Bike Workout

I did 35 minutes on the trainer today. As is typical, I didn't wear my watch while on the trainer, so I have no heart rate data. I go with RPE (Rate of Perceived Exertion/Effort) on the trainer. I typically go fairly hard and work up a good sweat.

After another session with my new pedals I've come to the conclusion that I really like them. Since last Sunday I've tinkered with the position of the cleats on my shoes and I think they're finally in the right place and tightened down enough that they won't move/rotate. I think the cleats moved around a bit on my Sunday trainer session, which isn't good because a change in cleat position can make it harder to clip in or out. They didn't shift position at all today however, and clipping in and out has never been easier, even with my old pedals. Overall, I'm very glad I upgraded.

That being said, I'm still wanting to get a more practice with them before taking the bike out on the road for the first time. Thankfully I have roughly two more months before I'll take it outside, so I'll have plenty of time to practice.

I am looking forward to riding outside again though; even with the TV going the trainer gets a bit boring and there's always temptation to just quit early. I haven't yet, but the temptation is always there. If I'm riding outside and get ten miles from home, there's no way I can just quit - I still have to go the last ten miles home (I never walk my bike unless I have a flat and no spare tubes with me), so in that aspect I'm really looking forward to getting outside again.

Besides that, I really need to practice riding outside with the new pedals before the KC Triathlon. Thankfully I have a bit more time that I thought - I got my half-marathon switched with the KC Tri. The half-marathon is at the end of April and the KC Tri is in the middle of May. For some reason I had them switched in my head (maybe because I'm more excited/anxious about the tri?), but more time to prepare for the triathlon is better.

My first race of the season is the first weekend in March; it's an indoor mini-sprint triathlon (the swim is in a pool, the bike is done on a stationary bike and the run is done on an indoor track). I am looking forward to that one, but not as much as the KC Triathlon. For some reason, I have trouble thinking of the indoor tri as a "real" race; it's more of a tune-up/practice run for the KC Tri and, in October, the Border Wars Half Ironman. Overall it's good that my first A race isn't until April, as it gives me more time to prepare, but after the Matt Mason Triathlon was cancelled last August I've been really looking forward to and wanting to do a triathlon with an open-water swim and a bike leg where I get to actually ride my bike. To me, the KC Triathlon will be my first "real" triathlon, and the first real test of how well I'm doing in this crazy sport.

Running and Swimming Workout

I did a brick tonight, running two miles followed by swimming 850 yards. It was a great workout. I'm very tired now.

The run went very very well. I went two miles, just like last Friday, but I was able to run more and thus lowered my time by over a minute. I again did intervals (standard operating procedure for me), this time running .3 miles and walking .1 (on Friday I ran .25 and walked .1). I finished in 26 minutes and 7 seconds, with an average speed of 4.6 mph and an average pace of 13:03 minutes per mile.

I would say the swim went OK. If I step back objectively I'd have to say it went great, but I find it hard to be objective about swimming. I swam 850 yards in 19 minutes and 51 seconds. The first four 100 yard sets were done on a 2 minute and 15 second interval (meaning I started the first 100, then 2 minutes and 15 seconds later started the second, then 2 minutes and 15 seconds after that started the third, and so on), but after the fourth I needed more rest than the interval was going to give me so I switched this one to a 2 minute 45 second interval. The rest of my sets were done on the initial 2 minute and 15 second interval. I sprinted the last 50 yard set and finished it in exactly 50 seconds.

I felt like I was moving too slowly for the swim workout. and that my arms got tired way too early/easily. Part of it may have been running two miles prior to swimming, but I don't think it would make as big a difference as I felt. I know I've been out of the water for a few weeks due to laziness and sickness, but I didn't think I'd lose as much endurance as I seem to have. It's frustrating for me to feel slow/ineffective in the pool. I swam competitively for eight years, and while it's been twelve years since I stopped swimming in races, in my mind I should be able to jump right back in and get right back in the groove. I know logically this is not the case and that twelve years of inactivity will obviously take their toll, not just on endurance but on form, yet I can't shake the thoughts that tell me I should be better than I am in the water. Hence my frustration with tonight's swim. I know I shouldn't be frustrated with it, but I can't help it.

