". I am still busy busy and keeping up with at least 30 minutes a day. My tricep is feeling better and I am anxious to get back in the water. The baby will be coming soon and so will come another chapter. I hope everyone is having a bountiful off season one way or another. Enjoy the podcast short below. Push On!

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Hangin on!

Just a quick post to let everyone know I am still here. I have a lot going on right now that is makin training more of a challenge than usual. Our third child is due to join us in less than three weeks. I am training when I can and focusing on my running in the off season. I have also been on the trainer and on some rides. My tricep injury hasn't gone away and I am back on the Kinesio tape for two weeks and a prescription anti-inflammatory patch for a month. The doc says no swimming until I get the inflammation under control. I will be tweeting some videos and podcasts to mix things up a bit. I hope to make a decision before too long about my triathlon schedule. I think I am going to lean toasted three quality races and a possible half ironman. May you all keep up the best you can during the off season and I will be updating often. Push on!

Reflecting and Next Steps

I just finished watching Star Wars episode IV for the second time with my five year old. Never a dull moment with that kid and his 21 month old brother is growing up fast in his footsteps. It has been a while since my last blog posting and I thought I would dust off the keyboard and reflect a bit.




I started out with my main goal of qualifying for the National Age Group Championship. I met this goal and it was an incredible journey. I have met many friends, and have learned a lot about myself, my health, my body, and how to push my limits. It has been incredibly taxing and I have been very happy with my results. I have said it before and will say it again, if it isn’t difficult to obtain, your goals aren’t high enough. It is important to put yourself in situations that you aren’t accustomed to in order to grow in anything in life.



My final sprint triathlon of the season was awesome. I ended up placing third in my age group and 13th overall. I still have a half marathon that I will do in a couple weeks and hope to push myself to a PR there as well. I am still making up my mind as to what I will do next year. With our third boy on the way December 15th, dad’s training schedule will have to be approached with lots of flexibility to say the least. One option is 3 races. One option would be Northeastern regional qualifier to qualify again for Nationals, Nationals, and an undetermined half ironman. Another option is to stick to the Go Tri Sports SCTS local races and include one of the half ironman races in that series. Whatever I do I will train as much as I can while the first priority will be getting to know our new family member, and battling the attention needed for all of the other family members.



I will be putting together a mixed podcast of clips I have recorded throughout the last part of the season so hopefully you can follow it. I will follow up with a report of my half marathon. Push on!

WeightChart.com, track and chart your weight and wellness

WeightChart.com, track and chart your weight and wellness

Follow my blog on USA Triathlon

Follow my blog on www.usatriathlon.org as I prepare, travel, and compete at my first USA Triathlon National Age Group Championship in Tuscaloosa, AL.

This is me before I "Tri"ed

It is hard to believe that only thirty two months ago I looked like this (plate in hand). I stumbled upon some pictures when I was visiting my in laws in Connecticut over the weekend. This was taken during the holidays in December of 2007. I was probably pushing 270 pounds at this point.

About 6 months later I started running and a by June of 2009 I had completed my first of many triathlons. The detail can be found on the "Why I Tri" page above. I am currently weighing in at about 185 and I qualified for the National Age Group Triathlon this year.

This sport has changed my life and I am very happy to have made these changes. I look forward to continuing my journey.

2010 Dam Swim for Drew

I have decided to do the 2010 Dam Swim for Drew charity event this year. It will be one week before my trip to Nationals so I will be swiming it it very easy. This is a two mile swim across the Lake Murray dam. I am putting this out here for people to be able to donate anything they can to this cause. Drew was my cousin and he was killed in a BUI accident in 1997 when he was only 11 years old. I have included the link to the website with all of the information needed to register or to donate money to this charity. Please contact me with any quesitons you might have.

Please click the title of this blog for all of the details on the event.

Chattanooga Waterfront Report

Wow! What an incredible experience in Chattanooga. I came over with the family on Saturday and we weren't able to check into the hotel so I left my bike with the bellman with about a dozen other bikes and went to the Big River Grill for lunch. I had a really good hummus salad that was a perfect lunch.



We then walked down to the Aquarium area on the way down to the packet pickup. The boys had a great time playing in the water in front of the aquarium and Cedar would have sat right in it if we would have let him.



We continued on to pick up my packet and get checked in and it was HOT! After I got all of my stuff we walked back to the Hotel and got checked in. The family took a nap and I went for a run down to the race area and recorded a short podcast. I am not sure if I will be able to use it because it wasn't a very good recording but I will doctor it up and give it a shot. I ran for about 15 minutes and then had a good stretch. I checked out the expo, walked out onto the pier and took some photo's of the swim finish. Then I went to the transition area to find my bike and try to get familiar with my transition area. I have never seen such a large number of racks.



I went back to the hotel and we went to the Children's Museum and I stayed there with the kid's for about an hour until I ran down for the pre race meeting. I missed the part I was wanting to hear about the course overview but I was able to get my questions answered. I then met back up with the family and we closed down the Children's museum.



Soon after that we went up Signal Mountain to a little Italian place called Nino's. Nino is great, he always comes out to talk to his customers and bends over backward to accommodate. They were having a special with a veggie lasagna that was absolutely incredible. The kids were a little restless but overall we were glad we went. Really great food!

We went back to the room and I started getting everything together for the race. I was hydrating by drinking plenty of water and getting all numbers placed, tires pumped, Infinit mixed, etc. I was able to get to sleep relatively early but didn't sleep real good. I ended up sharing a bed with my 5 year old and he slept real close to my back and I had a little bit of a pain in it when I woke up.



I ate two packages of oatmeal and a banana and drank plenty of water when I woke up at 5 am. I took my Sharpie and wrote 2:29:59 on my inside fore arm and underneath it wrote "Push On!!" This was my aggressive goal of the day and a reminder that I could do this. I got everything together and was ready to walk out of the door by 5:30 am. I stopped by the desk for a cup of coffee, drank half of it then put on my pack, helmet, and hopped on my bike to ride down to the transition area.


I was the second person to rack my bike and got a pretty good spot. I got everything set up and put on my running shoes to go for a quick run. I went through a stretch routine and tried to relax a little. I grabbed the Infinit I was going to drink prior to the swim and started walking toward the pool start.

It was a little over a mile to the start and I opted out of the bus ride because I wanted to warm up a bit and they had been going since 6 am with 85 athletes a piece in them so I am sure they were pretty ripe. It was an enjoyable walk and I chatted with a seasoned triathlete that had been in the sport for 20+ years. It was a great conversation since I had just started and I was able to hear about his journey and share my experiences.

I got to the field about 7:45 and waited around watching the athletes line up for their swim start. The sun was hot and I found some shade to keep me cool. I sipped on my Infinit that I had brought with me and before I knew it they were lining up the 900’s. I got in line pretty deep into the field and it seemed like no time until I was on the ramp down to the swim start. Once that happened like all TT starts it was quick. I slid into the water and then I heard “944 GO!”

