Not April fools day, but almost...

What a whirlwind month that was.  It just felt like I went from one thing to another without any time to pause, and to be honest that's how this year has felt.  Just busy busy busy and April looks like it's going to be more of the same.

I just realized I hadn't posted since the beginning of March so let me tell you what made it so busy and challenging all at once.   The distance challenge ended, and I made a push to get into the top 20.  I was in the top 20 last year and wanted to do better this year, but a month without the bike made that difficult, but I made it by the skin of my teeth.  As the challenge was ending I had back to back 5k's, dressed as a leprechaun even.   Yes, it was very hot in that suit, but I survived.   

Leprejohn

I had a third 5k scheduled for last weekend, but I ended up crewing on my friends Yacht for race week in St. Augustine.   Justin and I used to sail a lifetime ago, and he asked and I couldn't say no.

How do these things work again? 😜

Good times in St. Augustine with a mix of old and new friends

I was more than a little nervous, but it was AWESOME to be out on the ocean again.   I hope it's not 35 years until I get to go again.

So what was the purpose of all that?   Well, like the rest of the year it was an up and down month.   So let's talk about that.   These were the goals I set for March:

• Get below 220 pounds
• Ride 550 miles
• March Apple challenge
• Perfect Month in Apple
• Gold in my March challenge
• All the bonuses in #mc51
• Weekly Row
• Weekly walk and run
• Swim at least twice this month

Optional:

• Scuba Certification

And here is how I did against them:

Weight Results:

• Starting Weight:  221.0
• Ending Weight:  217.0

Exercise Info:

• Number of rides:  63
• Time on exercise: 37:27:13
• Distance on rides:  393.76
• Number of runs:  3
• Distance running:  9.25mi
• Number of walks:  8
• Time walking: 1:57:50
• Distance walking:  3.99mi
• Number of rows: 0
• Time rowing: 0
• Distance Rowing: 0
• Number of swims:  0
• Distance swimming:  0
• Weight Workouts:  4

Results:

There's no sugar coating it this month, I missed a bunch of goals.  For the third month in a row I missed my distance target for cycling.   Yes, I was away for the last weekend, and that cost me roughly 70 miles, but I still would have missed my target by 50 miles.   I'm just going to have to re-evaluate my distance targets or work harder.  I did feel a let down after the end of the challenge, but that doesn't change my fitness targets for this year, so we'll see how this month goes, but I'm almost 400 miles below where I wanted to be for the year and that's going to be hard to make up.  So, what else was a dud last month?   Rowing and swimming.   I can forgive myself the rowing, because it's the odd man out when I start to train for triathlon season, but it doesn't excuse no swimming.   I just need to do better, and I will.  I also missed the bonus points on #mc51

Well shit, what went well last month?   I'd like to start with my weight which finally dipped back below 220.   Yes, I know that I shouldn't chase the scale, and yes I've been building muscle mass, but it's going to take me a long time to stop worrying about my weight.   I saw it creeping up for a lot of the month and it made me nervous because that's how my weight gain always starts.  I knew I wasn't overeating, but I wasn't eating some of the right food, and I was snacking late at night.   Those are the bad habits I need to lose.  What also went well was the running and walking.   I did get pretty sore after the second 5k, and wanted to feel "rested" going into race week, so I let up, but I have a 5k on Saturday so I need to get back at that.  I also got back to weekly weight workouts so I want to keep up with that.   I have another round of back to back 5k's this month before I put the pedal down to train for the Dunedin Tri, which is seven weeks out.   I hit all my other Race week was probably the highlight of the year so far.   Sailing isn't quite the level of exercise that spin is, but I was in shape for it and loved every minute.   It took me a day to get used to it again, but I can still power a winch pretty fast which is a plus when the boat is coming about.  Hoping to go back next year and finish first instead of second.  Finally, I did go up to the dive shop and began the process to get my scuba certification, which I'm pretty excited about.  Currently the plan for that is after the triathlon.   I don't think Tarpon springs is going to be on my calendar this year because we have to go up to VA for a grandson, but we'll see if I feel up to Tarpon.  I'd like to do it, but it might be difficult.   I did sign up for the four on the fourth in St. Pete since that's a fun event but that's the only other race on my calendar for now.

