For the Longest Time

Well I have been “gone” for a long time, and I will try to catch every one up as to what I have been up to!
After a long layoff in July (vacation), I got back on the horse and started to train really hard, almost like a base for a new season, I started August somewhat slow with 60 and 66 miles, then ramped up big time with 130, 151, 148 and 102, before taking a break, with only 40 miles, then resumed to 97 miles last week. These are some serious miles folks and I also started to keep track of time spent exercising, which helps me show how much of my week is spent working out / training.
A lot of this stemmed from my trip to the “Bod Pod” and doing some physical and nutritional studies to see where I was at, and boy, did I get my eyes opened! According to the Bod Pod, I weighed in at 185 and had a body fat % of 33.2, which is “Risky High”. Yikes! On the good side, I did take a VO2 submaximal test, which equates to a VO2 Max of 50.1, just a point short of “Superior”, so I guess I got that going for me. The best part is that I now know my heart rate zones, my resting metabolic rate (I burn 1849 kcals sitting on my butt each day! Whoo hoo!) and after my 2nd trip to the Bod Pod, I brought my body fat % down to 32.4% in about a month.

So as you can see, that has spurred on my “second season” kick and I have just two more races in the “season” (well, also I had recently found out that the Army is moving me to Middle America{Kansas}, so this will mark the end of my season) with the Pinehurst Sprint Triathlon and the Army Ten Miler. I can’t wait for both, since I haven’t raced a tri in 3 months or I haven’t ever raced a 10 miler, so this will be fun.

Also, I hinted last post about adding a new bit to my post, and it is going to be the “ProTips” List. This will be a tongue-in-cheek look at the “what not to do” in the world of tri, (or running, or biking, etc), so basically it is a “don’t try this at home” kinda thing. And I call it ProTips, not because I am a pro by any stretch of the imagination, but because it is facetious! So like the ProTip of “Not taking a full month off from training in the middle of your season”, I would like to add for your entertainment; “Don’t go on a ride without a flat kit or a cell phone!”

This ProTip was born on a long Sunday ride on the tri bike, with a superior attitude of “I’ve never had a flat”, coupled with “I’m too lazy to take the flat kit off my other bike” and a dash of “My cell phone battery is almost dead, I’ll let it charge”. All this adds up to a great big EPIC FAIL! The short story is I rode out 5.75 miles and flatted on a raised metal track, and had to walk back to my house, barefoot. Yes I took off my cycling shoes to save my cleats (next time; the cleats will be sacrificed!). I ended up wreaking a pair of socks, and my feet, and walked with a pissed off attitude because no one stopped to ask if I was ok. I mark that up as being on the east coast and that everyone was “too busy” to stop, but also that I was the dumbass who flatted with no kit or phone. So remember boys and girls, ALWAYS take a flat kit with you (I now have two kits), and as the old GI Joe PSAs would say, “knowing is half the battle!”

So I am going to keep this blog more updated (even though my work has now blocked all blogs, ) I will still keep this updated at least weekly, in addition to my usual race reports, and maybe delve into my training philosophy a bit. You know, as I grow here as a triathlete!

Later everyone!