Hopefully more swimming will help. I'm actually following my training plan this time. and right now it's got me swimming twice a week. My next swim workout is Friday, which works out well as my arms are pretty tired from tonight's workout. Friday's workout will be 400-500 yards longer than tonight's, so we'll see how I do then.

New Pedals

This weekend I upgraded the pedals on my bike, going with the Crankbrothers Eggbeaters. I went with the entry level option of this pedal as opposed to some of the more expensive, upgraded options. Looking at the pedals, it's obvious where the name comes from: they look like, well, eggbeaters. 

The spindle for the entry level eggbeaters is made from forged chormally steel, the body and the wing are made from stamped steel and the spring is made from 300 series stainless steel. With some of the higher level options the body and wing are made from cast stainless steel instead of stamped steel (and the highest level option is made mostly of titanium), but since I'm just trying these out for the first time I didn't really feel the need to spend the extra money.

 

After doing 40 minutes on the trainer with them today I can say I really like them. They are much more minimalist and lighter than my previous pedals, and after figuring out how to use them they are easier to clip into and out of.

It took me more than a few attempts to figure out how to clip into them. My previous pedals had a platform that guided the cleat on your shoe into close to the right position to clip in. The eggbeaters don't have that and it turns out that on my first few attempts I had my foot positioned too far back on the pedal (the pedal was too close to my toes), which meant the cleat on my shoe wasn't engaging the pedal. Once I realized this and moved my foot forward, clipping in became very easy. After a little more practice this winter on the trainer I think it'll be second nature once I get the bike back out on the road, which is the goal.

I decided to upgrade because I was having problems clipping in easily with my old pedals. I could get my right foot clipped in well enough, but had problems clipping my left foot in. This led me to fall more than once. Unclipping was usually not a problem, but I was always a bit scared to stop for traffic as I was tentative about getting my left foot clipped back in. 

I'm hoping the eggbeaters help this. The big strength of the eggbeaters is that the design allows me to clip in regardless of the position of the spindles on the pedal - with my old pedals, I had to make sure the platform was aligned correctly, which led to problems.

As of now, I'm quite happy with the pedal and am looking forward to working with them more.

Biking Workout 12/28/14

Got 40 minutes on the bike trainer in today during the Chiefs game. This is the longest session I've done on the trainer, being almost twice as long as my last session last week. 

Again, I forgot to put on my heart rate monitor, but it was a great workout. I ended soaked in sweat and quite breathless. 

Overall this was a good workout to start the week after coming off a rest day yesterday. Tomorrow is running and swimming. We'll see how my legs like running after doing all this biking today.

Run

Today I ran 2 miles in 27 minutes and 11 seconds. I ran intervals, running 1/4 mile then walking 1/10 mile to catch my breath. I was hoping to do 1/2 mile runing, but after not running for a number of weeks a quarter mile was all I could manage. 

I was pleased with my run. After not running for so long actually being able to get the whole thing done was nice. 

Biking Workout 12/24/14

Got up on Christmas Eve morning and spent 22 1/2 minutes on the bike trainer. I forgot to put my heart rate monitor on so no heart rate data, but I did get my heartrate up; I'm still sweating as I type this.

I had planned to go for 35 minutes, but have been fighting a wicked cold recently. Of late, a minor cough that sometimes explodes into a major fit of coughing has been the only remnent of this sickness left, but around 22 minutes into my workout I started hacking hard and decided I'd best call it a day and not risk making myself any sicker than I already am. The coughing has subsided now and while I don't like cutting any workout short, I'm glad I stopped.

This was my longest ride on the trainer to date. It's much different that riding on the street. For one thing, there's no resting. When you're riding on the street and go downhill, you can coast. If you stop pedaling on the trainer, your workout effectively stops.

