Listening to the body...

So I have a history of not listening to my body.  This has led to numerous injuries some including ITB Syndrome, Plantar Fasciitis, Osgood's Schlatter, and more. With respect to this year it has been trying to stage a revolt on the scale of Egypt with President Mubarak.  I was sick for the better part of the month with a sinus infection I could not shake, I had food poisoning, and this past week my ITB band and my calves have been kind of messed up from running (precursors to former leg injuries I do not wish to repeat), and the doctor told me I am overweight and need to lose weight.  It I am usually never sick and the only time I have had sustained injuries is when I did something stupid with respect to training.  Weight has been due to my lazy ass ONCE AGAIN this off season combined with my food intake.  Crap, crap and more crap. 

Those of you who are linked to me on facebook saw my post this morning about how Bloomberg News reported McDonald's January same store sales were up 5.3% beating estimates.  I commented on I ate so many times at McDonald's in January (more than I think I ever have in my life), that I probably helped them beat analysts estimates (a funny business joke, but not funny when it comes to nutrition). 

I think I came to this epiphany last night when I was running my Chastain Extended Loop.  as I approached about 1 mile on the run, my calves really started to hurt.  I was running uphill at the time, so I thought nothing of it.  As I crested the hill to go down hill for the next half mile, my calves were locking up.  I had to eventually quit when I hit this particular intersection that would let me cut back to my car.  I walked/jogged back to my car in considerable pain.  I also had problems driving home in my car, because i have a stick shift.  I went home and stretched and put on the compression calf sleeves.  sleeves helped some.  Today I am going to stretch and roll the calves out before I go on the run to see what happens.  I wonder if it was the 2nd day soreness from Saturday's run.  I know that I did not run very long on Saturday, but I am still recovering my mileage from my lost January, where I was pretty much beginning anyways. 

I am behind the 8 ball for the Half Marathon, but I am going to take it in stride.  If I can complete a Half Ironman with virtually no training, then getting the training that I am going to get over the next 6 full weeks will be a huge step up from that.  Also the half mary is not an A race for me, it was just something for me to work up to so I know I would be ahead of the curve when it came to my Ironman training.  If I was putting in good mileage for the half mary towards the end of March, I would be in good shape coming up to the summer and for Ironman.

I've got a training plan for February.  I have been sticking to it, even if the workouts were not on the exact days that I am used to.  I am working on a nutrition plan, and hope to have that finalized in the next couple of weeks.  In the next two weeks or so I will decide how I want to tackle the main part of my season, and how to break it down with regards to building up my base, tackling a few races I have put in my season, AND Ironman specific training.  I have also been toying with the idea of joining a group or getting "informal" coaching.  I say informal coaching because I cannot afford to have the coaching I want to have (i.e. $100+ a month for personalized service). 

On that note I have been bike shopping again... More like bike Internet shopping.  Things I cannot afford :(  But I am going to try really hard to upgrade parts to my bike this year.  Main items on the list include (and will finish off this bike permanently), new wheel set, new group set, and new handlebars/aero clip-ons.  I would also like to get a bike fit for all of this.  I have a coupon for all3sports to get fit on the bike, but I want to wait until I get all the parts (except maybe the wheels) so that when I get fitted, everything will be ready to go.  I am going to go ahead and take measurements this weekend so I have something to take into the bike shop, even though they are going to measure me again and tool around with the bike.  I did get my ISM saddle, and I have not yet put it on the bike, but I am excited that I got it. 

I kinda feel like the purchase list is going to get longer this year.  Most everything I own that is triathlon related was purchased (with the exception of clothing) in 2005.  Helmet, Bike Shoes, Bike and 90% of components, etc.  Why did I have to choose such an expensive sport??? I mean a drug habit would be cheaper than all of this ;)  That is a running joke (no pun intended) I use quite frequently, some people laugh, some don't.  I guess if I joined a club of some sort I could get some discounts, but it is going to take more than that to help me out :)  I am not asking for a full ride sponsorship or a brand new bike to be purchased for me (although that would be nice), but somethings gotta give.  If I convert this to a real world experience (because triathlon is a hobby, not the real world,  unless you are a pro, hope I don't offend) it would be like having to repair your transmission, your car insurance is due and you found out that you owe taxes to the state AND federal government. 

