Burned Out - Lesson Learned

I realized I hadn't updated this in awhile and would like to try and get back in the habit, so I thought I would post something that's been bouncing around in my head... burn out.  

This is my first full season of triathlon.  I started training in May of last year (run only) and added the swim and bike in late July.  I hurt my foot towards the end of September so my running was severely limited in October and November of last year. If you look at the screenshot below you'll see I've essentially been training 28 - 33 hours per month for the last 8 months, without much of a break.  That may not seem like much to most of you, but for someone fairly new to the sport I think it may have been too much, too soon, with little to no offseason.  I was so excited to play with my Sufferfest videos and Trainer Road that I didn't take much time off late last year and then ramped things up too early this year.  I'm struggling to get up in the mornings and complete workouts and am just feeling tired. 

Now that I've recognized there is a problem I need to do something about it.  My swimming has been limited of late anyways, but I plan to eliminate it completely as I only have one triathlon left this year (Petoskey in a week and a half) and the money saved from a Y membership will come in handy.   It also helps that I've been working earlier this week and can't fit in two a day workouts.  

My next step is to scale back some of the cycling and really focus on running.  This will lower my overall training volume and allow for some additional rest.  Going forward (next season) I plan to take a few weeks after the marathon off and then start easing into things with no actual schedule, just whatever I happen to feel like for the day.  I am still working on my goals/races for next year so once I finalize those I can start to come up with a plan, but you can be sure it will include some time off before I start!

What about you guys?  Every run into this problem?

21 Day Fix - A Non-biased, Unaffiliated Review

Introduction

A couple of months ago my wife and I got to talking and she mentioned that she had been in a rut in terms of diet and that she would like to lose some weight.  I've been struggling to lose the same 10 - 15 pounds over and over again  (plus another 20 - 30 pounds) so I said I would join her as accountability is always key.  I introduced her to one of my imaginary friends/teammates as I was also hoping she could use this experience to meet some new friends in the area.  My friend suggested Team Beachbody's 21 Day Fix.  I try to be PG with this blog so I will just say that my initial reaction was one of skepticism.  I spent some time researching the program and was surprised at how difficult it was to find an objective review from someone not affiliated with Team Beachbody, which is why I thought I'd toss my hat in the ring and write one.

The Program

The 21 Day Fix is essentially portion control with a daily 30 minute workout added in.

The Diet

Your daily food intake will be divided between 7 containers:

• Green - Veggies
• Purple - Fruit
• Red - Proteins
• Yellow - Carbs
• Blue - Healthy Fats
• Orange - Seeds and Dressings
• Teaspoons - Nut butters, etc

To determine your daily allotment for each container you simply multiply your current weight by 11, add 400, and then subtract 750.  Don't ask me why they don't have you simply subtract 350, that's just not how it's done!  For example, I weighed 199.6 this morning.  Let's round that to 200 for a total of 2200.  Add 400 (2600) and then subtract 750 for a total of 1850.  Your kit will come with a handy chart (or you can just Google it) which you use to determine how many of each container you get everyday.   I ended up at the 2nd highest level (1,800 - 2,099) but talked to my friend/coach and we decided to bump me up a level (2,100 - 2,300) after taking my level of training into consideration.  This gave me the following desired breakdown:

• Green - 6
• Purple - 4
• Red - 6
• Yellow - 4
• Blue - 1
• Orange - 1
• Teaspoons - 6

Here is what a typical day looks like for me.

Breakfast 1 (pre workout) - Two rice cakes with almond butter and honey.  Rice cakes are free, honey and almond butter each count as a teaspoon for a total of 4.

Breakfast 2 (post workout) - Smoothie with protein powder (1 red), whole banana (2 purple), berries (1 purple), spinach (1 green)

Lunch - Two sushi rolls (2 green, 2 red, 2 yellow)

Dinner - Stir fry with chicken (1 or 2 red, depending on how much I eat), veggies (usually 2 green), rice (yellow), and a side salad with balsamic vinegar (1 green)

Snack - Rice cake with almond butter (1 teaspoon) or some carrots and hummus (1 green, 1 blue) 

A day like that would result in 6 green, 3 purple, 5 red, 3 yellow, 5 teaspoons.  

As you can see, I probably eat closer to the 1,800 - 2,099 calorie category.

The Workouts

When you purchase this program you will 7 30 minute workouts.

• Dirty 30 Workout
• Total Body Cardio Fix
• Upper Fix
• Lower Fix
• Pilates Fix
• Cardio Fix
• Yoga Fix

I haven't done many of these as I am training for some big races this year and need most of my available time for swimming, biking, and running.  My wife, however, has done all of them and was surprised at how much she enjoyed them.  I did the Pilates Fix video when we first started and was sore for two days, but that's typical for me and anything involving abs.  

In summary, I really can't comment on the efficacy of these videos, but I've heard positive reviews from my wife and other people whom I trust.  Each video has a token out of shape person performing modified versions of each exercise so even a couch potato can jump right in and get started.

Shakeology

I am going to write up a separate blog post on Shakeology as this is something I'm not a fan of so I wanted to separate the two, even though they are often sold together.

Final Thoughts

Most of us already know what we should be eating, right?  Lots of veggies, fruit, lean proteins, along with some nuts and seeds for a snack.  Avoid sugar and refined carbs.  Knowing what to eat is a fairly simple process... it's actually eating the correct foods and knowing how much to eat that I have always struggled with and that is where the 21 Day Fix shines.  In fact, I've recently found myself recommending it to several friends, something I never would have imagined before I started the program.  It has drastically changed the way I look at portion sizes and has helped me change my eating habits for the better.  It was definitely worth the money, even if we only used the containers for a day or two until we learned what an actual portion size looked like.  I should also mention that it helped me break through the 200 pounds plateau for the first time since 8th grade.  I've been close many times, but have never been able to get under that stupid number that starts with a 2.  I was 196.2 this morning and have been consistently under 200 for 10 days now.  

One note... and I shouldn't have to say this as it should be common sense.  DO NOT expect the results they show in their advertisements.  You are not going to go from bloated to six pack in 21 days... it's just not going to happen.  If you are significantly overweight this can be a great tool, but remember, it took you months/years to get yourself in this position and it's going to take just as long to fix it!  

