Weigh-In Wednesday

253.8 lbs

41.3% Fat

I've been deciding on some goals for 2010. One of those goals, as it applies to weigh in Wednesday, is to get down to 225 lbs. My ultimate weight goal is 200 - 210 lbs, but I am a realist, and 225 lbs is realistic.

I have set other goals that will help me attain my the weight loss goal. I have set a goal of doing 5 triathlons next year (4 sprint and 1 Olympic).

In order to accomplish this without causing myself injury, I am joining the Atlanta Triathlon Club. They do a lot of group activities (rides, runs, and swims), and help you set up a training schedule that fits you.

I am exited about the prospect of 2010, fitness wise. Love life and work wise, not so much.

Fort Mountain State Park

It had been a while since I've been to Fort Mountain. In 2007 Buddy and I hiked the Lake trail, Tower trail and Big Rock trail (see October 2007 post). Later that year we did a group hike and only did the Lake and Big Rock trails. Most of the hikes Paws on the Path (my facebook hiking group) does are about 3 to 4 miles, and are easy hikes. that means I often will go further and harder when possible (not with the group, or scoping out a trail as a possible group hike).


Last week I asked my sister if she wanted to hike this past Saturday. She said yes, but she wanted to try somewhere new (that's why everything that follows is her fault). She originally wanted to try Mistletoe State Park, but because I had done it not that long ago, I suggested Fort Mountain (still her fault).

When we got there (2 hours from Atlanta) the road to the top was closed because the power company was fixing fallen power lines (this should have given us a clue as to what was in store for us, but it didn't) (slowness runs in my family). We decided to climb to the top of Fort Mountain on the Gahuti trail. We figured we could do the west side up and back (estimated 6 miles) and if we felt good we could do the Tower trail (estimated 1 mile). If we did the whole Gahuti trail it would be 8.8 miles.

It was to be a nice bright sunny day (it was), and the temperature was to be in the mid 40s (it wasn't). It was about 36 degrees when we left Atlanta, and about 34 degrees when we got to Fort Mountain (didn't take into account the effect of elevation on temperature) (once again my sister's fault, she went to college, she should know these things) (once again, slow). Luckily we brought winter jackets.

We started off on the Big Rock trail because the Gahuti trails intersects it. As I've said, it's been a while since I've been here, and the last time I was here the Big Rock trail followed a dry waterfall you could climb. It is not dry anymore.

Pat in front of the dry waterfall

Once on the Gahuti trail we started to climb tight sinlgetrack. I love hiking singletrack most of the time, but when you have steep drop offs, and a big clumsy Great Dane trying to pass you, it can be sketchy. Besides the drop off and the impatient Dane, it was icy, wet and leaf covered. Do you know what you get when you have this combo? Me sprawled out on the trail, twice (twice seems to becoming a theme of my discomfort).

This may have been bad enough, but it was to get worse. Christmas eve we had a storm blow through (and I mean blow). The trail was littered with debris, and had three impassable trees laying across it. You could not go over or under the trees, you had to go around them. Remember the steep drop offs? Yes, going around them meant off-roading down the drop off.

The Trail

After the second impassable tree, my sister decided we were not going back down the west side. She didn't care if we had to do the whole 8.8 miles. But, once we were at the top of the Mountain she started worrying about time. So I broke out the map and decided the best trail to take, that was not the trail we came up, was one of the Mountain Bike trails.

So we headed down the mountain on the 302 mountain bike trail. At this time a year the trail was empty of mountain bikers, and was a wide double track. the only problem I had with it was it was not as well marked as the Gahuti trail. This made it a little confusing as too which direction to go when the trail met the 301 and the 303 trail. We made it back to the car in about 3 and a half hours,tired and cold. I would tell you how far we went , but using the Garmin watch with gloves doesn't work too well (I accidentally stopped it around the 3 mile mark).

All in all I had a good time, even with the bloody knee from one of my falls. I would recommend the Gahuti trail, but not as a winter hike. I will go again sometime and do the east side of the trail.

Happy hiking.

P.S. I bought a great shirt at the park office. It says, "Hike faster, I hear banjos."

My New Phone Service

Works well at the coffee shop too.

