Up this week... Blizzard!

Not exactly like last year's East Coast Blizzard, but just meh!  But it is still early too.  Had to scratch my early morning run this morning because of icy sidewalks (plus it is SOOO much warmer later in the day)
Here is my workouts for this week (hope I get a few more of these in, especially the runs since I am thinking of going at half marathon in Jan!):

		19-Dec	20-Dec	21-Dec	22-Dec	23-Dec	24-Dec	25-Dec	Totals
		Mon	Tue	Wed	Thur	Fri	Sat	Sun
SWIM	Dist.		1	1		1			3	81.4
	Time		1:00:00	1:00:00		1:00:00			3:00:00
BIKE	Dist.	12	17		12		12		53
	Time	0:40:00	1:00:00		0:40:00		0:40:00		3:00:00	9:45:00
RUN	Dist.		4.1	4.1	4.1	3	4.1	6	25.4
	Time		0:35:00	0:35:00	0:35:00	0:25:00	0:35:00	1:00:00	3:45:00
S / R	Time								0:00:00

I had to adjust Monday's workouts because of the freezing rain yesterday, so my Tuesday is jam packed, but I think I can pull it off, since work is on a half-a-day schedule, so I'll have time off to do things (plus there is nothing on TV!)

Oh, also wish me luck, I applyed to SUGOI, a athletic clothing manufacture who specializes in triathlon and cycling wear, to be one of their "Brand Champions".  I am hoping that it is a sponsorship of sorts, since after looking through my training and racing kit, 90% of my gear is SUGOI!  Even my first ever pair of cycling shorts are from them, who knew!  I hope that I am selected, since I love their gear and it fits me well, and I have raced in their gear since last year (I do wear a DeSoto tritop because I never got the Pacific Velo tritop when I raced in Hawaii).  So wish me luck, I might apply with a few other companies that I use also regarding sponsorship, I'm not looking for much, maybe some race gear to wear and a few tshirts, since when I find something I like and works for me, I DO talk about it, sometimes ad nausium!

Ooooh, I just thought of a topic for a future post; what does Andy use to train and race!  Well not that I am a pro or anything, but I will review my gear here and give what the pluses and minuses are and how I like what I have, and what I wish I had to try (I AM on a budget after all!)

So everyone, take care, and if you are in the Plains states here, drive safe!  Talk to you guys later!

Back in the Pool!

Well I finally got back in the pool this week, and it has been good!  The pool on post here is a nice 50 yard pool, which is WAAAAY more fun than those 25 yard pools, and it helps that the pool is really empty, which means lanes are open.  So if you are on Fort Riley, shhh!  Don't tell, I like having the pool to myself!

So I got in about 1 3/4 miles this week in the pool and felt good!  The first swim was brutal and drained me completely, but the second time, felt good and went for about a mile.  Good stuff!  Planning on 3 a week swim sessions the next few weeks, since I am on Christmas break now.

Another thing I have been thinking about is getting a coach while I am deployed to try to help get me ready for the 2013 season (2012 racing season is out because of deployment), but I am already looking forward towards races in 2013 and I will post a tentative schedule this week on those races.

Well back to watching some football and I'm just happy I have all my Christmas shopping done!  Do you?

Take care everyone!

Testing my bounds and training myself

Well now that I have a free moment, I am going to attempt to post part of my training schedule, to see if this can be a regular part of this blog, or if I am doomed to fail at this.  Either way, it's going to be fun!

		12-Dec	13-Dec	14-Dec	15-Dec	16-Dec	17-Dec	18-Dec	Totals
		Mon	Tue	Wed	Thur	Fri	Sat	Sun
SWIM	Dist.	1		1					2	61.1
	Time	1:00:00		1:00:00					2:00:00
BIKE	Dist.		12		12			12	36
	Time		0:40:00		0:40:00			0:40:00	2:00:00	8:29:00
RUN	Dist.	4	3	4		3	3.1	6	23.1
	Time	0:32:00	0:24:00	0:32:00		0:24:00	0:22:00	0:55:00	3:09:00
S / R	Time		0:20:00	0:20:00	0:20:00			0:20:00	1:20:00

Well would you look at that!  Seems like it works!  Well than, I guess I will talk about it then.  Here is my training outlook, which I fill in on the Sunday before the week (I train on a Monday is the first day of the week) because only about a week out I know the particulars of my weeks schedule.  I also try to "slot" my workouts during the day which is what I accomplish with the chart below:

	MONDAY	TUESDAY	WEDNESDAY	THURSDAY	FRIDAY	SATURDAY	SUNDAY
Morning	Run	Run	Run	Off	Run	Race	Off
Lunch	Off	Off	Off	Off	Off	Off	Run
Evening	Swim	Bike	Swim	Bike	Off	Off	Bike
Night	Off	PU/SU	PU/SU	PU/SU	Off	Off	PU/SU
Key:	Run	Resistance
	Bike	Off
	Swim	Race

This helps me during the day so that it doesn't look like I am getting overhelmed, and the best part is that it doesn't take very long to plan my workouts for the week.  I do try to look out over a month, given where I am in a training cycle, but nothing too major.  Of course it is a work in progress, but in the first chart, I can look to see what my "workload" is for the week, with miles and hours (I do intensity as I feel, lame I know).

