I actually forgot it was the end of the month

With all my comments about time flying etc... I actually forgot today was the 31st of the month.  Hard to believe it eh?  It's been an ok week, felt a little run down yesterday, but I feel a bit better today.  I finally started running again and it was much better than I thought it would be.   I didn't go that far, but I ran the last mile or so of my walk on Monday night.  I've been feeling some knee and hip pain when I walked over the weekend so you might understand why I was worried, but I felt fine afterwards.   Go figure.   I walk at a leisurely pace with Merinda and feel pain, when I go alone I'm fine and I can run.  I suspect I'm still recovering a bit from the TDE.

I think I had a pretty good month, I clearly didn't hit all these, and the TDE affected some of my plans, but let's review July's goals shall we?

• Maintain weight
• Ride 500 miles -  Outdoor rides when possible.
• Weekly run and walk exercise. 
• One open-water swim, preferrably two.   Minimum of 1/2 mile distance. 
• After workout stretch. 
• Row workouts until the triathalon training kicks in.
• Continue bootcamp workouts
• Perfect Month in Apple
• Apple July exercise goal
• Gold in my July challenges
• All the bonuses in #mc42
• Finish St. Pete pier run

Weight Results:

• Starting Weight: 220.7
• Ending Weight: 215.5

Exercise info:

• Number of rides:  95
• Time on exercise: 36:01:20
• Distance on rides: 550.98
• Number of runs: 1
• Distance running: 4.14 
• Number of walks: 7
• Time walking:  3:17:48
• Distance walking:  9.32
• Number of rows: 2
• Time rowing:  41:37
• Number of swims: 0
• Distance swimming: 0

Results:

This month was a lot different than I remembered.   I suppose I was a little involved in finishing the TDE and then looking forward to the Triathalon to remember that I was on track all month.  I did take a little break from runnign after the race, and that's normal, I'm not really a runner anymore, and then had a cycling challenge so that dominated my focus.   I'm feeling pretty peppy today, so lets talk about what I did accomplish.   I hit all my goals this month except for the swimming, sorry not sorry but the ocean is gross hot and I didn't want to.  The weekly walk/run, I have no excuses here.   I took a break from running and then lost sight of the walking until I realized I was going to miss the Apple monthly challenge and picked that up.   Finally, I lost focus on the rower.   I was catching up stages on Mondays and started my Tri training on Monday.   I'll pick it back up because I need some bootcamps, but it's going to be getting a little break after this month.

Overall, it was a great month.   I exceeded my expectations on the race, finished the TDE, set some PB's along the way, weight is staying low, have been stretching religiously, and am feeling a lot stronger from the bootcamps.  

With that said, let's look forward to August:

• Maintain weight
• Ride 500 miles -  Outdoor rides when possible especially for the distance training for the triathalon.  I know it's hot outside, but suck it up buttercup.
• Minimum of one run per week.   Try to stick to the training plan as long as my knees hold up.
• Start swimming per your plan.   Try to get in the ocean twice this month.
• Continue after workout stretching. 
• Continue bootcamp workouts. 
• Perfect Month in Apple
• Apple August exercise challenge
• Gold in my August challenges
• All the bonuses in #mc43 and start #mc44
• Finish at least one, if not both, of the virtual 5k's I signed up for. 

So we didn't go to Virginia this month, we're going up around labor day instead, so I'll have a full month at home to prep for the race and that should make these goals pretty easy to hit.    The only one that I think might be tough is the bootcamp bonus for MC43.   I don't know what the Apple goal for August is, so that also remains to be seen.

Anyway, I've been posting a lot, and have a work call coming up so we'll talk soon...

After a days reflection

I felt lousy yesterday.   I went to the doctor for my physical and she said everything was great, except I'm a little anemic.  Really it's not anything to be overly concerned about, but she wants me to take iron supplements.  That's fine, except they can make you a little constipated, so I was feeling bloated and "full" yesterday and that was definitely affecting how I felt about the TDE.  Long story short, I got the last stage done yesterday, and I even snuck in a twenty minute hills class before and I feel dramatically better.   I didn't get up early today, so I got a little extra rest, but maybe that was all I needed.   Regardless, I'm glad I did the TDE, and plan to do it again next summer.   It was a challenging experience that I intend to improve on.

