Running on the Track

Today was a scheduled 40 minute run so I decided to run intervals at the track. The workout consisted of a 10 minute slow warm up of a mile at a 10 minute pace. I then stopped the clock and stretched for about 8 minutes, then proceeded to run 100 yard sprints. I ran 8 100's at a sprint pace then ran the remaining 10-12 minutes at a slow to medium steady pace with a couple of walk breaks. In realizing that I had to run 40 minutes, I figured that running sprint intervals would be relatively easy. Not so! It was an incredibly tough, and much harder than I ever thought. However, I've realized that running sprint intervals is very beneficial in distance running. So I'll be doing intervals once a week.

Tomorrow is 30 minutes of swim and 45 minutes of running. Dang, this running is going to kill me!

Here's a training update directly from an email Troy sent me on how he did today:

I did 31 minutes. I was WIPED OUT! I did well, but 3.5 hours in the hot sun doing the lawn took it out of me, but I did the best I could. I was on and off throughout stopping and then running. I pushed as hard as I could. I need to alter my route to make it 40 minutes. I thought an adjustment I made to my other route would make it long enough, but it didn’t. (which is good, I guess). Anyway, that’s the update. See you at 8:00 in the morning AT THE POOL.

Troy the Roman Soldier

Today called for 30 minutes of swimming and 20 minutes of running. With me having to wake up at 5:30 to get my daughter to swim practice, it was no big deal to meet Troy at 7:00 am for a morning workout swim. We swam laps for 15 minutes then did fin drills for the remaining 15. After the swim, I went home to eat breakfast and ended up falling asleep for about an hour. Troy however, was a beast! He rested for approximately 20 minutes then immediately went out on his run! He was really feeling himself today! He's really making this a priority and it's fun to watch him get upset when he can't seem to get out to train or something gets in the way. It's funny.

Today was a good day of training, but it was bit tough due to the heat. I'm starting to find that I'm wanting to train more and devote more time to it, but can't due to my schedule. I'd love to be able to do what the pros do by training everyday and that's literally their job. Wishful thinking.

Can't Save It For A Rainy Day!

I woke up this morning at 5:30 to pick up my daughter for her early morning swim practice at 6:30 am. Our workout today called for a 50 minute ride and strength training. After waking up and looking outside, I realized that our scheduled 7:00 am ride was not going to happen due to rain. I was bummed. That meant that me and Troy had to adjust our daily schedule in order to somehow fit everything in. We then re-grouped and decided on a 5:00 ride out to Leiper's Fork. The weather was pleasant and I was looking forward to it, as was Troy. We set out and get to the Henpeck Market one mile from my house and Troy front crank comes loose from his bike. It just doesn't seem like it's meant for us to ride today. At any rate, I ride back to my house to get my car and we take Troy's bike to the shop to quickly get it fixed. It gets fixed and we don't have enough time to ride out to Leiper's so we took our regular Franklin route. Not the same as the one we'd hoped for, but better than nothing.

We both still haven't gotten to hit the weights in the gym so we're having to settle for push ups at home. Tomorrow is swimming and running. Should be interesting to see how we do.

A Heavy Run Week!

Yesterday was Memorial Day. A day in which we relax and remember those who have stood, and are standing, up for the freedoms of our country. Our training schedule dictated that we do some strength training as we do every Monday. However, with Troy spending time with family and me doing some house chores, the both of us decided to get in our strength training at home and work on some core strengthening. I did 6 sets of 15 push ups on the Perfect Pushup machine and also did 6 sets of ab workouts. It's not exactly the same as going to the gym and pushing weight, but I can tell it certainly helped because I felt it this morning.

Today, I got up early and ran my allotted 35 minutes like it says to do on our training schedule. After a good amount of rest for my legs, ample stretching over the weekend, and taking care of the nagging back pain, I ran the whole way without stopping (click here for the route). That, for me, is a big deal. That's the first time I've run almost 4 solid miles without stopping in under 35 minutes. That doesn't sound like much, but that's a big deal for a 6'4" 195 pound guy like me. I can tell I'm getting better and my body is adjusting to the rigors of endurance training. It amazes me what the body can do when tested.

So far, I haven't had any knee or hip problems or pain. I'm trying to be very conscious of taking care of them by running properly. However, this week will be a heavy run week and we'll see how I do by week's end.

Bike/Swim Day

It's Sunday and today's scheduled training was biking for 30 minutes and to swim for 30 minutes. Troy had a very packed schedule today due to this being his celebration day of his 10th anniversary. That meant that we needed to wake up early and get our ride in before church. 

I met Troy at his house at 7:00 am to head out on our required ride. We both found that we didn't have as much as we usually do due to having ridden less than 12 hours earlier. Nevertheless, it was still a nice and relatively intense ride. The weather was a bit cool but made for a nice ride once we had warmed up. We ended up averaging around 16.5 mph.

After church, I came home and got some lunch and took about an hour nap due to being uncharacteristically tired. After waking up, I got my swim gear together and got to the pool around 3:00. I swam for 30 minutes and ended up swimming about 1500 yards. In doing this upcoming triathlon, I KNOW I'm ready for the swim portion. I feel the swim discipline is one of my strengths - especially since I'll only have to swim 440 yards in the event. Hopefully, I should be able to do it in about 10-12 minutes. I can swim it in less time in a pool not having to account for swimming in the open water.

Troy, on the other hand, was not able to swim because of him being on his anniversary celebration with his wife. They went to downtown Nashville and stayed the night at the Union Station Hotel, so Troy took full advantage of the workout facilities the hotel had to offer. He ran a mile on the treadmill and did some workouts with weights. I was pleasantly surprised to hear that since I didn't figure he'd be able to get anything additional in for the day. I can tell that he's really into what we're doing because it truly seems to bother him if he gets diverted from his workout routine. I can see he's gotten used to the lifestyle and he's really seeming to enjoy it.

Now we've got to choose another goal to shoot for once the Top Gun Triathlon is over. The ball has to keep its momentum and stay in motion.

The First One

This morning, I did my obligatory 35 minute run just like it said on my training schedule. I wasn't looking forward to it, but I'm currently trying to train my brain to enjoy the running discipline of triathlon. It's hard for me to convert. However, this morning was a pretty decent run for me in that I ran for a solid 25 minutes straight without taking a rest. That's the farthest I've been thus far. I then walked for 2 minutes and ran the rest of the way until time was up. That was the up side. The down side however, is I currently have my first nagging injury from playing basketball in my back yard with my daughter and her boyfriend. It's certainly not a serious injury, but it's enough to make things uncomfortable and a bit stiff at the beginning of a run or a ride. I'm sure it's nothing that some stretching, aspirin, and some time won't heal. I just hate it because I'd love to go through this process completely injury free, but I guess that's not reality.

Troy too has a nagging knee injury that is essentially due to continuous use and having to bear the weight that he's loading around on those knees. So in order to keep him from further injury, I stress to him to listen to what his body is telling him and to lay off of running until Tuesday. Today, I'm making him bike for an hour in which I'm sure I'll ride with him. I'm proud of him telling me all of this stuff in order for us to keep each other on track. I find that my accountability to him keeps me just as in line as his does to me.

I'm still loving the cross-training aspect of the training. It's something different every day.

UPDATE:

At 7:30, Troy called and decided he wanted to take a 30-40 minute ride since he couldn't run. It was the first opportunity that he's had to break away and get his workout in. We went on a nice and relatively intense ride around Franklin with an average ride speed of just over 17.0 mph.

It's Friday! Rest Day!

Friday. . . YES! Today is a scheduled rest day and my body (and Troy's too) desperately needs it! I've decided to do nothing physical today. However, my mind tells me to do something small like pushups or a short easy bike ride or something. I'm not going to listen to what my head is telling me and instead listen to what the experts say to do and give my body a proper rest period. I know my body needs it and my calves could certainly use the rest! So for today, I'm resting and enjoying the beautiful spring day with my daughter and a movie and thanking God for his blessings that I don't deserve. He has given me health and life and that is a huge blessing in itself.

Back to training tomorrow!

School's Out

These are my Nike Air Pegasus running shoes and, I must say, I like how comfortable they are on my runs. Now if I could just enjoy the process.

It's the last day of school for the kids so that makes for unusual and messed up schedules. With this in mind and other things on my plate for today, I knew I had to get my workout in early this morning. Today's schedule called for 35 minutes of running and weight training. Consequently, I set out on my dreaded 35 minutes to get it over with. I struggle so much with distance running. I feel like I'm actually getting worse! I don't know if it's mental or it's actually physiological. Either way, I don't enjoy running for long periods. Give me swimming or biking any day!

Troy also knocked out his running early this morning due to schedule conflicts today. He reported to me that he's stepping up his game and really starting to see positive forward progress in the amount of time and distance he's running at one time without stopping. I realize his margin for improvement is much greater than mine but I'm envious of the fact that he's enjoying the run portion and seeing results. He's still on the heavy side but it's coming down due to his commitment to change for health purposes. I'm proud of him and want to continue to have a goal set for the two of us to work toward. That seems to be one of our main motivators. 

Tomorrow is a rest day and I'm so excited that I don't have to do anything and allow my body to rest!

Run/Swim Day

Today was scheduled as a 30 minute run and a 15 minute swim. I've got to say, the runs absolutely wear me out! I'm definitely the weakest on my running having not run distance in the past. I've always been a fast twitch muscle sport guy - sprints, basketball, football, etc. So to get my body acclimated to the long distant running has been quite an adjustment. I love the swimming and the biking aspect of triathlon, but I've got to train my body to start to like the run portion. I'll get there.

Troy and I worked out separately today due to Troy's work schedule. He woke up early and knocked all of his "required" workouts. I have to say, I was impressed that he went ahead of me and did it in order to get it behind him. The morning workouts usually prove to help motivate him to eat healthy throughout the rest of the day. So far, he's been doing great. His diet is more in check, he's getting much better on the swim, he's definitely better on the bike, and he's never really had a problem with his running. He's much better at endurance activities than I am.

This whole experience has been really good for me and, I think, for Troy. I can see our bodies changing for the better. I know mine has changed quite a bit in just 3 weeks. I've lost 15 lbs of fat and gained about 5 lbs of muscle. I can tell my body has tightened up quite a lot as well. I love the discipline aspect of this. It helps in all areas of my life. Troy's body is changing for the better as well. I can tell he's losing weight in his midsection and his legs. That seems to be the first place it comes off of him, which is quite a good thing. He's slowly tightening up and redistributing muscle where fat is. He doesn't see it, but I can certainly tell a difference. I can't wait to see where he is when all of this is much further down the line.

Going For A Goal

I've decided to create a blog to track my progress in the transition into a different athletic phase of my life. As I get older, I find myself being more competitive with self than I do with others. After years of playing basketball on every level except pro, I realize I'm not as physically interested in playing it as much. Therefore, I've taken up training for triathlons. I've never done one, but my first will be a sprint in St. Petersburg, FL called the Top Gun Triathlon.

After training for three weeks, I've realized that training for a triathlon is much more than physical. For me, it's become spiritual as well. It's truly a sport that embodies body, mind, and spirit. Here's my journey. . . 

Throughout my training process, I've also been physically training my brother to prepare for the Top Gun as well. He's a bit of a physical project. He's a big guy at 6'5" 311 lbs when we started training 3 weeks ago. However I must admit, I didn't expect him to flip the switch and be so dramatically dedicated. He's done everything that's been asked of him including changing his diet for the better. As a result, he's down to 304 lbs in 3 weeks and still losing. I'd love for him to be at about 275 lbs by August 2nd (which is the date of the event). It's a constant journey so we'll see.

Today our training schedule consisted of 30 minutes of biking and 15 minutes of running. It's a lot tougher than it sounds!