For another, I can actually watch TV while on the trainer, which is kind of nice. Today I loaded up a Youtube playlist of Lindsey Stirling videos and jammed out while riding. If you haven't heard Lindsey Stirling, I strongly encourage you to check her stuff out; almost all of it is available on Youtube for free or for purchase on iTunes if you like it well enough. I came across her stuff about two years ago via her Skyrim Main Theme cover and she quickly vaulted to my number two favorite artist (she couldn't unseat Garth Brooks, however). She's easily the most talented violinist I've ever heard.

I don't know if I'm going to have time to get tomorrow's planned workout in given that it's Christmas, so everyone have a merry Christmas!

Border Wars Triathlon

First off, I apologize for the derth of posts recently. I've been working lots of overtime at work and haven't had much time to workout and no time to keep this site updated when I did workout. 

I recently signed up for my first Half Ironman, the Border Wars Triathlon. It takes place on October 4th, 2015 in Alton, Illonois. The "Border Wars" part comes from the rivalry between Missouri and Illinois. When registering, participants were required to allifiate with either Team West (Missouri) or Team East (Illinois). Being from Missouri, I obviously chose Team West. At the end of the race, the directors look up which team had the most members cross the finish line first, and that team "wins" the contest. (Team West won last year, which was the inagural year for this race).

I'm very very excited but very very nervous about this. I know I have 9 1/2 months to prepare, but the extreme distance (1.2 miles swimming, 56 miles biking and 13.1 miles running) is still very intimidating to me. But one of the reasons I got into triathlon was Ironman, so it makes sense to take the first step on that journey now. 

I can't wait for October to get here, but I'm sure that somehow it'll get here far too quickly for my peace of mind. 

Nashbar Bicycle Trainer

With the advent of cold weather, investing in a bicycle trainer seemed like a good idea. A trainer allows you to turn your regular bicycle into a stationary bicycle. I ended up going with the Nashbar Fluid Trainer.

When it comes to trainers, there are two basic types: Fluid and Magnetic. Magnetic trainers use a magnetic flywheel to create resistance on the rear wheel. The fluid trainers use fluid chambers to create resistance on the rear wheel. As the fluid heats up, more resistance is added.

Both types of trainers are fairly quiet, but fluid trainers are generally a little bit quieter than magnetic ones. Fluid trainers also offer a more "realistic" ride and are considered to feel most like an outdoor ride. 

I opted to go for the fluid trainer for a few reasons. I liked the fact that it was quieter than the magnetic version; I have it set up in front of my TV and it makes watching shows while riding a bit easier. The fact that it was also the closest to riding outside was a large deciding factor, as was the price. While it wasn't exactly cheap, it was cheaper than some of the magnetic trainers out there.

Another big plus to the one I got is that resistance can also be controlled to a certain degree via shifting gears. This was apparently not the case with some of the magnetic trainers available. The ability to change resistance on the fly without having to get off the bike and adjust a lever was very appealing to me.

Overall I like the trainer. It's nowhere near as nice as riding outside, but it beats not riding at all, and I really enjoy doing it while watching TV. The resistance on my model seems decent and I always work up a good sweat when I use it. I currently don't know how "far" I ride in terms of miles as I don't have the computer needed to calculate that (it attaches to the rear of your bike and counts revolutions of the wheel and extrapolates mileage from that, as I understand it, but don't take my word for it; I've done no research on it), but I'm up to between 15 and 20 minutes at a time.

It is very different from riding outside as there is no coasting. If you stop pedaling on the trainer, the wheel stops moving, so it's a bit "harder" than riding outside. Of course, there are no hills on the trainer, so it likely ends up as a wash, but, as I said earlier, it beats not riding at all.

While I much prefer riding outside on the road, the trainer comes in handy too. As stated, I like watching TV while using it, and it's nice to be able to just hop on for 20 minutes and call it done without having to worry about any traffic.

                                 

Swim Workout

I just got back home from swimming 500 yards at the Liberty Community Center. I did much better than I thought I would, and finished 500 yards in 10:04. I had done no swimming since August (right before the Matt Mason tri was cancelled) and was expecting to be much slower than I was today.

