Cody the Clydesdale

"At the peak of tremendous and victorious effort, while the blood is pounding in your head, all suddenly comes quiet within you. Everything seems clearer and whiter than ever before, as if great spotlights had been turned on. At that moment, you have the conviction that you contain all the power in the world, that you are capable of everything, that you have wings. There is no more precise moment in life than this, the WHITE MOMENT, and you will work hard for years, just to taste it again."

July 30, 2011

training miles for July 2011

I've been doing my best to pick up my milage, but with me watching our 3 kids during the day while my my wife is going to school, painting the entire interior of our house, staining our porch & fence, & me working an average of 68 hours a week I've struggled to find the time this month- every month this year actually.

Last July I cycled 625 miles while still running almost 90. This month my bike miles is around 2/3's of last years and my cycling shows it too. The good news is my running is as good as it ever has been.

July's totals

bike
369.1 outdoor miles
113.7 indoor roller miles
482.8 total miles

running
88.3 miles

swimming
11,200 yards (6.36 miles)

July 27, 2011

My greatest ride, Sandia Hill climb!!

My cousin Greg came to visit from Lubbock TX. He said while he was here he wanted to climb to Sandia Peak. It's a 30 mile ride with 8'800 feet elevation gained and lost. I'd tried to climb Sandia once back in 2005 when I was training for the Silverman triathlon & it was a COMPLETE disaster. Today I climbed it with no problem at all!!! I felt great the entire ride.

I'd been invited to climb Sandia with friends a few times since 2005 & had always declined the invites. I was afraid to try that ride again. I've been afraid because of what a poor climber I knew I was. I realized I'm not the same caliber of an athlete as I was back in '05. My greatest fears as an endurance athlete was climbing, the Silverman triathlon, & the BSLT 70.3. I now realize I can do those feats! Those fears were based of a mental block that came from how I did when I 1st got into triathlon. But I now weigh 50 pounds less, I'm lighter, I'm stronger, I am smarter with my diet, & I train harder & more intelligently. I can do those things now. As a matter of a fact I can do GREAT at things like that now!

What's changed between that 5 year period that I struggled with my weight, my training, racing compared to what I can do now? I've turned more to God. In Him all things are possible. Philippians 4:13)
. He's blessing me because I've embraced Him.

July 18, 2011

unused sick and annual into retirement!

I just found out I can Build up my sick and annual leave and invest it into my Differed Comp retirement account! Looks like I have a great reason to start building up my leave!I found this on the Differed comp web site:

Invest Your Unused Sick and Vacation Days into Your Retirement Account
Do you have extra unused sick and vacation days this year and retiring soon? We hope you’ll consider doing one of the smartest things you can do right now – and invest these amounts into your State of New Mexico Deferred Compensation Plan.
People are saving less and living longer – a scary combination when thinking about your own retirement. So when it comes to making contributions in your account, every little bit counts. Here are some of the benefits to investing more into your Plan:
•
You can invest these amounts* in your existing tax deferred account and depending on your situation, adding these contributions to the Plan can be much simpler versus paying taxes and investing the after tax amount outside the Plan.
•
Your contributions and any earnings have the opportunity to grow tax deferred.
•
When you are ready to withdraw money, typically in retirement, your distribution options are very flexible. And your withdrawals are taxed as ordinary income.
•
Just by being a part of the Plan, you will continue to benefit from significantly lower fees and high quality investment options monitored by the PERA Board and staff.
* Subject to IRS limits
We want to help you make smart decisions about your retirement and the State of New Mexico Deferred Compensation Plan gives you smart choices. If you are not currently enrolled in the plan, you can sign up today and still invest your unused vacation and sick days into your account.
Every little bit counts! To enroll in the Plan, increase what you are contributing and/or make a one-time contribution from your unused sick and vacation days, call 1-866-827-6639 to speak with your local retirement specialist.

July 17, 2011

Stop partial paving

CALL TO ACTION

Please help BCNM work with NMDOT to remove the hazardous pavement
lip (VIA PARTIAL PAVING) that has been left in the brand new shoulder
on the High Road to Taos (NM76).