But that is just a small look into my madness of my methods.  If you have any comments or questions, let me know, thanks for reading.

Winter Runderland 5k Race Report

Well, at least I didn't just wear speedos during the race, but felt like it here in cold Kansas. I decided last minute this weekend to not run the High Noon Saloon 7.2 Mile run in Leavenworth, about 2 hours away, and raining cold on Saturday, and decided to run the Winter Runderland 5K in nearby Manhattan, KS, on an equally cold, but sunny day. Hmmm, good call!

The race was put on by the local running shop, Manhattan Running Company, and I think was put on quite well for a non-race producing company. I kinda liked the lack of chips and going all old school with the pull tags on the bottom of the numbers and the elongated coat hanger to keep them, harkens be back to simpler days! LOL But all kidding aside, it was a fun race, just wish I was more up to the task! So, let us begin...

I drove the 15-20 minutes to Anneberg Park in west Manhattan for the race about an hour before the 3pm start time (love afternoon races, especially when there were no good late NFL games on!) and even though the temp was 35 out, I decided to rock the shorts and long sleeve t-shirt, as opposed to the typical hat, three layers and tights that I saw on the start line. Besides, it would be good motivation to run fast so I can put my clothes back on at the finish line! I ran into my old Masters Swim coach, Jess and her friend who decided to come out and run and they were more sensibly attired than I was. Jess had just gotten over a a foot injury, so good job Jess!

But I lined up about 7 rows back, mainly because I figured I wasn't going for the win on this one, but also, I didn't want to go out too fast, so it wasn't too bad of a starting position. The countdown came up and gun went off and off we all (about 118 runners) on the 3 mile tour. The first mile was part in the park, so a bit flat, but at about the 1/2 mile mark, crossed a road and up hill it went. Wow, I missed running hills from running on the dreadmill so much, yikes. But I kept a good pace, cresting the big hill and rolling thru the first mile in about 6:51 with my HR topping out at about 189bpm (thank you hills!). But I didn't feel too bad yet!

The 2nd mile was a rolling adventure thru a housing area, and the hills were manageable, but yikes, the legs doth protest! I was gaining on a few folks and really pushed the big downhill (what goes up, MUST come down! I love gravity!) and made a sharp turn on to a gravelly perimeter trail, which still showed signs of ice crystals from the rain the day before and lack of direct sunlight, which adds up to MUD. But it wasn't too bad, and it was mainly flat, so I huffed and puffed thru the two mile mark with a 7:10 split and again, nice 189 HR, oh well, that is what you get when all you do is spin on the bike when you can't run!

The last mile wasn't so bad, but I had no "GO" in the legs and even though I had two guys in "pick off" range, and no one threatening from the rear, I just couldn't turn them over fast enough. Mind you, I ran a two mile PT test a week and a half ago in 13:12, so I still have the wheels (somewhat) but just the lack of miles leading up to this point hurt me. So I just maintained at a 7:04 pace and gave the young kids some high fives as I crossed the line in 21:59 (22:01 official), and I figured that I was at least in the top 20, which I ended up 17th over all, so not too bad.

The bad part was that both 2nd and 3rd in my AG were the next two guys in front of me, who I KNEW I could have got, but again, that lacking of miles hurt me. Oh well, but I am only talking 15 secs out of 2nd in AG, and if I would have run my goal pace (21:00) that would have moved me up to 14th OA. But that is another good lesson, don't get hurt training and get the miles in, and oh yeah, stop whining! LOL.

But looks like my race season isn't over, there are still a few races here, even if they are cold ones, I guess I will continue to race, with the Junction City 5k coming up in a few weeks. Guess I'd better get those miles in, and NOT on a treadmill!

Hope you enjoyed and sorry for lack of pictures, wife decided to stay home in the warm house, can't say I blame her!

New Month, Same Difference

Well November wasn't too bad of a training month, minus the sore hammy and all, but just fell short of the Challenge Cairns for the month with 28 of 36, so I have a delta of 8 workouts to make up by the end of December. That might be hard to do given the holidays, but I will certainly try.

Well major milestones were achieved last month, with me cracking both 500 miles in running and 2000 miles biking (not in a month, because that would be, like a record or something). But both of those were unwritten goals to achieve and will be quite hard to replicate next year with a deployment for the majority of the year, but i think 2012 will be a good "base" year, with 2013 being a good year to debut in both the HIM and Ironman distances, but I will be in that magic 40-44 AG, so things will only get harder from here on out!

But the only bad part about winter training is the lack of getting outside and riding and running, so GOSH, I might have to break down and hit the pool a few times before the end of the year! THAT ought to be fun, huh?

Well, I'd better get back to work, hope everyone has a great December!