The mere fact that I finished all 500 yards without stopping surprised me. When I first got back into swimming this summer, I was struggling to finish 150 or 200 yards without stopping and was expecting something similar this time since I'd been so long out of the water, but was pleasantly surprised to be able to finish all 500 yards.

The pacing was also a bit of a surprise. The last time I swam I finished 550 yards in 10:46. Today would have been a bit slower for 550 yards (I was averaging right around 1 minute per 50 yards today, meaning 550 yard would've take roughly 11 minutes), but after a three month break that's to be expected.

Overall I was very emboldened by my swim today. Yes, it was tiring, and yes I was a bit slower than before and yes my neck got sore from breathing. But I was better than I expected to be, and it gave me a good morale boost. I'm looking forward to doing it again.

68's Inside Sports Triathlon

I have offically signed up for my next triathlon: the 68's Inside Sports Triathlon, taking place on March 1st, 2015 at 68's Inside Sports gym in Overland Park, KS.

This tri is a bit different from most of the ones I've seen: not only is it a bit shorter than the typical Sprint distance tri, it takes place completely indoors (which is likely a good thing given the weather we get here in the Midwest in late February/early March). The swim is done in a 25-yard pool, the cycling is on a stationary bike and the run is on a track.

The fact that this tri is indoors is what convinced me to sign up for it. Since the Matt Mason tri was cancelled, I've yet to actually do my first tri. This one seemed like a good choice. As I said, it's shorter than a typical Sprint (500 yards swimming, 10 miles biking and 3 miles running versus 750 meters swimming, 12 miles biking and 3.1 miles running). 

Beyond that, the fact that it took place indoors appealed to me for a number of reasons. The swim takes place in a pool, which plays to my strengths. I swam competitively for almost a decade, so swimming in a pool is something I'm very used to. Practice with the various teams I was on accustomed me to swimming in crowded pool conditions, which I'm sure will come in handy on March 1st. I practiced one open water swim before the Matt Mason tri, and it is worlds different from swimming in a pool. There are no nice lines on the bottom of the lake to help you keep going in the proper direction, forcing you to look forward frequently to assess if you're still on course. There are actual real waves to deal with (beyond those created by swimmers in neighboring lanes). There are no lanes to seperate the swimmers, leading to people clumping together in large groups reminiscent of spawning salmon. The water temperature is highly variable. The entry and exit are natural, sandy/gravely beaches. In other words, open water swimming is typically much more difficult than pool swimming. The fact that this swim takes place in a pool was a huge point in this race's favor in my eyes.

The biking portion takes place on stationary bikes. Whereas there will obviously be no real hills to climb on a stationary bike, I'm expecting them to have every bike set up to run the same work-out program that will simulate the hills and flats that you'd find on an actual course. Everyone will climb the same "hills", which is as it should be. The exciting part for me regarding the biking portion of this tri is that I don't have to worry about flatting or some other mechanical failure on my bike. I've only changed the tube on my bike a few times and it's something I'm not very good at yet, and I'm not exactly a do-it-yourself kind of guy, so any other mechanical failure during a race would be disastrous for me. It's one less thing to worry about during my first race, which is for the best.

The run will take place on an indoor track, which means no hills at all, period. I currently run .6 miles at a time, with a .1 mike walk to catch my breath after. I'm confident that I'll be up to running all 3 miles at once come March 1st.

I know my training has slacked recently. I've been lazy and have been using the fact that the Royals are in the postseason for the first time in 29 years as an excuse to skip working out. I think part of my lethargy came from not having a tri to train for; now that I'm officially signed up for my next race, it's more real and I hope I'll begin training consistently again. The last game of the World Series is tonight, so after tonight I'll have no more excuses to skip training. 

Kansas City Marathon Relay

This morning my wife and I ran as part of a five-person relay team for the Kansas City Marathon. Our team was one of two sponsored by Rock & Run Brewery, the same restaurant we run to and from during our Wednesday night runs.