See www.BikeNM.org [2] for all the info you need on this issue!

PLEASE CONTACT:

Alvin Dominguez, Secretary, New Mexico Department of Transportation
(NMDOT) Alvin.Dominguez@state.nm.us [3]

Miguel Gabaldon, District Engineer, NMDOT District 5;
miguel.gabaldon@state.nm.us [4]

J. Don Martinez, Federal Highways Administration (FHWA), New Mexico
Division, johndon.martinez@dot.gov [5]

HERE IS YOUR MESSAGE:

NMDOT AND ITS FEDERAL FUNDERS (FHWA) MUST STOP ENDANGERING
BICYCLISTS IN ALL FUTURE HIGHWAY PROJECTS IN NEW MEXICO BY PAVING
SHOULDERS FULL WIDTH- NO MORE PARTIAL PAVING.

NMDOT AND FHWA MUST FIX THE SHOULDERS ON THE HIGH ROAD TO TAOS
(NM76) SOUTH OF TRUCHAS, AND MUST PROPERLY PROVIDE FOR BICYCLISTS, AS
REQUIRED BY FEDERAL AND STATE LAW, THROUGH FULL-WIDTH PAVING ON ALL
FUTURE CONSTRUCTION AND MAINTENANCE PROJECTS.

Please cc: the following individuals in your communication:

* Diane Albert, President, Bicycle Coalition of New Mexico at
president@bikenm.org [6]

Also please contact Diane if you are interested in working with your
local county commission to pass a resolution banning the practice of
partial paving on state highways and other roads in your county.
Currently, Diane is working with the Bernalillo county commission to
introduce a resolution similar to Sanat Fe County's resolution,
found at
http://www.bikenm.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=135&qid=12293 [7]

BCNM will continue to fight for better shoulders on the High Road to
Taos and roads throughout New Mexico. Thank you for your support!

_LIKE BCNM ON FACEBOOK! [8] REGISTER FOR THE TOUR OF THE RIO GRANDE
VALLEY! AT WWW.TORGV.COM [9]_

Striving to follow God's word & be debt free

1st off, thank you to Michelle & Chris. You're love & example has started this change in our life, & ultimately our relationship with God.

A little history before my story... My wife started going back to college last year. Our income was cut in half. We knew we were going to struggle financially, but knew once she graduated with a degree in nursing we would be better off in the long run. It's been a tremendous struggle.

Last week Michelle came to visit my wife. She gave us encouragement, some great advise, & some unexpected help. She told us it was God working through her. She moved us to make big changes in our life! Bigger ones than we could have imagined at the time. She mentioned a book called the Total Money Make Over by Dave Ramsey. My wife & I have both read it from cover to cover & have completely embraced all his principles to becoming debt free.

Most worldly people would consider Dave Ramsey's teachings radical & extreme, but his principles & ideas on how to become debt free radical are all biblically sound teachings.

Truth be told I had read this book a few years ago, but wasn't ready to give up or athletic competitions to become debt free. Since 2004 I've averaged no less than 15 multisport races, plus running, cycling, & ground fighting sporting events a year. I've spent a fortune on registration fees, fuel, hotel rooms, eating out, race gear, etc. A lot of my expenses are reimbursed from my amazing sponsor AFSCME, but it still took some family money to race as much as I did. It also took time away from work which decreased our take home pay. The last couple years God has been working on changing my heart so that I would willingly give up a lot of the extravagant things in my life to help my family become debt free. It took a long time, but He succeeded in convincing me that I had been living a worldly lifestyle that needed change. My family & I need to stop living in debt. No more credit cards! No more car loans! No more student loans! My wife & I feel the exact same, & since w are both willing & excited about this change, it is doable in our life. Anything is accomplishable in life when I have God & my wife by my side supporting me!

I'm not saying I'm giving up triathlons completely. God understands that I love the thrill of competition. I don't believe He is asking or expecting me to give triathlon up completely. I believe He just wants me to do it with God & my families well being 1st & foremost in my mind & heart. It took awhile, but I'm ready.

