It's official, I am now out of shape.

• Last time I ran - over a month ago
• Last time I biked - at last race 2 months ago
• Last time I swam - 1 1/2 months ago -(for 15 minutes)

I guess it is just about time to end "the off season".  I am signed up for the Polar Bear 5K in February.  I need to get my ass in shape if I am going to beat last years time.  I am about 15 pound heavy right now.  I usually call that winter weight, but it has not even snowed yet. 

So, Starting Thursday before turkey, Crystal and I are going to get back into training mode.  I am going to hit it hard this year.  Wait and see...

The end of the season is near...

Soooo. It has been a while since I updated my blog. Last update was after Beach to Beacon. Since then, I have been training fairly steadly. I completed my first olympic distance race. .9 mile swim, 25 mile bike and 6.2 mile run.

The Beach 2 Beacon was a great race as usual. I never run the course other than during the race. I really love the course. It has just the right amount of flats and hills. It is a fast course. I took a few minutes off last years time. It turned out pretty hot during the race. Way hotter than I like. I felt good though. Next year, I am looking to break 45 minutes. We shall see..

The Olympic race was TOUGH. I knew I would not be in the front of the pack. The swim was moved from the beach area on Mothers Beach in Kennebunk to a protected cove. There was a tropical storm of the coast and there were 6 - 8' seas. Kind of like the Scarborough tri last year.. It was a 2 loop swim. They were big loops though :) I never really got into a groove until close to the second loop. I felt fine during the second loop and actually passed a few people.

T1 was slow. I was not rushing. Crystal, Nolan and Rhonda were right next to my transition area. I giggled with them a bit about how slow I was. It was fun... Off on the bike.

The bike was a 25 mile loop. Fairly flat. I had just got new clip in pedals so I was really happy with my time. I felt good when I got off the bike.

Then the run. My legs felt a little crampy. I thought they would come out of it. They did not. They hurt. They just were not strong enough. I ran the whole 6.2. I was satisfied with the time though. 55 minutes for 6.2. Beach 2 Beacon 6.2 was 48.27.

Crystal and I have our last race this weekend. The Mainiac Sprint Tri. It is in Biddeford. 1/4 swim, 15 bike, 3.1 run. I may run the 1/2 marathon in a couple of weeks. Still up in the air.

After that, a few weeks off. I will then concentrate on leg strength and cardio for the next few months. I attached some pics also. Orange shirt and wetsuit is olympic tri. Other is B2B finish.

Beach to Beacon

It was HOT! 48:28. Took a little over a minute off last years time. More to come.

Just signed up for Kennebunk Olympic Tri. This will be my longest Tri yet. Just starting vaca so I will update blog this week..

Another trip to Crystal Lake

Well last night I got back on the bike after over a week off. I put some new straps on the pedals called power grips. They work great. I do not have any $ to buy pedals and shoes right now, so they will do. (thank you state of Maine for providing me with a $220 speeding ticket). I did 20 miles and averaged 17 MPH. I hope to get a 40 - 50 mile ride in this weekend... My toe / foot is feeling better so I may be able to get a short run in and see how it feels..

This morning at 6:00 AM, (yes I was up at 4:45AM again) I met Kyle at Crystal Lake for a swim. Air was 54. Water was mid 60's. It is funny how water in the 60's can feel warm. I got in my 1/2 mile swim. After that, Kyle headed off with his buddy to do another mile or so..

I was really tired during the swim. I only had a bagel for breakfast and had just biked 20 miles the night before. Excuses aside, I need to spend more time in the water if I am going to swim 1.2 in the Pumpkinman in September..

No Urban Epic for Me

So, last Friday I got up 4:45 AM so I could drive to Gray to go to Crystal Lake. 4:45AM is way early for me. Way early. I had everything all laid out from the night before.. Wetsuit, goggles, towels, clothes to change into at work etc... While scrambling around the night before, I stubbed my toe really bad. It literally brought me to the ground for a couple of minutes. Then, right before bed, I stubbed it again.. To the ground again I went...More to come on that..

