It has begun!
Tuesday, January 1, 2008 at 9:03PM I'm high as a kite right now and I'll get to why later...
I always wait until January 1 to get serious about training. Everything between my last 2007 race and today has just been casual or for kicks. As the new year approached, I could tell I was putting things into more order.
I drank too much last night. I love microbrew beer, so I drank about 5 of those and also squeezed in some Mojitos. Those mojitos are some sneaky bastards. Otherwise, I ate really well and kept the calories down. Found stuff like salmon and crab to snack on instead of just stuffing my gaping maw with chips.
Woke up this morning later than usual and feeling like kag. I have a bad habit of wanting to cook eggs on mornings after I've drank to much and then regretting the eggs more than the drinking. Today was a repeat of that. Bleah.
Slept in a little longer than then went for a bike ride and brick run. I was supposed to bike with a buddy, but he failed to return my call. I've learned to not count on other people too much for workouts - you'll never get done what you need to do if you depend on others to be there. I loaded up my iPod Shuffle and my singlespeed and went out for a two hour ride.
It was crazy windy. I love the wind. I grin when I hear other people complain about it. It's usually roadies that ride in their little wind-cheating clusters that bitch the worst. It's funny, because those are the guys that are the best cyclists. Triathletes end up training and racing a lot alone (or the should be), so we tend to not care as much about the wind. I get annoyed when I'm riding with the wind to my back because I feel like I'm being cheated out of a workout. Triathletes have a lot of sh*t to do. Taking the difficulty out of a ride isn't worth the time wasted on the bike.
It was also sort of cold. Nothing too bad there.
I got a new helmet and rode with it for the first time. Specialized Propero. Seems nice. I like that it has a detachable visor on it. Good ventilation, nice colors. Thanks Mom and Dad!
I have a weird neuroma issue and plantar fasciatis in my left foot, so I was having to keep an eye on that. Seemed to do ok.
Got home and threw on the running gear. No distance measuring stuff, just a watch. Took along my greyhound, Roxy, and had a nice run. Probably only ran 5 miles in that hour. I get a weird tightness and pain at the bottom of my shins and in front of my ankles. It went away after a while.
Came home and went with the fam and a neighbor to grab some chinese food. I pulled a couple of tricks from peertrainer.com - I got spring rolls (not fried) for an appetizer and asked for my main course (thai red curry tofu and rice) to come with a doggy bag. As soon as it hit the table, I scooped half of it into the doggie bag. They say that's a good trick to keep from eating too much food. Bonus - my lunch for tomorrow is already made!
Huck said I looked really tired. I told her I was, but really I just felt very mellow. Almost high. Why? I got in three solid hours of continuous aerobic workout today. Not very intense, just great base training. I feel like I did something with my life.
The cool thing is, it's really not all that hard. I am so happy that I'm at a fitness level where I can go forth for 3 hours and have such a nice time. I think all my training last year has really set the stage for me to be a much more balanced and capable triathlete this year. I've warmed up to the idea of lots and lots of running. I told Huck and another friend recently that running is great because it burns the most calories, it is cheap, is super convenient, and very safe.
Well, that's enough for now. I caught a little chill while running in the cold. Gonna have some hot half-caff to warm up. Laters.
Reader Comments (3)
ROck on Tex!!!
Nice start to daily blogs.
Nothing like a four legged running buddy. My guy,Tucker, will run with me up to about the 10 mile mark and the big bonus is that he is to tired to cause trouble at home when I head off to work.
I'm looking forward to reading more.
During my Ironman Canada training last year (13:25hrs), I would load up my shuffle with your latest podcasts and spend the time listening and absorbing the zen from it. Some of it was useful in my training, but mostly it was just nice to have "someone" along for the ride. Now that its over, Im in much of the same headspace as you sem to be (although im not in a death metel band). It will be fun to read along with your "new" blog posts and see how you adapt to the new year and the goals that evolve along with it...keep up the good work!