I wanted to stay as close to the buoys as possible to take advantage of the current. I normally swim to the right but the current was pulling me and I managed to stay pretty close. At least I wasn’t close to the shore. The swim felt good and I started out easy, picking it up as I went. I past under one bridge, then two, before I knew it I was approaching the exit and I swam toward the steps. There was a volunteer there with their hand outreached to help me out. I ran up the few steps and hit the mat at 24:50 (42/149 age group).



I ran around and to the steps to transition. I had practiced this the day before and decided to run every other step to the top. There were 17 steps and it was a little tougher than the day before. I kept a nice pace running into the transition area and counted 9 racks before I turned down to find my bike. Helmet, shades, bike, go! I ran with my bike out of transition and to the mount line, hopped on the bike and went. T1 was 2:12. I got up to speed, slipped my feet into my shoes and got them fastened and started up MLK to get on to the highway.

I was feeling pretty good at this point and I just started out to get a feel of how it was going to be. I hit the first hill and it wasn’t too bad but I knew I was going to be working. I was passing a lot of people on the bike and I was hanging with a couple of people in my age group as we kept passing each other back and forth. At this point I started feeling really good (maybe too good) as I looked down at the time that was written on my arm and my reminder to push on.

I remember telling myself that I could do this and I was riding really well. Before I knew it I was at the turn around and turned into the wind and kept pushing. The way back seemed a little tougher but I just kept digging and moving forward passing a lot of people, then being passed a little. I wasn’t drinking as much as I thought I should have been and I had quite a bit of Infinit left. The exit came up quick and I got back on MLK with thoughts of the run on my mind. I finished the rest of my Infinit and got my feet on top of my shoes. I made it to the dismount line, hopped off and ran with my bike into transition passing one person in the process. My bike split was 1:10:43 and 22.1 mph (24/149 age group). I counted one, two, three racks and went to the left to put away the bike. Unfortunately, went on the wrong side but there was only one bike there so I racked my bike and went under the rack. Shoes, cap, grab race belt and 10 oz. flask and Go! T2 time was 1:42.

I ran out of transition and soon after I heard the family cheering. I gave Sheldon a high five and was on my way to experience what would be a very painful three point one miles. I had a horrible stitch but I kept running. Looking back I think this had to do with eating a little too much and not spreading out my intake of fluids on the bike. I kept looking down at my time and knew that I wouldn’t reach my goal. I didn’t let this bother me and I just kept up the best pace I could.

By the time I got to the turn around my stitch had eased and I tried to pick it up a little. I sipped on the Infinit that I had brought in my flask and pushed as good as I could. Before I knew it I saw the finish and really picked it up as best as I could. I saw the family and gave Sheldon a high five. He told me later that it hurt because I was running so fast. I crossed the finish line relieved and was handed a nice water bottle full of cool water that was a welcome treat. Run split was 56:48 at a 9:10 pace (71/149 age group).



After they removed my chip I walked up to find the family and gave them a great big hug. I had finished. I was pretty hungry I thought so I went to the food tent and picked up a sandwich and a slice of pizza. I drank about 3 small cups of regular Coke and lots of water. It was pretty hot so I went with the family over to the Coldstone Creamery and they all enjoyed ice cream as I went to the athletes tent to check the results.

When I got there a lot of people were crowded around reviewing the results and I was able to find my standings I was 35th out of about a hundred and forty something and I couldn’t believe it. I was very skeptical because not all of the splits were listed and I have seen results change in the past. I talked to a couple of people about it and they were sure that I had qualified for Nationals. It wasn’t until Monday morning that I found out for sure. I ended up in the top 26% of my age group and have never felt better. My final results were 38/149 age group and 221/839 males. I am looking forward to the ten weeks preparation for Tuscaloosa and I am very proud of where I have come in a short time, accomplishing my goals, and thankful for those who have helped me along the way. Push On!

Relaxing Weekend

I just got back from Fripp Island, SC. We spent Friday through Monday there with my wife's sister and her family. This was a great vacation and I was really able to relax the whole time I was there. The island was very laid back with plenty of things to do to keep the kids busy. The picture above was what we got to see every evening from the place we were staying in.

Friday I took the day off from any exercise and enjoyed a morning at the beach and a nice long nap with the boys followed by an afternoon at the pool. Saturday I went for about a 7 mile push run on the island. This was fun and very flat. There isn't much you can do about that being on the coast like that but I still managed to keep my heart rate up and really enjoy the wildlife. There were a lot of deer that weren't afraid of people and that was really nice. The one below was right outside our pad one evening. I managed to get a nap on Saturday as well. Very uncommon but a plus for taper week.



Sunday we headed to the golf cart parade that was pretty nice. The kids loved it and the folks were pretty clever with their designs. Here you can see the crowd anxiously awaiting the first golf cart float and the start of the parade.



After the parade I stayed back with Cedar while he slept and managed to get 30 minutes in on my trainer before he woke up. I took him to the pool and hung out with the family for a while and then we all went back to the house. While everyone napped I finished off my 42 miler that I had started on the trainer earlier. I had a nice fast ride west with the wind and really worked on the way back against the wind. It was a pretty good work out. I obviously didn't have the hills I usually try to hit on my long ride but it was very peaceful and I enjoyed it.

That night we had a nice meal and watched some good fireworks put on by the island. This was a great time spent with the family and relaxing as well as getting in my workouts for the weekend. I ended up taking today off and I will start my week tomorrow. It will be a short week since my race is on Sunday. Hard to believe it is already here. I am excited, nervous, and ready for the race. Push on!

Taper Report

I was a little worried that I wasn't going to get up this morning since I was up so late watching the Gamecocks win the National Championship baseball game, but I did manage to get up and get it in. I hit a nice 60 minutes on the trainer this morning and kept my heart rate up above 145 and into 155 bpm. I am doing pretty good with nutrition this week and staying on target with what I need to be eating.

The photo above is the finish of the Festival of Flowers triathlon. I might as well be laying down I am bent over so much. I was actually running hard and battling with the person beside me. If I would have stood up I probably would have done a little better because my form looks pretty slack. I was beat and it is good to see the photo to help me with what not to do.

I am looking forward to going to the beach for the weekend tomorrow night and getting some relaxing time in with the family. Until next time...Push on!

Long Ride

I went on a 40 plus mile ride today with lots of hills. I was able to record a little while I was riding and I think it came out pretty good. The podcast is below. I did my hour walk today behind a lawnmower. You have to get it in somehow. Push on!