No Hunting

During my recent sojourn to Alabama on the Silver Comet trail, I came across a No Hunting sign along the side of the trail. This got me wondering, is there a problem with cyclist riding around with rifles and shotguns strapped to their backs. And, if there is, how do you tie down a deer to a Schwinn. The other thing I started to think was what if the sign was trying to tell hunters not to shoot cyclists. The trail does run through rural Georgia, so you could get hunted down for wearing spandex.

A piece of advice, if you are going to ride in the rural south, invest in a Dale Earnhardt Sr cycling jersey. It will minimize the amount of empty beer cans that are thrown at you. This philosophy will work in the inner-city also (but not with a Earnhardt jersey). Invest in a Michael Jordan cycling jersey, and it will minimize the amount of empty malt liquor cans are thrown at you.

Happy cycling, and be safe out there.

The Story of Simon

Recently I’ve been in touch with friends from my Coast Guard days (Facebook). Because of this, I’ve been called a name I haven’t heard in a while, Simon. When I was in the coast Guard I went by Simon. Simon is not my first or middle name. It was my nickname.

I got the nickname when I was stationed in New York. A bunch of friends and I were sitting around drinking. We started going around say who each other look like. When it came to me, they said I looked like Simon LeBon and/or Simon the chipmunk (round glasses and all). They started calling me Simon, and as new people joined us they thought my name was Simon. My friends thought it was funny and kept calling me Simon. Thus I became Simon.

For the four years I was in the Coast Guard I was call Simon. Even my family called me Simon. I didn’t go back to my real name till I returned to civilian life.

I wish all my readers a Merry Christmas to you and yours.

I Rode Kennesaw Mountain - Twice

I rode up Kennesaw Mountain twice yesterday, and almost puked both times. It has been a while since I've done any hill work. I really haven't ridden hard for a while. Even the 30 mile Silver Comet ride from Graves Rd to Alabama and back was not hard (it sucked, but was not hard).

It started out the same as it always does, within 200 yards of starting I was in the smallest gear; and huffing and puffing. My Heart Rate (HR) was in the mid 160 range (that is above 90% of my Max HR). I was tired and nauseous when I got to the top.

Going down is a blast. The only problem is that their is a 25 MPH speed limit. This means you have to ride the brakes. The minute you let them go, you are over 30 mph. Even with the speed limit it was still fun.

You would think that after being so tired and nauseous I would not try it again, but I have the attention span of a gnat. The old saying "Stupidity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different outcome." applies here. Once again HR above 90% max, tired, and nauseous.

Even though I have not enjoyed climbing Kennesaw Mountain, nor have I ever enjoyed it, I have made it a 2010 goal to be able to climb it 4 times. Like it says, "Stupid".

Pull

This is the sign that the aquatic center uses to tell people that you have to pull the door. I think it is great that they have a sense of humor. I am amazed that nobody has raised bloody hell about it (especially with special ed swimming classes being held there). I guess the people in my county also have a sense of humor.

Weigh-In Wednesday

I am OK with this. At last Sunday's GRRA Christmas party they made me take home a apple pie and half a cheese cake. I brought the pie into work, but scarfed down the cheese cake. Had I known I would have been bringing home the cheese cake, I would have asked a couple women out. I'm not saying that because women love cheese cake (they do), but because after I got shot down I would have an excuse to eat a half of a cheese cake (at least a better excuse than it is in the house).

Silver Comet - Graves Rd to Alabama

The ride from hell, or at least purgatory. One of my goals for 2009 was to ride all of the Silver Comet trail. I had been breaking it up in 15 mile sections (this gave me 30 miles per trip). Last month when I was off from work I was going to finish it up the last two trips, but it rained most of the second week and I only got one trip in. So I had the last 15 miles to complete my goal. This past Sunday I completed it, and it sucked.

I like the silver Comet trail; it is a fast flat trail, or so I thought. Did anyone know it had hills (seriously, anyone). I'm not talking about the 3% grade I've been use to, it started out with a 200 foot climb in about a 1/8 of a mile. That is steep, Kennesaw Mountain steep. The rest of the ride was rollers (rolling hills). All in all, about 2000 feet of elevation gain.

Normally there is an upside to climbs (no pun intended), downhills. On downhills you can catch your breath, and build up enough momentum to carry you part way up the next hill. Not today. The trail was trashed. Water washed over the trail like little streams (you don't want to get wet in 30 degree weather, cold and wet is not a good combination), and debris from recent rains left the trail littered with branches, sticks, pine cones, and other crap ( you don't want to fly through debris because that is a real easy way to meet the pavement). So it was slow going in the beginning.

