7/31

bike = 22 miles
run = 6 miles

7/29

run = 16.4 miles
bike = 24 miles

7/24

bike = 33 miles

7/23

swim = 2,000 yards

7/22

bike-run brick = 52.5 miles (16 run)

7/21

swim = 2,250 yards
bike = 60 miles

7/20

run = 8 miles

True Grit?

I've got to come clean with myself about my diet. I did pretty well for a few weeks and lost a few pounds. Then I became very sleep deprived, then sick. During that period, my diet fell apart. I have observed that I can stick to it during the day without difficulty, but when I am sleep deprived and fatigued, I become very hungry at night and eat too much before I go to bed. This is why, after losing a lot of weight over the last year and a half, I keep losing and regaining the same five pounds when that's about all I have left to lose. That last several pounds will matter when I'm pedaling up Sugarloaf hill on the bike course at Clermont and running the marathon there.

I want to stop having to struggle with this. In order to get there, I have to stop overeating at night. My plan is as follows: for dinner, I will have one serving of a protein, one of a carb, and one vegetable. That's it. No additional food at night. There will be nights when I have to go to bed hungry, and I have to accept that and do it. With the training I'm doing, it shouldn't take long to lose that last bit of belly fat. It's going to be difficult, but I simply have to accept that fact and move on. If anyone reads this, please wish me luck!

run = 5 x 1 min. hill repeats
swim =

Wednesday

bike = 7 x 5 min. hill repeats
swim = 1700 yards

Soldiering on...

Man, am I tired! A couple of random decisions: (1) I've got two more races before the Great Floridian, and I am definitely going to taper the week before both of them, not solely for the sake of being more competitive, since these are going to be training exercises, but because I'm convinced I need to work tapering weeks into my training. I haven't done that, and I'm feeling it now; (2) I'm going to start attending a Masters Swim program where I do my swim training. The swim coach is great, and I need extra pointers on my swim, which is really slow.

bike = 34 miles

Monday

swim = 1800 yards
run = 14 miles

Chattanooga Waterfront Triathlon

High points: (1) my nutrition equipment on the bike (Saltstick pill dispensers and Hammer flask and holster for Perpetuem) worked great; (2) my transitions were much better; (3) I arrived at the transition area early and had plenty of time to prepare.

Low point: my overall time was slow. I came out in the middle of my age group, and I'm faster than that. My legs were very tired from yesterday's long bike, which was my longest ride to date.

The only equipment issue was the Hammer flask and holster I got for the run. It flopped and drove me nuts, so I carried it in my hand until it was empty. The pill bottle I used on the run was fine (Fuel Belt bottle in loop on race belt).

Learning curve: from now on I will make every effort to survey the race course the day before a race. This will help on the swim, which in this case was my first river swim, and on the bike and run as well. The bike course in this race was very difficult, with several big hills, and I wish I'd driven it the day before to familiarize myself with it.

Olympic distance triathlon (swim = 1500 meters, bike = 40 km, run = 10 km)

Race Prep

bike = 70 miles

One way I'm practicing for T1

Every time I get on the bike now I have my shoes clipped in and I hop on and get my feet in the shoes as I would in a race. I have velcro straps on the shoes (Specialized Tri-Vents) so they work well for this.

bike = 7 x 5 min. hill repeats
swim = 1700 yards

Next Race this Sunday!

I now have all of my nutrition equipment and plan in place. Although the equipment and plan are for long races, I am going to practice that this weekend at my next race, the BMW Chattanooga Waterfront Triathlon. One goal for this race is to see that I have that working smoothly, and the other is, again, to speed up my transitions.

I have the following equipment to use: a holster for the Hammer flask on my bike, Saltstick pill dispensers for the Endurolyte capsules on the bike, a Fuel Belt race number belt with loops for a pill dispenser, also by Fuel Belt, and a holster for a Hammer flask to carry on the run. Although this race is only an Olympic distance race, I'm going to use the Perpetuem and Endurolytes as if it were a longer race.

I also intend to power my way through the transitions. I think a good bit of my slowness with these is that, unconsciously, I've been using them to recover. That's not what they're for. I have time goals for the race itself, which I'm not taking all that seriously as I intend to train heavily the day before the race. This isn't good race strategy, but I can't miss long workouts at this point. My "A" race of the year is only three months away now.

run = 5 x 1 min. hill repeats

Back in the Saddle Again

Well, I spoke too soon about feeling better. I've been under the weather for a few days, but I'm back and o.k.

bike = 36 miles
run = 12 miles

Sleep is Fuel

Wow, do I feel better today! I finally got a good night's sleep.

run = 7 miles

untitled

swim = 1,350 yards
run = 5 x 1 min. hill repeats

Born on the Fourth of July

bike = 7 x 5 min. hill repeats
swim = 1,700 yards

Sleep deprivation

I've been unable to get to bed in a timely way for the last couple of nights. Now I'm really tired. I didn't focus or function well today and need some sleep. I'm eating more than I should from fatigue, too, which is messing up my diet.

bike = 35 miles
run = 6.4 miles

Gear

I've ordered the following to help resolve the issue of managing the race nutrition stuff: (1) Saltstick pill dispensers that fit in the aerobars on my bike; (2) Hammer Nutrition's gel flask holders for the bike and one with a clip for the run; (3) Fuelbelt's race number belt with loops for pill dispensers and a pill dispenser to go with it. This stuff should do the trick.

swim = 1800 yards

The System

I made the Perpetuem more concentrated so I only need one flask for every two hours. Every 15 minutes, I take a squirt of Perpetuem, an Endurolyte caplet, and two swigs of water. This worked on the run as well the bike.

bike = 36 miles
run = 10 miles
weight = 156.3