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Thoughts on Volunteering

I have said before how I like to give back to the sport of Triathlon and today I feel like I was really able to do that in a direct way. I have included a short pod cast on the day and what a good experience Sheldon (my 4.5 year old pictured above) and I had giving our time to help the athletes that raced today. Congratulations to all the finishers of the Tri The Midlands Sprint, you all did a great job. Push on!

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Quick Update

I found out I may have a way to record some podcasts on my trainer and possible on the road. I had my iPod Nano on the arm band while on my trainer and recorded a quick test. I think it sounds pretty decent so I will try it later when I get some notes together. Click the podcast below to listen.

I had a pretty light training day today which is nice. I am just hanging out with the boys while Rebecca is at the mall. I am making veggie taco's tonight which should be pretty yummy. I will prepare some ground turkey for the boys and Rebecca as well.

Looking forward to helping out at the race tomorrow and I hope to get a podcast out of it. To all those racing Tri the Midlands...Push on!

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Reflecting on Today's Work

Here is a reminder of my last race. This is the start of the Festival of Flowers International Triathlon. This was my second international distance race but it brought a lot of firsts. First disappointing swim time (they say this was a long 1500), first awesome bike split at 22.5 mph, first thoughts of walking through the run, and first big race with very little taper and overall satisfaction with results. See the race report blog below for a podcast of the race.

This morning I had a nice warm half hour push run followed by a nice hard 2500 meter pool workout. I feel great this week and I am looking forward to my easy bike workout in the morning. I will hit the road real early for an hour run prior to my volunteering Saturday morning early at the Tri the Midlands Triathlon and finish off the week with a nice 40 mile hill workout at Fort Jackson on Sunday.

It is getting late and I still need to get my son to bed. Carolina has some work to do to win this baseball game to night. Until next time.....Push On!

My Thoughts on Chattanooga and In General

Enjoy my first youtube publication. This was this morning about 5:30. I know it is a little late for me to be starting my workout. This was eight minutes of my 30 minute warm up and then I did 6 6 minute hard by 2 minutes easy with a cool down. Tomorrow is the last swim quality workout before Chattanooga in 2.5 weeks.

Happy Father's Day

Great ride this morning out to Fort Jackson. I rode close to 40 miles and was anxious to get back for the kids' Father's day treats. I really worked some hills and I feel great. One more heavy week to go before my taper starts for Chattanooga. I am making some changes to this site and I signed up on Twitter today. Push on!

Push Run

Trying something a little different today. I did a nice one hour push run in more than one sense of the term. I was pushing Cedar in the stroller and doing my push ups, squats, and planks every ten minutes. I included a pod cast that is a little noisy and I am clearly out of breath but thought I would share. At the end I say that I hear thunder and Cedar and I did manage to get caught in quite the rain shower. We found shelter for the hard rain and then ran it on back to the house. The rain was actually a welcome cool down. Push on!

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Still Warm in Columbia

Yesterday the plan called for a quality swim and half hour run. I did a push run and then headed to the pool. I had a nice quality swim that felt really good. My foot is still bothering me a bit but didn't really impact my workouts yesterday.

This morning I skipped my run and hung out with Rebecca which was nice then took my Dad to breakfast with the family for Father's day. I am going to try and do my push run with Cedar this afternoon if the heat isn't too intense for us. I added a counter to my blog to see what kind of traffic I am getting so that will be interesting to find out.

Planning a 40 mile bike ride on Father's day tomorrow morning early and looking forward to it. Push on!

Feeling Strong But Foot is Hurting

I got up this morning and did my quality workout on the trainer. I did a half hour easy then 6 5 hard and 2 easy sets with about a 20 minute cool down.This felt pretty good Evidently I did something to my foot last night on my run. Seems like the dreaded plantar fasciitis is acting up. I am icing this right now and I hope to be able to go for a quick run tomorrow and then tackle my quality swim workout.

I get to go to Sheldon's school for father's day breakfast in the morning and I am excited about that. I need to run. Push on!

Hot Hot Hot

Three days after my last race and I am doing pretty good on my training. Of course Monday didn't work out so I started my week on Tuesday. Rode for a little over an hour on the trainer and then went to the pool for a 2000 meter workout. While I was there I talked to a fellow masters swimmer that did the Festival of Flowers race with me. He said that he got off course a little as well but was right on my feet coming out of the water. Unfortunately he had a bad time with cramps in the run and I know it had a lot to do with the heat.

This morning it was downpouring when I was going to run and I was going to go to the pool but Cedar woke up and I had to tend to him. Then Sheldon got up and I laid down with him and fell back asleep. I went to the pool at lunch and had a decent 2500 meter workout. It felt pretty good but I swear I am gettign slower. I know it has a lot to do with going in the middle of the day and such a long work out but I will just keep working at it.

I just got back from my run. Now I left the house about a quarter after eight and I think I lost all the water in my body in the first mile and a half to the stretch point. Then I did a quality workout of 5 880's about 10 beats over my top aerobic heart rate followed by a 440 easy and a one minute walk. I finished it off with what was supposed to be another mile and a half jog but I ended up cutting it about a half mile short and walked about a quarter of a mile of it. I should have taken some water. If all goes well I will be up and on the trainer tomorrow morning early for that quality work out. Until next time.....Push on!

Festival of Flowers International Triathlon June 13, 2010

Please enjoy the race report podcast. Sheldon added his report as well. This was a great race to finish because the run was brutal. It was very hot and I think I over did it on the bike portion. Overall I am pretty pleased with everything except the swim. No time to ponder I am back on track in the morning to finish getting ready for Chattanooga. Push on!

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Two Days Later

I am as excited as I was about this the first few weeks when I updated it every day. I am just prioritizing which warrants a blog not being updated daily. I don't know if I have mentioned it on here yet but we are expecting our third child in December of this year and we couldn't be happier. This proves to be challenging with all of the attention for Rebecca, Sheldon, and Cedar. It is easy for the training plan to slip by or life in general to get very stressfull. I feel like I am handling everything well and giving attention where it needs to be most.

Yesterday I had my quality bike on the trainer which consisted of a 30 minute warm up and 6 4 by 2's and then a 30 minute cool down. This was a great work out and I could really feel it in my legs.

I got up this morning and did a 30 minute push run followed by a quality swim set of 2300 meters. I chatted with the coach a bit and got some pointers on my work out. He said I looked good and I really felt efficient and strong today. I will take tomorrow off and may work on my transitions or go for a decent easy bike on Saturday. Sunday is my second international distance at Festival of Flowers and I am really looking forward to it.

My nutrition has been alright the last couple of weeks. Not perfect, but OK. I had a green smoothie today which really hits the spot and tomorrow I am headed for some more Blue Cactus Veggies. It is late and I need to go. I am looking forward to the weekend and I will update soon. Push on!

Great Day!

The stars aligned correctly as far as my training went today. I just wanted to comment briefly so I can get some sleep and start over in the morning. I started the day with my quality run and it was a great workout that felt really strong.

