December 29

Didn't make it to Spin class on time today so hit the pool for 1,000 yards and finished right at 20 minutes. Felt good but need some new goggles, mine are not sealing well on one eye.

December 27

Nice easy post Christmas workout today with a 25 minute run and 1,000 yards in the pool. Legs felt great and I could have gone much farther in the pool. Looking to get back to a spin class on Monday.

December 26

The plan is starting to come together for next year. Right now I am making sure to get in 2-3 runs a week, and also hit the pool at least once a week to keep from losing form. It will be a few more weeks before I start to do anything regular on the bike. I won’t be riding much other than spin classes until the end of March and my half-marathon race. I went out Christmas Eve and did a nice easy 5 miler at 47.58, so that felt good. Anytime I break 10 min miles I am happy. Hopefully I won’t be saying that in a few months, and I will be disappointed with a 10 min mile.
As for the plan, I will start my official 9 week plan for the half marathon the week of January 26th. It will comprise of Tuesday and Thursday low mileage interval type work and a short run Saturday with a long run every Sunday. Until the end of January I am going to continue to run 3, 3, and 5-7 miles on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays to get a base. During the race training I am going to do spin classes at lunch each Monday and Wednesday and get in the pool one other day each week. That should keep me where I need to be for the Half Iron plan.
The 70.3 plan will begin about a week after the ING race, the week of April 12. I am using a 20 week plan and stretching it out to 24 weeks by repeating the first four weeks of the base build. That should give me a time to reconnect with the longer rides needed. This plan will look like a 6 day per week plan with bike work on Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and combo run and swim days on Wednesday, Friday, and Suday. Monday will be an off day, which will give me some flexibility each week to move days as needed as long as each workout is done, and I keep at least one full day for recovery.
The race schedule is filling out to look like Peachtree City International on May 16th, West Point Lake Triathlon on June 13th, Sandestin Triathlon (sprint) on August 22nd and the big dog Ironman Augusta 70.3 on September 27th. I will probably do one or two other sprints along the way with my wife who is taking up the sport this year as well, so we will add those as we come along.
The plan for next week is to get a couple of swims in, and at least two runs in. With the new year over the weekend it will be hard to get much structure until after then.

December 17

Allright, back in the pool for the first time in a few weeks today, just for 15 minutes or so but it actually felt good. I was starting to hit my stride by the time I needed to get out. I had one hour at lunch and fit in a two mile run and 15 minutes in the pool. I think if I needed to I could have hit a mile today without any problems in the water, which is nice to know. I don’t want that base to drop off too far while I am focusing on running this winter. We will see how the long run goes this weekend.

December 13

Today’s run was much better, a 5 miler at 49min pace in 27 degree weather. It was cold, but clear and no wind so a perfect sunrise run. Anytime I break 10 minutes/mile that means I had a constant pace and had no walk breaks. Funny how quickly you can feel decent running when you have some kind of base from previous years, no matter that you have had a few months off. I hope this is a good sign. So we will do some speed work and one short run next week and see if we can get to 7 miles next Saturday.
As I was out today I was thinking a lot about my dad who passed away last month. Growing up he was a consistent runner, but never really participated much in races other than the Peachtree Road Race and an occasional father’s day fun run. It was cold days like these that we would go up to the high school track and he would get his 3-4 miles in. Usually it was after work, so I would run a few laps then go onto the football field in the middle of the track and kick field goals or goof off.
I had a few laughs when thinking about him today as well. When you are out there running nowadays all you see is technical fabrics, fancy tights, and wicking materials. His running attire in the winter was typically a grey pair of sweatpants that were a little too short, a sweatshirt that he still had from Grady High in 1953, a nice puffy satin jacket over that and a really tall toboggan. If we saw someone out there running today in that I would crack a good laugh, more for nostalgia than making fun of awful running attire. I was thinking of hitting up his closet and pulling out some of the old threads for one of my runs this month. I would probably get some looks but it would be worth it.

December 9

I have started the base run plan and so far it is slow going. I think the combination of Turkey Day and travel, along with almost two months off from any targeted training has made it a slow transition. I really don’t feel great right now even at short (3mi) distances, but I think after a week or so the blood will be flowing fine. Going to do a 5 mile long run this weekend and start moving to speed work on Tuesdays and tempos on Wednesdays starting next week. I think by this time next week I should feel a little more in the mood for movement.

A little over one week to the start of my 16 week plan for ING Atlanta. My back injury has stayed with me longer than I hoped and I have had some pretty painful days just doing normal things. I hope this will not linger too much longer.
I was able to get our today for a nice 40 minute run covering a little over four miles. I was surprised how good I felt since it has been almost a month since my last real run or bike. Hopefully this is a good sign. We will be off to Virginal on Wednesday for Thanksgiving, so I hope to get in a run or two up there as well before I start building up my run.

