Tour of Sufferlandria - Fun Virtual Cycling Race

So over the past 9 days I did the first annual online virtual Cycling race called Tour of Sufferlandria.  This was hosted and sponsored by the folks at TrainerRoad (software to record and use during your ride) and The Sufferfest (Training videos).  Both great additions to your winter training if you train indoors on a bike trainer.  I personally use it year round now other than during race days and brick days I'll do outdoors with fellow triathletes training.

So this had 9 stages, 12 rides in all.  In the end, rode approximately 160 miles, burned nearly 7000Kcal's.  I had a blast and learned a bit more about my fitness level and self.  It was a challenge but well worth the suffering that occured.  Never thought that I would be able to ride 9 days in a row and that much.  It wasn't pretty mind you. I wasn't crazy fast or anything based on the #'s. But to me, the greatest thing was finishing; that was my goal this first time. 

Downright the coldest run I've ever done

Mentally I thought I was prepared for a cold run this morning.  I've been going out for the past few weeks into the 'cold' and hasn't been too bad.  Would get bundled up in my 3 layers of shirts, the o' running tights,2 hats, and 2 pairs of gloves.  if you haven't noticed yet the trend, I really don't like to be cold.  I pack on the layers. 

I will say so far this winter, I've been fortunate that it's been somewhat tolerable, no snow storms, crazy ice, freezing rain, etc. 

So got through all of my morning running rituals.  opened the door to the garage, and if the garage wasn't already cold enough walked out into the driveway and said 'WTF!' to myself.  Was a clear sky, zero wind (luckily) but was just to me, blistering cold. A Balmy 13 degrees F.  So turned on the Garmin 910 watch, and started walking waiting for it to sync up with the satellites.  well of all the days, it took forever.  And I don't mean just felt like forever.  It took forever.  So it syncs and off I go becuase I was freezing.  I will admit that I am a pansy.  Loud and proud, I hate the cold weather. 

Took me 2+ miles of my short 3.45 mile run to get he hands fully warm.  legs had already felt alright but rest of me was just 'chilly'.  I'm really not looking forward to the longer runs if it is this cold those days. Guessing I'll warm up more those days as I continue further into the run.  Fingers crossed.

So that was my little story of my very cold run today.  I survived to run another day and will continue to press forward w/ each and every run outdoors.  I won't run on a treadmill.  No matter how cold, I'll suck it up and enjoy the outdoors.  Ask me again later if it gets closer to zero or something. I might be singing a different tune then.

Hope your day was productive and you accomplished something towards your fitness and personal goals.

Decide. Commit. Succeed.

Rev3 Cedar Point - September 8, 2012 & Detroit Marathon - October 20, 2013

So it is official. I have taken the plunge I have so vehemently denied for the past few years.  that I would never ever subject myself to a full marathon race.  Well, not sure what came over me, but I have signed up for the Detroit Marathon in October of this  year.  This will be 6 weeks after we do the 70.3 Triathlon race down in Ohio.  A rev3 race in Cedar Point. 

Really looking forward to the season ahead.  A bit scared of the longer races at the end of the season, but will work hard to stay consistent in training, smart in my training to stay injury free and pay attention to the body.  Lot of dedication and amazing support from the family as I dedicate the time to the training necessary to be successful in finishing the events over the entire season.

Working out what kind of plan to follow for the Detroit as well as the 70.3 race.  In the past I've haphazardly just kind of threw my training together but these are more the 'real' deal type events. If I don't put the right time in, I'm going to either get injured or not finish at all.

Look for more frequent updates about my training and fun over the next 10 months.

I wouldn't have the confidence and motivation to complete this if I hadn't started 3 years ago down the path to a healthier person.  It was that cold winter night that I made the decision to start working out (p90x by the way was that tool) and then work towards the many events I have done the past 2 years. 

Anyone can make the right decision to get healthy.  A bit of commitment and you will succeed.  I guarantee it.

Find your journey. I continue to re-write mine each and every day!

Updates Coming soon

Finally able to fix the site.  Been down for a month now and wasn't sure what I broke.  I am combining two of the sites into one.  Can still get to them both on either URL.  But It's just easier to be consistent.  I don't have a lot of time to write posts, but look forward to being more consistent going forward.

Need to pull over a few posts from the other site as well still. They'll show up in the next day or 2.

Thanks!  KP!

Race Report: Island Lake Triathlon Fall–Sprint Distance

So I’ll start by saying that this race overall kind of sucked.  Not the race company or anything like that. Element Events does a great job of organizing things; everywhere from the volunteers to the race course and everything. I’ve done 4 of their races and enjoyed all of them.

My displeasure was completely from my own performance.  I ended up about 9 seconds slower than my sprint race in the spring.  Both being in the 1 hour and 29 and some change range. The race from the start didn’t feel right. 