The next section was through Cedertown. This part of the trail is joined together piecemeal by the local streets. This means a lot of stop and go through town. This wouldn't be to bad if it was a nice town like Rockmart, but it's not. It is a run down town that the graffiti on the side of someones house announced "Ceadertown is the new gangland" (great, just were I wanted to ride a $4000 dollar bike through).

After Cedertown it opened up to a relatively flat and debris free area. But, it was windy, and I got blown all over the place (not as much fun as it sounds). SIDE NOTE: I hope there is a special place in hell for weathermen. The weathermen said the clouds would burn off by noon, they didn't. They said the temperature would climb to the mid 40s, it didn't. They said the wind would subside, it didn't. What other job can you be wrong all the time, and not be fired. Still slow going.

After the relatively flat and debris free area I entered the tree lined uber debris area. For a couple of miles the debris was so thick you couldn't see the trail. The trail had sections with the debris 2 inch thick. It felt like I was mountain biking or doing cyclecross. What made it feel even more like this is that it had it's own log crossing (if you could call it that). The log, that extended into the muddy forest both ways, was up to my arm pits. If I wasn't only a couple of miles away from completing my goal, I would have turned around. Instead I climbed over the log with my bike. If you don't cycle, you probably don't know about cycling shoes. Cycling shoes have slick plastic soles that a cleat (the part that attaches to the pedal) is screwed into. Climbing over a log in these shoes is probably like climbing over the log in high heels shoes that have had the heal broken off. SIDE NOTE: If you are a dude and you don't cycle, but you knowingly said "Uh huh" to the last statement, you need to turn off the Oprah and turn on some sports center.

Debris and Log

Two miles after the log I was in Alabama. I had made it, and now I had to go through the the whole trail of suck in reverse order (Yah!). It took me 2:30 to do 30 miles. That is slow. I usually do the Smyrna to Hiram trip (it is 30 miles) in 1:45 to 2 hours (depending on how hard I want to push).

Chief Ladiga

Alabama/Georgia State Line

Insurmountable

This sounds like a conversation I've had with my friend at work.

My Truck

My truck is always a mess. There is a few things that are almost always in it. I almost always have a bike or two and the things that accompany the bike, i.e. helmets, cycling shoes, pump, etc... I usually have a gym bag with me. In it is both cycling clothes and running clothes. In the winter I have a jacket, sweater, or sweatshirt; or all of the above (in case it gets cold), and in the Summer I will have a change of t-shirts (in case I get to sweaty). I keep my bag of swimming gear in the car (fins, kick board, pull buoy, goggles, and assorted workout sheets). It doesn't make to much sense to keep taking it out , if I'm just going to go swimming again in a day or two.

As you read above you may be thinking that all I do is work out, but on closer examination you would find some non workout stuff. I will always have something to read whether a magazine (I subscribe to bicycling, mountain biking, and runners world) or a book. I eat out alone a lot (ahhh!), and it's good to have something to keep yourself occupied so you don't notice people staring at you (you are eating alone you loser). I also have dog stuff in the truck. You can almost always find dog biscuits (you never know when you need to make friends with a dog, and they're good to carry on rides and runs because of this). I also developed the habit of keeping the dog's leash in the truck. They use to jump in the truck to go somewhere any chance they could. I still keep the leash in there, even though Buddy is gone and Allie is too old to do anything. Habit I guess. Last but not least, I have a mess of fliers and junk mail. Because my garage is not attached to my house, I tend to leave the mail in the truck were it collects (and many times overflows). In case you have just started reading this blog I will fill you in on something the people that have been reading it know, I'm a bit of a slob (let the sisterly heckling begin).

8 Days Till Christmas

It's only 8 days till Christmas, and I feeling pretty good. But, that could be the pain relievers.

Weigh-in Wednesday

248.4 lbs

41.8% Fat

As an award for breaking the 250 mark, and for having to put another hole in my belt, I bought myself a wetsuit. It was 50% off, and I want to get started on the whole triathlon thing.