I left the house at 5:15. I was at the Lake at 5:45. There were already 10 other cars in the lot. Kyle, a guy I work with was also pulling in at the same time. He is doing the Peaks to Portland swim in a few weeks.. By the time I got into the water, there were about 20 swimmers. You start the swim at the boat launch. There was a guy putting his boat in to go fishing. He asked, "Is there a race or something this morning?" Someone answered, "Nope, just our Friday morning swim"

At Crystal Lake, there are basically 3 different swims you can do. A small across and back -1/4 mile, a swim to a point on the shore and back - 1 mile and swim the whole lake and back - 2 miles.. Needless to say, I did the 1/4 mile twice.. The water was not too cold. The first across and back I was by myself. On the second one, I joined in with to girls. Their pace was similar to mine so that worked out great. I am going to head back up on Thursday this week for another. Next week, I hope to make it up there twice. 4:45AM is rough though...

Back to the stubbed toe.. Over the weekend, we went to Acres O Wildlife camping. I could barely walk due to my stubbed toe. It is now Tuesday and is still very sore. Swelling has gone down, and pain has subsided. I am unable to run on it though. I was going to still try to sign up for Epic and run it this coming weekend though. On Monday, I went to sign up. I had not researched a lot of the details yet. When I went to sign up, I realized they were charging $105!!! ($95 for USAT members).. I am not going to spend $105 for a sprint race. That is crazy..

So between my bad toe and high race price, I will not be entering the Urban Epic this year. I will however be doing a full swim/ bike / run in Hollis on Saturday or Sunday to simulate the race. If anyone is interested, let me know.. No charge!!

The pic is Crystal Lake at 5:45AM. Notice the steam. Air was about 60. Water about 68. Summer in Maine!

LL Bean 10K finish...

LL Bean 10K Recap

First off, how can anyone not sign up for this race. The first 400 entrants get a free pair of decent running sneakers. Hats off the Beans and New Balance....

This was a great race. I had heard it was hilly. I think it is overall about the same as Beach to Beacon. The starts was crowded and slow. I really pushed hard after it opened up. I hit mile marker 1 at 7:40. This was gun time. I was 35 seconds before i crossed the start line. So this was a little over a 7 min mile. That is cruzin for me...

I kept this pace up until mile 4. Wheels started falling off. This is also about the time a person juggling past me.. That was humbling.. Mile 4 to 5 was tough for me.. I started picking up again at mile 5. I had energy again. Then the crowds started to appear as I got close to the finish. I sprinted the last several hundred yards. Great race. Gun time was 48:48. Chip time was 48:13.

My father in law Reggie also ran in the race. He beat his time goal and also never had to stop. Great job Reggie. My neighbor Renee also ran. She did great also after overcoming an injury recently.. This is definately a race I will sign up for next year..

Time to concentrate on Urban Epic tri in a couple of weeks..

That's right...Gettin serious now...

Well, I am starting to push it.. It feels good..

Friday I went out and did a brick consisting of a 20 mile loop bike loop followed up with a 4.5 mile run. During the run, I was extremely hot. When I got home, I looked at the thermo. It was 90 in the shade. No part of the run was in the shade.. I am guessing 100. Man that was rough. Felt good though!!

Saturday, after reading about someone else (Ange) doing her 100+ mile ride, I told myself it is time to change gears. If I am going to do this 1/2 iron this fall, I need to start acting the part. We put the kids down for nap. I told Crystal nonchalantly I was heading out for a 40 miler. She gave me a few encouraging words like "Don't be stupid" "Your going to hurt yourself" and off I went. You see, I have never biked more than 25 miles in my life. She means well. Last year, I increased mileage too fast and was injured most of the season... She had to listen to me complain about being injured and sore all the time.. Love ya hun :)

Anyway... after the first 20 miles, I felt great. I was averaging close to 18 MPH. The weather was in the mid 70's and the sun was actually out. Those of you not in Maine, this is a rare occasion lately...

As I started on the second 20, I kept saying to myself this can't be right. I should be in much more pain than this. I should not be able to maintain this speed... The wind started picking up...25 miles, 30 miles, 35 miles pass by on the bike computer. I am still going????!!! When I pulled back into the house after 40 miles, I could still walk. I averaged 17 MPH over 40 miles. I could still communicate with people and I was fine. Absolutely fine... I dare say I could have done 20 more... Maybe next week....

Time to get Serious

Over the weekend my buddy Trevor flew his dad from Vegas to Buxton for fathers day. We went over Saturday and visited. I drank several six packs of Shipard, along with a couple of lobstahh drenched in butter. On Sunday morning, Crystal and the kids made me breakfast in bed. 4 homemade Belgian waffles drenched in syrup... Last night I sat on the couch and finished a pint of Ben and Jerry's that I had just purchased an hour earlier. I got on the scale this AM assuming I would see the results of my weekend splurge. What, how could this be true??? I lost 3 pounds over the weekend.. Weight loss is a complete mystery to me!!!