The other issue is getting hassled by bike shops.  They never want to install parts that you purchased yourself, they only want to install parts that you purchased through them.  Something about liability or some crap.  Hey, if I buy some parts of the Net or through another 3rd party and I give them to you, and one or all of the parts are actual crap, then that is my damn fault for buying them.  I am PAYING for you to install the parts I purchased.  You are still making money by charging me labor for the install, why are you trying to screw me for not wanting to pay double for parts at your shop when I can get them for 50% off somewhere else???  Sorry I will get off of my bike box.

Speaking of which, if you live in the Atlanta area and need a full size hard case bike box with wheels and a handle for pulling while you are traveling, I will rent you mine for $25.00.  I paid $450 for mine plus shipping to my house and I have only used it once, and I have rented it to a friend one time.  Otherwise it just sits around collecting dust until my next traveling event or I have to move a body :)

This week I am getting the swim and bike back into my workouts, but still mostly run focused.  So that this point for the next few weeks (and because school is still crazy) I will have a couple swims and a couple of bike rides/spin classes a week to get back into the swing of things.  By the end of February I will have gotten my feet week and some miles under my bike and I will kick it up a notch in March.  April will be a great month because I have three weeks off from school, and then I will be MIA socially May-2nd week of August because of Grad school + training.  Then I will be done with school and can peak in August and September with my training, taper October, and BAM!  Race day will be upon me!

So I have gotten way off track on this post.... where was I?  Oh yes listening to my body!  Well I just need to spend more time listening to it and less time in my head ignoring it and telling my body what I think it should do regardless of its state. 

Have any of you forgotten to listen to your body?  What happened?

Have a great week!

Finally a nice weekend to train outside!

I hope all of you had a great weekend!

I did get that Friday run in at Chastain Park so I made up for a day I lost.  Saturday I kinda skipped my workout, but I was out of town for the weekend, I made an excuse :)  Sunday I broke in my new Asics GT-2150's in Raleigh on the Westside near NC State's campus.  It was a perfect day for running, and so was Saturday, I am kinda pissed I skipped that one.  It got up to around 60 degrees by the time I ran (high of the day was 68 degrees).  Slight breeze, not too many people out and about yet, really good run.  I will post some sort of shoe report when I get a few more miles under my belt with these shoes, however, so far so good. 

Weather is supposed to be warmer on average this week than the past few weeks, but more cruddy weather till this weekend (subject to change - please?)  It makes me kinda with that I could get this weather the last 3 weeks of October so that I will be prepared weather-wise for IMFL. 

I got to finally read one of my triathlete magazine issues over the weekend.  I got through most of it, and I finally gave up on trying to read the December and November issues because I just don't have the time to catch up.  Maybe some other time perhaps, but not any time soon.  I was really interested in three articles, I hope maybe some of you like these as well.  First was the crossfit article.  One of my blogging buddies, Sarah has been doing crossift now for a period of time, and she loves it.  I also tried out boot camp which is based off of cross-fit, and it is pretty intense.  Keeps me interested, just don't have the extra money to do it.

The second article was about being "that guy" at the master's swim class.  You know, the guy who does everything wrong?  Actually some of the stuff were stereotypical examples of people being A-holes, I was just more concerned about not making rookie mistakes.  I am searching for a Master's swim class. I have not found one yet because I am searching for convenience with regards to how close it is to my house and job.  If anyone has some good ideas in the Atlanta area please let me know.

The final article that I enjoyed was the article about training in sickness and in health.  I have had some minor health issues since the beginning of the year (non-stop) which has never happened to be before in my life (that I can remember).  Having some good common sense ideas on how to tackle your training issues with regard to sickness helps me out a bunch and also helps to tweak my training schedule so I don't prolong or worsen my illness.

That's all I got for now.  Probably won't hear from me till at least Wed/Thu because of grad school this week.  Hope you guys enjoy your Monday.  Have a great start to your week!

Murtha...

Yeah!!! Its Here Finally!! And other things...

So Tuesday the joy of my month (other than my fiance, which is every month), came in the mail. I skimmed it real quick while doing the laundry (I got let go a bit early from work due to the sinus bug from lake Altoona, more on that later) and said I would wait until at least tomorrow to plow through the magaznine.

Today we were late at work, so I came home and put in a speed workout on the bike. 8 x1 minute sprints with 5 minutes of recovery/80% of race pace in between. I did not focus on distance or cadence. Just feeling. It felt good. I did it on the SCT of course to ensure fairness (oh I think I mean flatness).

Cutting down my hours for June was a great idea! I am getting to spend more time at home, working out, and of course with Jackie ;-). I am also getting in at minimum 85% of my workouts each week now, where as before it was more like 40-50%. I am on Tomorrow(2x), Thursday(2x), Saturday afternoon and Sunday afternoon. Wes is getting out on the SCT with his wife Dee Dee early Saturday morning, but I cannot get out there because I will be at the bank. They also have me on the opening Sunday shift at Wolfgang Express, so I should be done about 2pm, and then it is soooo on!!!

So far I have made it through about 54 pages of my favorite magazine. I love this month's point-counter point! I kinda side with both people though on the issue.

Well as for last weekend, I put in a 2 hour ride on Saturday for about 32 miles (there was a 2 mile portion where I forgot to turn my watch back on. When Jackie bought me my newest tri gear for my birthday, the shirt is a bit narrower in the back than my others (Zoot is always a bit smaller than Sugoi), so I now have tan, burn, and white on my back. Sunday I swam about 1000-1200M and I got burned then too. It was in lake Altoona again solo, on the same route that Wes and I swam a few weeks ago, but in reverse. I also did not stop when I got to the other end, but immediately looped back and finished. I swallowed a bit of water due to boat wakes (there were a lot out) and I kinda got a light case of sinusitus. I am back at about 85% of normal now, I have been sucking down Sudafed like crazy!!! Odwalla C-Monster helps out as well.

Lastly, for the few of you who read my blog (just kidding, I look at the stats from time to time on who is reading), I want some advice (both generally and technically). I want to keep better track of my stats on a long term basis (i.e. my garming training center, Microsoft Excel, etc). I also want to post my weekly monthly stats on my blog, but I have not figured out how to do the table in the sidebar yet. Any thoughts or suggestions on how do to either or both? How do you keep track with you long term stats? Really with the table, I just need someone to give me some code and explain it to me so that I can manipulate it every week/month and post it to my blog.

I will hopefully be back again on Thursday, if not I will keep up with all of your blogs and get back to you this weekend. Jackie and I are going to watch some Independent film contest tomorrow night that one of her co-workers is involved in.


Murtha...

I am SICK of being SICK!!!

Hi Everyone,

It is Tuesday night and today I finally went to the doctor's office. You know how us men are, we always wait until it gets pretty bad (or worse) before we will go. I have had an "on again/off again" sinus cold for the last three weeks. Everytime I think it is finally gone, it comes back to haunt me. Well last night Jackie and I were going to work out, but on the way home from work it hit me like a ton of bricks (again) and so we did not go. My nose was running literally like a faucet, and I could not stop sneezing at times. The Doctor (whose last name is Murthy, go figure) told me it is viral, so there is nothing she can do but give me some medicine to "dry me out" and then my body will have to heal itself. If it gets worse (i.e. bacterial), then she will call in a perscription for me so that I do not have to come in at all.

I have not kept up with many of your postings this week (sorry guys) but I will definately try to get back on it. Many of you have had some race reports in the last week or two, or you are beginning to seriously get your 2007 season going with signing up for races and such.

Congratulations to all of you who hit the top ten tri blogger list! I hope I can be on that list someday, but I know to do that, I will have to have a much more interesting tri life, as well as upgrade some of my blog features. Something to strive for, not to focus my everyday life on. You guys have already been so supportive just in visiting and posting to my blog, that I feel a success on some level, so thanks.

Have a good night, I am going to try to go back to bed again. I took a nap after I got home earlier.


Murtha...