Slow

Boy am I slow. In more ways than one. The other day I was chatting with my niece, and it came up that she ran a 5K the past weekend. I asked her how she did, and she said she was slow. She said she did it in 38 minuets, but she was dressed up as a Christmas present.

Here is were we get the first example of me being slow. I ran 5 miles yesterday after work, and it took me 1 hour and 15 minutes. Just to tell you how slow that is, my sister mocked me. My sister!

 

The second example of my being slow happened last night and today. Last night while I was in my garage I noticed my old helmet. I’ve been meaning to put it in the truck so I can wear it when I also need to wear my beanie (it is a loser fitting helmet than my current one). My hands were full, and I had locked the truck and put the keys in my pocket. Instead of digging the keys out and putting the helmet in the truck, I put it on the roof (the roof is eye level, I will see it). This morning as I left for work I did not see it (probably because it is 5 o’clock in the morning, and pitch black in the garage). I got to work and went in side, not seeing or thinking about a helmet. The only reason I am thinking about it for this blog is that as I got in my truck to go home (actually go to the coffee shop) i saw my helmet wedged in my roof rack. It survived a 30 mile drive on the interstate at 70 mph (I know that's not very slow driving).

I guess that not only am I slow, but I’m lucky. Well you know what they say, “Un-lucky in love, lucky in not losing your back-up helmet.”

Things I Found Amusing

Thank God!

I love that it is quoting the Book of Revolutions (not Revelations).

The real reason I’ve lost weight since Buddy passed.

Besides getting a check from him for being out of work, this would make me vote for Obama.

Some signs just get it right.

Who knew Canadians have a sense of humor.

I just thought this was funny. It might be funnier in July, around the Tour.

Maybe I need to take the winter off.

Pay Day

I got paid last Thursday. It was a whopping $86.75. That is because I had to take a week of un-paid furlough. Luckily I prepared for it (sold vacation back to the company, and socket it away), and yesterday I received 3 checks. My refund from the cancelled triathlon, $355.00 from unemployment (did you know you could get unemployment for one week furlough), and $25 from President Obama for being out of work (no wonder people love him, he is like that Uncle that gives you money every time you see them).

I'm Not Letting the Winter Get Me Down (Yet)

I signed up for a winter swim class. It is Adult Stroke Development Advanced. It runs for 6 weeks on Saturday. I will miss 1 class due to work, but that will be OK. I will get the workout from the coach and do it at the hotel pool.

I've done some hiking, cycling, swimming and running lately. I find that if I am having trouble motivating myself, I can buy something to help me focus. Examples Hiking - new socks - hiked Mistletoe State Park, Cycling - new helmet - riding Silver Comet and BMHM Lunch Loop, Swimming - goggles and class - swimming laps, & Running - new winter jersey - trail ran the Bell Bomber Loop and A.L. Burress trails.

I had been thinking about buying a treadmill, but the other day I used my sisters, and I couldn't wait to get off it. It sucked so bad, I would rather be cold and wet.

So my plan for the winter is to swim alot ( the pool is heated) and wear layers when outside.

With Friends Like Mine

Today I got insulted. I was talking to a friend of mine as we were heading out to lunch. As we passed my truck, the conversation went something like this...

John - Your lucky you don't have a silver Xterra.

Me - Why?

John - You know the woman that was abducted down in McDonough. The one that was taken along a highway while she was on her cell phone.

Me - Yea.

John - They are looking for a creepy guy in a silver Xterra in conjunction with the abduction.

Me - Oh.






Me - Hey!

My friend smiled and chuckled. With friends like mine, who needs enemies.

Weigh-In Wednesday

My weight fluctuates 5 lbs from week to week. So you would think a 2 lbs difference from 2 weeks ago would not be a big deal. But, when I looked down I didn't see the scale saying 252.6 lbs. I saw it saying...

... so I did. I ran 2.5 miles after work at A.L. Burress park.

Back at Work

I am back at work today. It wasn't too bad of a day. Most of my time was consumed by e-mails (over 300 e-mails). It took me till noon to go through them (most were junk and a waste of time).

At lunch I needed to get out of the office, so I went for a ride. Today's ride (the same lunch time loop I always do) was both great and sucked at the same time. It was great because it had been over a week and a half since I was in the saddle, and it sucked because it was cold. One of the bad things about this cold was that I am going to have to go to North Dakota in January, and I know today wasn't really cold. They have a name for this type of cold in North Dakota, it's called Spring.

