Crikey! Take it easy.

Well after much deliberation I have decided not to bike today. Several of the family told me I was stupid for running yesterday. Ill take the day off, although pressure is mounting!

Im back! With Strep!

Who says life isn't a roller coaster? I woke up feeling much better and started to plan for a run and swim. We went out for pancakes this morning as David is off and wanted to show Granddad what he likes to do. While we were there the Doc called every contact we had, not the nurse the doc! It turns out I have strep! What the Hell is that? So an IM to a friend and much googling we have the details. Now it turns out Isla has had it for 10 days - untreated. The poor wee soul.

So I went and got the prescription and ran 8 miles and the took my pills. Yes I said it 8 easy miles. The goal was 9 but as soon as my heart rate hit 145 I finished the current mile and called it a day. Just as well as Iron Man 2 was about to finish.

So with the news of the strep and it being contagious for another 48 hours I didn't go to the pool tonight. I'm starting to get stressed!

Test Ride

WellI feel a bit better today so Im doing an easy bike ride with Henry, my father in law. I felt ok afterwards but still a bit tired and still taking some pills.

Will I be able to recover - lets start freaking out!

Wheres Dave?

Dave's in his his bed.

I cycled 40 miles on Tuesday and one Wednesday started feeling tired. I ran 8 miles at 11 minute pace and felt event worse. By the evening I was running a steady 102 fever and this has lasted until Saturday where it dropped to normal, leaving me optimistic I could bike on Sunday or do something! I woke up at 1am with a stonking headache that couldn't be moved. Did I mention I'm alternating every 2 hours during the day between dayQuil (Day time benelyn) and Ibuprofen to keep my fever under control. Both do not interact with each other but Im still at 102!

Still no fever on Sunday but my head was splitting, I went to bed but got pissed off with this approach. So I thought I'd try a 40 mile bike ride, 20 miles with my father in law as I really wanted to show him the trails! Then 20 back by myself. So the weather didn't go as predicted and it hit 90 by noon. Not 3 as predicted! I have to say I was a mess by the turn around and opted to "punt" as they say out here. Kathleen took me home. I am now running another fever of 100, the headache is gone and back to feeling blah.

For the past month the quote has been "my cardiovascular system is willing but the body isn't" now its "my body is willing and cardiovascular is toast"!

Now blah doesn't bother me usually but when you are doing an Ironman in 7 weeks its a bit of a roller coaster ride.

Aerobars and Beer Fest!

My goal was 80 miles but I didn't get out early enough so I settled for 70 miles. They were good miles too! I didn't blow up and felt good at the end. Then it was off to the Great American Beer Festival.

I got new Aerobars for my bike this week too. I went for the T1 Vipers from Profile Design mostly as that's what the salesman said to take. I was a bit dubious of them but I have to say they are very handy. They took a bit of getting used to but when you have a head wind they help a lot. I also found that on downhill it was very easy to get fast as the bars put you in the aero position very easily.



They are a bit hard to maneuver on and it was hard to just stay in a straight line.

For the most part I used the bars and went at the same effort as sitting upright which resulted in an increase of speed of about 2mph. By mile 60 I was getting tired and used the bars to do the same speed with less effort. That was actually harder to do as it involved going at a slower tempo. The gears cant be changed from the bars.

Overall, if you ever have a head wind then get yourself some of these!

Long exercise day

I took today off so that I could get my long run and long bike in this week. David got me up and we headed up to the bagel shop to get my supply of bagels for the week.

The target was 17 miles today so I had 1000 calories for breakfast. 2 bagels, a bowl of cheerios and a cliff bar. Then I filled up all my bottles with Gatorade, not accelerade its a bit thick for the run sometimes. I grabbed a couple of DVDs and off I went.

Instead of tricks to keep me interested I ran a steady 12 minute mile pace. HR was down at 88 for a while but I did not increase my pace. I made it! I did feel I could probably do another mile but I have to swim at night too. I didn't have to stop, sit or walk. I just did it!

I have been debating running outside a lot but I am reminded about why I keep that to a minimum. The left leg and knee especially help remind me that I do have arthritis and it will get really bad really quickly.

Swim went well. It was a bit tough but good.

