So for a couple of weeks in April (maybe even dating back to late March?) I was doing most of my swimming in the evenings in New Hope. I soon noticed that around the same time, 7:00ish, on Mondays, Wednesdays (and 1 Friday when I was there) the same female would show up and also swim. Could tell she was possibly training for something or at least it was a serious workout (for her), not just casually swimming. She wasn’t the fastest, but knew what she was doing. I never really saw her without my goggles on, without her swim cap on, we never swam in lanes next to each other and never started/finished at the same time. It was hard to pinpoint her age, especially cuz she had a cap and goggles on. Anyhoo, the last time we were both there she did happen to end her workout first and get out of the pool and take off her cap. As (not-so-good) luck would have it I was at the other end of the pool, but had time to “rest” at the wall and flip my goggles up. From what I could tell she was in the right demographic ballpark and I liked what I saw. I’ll admit, the past couple of weeks I’ve purposely delayed some of my swims to happen in the evenings in hopes of seeing her again. I didn’t purposely do that yesterday by oversleeping, but I wasn’t all that disappointed when I realized what day it was and that maybe she would be there. Unfortunately, she wasn’t, and I haven’t seen her in 3-4 weeks now. I’m thinking I probably won’t again, especially with my training schedule getting longer I’ll need to be more diligent about getting there in the mornings.
So, it begs the question, how does one successfully go about asking someone out when you're at a health club? Too often, too many people, men & women, are in the club and you know they're there just see and be seen and it's quite pathetic at times. I've always had the mindset I'm going to the gym to workout, not hookup, and I'm going to assume most others have the same approach so I'm going to respect that. When someone does come around that catches my eye, am I then supposed to wait outside until they get done and stalk them to their car so I'm not a hypocrite? Kidding (sort of).
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Monday, May 16, 2011
This biking thing is getting better! Had my longest, and dare I say it, best, ride yesterday. I headed out to meet the twins, Karlene and Nicole, on the Liberty Tri course, a local 1/2 iron distance tri. The bike loop consists of a 28 mile route you do 2x. The first loop I kind of rode with them. Being a little stronger than them I was able to pull ahead on some segments, but then I'd stop and wait at each turn. The second loop I rode straight through, it was planned that way, and held a nice steady pace. Did I mention it was windy? Oh yeah, it was windy! Mostly a crosswind which I seriously had to adjust for and some wide open roads with a headwind that literally kept me from speeding up while going downhill. No lie. This course wasn't flat either, a lot of rolling hills with a couple of climbs I had to bust out the granny gear (for you non-bikers, the granny gear is the easiest gear). So, with the wind and the hills, being able to hold an 18 mph average over 50 miles, I'm pretty happy with that!
And because I just didn't get enough hills yesterday, I did more repeats on the ski hill by my office today for a short 45 minute ride! I'm going to own Bush Lake Rd by the time this training season is done. You're gonne be mine, Bitch!
And because I just didn't get enough hills yesterday, I did more repeats on the ski hill by my office today for a short 45 minute ride! I'm going to own Bush Lake Rd by the time this training season is done. You're gonne be mine, Bitch!
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Lessons Learned?
So a couple of days ago I was thinking back to my 1/2 marathon last weekend, going through it mile by mile, and a smile started forming and then it got bigger...and bigger... I made the realization that that race was now the owner of my best finish ever! By finish, I don't mean crossing the finish line or my time. I mean the last couple of miles of any race I've done with significant distance. Over the last 2ish miles I only got passed once! I did most of the passing! In most of my previous marathons and longer tris I usually hit "the wall", be it from going out too fast, poor nutrition, poor training, take your pick. This time around I started slow, kept a nice even pace throughout, (properly trained heading into it!) and I was the one passing people at the end! The 1 guy who did pass me I recognized from a few miles back. He was running with his wife back then and I could tell he was holding back so I wasn't too disappointed he got me back. Over those final 2 miles I just kept telling myself to stay relaxed and just get that next person in front of me...and then the next person...and then the next. I just kept getting 'em, what a great feeling! I want to end every race like that!