The marathon was obviously split up into five segments, one for each runner. I had leg number one, which was 3.4 miles. I felt I did very well. It'd been over a week since I ran, mainly because of laziness and the Kansas City Royals amazing postseason play, but I stuck to my intervals the whole time (.5 miles running, .1 mile walking) despite some serious hills. Overall I was very pleased with how I ran.

This was the first race I've done that I've actually taken seriously. Looking back on it, if I had to choose one word to describe it, it would be: Cold. It was only 45 degrees out when we showed up a bit before 6, and I was dressed only in a tee shirt and shorts. Alot of people (mainly my wife) tell me that this is the perfect temperature for running half-marathons and marathons in because as you run your body heats up. While I can attest to this as I did heat up during my 3.4 miles, I'm a summer kind of guy and would have much preferred temperatures to be a bit warmer.

But, nothing is ever going to be perfect and when things don't go as you'd like, all you can do is deal with it. So deal with it I did and ran my mileage. Both R&R sponsored relay teams ended up crossing the finish line at the exact same time, and I have to admit that was a pretty cool feeling (those of us that had already finised our legs met the last runner .2 miles from the finish and ran in together). We were all dressed in identical shirts and spread out to take the whole road. It was quite the rush.

The relay was a good experience, and is a good way to get introduced to racing if you don't want to do a 5K by yourself. You have someone waiting on you to finish so you have to keep going and can't simply quit, but those other people on your team are there to pick you up and help you through. It's something I'd consider doing again.

Nishiki Maricopa

For my biking I ride a Nishiki Maricopa. It is an entry-level road bike sold at Dick's Sporting Goods. For a road bike it's a steal for the price Dick's is asking. It costs about half of what an entry-level road bike would cost at a biking store, so if you're looking for a cheap road bike and don't mind buying from the big box store it's a great deal. I would advise you to take it to a bike store and get it tuned after buying it, though. I noticed a huge improvement in the way mine road after I got it tuned.

I'm very pleased with the bike. It rides well and the shifts are generally smooth. There is a bit of chattering on some gears and sometimes the shifts are a bit rough, but overall it's a pleasant ride. 

I'm also a fan of the way the bike looks. It's black and orange, both colors I am fond of. The orange isn't overwhelming and looks nice against the black frame. 

Overall it's a very good entry level bike. I'm planning on using it for the next year and a half or so. I might look into upgrading to a mid-level road bike from one of the bike stores a few months before my first half-Ironman in the summer of 2016, but until then this one will work just fine.

My workouts and blog posts will likely be sporadic for the next few weeks. The Royals have finally made the postseason for the first time in 29 years (and only the second time in my lifetime) and I want to watch every game. Unfortunately we don't get the channel they're on at our house so I can't record the game and watch it later; we have to go out somewhere to watch them play, and the postseason schedule (and my own laziness) have recently put a huge damper on my workouts. 

  

Running Workout 10/8/14

Ran 4 miles tonight in 52 minutes and 38 seconds.

Every Wednesday night my wife and I run with the KCTC Rock & Runnerz run group. It starts at 6:00 PM in front of Rock & Run Brewery and Pub in downtown Liberty. It's a great group with very diverse runners. Some people run 7-minute miles, some run 12-minute miles (that'd be me). You can find someone willing to run any pace in this group.

The courses vary every week and are marked with flags to help people avoid getting lost. The routes are typically out-and-backs (meaning if you're running four miles, you go out two miles and then turn around and retrace your steps) and the courses are marked for both four and six miles. There's always a water stop at the two-mile mark.

If you come out and run with the group and stay for dinner afterwards at Rock & Run, you get 15% off your total bill (including alcohol) for you and one non-running friend. As Rock & Run is a brewery, they obviously serve beer. Lots of beer. Lots of really good beer. If you can't find a beer you like here, you're not trying hard enough. And the food is good too.

If you're looking for a good weeknight run group in the Northland area, you can't go wrong with this one.