Another New Bike Day

Well it's been a couple of months so it's time to start looking for (yet) another new bike.  As you can probably imagine, my wife is super excited at this prospect.  In my defense, my 10 year old road bike needs some work and has seen better days so it's time to either start looking for it's eventual replacement or spend several hundred dollars fixing the old girl up, and to be honest, she's not even worth that much.  Here's the list of what I'm looking for in a new bike:

• Great price
• Able to act as an off-road gravel grinder and a road bike for group rides
• Shimano 105 or SRAM Apex components.  I rode SRAM for the first time last weekend and loved it.
• 2 sets of wheels, 1 CX and 1 for road.
• A good fit as is, with the possibility of easy and inexpensive adjustments down the road to dial it in.

I rode a teammate's CX bike last week and thought it was the one.  An unexpected orthodontist bill for my daughter dashed those hopes, though in hindsight it was probably for the best.  It was a great bike and he is meticulous when it comes to maintenance, but it didn't fit quite right and the fork had already been cut, which limited the adjustments I could make.  I would have spent an additional $200 - $400 to dial in the fit and that would have put the bike out of my budget.  

After that I swore off bike buying and told my wife I wasn't even going to look.  That lasted 2 hours... that's when another teammate messaged me that he was selling his CX bike.  We chatted about the bike, price, etc. and I did some research.  The bike itself is only a couple of years old and he was offering it for $200 - $300 less than Bicycle Blue Book value, with an extra set of wheels.  Unfortunately this offer was too good to not at least check out.  It's a 2011 Trek X 01 that was purchased in 2013 on closeout.  It checks off every box on the list up above and he has used it and performed well in triathlons and endurance gravel rides (Dirty Kanza, my goal for next year).  I rode gravel (well, mud actually) last night with the team and had more fun than I've ever had on a road before.  The bike fit reasonably well and is the correct frame size.  It should be simple enough to dial in the fit to get through this season and then next year I will get a professional fit before DK.

The one caveat to this bike is that I am not allowed to discuss a new bike for at least 2 years, which seams fair.  I now have the following bikes

• Specialized Transition Comp Tri Bike (bought used last year, absolutely screaming deal)
• Trek X 01 CX Bike (bought used this year, another screaming deal)
• Focus Black Forest 1.0 Mountain Bike (bought used last year from a bike mechanic, yet another screaming deal with upgraded wheels and tires)
• Trek 1000c (10 year old road bike that will now sit on the trainer)
• Haro Mountain bike (15 year old mountain bike that's seen better days.  I might try to sell it or keep it around the house for when someone from out of town wants to ride)
• Burley Tandem (paid zero dollars for it as my parents were never going to ride it and my sister and brother-in-law will get divorced if they ride it again)

I also bought my wife an extra small Specialized road bike last year with carbon fork and seat stays, Shimano 105 components, etc.  This doesn't take into consideration the multitude of kids bikes, scooters, etc. taking up space in the garage.

Overall I have now bought 4 bikes in the past 8 months (5 if you count the tandem).  The only reason I'm still married is b/c I've gotten amazing deals on each and every one of them.  In fact, if you add up what I paid for all 5 bikes they total less than what you can be expected to pay for a low to mid range tri bike... so I have that going for me.  

To summarize... I bought yet another bike, am still married, rode gravel/mud for the first time last night, am caked with mud, and have a giant grin on my face.  Life is good!

Bam! Welcome to "One"derland!

Approximately 4 years ago I signed up for the Fifth Third Riverbank Run weighing in at 271 pounds.  It's been a long uphill (downhill?) struggle, but yesterday I finally cracked the 200 pound barrier.  I've been so close (as in 200.0) for the past week and have come within a pound several times in the past, but I usually self destruct and start gaining weight around this time.  Perhaps the greatest example of how I have changed my mindset/lifestyle is that it never even occurred to me to celebrate with food.  For those of you who have known me since I was a kid, this puts me down into my junior high weight.  

On a related note, I have a distinct memory of a wager my dad and I made in high school while golfing one day.  I don't remember what he would have won if I lost the bet, but I definitely remember that when he lost his I won his golf bag.  Unfortunately it's an ugly golf bag and I don't golf anymore, so I'm thinking that a new bike is comparable!  I even know of a guy selling an awesome cross bike with an extra set of wheels!   

February 2014 - Recap

February was an awesome month!  My bike volume was down compared to January, but that's mainly b/c of the Tour of Sufferlandria.  Everything else is trending up as I build towards an awesome season!

I had 9 swim sessions (8:16), 10 rides (10:39), and 18 runs (10:53) for a total of 37 workouts in 29 hours and 49 minutes.  That's slightly less than January but we had fewer days.  The big takeaways are that my swimming went up from 8.55 miles to 12.47 miles and my running went from 35.84 miles to 61.72.

This week is a deload week for running even though I feel good.  All of the experts seem to advise taking an easier week every 3 - 4 weeks so I guess it can't hurt.  I should still end up with 80 - 90 miles for the month.  After reading my last post I've been inspired to go back and total up my old training logs by week and month.  It will be interesting to see how far I've come.

Look how far I've come - aka - why you should keep a training journal!

Today's schedule called for an 8 mile run which gave me plenty of time to think.  Fortunately the sun was shining (a rarity in Michigan) and it was over 10 degrees (another rarity of late) so I decided to head outside and run on the White Pine Trail.  I had a great run, though I am struggling to nail down the feel for my desired 25k race pace (9:40).  My splits started out in the 10:05 - 10:13 range for the first few miles and then got progressively faster with a final mile of 9:09.  It's hard to really judge effort and pace considering the conditions (packed snow and ice) but I'm happy with where I'm at.  I started thinking about how far I've come over the past few years and decided to pull out my training journal (Garmin Connect) to see actual data.

While training for the 2012 River Bank Run my schedule first called for 8 miles on April 1st with a total of 17 miles for the week.  At that time (a nice day with no snow on the ground) it took me 1:34 (11:44 per mile pace).  Back then I was so exhausted after my weekly long run that I was worthless for the rest of the day... something I'm sure my wife would agree with.

Today's 8 mile run took 1:17 for a 9:44 pace in cold weather on packed snow. I will run approximately 20 miles this week but will also swim for almost 3 hours and bike for another 3 - 3.5 hours.  In total I will complete 11 workouts this week taking somewhere between 9 and 10 hours.  Perhaps most important, I still have energy to do things with my family that don't involve sitting on the couch for the rest of the day.