The pendulum has swung to running as being my strong suit/favorite right now. Early in the season it was probably biking, then running creeped up there, then I had a breakthrough in swimming so I felt that was where I was gaining the most benefit, but now I feel like it's running again. Funny how it can change in just a matter of a couple of workouts. I had a good training run on Sunday and another one today. Sunday's ended up being shorter than what the training schedule called for, but I got started late and was meeting a training partner to go for a ride immediately after so I didn't want to keep her waiting just so I could finish my run. I headed out on an out-n-back route to make sure I'd be back in time (vs a route that's a loop, harder to gauge how long it might take). Once done with the run, I didn't immediately know how far I had gone until I got home later and mapped it out online, but was curious because it felt fast-ish. Granted, my HR was a little higher than what a training run calls for, but not too far out of bounds, maybe 5-7% higher than it should've been. It turned out I did a 7:45/mile pace for that run and it didn't feel like I was working all that hard! Woot woot!!
The ride immediately after that run was interesting, to say the least! It started sprinkling, but since we were both there we still headed out, thought it would be good to get some training done in adverse conditions. Never gonna know what race day weather will be like so get prepared for anything! Sprinkles turned into a drizzle (or is it the other way around?) which turned into a steady rain (but not a downpour).
We came to an intersection and had to cross some railroad tracks. Now, if there's 1 thing you want to do when on your bike and your faced with RR tracks in the road that is to cross them at as much of a 90 degree angle as possible. Unfortunately, these tracks cut through the road at an angle and throw on top of that being slippery from the rain and you guessed it, someone fell. No, it wasn't me, but my partner did. Her front tire slipped into the groove between the track and the road and down she went.
Granted, we weren't cruising along at 20 mph and it came out of nowhere, but she still fell and absorbed the bounce with the side of her body. Before you ask "well, why didn't she just put her foot down?" it's not that easy. When you're wearing bike shoes and clipped into your pedals, the hardest thing to do is get unclipped once you know you're heading down.
Bike crashes are kinda surreal and strange to see happen. I've witnessed 2 now - CC had a doozy of a crash 3 years ago careening out of control on a downhill, swearing the whole way and now this fall, I hesitate to call it a crash. I was riding behind Nic and had just got done crossing the tracks when I saw her bike basically stop and then she started tipping over to the right. I had to quick turn to avoid her, but remember thinking "Huh, she's gonna fall. Look at that. There she goes." And she never said a word. Fortunately, there wasn't any blood, we don't think she broke anything (although her wrist is still sore a couple of days later) and her bike is still functioning as it should. Just makes me hope that if I ever crash, it's into a lake or better yet, a big pile of down pillows!
The pendulum has swung to running as being my strong suit/favorite right now. Early in the season it was probably biking, then running creeped up there, then I had a breakthrough in swimming so I felt that was where I was gaining the most benefit, but now I feel like it's running again. Funny how it can change in just a matter of a couple of workouts. I had a good training run on Sunday and another one today. Sunday's ended up being shorter than what the training schedule called for, but I got started late and was meeting a training partner to go for a ride immediately after so I didn't want to keep her waiting just so I could finish my run. I headed out on an out-n-back route to make sure I'd be back in time (vs a route that's a loop, harder to gauge how long it might take). Once done with the run, I didn't immediately know how far I had gone until I got home later and mapped it out online, but was curious because it felt fast-ish. Granted, my HR was a little higher than what a training run calls for, but not too far out of bounds, maybe 5-7% higher than it should've been. It turned out I did a 7:45/mile pace for that run and it didn't feel like I was working all that hard! Woot woot!!
The ride immediately after that run was interesting, to say the least! It started sprinkling, but since we were both there we still headed out, thought it would be good to get some training done in adverse conditions. Never gonna know what race day weather will be like so get prepared for anything! Sprinkles turned into a drizzle (or is it the other way around?) which turned into a steady rain (but not a downpour).
We came to an intersection and had to cross some railroad tracks. Now, if there's 1 thing you want to do when on your bike and your faced with RR tracks in the road that is to cross them at as much of a 90 degree angle as possible. Unfortunately, these tracks cut through the road at an angle and throw on top of that being slippery from the rain and you guessed it, someone fell. No, it wasn't me, but my partner did. Her front tire slipped into the groove between the track and the road and down she went.
Granted, we weren't cruising along at 20 mph and it came out of nowhere, but she still fell and absorbed the bounce with the side of her body. Before you ask "well, why didn't she just put her foot down?" it's not that easy. When you're wearing bike shoes and clipped into your pedals, the hardest thing to do is get unclipped once you know you're heading down.