I have been running almost every other day. Today I ran a tough 5.2 loop. I have been alternating between either a tough hill climb run or a fast 3.4 loop. I have been staying off the bike and out of the pool. On July 4th, my father in law and I are running in the LL Bean 10K. I have heard the course is hilly. We shall see I guess. Thus this is why I have been running on the hills of Hollis. There are only a couple, so I just keep running up and down them!!..

I do need to get out on the bike and back in the pool though. I think as I start to taper for the Bean 10K, I will get back onto the bike and into the pool for a few light efforts. Right after the 10K, I need to get my ass in high gear to get ready for the Urban Epic tri.. .5 mile swim, 13 mile bike and 3.7 mile swim. Should be a fun, fast race... I have never done the Epic. It was an Olympic distance in the past. They shortened it this year..

Overall, I am happy with my progress this year. I feel good. I am stronger on every run. Faster on every bike ride. I did read an article today that was talking about getting to the next level in personal fitness. This could be running a faster 5K, a longer long run or a faster or longer bike. They compared it to transitioning from a teenager to an adult. It is a difficult transition. You will make mistakes. I am at that point. I feel I am close to breaking through. I am ready.... I guess I just need to spend less time with Shipyard and Ben and Jerry's though... Maybe not though. Maybe they are the key to my weight loss??! Nothing will change though if you do not get off the couch. I have never regretted going for a run or a bike ride. I have regretted sitting on the couch... Does that motivate you Sonya :)??

I know an IRONMAN

It is a pretty cool thing to be able to say you know an IRONMAN. My cousin Logan (pictured here)completed another full Ironman this weekend. Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. Although this was not his first, it is an amazing feat to me still. As I read his blog and others aspiring to be an Ironman, I am amazed and inspired.

10 years ago??? Logan moved away from Maine. At that point, Logan was not much of an athlete. Unless you consider beer drinking and having a blast with friends a sport.. Neither was I by any means either. I was usually drinking with him on the weekend.. I was smoking 2 packs a day and drinking several six packs a week. I then started getting e-mail from my cousin Logan. He was running in races. These were not normal races. He had to run or crawl through mud pits, climb walls or something weird like that. I thought the TX sun was getting to him for sure. It sounded like he was having fun though!!

Then I got an e-mail that he was doing a Triathlon!! I had no idea what triathlon was really about. I knew it was on TV once a year. It looked impossible.

To get a better understanding of what it was about, I volunteered at the Wildbear Sprint tri here in Maine. I was amazed that people of all shapes and sizes were competing. I decided then and there, this was something that I had to Tri...

I entered the Polar Bear the next year and have been competeting in Tri's since.. My wife got the bug too. We train and race together now. It is an amazing spot and has changed my life in so many ways. Thank you Logan!!

His blog can be followed here: http://coachlogan.blogspot.com/

Few pics from Pirate

Pirate Tri Race Recap

This was my first Sunday Race. Crystal's parents had taken the kids Saturday afternoon and they were spending the night. This worked out great. Crystal and I went into packet picket, stopped by Amatos for some spagetti and then hit the grocery store on the way home. We were able to leisurely get our gear ready without having to worry about who was going to give baths, who was going to change diapers, who was tucking who in.. It was nice.. This was my 6th tri in the past three years. My First was the Wild Bear with my sister Rhonda. As I went to bed that night and thought about the race, I realized this was the first time I truely felt confident in my training. I knew I was going to finish. I knew a lot of the competition was in NH for the weekend. My only concern was the funeral home.. I will explain in a bit...

The alarm went off at 5:30. I think we both were awake around 5:00 though. We were on the road by 6:30. Things were just going really smooth. Everything just felt right.

We arrived at Point Sebago around 7:15. There were no lines. We got right to the parking lot and unloaded. There were no porta potties. There were actual bathrooms. This was a welcome change! We got to transition and I was on the first rack. No one else was there so I grabbed the outside spot. Crystal was on the next rack. We took our time in setting up, getting marked and then getting our wetsuits on. Around 8:40, Crystal's Mom and Dad showed up with the kids. The kids were excited to see us. That is always cool.

Fast forward to 9:00 AM. Crystal and I are both red caps for the swim. Red caps are wave 1. Men red caps start at 9:00 AM. Female red caps start 30 seconds later. At 9:00AM, the canon fires. Yes an actual canon. It is the Pirate Tri...