It's easy to become discouraged after a bad training day, which is why I recommend that everyone keep a training journal.  It can be digital or old school pen and paper... it doesn't matter as long as you have a way to objectively measure your improvement over time.  It's amazing to see how much progress I've made in the past few years, despite taking almost 2 years off in between.  Of course that leads to the obvious question, how awesome could I be if I had actually stuck with a consistent training program for that length of time?!?  

1000y Swim Time Trial

One of my imaginary online triathlon friends mentioned performing a monthly 1000 yard time trial to measure swim progress.  This seemed like a great idea so Friday I decided to go ahead and give it a shot.  It probably wasn't the best time to do so as I had completed an FTP test on the bike the day before and my body was wrecked.  Fortunately swimming muscles are pretty different from bike and run muscles so I don't think my intense week of training had an adverse effect on the test.

I went with my normal warmup:

200y easy swim
200y kick
200y pull
8x25 v-sprints

1000 time trial

Time - 17:44
Pace Per 100 - 1:46

My 25y times were pretty inconsistent and varied from 21 to 30 seconds with most falling in the 24-26 range.

I couldn't be happier with my time and was glad I used my watch as, per usual, I lost count and would have finished a lap early.

I'm coming to the conclusion that part of swimming is getting used to being uncomfortable.  After the first 200 yards or so I was out of breath and wasn't sure I would be able to finish.  Strangely that feeling never got any worse (didn't get any better either).  Once I became accustomed to the discomfort I was able to keep plodding along.  I felt like I could have done another 500 or 1000 yards at a similar pace.  That might be a bit optimistic, but it gives me some hope for coming out of the water in a decent position this season.

Going Long

Last year I completed my first two triathlons, both sprints.  I fell in love with the sport and like many people decided I needed to go longer to be a real triathlete.  My plan going forward was to complete my first 70.3 this season and then step up to a full Ironman (140.6) next year, most likely Wisconsin.

One of the advantages of training is that you have plenty of time to think, and earlier this week while riding the bike I realized that my current volume (7-10 hours per week) is nice and sustainable.  Later this season I can ramp that up to 10-12 hours per week by having a long ride and run outside (if the snow ever melts) in the mornings on Saturday and Sunday without cutting into too much family time.  My kids are only going to want to do things with their parents for another year or two and then they will be gone.  My son is almost 12 and is already entering the obnoxious teenage years of not wanting to do anything except sit in his room and play video games with friends.  I constantly joke about how much I'm looking forward to them leaving the house so I can have my wife to myself again, but I do enjoy them and will miss them when they are gone (don't tell anyone!).

With that being said, I'm starting to rethink my plan to compete in my first Ironman next year as doing it properly will turn my workouts into a part-time job (15-20 hours per week).  Also, a few years of 70.3 and/or Olympic races will better prepare me to actually race an Ironman as I will have an actual base from which to build.  Another positive of shorter races (if you can call 70.3 short) is that you can compete more often and your entire season isn't built around one race.  I can't imagine how disappointed I would be if I worked for an entire year only to have a mechanical, nutritional, or medical issue derail my race.  A third reason to stick with the shorter races is cost.  One full distance Ironman would take up my entire race budget for the year, whereas this year I have a half marathon, 25k, several Olympic triathlons, a 70.3, and a full marathon for the same price!

Fortunately I have plenty of time to decide so there is no hurry... it's just something that popped into my head earlier this week and again while driving to work today.

Best Swim Day Yet

One of the things I learned while golfing (years ago, don't have the patience for it now) is that I could only have one swing thought in my head at a time.  By that I mean I could concentrate on improving one aspect of my swing.  I would focus on that for a period of time until it became habit, then I would move on to a different aspect of my swing that needed improvement.  If I attempted to work on more than one thing at a time my swing usually went to hell and the results were disastrous.  I think swimming needs to be approached in the same manner.  When I first started I tried changing too many things at once and the results were similar to what I would have expected from my golf experience.  For the past month I've really focused on high elbows during the catch and pull.  This has gotten to the point where it has (almost) become habit and has allowed me to start focusing on being long in the water and actually kicking.  Today I saw the fruits of my labor as we swam sets of 100y (after more than 1000y of warm up and sprinting) and I absolutely CRUSHED them!  Historically I've been a 1:45 - 1:50 min/100 swimmer.  Today I hit every single interval at 1:34 - 1:36.  That's a HUGE improvement and I didn't feel like I was working that much harder.  Of course there is something to be said for being consistent (hitting the pool 2x per week for the past 6 weeks) and getting stronger, but technique is a large portion of the swim and I think that's had a lot to do with it as well.

Next up will be breathing.  It sounds simple, but it's not!  I need to work on bilateral breathing as I often find myself struggling to get enough oxygen by the end of these intervals.  That's fine when you are in the pool for a 100y session, but a much bigger concern when you have to swim 1.2 miles without stopping.

Being a Responsible Adult Sucks

My daughter went to the orthodontist yesterday and it looks like she will need braces earlier than we had planned.  Unfortunately this puts a significant dent in my endurance training budget, aka, I no longer have a budget.  Fortunately almost all of my races were paid before the end of last year to get the early bird discounts (remember, my wife is cheap).  Unfortunately this means I have to eliminate coaching from my budget.  With that in mind I spent last night scrambling to come up with a plan that will get me to my 25k in May safely.  In the past my plan has always been similar to Higdon's running plans in that the bulk of my miles come on the weekend and my long run usually makes up at least 50% of my weekly distance.  I've done some reading over the past few years and have come to the conclusion that your long run should be no more than 25-33% of your total distance.  Unfortunately I don't think that's realistic given my need to train for swimming and biking, but I would like to get it down to no more than 40%.  I would also like to increase the number of runs per week from 3 or 4 to 5 or 6, which allows me to reduce the mileage per run.  I followed the Barry P plan from Slowtwitch.com which includes 6 runs; 3 short runs, 2 medium runs (double the short run), and 1 long run (triple the short run).  My plan is as follows:

I'm concerned that my biking might suffer so I might try to add a third bike session on Sunday that I could turn into a brick.  As the 25k gets closer and my running volume gets higher I will look at eliminating this, but to start my overall weekly volume should be the same as it has been (around 6.5 hours per week).