I'm willing to only race in as many competitions each year as we can afford, meaning I'll only race if we have extra money available to pay for the entire trip in cash. Before my wife stopped working & started going to college I could have raced A LOT under those circumstances, but now that we have 5 people living off my income we can't afford many races at all.

For the last year we have become a little more behind each & every pay period, we've become a little more in debt. God hates Christians to be in debt. There are a ton of scripture on God's feelings about debt & His people.

Rather than just give up on a few obvious things that will help us become less in debt we've decided to go to the extreme. We are tightening our belts in ways that would shock the average American. We're going to the extreme so that we can become %100 debt free. No loans in our name at all! The more extreme we are at not spending money, the more quickly we can pay off all our debt! I've decided as the head of our family I should lead by example, so I'm setting more restrictions on myself than is requested of the rest of the family, although they've agreed whole heartedly to embrace all these changes as well. Want to know how extreme we are going? Until all our credit cards & vehicles are paid off I/we are going to:

- (me) I've read on the net that each cup of coffee I make at home costs 25-30 cents. For decades I've drank at least 9 cups a day. I drink more coffee than 9 cups on a long work shift, trip, or late night date with the wife, or practically any excuse I can come up with to drink more. If I cut out all coffee from my life until we pay off all our Credit Cards & vehicles I'll save $81 a month (.30 cents per cup X 9 cups a day X 30 days a month= $81 a month).

- (me) limit my racing to 2 local sprint distance races a year until we have completely paid off all our credit cards & vehicles.

- (All of us) No more eating out, we're cooking at home & bringing food with us when we go out.

- (all) No more buying expensive food at the store. If it's not a relatively inexpensive food, has a coupon, or is on sale we aren't buying it.

- (me) No more destination races, trips or vacations.

- (me) no more money spent on vitamins, proteins, & supplements until all credit cards & vehicles are paid off in full.

- (all) if we don't have enough extra cash after bills to buy it, it's not being purchased.

- (all) if it's not a necessity we aren't buying it. We have more in our house than a lot of Americans, we don't need any more.

- (me) I'm going to continue to ride my bicycle to work no matter how hot, cold, icy, rainy, or snowy it is; ok, I already do that. But I plan on continuing it!

- (all) We're only buying food that's cheap, we have coupons for, is on sale. No more expensive breakfast cereals, Pop-Tarts, pricey cuts of meat, etc! Like Dave Ramsey says in his radio program, "beans & rice rice & beans!"

There's more that we are doing, but to keep today's blog post from becoming a novel I'll stop there. I'm sure you get the picture.

My family & I can't wait until we can call the Dave Ramsey show & yell, "We're debt free!" Contrary to how most people feel a life free of debt IS POSSIBLE! We plan on becoming debt free before my wife enters nursing school. Watch & we'll prove it!

Here are some of the scriptures found in the bible to show what we are doing is what God wants us to do:

Scriptures about debt:

Exodus 22:14

If a man borrows anything from his neighbor, and it is injured or dies while its owner is not with it, he shall make full restitution.

Deuteronomy 15:6

For the Lord your God will bless you as He has promised you, and you will lend to many nations, but you will not borrow; and you will rule over many nations, but they will not rule over you.

Deuteronomy 28:12

The Lord will open for you His good storehouse, the heavens, to give rain to your land in its season and to bless all the work of your hand; and you shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow.

2 Kings 4:7

Then she came and told the man of God. And he said, "Go, sell the oil and pay your debt, and you and your sons can live on the rest."

Psalm 37:21

The wicked borrows and does not pay back, but the righteous is gracious and gives.

Proverbs 22:7

The rich rules over the poor, and the borrower becomes the lender's slave.

Proverbs 22:26-27

Do not be a man who strikes hands in pledge or puts up security for debts; if you lack the means to pay, your very bed will be snatched from under you

Striving to follow God's word & be debt free

1st off, thank you to Michelle & Chris. You're love & example has started this change in our life, & ultimately our relationship with God.

Most worldly people would consider Dave Ramsey's teachings radical & extreme, but his principles & ideas on how to become debt free radical are all biblically sound teachings.