The swim was crowded. of the 225 or so, there was only 4 waves. The water was brisk, but not too bad. I never really got into a comfortable rythem due to either swimming up onto someone or being swum?? up onto.. Chalk it up to first open water of the year.. I was out of the water in a little over 9 minutes. I was extremely happy with that, A PR for me for 1/3 mile..

T1 was rough. I was extremely winded. I struggled getting my wetsuit off and my Jack and Adams race shirt on . Thanks TX cuz for the shirt.. a disappointing 3 minutes...

Off I go on my bike. I am passing people left and right.. OK, settle down.. I do after about 2 miles.. We take our first right off 302. We start to climb. We continue gradually climbing for the next 6 miles or so. These climbs are seperated with short downhills or at least gradual uphills. We then take the right onto Quaker Ridge road. The sign says Hall Funeral Home 3/4 mile. There is a reason there is a funeral home at the top. By the time I get to the top, I am thinking about going in to the funeral home to check their prices... It was tough. A lot of people passed me. I need to definately spend some time doing some hill work. The view was great though. Clear views of Mount Washington. You could also see Sebago Lake. As the decent started, I realized just how long we had been climbing. I looked down at one point and was cruising at 40MPH. I pulled off the aero bars and slowed a bit. 40 is pretty fast. There were a few bumps...

As I approach T2, I felt good. The crowd was great. I passed a few people right before dismount. My confidence was high.. Bike time was 49:21. Since I do not have clip ins, T2 was fast. Dropped of bike and grabbed race bib. 36 seconds..

I took off fast out of transition. As I approached the 1/2 mile mark, I realized I was starting to cramp in the calfs. I ran through it and was fine by mile 1 marker. It is a lollipop course. I saw Kyle, a guy I work with heading back from his loop. He was cruising along. I realized that I was too.. I was passing people left and right. I then saw Crystal heading her her way out on the run. She was looking great. She hates running. She looked like a runner!. We did a quick high five as we passed. It was a nice boost.. At mile marker 2, I passed a girl who was my age and was in much better shape than I. I do not think she was impressed. She stayed on my ass all the way to the finish. I was not going to let her get by. She propbably took close to a minute off my run time. (She did get by, right at the finish... My run was 23:45, hers 23:44.)

I ended up 49th out of 105 men. 75th of 226 overall and 8th of 25 in my age group. I was extremely happy with that even though a lot of the competion was in NH. It was a great event and hope that it is held again next year..

On the weightloss front, I lost 8 pounds since the Polar Bear. Hopefully another 8 - 10 by Urban Epic...

2 weeks to go until Pirate Tri

With a couple weeks to go until the Pirate Tri, I am feeling good. Last week, I got in about 9 miles running, 35 miles on the bike and a mile and 1/2 in the pool.

Highlight of the week was that Crystal and I actually got to go for a ride together. Reggie and Vicki watched the kids. We did a nice 19 mile loop. She did great.

I took it easy running because my legs were just not there this week. Not sure what is up with that...

I started doing a 14 mile loop last week. Nice 1.5 mile downhill. The first time I did it, I average 16.5. I reversed it this week with the climb at the end. I average 16.7. I attached the elevation chart. Pretty good climb at the end. Hills are a definite weakness for me, so I am going to use this loop for training a bit over the summer. Nice route. Mostly bike lane and the uphill is freshly paved :)

It was Memorial day this weekend. I did have a few beers. 8 to be exact.. I have dropped 5 pounds. Hopefully, I can drop another 5 before the race. I have not tried my wetsuit on yet. Should be interesting....

Training, Yard Work and no Shipyard...

The week started off great. I ran Monday and Tuesday at lunch. Both days I did my 4.6 loop. Starts flat with a few challenging hills. I took Wednesday off.

Thursday I headed to the pool. I got in 1 1/2 miles in the pool. Time was not fast, but I felt good. I am now confident that I can swim that distance. I am starting to feel comfortable / confident in the water. I did not think this day would ever come....

Friday, I got out and did a 5.2 mile run after work. Felt good at my 8 min mile pace.

