January Training Log

Total Days of Working Out = 17 days (+ 2 days of snowboarding)
Miles Running: 21 miles
Miles on Road Bike: 30 miles
Time on Stationary bike : 7.25 hours
Swimming : 4500 yards

January 2nd – TBF Duathlon – 2 mile run / 7 mile bike / 2 mile run
• 17:40 (2 miles)
• 23 or 25 min (Avg spd – 17.2)  with hills
• 19:50 (2 miles)
Felt loose and strong on the 1st run, bike was very congested, two way traffic, lots of passing on downhill corners on wet surface. Trying to push it – moments of rhythm - kept getting cut off and have to restart. 1st mile of second run was tough. Legs heavy. 2nd mile picked up the pace and felt good coming in.
Did a 23 mile bike ride in the afternoon after lunch.

January 3rd – 1700 yards swimming
• 300 yards warm up
• 1200 yards 25 min 25 sec (1:49, 2:04, 2:02, 2:11, 2:06, 2:08, 2:04, 2:15, 2:13, 2:11, 2:16, 1:59)
• 200 yard cool down

Weight 196 lbs– was 201lbs on December 11th at Dr’s Appointment. Have to drop weight prior to July or the run will be a bitch.

January 4th - Monday – missed my morning run. Caught 30 minute x-bike class after work and ran 2 miles. Ravenously hungry following the work out. Slept like a rock. Had trouble getting up as I felt like I had melted into the bed. Will need to prioritize sleep as workouts get more intense.
 
Tuesday – 1/5
Swim 1900 yards Total – Warm up drills, technique and cool down. 1200 yards (4 x 300 with 1 minute rest between). 100 yards timed splits.
1200 yard Time 22:33. 100 yard splits (1:52, 1:55, 1:53, 1:48, 1:53, 1:51, 1:47, 1:54, 1:53, 1:48, 1:56, 1:55)
Still can’t stay away from the chocolate at home. No will power.

Wednesday – 1/6
Awful Run. Legs heavy, cold and dark out side. 4 miles really slow (42 minutes). 1st 2 miles at 11 min pace (uphill), 2nd 2 miles at 10 min pace (downhill).
Still don’t like running. Necessary evil for the Tri though. So what Motivates Me? I keep replaying two scenes in my head. Scene 1: Coming into T2 – jumping off the bike, and heading out for the run. People clapping and cheering. Seeing family and friends, and being energized by the whole experience. Scene 2: The final mile to the finish. Knowing all the training is paying off. In less than 10 minutes I will be crossing the finish line and will be able to say that I have accomplished my goal of completing an Ironman 70.3. The energy from the crowd at the finish line. I have replayed these scenes over and over in my head a thousand times by now. Every run, over and over. Luckily I haven’t camped on the vision of the other 12 miles of agony, or I would probably not get out of bed. I also keep telling myself that I am running with an extra 40 lbs. That is an accomplishment in and of itself. The well trained athletes don’t have to go out an do their workouts with an extra 40lbs strapped on to them.

Thursday 1/7 - 45 minute XXX bike at the gym.   Feel like a cold is coming on.

Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday (1/8-1/12) : No workouts.  Cold did come on - tired and fatigued.  Mental battle going on.  One side feeling the need to get out and do something, feeling like I am losing training days.  The other side of me recognizing that to over do the training while sick could make me even more weak and prolong the cold for weeks. This weekend was also Zach's kid  b-day party, overnighter, and family b-day dinner.  Lots of chaos. So now I just sit and wait.  Taking vitamins and drinking herbal tea.

Wednesday 1/13 - Went to the Performance Swim Training course at the gym after work.  For the second time in a week the coach didn't show up.  Did a lite workout coming off of a cold.  900 yards total.

• 200 yard warm up
• 600 yards - 100 yard split times of (1:43, 1:52, 1:51, 1:49, 1:55, 1:49)
• 100 yard cool down.

Thursday 1/14 - 3 mile run (31:48) - Terrible run, still feeling the affects of the cold.  Couldn't breathe and felt very fatigued (6:30am , 40 degrees). I am still 6 months away from Vineman and yet a day like this makes me very stressed.  I told myself in November that my goal was to keep a base through the winter, lose a few pounds, and make sure I was doing some sort of exercise 3-4 days per week.  I figured I would really kick it in gear mid april after snowboard season and once the days got longer and it started warming up. It is only January and I am beating myself up mentally for a bad run with a cold.  Get a grip.

Friday 1/15 - 45 minute XX-bike at the Gym (6:00 am)

Saturday 1/16 - Snowboarding :)

Sunday 1/17 - No Exercise - went to see ailing grandmother.

Monday 1/18 - Ran 6.2 miles (59:16)  in the pouring rain.  What is more challenging than running hills?  Running hills, in the rain, with a 15-30 mph headwind.  3 miles into the wind, mostly uphill (31:08), 3 miles wind at my back, mostly downhill (26:26).  Even in bad weather my legs felt stronger than they have in weeks. Maybe the day off and 9 hours of sleep last night did me some good.

Tuesday 1/19 - 45 minute XXX-Bike at the gym (6:00am)

Wednesday 1/20 - 45 minute XX-bike at the gym (6:00pm)

Thursday 1/21 - 45 minute XXX-bike at the gym (6:00pm)

Saturday 1/23 - 6 feet of new powder fell this week.   Had to spend the day at Northstar on the board.  At least my quads got a good workout.

Sunday 1/24 - No exercise.  Should have gone out first thing in the morning when I woke up.  Wishful thinking that maybe Amanda and I would go for a run or bike ride in the afternoon.  Household chores took control, and before you know it, it is dark outside and raining again.  Lessson Learned - Take advantage of the open spaces of time to exercise.  Don't put it off.

Monday 1/25 - 45 minute XX-Bike at the gym (6:00am).  Still cold and raining out this morning - decided not to run.  Didn't get enough sleep and didn't sleep well.  At least I did something.

Weighed in at 195 lbs.  (Amazing that I have totally changed my eating habits and incresing exercise and I am not losing weight.)

Tuesday 1/26 - 45 minute XXX-Bike at the gym (6:00am).  Not overly motivated during today's workout.  felt like I was giving it about 80%.  The real victory was the mental battle this morning while laying in bed. After my alarm went off I laid there for 15 minutes trying to convince myself that my body needed more rest and that my time would be better spent sleeping rather than getting up for another workout. I  finally jumped out of bed when I faced the truth and stopped listening to lazy Keith and started listening to Triathlete Keith.  I had to face the fact that 1 more hour of sleep really wouldn't change my day that much, but I would regret missing a workout.  Believe it or not, all this time away from running and I am hoping it will stop raining so that I can go for a run soon.

Wednesday 1/26 - 45 minute XX-Bike at the gym (6:00pm), followed by 1.5 mile run on the treadmill at 8:00 minute per mile pace.   Heart rate 159 following run.

Thursday 1/27 - Not a planned day off - Work/Life won today.  No time slot to squeeze in a workout.

Friday 1/28 - 45 minute XX-Bike at the gym (6:00am), followed by 1 mile run on the treadmill at a 10 minute pace.  Trying to get my legs used to the transition.

Saturday 1/29 - Full day of snowboarding.
Sunday 1/30 - Traveled to see grandma. No workout.