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.