I had planned on biking this weekend a couple of times. That did not happened.. Instead we had T-ball, mowed the lawn, fertilized the lawn, went to Lowes to get plants, fertilizer, stone edging, lumber, burned the winter long pileup of a burn pile, went to the pool store to get chemicals, went to the dump, took my studded tires off the Accord and put my summer tires on, installed 50' of gutters (twice, I am a computer guy, not a gutter guy I have found out), fixed the patio steps, rehung the flag - don't ask.. Needless to say, finding a few hours to bike was not in the cards..

Week 2 of no Shipyard.. I miss my buddy... :) But, I dropped 4 pounds this week.. It is working!!

Work week summary

After seeing from pics from last weekends race, it became very evident that I need to shed a few pounds.. (10 -15 for starters...) As such, I have said good bye to my good buddy Mr. Shipyard for the next month.. I will miss you my friend. I will visit with you after the Pirate Tri and we can catch up :)

I have also changed my eating habits. Instead of several coffees xtra xtra, I am down to 1 coffee and a bowl of Total with raspberries on it. I read an article that antioxidants can help prolong endurance. I have also increased my protein intake. I did notice a difference this week in my energy level. Getting out of bed in the AM was not as tough and my energy level was up all day.. I have dropped a couple of pounds already..

As far as training for the week, time was tight.. I got a 3 mile run in on Monday at lunch. After work, Nolan had T-ball. That did not get over until 7:30. Right after that I headed to ST Joe's. I got there and there was only 1 other person in the pool. That was cool. I got my mile in and was able to practice some flip turns without an audience..

Tuesday, I got 5 miles in at lunch. I left from work and did back cove. It is a 5 mile loop from work to the cove and back. It was windy and cold, but i felt good. 39 minutes.. I was happy with that..

Wednesday, I did not have time to get out at lunch. I was bummed.. Wednesday night though, i got 10 miles in on the bike. I got a flat pulling back into our development though.. This is a good thing. Crystal needs to learn how to change a flat, so I am going to show her tomorrow..

Thursday I got in 4 miles at lunch. I was planning on swimming but the pool was closed for graduation...

Today is Friday and my rest day. It is usually the day I hang out with my buddy Shipyard... He probably misses me too..

For the weekend, I want to get in a 20 mile ride and a 10 mile ride. I also want to get in a 5 mile run and a 3 mile run.. We will see. We have a T-ball game, a load of loam that needs to be picked up, a lawn to be mowed, a mower that needs a blade put on and there is some crazy holiday this weekend...:)

Pics are Crystal's new bike, Paige with a crazy face, Nolan getting ready for the MS Walk a couple weeks ago

Polar Bear Tri recap

I was laying in bed that morning around 3:00AM and woke briefly to hear it pouring on the farmers porch outside of the bedroom window.. I said to myself before falling asleep for another couple of hours, "Great, another wet one like last year.."

When Crystal and I rolled out of bed around 5:00 to start getting ready, the rain had stopped. It was 50 and cloudy, but no rain..

On the way up, Crystal and I did not talk much. This was only her second tri. It would rain for a bit and then stop. She was checking the weather on her iPhone. It said rain.. As we got closer to Brunswick, the sky started to clear. While setting up transition, (which seemed extremely tight this year) the sun started poking through. You could almost see everyones spirits pick up.. By the time Wil starting talking, the sun was out... This was a good thing!!

Crystal and I were in the same swim wave..wave 7. Right before our turn to swim, Reggie and Danny showed up with Nolan to watch the race.. It was great.. Crystal and I got into the same lane. That was pretty cool.. Crystal works with a lady named Donna. Her husband Rick entered this year. This was his first Tri. He was in the lane next to us.

At the horn, I got out a bit in front of her because I do not like someone swimming right next to me. I can be a bit of lane hog. I stayed about a 1/2 lap ahead of her. I was out of the pool in 10:45. That is a PR for me..

T1 went slow. I had to pull shorts over my new fancy tri shorts I got. Those tri shorts are just a bit to revealing for me... As I was leaving T1, Crystal was coming in from the pool. She looked great..