Bike crashes are kinda surreal and strange to see happen. I've witnessed 2 now - CC had a doozy of a crash 3 years ago careening out of control on a downhill, swearing the whole way and now this fall, I hesitate to call it a crash. I was riding behind Nic and had just got done crossing the tracks when I saw her bike basically stop and then she started tipping over to the right. I had to quick turn to avoid her, but remember thinking "Huh, she's gonna fall. Look at that. There she goes." And she never said a word. Fortunately, there wasn't any blood, we don't think she broke anything (although her wrist is still sore a couple of days later) and her bike is still functioning as it should. Just makes me hope that if I ever crash, it's into a lake or better yet, a big pile of down pillows!
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
So, About This Biking Thing...
disclaimer: I really did start this the next day after my previous post! However, I'm just getting back to finishing it up now, on 5/8. In the future, I won't make any bold statements about when I'll be posting, I don't want to disappoint all you faithful readers. All 2 of you are still out there, right?
Biking is fickle. One can put in approx. 1,400 miles in 4 months, but not go anywhere. That's literally and figuratively how I've felt with my biking. Literally, because most of that has been done locked into my trainer. So while I'm getting saddle time and my ass is making a new BFF, I've been stuck in one spot looking at the same scenery (unless I've been prepared enough and stopped by a Redbox to pick up a new movie). Figuratively, because all that time in the basement spinning, spinning and more spinning I thought it would translate into Lance Armstrong-like comparisons once the rubber met the road this Spring. (not literally, but you know what I mean)
I was excited to finally get the bike outside and see/feel what all the trainer rides have done for me. I felt like I was getting stronger, was able to pedal harder for longer, used higher gears (or is it lower, i.e. harder?) and actually noticed more muscle mass in my legs. It didn't quite translate into all that once a real ride came about. My first ride I thought I'd just keep fairly simple, just get used to actually moving forward, clipping in and out of the pedals again and needing to actually pay attention to my surroundings. It was a fairly uneventful ride, but once I got done I could feel the difference in my legs between an indoor trainer ride and a real ride outside. I'm not sure I could've run a 5k at that point and here I am training to run a full marathon in the IM after just 112 miles on the bike?! This first ride was pretty flat, just getting outside miles, so it was a little disconcerting to have weak legs at the end.
Issue #2 came on ride #2. The hard thing, at least for me, with a trainer is it's hard to simulate hills. Maybe I'm not torquing enough tension onto the roller? I thought I had some pretty good workouts on the trainer, but once I got outside and actually rode up some hills I realized there's no substitution for the real thing! I went on this ride with Tim, another Ironman-wanna-be-in-training. He's younger, in better shape than I am, but still being a competitor on the inside, I thought we were fairly equivalent in our biking abilities. The route he choose had some moderate, at best, climbs. I don't know if I just attacked the hills wrong, was in the wrong gear starting out or just plain wasn't ready for my workout, but it felt like I was struggling with every single incline! Tim and I would be riding along side by side (when car traffic allowed), but as soon as a hill came along I quickly resumed my rear position, and not by choice. I realized after this ride that I need to work on hills, I need to focus on the quality of the ride (make sure hills are part of the route) and not just quantity (time). Anyone can ride on roads that are like pancakes as long as their ass can withstand it, but I'll need to be able to deal with non-pancakes.
So, that's a brief recap of my first couple of rides outdoors a couple of weeks back. I'm happy to report now that I'm not feeling quite so down about the biking thing. I've had a couple of decent rides since then, another one with Tim that had some moderate-to-hard climbs that I did better with (he still dropped me going up), and a couple of workouts that I just did hill repeats on (rode up and came right back down only to ride right back up again! Yes, on purpose). I think it'll come, just gotta give it more time.
Another #s update: I didn't blog about my weight in March because I didn't lose any. Didn't gain, but didn't lose either, a little disappointing. April saw things drop a little again so that's good - dropped 4 more lbs so I'm currently sitting around 176, down 17 after 4 months.