I ate 5000 calories today but I livestrong.com shows 5300 burned plus the 2800 I'm supposed to eat just to stay alive! So I'm hoping Ive eaten enough for tomorrows big cycle.

Great Bike

Went out for a good Ride today. The plan was 3 hours but with my long training session on Wednesday and Thursday I went for the usual 2 hours. So 35 miles in! I felt good afterwards.

I started out trying to go fast but my left leg reminded me that I have to take it easy. I ended up spending about 15 miles "coping" with it. It culminated on a hill where I was climbing up remembering all the bad things I have done to the point where I nearly stopped. I caught myself and started looking for positive thoughts. The finish line, the kids - that sort of thing, before knew it I was off and going fine again. By the end I wanted to go further but having a job really sucks some times! Oh right, that's what pays for me to do these things.

Dog report: Usual, stupid dog came out again. This time I tried cycling straight and it ran and stopped in front of me. I screamed at it a bit but kept going. Every time! It must do that to all bikes that go by raising a question of whether the owner is arrogant and stupid. Complaints will result in the loss of the dog.

Stiff day

I cant remember the last time I exercised on a Monday! I remember now why this is my day off. The goal was a speed workout but I knew that after the weekend it should be a recovery workout.

My knee was the deciding factor. Any speed involved twinges and stiffness so it was a mix of easy running and a fast last mile. HR was a factor too. It was up about 10 beats a minute as my body is tired from the weekend.

Swim went well, a couple of obnoxious swimmers and the usual oddballs walking round the pool. I'm trying to follow my friends instructions on head up, stomach in and the drills to help with position and kicking. The drills are difficult.

Better Day

I ran a half today at a 11 minute mile pace! I am very happy with that. I think I have a mini wall at mile 12, I ran through it this time and things got a bit better.

As I ran less than expected I went along to outdoor soccer and they were short a goalie so I played goal in the second half. Apparently you use your stomach muscles a lot when you run and also a lot when you punt the ball, that first kick out hurt! We were beaten 4-1 (I let in 1).

No swim today. I will be swimming tomorrow.

I have rehashed my training for the next week too. The next day off is Friday/Saturday and long run/swim is Wednesday, long cycle is Thursday.

C'mon!

What a day and really... what a week. This week has been plagued by the dreaded allergic reaction I had. I finally gave in and made this a rest week and will have to pull out some stops next week to get the training in and the Beer Fest.

So why so happy? I went out on the bike and decided to do a 50 mile Time Trial. Holy Moly! 18.3mph average on the bike. Where did that come from? I am improving and that makes me happy.

Small Bike ride

Well, what a rotten week. I have lost 2 days to this stupid reaction.

Last night didn't go well. I ended up taking some heavy pain killers to let me sleep this left me a bit out of it today. I went for a 16 mile bike ride in the afternoon and that's it. In my most desperate hour the doc really wasn't there.

There is nothing better than saying my discomfort is about an 8 out of 10 and getting told "Well lets wait another 24 hours", Huh? Really?

Here is hoping I can pick it up tomorrow.

Unexpected day off.

Well we got home around 12:30 from the E.R. and headed to bed. Kathleen and the kids had to pick me up. I was in better shape on the way home than the way there - freaky. So off to bed and I slept! Soaked everything with sweat and couldn't get up. I only got up at 8:30 to call the doctors and then off to their place of work. I started feeling better at 12. It was mental.

The rash is a bit better but I'm exhausted so hopefully tomorrow I can get back at it.

Happy Birthday Sharon.

Wetsuit time

Its my day off and I have been off my ibuprofen for a week so its time to get wetsuit on and see if I'm allergic. This is my first real day off work and exercise in 8 months. I get the wetsuit on in the morning - no problems. We go out for lunch and then head to Chatfield reservoir which is a lot cheaper than bolder. Can you believe you cant swim in Stadley lake as Westminster says its a health issue for drinking water but smelly, polluting, leaky motor boats are not. Tut, Tut Westminster.

Anyway I swim 100 yards, roll the suit down, play with the kids for 20 minutes, roll it back up and swim another 100 yards. This is around 3. I can honestly say I enjoyed the time there, maybe next summer we can get a BBQ, some friends and some 3.2% beer and hang out there for an afternoon.

