The MAN!

Sunday is always a scheduled tough day for training and right now, I'm currently in the middle of it. I just got finished with my 30 minute swim portion and now I just have my 60 minute bike remaining. I'm waiting for the temperature outside to come down a bit, then I'm hitting the road.

Today's been a relatively quiet and relaxed day with my twins. I enjoy these types of days.

Haven't spoken to Troy but I'm sure that he's done or about to do his training for today. I'm confident that he's on top of it and staying with it. He's done a great job thus far and his commitment goes beyond wanting to do this for me at this point. That's nice to see. Maybe soon Troy will send me an entry that I can post here from his perspective in all of this.

Our Top Gun Triathlon is quickly approaching and I'm happy with where we are in our training.

Saturday Run

Saturday's training day called for 60 minutes of running. That right, running! The one thing of the three disciplines that I hate the most. However, today wasn't all that bad. I didn't have any problems with my calf, I deliberately ran slower and more methodical, and I concentrated on staying relaxed. It ended up working out fine except for a blister that I got on the bottom of my foot. That's a small price to pay for having a relatively comfortable run for an hour. I was pleased with the six miles in a little less than an hour. Not too bad for an older fellow.

The above picture is of where Troy is getting in his swim training while in North Carolina. He's staying up on his training and putting the serious pressure on me to stay sharp.

No Rest Day for the Weary

Today is supposed to be a rest day with it being Friday. However, I took yesterday off due to being extremely busy with studio work and the common taxi service for teenagers (which I actually secretly enjoy). Today will end up being my "Thursday" which was supposed to be a 30 minute bike and a 30 minute swim. I'm fitting that in this afternoon.

Troy is currently at a local YMCA in North Carolina getting in his swim for today and he too will be doing some other stuff to catch up from not being able to train due to travel. He's certainly committed and seems to be extremely focused on losing the weight that he wants to and controlling his food intake. It's good to see him staying so focused and committed for so long. I can't remember him staying with something this difficult for this amount of time. He's really showing me a lot and really motivating me to stay focused on my end.

UPDATE: Troy has informed me that he just finished swimming for over an hour and he's about to start running. Evidently he's really feeling it! He's really putting the pressure on me to stay up!

A Run Instead of Bike

Yesterday was Troy's 38th birthday and it turned out to be a really bad one for him. He lost his wallet and had to cancel all credit cards and all the hassle that goes along with that. I felt bad for him. Consequently, he didn't get to get his run in yesterday and was going to get it in today after he gets to North Carolina. Hopefully, he'll be able to stay on his training schedule minus the biking.

Also yesterday, I didn't get a chance to do a blog update due to being too busy with work and carting around teenagers for activities. I wouldn't have it any other way. I love being able be around my girls and their friends and love that they feel comfortable enough to come to the house to hang out where it's safe and away from trouble. Well yesterday I was able to get in my allotted 45 minutes of running but today I was supposed to ride for 40 minutes. However, it rained really hard here so that put a damper on any type of ride. So I waited out the rain then slapped on my running shoes and went for a 40 minute run. Tomorrow I will replace my run with a bike ride and I'll be even.

The calf seems to be healing up although not as quickly as I would like. It's still a bit sore when I run, but I'm purposely taking it slower as to not further injure it.

Testing Out the Calf

Okay, we're back on our regular training schedule after this past weekend and today, by design, is a light day that consists of only weight training. Troy and I met at the gym at 7:30 this morning to push weights then get on with our day.

Troy had a bit of a mental setback due to his weigh in this morning. He seems to be holding steady at 300 lbs. This was discouraging for him because he hasn't seemed to have lost weight. However, he's losing inches and it's definitely noticeable. That's the most important part because he's gaining muscle mass and muscle is much more dense than fat. At any rate, he's ratcheting up his diet even more and going to really focus in on his food intake because we know it's not something he's not doing on the training side of things.

Me on the other hand, . . . I actually had a crazy "food filled" night last night with Shelby. We decided to pig out on junk food and watch movies. We had a good time eating pizza, garlic bread sticks, and Coke. I know that's not good for me, but I realize that I can splurge once in a while and it not bother me. However, I'm back on track for this week.

Lastly, the video is of me testing out running on my calf. It seems to be much better with very little soreness. But, I'm going to continue to take it slow and let it properly heal so as to not re-injure or further injure the muscle.

Happy Monday.

The Day After

Troy and I worked out this morning and I certainly didn't feel like tackling both a swim and another bike. Neither did Troy upon further prying. I figured that after the long Harpeth River Ride, that I'd not feel up to doing a training schedule one day after the ride. Much to my delight however, I didn't feel any after effects or soreness and neither did Troy. That must be a testament to our fitness and endurance training which makes me happy and tells me that we're on the right track.