Biking is fickle. One can put in approx. 1,400 miles in 4 months, but not go anywhere. That's literally and figuratively how I've felt with my biking. Literally, because most of that has been done locked into my trainer. So while I'm getting saddle time and my ass is making a new BFF, I've been stuck in one spot looking at the same scenery (unless I've been prepared enough and stopped by a Redbox to pick up a new movie). Figuratively, because all that time in the basement spinning, spinning and more spinning I thought it would translate into Lance Armstrong-like comparisons once the rubber met the road this Spring. (not literally, but you know what I mean)
I was excited to finally get the bike outside and see/feel what all the trainer rides have done for me. I felt like I was getting stronger, was able to pedal harder for longer, used higher gears (or is it lower, i.e. harder?) and actually noticed more muscle mass in my legs. It didn't quite translate into all that once a real ride came about. My first ride I thought I'd just keep fairly simple, just get used to actually moving forward, clipping in and out of the pedals again and needing to actually pay attention to my surroundings. It was a fairly uneventful ride, but once I got done I could feel the difference in my legs between an indoor trainer ride and a real ride outside. I'm not sure I could've run a 5k at that point and here I am training to run a full marathon in the IM after just 112 miles on the bike?! This first ride was pretty flat, just getting outside miles, so it was a little disconcerting to have weak legs at the end.
Issue #2 came on ride #2. The hard thing, at least for me, with a trainer is it's hard to simulate hills. Maybe I'm not torquing enough tension onto the roller? I thought I had some pretty good workouts on the trainer, but once I got outside and actually rode up some hills I realized there's no substitution for the real thing! I went on this ride with Tim, another Ironman-wanna-be-in-training. He's younger, in better shape than I am, but still being a competitor on the inside, I thought we were fairly equivalent in our biking abilities. The route he choose had some moderate, at best, climbs. I don't know if I just attacked the hills wrong, was in the wrong gear starting out or just plain wasn't ready for my workout, but it felt like I was struggling with every single incline! Tim and I would be riding along side by side (when car traffic allowed), but as soon as a hill came along I quickly resumed my rear position, and not by choice. I realized after this ride that I need to work on hills, I need to focus on the quality of the ride (make sure hills are part of the route) and not just quantity (time). Anyone can ride on roads that are like pancakes as long as their ass can withstand it, but I'll need to be able to deal with non-pancakes.
So, that's a brief recap of my first couple of rides outdoors a couple of weeks back. I'm happy to report now that I'm not feeling quite so down about the biking thing. I've had a couple of decent rides since then, another one with Tim that had some moderate-to-hard climbs that I did better with (he still dropped me going up), and a couple of workouts that I just did hill repeats on (rode up and came right back down only to ride right back up again! Yes, on purpose). I think it'll come, just gotta give it more time.
Another #s update: I didn't blog about my weight in March because I didn't lose any. Didn't gain, but didn't lose either, a little disappointing. April saw things drop a little again so that's good - dropped 4 more lbs so I'm currently sitting around 176, down 17 after 4 months.
Monday, May 2, 2011
April (is for Fools)
It's a new month so I guess that means it's time for my monthly post. Oops again.
April was a good training month. Felt like I had a breakthrough in the pool and became more efficient with my stroke; finally was able to get the bike outside a couple of times, but not nearly enough (thanks Ma Nature); and my running has gotten, dare I say it, speedy (for my standards anyway).
April #s: 497.6 miles
Swim: 30,750 yds, 17.5 miles
Bike: 395.5 miles, 22 hrs 40 minutes
Run: 84.6 miles, 13 hrs
Cumulative #s thru April: 1,757.7 miles (yikes!)
Swim: 109,175 yds, 62 miles
Bike: 1,397.5 miles, 78 hrs 20 minutes
Run: 298.2 miles, 45 hrs 25 minutes
Opened my "racing" season yesterday with the Lake Minnetonka 1/2 marathon. This was my first time doing this race, and despite it's main sponsor (Wells Fargo), it fit good into my schedule and a good chance to gauge how my training has been. After looking at the course profile I knew it wasn't going to be the flattest course, but it wasn't killer hilly either, just a lot of rolling type hills. I went into the race with somewhat high expectations. A lot of my training runs leading up to this event were feeling pretty good and at a pretty decent pace, 8:00-8:30/mile. My PR for this distance was 1:51 (8:30 pace) set 4 years ago and I was hoping to PR this time around. Race morning brought with it chilly temps in the 30s and 20+ mph headwinds so there was actually a windchill factor too (did I fail to mention this was MAY?!)!!
I started out with CC, who had already done 4 miles previously so she could get in her 17 total needed. The first mile was on the slower side @ 11:00, but most of that was due to normal race congestion and bottlenecks at many of the corners. After that it was my plan to speed up and race the event and shoot for a 1:45-1:50 finish so I started increase my SPMs (strides per minute) and weaved through the crowds. I settled into a comfortable pace and just ran my race.