Off on the bike I went. My speedometer was not working. Just like last year, I hit the sensor while setting up transition (or someone did) and was fliing blind.. I felt good though. I kept my cadence up. About 6 miles in, a group of 4 girls went by me on a hill. At that point, I said, hey it's race day, let's kick it up a bit. I ended up catching them and passing a couple. I stayed with the other 2 until the end of the bike.. I saw Katy with about a mile to go. That was cool. She drove up to see me and Crystal.. Ending up doing the bike in 39. Last year I was 46. Another PR for this course for me. (Last year I cramped up on the bike)

T2 was fast. I wear my running shoes on the bike so just a quick stop. Off I went on the run. The first 500 yards was tough. Calfs were cramping.. They loosened up and I settled into a good pace. When I hit the woods though, (2 miles in the woods), I started to struggle. Not sure what is was. Ground too soft, too many roots or whatever, it was not a good run for me. You have to do 2 loops in the woods. On the second loop, I saw Crystal just starting her first loop in the woods. I yelled out to her.. "Go Crystal!" She heard me.. I then said, I should try to catch her. She was about 400 yards a head of me. I did, but it killed me... I gave her a slap on the ass when I went by her.. I am sure she loved that :)

I then emerged from the woods and onto the sports field. From here there is 200 - 300 yards to the finish. As I came onto the field, I saw Nolan. He came out onto the field and ran the last 200 yards with me. It was great!. I finished the run in 25 or so. Normally I would be disappointed with 25 for 3K, but today, the sun was out, Cystal was racing with me and Nolan went over the finish line with me. The 2009 Polar Bear was a great event this year for me. I cannot remeber ever having such a good time at any other event..

1:19:18 for the Race.. More to come

Had to post a pic of Nolan doing the last 200 yards with me. This was the highlight of the race for me...

Only a few days until our first Tri of 2009

This Saturday is our first tri of 2009. Crystal has been doing great. I am also in much better shape than I was last year at this time. Last year for this race, I think my bike leg was around 48 minutes. I am hoping to take close to 10 minutes off that this year. We will see. They are saying chance of rain and in the 60's.

After reading my cousins Tri blog, http://coachlogan.blogspot.com/ I feel as though I have been slacking though... My running partners also are not shown in Triathlete magazine either though... Great job on your training Logan. You have been in inspiration to me when I am having trouble getting off my ass....

As far as training, I am doing about 10 - 15 miles a week running, 1 -2 miles in the pool and 15 - 20 miles a week on the bike... My numbers really need to start climbing after this race if I want to be ready for the 1/2 Ironman this fall..

Spring is near.. I just know it...

Had a good week of training. The snow is melting so it is nice to be able to get out and not be all bundled up. On Tuesday at lunch, I was heading out to do my 3.5 mile loop. Chris from work was also heading out. He was going to do a 5 mile loop. He asked me to join him so I did. It is a nice loop from the office to Back Cove and back to the office. I think we did it in around 47 - 48 minutes.

Tuesday night I headed to the pool. I have been doing 1 mile each session. 1/3 mile freestyle, 1/3 mile with flippers and a 1/3 mile with a pull buoy.

Thursday I got out for another run at lunch. I just did my 3.5 mile loop. That night I headed to the pool to get in my mile.

Over the weekend (Sunday) I went out for what I thought was going to be 6.2 My neighbor Renee told me about a nice hilly loop she is doing to train for the Beach to Beacon. After Crystal got back from her 4.5, I headed out. I got to the point in the run where the 6.2 could turn into a 7.5. I took the 7.5 turn. When I got to the point where the 7.5 could turn into a 10.5, I took the 10.5 turn.

So, almost 2 hours later I made it back home, a bit sore with a major blister on my little toe, an upset wife because I was gone for so long and she had gotten worried that I was dead in a ditch. But, I was psyched. 10.5 miles. No stopping. I have never run that far in my life! And today is Monday and I was able to walk. Actually walk!!! A little sore, but not bad.

So for the week, 2 miles in the water and 19 miles running. No miles on the bike though.. I know I know.. I plan on going to the gym tomorrow to try to get on the stationary. My bike is still in for a tune up. It is ready to be picked up, but it is in Freeport. We are waiting until this weekend to go up, because Jaimie is getting a Scott S30 in for Crystal to try out. Nolan is not feeling well tonight though. I may need to stay home with him tomorrow. If that is the case, I will not make the gym...

1 month until race

Well, I have not been updating the blog much. My appologies to the many many fans I have :) For the month of March, i have been working out fairly regularly. I am running between 10 and 15 miles a week, and swimming a couple of miles a week. I just found a new five mile loop at lunch. I run from the office to back cove, run the loop and then run back to the office.

I dropped my bike off at National for Jamie to tune up. Should get it back this weekend. From there on out, I will be doing some riding. Roads are still in very rough shape right now.

I feel really good that I will have no issues with the swim and run. I need to spend more time on the bike. I plan on hitting the gym Wed and Friday to ride the bike.