Comparison Below:

Here are the lessons learned for my particular racing style and training:

• I am not a fan of the heat.  I don’t train in it, so I don’t know yet how to function in it properly during a race.
• I have a morning routine that I follow before a race.  both for the sprint and Olympic distance.  I’ve been able to function well and hydrate/nutrition fine.
• I need to learn to push through that threshold.  Get into the race mindset and go with it more
• Learn to deal with cramps.  First time ever in a race to get one.  figure out what was caused it potentially. Happened during the bike about 4 miles in.
• Less is more.  transitions I need to really bunker down and focus on just the things I need to get on the bike, to get out on the run.

In the end, I had a fun season of training and triathlons.  I succeeded at reaching my goals of at least doing one longer reach (Olympic distance).  I really wanted to be below 3 hours on the Olympic, and exceeded that by quite a bit. I ended at 2 hours and 50 minutes.  Everything fell into place that race on all 3 disciplines. 

One more race to go this year.  Men’s Health Urbanathon in Chicago. then back to standard training over the winter. More to come on what my plans are. Can’t wait to really get a plan together for the drive to 70.3.

Decide.Commit.Succeed!

Training: 9 mile run

So started shifting my overall workouts towards running and weights (p90x2) till the race in Chicago.  Doing the Men’s Health Urbanathon (approx 10 miles) in Chicago on October 13th, 2012.  Looking forward to it.  It’s been a long while since I’ve ran 9 miles and surprisingly it went great.

I was half expecting to get hungry and thirsty during the run, but luckily I didn’t.  I’m sure it would have been beneficial had I eaten something around mile 5 or 6 and maybe had a hand water bottle to sip from. But with the weather being cooler and not as humid, I really didn’t notice it. I kept the pace nice and light as well as a well controlled heart rate. 

I started off the morning with only a homemade banana muffin and a Banana.  The two did the job.

I clocked in around 1 hour 21 minutes.  Basically a 9 min / mile pace.  Which if I continued that pace to finish a 1/2 marathon would of gotten be sub 2 hours. My end goal for the next 1/2 marathon I do will be around 1 hour 50.  We’ll see.  The first one I did 2 years ago was 2 hours and 6 minutes.  Can check out my run from Saturday at Garmin connect here:  9 mile run

One thing I’m finding is that I’ve built a great base over the past year that I’m not noticing any issues with my legs currently. Knocking on wood since I don’t want to jinx myself.  Looking forward to continued success with the run.

Another step in the direction of the Half Ironman (70.3) next year 2013. 

Race Report–Island Lake Triathlon Summer 2012–Olympic Distance

Had a great time at the event.  Started out by going to the packet pickup on the Saturday before the race.  Had the usual race walk through by the folks running the show.  I’ve already done the sprint course twice, but I wanted to make sure I had a feel for the turns for the loops on the 3 disciplines since I’ve only had to do 1 loop for sprint.  Being my first Olympic distance event, I wanted to be prepared. 

Swim: 900 Meters for this Distance.  the swim I couldn’t get into any sort of rhythm.  I kept getting mixed in with folks in the last 500 meters and slowed me down. I’ve learned in the longer distance to make sure to spread out a bit more.  Not to try and stick to the line so much.  Should help.  I was consistent with the time I was hoping to get.  Took me 30 minutes and some change. 

T1: One of my main goals during the race was to also work on transitions.  The past couple races went ok, but I wanted to see if I could do better.  the wetsuit came off in T1 a lot better than the spring.  I had all kinds of issues that day.  That day, it went much smoother.  I put the ankle tracker on properly below so that I could simply pull the wetsuit over.

Bike: 40k ride in the Olympic Distance.  Which in the end, wasn’t as bad as I was expecting. I’ve done that distance and longer a few times.  My time for each loop ended up within seconds of each other so I was very consistent.  The ride is where I can make my biggest gains in time right now.  This upcoming winter I’ll definitely be focusing on ride and all 3 disciplines.  40 minutes on each loop.

T2: So I kind of relaxed and wasn’t really paying attention here.  I was taking my time and had the wife on the sidelines scream over at me, get moving. It was great.  I was fumbling around with a  homemade Banana muffin that I use as part of my nutrition.  Works great. But I seemed more focus on it than getting my shoes on and out of T2.  Luckily I didn’t take any crazy extra time.

Run: Run wasn’t bad.  My goal was to of course finish, but my main goal was to stay below 9 minute miles for the full 10k.  At one of my lap alerts, it was like 8:59 and I knew then it was time to kick it in a bit more to reach my goal. which in the end I did.  I am not a fan of ‘loops’ but this one ended up going alright. 