At mile 5, after taking out that first mile anomaly, I figured out I was running 8 minute miles. Mile 8 came along and was still holding steady right at 8s, mile 10 same thing and I knew I was going to do it. If I had know the course a little better I may have kicked it in a little more, but I was pretty happy I was able to maintain a comfortable, consistent speed. The final 3 miles breezed by and I hit my time goal, crossing in 1:48, a new PR for 13.1 miles!!
This race, but more importantly the results, have proven the training is working. Who knows, maybe some more PRs will fall yet this year! Now, I just need to make sure I keep at it and don't stagnate. My running is getting there, swimming feels better, biking though...rethinking my first 4 months of this discipline. That'll be tomorrow night's subject (yes, I'll blog 2 days in a row!).
April was a good training month. Felt like I had a breakthrough in the pool and became more efficient with my stroke; finally was able to get the bike outside a couple of times, but not nearly enough (thanks Ma Nature); and my running has gotten, dare I say it, speedy (for my standards anyway).
April #s: 497.6 miles
Swim: 30,750 yds, 17.5 miles
Bike: 395.5 miles, 22 hrs 40 minutes
Run: 84.6 miles, 13 hrs
Cumulative #s thru April: 1,757.7 miles (yikes!)
Swim: 109,175 yds, 62 miles
Bike: 1,397.5 miles, 78 hrs 20 minutes
Run: 298.2 miles, 45 hrs 25 minutes
Opened my "racing" season yesterday with the Lake Minnetonka 1/2 marathon. This was my first time doing this race, and despite it's main sponsor (Wells Fargo), it fit good into my schedule and a good chance to gauge how my training has been. After looking at the course profile I knew it wasn't going to be the flattest course, but it wasn't killer hilly either, just a lot of rolling type hills. I went into the race with somewhat high expectations. A lot of my training runs leading up to this event were feeling pretty good and at a pretty decent pace, 8:00-8:30/mile. My PR for this distance was 1:51 (8:30 pace) set 4 years ago and I was hoping to PR this time around. Race morning brought with it chilly temps in the 30s and 20+ mph headwinds so there was actually a windchill factor too (did I fail to mention this was MAY?!)!!
I started out with CC, who had already done 4 miles previously so she could get in her 17 total needed. The first mile was on the slower side @ 11:00, but most of that was due to normal race congestion and bottlenecks at many of the corners. After that it was my plan to speed up and race the event and shoot for a 1:45-1:50 finish so I started increase my SPMs (strides per minute) and weaved through the crowds. I settled into a comfortable pace and just ran my race.
At mile 5, after taking out that first mile anomaly, I figured out I was running 8 minute miles. Mile 8 came along and was still holding steady right at 8s, mile 10 same thing and I knew I was going to do it. If I had know the course a little better I may have kicked it in a little more, but I was pretty happy I was able to maintain a comfortable, consistent speed. The final 3 miles breezed by and I hit my time goal, crossing in 1:48, a new PR for 13.1 miles!!
This race, but more importantly the results, have proven the training is working. Who knows, maybe some more PRs will fall yet this year! Now, I just need to make sure I keep at it and don't stagnate. My running is getting there, swimming feels better, biking though...rethinking my first 4 months of this discipline. That'll be tomorrow night's subject (yes, I'll blog 2 days in a row!).
Friday, April 8, 2011
It's A Numbers Game
March #s:
Swim = 22,275 yds or approx. 12.7 miles
Bike = 22 hrs 5 minutes or approx. 397.5 miles
Run = 13 hrs 55 minutes or approx. 94.4 miles
Cumulative:
Swim = 78,425 yds or approx. 44.6 miles
Bike = 60 hrs 5 minutes or approx. 1,002 miles
Run = 35 hrs 20 minutes or approx. 213.6 miles
Whew, that makes me tired just typing and thinking about those cumulative numbers! I guess that's why you need to break down the training into sizeable chunks and not look at it as 1 whole.