I am hoping I can accomplish something during the rest of the week, but I'm not holding my breath. I already have 2 four hour meetings scheduled.

GRRA Adoption

I just got back from the GRRA adoption. I handled Skip (his foster couldn't make it). Skip was a owner turn in; they could no longer financially take care of him. He came to us with a thyroid problem and missing 80% of his hair. With medication and time he is doing much better (see picture below).

Skip

Today may have been Skip's day. Three families want to adopt him. Congratulations Skip.

Trizophrenia

I just finished reading Trizophrenia: Inside the Minds of a Triathlete. It is a very funny and relatable book (even if I'm not a triathlete yet). The only thing I didn't like about the book was the footnotes. Although they were often laugh out load (LOL) funny, they where distracting because you had to go to the bottom of the page, and then back up to where you left off (which I would often loose the spot). I much prefer the use of parenthesis (incase you didn't notice).

Weigh-in Wednesday

I know I'm back over 250, but you have to admit 1.2 lbs is not bad considering I had a big Thanksgiving dinner on Thanksgiving, another on Sunday, and Monday leftovers.

Mistletoe State Park

Trail Map

Mistletoe State Park is located about 2 hours east of Atlanta, located on 72,000-acre Clarks Hill Lake near Augusta.

The Cliatt Creek Nature Trail Loop starts across the street from the park office and parking lot. It is a wide (easy to walk with a dog) trail, and because it is manly a new growth pine forest the trail is bright. This may not be great during the summer, but it made for a very comfortable hike this fall. The trail is about 3.75 miles long and would make for a good group hike. It is well marked with white blazes.

Cliatt Creek Nature Trail

About a quarter of the way through the Cliatt Creek Nature Trail you will come to a intersection for the Rock Dam Trail. This is a longer harder trail (6.25 miles). Because I was alone and without a dog, I decided to take this trail.

The trail starts off with a creek crossing. I was glad to have waterproof boots on, because the creek was too wide to jump. I went up and down the creek till I found a good place to cross (only one boot got wet, and it didn’t go too high on it). On the map I received from the office, it listed some points of interests (see map above): a rock outcropping that is part of Stone Mountain, his and her oaks, a rock dam (where the trail gets its name), split rock, sitting tree, the Devil’s Gorge, and a Vista. Because the points of interest weren’t marked, it made me look for them.

Creek Crossing

The first item was easy to find. The trail crossed the rock outcropping. It amazed me that this was part of Stone Mountain, because it is so far away.

Rock Outcropping

The second item was harder to find. I actually went past it, and had to back track. The his and her oaks were two huge oak trees surrounded by pines.

His and Her Oak Trees

The third item was the rock dam. At first I thought it was a bunch of boulders at the end of a dry creek bed that you hike through. It wasn’t. The rock dam was a large piece of granite across a creek. This creek was another crossing, and you can use the dam as a bridge (be careful, the water makes it slippery).

Rock Dam

The only thing that made finding the forth item difficult was that there is a lot of boulders around. I would stop and look for what could be considered a split. When I didn’t find one I would continue on. The split rock was actually right on the trail, and easy to see why it was called split rock (even with all the leaves covering it).

Split Rock

I had a little difficulty with what the fifth item was. I thought I had found it when I saw a tree surrounded by rocks, but when I walked past the real sitting tree, a little further up the trail, I knew immediately.

Sitting Tree

You would think that the sixth item, the devil’s gorge, would be easy to find (it actually was), but I was not sure what they meant by gorge. This area was clear cut in the late 19th early 20th century, and used for farming. Because of this, the land is scared with cracks and crevices, but the minute you come up to the devil’s gorge you know it.

Devil's Gorge

The last item was the vista that wasn’t much of a vista.

Vista

Even with no more items of interest on the rock dam trail, it was a nice hike with a section going by the lake.

The rock dam trail ended with another creek crossing back to the Cliatt Creek Nature Trail . Instead of getting my feet wet again (this hike had numerous creek crossings), I crossed the creek by using a fallen tree as a bridge.

Fallen Tree (Bridge)

Once back on the Cliatt Creek Nature Trail a took it back to the park office and my car. All in all, a very fun, not too strenuous, long hike. I would recommend it to anyone looking to do a 3 to 4 hour hike, but remember they wear waterproof boot.