So we got home around 4:30. By 5 I was itchy. By six I was red and itchy. By 7 I was a mess, red from chest to knees. By 8 I was shaking, burning, feverish and a bit out of it. At 10 I tried to go to bed but I was nauseous too. So no urgent care open so I'm off to ER.

As usual they took the first impression and I got the there is nothing wrong, until I flashed a thigh! By 12:30 I was focused and recovering. The one thing we agreed on was that we forgot a contingency plan for if it went wrong - doh!

So I'm still allergic to pressure! bugger I don't remember it being this bad! Kathleen agrees.

The dreaded long run and swim day.

Well this day is turning into the cant do day. I'm at the point now where I hate the mileage, its not fun anymore. I talk to Kathleen about quitting and how I cant do this but I'm still at it.

So 17 miles. Target 12 minute miles. So off I go at 11 minute mile pace as I really don't like jogging too slow as its too much thinking over a long period. I did the first 3 at 11 then dropped to 12 and alternated for a while. I hit mile 12 and started feeling awful again. This must be a wall or something. I stopped, I sat down, I started, I stopped, then I started walking. I walked 400 meters and started running again. I ended up doing this for the next 5 miles. So I did it and I did it in just over 12 minute miles. The last 5 miles were 14 minute miles.

So I did it. What does this mean? It means a re plan on running over 13 miles. I have never trained for anything over this distance, the body obviously remembers that distance and nothing more. Ill push for 19 next weekend as I have beer fest the week after.

Movies: The Sword and The Sorcerer - brilliant swashbuckler! Taken - fun.

The swim was a biggie! 3200yds. I did it and people commented I was so proud of myself. This weekend I did a 76 mile bike ride, 17 mile run and a 1.75 mile swim. Who does that? Well not me before!

Big ride!!

So its the 80 mile ride day. I ate a bagel last night and 2 bagels this morning and also some cheerios. Then I planned my food for the ride. 3 cliff blok packets (180 each) and 4 bottles of Accelerade for the ride. The plan was to replace the Empty bottles at Hudson gardens with new gatorade.

So I got 80 miles in I blew up a little at 30 miles and struggled for the next 46, I didn't make the 80. It was tough. I think it must have been a cross wind day. I cycled the first 30 into a headwind thinking on my return trip Id get a rest, not so! It was a killer ride and not in a good way.

So when I got home I worked out all my calories for the morning ride and breakfast. So for a stationary person to lose 2 pounds a week I'm looking at 2800 calories. I had eaten 3200 calories that morning. However I had to get another 5000 calories in for the day, no easy feet! I did eat a lot and felt better and probably managed 6000 on the day. We are working on increasing calories!



My speed was too low for the Ironman. Ill get it next weekend.

Run and swim and a good day off

I took my final mandatory unpaid day off today. I ran 4 miles at a 9:15 and 10 minute pace. It felt good. Then spent the day with the family which was great.

Swim went well too. 2000yds.

Bigger ride

It was a cooler day today and I forgot to charge my garmin so I went out around 12:30 which was fairly warm. It reminded me of early may. So I did the route a little different as I had to get in 35 miles. I headed up to the top as quick as I could and then did a few loops to get in 35 miles. I was tight on picking up David so I headed over there in full spandex. I felt like a poser! Anyway that added another couple of miles to the target.

I also decided to use livestrong for a bit to see if I can control my calories better. I ended up with 3000 calories for the day and estimated by the web site I should have got in another 2000! So I'm working on this a bit now. The rule of 1000 calories for breakfast is tough. After spending 5 odd years trying to limit my diet its hard to ramp it up!

Sprint Tri!

My plan for the day went well, kind of. I had to cycle to school 3 times today due to losing Isla's shoe on the first attempt. We didn't find it. So that's 10 miles on the bike.

A friend of mine is helping me with my stroke at swimming, I blew off my usual training to try this out. It worked great, there are a lot of things I am doing wrong and can be easily fixed. Looking forward to me next training session to bring in the improvements. This was tiring but well worth it.

Then there was the run. 8 miles. Brilliant. I haven't been using dailymile as much as I should but things have been hectic. The shoes worked out well, no blood, no new blisters and they definitely felt lighter. Life is grand again.