If I had to grade myself for last month..   I'd have to say I got a solid B-.   Good, but not great, and a lot of room for improvement.

So, what's on the docket for this month?   Here's what I have planned:

April Fitness goals:

• Maintain my weight
• Ride 500 miles
• April Apple challenge
• Perfect Month in Apple
• Gold in my April challenge
• All the bonuses in #mc52
• Swim at least twice this month
• Weekly weight or row workout
• Weekly swim workout
• Two outdoor bike rides
• Walking on the weekends where there's no 5k.

I don't think these are particularly hard, although I did lower my mileage target from 550 to 500 miles because of the running and knowing we're going to be up in VA for four days for Tyler's senior night.   I might even go to 450 because I don't want to penalize myself for a family event which I would prefer to enjoy, rather than worrying about getting my miles in.   I really just want to focus on getting my 5k times down and getting on track for Dunedin next month and that means a lot of endurance focused work.

I'll try to post some updates this month, probably after the 5k's...   Talk soon!

Spring forward.... Already?!?

It's pretty annoying to change time, well to be honest springing forward is annoying, and it feels like it's happening extra early this year.  It's a little less than appealing because I have my first race of the season on Saturday and then clocks go forward that night.   Yuck.

With that, it's time to talk about what's been going on and how things are looking here.   I felt February was another "good" but not great month.   It was great to get a bike again, and I even got an upgrade to an EX5s-22, so I've been back on the bike pretty regularly.   Lots of bootcamp classes in my preferred time, so I'm getting a fair bit of off-bike exercise and I even got my century day in.  Running has been less than ideal because it feels like such a drag, but I've started going every week and I want to maintain that but there's a few things that haven't been so ideal.  Let's go over that:

As always, here were my goals for February:

• Maintain weight
• Ride 500 miles
• February Apple challenge
• Weekly bootcamp workout(s)
• Perfect Month in Apple
• Gold in my February challenge
• All the bonuses in #mc50
• Weekly Row
• Weekly walk and run

Optional:

• Scuba Certification
• Swim 1000 yards twice this month

Weight Results:

• Starting Weight: 220.30
• Ending Weight:  221.00

Exercise Info:

• Number of rides: 75
• Time on exercise: 4:23:11
• Distance on rides: 490.35
• Number of runs: 2
• Distance running: 6.24
• Number of walks: 6
• Time walking: ;:00:17
• Distance walking: 11.28
• Number of rows: 5
• Time rowing: 1:02:13
• Distance Rowing: 13396 meters
• Number of swims: 1
• Distance swimming: 500yd
• Weight Workouts:  2

Results:

I'll go over the good stuff quickly, and I've already mentioned some of it.  Apple challenges done and dusted.   Bootcamps?   No problem, I get at least one or two per week.  I had a full month in #mc50.   Felt great to be on the bike and while I didn't get 500 miles, I was only ten miles short, and counting in the distances from the distance challenge I exceeded 550 miles, so I hit my original goal.  I also did plenty of walking and a little running and even got in a swim and a gym day.  On top of all that, I've been regularly stretching and using the foam roller, which seems to be making a difference.

Ok John, what are you unhappy with?   Glad you asked.   I'm disappointed with my weight.   I came back from vacation and got right back to where I wanted, but I've begun to see notifications that my average weight has been higher, consistently in the 220's instead of 210's and I almost saw 230 on the scale.  Now I don't want to be focused solely on my weight, because there's a lot more than that to watch, but I do need to be mindful of it.   Merinda thinks I've been putting on muscle, and I feel lean, strong and hard but some clothes felt snug, and I didn't work this hard for so long to get fat again.  I've just been struggling with snacking late at night and I think that's why my weight popped up a bit.  I felt pretty lethargic on my run last night, yes Monday is usually a rest day, but with a work trip, and the race on Saturday, I wanted to get one more in before the race.  Hopefully, it was just a case of tired legs instead of fat lazy John.  I also once again forgot I have a rower, but that's been a little more "schedule hell" and max distance for the MDC.   I'm hoping to get that back weekly after this week.