My goal pace for the River Bank Run is 9:40 min/mile.  Most of my runs will be in the 10 - 11 min/mile range.  I plan on making one of my medium runs a tempo run once my body starts to adjust to the workload.

The big advantage of having a coach was the lack of decision making on my part.  I received a plan and that's what I followed.  I actually love the idea of coaching myself but have the attention span of a 3 year old and often find myself changing my plan to adopt the latest article I read.  Hopefully I can stay focuses and execute this plan as I think it's a good one.

Fat Guy in a Little Coat

I'm tired of running inside on the stupid treadmill and it's supposed to warm up to 14 degrees today so I stopped by our local running store to pick up some tights.  Yes, you read that correctly, I now own tights.  They seem to be warm and are thin enough (hopefully) for me to wear under my cycling kit for some of the colder weather races, such as the upcoming Barry Roubaix.  At the very least Gus (my dog) will thank me for getting him out of the house as he loves to run with me (okay, I run, he walks quickly).

As a formerly morbidly obese person who is now just overweight I would have bet any amount of money that you would never catch me in any type of form fitting clothing.  Fast forward 3 or 4 years and I now own more Lycra than I do sweatpants!  I even ditched the board shorts and picked up a pair of jammers for swimming.  Of course I still wear the board shorts when I take the kids to the Y... there's no reason to scar them for life (aside from my amusement).  Like most fat people I chose to hide myself beneath layers of too big clothing.  It's amazing how much better I look if I wear something that actually fits and is, dare I say, slightly tight.  My how things have changed!  Of course the entire time I'm wearing Lycra this is all I can think of:

January in Review

January was a good month.  I got back on track with my weight loss, hired a coach so I don't do something stupid and injure myself, joined a swim group/team, and completed the Tour of Sufferlandria.  I have high hopes for the swim team as it's much easier to get out of bed at 5 am when you know people will never let you hear the end of your absence.  So how did I do, you ask... well let's break it down.


Weight

Start: 211.6 on January 5th
End: 204.4 on January 31st.
Lost: 7.2
Goal: 203.6

I had a low of 203.8 a few days before this but ate Thai food which instantly adds 3 - 3.5 pounds.  I did not hit my goal, but am pleased with my progress and would have been there if it wasn't for the pesky (and delicious Thai).  I should note, I was down to 203.2 on February 1st.  I will leave my February goal alone even though I was almost a pound high at the end of January.

Injuries

My hips have been bothering me so I started to see a physical therapist to work on strengthening everything that needs to be stronger, which is pretty much my entire core.  We are also working on some exercises that will hopefully teach my body to fire the correct muscles instead of being lazy.  Rehab work has gone well, though I did slack towards the end of the tour.  I had some concerns about my IT band earlier this month but picked up some Superfeet inserts and it seems to have gone away.  I'm not sure how much it's helped with my plantar fasciitis, but at the very least it hasn't gotten worse.

Distances

Swim: 8.55 miles, 7 swims, 6 hours 13 minutes
Bike: 256 miles, 18 rides, 18 hours 5 minutes
Run: 35.84 miles, 11 runs, 6 hours 9 minutes
Total: 300.83 miles, 36 activities, 30 hours 27 minutes

I am ahead of schedule on the bike, despite most of those being trainer miles which are notoriously low.  I didn't start running and swimming until 7-10 days into the month so I'm okay with where I'm at.  This week will be a sort of recovery week and then I hope my coach has me picking up the run as I have a half marathon at the end of April and a 25k in mid-May.

Overall

January was a good month.  I completed the Tour of Sufferlandria (one of the hardest things I've ever done), joined the already mentioned swim team, and started working on some health issues before they grew to become injuries.  My swim and run slacked a bit but that's to be expected with the heavy bike focus.  Looking forward I want to weigh 198.6 by the end of February.  I have no specific training volume goals as that will be dictated by my coach.  I will, however, be joining the Team Beachbody 21 day fix challenge.  I know, it seems so gimmicky, but my wife has been stuck in a rut and I'm doing it to support her.  I know what I should be eating but have always struggled with portion control.  With any luck I'll learn a thing or two about what a normal sized portion is as well.

2015 Tour of Sufferlandria - The 9 Stages of Hell

For those of you who don't know, the Tour of Sufferlandria is the "The Greatest Grand Tour of a Mythical Nation in the Whole Wide World."  It consists of 9 stages, all of which I hope to recap, providing I'm conscious.  This is my first tour and is something I'm looking forward to with more than a little apprehension.  The Sufferfest videos are not to be taken lightly (in case the name didn't tip you off), and doing at least one video per day (sometimes 3) is quite the undertaking.

I should also note that I've always been told to never try anything new on race day.  Of course my impulsive nature often gets in the way of common sense so I'm competing on a new bike, new pedals (arrived yesterday), and new shoes.  Fortunately I survived the first day without any major injuries or pain.  I'm hoping to visit Chris at Racer Racer this week for an actual fitting.

Stage 1 - Elements of Style and The Long Scream (1 hr 10 mins)

I was nervous starting this stage as I had an emergency Rubber Glove session to establish my FTP on Bean the bike a few days ago and had a hard 6 mile run yesterday.  Needless to say, my legs were shot before I even started.

The Elements of Style is one of the easier videos and served as a nice warm up for The Long Scream.  It focuses on various pedaling drills to hone technique.  I did well, except I don't seem to be able to get out of the saddle correctly.  The video instructs you to engage your glutes for power when standing but my quads immediately start to burn and I have to sit back down after 10-15 seconds.  I thought I might be in trouble during the next video when my legs started to burn towards the end of what is supposed to be no more than a warm up.