- (me) limit my racing to 2 local sprint distance races a year until we have completely paid off all our credit cards & vehicles.

- (All of us) No more eating out, we're cooking at home & bringing food with us when we go out.

- (all) No more buying expensive food at the store. If it's not a relatively inexpensive food, has a coupon, or is on sale we aren't buying it.

- (me) No more destination races, trips or vacations.

- (me) no more money spent on vitamins, proteins, & supplements until all credit cards & vehicles are paid off in full.

- (all) if we don't have enough extra cash after bills to buy it, it's not being purchased.

- (all) if it's not a necessity we aren't buying it. We have more in our house than a lot of Americans, we don't need any more.

- (me) I'm going to continue to ride my bicycle to work no matter how hot, cold, icy, rainy, or snowy it is; ok, I already do that. But I plan on continuing it!

There's more that we are doing, but to keep today's blog post from becoming a novel I'll stop there. I'm sure you get the picture.

Here are some of the scriptures found in the bible to show what we are doing is what God wants us to do:

Scriptures about debt:

Exodus 22:14

If a man borrows anything from his neighbor, and it is injured or dies while its owner is not with it, he shall make full restitution.

Deuteronomy 15:6

For the Lord your God will bless you as He has promised you, and you will lend to many nations, but you will not borrow; and you will rule over many nations, but they will not rule over you.

Deuteronomy 28:12

2 Kings 4:7

Then she came and told the man of God. And he said, "Go, sell the oil and pay your debt, and you and your sons can live on the rest."

Psalm 37:21

The wicked borrows and does not pay back, but the righteous is gracious and gives.

Proverbs 22:7

The rich rules over the poor, and the borrower becomes the lender's slave.

Proverbs 22:26-27

Do not be a man who strikes hands in pledge or puts up security for debts; if you lack the means to pay, your very bed will be snatched from under you

July 16, 2011

Striving to follow God's word & be debt free

1st off, thank you to Michelle & Chris. You're love & example has started this change in our life, & ultimately strengthening our relationship with God.

Most worldly people would consider Dave Ramsey's teachings radical & extreme, but his principles & ideas on how to become debt free are all biblically sound teachings.

- (me) limit my racing to 2 local sprint distance races a year until we have completely paid off all our credit cards & vehicles.

- (All of us) No more eating out, we're cooking at home & bringing food with us when we go out.

- (all) No more buying expensive food at the store. If it's not a relatively inexpensive food, has a coupon, or is on sale we aren't buying it.

- (me) No more destination races, trips or vacations.

- (me) no more money spent on vitamins, proteins, & supplements until all credit cards & vehicles are paid off in full.

- (all) if we don't have enough extra cash after bills to buy it, it's not being purchased.

- (all) if it's not a necessity we aren't buying it. We have more in our house than a lot of Americans, we don't need any more.

- (me) I'm going to continue to ride my bicycle to work no matter how hot, cold, icy, rainy, or snowy it is; ok, I already do that. But I plan on continuing it!

There's more that we are doing, but to keep today's blog post from becoming a novel I'll stop there. I'm sure you get the picture.

Here are some of the scriptures found in the bible to show what we are doing is what God wants us to do:

Scriptures about debt:

Exodus 22:14

If a man borrows anything from his neighbor, and it is injured or dies while its owner is not with it, he shall make full restitution.

Deuteronomy 15:6

For the Lord your God will bless you as He has promised you, and you will lend to many nations, but you will not borrow; and you will rule over many nations, but they will not rule over you.

Deuteronomy 28:12

2 Kings 4:7

Then she came and told the man of God. And he said, "Go, sell the oil and pay your debt, and you and your sons can live on the rest."

Psalm 37:21

The wicked borrows and does not pay back, but the righteous is gracious and gives.

Proverbs 22:7

The rich rules over the poor, and the borrower becomes the lender's slave.