Ok, so, instead of beating myself up, I'm just going to work hard this coming month, and do my best to cut out the crappy food.   The Dunedin triathalon is 2 months out, and I need to get ready for that.  Withg that, what do I have planned for March:

• Get below 220 pounds
• Ride 550 miles
• March Apple challenge
• Perfect Month in Apple
• Gold in my March challenge
• All the bonuses in #mc51
• Weekly Row
• Weekly walk and run
• Swim at least twice this month

Optional:

• Scuba Certification

I'm going to use this month to get myself back on track, and by that I mean apply some will power to my food consumption.  I want to get back around 215ish, so that will mean a lot of lean protein and less junk.  Maybe some more endurance focused workouts instead of HIIT.  We'll see how to make that happen.   I've been doing more morning workouts so I don't seem to double as often, nor do I get endurance/low impact as often so I might need to adjust my schedule.   I don't know how this will work into riding 550 miles either, but we'll see how that goes.   I just might need to lower that across the board if I want to run and row regularly, and I'll be away the last weekend of the month.  The good news is the distance challenge is coming to an end this coming weekend, so I won't have the pressure to rack up distance at the expense of other exercise, but that comes with a tradeoff when I set high mileage targets.  I've also made a soft commitment to go to the dive shop on pi day, yes I have that day off, so I should finally start that process.  

It felt like a lot to talk about this month, but was a little shorter than I expected.  Yes, I'm being hard on myself, but that's how it goes sometimes.  Someone has to be the taskmaster and it's going to be me.   As a FYI, I will include all the distance conversions through the end of the challenge, but once that's over, I'll probaby stop adding it in.   It's just too much work, and if I can't make the distances I set, I'll lower them, but for now lets stick with 550 miles for the month and I'll revisit it around the 15th.

Ok, enough griping, it's not all bad.  Apple made this month's challenge pretty simple so I won't be frantically trying to finish it.   Look for some update after the Shamrock Shimmy.   Talk soon!

2222

I'm not usually into numerology, but I saw that I hit workout number 2222 today.   When I looked at all the metrics I had the following numbers:

• 1789 - First US presidential election and the French Revolution
• 232
• 123
• 66
• 12
• and as mentioned 2222

Not really sure how to interpret it, but seems pretty lucky overall.   Lot's of twos which are lucky.   Maybe we'll win the lottery :)

On a different note, I recently switch to Isagenix protien powder and so far I think I think it's a step up from the one I used to use.  I usually used unflavored powder, but this tastes pretty good (hokey pokey) but more importantly, it mixes better into my parfait.  Not sure about the gains, but will let you know about that later.  I feel lean and strong, so I guess that's a good sign that I'm putting on some muscle.   What I have noticed is that I feel "fuller" after taking some, which helps control snacking.

Another recent change is I've started using my foam roller regularly.  Hear me out on this.   Yes, I know it hurts.  The first few times I squealed like a schoolgirl seeing The Beatles, but it got better, and it's made a huge difference in how tight my IT band is.  Just be patient and consistent and it should help.

Anyway, coming up on the end of the month.  Weight is still up a little bit, but I finally dipped back under 220, so it's getting better.  It looks like I'll be shy of 550 miles on the bike this month, but I'll get over 550 in the distance challenge, so I'm going to take that.

Talk soon!

Another milestone accomplished.

One of the soft goals I set for myself was to complete a century ride.   In case you don't know what that is, it's when you ride 100+ miles at a time.   Last year I'd signed up for a 100km ride, which was going to be a challenge and was going to train for longer distances.   That ride got cancelled due to hurricanes, so distance training got put on hold.

Once MDC3 started I'd been thinking about a century ride, and really wanted to complete one during this challenge, then my bike broke and I missed a month of cycling, and it seemed unlikely.   It's an all day commitment, and I wasn't sure I was conditioned for it.