The Long Scream... how to even begin to describe it?  You start with a brief 3 or 4 minute "warm up" and then jump right into a 30 minute time trial that never seems to let up.  It is far and away the hardest thing I've done yet on a bike.  I never thought I would be so happy to see a 5 second "break" while the riders ahead of me rounded a curve.  Here's the thought process during this video:

5 minutes in - "Hmmm... starting to feel my legs already and I'm barely out of the warm up, that's probably not good"
10 minutes in - "That 5 second rest was awesome"
15 minutes in - "Go back to that girl!  I like the enemy!"
20 minutes in - "Go faster?  WTF?  Is that even possible"
30 minutes in - (between panting breaths) "Can't stop now, only 3 minutes to go"
33 minutes in (final sprint) "blalakfjsdlifjowiejofiajflwiejoaw"
34 minutes in - "Holy schnikeys!  I did it"

Stage 2 - Blender (1 hr 40 mins)

First off, I may have underestimated the difficulty of the Tour of Sufferlandria.  My wife just rolls her eyes when I tell her things like this as she's come to expect my idiocy.  I kept up with my normal workload this week, so no taper, plus the added Rubber Glove session to test the new bike and an unplanned swim session last night to test my new (to me) Garmin 910.  This brought my training volume from a little over 6 hours last week to over 8.5 this week.  That's a significant jump considering most of it was at high intensity.  I think I'll email my coach after I write this and let him know that we need to back off the running next week.  I'm plan on swimming Monday and Wednesday with my swim group but will limit the running to a few morning sessions on non-swim days.  This will leave the evening session to the Tour of Sufferlandria.

Now, onto stage 2!  My first thought after finishing the video was that the stupid hamster and the Sufferlandrian Time Machine can suck it!  It may not have been as physically and mentally draining as The Long Scream yesterday, but it was significantly longer and featured plenty of "I don't know if I can keep this up" inner monologues.  My heart rate jumped into the 130-150 range during the warm-up so I knew I was in trouble.  I spent almost 40% of my time at VO2 max and another 27% at threshold... that's a lot of work!  The stage begins with some longer road racing sessions starting below threshold and getting progressively worse.  I find these near threshold to above paces for an extended period of time more difficult to maintain than what happens next, the infamous pain shakes.  I struggled to find my gearing on a few of the higher intervals but managed to stay pretty close to the target wattage.  The stage ends with three 4 minute sessions at threshold, which are tough, but manageable.  I simply put my head down and try to zone out while channeling my inner Jens Voigt, SHUT UP LEGS!

I wasn't sure how to fuel for an event like this so I erred on the side of caution.  I woke up a few hours early and had a big breakfast of coffee, scrambled eggs and spinach, 2 pieces of bacon, and rice cakes with almond butter with bananas.  I rarely eat sugar but use hard rides like this as an excuse to have one of my favorite treats, Jelly Beans.  In this case they are called "Sports Beans", so that makes them athletic.  I had one pack about 15 minutes before I started and another pack every 35-40 minutes.  This seemed to work as I never bonked, despite my legs being absolutely shot.

It seems that enjoying suffering seems to be unique to cyclists (and possibly endurance athletes in general).  My friends and family who do not ride think I'm nuts for enjoying something like this, and they may have a point.  There's a lot to be said for pushing yourself beyond what you think is possible and seeing what you're made of.  There were many times throughout this stage when I couldn't imagine finishing but I did my best to ignore my inner pessimist (no matter how loud he is) and pulled through only to emerge better and stronger.  Now it's time for food and recovery.  I might try an ice bath as I've heard they help, though it's not something I'm looking forward to.

Stage 3 - Fight Club (1 hour)

I have to admit, I definitely underestimated the Tour.  It seemed like a fun thing to do, something that would be difficult but manageable.  Unfortunately I was wrong.

My head is full of amazing and insightful thoughts while riding the tour.  Unfortunately by the time I finish I'm a quivering mess, huddled on the floor in the fetal position, trying to figure out how best to climb the stairs to get back to my family who either ignore my pleas for help or stand at the top of the stairs and laugh at me.  Fight Club was no different, and probably the worst/best yet.  It consists of a series of time trial efforts followed immediately by some rough climbing.  To make things even more fun they add in random attacks throughout the intervals.  I'm not ashamed to say that this one broke me, and that is something I hadn't experienced before.  I would ask my legs to sprint or pick up the pace and they would just laugh at me.  It got so bad towards the end that I couldn't even see straight to count how many attacks were in the next interval, and my bike is 4' away from a 54" tv!  Towards the end I just put my head down, closed my eyes and went as hard as I could.  If you look at my power output from the ride you can tell exactly where I broke, the last two climbs.  Oh well, tomorrow is another day!

Stage 4 - Nine Hammers (1 hour)

The Sufferfest's newest video (and one of my favorites) is an excellent example of how far they've come in terms of production values.  Unfortunately I wasn't able to appreciate the video as my legs are just dead... that's the only way I can describe it, dead.  That is, of course, until I start pedaling.  Then they wake up and immediately start screaming at me.  I knew I was in trouble during the first warm up mini hammer as I wasn't anywhere near my threshold and my legs were on fire after only 30 seconds.  Deciding that discretion is the better part of stupidity I decided to drop my FTP down to 95% and hang on as best I could, though I did aim to over the target FTP as much as possible.  I've heard this video features hammerhead sharks and many funny one liners from the gang at Sufferfest, but I cannot comment on that as my eyes were closed and I was hanging on for dear life, again.

I don't think I am recovering well as I was scheduled for a 30 minute run with a heart rate of no more than 135 this morning.  I've been running in the 8:30 - 9:30 pace (albeit at a higher heart rate).  To hit my target I had to slow down to 12:30 min/mile and felt like I was crawling.  I'm looking forward to my rest week.

INTERMISSION 

I am utterly exhausted today and not feeling well.  I blame myself for not feeling well as I had delicious Thai food two days ago and I never do well with spicy food.  Of course that doesn't stop me from eating it... I'm really not good at being an adult.  As for the exhaustion, I think part of that is to be expected as I didn't really train for the Tour.  My wife is kind enough to indulge me so I have been getting enough sleep (around 8 hours), I think 4 days of hard riding is simply taking it's toll. I also made the mistake of attempting to continue my weight loss during the tour and don't think I've been eating enough.  In an attempt to rectify this mistake I had a nice breakfast at Tim Horton's and even splurged on a hash brown... my definition of splurging has certainly changed over the past few years!

Stage 5 - Angels (1 hour) 90%

Angels is a climbing stage featuring that a$#wipe Contador dancing up the stupid hills while I struggle to finish at 90%.  I had a bike fit before this ride and decided to use it as a recovery stage, hence the 90%.  Unfortunately the term recovery is a joke as my legs are simply dead weights hanging off my body at this point.  It was interesting watching my HR hold steady at 5-15 BPM lower than what I expected given my perceived effort.  I also noticed that my cadence was approximately 10 revolutions lower than normal during the recovery portions of the ride.  I normally have no problem spinning at 90 - 95 RPM but today I struggled to hit 80-85.  I'm learning quite a bit about fatigue and how my body responds to constant riding this week as I don't think I've ever ridden my bike more than 4 days in a row, and never this hard for this many days in a row.  On the bright side, I did set some new PR's (5 sec, 10 sec, 20 sec, 30 sec, 1 min, and 2 min), but some of that can be credited to the higher baseline virtual power on the new bike.