So far, things are right on schedule with our program. The only thing that I'm unsure of is what Troy's current weight is. I'm very interested to know where he stands with that.

Today was a 30 minute swim and a 60 minute bike workout.

By the way, yesterday I rode 62 miles in 03:18.44 which averages out to be 18.65 miles per hour. Not too bad for my first ride but there's definite room for improvement.

Harpeth River Ride

Today Troy, Daniel Brake, Jeff Willett, and myself got up this morning and signed up to ride in the 2008 Harpeth River Ride. It's a bicycle ride that has 4 different distance legs to it. There's 22, 42, 62, & 100 mile legs to choose from. Daniel and I did the 62, while Troy and Jeff did the 22. It was extremely challenging but rewarding nonetheless. I'm extremely glad I did it considering I've never done a ride longer than 41 miles previous to today. I'm looking forward to doing it next year and may work up to trying the 100.

The Harpeth Bike Club put on the event and it was first class all the way. The ride was fully supported, there were ample rest stops for re-fueling, and the lunch afterward was phenomenal. They provided Blue Coast Burrito for all the riders and family. There must've been more than 1000 riders out there as it was a packed scene at the start.

This was unlike anything I've ever done athletically and I'm excited that I did it and am anxious to do another one soon. Enjoy the video blog from when we were out there.

80 Degrees and Sunny!

It's currently 80 degrees outside and completely clear! It's a beautiful day for doing anything outside. I'm still hobbled by my calf and that's a bit discouraging but I can tell it's healing up. Therefore, I still have to substitute my run with a bike ride today.

Troy and I both woke up today and didn't feel like getting in our early morning workout. We both somewhat slept in and got some rest. It was probably needed on both counts. Troy is getting his lifting and run in later in the afternoon as we're both kind of flying solo in training today.

Tomorrow is our rest day and hopefully, it'll be a good recovery day for my calf.

The Mini Tri

This morning was a scheduled 15 minute swim with a 40 minute run. I still can't run due to my calf injury so I swam for 20 minutes and I'll substitute the run for a 45-50 minute ride later in the afternoon. Not being able to run is quite frustrating.

Troy did his mandatory 15 minute training swim and will get his 40 minute run in later. Also, yesterday he knocked out a somewhat "mini" tri. He did a bike ride, an immediate run afterward, then played in our night league basketball game. As you can hear on the video, his stamina has really increased and he's able to handle the load and stress of pushing himself aerobically. He's doing good.

We haven't weighed him in lately, but I'm assuming that he's now below 300 lbs. and is continuing to steadily lose the pounds in a healthy way.

A Slight Set-back

So Sunday night, the night of Father's Day, I went for my 45 minute run at the track. I decided to run a 10 minute easy warm up, stretch, then run sprint intervals. All went well and I even broke through the wall and felt good toward the end on the warm down run. However, the next day (which was yesterday) I woke up with some serious calf pain in my left leg. I have no idea where it came from and I have no idea what I did to cause it, but it definitely feels like an injury rather than just a cramp. Luckily, I only had our Monday weight lifting so I didn't have to run yesterday. However, today I woke up and the pain is still very much there - even after icing and stretching yesterday.

Today, Troy and I rode for 45 minutes on the bike and we're supposed to do 15 minute run. But with my leg in this shape, I've decided to lay off of the running until the pain goes down and double up on the bike. So I'll end up doing another ride this evening to replace the run I was supposed to do. I guess this is how the real triathletes adjust when dealing with injury. This is the only way I know how to deal with it other then not doing anything and, for me, that's not an option at this point.

Troy's still sticking with the training and seeming to still enjoy it. He's slowly and steadily still losing weight and, for the most part, really staying true to the training schedule. Yesterday he felt a bit sick and instead of going to the gym to lift, he ended up riding for 40 minutes. I was slightly impressed because he could've actually had an excuse to do nothing.

This morning, Troy also (I was just told) knocked out a brick! I'm jealous that he got to do that and I couldn't because of my calf. I'm just going to listen to my body and let it heal so I don't worsen things by trying to over do it. Updates to follow.

Happy Father's Day Dad!

It's Father's Day and this morning we woke up early before church to get in our 30 minute swim. The weather and the water was nice and Troy and I are glad to have that behind us. Now we just have knock out our 45 minute run. We're going to run sprint intervals at the track this evening.