Weigh-in Wednesday

Boo Yah! I know it is only .4 lbs under 250, and I will probably be back over 250 lbs by the end of the week, but I can still say I am under 250 (for now).

Long Time No Hear From

It has been a while. Since I last blogged I got a new Director of Maintenance at work, and he has been piling work on my boss. And, you know what they say, "S#!t rolls down hill." Lately I've been buried at work. Because of this I haven't been able to blog when I get in, and if I stay late on my own time to write on the blog, my boss will grab me to do more work. So I haven't been able to blog at work.

I haven't been able to blog at home because my computer has been glitchy lately. It often doesn't let me use the letter "M", or if it does it puts it in word as I am typing. So I haven't been able to blog at home.

If you are asking how am I blogging now, your answer is I have a new computer. Let the blogging begin.

MY TRIATHLON

If you have been reading this, you know I've been training for my first triathlon October 11th. Let me tell you how it went. It didn't.

In late September we received alot of rain. When I say alot, I mean alot. My triathlon was cancelled because all the rain caused rivers and creeks in the area to overflow and wash away roads and bridges. Two bridges along the bike route was washed out (one is still out).

I was bummed that the triathlon was cancelled, but I decided that I was going to test my ability anyway. On October 11th (the day I was suppose to do my first triathlon) I started my day by swimming 1850 yards at the aquatic center. My transition was not like a normal triathlon. From the aquatic center I drove to the Silver Comet trail head in Smyrna to start the cycling portion my test. I rode from Smyrna to Hiram and back (30 miles). Once again my transition was not normal. I drove to Lockheed to do the run portion of the test on the Bell Bomber Loop. The loop is 1.25 miles, so I did 4 laps (5 miles).

Even though this was not a normal triathlon it proved I could do it. My first triathlon was suppose to be a sprint triathlon. This consisted of a 400 yard swim, a 13 mile bike ride and a 3.2 mile run. Being I went further in all the disciplines, I think that offsets the driving to the transition area.

WEIGH IN WEDNESDAYS
Even though I've not posted the weigh ins I've done, it doesn't mean I haven't been doing them. I am still floating between 255lbs and 250lbs. I have not been able to break into the 240s.

SWIMMING
My swimming class ended in early October, but my coach and I still meet on Tuesday nights to do laps. I am doing well. I started a new workout to improve my endurance. It is called a countdown and it has kicked my ass:

550 yards (22 laps) /w 20 seconds rest
450 yards (18 laps) /w 20 seconds rest
350 yards (14 laps) /w 20 seconds rest
250 yards (10 laps)/ w 20 seconds rest
150 yards (6 laps) /w 20 seconds rest
100 yards (4 laps) / w 20seconds rest
50 yards (2 laps) / w 20 seconds rest

Each set you are suppose to speed up.

RUNNING
Normally I switch from cycling to running after the time change, it just gets too dark too early to be on the bike, but I haven't yet completely switched over. I have started running on Mondays after work, but that's it.

CYCLING
The rain has curtailed my riding. I've been able to get a couple of 30 milers in, I've gone up Kennesaw Mountain a couple of times, and been able to get a few lunchtime rides in; but that is about it.

Weigh-In Wednesday

Weight 251.0 lbs

Fat 39.3%

My calf strain is healed up, and I'm back in the saddle again (literally). Yesterday was the first day back doing any activity. I rode the bike during lunch, doing 10 easy miles (kept my Heart Rate below 130 bpm). I also swam laps last night, doing 1800 yards.

Belated Weigh-In Wednesday

For the last couple of weeks I've been plateaued. My weight has fluctuated between 250lbs and 254lbs. I haven't worried about it too much because I know weight loss goes in cycles, and I was amping up for my triathlon. Unfortunately, last Tuesday while swimming, I had a leg cramp that was so bad, it strained my calf muscle.

I'm going to the doctor today, because I've been limping around for the last three days. Hopefully I can start back on the exercising soon, and still do my triathlon on October 11th.

Training

It has been a while, so I will catch you up. I’ve been swimming, running, and riding.

SWIMMING
The Saturday of Labor Day weekend I started a new swimming class. I had asked Coach Bob if he could do an intermediate class. One that is more advanced than the Adult Stroke Development class that I took with him before. I wanted a class that focused more on endurance, than technique.