Proverbs 22:26-27

Do not be a man who strikes hands in pledge or puts up security for debts; if you lack the means to pay, your very bed will be snatched from under you

July 15, 2011

The 2011 Santa Fe triathlon

I was very excited about this years Santa Fe triathlon. The Santa Fe tri is a really well put on event. I was particularly motivated because last year I had a break through performance & I was excited to see if I could beat last years PR that I had set. I was so excited I registered for this event the day registration opened. As motivated as I was to race this weekend I've decided to sit this race out.

This whole week I've been exhausted. I've needed a couple more hours a day of sleep than I usually need to function I'm groggy & yawn all day no matter how much more sleep I get. I've wanted to eat more too, I'm not sure if that's because my body is needing more food because my metabolic rate has increased or if it's because I'm tired & I have a tendency to turn to food for emotional & physical support. I'm definitely a food addict, but I haven't yet figured out if I'm wanting the extra food this last week & a half for physical or emotional reasons. I believe the reason all this exhaustion & hunger has popped up is two-fold:
1) I started a new & intense swim program with a local masters swim club
2) I just entered the build phase of Ironman training & am starting to add some higher intensity training to my workout regimen while still training long Iron distances.

After much thought I've decided my body is too tired to race at the Santa Fe triathlon this weekend. I could have raced & then skipped a few Iron specific workouts to allow my body to recover & heal, but my main goal is Ironman Arizona. I don't want to take anything away from my Iron training, not even a couple days. I'm to OCD to feel comfortable with skipping workouts for a race that takes 7 months to train for.

There is another very big reason I'm not racing this weekend. As any triathletes know, triathlon is an incredibly expensive sport. The bikes, tires, tubes, chain, shoes, heart rate monitors, GPS units, power taps, internet training logs, Gatorade, Power Bars, Power Gels, swim club fees, gym fees, travel expenses, hotels, fuel for vehicles, eating out, & coaches (I'm actually self coached right now, but most triathletes are coached), etc. My family & I are making some really big life style changes this week. I'll address our new financial & lifestyle changes my family & I have just recently adopted in another blog post. Most who know me will be shocked about what's to come. I'm shocked. I'll give you a couple words as a hint: Dave Ramsey.

To be continued.........

July 12, 2011

Whey protien in my Gatorade

I personally believe that a little protein (the 4:1 ratio of carbs to protein is often mentioned) is good for me on a long, hard ride or run. And it is well-established that some protein immediately (or as soon as possible) after such a ride aides recovery in that it "jumpstarts" the process of repairing the "microtears" in the fibers of the muscles that did the work. Reduces soreness and stiffness and reduces the time for me to recover completely from four or five days to one or two.

Normally when the body burns up all the carbs it can, your body will start burning fat, but can also burn protein.

Protein also accelerates the rebuilding/healing of muscles, which means less or no muscle soreness.

I think there is some controversy if the protein added really helps DURING the effort--but I don't think there is doubt that it helps greatly in recovery AFTER the ride.

Accelerade is a little to expensive for my tastes. I've been adding whey protein to my Gatorade. For me it seems to work better than Gatorade alone & as well as Eccelerade. I stick to the 4:1 carb to protien mix.

July 11, 2011

Post swim fatigue

I've noticed after masters swim class I'm tired & can't push myself nearly as hard cycling or running as I can if I was working out fresh. I believe I've found yet another of my weak points in triathlon. I've been trying to work on this by doing my running & cycling immediately after my swims. I'm beginning to wonder if I'll ever feel better working out post swim!

Today I swam 2950 yards then ran for 45 minutes with 5 minutes in zone 4. I felt tired. Just maintaining a zone 2 pace was a struggle. Thankfully I realized I need to practice my post swim fitness now while I still have a little over 4 months until my Ironman.

July 08, 2011

Masters swimming torture session 2

On Wednesday I swam with the masters swim group for the 1st time. I swam farther than I ever have before in a training session. The only times I've swam farther was my 2 Iron distance triathlons.

Today I showed up after having rested-only running, no swimming- Thursday. My lats & arms were still sore & fatigued.

I tried my best to keep up but failed miserably. I was slow- even slower than usual- & I kept cramping. The others in my lane were very understanding & kind about my lack of speed & endurance. After an hour of swimming I only finished 2650 yards.