Next up...  Merinda wanted me to sign up for this race, so I'm going to do a virtual 5k as my prep for the triathalon...   

The last stage

Today has been a weird day.   I thought about doing Intervals and Arms today, I wasn't going to do fusion because Janet is off and I don't want to get up at 6 for an encore, but I was pretty wiped out after my workout last night, and I have one last stage to finish the TDE.   It's the prologue and only 45 minutes, so I'll do that after work and then snag a quick walk.  I finally decided to sleep in a little bit and not get up for a 20 minute class only to do the 45 minute one later.  

I am glad the TDE is over.  I'm just worn out, and my knee has been achy, and I just need a light day or two to rest and recover.  I can't imagine what it's like to ride in the real race, but doped or not, those guys might be the best conditioned atheletes in the world, and if anything, the TDE has shown me that I still have a long way to go.

And just like that...

I'm two months out from the September Tri...   What the hell, and where did the time go?  I'm still trying to finish the TDE (Tour de Echelon) and only have three stages left.   Echelon does a challenge of sorts where they mimic the Tour de France.   Last year my bike broke during an early stage so I never got to finish, but I was a little more focused this year.   The race on the fourth cost me a few stages, and being a live class snob cost me a few more, so now I'm playing catchup.   I should be done by Saturday, so I can start my tri training on Monday.  Yay for more pool time...  Not.

I finally went for a walk last night, and I think that was the first time I've put my running shoes on since the 4th.   I can't believe I took three weeks off from running, but I actually felt pretty good walking.   My feet felt light and I didn't hurt until I got home.   Then it was time for Advil and fitish sports rub and my knee felt fine at bedtime, so it wasn't all bad.   I'm behind on my July Apple fitness goal of walking/running 2.12 miles per day.   I didn't think it would be tough, but I was wrong.   I'll get it, but it's going to be a photo finish.

Not much else to say, I just felt like writing about something other than the election... 

Interesting times ahead

I'm torn on my feelings about what happened over the weekend in the election.   I've been pretty clear that I think Biden was beginning to suffer from dementia, alzheimers, whatever you want to call it.   The symptoms are evident and we cannot have a president who's not "all there", however I think Trump is also beginning to suffer from some of that and I do believe that he wants to be more of a strongman type of leader.

What bothers me more is that he stepped down, and the party just decided it should be Harris as the new candidate.   Yes, of course she doesn't appear to be senile, but she's been MIA for the past four years.  This doesn't even mention who's actually running the country because it's clear it hasn't been Biden.

So...  Do I just shut up and smile, and vote for what looks like a shadow government, or do I vote for what looks like a rapid descent into an authoritarian government that wants to take the US back to 1950?  If I vote third party, which would be my normal choice here, it's a vote for Trump.  I'll probably vote for Harris, but I don't know which is better.   Voting for the shadow government, even if it implements policies I agree with, or vote for Trump.   Yes, I know what's better today, but it's really not much better in the long run.

Personally, I think we should have had an open convention, let some candidates advocate for the nomination and let the delegates choose, but nobody asked my opinion.   I still think it's a forgone conclusion that Trump wins.   Unfortunately I can't apply for UK or Irish citizenship through Merinda, but we can move there and I can apply to be a permanent resident and if we stay 3 years I can become a citizen.  I don't want to leave the US, of course the MAGA crowd would say I don't love my country, which is a lie, but I can't stay and watch it become something awful, nor do I want to participate in the descent into what I think is coming, either tacitly or passively.  Look I'm white, middle aged, middle class straight male.   I'm not the group that will get attention at first, and to be honest the only thing that might get me noticed is my political views which are moving to the left, but I'm still what should be considered "centrist".   That said I have friends who no longer want to be branded as "democrats" because of what they think is coming...   And sadly I do too.

Be safe folks.

I know I'm falling into a trap but...

Listen, I was fat.  I was classified as "morbidly obese" by my doctor, it is listed in my health history by my doctor.   He even referred to it when I saw him last that since I wasn't that way anymore he didn't get to charge my insurance anymore.

Anyway, I've been clear that a big part of my losing weight was due to health concerns.  At best I was going to be a cripple and at worst, probably an early heart attack.   So I worked my ass off and lost a pile of weight.

