24 weeks to go

24 weeks to go.  That is what I wrote on paper last night.  24 long, difficult, quit filled weeks to go.  Lot's of things are happening.  April 7 will be here so soon. 

April 7 is the Texas Ironman.  It isn't a full Ironman, that may or may come one day.  It is just a half Ironman.  70.3 miles of challenge.  168 days to ready myself for this kind of competition.

I came to the conclusion that this can be done.  I have done a lot in the last 10 months.  I have lost a lot of weight.  i pushed my way through a couple of small triathlons.  I showed myself that I can accomplish things that I previously thought were impossible.

So why not a 70.3 mile race?  I can think of so many reasons to not do it.  It is hard.  It will be painful.  It will take discipline.  It will suck to train for.

But there are so many reasons why I should do it. 

I keep those close to the heart.  I keep them deep inside so when I want to quit, I reach down for those reasons and I keep going.

241 miles of running.

1045 miles of riding.

39 miles of swimming.

49 weightlifting sessions.

77 Brazilian Jiu Jitsu classes.  Oh, Yeah.  I started taking Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.  It is an incredible workout.

That is what it is going to take to make this happen.  It all starts tomorrow.  I won't see the saddle of a bike until the first week of December, doctor's orders.  I won't see the pool until the first week of January.

When it is all said and done I should be at a race weight of around 230.  That would be sophmore in high school kind of weight and would put my total loss at 135 lbs in 16 months.

This will really put me into a good place.  I have 6 or 7 other triathlons that I have already picked out for next season, and my Tough Mudder. 

And the Jiu Jitsu thing, it takes 8-10 years to become a black belt, so that is a new part of my life. 

ian

Preparing the menu

So along with all these lofty athletic goals comes a better and healthier way to eat.  I have pretty healthy numbers according to my doctor, which is a lot better than they were back 2 years ago.

My numbers from my doctor: 

• Total cholesterol 192 (Under 200 is ideal)
• Triglycerides 80 (Under 150 is target)
• HDL cholesterol (good) 58 (Over 55 is ideal)
• LDL cholesterol (bad) 118 (between 100-129 is ideal)
• Glucose 86 (between 70-99 is target)
• AST liver enzyme 30 (8-48 is target)
• ALT liver enzyme 15 (7-55 is target)
• Potassium 4.9 (3.7-5.2 is target)

The levels are according to the Mayo clinic (google).

So to keep these numbers there I examined what I was eating.  while I had pretty much eliminated the crap from fast food, I still had hidden crap, like granola bars and fat free yogurt.  So I am changing up what we eat in our house for dinner to not that much fanfare.  The salmon went over well last night, but the wild rice and broccoli casserole (no cheese or butter) did not go as planned. 

Today it is baked chicken breasts, roasted tomato slices and black beans.  The black beans have jalapenos, onions and garlic in them, and it is my first attempt at beans of any kind, so needless to say this will be an adventure.

Cannot wait until bison chili on thursday.

Much to the dismay of my wife and daughter I am eliminating the processed, boxed food that they are so very used to.  And it is killing them on day 2.

ian

I think I just made myself sick

Haven't worked out in 2 weeks. Check.

Had surgery within those 2 weeks. Check.

Doctor told me to take it easy for a few weeks. Check.

Ignored what doctor told me. Check.

Feel like I am going to throw up after my workout this morning. Check.

I have to get back in a routine.  I have to fight past this.  I have to eat my eggs now.

ian

And so it begins...again

I am going to do it.  I am going to do things that months ago I thought were impossible.  I am going to go out and prove to myself that I can do it.  What is it?  I have a list...I have a plan.  Of course I have had so many plans in my life, so many, too many to count.  I sometimes shake my head and wonder what happened to all those plans.  But recently some of those plans have panned out.  Some of those plans have actually come to fruition, much to my disbelief. 

When i crossed the finish line of the Bridgeland Triathlon, I held in tears of joy, or accomplishment, or something like that.  I had taken my sunglasses off somewhere during the run that morning because the sweat was hitting the glass and it was irritating to look through.  But when I turned that corner and saw the end in sight, just hundreds of yards away, I had to put them back on because I had emotions swelling inside of me.  Joy.  Happiness.  Sense of pride.  call it what you want but it was a feeling that I thoroughly enjoyed.  I enjoyed it so much that I went to Disney World. 

When i passed the finish line in the Houston Triathlon, and actually passed people doing it, that joy was back. 

Now I have a plan.  I want to get better.  And then I had surgery.  The details suck, but I cannot ride a bike for the next 5 weeks, and I cannot start training until tomorrow morning.  And train I will.

I have a list of things I want to accomplish this next year.  I have 5 months to get ready.  The list needs to be put on paper, and it needs to be done.  Will I accomplish them, I think I will.  I think it will get me ready for 2014, which will get me ready for 2015.  If the Mayans are not correct, then the next few years will be huge.  I am going to cap 2015 with a full Ironman, 140.6 miles of pain, adreniline, joy and pride.  But I cannot get to the top of the ladder without the first rungs.  So here are the first rungs of 2013:

1. MS 150 - Houston to Austin bike ride that is not 150 miles, but actually about 178 miles.
2. Kemah Olympic Triathlon
3. Kona sprint triathlon
4. Bridgeland Sprint triathlon
5. Houston Olympic triathlon
6. Katy Triathlon
7. Pflugerville Triathlon
8. Houston Half Marathon
9. Monster Mash 15 k
10. Tough Mudder Houston

Tough Mudder looks to be the new triathlon in my sites next year.  It is a 10 mile obstacle course with ice water swims and electricity involved.  It looks fun.

But to get there I still have some things to acconmplish.  Here are the things that are going to get me to those goals:

1. 17 week training program for running.  This will get me to the 13.1 mile mark and get me ready to run.  I hate running, this starts tomorrow.
2. 17 week training program to develop core strength.  If the words planking bring to mind pictures of people laying on tables on the internet, then this is not for you.
3. December brings 25 mile bike rides twice a week.
4. January brings 35 mile bike rides twice a week.
5. February brings 40 mile bike rides twice a week.
6. March brings 50 mile bike rides once a week.
7. Swimming starts in March, regardless of water tempature.  Thousands and thousands of meters a week.
8. Run, run and run.
9. A new menu consisting of no more "health" foods.  Protein based, healthy menu.
10. Hutting my target weight of 220 lbs by March, 48 lbs to go.

This starts now.

ian