One of the unique aspects of Sufferlandria is the 50 hour day (it accommodates our various time zones).  This makes for a depressing visit to Facebook when I'm ready to start a stage only to read  learn that other people are already two stages ahead of me!

Stage 6 - Local Hero (1 hour 25 minutes) 100%

Today was the Return of the Living Dead, aka, the previously dead weights that hung beneath my torso returned in the form of legs and allowed me to push through this stage at 100%.  I was a little light on the recoveries in an attempt to try and force my heart rate down, but the hard work was done as prescribed.  Also, Thor Husovd can suck it, I took that stage and even set a PR for 60 min wattage (271).

The first three 6 minute pyramids (1 min just below threshold, 1 minute above, 2 minutes well above, and then back down) weren't too bad, though I did struggle with finding the correct gearing on the first step to keep my FTP in the target range while also upping my cadence.  The stage featured plenty of mental math/negotiations with myself, such as "Well the pyramids are 6 minutes, and the upcoming intervals are only 3, PLUS I get 2 minutes of rest in between and 2 is almost 3 so I get to rest for half the time!"  Also, things like "Well, 8 intervals down, 4 to go... and the last 4 are only 2 minutes so that's not much more than one of the pyramids and the pyramids are 6 minutes, plus I get to rest so I only have a few minutes left!"  It's amazing what your mind can try to justify when you are exhausted.  I've also noticed that I'm starting to sport calluses on/near my butt... I'm pretty sure that's a good thing, right?  It means I'm toughening up and growing accustomed to being in the saddle, right?  Yeah, definitely a good thing.

Stage 7 - The Rookie (1 hour) 90%

The return of my legs was short lived as I struggled again today.  On the bright side, The Rookie is probably my favorite video.  It's another excellent example of how far the guys at Sufferfest have come and even has an engaging storyline.  You are an unknown Sufferlandrian (sounds about right) who came out of nowhere to win the Tour of Sufferlandria (definitely in the realm of fantasy now) and have been offered the opportunity to ride with a pro team, Giant Shimano.  I know, enjoying a cycling video for it's plot is kind of like saying you watch porn for the story or read Playboy for the articles, but in this case it's true!  What more could you ask for really?  You have the Oscar worth performances from team Giant Shimano, Marcel Kittel's sweet hair, and you even get to drop my favorite rider, Jensie!  It was a good day, even if my ass was dragging.

Stage 8 - Revolver + Violator + Half is Easy (2 hours 25 minutes) 100%

This was the big stage... the one everyone had been whispering about since the tour was announced.  3 stages in a row, all of them sprint stages.  It honored the youngest Knight of Sufferlandria, Dame Alissa Schubert, who was killed earlier this year when she was hit by a truck while cycling.  RIP my lady.

Revolver is the first video I ever completed and was much more difficult this time around.  Part of this newfound difficulty can be pinned on the fatigue from riding for so many days in a row, but I think a bigger reason for the increased suffering is my improved ability to ride the edge during the FTP test.  16 1 minute intervals WELL above threshold should be tough... if not, you're riding too easy.  I rode this at 100% and was able to get reasonably close to my targets.  It's not my favorite ride, but as sprint videos go, it's not too shabby.

One of my teammates posted that this stage wasn't as bad as expected... I say nay nay and call BS on that one, though I have to admit that he suckered me in and I was starting to believe him after the first few rounds of sprints on Violator.  The initial sprints are short enough and have so much rest between intervals that you are lulled into a false sense of security.  Eventually the rest decreases to the point where you barely have time to shift.  Speaking of shifting... I missed a few intervals due to mechanical difficulties but eventually figured out some of the idiosyncrasies of Bean the Bike and was able to finish out the set.  The last 5 minutes of this set are absolutely brutal.

Half is Easy... talk about false advertising!  This is an incredibly difficult video featuring 2 sets of 10 minutes of alternating 15 seconds of rest and 15 seconds of flat out sprinting.  I have learned I am not a sprinter.  Again, by the time I had switched gears and Trainer Road has registered the increase power output I've lost two seconds.  Sure, the obvious solution is to change gears and start sprinting early, but that wasn't going to happen.  I did an okay job of hitting my power numbers here but you can see I struggled at times.  Regardless, I'm happy with how the day went considering the mechanical issues and my lack of fast twitch muscle fibers.

Stage 9 - ISLAGIATT (2 hours) 90% 

Blarghdy;alkvjelelhfsdlk

(this is John's wife, he's passed out in front of his laptop with his hands on the keyboard.  I assume he's alive as his chest is still moving.  He did not look well during this stage).

Okay, I'm back.  This was far and away the most difficult thing I've ever done.  It was more difficult than the 25k I completed a few years ago, more difficult than the half marathon last fall, and even more challenging than Memorial Day Murph.  If you look at the ride chart it's without a doubt the ugliest ride to date in terms of hitting my power numbers.  Despite that, it's probably the ride I'm most proud of as I feel I have honored the spirit of the tour.  In hindsight you always feel like you could have done more, pushed a little harder here, increased your effort there... but after looking at today's ride profile and knowing how utterly exhausted I am, I'm confident in saying I have suffered as much as I was able to.  I struggled out of the gate to even come close to some of the warmup power numbers and knew I was in trouble considering the length of this stage.  I decided to ignore the targets and ride by feel, giving it everything I had, and damn the outcome.  This quickly descended into a mental war.  I tried to break everything down into small segments such as "Just 5 more minutes, finish 5 minutes", which quickly lead to "30 seconds... you can do anything for 30 seconds".  I've always struggled with mental toughness when it comes to endurance events and, as my wife would tell you, am the king of justifying why I shouldn't do something.  This stage was mentally and physically exhausting and became a constant struggle with that negative asshole sitting on my shoulder telling me to just stop pedaling and the suffering would be over.  Instead of giving in I pushed on... beyond pain, beyond suffering, into a world of complete and total exhaustion.  I no longer felt my legs, I simply willed them to turn with every stroke of the pedal.  It was a long day that somehow went by in a flash and it is one of my proudest physical achievements to date.