Garmin Forerunner 910XT GPS Watch

As most of you that have been in or around the running world likely know, Garmin makes GPS watches that can be used in training and racing. I use the Garmin Forerunner 910XT and it fits all needs nicely.

This watch is designed for triathlon. It has three modes: swimming, biking and running. The swimming mode can be set to open water or pool swim. When choosing pool swim, you're prompted to input the yardage of the pool you're swimming in. 

The display is nice and easy to read in all light conditions (after dark, you need to press a button to activate the back-light). The buttons and functions are fairly intuitive, and it's easy to switch between modes (just press and hold the "Mode" button). And best of all, it's comfortable. It's slightly larger than the watch I wear to the office every day, but no more uncomfortable.

I've used my regularly and have never had a problem with it in any of the three disciplines of triathlon. It does occasionally take quite a while to find satellites, but I gather from talking with others that this is a fairly common issue with most GPS watches. 

The only downside to the watch is that I cannot connect it to my smartphone and upload my statistics for the activity that way. My wife's Garmin (a running-specific model) has this feature, but the Forerunner lacks it, meaning I have to sit down in front of the computer to sync the watch. Overall it's not a very big deal and it certainly wouldn't keep me from recommending the device to anyone, but it is a slight hassle.

Overall though, the watch has been an absolute blessing and delight. I don't look at it much when swimming or biking and mainly use it there to keep track of my yardage/mileage, but I rely on it when I run to get my splits right. It's very nice to be able to simply glance at my wrist instead of having to fumble for my phone to find out the info.

If you're a triathlete looking for a GPS watch, this is the one you want. I can't recommend it highly enough. Below are two images of the watch itself, as well as what comes in the box.

Cycling Workout 9/29/14

Went for an 8.88 mile ride tonight that took me from my house past the elementary school, Hodge Park and Shoal Creek Golf Course. Finished in 42:19 with an average speed of 12.6 MPH.

Overall I'm happy with this ride, but my goal is to always have an average speed of 13 MPH. This course, however, seemed to be more uphill than down. If that is really the case or not I don't actually know, but it sure seemed that way when I was riding.

I can't be disappointed with my time or speed on this ride. As I said in my first post, it's been a really long time since I've done much. I have been active over the past week, but those rides were between 3 and 4 miles. My left knee started hurting about halfway through, so I was kind of babying it the last half, so overall I feel I did well.

I did have an experience with a moron of a driver on 96th Street near Hodge Park. For those of you not familiar with that area. 96th is a nice 4-lane divided road through there. Despite the fact that he had another lane to my left, this idiot in a black Ford F150 decided to pass me without fully changing lanes and proceeded to honk at me as he passed, as if I was some kind of idiot for biking. What actually happened is that there was a minivan in the left-hand lane and this intelligence-starved gent decided he didn't want to slow down and get over behind them. Clearly the only thing left for him to do in that situation - instead of being an actual decent human being and slowing down - was to try to run me off the road and then act as if the situation is my fault because I'm obviously some kind of stupid for getting in his way.

Moron.

Beyond that, though, really good ride. Not quite as fast as I would have liked, but I'm just getting back into this whole "getting-in-shape" thing after a month and a half break, so I'm not upset it wasn't as fast as I would prefer.

About Me

For all of you reading this that don't know me personally, let this serve as a brief introduction. I realize that this should have been my first post, but what can I say? My mind isn't always logical.

I'm a 31 year old male and live in Kansas City. I've been happily married for almost 8 years and am looking forward to many more. We don't have any kids yet but are hoping that changes in the future. My wife's a runner that has done multiple marathons so she's been my coach and inspiration on this journey.

I swam competitively for close to a decade, before and during high school. I was never exceptionally good, but neither was I horrible. Despite all the hard work I put in, I was always in the middle of the pack. My swimming background has served me well thus far in triathlon; while biking is my favorite leg, swimming is the leg I'm best at.   

I got into triathlon after thinking about it for a few years. It's something I've wanted to do for years now but was always unwilling to take the plunge, telling myself I didn't have time and that I didn't have a bicycle. This year I finally decided to turn my "What ifs" into "I've done thats", bought a bike and started making time for training.