Off to the pool... Here is a link to next months race
http://www.tri-maine.com/Races/PolarBear.html

Back at it

Took a good week off. I was not feeling well. I did sign up for the Beach 2 Beacon. I think this will be the last year for that. It is a 10K race. It was online signup only. Site kept locking up and tons of people were unable to sign up. There are many other road races that donate a larger % of their profits to a wider array of charities... FUn event, but starting to be a project just to get into the race.

This week I hit the pool Monday and Tuesday night. Mollie, Jamie and Jen were there. They are going to be in their first Tri this year. I gave them some pointers... Do as I say, not as I do!!

Also, I was looking to get out of the lane I was swimming in. There were two other guys in the lane. One had on a wetsuit and one was related to Phelps I think. Needless to say, I was in their way...

Felt really good overall though. Much better than I did a year ago leading up to the Polar Bear. Also I have started to run at lunch. I have a 3.1 mile loop and a 4.5 loop. I am going to try to get my road mileage up to 20 miles a week leading up to the Polar Bear tri the first of May.

I really need to get some miles on my bike though. That will be my major concentration over the next few weeks. Also, Crystal is looking for a bike. 52 - 54cm in the $600 to $800 range. At least Tiagra comps.. If anyone is selling or knows someone selling, let us know!

14" more inches of snow this week

It is official. I am sick of winter..!! Good news though, today U2 released their new album. Hard to be down when something like that happens!!!

So last Thursday, I went to the pool and it was actually open!! Had a great swim. Swam for about an hour. Had the pool pretty much to myself. It was nice. I was able to practice some flip turns. This is best done without an audience believe me...

Saturday was in the 40's and I was able to get out and do the 5.5 loop. Finished in just over 45 minutes. I was happy with the time and was not sore at all. Another couple weeks at 5.5 and I am going to start stepping up the mileage.

Tonight I went to the pool after dinner. It was close to 8:00 by the time I got into the pool. Swam a little over a mile. I am starting to get a cold. Felt OK but struggled to get air.. damn breathing issue that is not going away.... I need to figure out why I can't seem take more than 1 stroke without coming up for air....

It is Tuesday and I did not have to shovel today

Well, the storm that they were predicting 1" - 3" inches of snow out of on Sunday night, turned into 16" of heavy wet snow. Just great...

I wake up early Monday to the sound of what I thought was my neighbor snowblowing. I think what the hell is he doing snowblowing this early. I look at the clock to see what time it is and realize, we have no power. The sound of the snowblower is the sound of my neighbors generator. I get up and look out the window and realize we have been dumped on (again).

Anyway, back to the training. On Saturday, I ended up running 5.5 instead of the 4.5. Felt good, but wind was gusting to 20mph.. Sunday we went sliding with the kids. I added a couple of pics. We walked up and down the hill about 20 times. I am counting that as training. Especially because Paige had to be carried up every time. Later in the day Sunday, Crystal and I went to the pool. We swam a little over a mile. Both of us felt good. She glides through the water much better than I though..

Monday due to the snow, no training. Unless you count 2 1/2 hours shoveling and snowblowing! That brings us to today. Tuesday. I just got back from going to the pool (30 miles round trip to the pool and back) As I am walking up to the pool, I look in and there is only 2 people in the pool. I am psyched. Usually need to share lanes etc.. I get inside and the guy at the counter says the pool is closed. I point out to him that there are people swimming and there is a lifeguard on duty. He states the pool is closed. At this point I am pissed.

I get home and look at the website and sure enough, there is a note that the pool will be closed on the 24th. The notice was not there yesterday. I sent an email to the aquatic director to get some clarification. We will see if he responds...

Busy Week

Training with 2 kids and working is tough as many know. This week, I had Monday off from work. On Tuesday, I went to the gym after work. I only have 45 minutes at the gym so I decieded to ride the bike for 45 mnutes. Did a random hill program level 12. It was tough, but it felt good.

On Wednesday, it was my day to pick up from daycare so no gym on Wednesday. After dinner, Crystal and I did the Jillian DVD.. This is core, cardio and strength.. It is tough..

Thursday I went to the pool from 7:30 to 8:45 after the kids went to bed. It was great. Swam a little over a mile. Free style and backstroke.. I also practiced flip turns. Was doing pretty good, until backstroking into the pool wall and almost getting a concussion...

Friday night I replenished some carbs with 4 Shipyards...