Final time was 2 hours and 50 minutes.  My overall time goal was below 3 hours. So this was a great time being 10 minutes below that.  I look forward to my next Olympic distance tri in the spring.

Decide.Commit.Succeed!

Power of Your Own Possibilities

The power of your own possibilities

“What if you could fully comprehend everything of which you're capable? You would never waste another moment of your precious time.

What if you could know how truly powerful you are? You would never again be reluctant to move forward.

You are the living expression of opportunity. Within you are countless magnificent achievements to be discovered and fulfilled.

Fear keeps those achievements unrealized, hidden from yourself and the world. Love will set them free.

Spend a moment in loving thankfulness for all that has brought you to where you are today. Peacefully let go of the resentment, doubt, disappointment, worry and fear.

Feel the power of your own possibilities. See that the best is yet to come, and joyfully begin to bring it to life.

-- Ralph Marston”

We all can achieve our greatest potential.  It sometimes takes a little finding to get to where we want to.  You can do wonderful things in this lifetime.  Keep yourself positive each and everyday, and find the best in yourself to make it happen! Each and every 24 hours there’s nothing that can hold us back from reaching our goals and being successful!

What are you going to do today to get reach your potential?

Tony Horton One-on-One 100 / 30 / 20 Review (creator of P90x)

The April Tony Horton One on One program was the 100 / 30 /20.  This consisted of 100 Jump rope, 30 sit-ups and 20 push-ups.  I think most would think this pretty straight forward. We’ll Tony does a wonderful job of mixing things up with all 3 aspect of the workout.  The key here is the variety.  Per usual, Tony keeps the body guessing what it is going to encounter next. That is the amazing benefits of the 1-on-1 series each month. Always something new, always something fresh coming your way.

This is a great circuit that will keep you moving and really give you a great workout.  One thing to look forward to is the end.  Can you keep up with Tony and get through 100 jump ropes without stopping? Restart if you mess up and keep doing this till you get to 100 perfectly. :) Great way to finish out a workout!

Enjoy this one  from Tony, It’s a keeper for sure!  You can still get it and sign up for the monthly home direct.  It’s awesome variety for any workout program. Any Questions, as always don’t hesitate to contact me and let’s get you started on something that fits your goals.

Decide. Commit. Succeed!

Heart of a Spartan 2010 Run (thanks P90x and Insanity)

This past Sunday(May 2, 2010) did my first ever 10k run.  Was at the Heart of a Spartan event which was it’s first year running.  There was an amazing turnout of people.  Around 1500 alone in the 10k and 2500 in the 5k event.  The support of the people, the volunteers and everyone involved made it a great event.  I ended up completing the event in 52 minutes and 17 seconds. Averaged 8:21 minute miles.  Considering I had not run this length only one other time, I felt that it went awesome. I had hoped to below 53 minutes and I did it. 

I had only run in a 5k event previously down in Dearborn (Martian) and it was an amazing experience.  Definitely different than running alone on a track or outdoors.  You have all this energy and excitement from the people around you as they get ready to partake on this amazing journey.

The 10k was wrapped around the campus of Michigan State University, my alma mater!    To set the stage, it was a pretty normal day.  The only big issue was the rain.  Now I had been training by running outdoor is somewhat ‘ideal’ weather and situations.  So running the rain was definitely a new experience for me.  One that well I have a new found respect for. It wasn’t too bad initially. One thing I will remember for next time is to not wear glasses or definitely get some contacts and wear.

The other thing is to get a better shirt one that fits tighter. it had way too much movement and caused some soreness which was very distracting throughout the race. So we live and learn and move on. But I still enjoyed the event and will be there next year as well.  Hopefully no rain. :)

So what got me motivated to get running this past winter? Simply said, my new found energy, my new found desire to continue my quest to get healthy, stay fit and challenge myself. I owe it to myself making the decision to press play, workout and eat healthy. If I hadn’t started P90x back in January of 2009 and laid down the foundation of good eating, hard work there’s not telling where I would be today.  With the added rounds of Insanity, healthy nutrition and Shakeology I’ve kept my activity levels going, my workout schedule on track and loving every minute of it.

I’m excited to keep on running and see where it goes.  It’s been fun and I hope to keep pushing myself. Each month I hope to do some sort of race, whether it be a 5k, 10k or maybe something longer down the road. Looking to up the ante with a potential Dances with Dirt event in September.  Check it out. Should be fun.

Many new products(TurboFire, Body Gospel, P90xNext, Insanity Asylum) coming down the pipe from BeachBody that are going to rock your world. More to come on those. Any questions on my journey or how I can help you reach your fitness goals and have your own journey, contact me.  It’s fun, takes dedication, but is well worth the hard work.

Decide. Commit. Succeed.