PROPORTIONAL

As my hours at work have increased- so has my hours needed for training.

As my training and work time has increased- my blogging time has decreased.

Waddling, training, working.................

June's totals:
Bike: 12h 38m - 183.15 Mi
Run: 12h 56m 15s - 57.64 Mi
Swim: 8h 08m - 14650 M

After being told that I have metabolic syndrome, I went to Borders and bought every book that I could find to help me. I read through all of them and realized after 2 weeks of trying that I was not going to get a grip on this on my own. So at swim last week, I asked coach Steve for advice. He gave me the name of a nutrition coach who deals with athletes. I called and had an appointment with Coach Lisa yesterday.

First thing that we did was a resting metabolism test to find a base line. Calculating it out my number of calories needed for a day with no activity was 1380. The test actually showed my number to be much lower at 836. You take that number and add on 500 calories needed for daily activity. That gives the number of calories per day to stay the same weight(1336 for me). Coach Lisa put me on 7 small meals per day which add up to around 1200 cal. per day. We will evaluate how I feel and adjust as we go. Goal is to lose 1.3 lbs. per week and be down 20 by the IronDistance. She has a daily menu for me and for the first week I am sure it will be a shock to my system.

Day 1 on the menu went OK. I kept a copy of it in my pocket so I knew what to eat and when. I am sure in a few days I will get the hang of it. (although giving up my Diet Mountain Dew is the biggest challenge)

Waddling and watching what I eat..............

COMMONALITY

What do these 2 things have in common???

The answer is my son ,Bino ! After years of desire by Bino and a driving need to serve his country, yesterday Bino signed the papers for deferred enlistment. He has chosen to be an M1Abrams Tank crewmember and will leave after his senior year of high school at Plainfield North on June 30,2010. He will report for basic and tank training at Fort Knox, Kentucky on July 5,2010.

I have never in my life experienced the gamut of emotions that I went through this week. From the pride in what he has chosen to do followed by the terror of what could happen to him. In between those there have been around a million other emotions. Over the next year before he leaves, I am sure that I will experience even more.

Waddling with pride and love for my son.............

TRAINING

This week is the last week (#10) of Base training for Ironman. I have reached the max. time for weekday workouts. Starting next week during the build the intensity changes for the weekday workouts. Also the weekend workouts begin to get longer.

Good luck to everyone racing this weekend especially those doing IMCDA. I will be following everyone from Chicagoland and cheering.

Waddling after a great day....................

THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE UGLY

Pre-race

I really did not want to do this race. Mentally I just wanted to go for a training ride. It was on my training schedule even. I went through all the motions to get ready and pumped up.Moose said it best before the race-"This is training for pre-race jitters and doing a race. "

The Good

I felt great on the bike. There was a lady that started 2 waves behind me(45-49) riding a mountain bike that kept pace with me the entire course. Our average speed was 19-20mph. On the second lap she thanked me for setting a great pace. I thanked her for pissing me off that I couldn't beat a mountain bike on my tri bike. We laughed and pushed through lap 2.

The Bad

My run time was 4 minutes slower than last year. I couldn't seem to get a rhythm. I wasn't upset and just set out to not walk and enjoy the run. I even took time for a potty bike. Everyone that I had passed on the bike course now passed me. I had alot left at the finish so I know that I did not push too hard out there.

The Ugly
Because of the water temperature being cold, it was suggested earlier in the week to wear wetsuits so I did. I was feeling good waiting to start. The area is very tight at the start and goes not get deep until half way to the first buoy. I had just reached the deep water when the person in front of me pushed off with her foot into my stomach. I went under and sucked in a major amount of water. When I came up, I was panicked and couldn't breathe. I tried to swim and couldn't catch my breath. I flipped on my back and kicked until I felt better. Finally the swim was over As I walked to transition, I tossed my cookies. Somehow my swim was only 4 minutes longer than last year.

Post-Race

I actually am happy with my day. My total time was 10 minutes slower than last year. I was encouraged that although I wanted to quit during the swim, I finished. It was not anywhere near my best race but also it wasn't my worst.

Tri-Sharkie and I at the finish.

Special thanks to Iron Snoopy and Moose for being the best supporters ever and taking photos.

Waddling into week 10 of training............

TRI-RACE WEEK #1

This weekend is my first outdoor Tri of the season. It falls right at the end of my first 10 weeks of training. I looked at my times from last year and I think they will be hard for me to beat. Reasons are that I am heavier especially around the waist and I haven't ran anything fast. I have no goals except to have a good training day. (Sounds like a cop out if I do bad doesn't it?) I just know where I am at.

Last night Tri-Sharkie, Snips, and I went down to Centennial Beach where the swim is for the Tri. The race sent out an email suggesting to wear a wetsuit due to the water temp. Amazingly, I fit into it. The water felt icy. We swam back and forth in the open water deep end. Damn, it was so much harder than I remembered.

I suddenly have this great desire not to race and just have a regular training weekend.

Waddling to get ready for the weekend..............