Now that it's past and I look back on March, I'll just say good riddance. It's not that it was a terrible month, but I was definitely good out of the gates in January and February, but lost some mojo somewhere along the way in the middle of March for a couple of weeks. I'm happy to say I was able to find it again and have been going strong again for the past couple of weeks. I haven't yet, but if you go back and reread an earlier post I think I alluded to thinking that this IM training wasn't going to be too bad and didn't know what all the whining (that's too strong of a word, but it fits to give you the picture) was about from some others when it came to getting through it mentally as much as physically. Well, I guess this is where I insert my apology to those who have come before me and warned me this might happen. There were a few days when I just didn't want to get in the pool and justified any excuse not to - "getting up at 5 a.m. is too early, I'll go during lunch", "gas prices are too high and the pool's too far away", "swimming is such a small part of the overall race I can afford to miss a workout or two", etc., you get the picture. This really did only seem to be affecting the swim portions, you can see that in the totals comparing month-to-month. I think the main reason behind that is because biking in my basement and running are easy enough to do and don't require commute time. That's a pretty lame excuse.
A lot of my March workouts were also done alone. This didn't help. As introverted and comfortable with just being with myself as I am, even I need social interaction. I got to thinking about this during one of my longer spin sessions on a Saturday morning. It started out with just thinking how hungry I was at the time and how nice it would be to have someone there who would have a nice, big, hot breakfast waiting for me once I got done (and no, before you go all "equal rights" on me, I don't think the only place for a woman is in the kitchen...they're also allowed in the bedroom). Kidding, I'm just kidding!! Anyhoo, back to my thought...it would be nice to have a meal waiting and actually wanting (needing?) to have a conversation. From there, I delved back into my "reasons" for not currently having a girlfriend - not enough time to pursue a relationship, not enough $$, I'm focusing on the kids, I'm putting myself first, etc. Once again, lame excuses. I want someone there I can talk to, I want someone there in Madison I can share this experience with (outside of family and platonic friends), I want someone there I can show off to/for.
I think part of my problem is that I'm not truly grown up and I'm still "stuck" in my younger years. Let me explain. I'm 42 years old. Because of this active, athletic (if I can be presumptuous enough to call it that) lifestyle, I feel younger than what I envision a 42 year old should feel like. Because I feel younger than what I think I should, I'm inadvertently attracted to women who are younger and not necessarily my peers. The problem is, the younger gals aren't attracted to the older guys, but I don't "see" myself as an older guy. When looking at online dating profiles of people in my age range, 38-45 yrs, almost all the time I would've guessed they were older. If I'm thinking my peers look older than what they are and I'm dismissing them because of that, then I've been fishing in the wrong lake. I asked a close friend for an honest opinion of how old I look and no, I wasn't expecting to hear something in the 20s (and didn't). She came back with maybe a year or two older than what I actually am. So, here I am, an older looking guy looking for a younger looking gal just because he feels younger on the inside. Am I really that shallow? I think I'll need another long bike ride to get to the bottom of that, good thing the workouts are getting longer (or is it?).
Swim = 22,275 yds or approx. 12.7 miles
Bike = 22 hrs 5 minutes or approx. 397.5 miles
Run = 13 hrs 55 minutes or approx. 94.4 miles
Cumulative:
Swim = 78,425 yds or approx. 44.6 miles
Bike = 60 hrs 5 minutes or approx. 1,002 miles
Run = 35 hrs 20 minutes or approx. 213.6 miles
Whew, that makes me tired just typing and thinking about those cumulative numbers! I guess that's why you need to break down the training into sizeable chunks and not look at it as 1 whole.
Now that it's past and I look back on March, I'll just say good riddance. It's not that it was a terrible month, but I was definitely good out of the gates in January and February, but lost some mojo somewhere along the way in the middle of March for a couple of weeks. I'm happy to say I was able to find it again and have been going strong again for the past couple of weeks. I haven't yet, but if you go back and reread an earlier post I think I alluded to thinking that this IM training wasn't going to be too bad and didn't know what all the whining (that's too strong of a word, but it fits to give you the picture) was about from some others when it came to getting through it mentally as much as physically. Well, I guess this is where I insert my apology to those who have come before me and warned me this might happen. There were a few days when I just didn't want to get in the pool and justified any excuse not to - "getting up at 5 a.m. is too early, I'll go during lunch", "gas prices are too high and the pool's too far away", "swimming is such a small part of the overall race I can afford to miss a workout or two", etc., you get the picture. This really did only seem to be affecting the swim portions, you can see that in the totals comparing month-to-month. I think the main reason behind that is because biking in my basement and running are easy enough to do and don't require commute time. That's a pretty lame excuse.