Before losing weight I didn't like to fly, airplane seats are small, and have limited leg room, so being fat and tall made the experience miserable.   Now I can at least sit in the seat, although I still don't have nearly enough leg room.

So, my question is this.   If we're going to accomodate fat people, sorry "plus sized travellers" with free *complimentary* seats, so they are comfortable, why the fuck is it ok to punish tall passengers like me?   I suppose I could have my legs amputated so I don't get crushed in coach, but that's extreme.   I can't CHANGE my fucking height, but 99% of plus sized passengets can CHANGE THEIR WEIGHT.

So I'll ask Southwest airlines this.   Why do you care about fat passengers, but not tall ones?   Why can someone who weighs 300 pounds get a free seat so they're comfortable, but not someone who's 6'4"?   If they need a seat, fine, but ask them to pay for it, just like you demand that I pay if my bag is 51 pounds...

How did we get here?

If you're not interested in US politics feel free to skip this post.   I'm not going to rant about the candidates, because at the end of the day we, and by that I mean Americans, chose them.    However, how did we get to the point where it's always the "lesser of two evils"?

What is wrong with our society that this is what we're presented with?   I feel like we live in a bizarro world where we're presented with progressively worse choices every four years.   I don't know about the people who didn't run, but at the bare minimum, some of them appear to be better choices...

Are we at a point where we have to kowtow to the all powerful "party"?   Perhaps it's time they went the way of the dodo.

Happy 4th of July

Yes I finished the race

I think the worst thing about running in Florida is the crack of dawn start times for races.   Yes, I know why, it's fucking hot, but that doesn't take away from having to get up at 530am on a holiday so you can drive to St. Pete and run for just shy of an hour...   And it was still hot.   It didn't feel that bad when my wave started, but it was pretty gross by the time I finished, and every article of clothing, including my shoes, was wet, and I was tired.   Very tired.   It made for a long, albeit enjoyable day.

Enough wining about the heat and getting up early, let me get to the exciting parts of yesterday.   

What a fun race...   Let me repeat that, what a fun race...  I thoroughly enjoyed it...

I ran the whole race, and without any severe discomfort or pain.   I stopped to drink water, which I expected, and paused to take one picture because it was funny, but I never had to stop and walk.  

It's funny because its true

I wasn't sure how I would feel today, because I was a little sore yesterday and concerned about knee and hip pain, yet none to speak of.   Today I feel great, yes, my legs are sore, but that's muscular, which I am completely fine with and honestly I should have expected.  I decided to skip my morning workouts today, partly because I was just tired, and partly because of being sore.   Instead, I'm going to do a low impact ride later and see how the TDE speed 20 feels. 

Note to self, make sure you stretch as soon as you got home.

I set a new PR for a 5k.  I'm nowhere near what I used to run at, but let's be honest, that was thirty years ago, and expecting to come back after a break like that, and run anywhere near those times is ludicrous.   I am more than satisfied with my time yesterday.   I didn't feel like I was shuffling at all, in fact I was able to lengthen my stride which helped me run faster.   I was able to accelerate to pass people when I needed to and I didn't I feel like I was landing heavily.

I'm pretty sure this was my longest run since 1995, and the longest race since the marathon.   That's almost thirty years and things I had assumed I would never be able to do again which I am very pleased with.

So... where did I finish?   My chip time was 52:29 which put me at a 13:07 pace.  Overall, I finished 697th out of 899 for all the men and 30th out of 47 in my age group.  Here are the official results: St. Pete Pier run - I was bib #1335.

So what does all this mean?  Mostly, it means that my running struggles have been a conditioning and mental issue so I think I'll be able to continue running and continue to increase my distance.   I think my biggest problem is that I'm impatient and expect to be able to run the distances I did thirty years ago, which is absurd.   I didn't get on the bike and within a few months expect to ride fast for an hour, or for 40 miles, so expecting to do that running is silly.  

In the near term I would like to get my pace down closer to ten minutes per mile.   I'd like to run a 5k in thirty minutes again, and I think that's feasible.   Long term I want to work myself up to a 10k by next year, and work towards the olympic distance triathalon.   Assuming I can do that, I'm going to train for the Miami half marathon.  It's a fast flat course, all runs in Florida are flat, and has a kick-ass medal.   I told Merinda that maybe we can go to Miami on Friday, just chill on Saturday, then I can run Sunday morning and we can go on a cruise afterwards.   This is a few years out so we'll see, but I've always been goal driven, so having those in the back of my mind is important.  Also, Merinda and Teresa both said they want to run this next year so look out...

