Thursday, September 28, 2006

Looking Towards Final Training Weekend...

Hi!

Well I am sure most of you have seen my lack of postings over the past week since I have been back from my vacation. I have had a lot of stuff going on that has gone from first thing in the morning until I go to bed. This of course has not only affected my blogging, but my training, my apartment state (dirty!). Finally yesterday was the first day I was free after work, and I did nothing but go out to dinner. Oh and I did a load of laundry that is still sitting in the dryer this morning. So to answer your questions, yes, I did slack off of my training this past week up until today!

Thank goodness my last triathlon of the season is next weekend. I have so much stuff going on lately, on top of the fact I have to be moved out of my apartment and into a new one by the 31st of the month, that I am looking forward to working out without a training schedule. I am planning on just completing general training after this event next weekend, and then I will pick it back up for next year in the middle of November.

Still working on whether or not I will be at IMFLA this year to see some of you guys work Panama City. The following weekend is also the 70.3 Championship in Clearwater, FL. Pretty busy November for Ironman competitions.

I do not have much else to post at this time, so I will leave it at that. I will check up on everyone else's blog later on today. I know I need to catch up on Wil's blog since she has completed IMWisconson. Jackie showed me a new blog yesterday from Jessica'a blog where some guys did some serious technicial mountain biking! I mean these guys were going up and down vertical walls, as well as dropping off some serious stuff on their bikes. If you want to check it out, you can link to Jessica's page through my links, and then i think his blog is titled "Fat Cyclist" or something like that on her page.

Murtha out...

Tuesday, September 19, 2006

Keep it up!!!

Yeah, I am an idiot,

So I posted to my blog yesterday, and then I went to edit it, and did not even repost the thing. This was noted to me later on in the day by people who regularly read my blog. Sorry. Yesterday's workout was excellent, with lots of walking throughout the day to boot. My father and I walked for about an hour on Sunday night together, and we walked probably 4 miles or so.

MONDAY
RUN
Time 27:39
Distance (too lazy to figure out, I promise I will do it before I leave tomorrow night)
Pace (cannot calculate until I have distance)

I did lots of walking on the Strip yesterday afternoon, about 3 hours worth. Yes there was stopping in between to window shop, as well as watch some gambling. I am kind of desensitized to gambling now, even though I enjoy it. I sat there yesterday for 15-20 minutes at O'Sheas drinking a dollar draft beer, watching the stickman at the craps table (John) get everyone going at the table. The table was really hot at the time (I would have liked to have gotten on, but there was no room), and it is people like him who make the casino's a lot of money.

I could get used to training on a daily/weekly/monthly/yearly basis out here, except for the three months every summer where it is 110-120 degrees every day, and if you want to workout outside, you have to do so at 3-4 am, and even still it is 85 degrees outside.

Diet out here has been good as well. Lower Carbs (eating only the good ones), and more fiber/protein in my diet. My race is now in just under 20 days. I am not considering this an A,B,C,etc... race, but I just wanted to get one in before the year was over. I do not care where I finish, I just wanted to get out there and participate. Outside of fiscal constraints and timing, etc... I feel I am slighting myself a bit if I don't do more than a couple of races a year, considering that this is a year round sport (depending on where you are in the world) and it seems year after year there are more and more races to choose from.

I am trying to schedule 5-7 races next year. For me, it seems like a big jump, but I feel that I will be better able to cope with training and my pyschological side if I have something cosistently coming up. I think part of the problem with the tri-TPC in August was that it was too far away from my May race, and although I did train in between the events, I felt that I could have had my intensity a bit higher. Volume was another issue and I will definately take that to heart next year. The longer the race distance you are going to complete the more race volume you will need to get in!!!!

Well that is all for now, I have been trying to fix my mother's desktop computer all morning, and it seems that it is an electrical issue, so she will have to take it in and get it fixed. I am going to spend another day down on the Strip, and then I am going to go out with one of my Fraternity brothers tonight who lives not too far from my parent's house. Should be good times.


Murtha...

Monday, September 18, 2006

Training on Vacation!!!

Good Morning everyone.

For the first time since I have been on this blog, I am actually posting in the time zone that this blog runs on, Pacific Standard Time.

Well, I am in the wonderful city of Henderson (Las Vegas), Nevada. I decided to come and visit my parents at the last minute. I have not seen them since June when they came to Atlanta for somone's retirement event. Before that, it was last October when I came out here to visit them.

I am sure some of you are thinking that I am "burning the candle at both ends." But it is not so! I think this place is just like any other city in that once you have been here so many times, the stuff gets old after awhile. I mean, sure there is a new something on the strip everytime I come out here, and when I fly in/out of here at night, I can tell by the street lights that the place is getting bigger and bigger. However, it is the same old Las Vegas that I visited in 2002 after my Dad moved out here. I digress.