Fast forward to last week, the end of the distance challenge got announced, it's going to be the 8th/9th, and we're at the finish line.  Merinda decided to go to VA to visit family, and I had an opportunity to go for it on Sunday.  My awesome teammates also decided to do a century day too to motivate us and five of us completed it.  I finished with 105.05 miles

Honestly, I think it was more of a mental challenge instead of a physical one.   I was careful about resistance so I spent most of the "work" in zone 2.   Yes, I did see zone 3, but it wasn't common, and to be honest, the most challenging part physically was sitting on the bike.  Echelon bike seats aren't that comfortable and if I sit on them too long it begins to become painful. 

Regardless, I finished it, and look forward to another opportunity to do better.   My legs aren't really that sore, more just tired, but it does make me wonder if I could do it on my road bike.  I ride slower outdoors, so its more like six+ hours instead of 5, and I dont know how I'd react to getting off the bike and then riding for another 3 hours.

Sorry for the rambling post, I'm still feeling sleepy so I'll wrap this and we'll talk later.

Just some random thoughts...

First off, I ran on Wednesday night.   My time was awful, but made it through 5k, so that's a start...   I have a few weeks until the first race, March 8th in case anyone was curious, and being able to run a 5k despite taking six weeks off was reassuring.  Yes, my legs have been sore since, so I have become re-acquainted with my massage gun.   I'm probably going to run at least once or twice a week until the event, or I get closer to my December times, whichever comes first.   I'll keep you updated.

With that said, if you don't want to hear about my opinion on the US and only care about fitness, stop reading now.  If you post something hateful you will be banned.  I am a US citizen, pay more than my share of taxes, yeah I pay a higher percentage of my income in taxes than Musk, and I'm allowed to express my opinion on *my* blog.   If you don't like it?   Tough...

<rant>

I don't understand how people can look at what's going on in the US right now and not feel concerned.  The administration has launched an attack on; The Press and now the courts.  All led by the President and the wealthiest man in the world.

I have to wonder why, and the only answer I can come back with is Power.   That's what it's all about.

Now before anyone accuses me of TDS, or some other made up illness, grow up.  I know the government is bloated, I worked in the DC area for a long time, and I've been involved in politics for almost 40 years.   I went to a presidential inaguration, Republican mind you, before I could vote, so I'm not just a mindless drone, but let me ask you this.   Do you really believe the richest man in the world is doing all this out of some random altruisim, or is there something else?

I don't care who you voted for, but if you think that we should impeach sitting federal judges, for simply interpreting the law in a way you don't agree with, you should really ask yourself if you want a democracy, or an autocracy.  Judges interpret the laws.   Elections don't determine how laws are interpreted, nor do they allow them to be ignored.   If the laws need changing we have a mechanism for that, but you don't get to pick and choose what parts of the constitution you follow, or perhaps your beloved 2a should be set on fire.  Remember the FIRST amendment says the government can't restrict your speech.   It comes before the second amendment because people smarter than us wrote these documents.  Think about that the next time the President kicks the someone out of the oval office because they don't say "Gulf of America".  Like it or not, that is unconstitutional.

Did the judge do something unethical?   Like gut the agency investigating your company?   No?   Hmmm...

Yes, Trump won, god help us, but he did, but that doesn't make him all-powerful.  Nor does it make his sidekick all-powerful, well not yet, but if they succeed in crushing the judiciary AND the press we're fucked...

Hope it was all worth it to those of you who voted for him, because the numbers don't add up, and something doesn't smell right.

And for what it's worth, I hope I'm wrong.

<rantoff>

Still struggling a little bit...

The good part of having the better part of a month off from heavy exercise, is getting a chance for some R&R on my legs etc...   Yeah I was expecting to be running, but the hammy pull stopped that dead in it's tracks.  

What's been tough is getting back into the swing of things.  It's been challenging to get up early, I guess I got used to sleeping in a little bit, and I just haven't had the drive to push myself the way I did before the holiday.  Maybe I'm asking a bit much since I just got the bike a week ago, but I've also completely skipped any running and I desperately need to start that.

I'm thinking about a run tonight, so I will keep y'all updated...

Well... Isn't that fucking special

My "reward" for finishing second on my team in sales is to get double the quota as other people, sadly I wasn't the only person given this, and the same payout(s).

So...  Work twice as hard for the same, or probably less, money.   They must be taking lessons from elmo...  I don't want to find a new job, but it looks like I'm going to have to consider it.