It is now Saturday and 25 outside. I am going to head out and run the 4.5 mile loop..

I spent some time this morning snowboarding with Nolan.. I attached a video..

Another great day

It is Monday and Crystal and I both have the day off for Presidents day... It is another nice day in the 40's....

Nolan and I went out snowshoeing today for about 45 minutes. We saw a bunch of Turkey tracks in the woods.. No turkeys though. It was tough to keep up with Nolan. He was cruising..

Crystal got lunch ready for the kids and I headed out for a run. I am still a little sore from the 5K on Saturday but got in a slow 4.5 miles. Felt good. Just took it slow and steady..

Back to work tomorrow... Pool at ST. Joes opens this week on Thursday for night swimming.. It is open Mon, Tues and Thurs nights until like 9. I am going to try to make it on Thursday. It has been 7 months since I have been in the water. Should be interesting to say the least...

Finding time

So it is Sunday after the PolarBear 5K. Great day. Sun is out and it is cresting 40.... The Dixon's and the Dyers are coming over later for the 500.

We are up at 7:00. Slept in!!! Paige came in our room around 5:00 and fell back asleep!!! Yehaa.. We got up and fed the kids.. Crystal was off to grocery shop at 7:30.. She got back and we unloaded groceries. It was now 9:15. Crystal is signing up for one of her tris this morning. Registration was at 10AM on Active. We had 45 minutes so we decided to do our Jillian DVD. It is 27 minutes of cardio, core and strength training.. Not to sound like a wus, but it is pretty god damn tough..... Especially while we are in the basement watching our 10 year old TV with Paige trying to exercise with us.... "Look out Paige... get on the couch... your gonna get stepped on.".. She just looks at us and says.. "I working out Dadda....."

We got done at 9:59.. Crystal got online and signed up for her tri... Sold out in 25 minutes..

10:30, I start thinking it is nice enough to go for a bike ride. I check out my bike and realize I need air in both tires. I go to the shed to get the pump and have to move the snow blower and then the go cart to get to it.. I start thinking maybe I should get the go cart out for Nolan... Soooo I get it started up and drive it out front. I get Nolan off the couch from watching sponge bob and he is psyched... He didn't think he would get to drive it again until Spring..

So by now it's 12:30 and the kids are off to nap nap time... It is now close to 45 degrees and I head off for a bike ride. I set out to do my 10 mile loop. At the turning point to make a 10 miler a 15 miler, I opt to go 15. I am feeling great for the first ride of the year. At the junction to turn this 15 into a 17.5, I take the 17.5. I pull over to call Crystal and let her now that I am taking the long route. She doesn't answer... Still feeling great I am averaging close to 17 MPH.. And then the head wind..... The last 5 miles was right into the wind... averaged about 12 MPH... Total average was around 15. Feeling good when I get home, I

Still, I was psyched that I felt so good the first time out... Tonight, I replenished some carbs while watching the race. Feel good.

Here is link to some videos of the PolarBear 5K http://mainerunningphotos.com/photos/the-polar-bear-5k/

PolarBear 5K

Just finished the first PolarBear 5K race. It was a brisk 25 (not counting windchill) I know guys in Texas that compalin when it get's down to 30.... No names cuz..... was happy with my 23:30 finish considering the first mile was uphill at about a 8% grade to the Eastern prom and the last mile we ran past the sewage treatment plant...

Now that that is over with, time to start training for the tris... plan for 2009 is:

Polar Bear Sprint - 5/3 .3, 12, 3
Pirate Sprint - June 7 .3, 14, 3
Urban Epic - July 18th - .5, 13, 3.7
Beach to Beacon 10K - Aug 1
Fireman Olympic Aug 30th - .93, 24.7, 6.2
Pumpkinman 1/2 Iron Sept 13th - 1.2, 56, 13.1

I feel this is pretty aggressive considering I have only done at total of sprints to date. Screw it.. I will train hard and see what happens...

Training to date

I have been sick with a sinus infection for the past couple of weeks. Crystal tells me I should goto the dr. I think I may tomorrow. Getting sick of the being sick..

I have been going to the gym 3 nights a week. Running 30 minutes. Sometimes biking for another 30. Doing Jillian from biggest on days I do not goto the gym. She can kick your ass...

Just trying to eas back into training and shed a few pounds. dropped 6 pounds since Jan 1. 20 more to go!! I have a 5K on Feb 14th. After that, true training will begin..