Yesterday morning I went out in cool 60 degree weather running, man it was cold. Don't get me wrong that is great running weather, but I have been used to morning running attempts of 75-80 degrees in the morning with humidity. Oh yes and humidity, there is none of that here! My throat was ON FIRE on the way back from my loop run through the neighborhoods. On a positive note, there was a nice breeze, and the sky was clear (no pollution, no way!). It was also errily (is that how you spell it?) quiet out there. I am sure it is a bit busier during the week, but my parents are the young ones in a retirement community, so there are not too many people getting up and going to work if you know what I mean.

RUN
23 min 07 sec
Distance: ??? (I will figure that out today)
Pace: ??? (I will calculate that when I get the distance)

Doing just what I did above with my workout recap makes me want to get a Garmin even worse.

Oh and by the way to correct myself, My parents place is not 5000 above sea level, it is just 2500 feet above sea level, but every little bit helps, doesn't it.

It is almost 7:20 now and I am going to go out and run about 8:00 this morning. We went grocery shopping yesterday, and I got stuff to make smoothies and other yummy goodness.


Please look at my other blog, jamurtha80.blogspot.com, in the next day or two if you are even slightly interested in football. I could get used to watching football on the west coast........

Signing off for now,


Murtha...

Wednesday, September 13, 2006

New Friends, and things to talk about...

Good day to you all,

Raining in Atlanta, so much for trying to ride the bike. Oh well there will be other days, and there is always the spin room at the gym if I really want to hit it (yeah there is a trainer on the long list of things I want for my habit).

Did not work out on Monday, which is usually my day off. Did not work out on Tuesday either. You ask, "wait don't you have an event coming up in 20-some days???"

Answer: Why yes I do! Do I care? No!

I am going to put a swim in tonight at the gym followed by a workout with Jackie there. She is finally on that bandwagon 100% and that is cool.

I gave my blog address to some team in training people that I usually ride with on Thursday evenings, so I wanted to give a shout out to all of them. I cannot remember all of their names, but there has to be 15-20 of them I have met now over the couple of weeks that I have hung out with them. There is even a British guy named Andy that I hung out with this past week. Really cool guy. I would really like to do a team in training event at least once in my life, and this is the group that I think it will happen with, at one time or another.

I forget if i put this in my previous post, but I am too lazy to look at it right now. I am headed to Vegas to see family Saturday through Wednesday, and I am using it as an opportunity to complete some high altitude training in the pool and on the roads.

I am going to put in some serious miles over the next 4 days so that I can stress my body enough to be (somewhat) prepared for a higher altitude. I have had a blister issue for the past week or two, but that is subsiding. My plantar fascia is still acting up, and I am hoping that I can just make it through the next 4 weeks and then I can pull back until it heals. I have been icing it, as well as streching and resting as much as possible. It will only usually act up 1 (sometimes 2) days a week, and then the rest of the week it is fine.

Well that is all I have for now.


Murtha...

Sunday, September 10, 2006

The Week In Review...

Hi Everyone,

Been gone for a week. Not from home, just from the computer. I had a few friends that I sent my link to, email/call me and ask me if there was anything going on, and why I had not posted anything to my blog. Awwwh, Andy someone cares about you.......

Here are the stats for what I did this week. (Note: There was no swimming/running!!! Bad Andy!!! I just did not feel like doing it. No sense of trying to get out there and put up a good training performance when your mind is not wanting to do it...)

Monday
Bike - Silver Comet Trail
Distance: 36 miles
Total Time: 1hr 56min 37 sec
Avg Speed: 18.5 mph

Thursday
Bike - Brookhaven/Mellow Mushroom
Distance: 19.77 miles
Total Time: 1:08:59
Avg Speed: 17.2 mph

Sunday
Bike - Silver Comet Trail
Distance: 40.04 miles
Total Time: 2 hour 6 min 07 sec
Av Speed: 19.0 mph


Not too much to report, which is weird, due to the fact that I have not been on in over a week. I watched lots of football this season, which means I am going to have to complete my workouts in the morning so that I can have my proverbial cake and eat it too.

Oregon is out of the picture for now, I might do that in October or November. Mostly logistical issues, since I wanted to see both sides of the family, and go out to the ranch. Instead, I am going out to Las Vegas to see my parents. I will use it as an opportunity to do some high altitude training. For those of you who live in Boulder, CO, and other such elevated places, you might think, "Las Vegas, that is not high altitude training." Coming from someone who lives in Atlanta, everything is high altitude training. Not taking my bike, since that would be a $400-$600 affair. Heck I could almost buy another basic road bike (or a used one at that) rather than taking my bike out there.

I was happy with my ride on Sunday, I increased my mileage by about 12% from the previous week, and I was still able to increase my average speed .5 mph. I am attempting to get back into my regular schedule this week as much as possible, and then heading to Las Vegas on Saturday night, coming back in first thing on the morning of the 21st.