New Bike Day!

It's the best day of the year, NEW BIKE DAY!

Before I get into the bike I should first explain about my imaginary friends.  Late last year I joined a team of triathletes, runners, mountain bikers, gravel grinders, etc called Team Apex Multisport.  They seem adept at convincing unsuspecting team members to compete in ridiculous events such as the Dirty Kanza, Ironmans, Iceman, etc.  Unfortunately it was the end of tri season so the triathletes were finishing up their big races and going into hibernation.  I ventured out to a few of the group mountain bike rides (a big step for me) and met some nice guys. I collected a group of 30 to 40 new Facebook friends, very few of whom I had actually met.  Even those I had met weren't recognizable as I usually saw them from behind (I'm a terrible mountain biker and refuse to identify them by their spandex clad rear ends) or they were wearing helmet, sunglasses, kit, etc.  Seeing as how I didn't know most of these new friends, my wife started calling them my imaginary friends.  She has decided that once I actually meet them they can graduate to a real life friend.  The constant discussion of whether or not someone is my friend makes me think of The Waterboy, but I digress... onto new bike day!

I've been keeping an eye on Craigslist the past few months to get an idea what used tri bikes go for and to see if there were any screaming deals.  Unfortunately I lack the knowledge to know what things are worth so I posted on my team's Facebook page to see if my imaginary friends had any suggestions.  Within minutes I had several offers in my inbox.  One of them happened to be my size and about a third of what I thought I would have to pay, plus he offered to drop it off at work later that day (I'm impatient, so that was a big plus).  I sat at my desk staring out the window for the next few hours, much like a kid trying to stay up and sneak a peak of Santa.  Once he arrived we pulled it out of his trunk and it was love at first sight.  She's a mid 2000's Specialized Transition Comp (aluminum) with a nice mix of Ultegra and 105 components.  I named her Bean after my daughter (and sometimes training partner) who likes to yell "Shut up legs!" as loud as she can while I'm riding.  I thought that might serve as motivation.  After my imaginary turned real friend left (thanks again Mike!) I decided to provide some entertainment for my employees and ride the bike around the shop.  I've been warned that tri bikes handle differently from road bikes and noticed a difference, mainly on sharp turns, but it wasn't as bad as I had expected.  After a few laps around the shop accompanied by much laughter I gently laid her down in my car and proceeded to stare at the clock until it was time to leave.  Once I got home I put on an old skewer (don't want to scratch up my lady), swapped out pedals, installed my speed and cadence sensor, and tossed her on the trainer for an emergency visit to the Sufferfest Doctor for a Rubber Glove examination (to set my FTP prior to the start of the Tour of Sufferlandria this weekend).  I use virtual power instead of an actual power meter so FTP between bikes isn't really apples to apples.  Regardless, my FTP went from 259 to 309, all of which is due to the increased aerodynamics of Bean the Bike.  I know, I know, it was indoors on a trainer so aerodynamics don't count, right?  Wrong!  I had a fan on, ha!

I will always love my old Trek road bike, but she can't compete with a bike like this, even if they are almost the same age.  It's like trading in a 2004 Chevy Cavalier for a 2006 Corvette... similar ages but light years apart.  I was blown away at how much smoother the pedaling and shifting were and my wife was shocked at how much quieter it was (good bye creaky bottom bracket).  I've only ridden her once so far but I feel safe in saying that this relationship will last a long time.  I've been told she held the course record at a local time trial years ago, so gone are the days when I could blame the bike and not the engine for my shortcomings!  She has taken away one of my biggest and best excuses, and for that I love her.

Here she is, minus the nicer race wheels.  Speaking of race wheels, with the money I saved on the bike I can now afford a set... anyone know of a good pair of used race wheels?

Swim Class - Day 1

I went to a swim class today, which is impressive in it's own right as I'm not a fan of new experiences nor do I enjoy meeting new people, plus I had to wear my swimsuit around a bunch of ultra lean triathletes!  I know, it's weird to hear complaints like that from a guy, but we have body image issues just like the ladies.

Overall it was a positive experience, though I prefer my nice warm pool at the Y.  Class was an hour long and consisted of lots of 25m drills and a few longer sets.  I'm not sure how long we swam total, but I would guess somewhere in the 1500 - 2000m (or yards, I'm not sure how long the pool is).

Lessons learned:

• I'm not the only person who sucks at kick drills.  My hips have been bothering me the past few days and I really felt them here.    
• I need jammers.  I read somewhere that my board shorts can add 10 - 15 seconds per 100y, so there's an easy improvement, without spending a fortune!  They should be here Friday.
• I am a decent swimmer, which is awesome considering I am terrible at running.  I seem to have a solid natural stroke and swim around 1:45 - 1:50 per 100y.  If what I read is correct I should get that down to 1:35 - 1:40 by simply changing my swimsuit.  Not only was I able to keep up in my lane, I actually had to slow down a few times as I was catching the person in front of me.

2015 Goals

While looking through my training log for last year I couldn't help but notice that it seemed unstructured, particularly when I started training for triathlon.  Given that my focus changes several times throughout the year (run, to tri, back to run) I decided I needed help and my wife was kind enough to agree.  With that being said, I have hired a coach to provide me with weekly plans that will hopefully allow me to arrive at each race injury free and in a position to PR (two of my big races are my first time at that distance so a PR is in the bag).  I am looking forward to our meeting later this week to go over everything.  My wife has always said that you should invest your money in experiences rather than stuff, so I decided to invest in knowledge rather than a new tri bike or a power meter.

LOSE WEIGHT (starting weight 211.6)

This is my number one goal for the year and my biggest struggle.  I can train 8-12 hours per week but if my diet isn't in check I'm handicapping myself.  I would like to be in the 180-190 range for my races starting at the end of April.  This will put less stress on my body and I've also been told that every pound overweight = 2 seconds off your mile pace while running.  That alone could help me set some huge PR's.  I seem to go through phases where I lose 10 - 15 pounds, only to slip up and put the weight right back on.  I think my biggest obstacle is when life gets in the way of my routine.  This can be as simple as going up north for a weekend.  I need to be aware of this and address the issue.  I will accomplish this by doing the following:

• Lose 5 pounds per month (8 in January as most of this is water weight from my trip up north last weekend).  Goal weights (Jan 203.6, Feb 198.6, Mar 193.6, April 188.6)
• Plan meals and snacks ahead of time with my wife, in particular when we are going somewhere over the weekend.
• Avoid the temptations during lunch with my Dad and Brother-in-law on a daily basis.
• Work on portion control.  I tend to put too much on my plate, shove it all into my mouth, and go back for more.  I need to eat slower and be more mindful.  Wait 15-20 minutes before I go back for a second serving.
• Limit alcohol consumption.
• Limit the number of times we eat out per week.