I made it to the pool and had a great 2500 meter set. What was so great? I did a new drill that the Master's coach suggested which was a one arm freestyle. I did 500 meters of this and switched arms every 25 meters. It took a little getting used to but the consistency of the kick really helped my balance and seemed to strengthen my core.

After my workout I was hungry and swung by this little hole in the wall I have been wanting to try and it was incredible. The place is called Lamb's Bread Vegan Cafe. I had a lunch special which was "mock chicken" (soy product in wonderful spices) with a side of baby limas and squash and onions that was to die for. I will definately be going there again.

I am facing my quality bike workout in the morning so I need to get some rest. Push on!

Festival of Flowers Up Next

I had a great ride on Sunday. I started out about 5 am and rode 20 miles to Saluda and back to the lake. I had a strong head wind going and decent hills the entire ride. I think it was a pretty good work out. I managed almost 20 mph and about 130 bpm heart rate. I also have a new metric to report in my cadence on the bike which averaged 67.

When I got back I cut the back yard and then went for a quick 400 meter open water swim in my tri-suit just to get the feel since I am pretty sure the race will not be wetsuit legal. It felt pretty good.

This morning I hopped on the trainer and rode about 23.5 miles at about 127 bpm heart rate which was a little low and this happens to me sometimes early in the morning. I was supposed to swim 2000 meters today but with a hectic work schedule and not wanting to swim in the lake alone this morning I let it go. That was easier said than done but I am sure the rest won't hurt and missing 2000 meters this close to the race won't hurt my performance.

I am looking forward to my quality run tomorrow and I am trying to stay focused. Festival of Flowers is on Sunday and I am excited about it. A little nervous, but excited. I have been feeling a little flat lately but I don't really know what I am basing that on. I don't think I have lost any fitness so I am just going to keep it up. I hope to make it to the pool tomorrow for a 2500 meter work out in during lunch. I will update when I can. Push on!

Saturday Run

I had a pretty good run today. About six and a half miles at a 145 bpm average heart rate. This was a push run so every ten minutes I did a 30 second plank, 15 push ups, and 10 squats. All in all I felt pretty strong.

I am going to try to swim in the open water today at the lake if time permits. I will be going to watch my oldest niece graduate high school today. It seems like yesterday I was graduating high school when she was born. Best of Luck Britney!

I will go on a long ride early tomorrow. I will try to find a hilly ride out near the lake so I can get ready for Chattanooga. Next Sunday is my second International distance at the Festival of Flowers. It will be interesting to see how I do since I will be training through and not tapering for this race.

Push on!

I am pushing through my workouts. I went to the pool this morning and really wasn't feeling it. I got there late so I shortened my workout by 500 meters. It was a quality workout and I did some pretty hard 100's and overall I felt good I just feel flat.

I am going to hopefully have a great run tomorrow for about an hour and maybe I will make into the lake over the weekend. I feel really good and my weight is staying down. I think I just need to watch my fuel and keep my veggie intake up. I am not getting discouraged I have just been working hard. Until next time.....

Quality Update

I am struggling this week. I mentioned that I was disciplined enough to stay away from the bar-b-que on Memorial Day. I did however eat a half a burger the next and it really had me hurting.

I missed my bike ride on Tuesday but I did make it to the pool during lunch. I think I will be able to let the bike go. This week I start my quality workouts for each discipline on different days. Today was the run and I did a mile and a half warm up, five minute stretch and then 3 three sets of 880's at about 160 bpm, followed by a 440 easy and one minute walk.

I then made it to the pool and did only 1300 meters of my 2500 meter workout. The coach told me that I was still not getting everything out of my stroke that I once did and not following through. When I went back around lunch I concentrated on this and I think I have it back. I need to get back and have him watch me to make sure I am as efficient as I once was.

I am looking forward to my quatlity workout on the bike trainer in the morning. I was given a cadence sensor for my Garmin 405 today and I am going to try to put it on tonight so I can try it out.

I need to make it back to Earth Fare so I can get my green smoothie in. I miss those. I will update soon.

Happy Memorial Day

Absolutely no training today. What a dreary day here at the lake. I had big plans for a 2000 meter open water swim and an hour and fifteen minutes on the trainer but it just didn't happen. I did try to get on the trainer while the family slept but it was short lived after they all woke up 15 minutes later. It is OK though because I had a lot of preparation and family time for our friends that came over for the BBQ.

It took a lot of discipline cooking the burgers and dogs today. I made fresh guacamole, hummas, and mango salsa. I grilled a foil pack of sqauash, onions, and snap beans and it was incredible. I also tried Tofurky beer brats for the first time and I must say it wasn't that bad. There were also a lot of yummy desserts that people brought that I did partake in. All in all everyone had a great time and the rain broke for bout an hour and all the kids got to go swimming.

I am going to hop on the trainer in the morning and hit the pool at lunch. This starts my quality training two weeks out from my next international triathlon and then a month after that it is on to Chattanooga. I am going to work hard and smart the next six weeks to hopefully be at my best.

Saturday Run and Jail Break Event

I got up this morning early and ran about 5.5 miles at a 144 average heart rate. I felt a little sluggish and conquered a few more hills than I normally do. I incorporated my pushes every 10 minutes and that felt good.

Then the we all went to the Jail Break 5K run/walk. Sheldon participated in the one mile fun run and finished. I don't think he really wanted to run and as usual he started out way to fast. He ended up finishing though and got through it. We walked and had a good time.

Then we all walked the 5k. This was very humbling to me and was nice to be able to participate and hang out with the family throughout the event. Usually Rebecca has to wait with the kids while I race and I think she enjoyed participating with me as well.

I am off to ride with the Brotherhood tomorrow morning. We usually ride about 30 miles out on Fort Jackson at a 15 to 16 mph pace. I will work it up the hills so I can get my workouts in for Chattanooga. I am looking forward to it. Then it is back home to get ready for the memorial day BBQ we will be having at the lake on Monday.

Update.....

The Lake Murray Triathlon podcast has been recorded without draft mode. Please check it out below in the archives. It is Friday and it has been a busy week. Yesterday I made it to the pool after a 45 minute push run. I have incorporated a 30 second plank, 15 push ups, and 10 squats at the beginning, end, and every ten minutes of most of my run workouts. This has proven to really strengthen my core and I can tell a difference.

At the pool yesterday the coach noticed I was sprinting my 50 meters. He explained how much distance I was losing because of not following through with my stroke. I have often wondered if you go fast do you lose form and I got my question answered. Even when I am swimming sprints I will concentrate on getting my reach and pull so that I am efficient and ultimately do less work and go further. Thanks coach!

