Run to work week 3

Today was my long run to work. I wanted to go a bit more than the 12.5 miles it takes me to get here. So i got up at 4am, got my 100 push up challenge workout done and managed to get out the door by 4.20am. It was dark still but getting light fast. I ran 1 mile away from my house and then 1 mile back to my house so i could begin my journey to work. I took 1 GU gel pack with me and i already had water hidden on my route to work. Temp was 57f and my hands were a little cold but not cold enough for gloves. I knew as soon as the sun was up they would be warm again.

I had my cell phone clipped to my shorts in case i got in any trouble and had to call my wife for a rescue. I make sure i know where the bathrooms are along my route and sure enough i had to use one of them on the way. One of co-workers drove past me and gave me a little beep.

Nearing the end my feet were not coming up high enough and i clipped a crack/curb in the sidewalk and nearly went over but i pulled it back. I fixed my stride and kept more of an eye out.

I made it into work in 2hrs 30 mins. My ipod was showing 16.67 miles but i think it was more like 15. Forgot to drop work shoes off at work when i dropped clothes off here earlier in the week so i am in office clothes and my running sneakers.

My wife is bringing in some of her AMAZIN Vegan Chili for lunch so i am looking forward to that!!!!

Monday Night Group Ride

After work on Monday i went for my group ride. Sometimes this group breaks into a slower and faster group but i noticed no one slow there at all on Monday! Crap, this meant i was going to HAVE to keep up with the crazy fast guys (22-24mph avg). I had to use all my concentration for this. This going to mean going even deeper into the pain cave!! My legs were still a little blown up from the day before Olympic Triathlon.

I kept at the back of the Pelton (this is hardcore bikers term for group of bikers). There were about 12 of us. I hung with them!! I guess it makes extra motivation that if they drop me i would be lost! as i still do not know the route. I managed to stay with them the whole 20 miles and right at mile 20 on a hill i started to fade. My heart rate was at 160BPM but i kept slipping back. The last 2 miles they were in front of me but only by 100 yards.

Good result overall, we normally leave at 5.30pm and i make it back to the car park by about 7:05pm. It is a 22 mile run. This time i made it back by 6:50pm but we left at 5:35pm.

Above you can see a picture i took of them all coming up the hill. I went first so i could turn around and grab a few shots before tagging on to the back of the group.

I lost 1 pound in weight this week. Not that much but at least it is steady. I am breaking the 230 mark now!

I did it! The Green Bay Triathlon is all over. I finished it on Sunday and it was a great time. I will give you a run down but there is also a race report here :

 http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/discussion/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=211543

I got to site in a time that i thought was early at 5:45am however plenty of people were already there for the 7am start time. I had already picked up my packet the day before in they very cool expo. My kids got to do an obstacle course and i got plenty of free samples. There was also plenty of running gear on sale there.I got my shirt and race number. Here they are and my kids in super action

After finding my bike spot i got set up with my balloon hanging on the rack so i was easy to spot on my way into transition and found some of my friends doing the event. The setup was really small but i have done worse. It was time to get my wetsuit on and get ready to go.

The swim was fine and i finished in 12.09 was was about 30 seconds of improvement from last years swim. It was 800 yards. You can walk about half of the two loop swim so it is great for newbies. I did see a life guard dive in for someone but i do not know what the outcome was. I draughted off some fast swimmers for a little ways. The water is a man made bond with a beach. The rain had started but by the end of the swim it stopped again. It was very overcast and i hoped it was not going to rain on the ride.

I took some Extra time in T1 to put my arm warmers on as it was still cold. The talc power in my socks trick worked fantastic getting my wet feet in them. I should of put some in my arm warmers too. T1 was 5:01. Long i know but last year was 6 minutes. The bike went good. It was 29 miles. I MADE myself go slow for the first half keeping my HR to 130. The second half i let my HR get up to about 140 then at the end i gave it all and got my HR up to 150. Total bike time was 1 hour 35min 20 seconds. This was an improvement of 4 minutes over last years time. Not amazing but i think the wind was stronger this year.