The below video is an impromptu Father's Day message after our swim. To our father: Dad, thank you for setting such a good fatherly example for us to follow. We love you and thank you for being our dad. . . even though we had no choice. :-)

A Saturday Run

I woke up this morning and looked outside to see it raining and bad weather. That immediately put a damper on the daily training plans. So I decided to relax and wait out the weather. Finally around 3:00, I got to put on my running sneakers and head out on my allotted 50 minute run. 50 minutes! I was seriously dreading that length of time but I went out to tackle it anyway. Once I was out there, I ran for 20 minutes straight and did 2 minute run intervals with 1 minute rest walks. I did that until the end of the 50 minutes because the heat and humidity was so daunting. 

Tomorrow is a 30 minute swim and 45 minute run. I'm looking forward to the swim and after today with the weather the way it was, I'm not looking forward to the run. But then again, I never do!

The above picture is a shot of where Troy and I do our swim workouts.

Rest Day!

Today is Friday and that means we have a rest day in our training schedule. I'm looking forward to not having to do anything training wise today. After yesterday, it's going to be a nice rest. And I must admit, after the many interruptions from yesterday's swim, I thought for sure that Troy would miss out on his run later in the day. As usual, he surprised me later in the the evening by running at 10:30. If nothing else, it tangibly showed his commitment level to his training and health. I was proud. On top of all of that, Troy bettered his running time and distance by 45 seconds! That's tangible proof of his improvement.

Big E came into town yesterday on his way to Knoxville on business and we had a great time just hangin' out, watching basketball, listening and working on music, and getting a light workout in. It was great getting to see my best buddy! I don't get to see him nearly as much as I'd like because he's so involved with college, pro, and United States basketball for Nike. He's got a sweet gig!

Above is a picture of The Big E.

Aquaman Strikes Again!

Today we had a 7:00 am 30 minute swim followed closely by a 25 minute run. Our swim was highly interrupted by a chatty lady swimmer and a tree catching on fire in which the fire department had to show up and put out the lame tree fire. At any rate, it wasn't our best and most focused swim due to the constant break up and interruptions, but we made it nonetheless and got it in. I then hustled home to get in my 25 minute run while I was still warm and loose from the swim. I actually had a pretty good run and went the whole way but really concentrated on not going out fast and pacing myself in order to conserve energy and strength toward the end. Training is coming along nicely and my body seems to be responding well. It's become quite enjoyable - especially the biking.

Enjoy another installment of Aquaman! He strikes again and saves the day!

Morning Ride

This morning at 7:30, we rode for 35 minutes through downtown Franklin. It's an easy flat route, but it was nice to do since Troy and I played in our league basketball game last night (in which we lost). I was a bit sore from not being at all in basketball shape and from catching a knee to my thigh that made my leg quite sore. However, once I got everything loosened up, it was smooth sailing.

The morning was nice and the temperature was right around 70 degrees which made for a really relaxing and enjoyable ride. Troy is really doing well with the 3 disciplines and particularly the biking. I can tell he truly enjoys that aspect of our training because of his rapid improvement.

Searing Heat

Today I wanted to test my body to see how I'd hold up in the heat. For about the first 25 minutes I did fine. I felt good, my calves weren't sore, and I was holding a good steady pace. However. . . after the 25 minute mark, I started seeing stars and feeling a little bit dizzy. Therefore, I stopped and rested for about a minute then walked for another minute to gather myself. I then ran another 10 minutes at a slightly slower pace until I stopped to walk again for another minute. After that minute recovery walk, I ran it in to the finish.

Running in this heat is definitely a serious challenge, but something I'm glad I tested within myself. The heat can be a serious factor in training - especially running. For me, it can act as somewhat of a wall that's sometimes inpenatrable. This morning I really had to listen to what my body was telling me for fear of dehydrating or heat stroke. However, it was good to see where the limits of my body would currently take me. That continues to fascinate me.

Tough Schedule

The schedule for today called for us to do all 3 disciplines. We're basically at the midway point in our training and this is one of the toughest training days that we have on our calendar. This morning Troy and I woke up early to get our swim and run out of the way before the searing heat rolled in. The high today is supposed to reach in the upper 90's so we wanted to get the grueling stuff out of the way before church.

We met at the pool this morning for our morning 30 minute swim in which Troy swam 1100 yards and I went 1500. It was a pleasant but tiring swim as both of us were dragging a bit this morning. Then after we were done we hurried home to get on the running shoes in order to get in our allotted 20 minutes of road work. It proved to be though because even at 8:00 am it was already extremely hot. We made it through however and are looking forward to tonight's 40 minute ride.

Enjoy the video of Aquaman!