I only rode on the trainer 30 minutes of my hour I was supposed to ride today. I didn't do it this morning because my back is bothering me and I didn't get to get on the trainer until around 9. I was worn out by then but at least I pushed through for 30 minutes.

I am going to the Jailbreak 5k race tomorrow. Originally I was going to run this race but it doesn't really fit in with my plan. My son is signed up for the fun run and my wife the walk. I am going to run about 6 miles before the race tomorrow morning and then run with my son in the fun run. After that we will all walk the 5k. It is real important to pick your priorities and right now my number one priority is sticking to my plan and getting ready for Chattanooga.

An update on my weight. Since I have been steering clear of meats and eating a lot cleaner fruits and vegetables I have seen a health decrease in my weight. When I first started out I didn't think I would be anywhere near the 179 I am supposed to weigh based on my height. I am down to 192 and a mere 13 pounds away. I would like to lose this before the Chattanooga race as long as it feels healthy. I need to lay down and I will update you later.

I am still here...

I am back and still training. It has been a couple of days but I have been keeping up with the plan. This morning it was rough getting my heart rate up to 135 during my one hour ride on the trainer. I blame it on the eggplant Parmesan I made last night. Not used to all of that cheese. It was really good but I can tell it affected my performance.

Last night my back right between my shoulder blades got real tight and started bothering me again. I went back to the chiropractor today I usually go about once a month. It is still bothering me so I am going to ice it down tonight.

I sipped on a green smoothie that I made this morning and i had a 27 gram protein shake this morning after my ride. Tonight I sauteed some squash made some Lima beans and had a piece of leftover eggplant minus the cheese for dinner. I am feeling pretty good but I am definitely welcoming the recovery week.

I am signed up for a 5k race this weekend. It doesn't fit in with my plan so I am going to run before the race lightly and walk the race with my wife and kids instead. I know she will appreciate that and my Chattanooga race is my number one priority right now. I don't want to risk injury at the moment.

It was good catching up. Festival of Flowers is a couple of weeks away and I am really excited about competing in my second international distance. Until later...

Festival of Flowers Rehersal

We went out to Lake Greenwood State Park today to check out the course for the Festival of Flowers International triathlon that is June 13. I went with a fellow triathlete I met at the pool and wanted to check out the course. Since I was free this weekend with the family away I thought it would be a great opportunity.

The course was right at 24 miles and there were some hills. We weren't riding really hard although I got carried away a couple of times. I think the course is going to be pretty nice. The first and last part of the course is extremely rough road but luckily it isn't too terribly long.

It was good to actually go and see the swim site, transition area, ride the course, and drive the run course. I am looking forward to this race as it will be my second international distance of the season.

I am resting the remainder of the day and will be back on the trainer early in the morning. I can not wait to see my family tomorrow night. I think next time I will try to schedule time to visit with them. I feel like I worked pretty hard this week and next week is a recovery week before I start my quality weeks. I am really getting excited about Chattanooga and looking forward to redeeming myself in the swim portion of Festival of Flowers from Langley. I will check in soon.

Bike, Bike, Bike

It was good to be able to exercise when I was away on business but it is interesting catching up on the bike portion of my workouts all back to back. This morning I went out and attacked some hills at Fort Jackson and rode a total of 50 miles. This felt pretty good and is only the second time I have ridden this far. A couple of the hills really got me so I think I will try to incorporate this ride at least once a week to get ready for Chattanooga.

Tomorrow I am going out to the Festival of Flowers course to ride it. I met up with a fellow triathlete at the pool on Friday that was going so we are going along with another person to feel it out. This will be helpful and I don't really do this often. At least I will know what to expect on the bike.

I am out at the lake and did some landscaping to get ready for next week's Memorial Day party we are having on Monday. I need to go thank my neighbor for cutting my grass for me. That is really a huge help. I will let you know how the ride goes tomorrow.

I made it back!

It has been a while since the last post because it has been a really busy week. I made it back to Columbia on Wednesday night and have been busy every since. I rode on my trainer Thursday morning for about an hour and a half at roughly a 130 bpm average heart rate.

I had my last soccer game of the season after work and the kids did great. I got them Village Idiot pizza as always and handed out trophies. Sheldon was missed very much and I am sure he missed the celebration as well.

The family is doing good in Connecticut and I can't wait to see them on Monday.

This morning I got up and rode pretty hard on the trainer for about a half hour. I went to the pool at lunch and swam 1000 meters and chatted with some fellow triathletes. Tonight I went on the Friday night "beer ride" at Cycle Center in Columbia. I have never really ridden with a large group before and it was pretty nice. I enjoyed it and we rode about 22 miles. Afterwards we went to a hole in the wall burrito place across the street and I had a nice bean, rice, guacamole, and tomatoe burrito.

Tomorrow I am going to venture out on a 50 mile ride that I am looking forward to. I need to get some rest. Looking forward to letting you know how that goes.

Back Cove

I had a busy day at work today. I went in at 6 am to meet with my shift and it was busy until lunch. I went back to the pool I found last night during lunch and had a great 2000 meter work out. There were a lot of people there so I shared the lane with two other people and we swam in circles. This was an experience but it didn't get in the way.

After lunch I had an afternoon class on a new software product and the day was over. I went to a place called Back Cove in downtown Portland. This is a cove with a 3.5 mile trail around the perimeter. There were lots of people walking and running. I did a push run of 45 minutes and ended up going a little over five and a half miles at a 151 bpm heart rate. This felt really good.

I am going to run for an hour in the morning before work and I might go to the pool again during lunch. It will depend on how busy I am. I will be heading back home tomorrow and will concentrate on my bike for the rest of the week.

Welcolme to Portland, ME

We woke up this morning about 4:30 and made it to the airport in time to catch our flight. I was heading to Portland, ME via Laguardia with the family and they were picked up by Rebecca's mom and taken back to Connecticut where they will visit for the next week or so. I sure miss those guys.

I got to Portland around 11:30 and went in to work. After work I made it to the Riverton Community pool and I must say I was pretty impressed. They had a great pool and a nice locker room and shower. I swam 1750 meters and felt pretty strong in the process. It was good getting out and utilizing the facilities in a different town. This is essential for triathletes or anyone who is serious about their training. It just takes a few clicks and a search on google to get you where you need to go.

I stopped by Maine Running Company and chatted to them as they were closing up. I was talking to one of the guys there about triathlon. He is younger and has done the Lake Placid IronMan I think the last three years. I tried on my first pair of Vibram Five Fingers and hopefully one day I can get a pair to work on my form. For now I am just trying to keep forward and off my heel.

Then to Whole Foods to buy my food for the next three days while I am here in Portland. I will be eating hummas and cucumber sandwiches, bananas, tomatoes, broccoli, almond butter, pears, and men's bread. I only spent right at $40 and I definatley couldn't have eaten 8 meals for that if I would have gone out and more importantely I won't get caught giving in and eating something I shouldn't.