Coach Bob came through. On September 5th we started Adult Stroke Development II class. The first class was just me and Coach Bob, and he kicked my ass. Below is the work out:

Warm Up
1. 50 yards Freestyle
2. 50 yards Freestyle with Pull Buoy
3. 50 yards Freestyle Kick
Ladder
1. 25 yards Freestyle w/ 15 second rest
2. 50 yards Freestyle w/ 15 second rest
3. 75 yards Freestyle w/ 15 second rest
4. 100 yards Freestyle w/ 15 second rest
5. 75 yards Freestyle w/ 30 second rest
6. 50 yards Freestyle w/ 30 second rest
7. 25 yards Freestyle w/ 30 second rest
Kick
6 laps kick (w/ board and fins)w/ 15 second rest between
Timed
50 yards Freestyle
Cool Down (Easy)
200 yards Freestyle or Breast w/ 1 minute rest between 100 yards

I continued doing this work out the following Tuesday and Thursday. On Thursday I had a breakthrough, I discovered gliding between strokes. So the following Saturday I kicked ass.

The following Saturday (the one I kicked ass in) we had a couple of new swimmers. One of the reasons I say I kicked ass is that I kept up with, or beat the new swimmers, and they were using fins. The other reason is that I was able to do the whole workout (pretty much the same as above) without any problem. I continued to workout Monday and Thursday, doing the same workout, but cutting down my rest.

This Saturday we increased a bit (but not enough for me to write down the new workout), and added a couple more swimmers. I did well enough to decide I am going to double the above workout distances during my workouts this week. You know what they say, “Whatever doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger”.

RUNNING
I can’t say I’ve been running a lot, but I did run the KP Corporate Challenge 5K again this year. And, I ran it in 37 minutes and 9 second. That is about 7 minutes faster than last year.

RIDING
I was going to run the Labor Day 10K Classic, but I missed the registration cut off (they didn’t have day off registration). I decided to do the Share the Road Challenge instead. I decided to do the 50 mile option.

The ride started in Smyna at Atlanta Cycling and ran through Vinings, Six Flags, Douglasville, and Fairburn. This was the longest ride I’ve done on a bike, and it was the hilliest. I discovered I am not in good enough shape to hang with the enthusiasts, but I am in better shape than the recreational riders. That left me in a no man’s land between the two groups. For most of my group ride, I was alone. I finished the 50 miles in 3 hours and 37 minutes (this included a SAG stop for fuel (cookies, bananas, and Gatorade) and a potty break.

Two days later I attempted Kennesaw Mountain again. About 20 yards in, I knew it was not a good idea. I had not recovered from the 50 miler or the swimming. To say I felt weak is like saying the Empire State Building is just a building. I was in my smallest gear in no time. Even as tired as I was, I set my goal as to make it further than last time (1 mile) without stopping. Instead, I made it all the way to the top (I love my new bike).

If you are wondering why the increased activity, well it is only 3 weeks till my first triathlon.

New Bike

Last Saturday, I ordered a new bike. Before I went to look at bikes I had to decide what type of bike I was going to get. I had been wanting a full suspension mountain bike, but I don't go mountain biking that much anymore (it takes too long to heal). I also was thinking about a triathlon bike, as you know I am doing my first triathlon this October, but I have no idea if I will like it.

A road bike seamed to be the logical choice, but what type of road bike? I am not a racer, but I want something that I can use in a triathlon or charity ride. I am not a commuter, but I want something a little more upright ( as a fat guy, I have trouble riding in that tight aero crouch), and easy to get in and out of.

I decided on a category of road bike called "Plush". After reading Bicycling Magazine's editors choice article, I decided to take a look at the Giant Defy Advance. I located a dealer (Roswell Bicycles), and went to check them out. At the dealer, the salesman recommended the Specialized Roubaix because it was beefier (salesman speak for "you are a big fat guy").

I test drove the bikes and decided to get the Roubaix. Unfortunately the didn't have any of the XXL frames in stock, and the warehouse only had the test model in my size (always painted a different color). Because Roswell bikes is such a big shop, and because it was the end of the month; the warehouse let them sell the test model (the test model is red this year, thank god, last year it was purple, and I wouldn't have bought a purple bike).