Wow the picture of me in black with black arm warmers is funny! Next it was on to the Run. Through my running shoes on and pulled my arm warmers off.  The run was fantastic! It was a meant to be a 10k but i think it was more like 10.5 or 11k. I started slow like my plan had told me to. Kept HR 130. Halfway through i was feeling good so i upped it to 140 and started overtaking people which never happens on my runs! I worked hard at the last 4K and got my HR to 160 and kept it there! I was amazed to go this fast! I felt great and finished the run in 54:23. One of my best 10K times and this was after a 29mile ride.Last years 10k was 1 hour and 3 mins! This was a pace of 8:46 mins/mile.

I grabbed some audio from the event and i just need time to put the Podcast together. It should be coming out this week. Overall i was AMAZED with my running speed. I had no idea i could keep up a heart rate of 160 for that long. I used to HATE HR training but i think it is making me a faster athlete now.

Total Time :2hrs 48:35.3   Last Years time : 3hrs 4:15.3

Divisional : 4th Place  Last year: 8th Place

Next event is the Bellin 10K this weekend! Here are some more random photos of the event.

Triathlon Weekend!

So this weekend is my first Outdoor Triathlon of the season!!!! Waaaaaay haaaaay! It is also almost time the the Football 'Soccer for Americans' to start!! I can not wait.

I am scheduled to Race Olympic distance at Green Bay Triathlon. Here is a link http://www.midwestsportsevents.com/greenbaytri.html

I did this event last year and the year before. Last year i did my first Olly here and the year before this was my first ever sprint Triathlon back on my mountain bike days!!How time flies.

I only walked yesterday as i forgot i had a School dinner thing to go to with my daughter. They served Egg noodles and Beef tips with no Vegetarian choice. Ah well no big deal. I just ate when i got home.

Note: I had a crappy eating crisis yesterday. I was craving White Chocolate so bad. I had some but i put the points in to my WW log and accounted for it. This is one of the HUGE reasons i like Weight Watchers. You do not have to have all or nothing Mentality. If you mess up or you want some chocolate you can account for it and move on.

Last years total time was 3hours 14mins and 15.3 seconds.

2nd Weekly Run to work

IT has been a busy weekend.
Firstly my plans to go to NYC fell through. :( I had to ditch 2 airlines tickets but they were free tickets anyway, i did not lose any money just some free tickets. Not to dwell on things though.

So Friday was a scheduled rest day and i just did some gentle walking and talking with my wife. The weather was great so we did allot of talking.

Saturday i was wanting to go on my group ride in Green Bay but i had plans with my family. So the only way to get my bike ride in was to get up early. I was up at 5am on a Saturday (SO Wrong!) and i managed to do 33 miles in about 1hour and 55 mins. not to bad. Then we got on the road and went on a factory tour of the Jelly Belly plant. Very cool. I got samples of Skunk Spray, Rotten egg, Canned Dog Food, Booger, Baby Wipes, Barf, Moldy Cheese and more flavors for the people in my office to try!

Sunday i put in a long ride. I wanted to get 50 miles in. I knew i was in trouble when i found myself zooming along at 24mph with not much effort going north. I am NOT that good. I knew it had to be wind. Sure enough on the way back 8-12mph!! Huge headwinds. I had to stop and get off the bike twice but still made it in 3.5hrs.

Monday - Running, a fast 1 hour run and some walking.
Tuesdays - More running. 45 min and a 45 min swim session.

Today
Yes it is run to work day again for me. Left clothes at work and hide water bottles on my trail the day before, pretty sneaky and i would not have to go into gas stations. I actually looked forward to finding them on the run like it was some kind of hunt. I had a GU Gel halfway through and made the 12-13 miles into my office this morning!

Some Tips

• Hide water on your trail if you can, beats carrying it
• Make sure you have something to put calories in you if your run is longer than an hour
• Enjoy the scenery! At 4.45am the world is a surreal place
• Have you Ipod FULLY charged if your going to use one 

I put out a short Podcast at the weekend but my mic was not so good. I have total lost my voice recording device so i had to go buy another today!

It is only 3 days to go til Olly Triathlon at Green Bay for me on Sunday!!!!! So excited!!!