We had a gap of two weeks here due to my dad passing away on November 4th from complications from a stroke the week before. My dad is the person who originally got me out and running as he was a habitual 3x week runner while I was growing up. We used to go up to the track at our local high school and I would run the track while he did one mile laps around the campus block. He got me out into my first Peachtree Road Race at the age of 14 and continued to be a role model for me to the end. Although he was now doing more running on a treadmill than outside, my dad was still working out at the gym 2-3 times a week and was one of the most fit 73 year old man you ever saw.
Spending a week in the ICU waiting room also wrenched my recurring disk injury in my lower back, so my last true workout was spin class October 27th. I went to a masseuse/acupressure session last Saturday and that at least got me upright. I was able to get in the pool today at lunch, so I think by the end of the week the kinks in the back will be out and I will be able to get back to the basics and working on my run base before my 1/2 marathon plan starts in December. Somehow eating all of the food that our great friends brought to us during this period I still managed to shave off a few pounds. Most likely from the stress, who knows?

weekend update

Had the 4th annual Halloween party this weekend and we have picked up one more participant for Augusta. It looks like we will have a total of seven of us shooting for the finish. Only one of the entire group has done anything beyond Olympic distance, so it should be a good challenge for all. Goal is to have every one's entries into the race by end of 2008 so we are all locked in and ready.
Now the basic plan structure is out there, next up is to take a look at diet. I think I will have need some drastic changing of my diet as the year evolves.

The Basic Plan

I am starting to look at a few training plan options out there, and it looks like a 20-24 week plan is going to be the time frame we are looking at. I have a book that I have enjoyed a lot linked on the side of the page, The Perfect Distance by Tom Rodgers. There are tons of triathlon books out there but I have really enjoyed this read. Less for the specific skills and training info, but more for the philosophy of how to tackle this while being a person with 50+ hours of commitments already each week. One of the first and most important points of the book is that unlike sprint and even Olympic Distance you can’t fake your way through a Half-Iron. It will take a plan physically, mentally, and nutritionally.
That being said I am looking at Nov-March totally about running and getting ready for ING, with cross-training on the bike and pool at least once a week to maintain some basic levels there. ING Georgia will be March 29th. I have Spring Break for the family on April 6-10, and then the official training begins.
I am looking at extending a 20 week plan to 24 total weeks by adding a 4 week “easier” base program before the real 8 week base begins May12. That will follow with 5 weeks of Build, and then 6 weeks of Peak to finish ready to go Sunday September 27th, 2009. Next step is to find a good plan that gets me to an easy marathon distance over a 16-20 week plan.

Recap and Regroup

For those who are not friends of mine reading the blog here, a little history. I decided to try triathlon in 2007 after a few beers and wings on St. Patrick’s Day. A friend of mine and I had been discussing and said let’s do it, and set a goal of finishing the Sandestin Triathlon in August of that year. We did, and also included the Mountain Lakes Triathlon in Alabama and the Peachtree City Triathlon in the rotation that year. That was three sprint distance races (the Sandestin Race is a bit longer but no matter) in 2007. Also included was the Peachtree Road Race 10K in Atlanta. This was my first 10K in a while and served as the warm-up for the triathlons later in the year. I really enjoyed the races and thought that I could try some more the next year in 2008.
Shortly after the last race of the season in 2007 my career underwent a major change. I was in the banking industry that was suffering, and the company I worked for closed their doors. That led to a job and career shift back into the software world where there was steady income. That whole transition took some of the wind out of my sails, but more importantly took my free time for training away. In my previous career I was in 100% control of my schedule, where now I was back in an office from 8:30 to the end of the day. Cutting out of the office at 3 for a ride and run was no longer an option.
My racing partners had agreed to try and step up to the Olympic distance in 2008 and we were scheduled for the NYC Triathlon as our race in July of 2008. Due to poor motivation, an existing back injury, and lack of training I had to back out at the last minute. It was then I had a choice: Give up on the work I had completed last year or get back into the game. In late June I decided to at least continue the sprint distance races and crammed to get back in condition for Mountain Lakes Triathlon in August of 2008. I completed the race without much of a problem (other than a completely detached left crank on the bike for 10 miles) and we signed up for the Sandestin Triathlon again. The weekend of Sandestin was also when Hurricane Fay hit Florida so the race was cancelled. By this point in time I was feeling back in decent shape and decided to go ahead and enter an Olympic distance race in September to make up for the missing Sandestin. The Tugaloo Triathlon was a great race, it was hot and hilly which made for a great challenge, but overall had a great time. My 2008 season went from not much training at all up until June to cramming for two sprints and completing an Olympic distance race in three months time.
Now we are one month removed from the last race of the year and looking for the next challenge. It will take much more organization than before as you definitely cannot cheat a 70.3 race. My plan is to try and get up to half-marathon distance by the ING Georgia Marathon at the end of March and keep that as my run base thru the rest of training. That will allow me to focus a little harder on the swim and bike as the season unfolds. Running has always been my weak spot, so hopefully having that base early will help. Let’s see how it goes.

In the Beginning…..

After a few years of joking about being the "least fit triathlete in America" with my casual racing friends I have decided to drop the title. Why? I have now committed to step up from a handful of Sprint races and one Olympic distance race to tackle a Half Iron race next September. There is a group of us who will be doing the Augusta GA Ironman 70.3, and for most it will be a step-up up to this distance.
So to re-christen my title, I am no longer the least fit triathlete in America. I am now and forevermore The Seasonal Triathlete. I have a family with two young children, a full time job and the trappings that go along with being a regular person. I don't have unlimited funds, lots of spare time, or sponsors. I am in good enough shape to finish an Olympic distance race and feel fine, but am definitely not a fitness freak. I race to have fun, have a goal, and challenge myself physically.
This blog is more for me to keep track of training, progress and as a reference for me mentally and physically as I move to September 2009 and the races. If anyone starts reading and is entertained, educated or moved to do a race, all the better.
So the goal is Sunday September 27, 2009, Ironman 70.3 Augusta. 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike, 13 mile run.