Even though I suffered I had a blast! I got beat up so badly in the water, I'm not sure if I can finish my brick today. It's been years since any workouts have hurt me like this. If I keep this up I suspect I'll be a beast in the water in no time at all!

July 07, 2011

masters swimming

Last month was the 1st time I started practicing my swimming since my youngest son was born in Oct 2009. I have my babies with me while my wife goes to school during the day & the day care at the pool won't watch my babies until they are 2 years old. For the last 21 months I never practiced swimming but was still able to maintain an average of a 6:15-6:40 swim in a sprint distance triathlon.

Although I've never been considered a particularly great swimmer, I think swimming is the event in triathlon I have the strongest natural ability for. I've never taken any swim lessons or swam with any groups or individuals. What I do in the water during races has been completely self taught.

For years I've wanted to get into a masters swim group. Since I work nights I couldn't find any where in Santa Fe that had a masters swim group that fit into my schedule.

I found out through a fellow triathlete that there is a masters swim group that meets Mon, Wed, & Fri's at the Salvador Perez pool here in Santa Fe! Yesterday was my 1st time swimming with them. I swam farther than I normally do on my own with faster splits. I got out of the water tired, but very motivated. I'm looking forward to seeing what will happen with my swimming now that I'll be practicing 3 times a week & have a masters swim coach to help me with my form.

While swimming with the masters I swam with a local Santa Fe'an named Lee who qualified for Kona while at IM St George. He finished St George in 9:56! I was thoroughly impressed! I'm glad I'll be able to be swimming with him. Hopefully some of his speed will rub off on me.

July 06, 2011

Northern New Mexico wild life

Today while on a bike ride I saw a badger outside of Galisteo New Mexico. There was a coyote trying to kill the badger. He'd stalk it for awhile then the coyote would attack. There was blood on both sides of the badgers neck. I tried to take a picture of it but my phone has a pathetic camera. pWhen I approached the badger the coyote ran away, & the badger was REALLY angry. He kept growling, hissing, & he tried to charge me, so I figured the picture I took was poor, but it was going to have to be good enough. I had no desire to fight a badger mid bike ride.

I get to see the coolest things while cycling in New Mexico.

July 05, 2011

qualified for the USA triathlon Age group national championships

I got great news from USAT! I qualified for the 2011 USA triathlon Age group national championships! I had qualified at the Dog House/Buffman & Squeaky triathlon where I finished 3rd place overall. I'm VERY excited & wish desperately I could race at the USA AG national championships, but there's absolutely no way I could come up with the money to go to Vermont where the race is being held this year.

The email was as follows:

Congratulations Cody Hanson, you have qualified for the 2011 USA Triathlon Age Group Nationals after your finish in the BUFFMAN & SQUEAKY AND THE DOG HOUSE SPRINT ranked among the top 10 percent.

USA Triathlon congratulates you on qualifying for the 2011 USA Triathlon Age Group National Championship on August 20 in Burlington, Vermont. The USA Triathlon Age Group National Championship is the nation's premier Olympic-distance event with the top age-group athletes from all 50 states and the District of Columbia, forming one of the most prestigious fields in the sport. Also, athletes from each age group will qualify to represent Team USA at the 2012 International Triathlon Union World Championships in Auckland, New Zealand next October.

Space is limited and we expect this event to sell out.

For more information on the 2011 USA Triathlon Age Group National Championship and to register, please visit www.USATNationalEvents.org

Questions? Email NationalEvents@usatriathlon.org

July 04, 2011

The Storrie Lake triathlon 2011 race report

Last weekend I competed in the 1st annual Storrie Lake triathlon. The longer it takes me to post a race report, the worst my performance was, & it took a long while to post this. My performance was horrible.

I was traveling a lot the 2 weeks before the race while still training hard. The 4 days before the race I worked 2 twelve hour & 2 16 hour shifts. The day before the race I got mandatoried for a totally unexpected 16 hour shift. I was having to hammer a bunch of coffee during that shift to stay awake, which made me really dehydrated. When I woke up at 2 PM I was horribly dehydrated but still had to do a 1 hour run. Running while dehydrated in the heat of the day was a really bad idea. By the time I got home from my run my stomach was upset & I was tired. I just wanted to go back to sleep, so I did. If I was thinking I would have stayed up awhile longer to drink a few glasses of water. I didn't. Not good the day before an Olympic distance triathlon.