Unfortunately, that is all I have for now. I will read everyone's blog today and tomorrow, as well as listening to the next installment of "Get your Geek on!" from Iron Wil and the Big Kahuna.

Catch you guys later...

Sunday, September 03, 2006

Labor Day Weekend, Lots of physical labor!!!

I hope everyone is enjoying their labor day weekend.

I know I am.

Thursday night I went out on the Brookhaven/Mellow Mushroom Ride with the Team in Training folks. Here are the stats

BIKE

Distance: 19.70 miles
Total Time: 1hr 11min 37 sec
Average: 16.5 Mph

It had just rained about half an hour before the ride, so we had to go slower through the silver lake area than before. I met a new guy named Rob, who was out there for his first time, just moved up from Macon and found a new job in the Atlanta area.

Friday night I went to the Chattahooche river to run a 5K nice and easy.

RUN

Distance: 3.1 miles
Total Time: 30 min 15 seconds
Pace: 9:45 min/mile

I purposely ran slow due to the fact that my plantar fasciia is acting up again. I have been trying to rehab and keep training at the same time, but it is really hard. Saturday I worked and then went to Dragon Con, watched some football (Go DAWGS, go Fighting Irish!!!), and went to see the "Wicker Man."

DO NOT GO SEE THE WICKER MAN!!!! IT IS A HORRIBLE MOVIE!!!

If you really need to see it, at least wait until it comes out on Netflix or Blockbuster so it is cheaper for your to rent, and not to pay $9.00 at the movie theater.

Today's ride was pretty good. It was the last day of the borrowed "Aerobars." NOOOOOOO! I was out at the Silver Comet Trail with Jackie today, but we pretty much did our own thing. Here are my stats for the ride.

BIKE

Distance: 36.04 miles
Total Time: 1hr 56 min 19 sec
Speed: 18.5 Mph

Much better than Thursday's ride, but then again, I was on flat ground. At the pace today, that is about a 3hour and 1 min bike ride for a half iron. Was pretty tired when I got done. Downed 2 GU's, bottle of Gatorade Endurance, and a bottle of Water. I tried the Vanilla and Choclate today. Vanilla was awsome, but the choclate had the consistency of someone putting Duncan Hines choclate frosting in the microwave for about 45 seconds. Taste was good, but consistency was horrible!

Tomorrow will be a 20-30 mile ride, but I am taking it easy with Jackie. Probably going to go on the Thursday night route, to show her something new. I need to get a swim in either today or tomorrow so that I will have something going into this week.

I signed up for the Emerald Pointe Triathlon on October 8th this year. It is also a Sprint Distance Triathlon that is located at Lake Lanier Islands Beach and Water Park. The bike and run portions will go out and around parts of Lake Lanier. I should have a small crowd showing up to that one as well, but not as many people methinks.

Enjoy the rest of your holiday weekend.


Murtha...

Friday, September 01, 2006

New Month, Hopefully turning new leaf

Hello Everyone,

It's September!!! Maybe it will finally cool down for everyone, it seems to have already done so for Jessica, Jessi, Bolder, Steven, and numerous others in the morning. Oh and don't forget that our workouts are being ruined by less daylight in the morning and evening. I have a feeling that I will need to add a trainer to my Christmas list, since my job is really going to screw with my bike riding in the winter time (too early to be at work to ride in the morning, too late in the afternoon to get home and do a decent distance (15-20 miles max)).

It is still fairly hot down here in Georgia, but the temperature is in the mid-high 80's rather than the mid-high 90's, so I am happy about that.

I am signing up for the Emerald Pointe Triathlon either tonight or tomorrow. I kind of started my training later this week than I would have liked, but I needed to give myself a break for a few days and recharge my batteries. Last night I did the Brookhaven-Mellow Mushroom loop (x2) I will post the details later. Afterwards, instead of heading into Mellow Mushroom, I went to the gym to work out my chest and back a bit. I only did two workouts, three sets each, but it was better than nothing.

I am hoping today to either get some laps in at the pool, or get some running done. I am also going to have to get up ass early tomorrow morning, or I am going to have to find a way to squeeze in my workout tomorrow, since there is football all day long, as well as Dragon Con occuring from today until Monday night. For those of you who don't know, Dragon Con is one of the biggest gaming/sci-fi/fantasy conventions in the world. I have played Magic: The Gathering, and Warhammer off and on for years, and my buddy is going this weekend, I might just stop on by.

Sun/Mon are both going to be riding days for me, I am upping the mileage. 30 miles one day and 30+ miles the next, not sure how much total... I might even make one of them a brick workout depending on how early I get up both mornings.

I hope everyone has a good holiday weekend. Make sure you train hard, party harder (but not enough to mess up your training for the weekend.). I'll see you on the flip side of this 2 1/2 day weekend (for me, I have to work Saturday morning at the bank).

I guess this means I owe all of you two posts now. One to finish this one off, and another that I have procrastinated for two weeks now. I'll get to it this weekend.


Murtha...