I work as a draftsman for a company that produces storage tanks. It's a good gig and I enjoy the work and my coworkers. I've got good hours that give me time to train which is nice.

Outside of triathlon, some of my hobbies include reading. I rarely go anywhere without a book, and the fact that I brought books to family gatherings drove some of my in-laws a bit crazy until they realized I also brought books to my family's gatherings and wasn't simply singling them out. 

I also enjoy smoking food. I've got two Weber Smokey Mountain smokers, one 18.5" and one 14.5". I've smoked everything from brisket to cheese to bacon and most things in between. My love for smoked food is a minor part of why I decided to do triathlon. My waistline has been expanding ever since my marriage and I decided some form of physical activity was needed to help curb that.

I also like to game. I play all sorts of video games (too many, really) and also very much enjoy tabletop games like D&D and Axis & Allies. I'm always up for a game of A&A.  

The one thing I'm proudest of, however, is my affiliation with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Kansas City. For almost three years now I've been matched as a Big Brother with a nice young man. It amazes me how much he's changed (and changed me) in the past few years. If you're looking for a charity to get involved with, I urge you to seriously consider BBBS.

That's about it, the short(ish) version of who I am. I hope you enjoyed it!

Introduction, Triathlon Experiences & Goals

Hello everyone! I'm starting this to give myself somewhere to write about my triathlon goals and accomplishments. I'm a beginner triathlete and hope that someone at least gets some inspiration from this. I'm planning on attempting to post shortly after my workouts while my thoughts on it are still fresh, but no promises as that pesky thing called Life regularly interferes with my plans.

This past June I signed up for my first triathlon, the Matt Mason "Cowboy Up" triathlon, which took place at the beginning of August. I trained hard all of July, but unfortunately the triathlon ended up being cancelled the day of due to inclement weather. Something about not wanting us to swim in the lake while it was lightning. Psssh. Whatever. The fish manage just fine during lightning storms. (Sarcasm here if you can't tell - canceling was the right move given the conditions).

I was quite disappointed when it was cancelled and really fell off the wagon with my training. I stopped most training activity for all of August and about half of September. Eventually the despondency wore off  and I came to the conclusion that I'd pretty much wasted all the work I put in during July.

So, a few weeks ago I started training again. It hasn't been easy, but if it's done one thing it's proved to me I can do almost anything I can set my mind to. The biking has been horrible recently, but my Garmin tells me I'm getting better, and that's the goal.

I ended up taking this weekend off. I'd planned on 12.5 miles on the bike followed by a 3.1 mile run, but I was exhausted all day Friday for no reason which is a hallmark of overtraining, so I decided to back off a bit in hopes of staving off injuries or sickness. I ended up digging out a dead tree and planting a new one in its place instead of doing any actual "training" this weekend.

My next planned triathlon is at the beginning of March 2015 (not sure of the exact date yet as registration is not open yet). It's an indoor triathlon held at a gym in Overland Park, so no chance of this one being cancelled! It's a slightly abbreviated Sprint distance (500 yards swimming, 10 miles biking and 3 miles running; a standard Sprint distance is 750 meters swimming, 12 miles biking and 3.1 miles running). The swim portion is done in a standard lap pool, the biking portion on stationary bikes and the run on and indoor track, so I'm hoping this one will be a good first race.

I'm also planning on doing the Sprint Kansas City triathlon in May of 2015, as well as the Matt Mason triathlon again that August, which is also a Sprint distance. I'm also planning on doing one Olympic distance tri at the end of August/early September, I'm just not sure exactly which one yet. In June of 2016 I'm planning on doing the Oread Half-Ironman in Lawrence, KS. I'm hoping to do a full Ironman sometime in the latter half of 2017, but it's definitely something I have to work up to as a full Ironman is 2.4 miles of swimming, 112 miles of biking and 26.2 miles of running.

As this blog progresses, I'll keep you updated on my training exercises as well as how my races go, once I get to that point. I hope you enjoy it!