Lastly, I want to thank Merinda for driving us to the event(s) being there for me and cheering me on.   It means more than you know...  Love you babe!  I couldn't do this without you.

Merinda and I right before the race

I really wanted to use this hashtag but didn't think other people would find it as funny, but advil has been my best friend the past day or so :)

#advilbecausetheywontsellvicodinoverthecounter

Another month

Well July seems to have rushed in, and that's both a good and a bad thing.   Actually, I can't think of any good things about time accelerating.   What July does signify to me is that I have a race on Thursday, which I'm not really looking forward to, and that I have to start my next round of Triathalon training this month, which I'm also not looking forward to.  It's really not fair to say all that because it's a monday, and it's early, and I'm tired.  I do have a training plan, so if my knees and hip hold up I'll be ok.  Beyond coming into July feeling a little tired June was a pretty good month.

What did we plan to do in June?  

• Maintain weight
• Ride 450 miles - Weather permitting I want to ride outdoors every Sunday.
• Weekly run and walk exercise. 
• One open-water swim, preferrably two.   Minimum of 1/2 mile distance. 
• Weekly Yoga
• Weekly row
• Perfect Month in Apple
• Apple June exercise goal
• Gold in my June challenges
• All the bonuses in #mc41

Weight Results:

• Starting Weight: 218.9
• Ending Weight: 221.4

Exercise info:

• Number of rides:  73
• Time on exercise: 34:12:45
• Distance on rides: 460.20
• Number of runs: 4
• Distance running:  9.73mi
• Number of walks: 6
• Time walking:  3:27:03
• Distance walking:  10.15mi
• Number of rows: 6
• Time rowing:  26:14:22
• Number of swims: 0
• Distance swimming: 0

Results:

Well, this month was a lot better than I remembered.   I did think it was goign to be a close call for the montly mileage, which it was, and to be honest, I knew I hadn't swum, but I'd forgotten that it was a goal, so I don't know if I want to talk about it, but let's finish all the misses.   I did pretty much run/walk every week.   I took last week off from the run, partly due to weather, and partly due to my hip.   Regardless, I finished all my virtual runs and feel pretty ready for this Thursday.   I'll probably go for a walk or light run tonight but that will be it until Thursday.   I already mentioned the swimming, and I also didn't do as much Yoga as I wanted.   As it turns out, I did three yoga workouts, but I've been successful at doing stretching classes and those are helping my flexibility, so three yoga's and over twenty stretches?  I'll take that.  Other things of note?   My weight ticked up a bit, but I'm also doing more weight workouts so we'll keep an eye on that, but I'm still under 225 so nothing to worry about.

There was a lot of good in June so let's talk about that.   As I stated above, I'm doing a lot of stretching and more weight workouts, which is what I need to do in order to lean out.   I need some muscle mass so hopefully that's going in the right direction.   Plenty of rowing, mostly bootcamps now, and I hit all the challenge goals etc... So overall, an excellent month.

I'm feeling a little flat today, so let's just get on to July goals:

• Maintain weight
• Ride 500 miles -  Outdoor rides when possible.
• Weekly run and walk exercise. 
• One open-water swim, preferrably two.   Minimum of 1/2 mile distance. 
• After workout stretch. 
• Row workouts until the triathalon training kicks in.
• Continue bootcamp workouts
• Perfect Month in Apple
• Apple July exercise goal
• Gold in my July challenges
• All the bonuses in #mc42
• Finish St. Pete pier run

This is going to be a transitional month.   We're going to spend some time up in Virginia, which might make my mileage goal a challenge so if need be I'll ramp it down to 450, but eight weeks from September 21 means I start my training plan this month.    I think I should be ok to hit all these goals, I don't think any are particularly hard.   The Apple challenge for July is a walk/run distance and the only other gotcha is when we drive to/from VA.

I also signed up for a 100km bike event in November.   Once the triathalon is out of the way I'll be training up for that.   Fun times!

Final Thoughts:

Not much else.  I'm just drained.   Happy 4th, and I'll post about the race.

Talk soon!