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!

Triathlon–Wet Suit

Finally broke down and took the plunge today and bought my first wetsuit.  Been looking, reading tons of reviews and this one seemed to be the best ‘bang’ for the buck for a mid-grade wetsuit. It is a full wetsuit from Xterra; the Vector Pro.  There was a good discount on it so figured it was as good a time as any to purchase.

Will hopefully starting using sometime in April once begin some outdoor open water swimming. looking forward to getting back into the pool and water in general since it’s been a long time. Been very hard this winter overall from all aspects of training.  But lots of time right?

Should be interesting trying this on. Never put a wetsuit on before so, might be fun. Just might have to video that since it could be pretty hilarious.

"Pain is nothing compared to what it feels like to quit. Give everything you got today for tomorrow may never come." Dan Gable

Vector Pro Suit Detail information

Details

The Vector Pro Fullsuit Wetsuit is designed for optimum speed and flexibility:
FLEXIBLE
• 5mm front and 3mm back of neoprene
• Fully coated with the slickest Super Composite Skin coating
• Maintains a 0.03 drag coefficient
BUOYANT
• Maximum legal thickness for increased buoyancy
CUTTING-EDGE DESIGN
• Anatomically correct arms— each arm and shoulder is made up of 6 individually cut panels of 1.5 mm thick neoprene
• Panels follow the natural curve of the swim stroke, allowing faster and smoother swimming with less effort
• Seam-seal technology uses a triple layer of glue and double-blind stitching to ensure waterproof and long-lasting seams
*Vector Pro Fullsuits are entirely legal under the new USAT rules and are WTC legal.

Workout Update (p90x2, Triathlon training, week 3)

So been 3 weeks into my first round of P90x2. And it’s really going well.  My health has finally turned around and I’m feeling good.  Been keeping up the consistency w/ the nutrition, the workouts and hoping to continue the success I’ve had so far. I don’t want to get back to the 11 weeks of sickness I had.

This week was pretty good with my continued training towards the Tough Mudder and the beginning of Triathlon season in 3 months.  Mapping out the events we hope to be doing and will post those soon and when we ‘officially’ sign up for them.  There is nothing like creating motivation than signing up for an event.

Run:

I got 2 runs in (2.5 mile and 3.15 mile).  I’ve had to switch over to RunKeeper for tracking my runs. Seems Nike has broken their app on my phone.  So far, really liking the features and really everything that RunKeeper provides.  Hopefully come April I’ll be able to switch over to the Garmin 910XT.  The running is as always going to be my hardest part to keep going. especially with my schedule and the cold weather. Should be able to see my profile and runs here:  http://runkeeper.com/user/krprice/activitylist

Bike:

I got in 2 shorter duration rides on the trainer.  started slowly back at that as well.  going to start again with a 6 week base plan to get the legs in shape and work on the technique.   The new seat I got for Christmas has really worked out great.  The perineal nerve is much happier and zero numbness.  I’m much more comfortable on the bike than when I first started.  Hopefully everything continues to go well.  Should be able to see my rides located here:  http://www.trainerroad.com/career/kprice2012 

I’m using a software product called TrainerRoad for tracking my rides.  They’ve done some amazing things with it so far. I’m really digging the plans that are incorporated into it, as well as the integration w/ theSufferfest Video series.  Typically I’ll just watch a video of some kind, but why not workout to a ‘real’ world ride.  can’t wait to try it out.

P90x2 (core/Strength/Performance):

P90x2 workouts are going strong.  Just finished up Round 1 – Week 3 – Phase 1.  This was the ‘core’ phase. And I’m pretty excited w/ how I am feeling after these 3 weeks.  I’ve enjoyed the workouts. Seen definite increase in my abilities from week to week.  The core is so critical in all sports, especially in all 3 disciplines that I’ll be doing in the tri, that it makes sense to focus on it and give it, the due diligence it needs.  Phase 2 , Strength, starts tomorrow. 

I’m finding the fun again with my workout programs.  The body is responding well and this looks like it’s going to be an amazing 2012!

Hope you are are finding the groove that you want to get yourself into shape this year and doing what works for you! Find your motivation!

Decide. Commit. Succeed!

Latest Training Update (P90x2 & Triathlon)

So my training has been on hold for about a month.  Seems when winter hits I get hit hard w/ some sort of sickness (bronchitis, pneumonia, and whatever else came along).   Was going strong and consistent on the running and riding on the trainer.  But that came to a quick stop.   I’m nearing the end of my month long funk and hoping to get started this upcoming week.  though at a somewhat reduced rate.  I will be starting my first round of P90x2 Monday December 12th, 2012. 

So for the next 90ish days I’ll be engaged in some serious fun with Tony Horton and the gang seeing how far the new P90x2 will take me in my fitness goals.  Really hoping to get some amazing results that will filter down into my riding, running and swimming for the Tri season next Spring.  Along with getting in the right shape to tackle the Tough Mudder in April, 2012. 

Training game plan:

• 3 rides (2 short and 1 longer) a week (tracking the rides w/ TrainerRoad software)
• 3 runs a week
• Daily P90x2 workout.  
• Swimming is up in the air at the moment. but will hopefully get a game plan wrapped around this after the new year.

My Goals/Races (12 months):

• Finish Tough Mudder Michigan with the team of folks doing it with me and feeling satisfied I gave it everything I Have. It is not going to be easy but it’s not suppose to.  12.x Miles with 27 Obstacles and cold. 
• Complete my first 1/2 Ironman in late Summer 2012.  Looking at 1 of 2 potentials for the first.  will depend on how the spring season of Triathlons goes on when and where we do the first 1/2.       
• Warrior Dash again in Late July 2012.
• 2 sprint, 2 Olympic distance triathlon’s through spring/summer/fall
• Detroit Free Press 1/2 Marathon or some equivalent
• Various shorter run’s (5k / 10ks)

It will be an extremely tough training plan to accomplish all of my goals for next year. But with the right mental attitude, commitment, support, accountability and some luck it can be done.   There will be obstacles along the way, but I will do my best to overcome them and continue to move forward.   But I’m looking forward to the challenge and having some serious fun over the next 12 months.  Should be a great ride!

Decide. Commit. Succeed!