ARRIVE AT MY 3 "A" RACES INJURY FREE

I will need to discuss how best to do this with my coach but I've always struggled with injuries, usually from doing too much too soon.  My hips and feet are bugging me at the moment.  

• Slowly and appropriately ramp up my training volume in each discipline.
• Strength train (if my coach agrees)
• Foam roll, pre-hab type stuff as needed.
• Look into new running shoes and/or inserts.
• Proper bike fit from Racer Racer.

My "A" races for the year are as follows:

• Fifth Third River Bank Run - 25k
• Michigan Titanium - Half Ironman (70.3)
• Grand Rapids Marathon - 26.2 miles

SECONDARY GOALS

• PR Half Marathon - Current PR is 2:10:21 at the Grand Rapids Half Marathon in October of 2014.  This will be accomplished at the Rivertown Races Half Marathon in April.  This will be a training run for the River Bank Run so a PR is secondary.
• PR River Bank Run - Current PR is 2:56:03, set in 2012.  If I'm healthy this record should go down hard.

Distance Goals

These are hard to set as I'm unsure what my training will look like.  These are nice round numbers that I will shoot for, but it's not imperative.

• Run 1000 miles
• Bike 2000 miles
• Swim 200,000 yards

2014 - Year in Review

2014 was the year I decided to get back in shape, and to that I owe a thanks to my brother-in-law.  In late April he was looking at some pictures I had hung on the wall and wanted to know who was standing with his family in one of them.  I took a look and was a bit pissed off to see that it was me, after my 25k race in 2012.  I hadn't realized how far I had let myself go (up 30 pounds, almost half of what I had initially lost!) and decided to do something about it.  I signed up for the Grand Rapids Marathon later that week, busted out my old training logs, and went to work.

Starting training 4/30/14 so approximately 8 months total, mainly focused on running.

Running
112 Activities
437.45 Miles
80:38:47
65,214 Calories

Cycling (mileage is incorrect as I didn't know you could upload Trainer Road files with mileage)
73 Activities
604.08 Miles
77:19:29
66:237 Calories

Swimming
27 Activities
17.70 Miles
13:41:26
11,384 Calories

Total
212 Activities
1,059.24 Miles
171:39:41
142,836 Calories

May 
Almost entirely running with a couple of bike rides early in the month.  I started with a 2/1 run/walk ratio and my 5k time was around 41:11.  The highlight of the month was the Memorial Day Bridge Run with my wife.  It was slow (5.05 miles in 59:02) but there's nothing like running with my best friend and watching the sun come up over the Island.

June
Again, almost entirely running.  I started trail running at Luton and enjoyed it, but was shocked at how much more work 3 miles on the trails were compared to the road.

July
I started training for my first triathlon at the very end of this month.  It also featured my favorite race to date, the T-Rex 10 Mile Trail race.  I added a few more bike rides this month, but still nothing to speak of.  I completed my first 10k, the Bear River Crawl (1:00:00).  My longest run was the 10 mile trail run and my weight was around 215.

August
My weight went from 217 down to 211.  Lots of swimming, biking, and running.  I would consider this my first month of triathlon training and my training volume shows it as I was around 6.5 - 8 hours per week.  Petoskey Sprint Triathlon on the 17th was an absolute blast and hooked me on the sport.  I started mountain biking a few times each week and loved it, especially when I convinced my wife and son to go with me.  Long run of around 9 miles.  This is the month I switched to the half marathon due to injury.  Longest bike ride to date on the 24th, 56.98 miles.  Unfortunately I bonked HARD enough on the last 5 miles that I didn't even contemplate finishing the metric century.

September
My second triathlon with a disastrous swim.  I didn't want to let met tri Sherpa (wife) or kids down so I pushed through and ended up taking 2nd place in what should be my last event as a Clydesdale.  I discovered Trainer Road and absolutely love it.  Training volume generally in the 7-10 hours per week  LCMU Bridge Run (10 miles, 1:37:10), Le Tour De Donut (33 miles, 1:56:56) were the highlights for this month. I joined Team Apex Multisport this month and have met some wonderful people.  I also purchased Toefuzz the Mountain Bike (Focus Black Forest 2.30).  Chris Knight made me an offer I couldn't refuse.  It took me two rides to break it (bent teeth on the gears).  Fortunately he was kind enough to fix it, now charge.  I suspect he enjoys laughing at my mountain biking exploits, I know I do!

October
My first mountain bike race (Michigan Mountain Mayhem Gravel Grinder in Boyne City, 18.09 miles, 1:09:37) and first half marathon (Grand Rapids, 13.16 miles, 2:10:21).  I was happy with my HM time but injured both feet and had to take nearly a month off from running.  I bought Dawn a road bike (yeah Craigslist!).  It was supposed to be her Christmas present but I couldn't wait.  Lots of rides on the trainer and only a couple of swims.  Lowest training volume in months, generally 4 - 5 hours per week.

November
My heaviest swim month with 2-3 swims per week.  I started running again on the 17th, pain free, with my weight around 210.  I started the Barry P running plan from Slowtwitch which had me running 6x per week.  This may have been a bit aggressive to start.  Training volume in the  5.5 - 6 hour range once I added running back into the mix.  We went skiing in Petoskey around Thanksgiving and had a good time.  Gus started running with me and loves it.  The poor guy gets sad when I break out the Garmin only to head downstairs to the treadmill.

December
Nothing too exciting this month.  I survived the Holidays (in terms of weight) and discovered the Sufferfest videos.  If I had my way I would be on my bike 4-5 hours per day, but unfortunately life gets in the way.  I've been running 4-6x per week but my feet have been bothering me.

Well, that's it for this year.  I will have a post up later this week about what I have in store for 2015.  It should be an interesting one!