So they ordered me a new bike, and I waited. I remember a Christmas when my parents bought me a new metallic green Ross (Stingray style) bicycle. They had it hidden in the garage, and I knew it. I was so excited, and racked with anticipation. The bike was all I could think of. That is the way I felt for this bike. I felt like a little kid waiting for Christmas again.

Wednesday the bike came in and I made a appointment for Thursday to be fitted. On Thursday I skipped lunch so I could leave early for my fitting (I figured I could pick something up on the way). Unfortunately, because of Atlanta traffic, I didn't have time to get something to eat. No biggie, I could get something before I met up with Buddy at the Silver Comet.

Shopping for new shoes and pedals (I bought Shimano road shoes and Speed Play pedals (that probably means nothing to anyone I know that reads this)), and getting fitted for the bike took a couple of hours. Trying to get someone on the phone from Bank of America to allow me to pay for the bike took another half an hour ( I think they kept me on hold so I couldn't even go down to the local branch and get cash).

After all was said and done, I was running late, and had to rush to get to the Silver Comet (that meant no food) to meet Buddy.

We had decided to do a easy 30 miler (Buddy's easy is my intermediate to hard), but within 5 miles I knew I was in trouble. I was already exhausted , and was having trouble keeping my heart rate (HR) down. I was doing everything I could to stay with Buddy.

Buddy was kind enough to cut the ride back to about 25 miles. At the half way mark we stopped and I ate some power gel. It didn't help much, I was cooked.

We continued back at a good pace. at about the 5 mile mark, some guy passed us, and Buddy looked like he was about to explode. I told him, he could attack if he wanted. With that, Buddy was gone.

Shortly after Buddy attacked the guy, I attacked the guy. I was trying to keep Buddy close, more than attacking the other guy. I used the other guy to press even when I was on the verge of cracking (if I slow down, the guy will pass me). At the one mile mark I was done, my calves were cramping and my HR was in the 170s (my max is 174). I could not maintain the speed anymore. I slowed my pedalling expecting the guy to pass me at any second, but he didn't. Buddy reached the parking lot about 2 minutes before me, and I pulled into the parking lot about 2 minutes before the guy. I had cracked him (yah me) much like Buddy cracked me (booo Buddy).

In the parking lot, we met up with a few friends, and decided to go to Jim and Nick's for dinner (finally, food). I ordered a Pig in the Potato Patch. It is 1 and a 1/2 loaded baked potatoes covered in pulled pork. I was so tired I was only able to eat half of it.

Today I felt drained all day, but I still decided to ride during lunch. I wanted to see how my new bike feels on my lunch time ride as compared to my old bike. The ride started off well. Even though I was tire, I attacked the hills. The roubaix climbed well. I climbed the hill doing 15 to 13 mph (I only do 11 to 8 mph on the old bike). On the decent the roubaix was slower, but felt more stable. On the second lap I went to a low gear and kept my HR low. This bike seams to be made for climbing. On the third lap I was experimenting with shifting (the Ultegra components shift like butta) when I got a flat. Because I haven't transferred everything over from my old bike, I was tubeless, tool less, and CO2less. Luckily I was not phone less.

So far, I like my new bike.

Weigh-In Wednesdays

Today

251.8 lbs

36.9% Fat

Last Week

252.8 lbs
38.2% Fat

Kennesaw Mtn

I am going to try a new thing on Wednesdays. I am going to do hill (mountain) work.

After I did my practice Tri, I needed to work on my hill climbing. One of the best work-outs for hills are steeper hills. That is why I rode up Kennesaw Mountain last Wednesday, and why I plan to do it this Wednesday.

I told one of my riding buddies that I was going to do it, and his advice was to use my gears. He must be insane, because by the first 100 yard I was in the lowest possible gear I could be in, and their I stayed.

It is about a 1.5 miles to the top of the mountain. That means it is a steep 900 ft elevation gain to the top. I had to stop at the 1 mile mark and catch my breath before I finished (I plan on making it all the way the next time). After a brief rest and some water I was on my way again. All in all, it took me 15 minutes to get up the mountain, and 4 minutes to get down (there is a speed limit that is enforced).

I basically had my Heart Rate maxed out on the way up. It was the first time since boot camp that I wanted to throw up because of exercise.

P.S. My Weigh-In Wednesday for last Wednesday: