Team McAlister

The date is set for October 10. A sprint tri of 500 yd. swim, 13.5 mi. ride, and 3.4 mi. run. As a budding triFAThlete, I’m approaching this with some trepidation. Last Saturday, I went to the athletic club to work out and put together a small practice tri. It was about 100,000,000 degrees outside, so except for the swim, everything was indoors. Hit the pool for the swim – no problemo. Transitioned in the locker room….very clumsy. Had to fix a water bottle and adjust a spin bike. Rode like mad for 30 minutes at between 95-100 rpms and about 270 watts. The bike said 13.5 miles, but I was told later that was not accurate. Oh well. Anyway, had to wipe down the bike, fix another water bottle, and go back to the locker room for another transition. Then hit the track. Of course, track running is easy and simple, but all running is hard for me. I got my tunes cranked up and a running program that helps me decide when to alternate walking and running. Polished off the 3.4 miles in about 40 minutes. The entire workout, start to finish including transitions, water bottles, bike adjustments and all, took 1:50. I was happy with that. Naturally, since running was involved, I couldn’t walk afterwards for two days – cranky right knee. But I woke up this morning pain free and can walk normally. It takes a lot of massage to loosen up the muscles that control some of those knee ligaments.

So, no more running between now and the big day. Just lots of swimming and cycling. I think I’m beginning to look forward to this.

Tags: cycling, running, swimming, Training, triathlon

The day began with a little 500 yard swim.  Schuyler is ahead of me in the water and I need to catch up – especially since he and I are going to swim in SF Bay in a couple of weeks.  Yes, it was in a pool so I had lots of turns, but I don’t push off of the wall and get that good coasting/streamlining effect.  Not that it really matters since I coast like a barge going upriver.  I try to simulate never getting a rest or break on the turns.  That was a great beginning to the day and I was still feeling strong when I hit the bike trail later in the afternoon.

I set out on the route below fully expecting to ride a new personal best.  Not only did a personal best not occur, I didn’t even finish the route. Ouch!  Was it the wind?   Was it the nearly crushed testicle about half way up the penultimate (as it turns out the actual ultimate) climb?  Was it the powdered sugar doughnuts instead of a banana for my mid-morning snack?  Was it the fact that I ate only peanut butter and vanilla wafers for lunch? Or, drank only coffee all morning and not really any water?  Excuses abound.  The fact remains clear, though.  I came up short and was totally wasted at the end.

It was one of those rides that makes you fell like you’re gonna puke at the end.  And, puke you would, except for pride.  It’s been a long time since I was so toasted after a ride that it took several hours to recover, but this was one of those times.  I was too tired last night to even attempt posting this.  Today, is better than I thought it might be and I’ll go out again today, only for something a little shorter and easier.

http://j.mp/blr6sA

Tags: cycling, swimming, Training

I’ve been trying to work out how to post this from my new iPad – Macs – since last week when it actually occurred.  No luck yet, but maybe next time.

http://j.mp/cGDXiH This was my birthday ride.  I was going to jump on here and post it from Macs, but I’ve given up on that for the moment just to get it on here.  It was a beautiful day, although a little breezier than ideal.  It was such a beautiful day that I didn’t even put on a playlist to push me along.  And, I got a tweet from Colin via Cyclemeter during the ride.  Very cool!  I got tired at the end and shortened up, skipping the last climb in the interest of getting home and having some birthday dinner.  All-in-all this went pretty well and the best thing is that the 2 “big” climbs were easier than usual.  Payoff for extra training?

I feel like I’m falling behind.  Jett’s ahead on the running of course—and maybe the swimming.  Colin’s ahead on the running and probably the cycling… and he’ll always be ahead on the swimming.  Schuyler is ahead on the running and, now that he swims IN THE BAY—YIKES!—he’s ahead on that too.

So, today I went for a 500 yd swim and will cycle for about 2 hours this afternoon.  I’m looking forward to being in SF in 3 weeks.  Schuyler is taking me to swim in the Bay!  We’ll see how that goes—at least I’ll be in some sort of swimming shape by then.  And, we’re going in trunks only – no wet suits.  There’ll also be a good bike ride in there somewhere.  I can’t wait.

Tags: cyclemeter, cycling, swimming

Yes, it’s been a long time since this thing was updated.  Motivation has been hard to come by.  Too much heat?  Too much work?  Too much humidity?  Too much weight?  Too much junk food?  Too many excuses?  Probably.  The dream is still alive though.  Seeing it may be a little difficult, but it makes appearances from time to time.  I find that getting external sources of inspiration and motivation are much more necessary sometimes than others.

Anyway, I’ve been working on that motivation thing.  Hitting some group rides to find company on the road.  Remembering that sometimes a nice social ride is just the ticket.  Racing around isn’t always necessary.  Getting some good music to help push you along is also good….just gotta be safe with the earbuds and the traffic!  Also, varying the training routine AND (big news) getting back to eating properly for energy during training, recovery from training, and to begin to shake some of this weight.

Just for the record, when I started cycling 3 years ago (and some 9000 miles), I tipped the scales at a svelte 282 lbs (128 k or 21 stone).  Got that down to 229 lbs. and was in pretty good shape – BMI etc – until The Wreck.  Long story short.  The Wreck took me out for long enough that 25 lbs jumped right back on.  Even though I got back into fair riding condition, the weight didn’t come off (poor eating, anyone?) and for good measure I went ahead and added 10 more pounds.  So, now my friendly scales insist on showing me around 264 or so.  Say it ain’t so!

Suffice to say that everything is out of whack at 260 lbs.  Low motivation.  Ill-fitting clothes.  Loss of confidence, hair, teeth, nails.  (Just kidding.)  Seriously, though with that much weight all sense of focus on training and the pain that goes with it are right out the door.  When someone talks about a downward spiral in their behavior, I know exactly what they mean.

It is with a renewed sense of mission that I am taking charge again.  Making a training plan.  Sticking to it.  Making an eating plan. Sticking to it. Taking one step at a time (is this anything like a 12 step program?) on the road to putting together a serious attempt at this triathlon goal.  I figure that for the tri to be achievable, that I must be much, much lighter.  Must have a different body composition.  I don’t think being below 200 lbs is truly practical.  Afterall, that is college track scholarship territory for me.  There was a time in my early 30′s when I did weigh about 205-207, depending on how much ice cream I ate in a week.  I’m thinking that 205-210 is a good place to be, even though it still places me in the clydesdale category.

As of today, I am on Day 2 of a better eating regimen.  More fruits, veggies, lean protein etc.  No choco chips, Oreos, powdered doughnuts, Famous Amos, etc.  More water.  Less coffee.  Fewer bagels.  More oatmeal.  Fewer chips.  More red peppers.  Fewer Cokes.  Ouch!  And the amazing thing?  I swam a half yesterday, cycled for 1.5 hours (with 4 big climbs), and ran for 30 minutes and today I feel great!  I ate correctly yesterday (especially post-workout); importantly, I have eaten correctly today.  Now, I am ready to do some spinning just to loosen up and shake out my legs a little bit.

I’m back!

Tags: cycling, running, swimming, triathlon, weight