The race started out with a 2 loop 1500 meter swim. The wind was blowing hard from the get go. The waves were huge for such a small lake, & the water was very choppy. Surprisingly I still PR'd the swim with a 33:33.

I'd asked a couple of the volunteers & one of the RD's if they were handing out bottles of fluid at the half way of the bike, they said yes. I started the bike already thirsty & dehydrated but still hoping to have a break through performance on the 26 mile bike ride. By the quarter mark of the bike I had finished off my 22 ounce bottle of Gatorade & was starting to cramp up from dehydration. At the turn around of the bike I had been out of Gatorade for quite awhile & was really looking forward to getting a new bottle (or 2) of ice cold Gatorade. Turns out there was no bottles of fluid handed out on the bike. They were only handing out 4 ounce cups. By that point 4 ounces wasn't enough to wet my teeth. I was not happy. Shortly after the half way point each time I tried to speed up my legs would cramp. By the the end of the bike I was so dehydrated my stomach & legs were a mess. I didn't want to stop my race, but knew I was risking injury or sickness if I continued. So like any hard core triathlete I racked my bike, threw on my Zoots shoes & continued with my race.

At the 1st aid station of the run I grabbed 2 small cups of fluid, 1 of Hammer, 1 of water. The minute I slammed the 1st cup I immediately vomited it back up. I thought it may have been a fluke, so I tried to drink the 2nd more slowly. But after I drank the 2nd one I threw up again. At that point I knew I should have stopped racing, but I continued because I'm race retarded.

At each & every aid station I tried to drink a little, but after each one I threw up anything I drank, no matter how little I drank.

The 1st 2 miles of the 6.2 mile run I walked. My body just couldn't handle anything faster than a walk. Miles 2 through 4 I was able to jog at a decent pace, but still couldn't run. I'm not sure why, but my I was able to push myself pretty hard on miles 4 through 6.2 even though I was so dehydrated I was beginning to see spots & feel light headed enough that I wasn't able to run in a straight line anymore. On miles 4 through 6.2 I kept a 7:30 per mile pace. I know those numbers sounds fast, but it was mostly down hill, so it's not nearly as fast as it sounded.

I was hoping to finish the 1st annual Storrie Lake triathlon in under 2 hours 40 minutes, but I only did it in 2 hours 58 minutes. I finished in a slow time, but I consider finishing a huge accomplishment.

July 03, 2011

Body weight fluctuations

A low body weight is imperative to being a fast Iron distance triathlete. The last two times I trained for an Ironman I kept dieting until I was miserable with hunger, then promptly fell off the diet wagon & gained all my weight back. I've decided to start a maintenance diet from here until Ironman Arizona.

I've started the build phase of my training plan, so I need my energy to recover, build fitness & speed. Being at a caloric deficit would hurt my Iron dreams. My current weight on my home scale is 186.8 pounds. Thanks to the great advise of a few of my Face Book buddies like my wife & James Webster I'm hoping my weight on race day will be 186 pounds.

I know I've posted things similar to this before. But it's different this time. Before my goal had always been to maintain for a short while so that I could start losing weight again as soon as I felt physically able. This time is different because my goal is to maintain. I'm staying at this weight for the next 5 months!

Thanks to the wise advise of my beautiful wife & James Webster, this is the one of the few intelligent decisions I've made in regards to my weight. Thanks guys.

July 02, 2011

monthly miles

Jan 2011
bike 160.2 miles
run 107.5 miles

Feb 2011
bike 210.6 miles
run 57.8 miles

March 2011
bike 262.8 miles
run 59.1 miles
swim 375 yards

April 2011
bike 415 miles
run 74.3 miles
swim 1968 yards

May 2011
bike 289.9
run 83.9
swim 6593.5 yards

June 2011
bike 346.5 miles
run 87.6 miles
swim 3827 meters