I got back to the hotel and went for a 30 minute run that was nice and cool. I ate my dinner and did some work and now I am about ready to get some sleep and do it all again tomorrow. I am concentrating on my running and swimming while I am here and I will catch up on my riding when I get back home, especially this weekend.

Way to go Sheldon!

It is good to be back for a quick update. Yesterday my 4 year old participated in his second triathlon. This was held in Lexington at the Golden Hills golf club and they did a good job. It was hosted by Body Shop Athletics in Lexington.

At first Sheldon really didn't want to do it because of it being right around his nap time. He warmed up to it and finally got in a decent mood. They started out going across the pool which was supposed to be about 10 meters. Sheldon did good and really tried to get his breathing under control as he doggy paddled most of the way. He did get a little help from the life gaurds in the pool but basically got across the distance himself.

I helped him out of the pool and he ran to his bike and I was by his side. We got to the transition area and I slipped on his shoes and helped him with his helmet and sun glasses. Then it was a 1/10 of a mile uphill climb to the bike drop off. I ran with him and he held on pretty strong all the way to the top and powered through the top part of the hill.

He then got off the bike and ran 100 meters down to the finish and really finised strong. His official time was 4 minutes and 5 seconds and he finished second in the 3-5 male age group. We were very proud of him and he really enjoyed the race. The first thing out of his mouth was that he wanted to do it again, meaning right then.

I would sign him up for this race again because they did a great job coordinating it. Again, way to go Sheldon, you really did a great job.

I am back!

What a week so far. No more excuses, it just isn't feasible for me to update this every day. You should noticed that I finally got the podcast loaded for Lake Murray so if you get a chance, check it out.

I wasn't able to get back into my training until Tuesday and so far this week I have ridden on the trainer about 2.5 hours, swam 3250 meters, and ran 30 minutes. Everything seems to be going well and I have noticed on my run since I have been concentrating on my form and maintaining my heart rate my training pace has improved about 45 seconds per mile. That is based on a 4 mile run.

I feel like I am getting back into the groove of the workouts and overall I feel really good. I have been recovering with a protein shake, eating about 95% fruits and vegetables this week and I am taking my second green smoothie to work today for the week. I am starting to lose a little weight and I hope to get this down before Chattanooga in about 2 months. I am off to work so I will catch up some time later.

Lake Murray Sprint Triathlon

Awesome! This was a great race for me and I really feel like I have come a long way in a short time. Last year this was the first triathlon I ever attended when I was thinking about doing my first one. This year I placed 40th overall out of about 212 males.

It has been a busy day with the race and Mother's day so I will be updating this blog post with the details at a later date. Unfortunately my pre race podcast was deleted but I do have my post race and scoring information. Click below to listen.

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26:33:00 til Murray

Alright, that was a nice refreshing run. Four miles at an easy pace with a few sprints thrown in to wake my body up a little bit. When I finished I did a nice stretch routine for about fifteen minutes. I am as ready as I will get for the Lake Murray Sprint tomorrow. I will pack all of my things this morning so I can enjoy my day today.

I have a busy day planned and I get to take Cedar to his music class. I hear he loves it and I like music too so it should be a good time. I will then take both boys out for some Mother's Day business. Since I was inconsiderate enough not to check dates before I signed up for all of my races, I will need to make this a good one. My next blog will probably be about the race so until next time, adios...

Thursday Night

Alright, this morning I ran my Saturday run which was 50 minutes and almost 6 miles at a 145 bpm heart rate. Of course, this was a push run so I did 15 push ups and 10 squats every 10 minutes and it felt really good. I then made it to the pool and aside for the life guard being about 15 minutes late I had a nice 2000 meter work out.

I am looking forward to the race on Sunday. I will be taking tomorrow off from training although my plan calls for an easy 20 mile spin on the bike. I will run about 35 minutes easy on Saturday and do a nice stretch routine. Right now I am feeling strong and I have been loading up on veggies this week. To night is the Blue Cactus #2 which is the best Korean stirfry you can find in Columbia.

Happy Cinco de Mayo

One hour and fifteen minutes on the trainer this morning. This felt pretty good I stayed around a heart rate of 135 to 145 for quite some time and ended up averaging about 125 bpm.

I sipped on a green smoothie this morning before lunch and it was very good. Those really seem to give me a lot of energy. Tonight we had veggie quesadillas. I made fresh guacamole and mango tomato salsa, yum yum.

I am going to run my Saturday run tomorrow which is 50 minutes and go to the pool for 2000 meters. I am interested to see how well I do on Sunday since I am training through this race. I hope to do well to keep my points up in the series but my overall goal is to have fun.

Catching Up

Yesterday was a busy Monday so it looks like every other day might be a more reasonable blog update. The workout was an hour on the bike trainer at 121 bpm heart rate. I still find it harder to get the heart rate up to a higher average early in the morning but it was a good work out.

I then went to the pool to try out my new (smaller) wetsuit. I saw the swim coach and he asked me if I had ever swam there with the wet suit. When I told him no he told me to hurry up and get in the water. Evidently there is a health concern about wetsuits indoors after they have been used in open water but noone bothered me about it. I have never approached the wall so fast before than in the suit. I had a couple of 35 to 40 second laps so that was pretty neat to see the advantages of the suit. When I finished I felt like I didn't work hard at all. The race may or may not be wet suit legal on Saturday at Lake Murray because it has been so hot.

This morning I ran for 30 minutes at a 145 bpm heart rate average. This felt pretty good. I am off to the pool now for a 1500 meter work out. I am getting pretty excited about the race on Sunday but it is just a bump in the road to the Chattanooga Waterfront race so I am not tapering for this event. I will be interested to see how I do.

Spiders, Snakes, and Scrapes

It's Sunday and I wasn't able to update this blog yesterday. I figure that it is ok if I miss one or two. Yesterday I went for about a 50 minute push run at about a 140 BPM average heart rate and it felt pretty good.

We went to the USC baseball game and the kids had a blast. It was really hot and the Gamecocks ended up losing to Alabama 6-4.

This morning I got up at rode about a half hour at a 122 BPM average. Then after I took Sheldon to Sunday school a group of about 6 of us went on about a 30 mile easy ride at about a 16 mph average.

I really had a good time as I don't ride a lot with groups and it was good to chat with people with common interests. Along the ride on Fort Jackson, two of us were up ahead and about a 4 foot black snake came scooting across the road. This is something I am not really acustommed to see on a ride and it got me a little off balance. I almost ran into the guy I was riding beside but recovered. I did run off the rode but I didn't fall which was good.

We kept riding and encountered probably the biggest spider I've ever seen crossing the road as well. Luckily there weren't any more strange nature sitings and the rest of the ride finished up well. Well, I guess I should say it almost finished well. As we were chatting after the ride I pretty much started falling over from a stop and couldn't get my shoe out in time and fell over. I got a nice chunk of road rash out of my knee but my bike survived so I am ok. It was good to chat with everyone at different points in the rides as we all have different goals and it was good that we
could all come together on a common ride. I think we will try to do this more often.

I think I will take my new wetsuit to the pool tomorrow to try it out I was going to go today but it seems silly since I will be going in the morning anyway. Next Sunday is the Lake Murray Sprint so I am looking forward to it. I am going to go and enjoy the rest of the day so I will catch up later...

It's Friday

Had a good run this morning. It was only 25 minutes and I incorporated my pushups and squats into the run. I went to the pool and swam a 1500 meter work out which felt pretty good as well. I made a chocolate whey, banana, blackberry, coconut milk, and natural peanut butter shake for my recovery.

We got a baby sitter tonight and went to the Blue Marlin for some yummy salmon, collard greens, and yes fried spinach. The latter was probably not the healthiest but we had to try it. We then went to a graduation party for a friend of ours and finished off the evening with a game of bowling. All in all a great night away from the kids and we really enjoyed it.

I just tried on my wetsuit that I got back from Xterra. I think this fits me a lot better. I hope to get in the water with it this weekend if I get a chance. Only 8 more days until the Lake Murray Sprint. I hope to stay injury free and do decent in this race.

Tomorrow I will go for a 40 minute push run so I need to start getting ready for bed.

Good Ride

I had a real good ride this morning on the trainer. I rode for a solid hour at about a 140 bpm heart rate. I hope to go for a quick push run and 1500 meter swim in the morning before work. I don't have a whole lot to say tonight but I am looking forward to a nice easy Sunday ride and a medium run on Saturday before heading out to the South Carolina baseball game.

Slowly But Surely

The training plan I am using called for 20 minutes of running and 1000 meters of swimming this morning. I ran at about a 145 bpm heart rate for approximately 2.3 miles. This felt pretty good and I have started to pay attention to my running style and making sure that I am not striking my heel. I have been looking into the pose method of running as well as maintaining a good running cadence. This is something that Coach Brett from Zen and the Art of Triathlon mentioned on one of his pod casts so I have been researching it.

My swim was nice. I did a 200 meter warm up, 10 X 50's with 10 seconds rest between and a 200 meter cool down. This is a great recovery week for me and I am glad to be back in the groove of things after my race.

I need to run Sheldon to school and get in to work so I will update you tomorrow...

The Monday After

Well, I actually feel like I did a little bit of work on Saturday. My abs are a little sore and my arms and legs are sore as well. It isn't painful but again, it feels good. I feel like I gave it good effort. Thinking back to the swim distance of the race I really like that distance. Granted I swam further than I was supposed to, but I really felt strong regardless.

I planned on getting up this morning for a lite bike and swim but it didn't take much effort to give myself another day off. I will go at it again in the morning hopefully. I am anxious to ease back into my training.

I made another green smoothie tonight to sip on tomorrow. It has kale, avacado, organic navel oranges, organic blackberries, Odwalla Superfood, bell pepper, Spirulina, coconut milk, ice, and water. These really give me a lot of energy and I think they are pretty tasty too.

I sent back my wetsuit today for a smaller size so I will have to try the new one out before the Lake Murray Sprint in a couple weeks. I look forward to updating you on some training tomorrow. Until then...

Langely Pond International April 24, 2010

Here I am with Sheldon just before the swim start. It was a nice morning and I got there in plenty of time. I was able to get in the water for just a few minutes to warm up and get my bearings on the swim course. Since I didn't do my homework on this swim course it proved costly to me. This was my biggest lesson learned in this triathlon.



Here I am in T1. My dad and Sheldon were a welcome site. My swim cap was harder to get off than my wetsuit. I thought the transition went fine. I will be sending my wetsuit back though. I need the next size smaller.

I don't have any pictures of the bike but I felt good on the bike. 24 miles is a lot different than 15 in a sprint distance but I felt I handled it well.



The run went about as well as I thought it would. I would have liked to been a little stronger but I was ok with it. I saw moderate signs of my stitch trying to break through during the first couple of miles but I had some water at a couple aid stations and it went away luckily.



Ahhh! This is what makes it all worth it. I don't know if you can tell but Sheldon was soaking wet with playground sand all over him. He had a wonderful time with his Paw Paw and took advantage of being 41/2 and playing in the rain. Thank goodness for the showers and extra clothes.

All in all this was a great race. It was very wet but I don't think that really bothered the spirit. I hope you enjoy the short podcast with my report. I am looking forward to getting back on a training plan with sites on Chattanooga in July. My next race is the Lake Murray Sprint triathlon May 9th. Check out the podcast for this event below.

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12:05:40 and Counting

Alright, what a day. I am just about ready to lay down in bed and try to get to sleep. I got up around 6 am and made it in to work a little before 7. Last night we noticed a pretty bad leak in our downstairs bathroom so of course that had to be take care of today.

I did make it out to the lake this morning with a group of guys from work and as they got used to the open water, I concentrated on polishing up my beach start and exit. I did step on some rather large stones as I was running in and bruised the underside of my left foot a bit. Hopefully that won't bother me tomorrow. I also practiced getting out of the wetsuit and learned a few things that will help me tomorrow.

I ended up leaving work at 2:30 to check on the two foot by about 3 foot chunk of ceiling that was removed to isolate the leak issue. Luckily it ended up being fixed with some caulk but with a 100 year old house you can never be too sure.

I am ready to lay down and get up early (4:30), eat a little oatmeal and get my son in the car. I will be going to pick up my dad and we will be heading out to Aiken for my big race. I am really excited as I have put a lot of time into training and it is going to be great to conquer the next step up distance wise in my triathlon journey. I hope to include a podcast for this race like I did for my first one. I will let you know how it goes. Start time 8:03:00...

3 More Days

It's getting real close. I am feeling pretty good today. I didn't have to wake up early because this is taper week and I feel very well rested. I got up and got Sheldon together for school and made it into work on time. Last night I whipped up another green smoothie that I have been sipping on throughout the morning. I topped it off at lunch and had a pb&j and some almonds.

It is hard to keep the race off of my mind but I am feeling very excited about it. We were supposed to go out to the lake at lunch today for a wet suit swim but it got cancelled because of a meeting. I will go out tomorrow during lunch and just practice my beach start and finish as well as getting out of the wetsuit. I won't spend too much time but it will help to get in the water one more time before the race.

I need to head back in so until next time...

4 More Days

I feel great! I got up around 4 am and made my way down to the trainer. I rode moderately for about an hour with an average heart rate of 122. This is a pretty low heart rate and I have found it difficult to raise it some mornings so early. I then proceeded to the pool. I walked in with the master's swim coach Bill Irwin and he gave me some interesting advice. I was telling him about trying out the wet suit and he told me I didn't need to kick. This makes a lot of sense to me because I found that I was so bouyant with the suit on that I had to modify my kicking to keep my feet in the water. I am going out to the lake tomorrow at lunch basically to practice getting out of my wet suit but I will swim a little with no kicking just to see how it feels. I swam 1500 meters this morning with 800 meters of it as the main set. It felt pretty good although I felt a little sluggish there too. I am going to do a strength work out and some stretching tonight hopefully and start getting things together for the race.

I made a chocolate whey, coconut milk, blueberrie, peanut butter, and banana smoothie for my post work out drink and I am going to sip on this and see if I can get Sheldon ready for school. Have a wonderful Wednesday...

Columbia Downtown Triathlon Podcast

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5 Days And Counting

Good Morning! I feel great this morning because I actually got up to do my exercising at 5 am like I was supposed to. This is actually pretty late for me to get up but I only had a 45 minute run this morning. I ran 5 miles in 45 minutes with an average heart rate of 144. It is interesting how the heart rate training works and I am very interested to see how I do in this race on Saturday with it. One very ironic thing is that I have trained by aerobic heart rate for 18 weeks and I won't have a monitor on in the race. I did pretty good in the sprint distance I ran 4 weeks ago and felt like I could have gone longer so I am very optimistic. I also incorporated 15 push ups and 10 squats at the beginning of the run, every 10 minutes, and at the end of the run for a total of 90 and 60 respectively. I drank some whey protein and had a bowl of raisin bran. I am looking forward to my green smoothie to enjoy today. It is time for me to get ready so I will catch up later.

6 Days And Counting

So I didn't quite make it up at 4 am. I often have these conversations with myself at 3:55 am when my alarm goes off. The ones where I argue the benefits of sleep versus exercise. Luckily nine times out of ten the exercise wins. Usually after a hard exercise the day before I sometimes get a couple more winks. Since it wasn't a total waste I was able to get up and get thirty minutes of the hour and fifteen I was supposed to on the bike trainer. I'll take it. I also made it to the pool this morning for my quick 1500 meters at the pool and made it back within an hour to work.

After work I met up with the family and we went to the chiropractor. Rebecca had to go a few weeks ago because of a serious problem that almost had her not able to walk. I went last year after a similar issue and now I go the Monday of race week which puts me at about once a month.

We then went to Sports Clips for a haircut and picked up Chinese take out for dinner. Yummy Chinese vegetables. Cedar (my youngest) had enough at the chiropractor and went absolutely crazy when they took me back to get my haircut. He's a cutie though so you can't help but love him. Sheldon did his usual at Sports Clips he talks to all of the adults about sports and tests their knowledge. I don't know where he gets it from but that kid breathes sports.

After dinner I made my green smoothie for tomorrow. I was turned on to these by "Coach Brett" from Zen and the Art of Triathlon. I hope he doesn't mind me advertising for him on here. I tried it with kale, coconut milk, lime, yellow bell pepper, carrots, cilantro, orange, strawberry, spirulina, banana, and grapes. Sheldon helped and thought it was yummy. Rebecca tried it and didn't love it as much as Sheldon but she tasted it at least.

So I don't know if I will worry about making up the bike ride I missed this morning, but tomorrow I will take it easy with a 45 minute run. I am really getting excited about the race I called my folks tonight to make sure they were still going. We will be leaving early Saturday morning (5:00 am) to make it there an hour before the start. They are going with me and taking Sheldon. Rebecca gets a break with Cedar at the library all day. I need to start heading to bed and hopefully I will blog tomorrow.

32 Miles Off The Trainer With Sites On Langely

Hello Again! Well since I am writing this you know I made it from the lake on my bike. This probably isn't that big a deal but it was pretty neat for me and I really enjoyed it. First of all I was supposed to ride 40 miles today but only rode 32. I will take it since I rode on more hills than I am accustomed to especially in my 3 X 5 room I usually ride on my trainer. I left out at 8 am and had a nice steady ride down highway 378 from the Lexington/Saluda County Line to my home in downtown Columbia. The weather was great and I thought I was going to be freezing in my tri-suit I wore but it was perfect. I was glad I kept my toe warmers on though. I rode right at 32.5 miles in 1:44:45 with an average heart rate of 139. I was pretty happy with this as I didn't push myself real hard due to my race next s
Saturday. When I finished the bike I threw on my running shoes and ran about a mile at a 7:41 pace to check my side stitch and it didn't show up. That is comforting to me and I think the Infinit nutrition had a lot to do with that. I will let you know after the race if this still stands true.

This week is a true taper as I will only be working out 3 days this week. I will be back on the trainer at 4 am for about an hour and a quarter and then at the pool at 5:30 am for a quick 1500 meter work out. This is all getting ready for my first olympic distance at Langely Pond in Aiken, SC on Saturday, April 24th. After 17 weeks of heartrate training I feel like I am definately able to complete this distance and I hope to do well. We went to Earth Fare today to get some grub for the week. I will fuel with mostly vegetable and fruit carbs this week getting ready for race day. I did however purchase some spinach and feta turkey burgers that I saw and couldn't pass up. Enjoy the rest of the weekend and until next time.....

Saturday Run

Goodmorning! I had a pretty good run this morning. This was my last long run before the big race next Saturday in Aiken. Still paying attention to heart rate I kept it right at a 145 bpm average which was decent. I ran about 6.2 miles in a little less than an hour. I also incorporated 15 pushups and 10 squats into the routine every 10 minutes. Post race nutrition was a chocolate whey, coconut milk, strawberry, and peanut butter smoothie. Yummy! I took a trip to Publix to get grub for the weekend at the lake and more importantly to get coffee filters. Guess what I forgot. But luckily I didn't make it out of the parking lot. I need to figure out how to put some audio files on here so I can share my race report from the Downtown Columbia Triathlon a couple of weeks ago. I am looking forward to heading out to the lake. Right now I am watching Raggs on PBS with Sheldon. These shows get stranger as time goes on it seems but hey the kids like it. I am sure my folks thought the same thing when I was growing up. Anyway tomorrow I am going to try to ride my bike from the lake to the city (32 miles) if time permits and then go for a quick run to test my Infinit Nutrition and see if I get the side stitch issue that has been plaguing my last two sprint triathlons. Until then, adios!

Getting Started

Today has been a pretty good day overall. It was interesting to have a day off of training. I haven't had one of those in the past 9 weeks. I did however make it to Lake Murray for my second open water wetsuit swim. I only swam about 800 meters but it felt pretty good. I am looking forward to my run tomorrow morning early and then heading to the lake house with the family. I am pretty excited about the whole blog thing and I hope to have enough time to update my posts.