Nike Air Zoom Vomero

Today was a scheduled rest day but because of Troy and myself having to travel to Cleveland, TN, we decided to flip flop the days and make tomorrow our rest day. We ran our allotted 45 minutes and today I actually felt pretty good once I broke through the wall. Training is coming along nicely and I'm starting to feel like I want to do more and go farther in the three disciplines. Today I ran 5 miles in 44:50. Not too bad for and old fella.

For the last two days I've been running in the new Nike Air Zoom Vomeros. They are, by far, the best running shoe I've ever run in. Troy got a pair as well and loves them also. Thanks to my man Big E, we were blessed with a bunch of Nike running gear that arrived at my door step via Fedex. Big E is simply the man! Thanks so much E!

Above is a picture of Big E and the legendary women's coach Yow from NC State and also a picture of the Nike swag he sent. We're looking forward to our rest day.

It's All A Scam!

The picture to the left is mine and Troy's future biking club. We'll see if it pans out. From left is: Jeff Willett, Me, Troy, and Aaron Benward.

Today is a swim/run day. 30 minutes of swim and 15 minutes of running. Troy and I met at the pool this morning to knock out the swim portion of our day. We'll get the run in late this afternoon once the heat somewhat subsides. This morning's swim was awesome weather and pleasant. However for some reason, I was struggling a bit. I obviously made it through but the swim was a little harder for me today than usual. My normal routine is to swim a 50 on every minute. I usually get in about 1500 yards in 30 minutes. Not too bad, I guess.

Troy, on the other hand, had a good swim as he swam 50 yard intervals every 1:30. It's cool to see his quick progressions in both swimming and biking. Plus as you can see, he keeps me laughing!

Hittin' Bricks!

Today was a scheduled "brick" day. A brick, in triathlon terms, is when you ride then run immediately after as if you would in an actual race. Brick workouts are extremely tough but necessary in triathlon training. Troy and I pulled a brick this morning by riding for 40 minutes and running for 10. That was what was scheduled. However, I ended up riding for 30 minutes and running for 15 due to today's work schedule. Even though I made it through quite nicely, it was tough once I was done. I found myself fatigued and my calves were very sore. I keep wondering when my legs will get used to the soreness, yet I always feel like my legs are in a perpetual state of soreness. Not necessarily a bad sore, but that good healthy soreness that one gets after a hard workout. That's what I seem to always have in my calves.

Troy did his brick too and evidently ran at a very slow and painful pace. He reported that it took him 15 minutes to run just over a mile. However, he did it and that's the main thing!

Bricks are TOUGH!

Weight Just a Minute

Today was a scheduled weight lifting and strength day. Troy and I were scheduled to hook up at 7:30 am this morning but I ended up working out on my own because Troy had a rough night and was having trouble getting out of bed early. I totally understand because I've certainly had my days. At any rate, I worked out at the Williamson County Rec Center while I waited for Shelby to get finished with her swim practice. I did a lot of core work including pull ups, shoulders, biceps, and abs. I did 4 sets of 12-15 on any exercise that I did. Even though after this weekend of hard training and soreness, I can definitely tell that I'm getting stronger, leaner, and gaining muscle. 

This program has been one of the toughest yet most rewarding things I've ever done athletically!

Troy made it to the gym and lifted on his own as well. It's definitely not as enjoyable working out in the weight room alone as it is with a partner. Nonetheless, Troy did curls, pull downs, crunch machine, fly, and ab torso twist. He's down to an even 300 lbs. By next week, he'll be in the 200's! A sign that he's on the right path and approaching this the proper way. Do your thang T!

Another Tough Run/Swim Day

At 3:30 this afternoon, I decided to knock out my allotted 45 minutes of running. Up to this point, I hadn't run for that long. With me not "connecting" as well to the distant run discipline, I was dreading it a bit. However, it wasn't as bad as it's been in the past. It must be the fact that I'm getting more used to the distance running, my legs are getting more in endurance shape, and my wind is becoming up to par. Even though it was a relatively slow pace, I ran the entire time minus 3 minutes of brisk walking. I felt pretty good about myself.

Literally 5 minutes after I finished my run, Troy called to say he was coming to pick me up to do our 30 minute swim training. I think if I had known the window between the two would be so small, I probably wouldn't have run at the time I did. It proved to be a good endurance test however as I made it through both with flying colors. I'm sore from the intense workouts, but my body seems to be responding well. It's changing not only physically, but also endurance wise.

Troy ran after we got finished swimming. However, he could only run for 22:30. He's coming along as well. Tomorrow is weight training and weigh in day. Should be interesting.