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!
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