Swimming for Lunch

I got up late today so i did my swim workout at lunch time. I have talked about lunch time running before and lunchtime swimming is possible too. I basically have a 1 hour lunch break and a 30 min swim workout to do. so 10 mins there 3 mins to change 30 mins in the pool (actually took me 35mins cas I'm slow) and pack in time to be at my desk in 1 hour. It is very energising too.

Here are some tips.

• Do not eat your lunch food before the swim, eat after. I just eat at my desk while i work
• Have everything ready to go!
• Do not drive fast, safety first
• Have you workout on a card in a zip lock bag so you can take it pool side
• Do not come back to office smelling like eau de Chlorine (or do if your hardcore and want to impress your work friends)
• Swim MP3 players are highly recommended

Here is my swim workout for today

Warm Up: 250 Yards Freestyle

Main: 10 x 100 , 50 Easy 50 build, 50 easy, 50 hard. Rest no more than 20 seconds between each

Cool Down: 150 Freestyle

Yesterday i went shopping for some Vegan foods and found some great option at Wal-Mart. Kashi makes some frozen Vegan meals that are not too expensive. I had one today and it tasted awesome!!! I found Veggie burgers of course but plenty of options. I have some not to expensive Soymilk and some Rice milk that really taste very good. I will try Almond milk next. It seems like Fruits and Vegetables are tasting better to me all the time too! Today i had Blackberries and strawberries for breakfast.

Tomorrow i am off to NYC! I can not wait. I LOVE the city.

Run to work day!

I did it!! Yep another thing accomplished that i set my sights on last year while cycling to work. I live just over 12 miles away from my office. Last year i started wondering if i could not only just bike to work but run to work to. This morning i left my house at 4.45am with money, some GU Gel packs and a little nervousness.

On Monday i had already set up my locker with work clothes and there is a shower there i can use that i hardly ever see anybody using. It was actually light at 4.45am already so i set out. The temp was about 60f so perfect. I carried my arm band pouch with the gels in it and a shoe pouch with some money.

At mile 3 i stopped at a gas station and bought some water i drank some and carried some with me. At the 1 hour mark i ate my first GU gel and drank some water with it. I was running alongside lake Michigan now. I ran past my YMCA and waived to my peeps in the spin class! It was good to be outside. At mile 10 i got more water and ate my second GU and drank the water with it.

I got to my office around 6:57am. Went and got my shower and was at my desk at 7.15am! I have to be here by 7.30am.

I had left some bananas at my desk yesterday for a post run snack. For Lunch i ordered a veggie sub from Jimmy Johns with delivery. My lovely wife is due to pick me up for the ride home. Sweet!

Tips and things i thought of:

• Get things set up the day before. You do not want to be carrying keys to get in the office, shower gel, clothes etc.


• Have food at your office. Plan lunch, you may have to order something for delivery.


• Take your cell phone with you 'in case'


• Bring money so you can buy water along the way rather than carrying it


• I thought about 'hiding' water along the route the night before. This might be a good idea as the gas stations were busy in the morning.


• Have you ride how ready

I am going to try and do this once a week. Maybe one day i will be able to make the run home to!

My Nike Plus said it was 13.8 miles but i think it was more like 12-13 miles. It took me 2 hours and 22mins.

The picture is of my new water bottle from Nathan's. I love there stuff.

Weigh in Day

Weigh in day at WW today! I lost 5.4 LBS !!! Sweet. This sounds like too much but i gained 1.8lbs the week before so i think it is just all averaging out. I am on a 1.6lbs a week average so i am OK with that.

I did shock them a little today though. They asked how much i lost total as i got my 10% medal thingie. I told them 29 LBS on Weight watchers and 210lbs total! :) That was a good one and very unlike me to talk about myself like that. There is allot of extra overweight people so i wanted them to know it is possible to lose a large amount.

Last night i was on a serious group bike ride. Just when i thought i was getting better the group puts the hammer down. It was way deeper into the pain cave than i wanted to go but very good for me! There were alot of times i got my heart rate into the 160BPM range and held it there for 5 mins. I had alot of motivation knowing if they dropped me i would be lost! On the down hill i hit 36mph! Sweet.

Amazing weather in Wisconsin right now. Tomorrow i am planning on running the 12 miles to work. So i should leave at 4,30am and then get here around 7am enough time to shower and change into my work clothes already in my locker.