A lot of my March workouts were also done alone. This didn't help. As introverted and comfortable with just being with myself as I am, even I need social interaction. I got to thinking about this during one of my longer spin sessions on a Saturday morning. It started out with just thinking how hungry I was at the time and how nice it would be to have someone there who would have a nice, big, hot breakfast waiting for me once I got done (and no, before you go all "equal rights" on me, I don't think the only place for a woman is in the kitchen...they're also allowed in the bedroom). Kidding, I'm just kidding!! Anyhoo, back to my thought...it would be nice to have a meal waiting and actually wanting (needing?) to have a conversation. From there, I delved back into my "reasons" for not currently having a girlfriend - not enough time to pursue a relationship, not enough $$, I'm focusing on the kids, I'm putting myself first, etc. Once again, lame excuses. I want someone there I can talk to, I want someone there in Madison I can share this experience with (outside of family and platonic friends), I want someone there I can show off to/for.
I think part of my problem is that I'm not truly grown up and I'm still "stuck" in my younger years. Let me explain. I'm 42 years old. Because of this active, athletic (if I can be presumptuous enough to call it that) lifestyle, I feel younger than what I envision a 42 year old should feel like. Because I feel younger than what I think I should, I'm inadvertently attracted to women who are younger and not necessarily my peers. The problem is, the younger gals aren't attracted to the older guys, but I don't "see" myself as an older guy. When looking at online dating profiles of people in my age range, 38-45 yrs, almost all the time I would've guessed they were older. If I'm thinking my peers look older than what they are and I'm dismissing them because of that, then I've been fishing in the wrong lake. I asked a close friend for an honest opinion of how old I look and no, I wasn't expecting to hear something in the 20s (and didn't). She came back with maybe a year or two older than what I actually am. So, here I am, an older looking guy looking for a younger looking gal just because he feels younger on the inside. Am I really that shallow? I think I'll need another long bike ride to get to the bottom of that, good thing the workouts are getting longer (or is it?).
Thursday, March 3, 2011
March Means Spring (I hope!)
Who's ready to get outside and have this winter be over?! Lord knows I am! I'm a little excited to take the bike off the trainer and test out what the past 2 months have done for me on the open road. I've had what have felt like some pretty strong bike workouts lately so things continue to progress in the right direction. I'm getting tired of running indoors too. I try to avoid the dreadmill, but the short tracks aren't much better as once you get into a rhythm on the straightaway it's time to take another corner or dodge a bluehair. The workouts are getting longer and this is the first week where the training plan is throwing double workouts at me every day (except for the recovery day on Friday). I've made it through Thursday so it's just about buckling down and getting through the weekend now. Gotta earn that cookie!
Speaking of heading in the right direction, a new month means stepping on the scale. February was stellar in that regard and I dropped 11 lbs, down to 180.3! I haven't been that light in 3 years. That was a pretty big drop though and I don't necessarily want to keep up that pace. If I do, that would put me right around 114 lbs by the time the Ironman gets here and I just don't think I'd look healthy at that weight. Seriously though, I'd probably be good to drop just another 10 lbs total over the next few months as long as it's the right weight. I don't want to sacrifice muscle mass just to get to a golden # so I have to be smart about it. I've incorporated some good suggestions from 2 friends who are knowledgeable in the nutrition area so they've become my go-to resources in that realm. Thanks Alicia and Emily!
Here are my February training #s:
swim - 27,500 yds or 15.6 miles
bike - 19 hrs and 10 minutes or approx. 345 miles
run - 10 hrs and 20 minutes or approx. 68.3 miles
for a monthly total of 428.9 miles
Cumulative through Feb:
swim = 56,150 yds/31.9 miles
bike = 33:35/604.5 miles
run = 18:30/119.2 miles
total = 755.6 miles
On the parental front, not only did Conner draw this picture freehand (using the one on the right as a guide), but he told me tonight one of his art class drawings was chosen to be on the cover of his school's yearbook! The real honor is that the editor of the yearbook (the Art teacher) was going to just use something generic, but she was so impressed with his drawing (of the district mascot, a tiger) that she chose that instead! He's always been a craftsy, artsy kid, but with these latest accomplishments I hope he realizes how good he really could become. Stick with it Son (and get that college scholarship)!
Well, even though tomorrow's my off/recovery day it doesn't mean I can stay up all night. Sleep is part of training too. Off to bed.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)