19-Week-Out Training Update

As of this past Sunday, the triathlon is 19 weeks out and I still need a pool to swim in. The YMCA seems to be a bit pricy so I might have to look elsewhere... possibly the West Orange Community Pool. By next week I'd like to have this little "issue" settled so I can really start locking in on training.

Today was a bit light - lift session this morning and a 20 minute bike ride this evening. I was able to maintain an average of 16 mph on the bike for the 20 mins and got in just under 5.5 miles. I'd like to get my average pace up around 18/19mph as I feel I could make up some time on this part of the race.

Starting next week I will be locking into a new diet from our gym nutritionist Laura. We will be taking some before pics and then updates every few weeks. Ever since my body building competitions last spring I have been finding it hard to focus on my nutrition so I'm hoping working with Laura will be able to realign me.

Tomorrow calls for sprints with a chance of a light run at South Mountain Reservation!

Now Playing - Moving Mountains - Tired Tiger

137 and Counting

So I did the math today, and as of this past Sunday we are 20 weeks out from the big day. Most training programs range from 20 to 16 weeks out. Within the next month we'll be really kicking it up. This also means I might have to join a pool earlier than mid June. Those are precious days to train and I really don't have much time to waste. A YMCA membership might be in the works.

Today's workout was rough and it seems like that is going to be a common theme throughout the next 20 weeks. My goal was to keep the legs fresh for tomorrow's speed workout so I wanted to focus on upper body today, and here is how it went:

• 15 Bent Over Rows
• 15 Overhead Presses
• 10 Pull Ups
• 15 Push Ups

- No rest between each exercise
- 2 mins rest between sets
- 4 sets total

After the circuit I biked just under seven and a half miles in 30 minutes.

Tomorrow I'll be repeating the fartlek workout form two weeks ago and possibly adding an outdoor run since the weather will be nice.

Now Playing - Set Your Goals - This Will Be the Death of Us

What the hell is going on?

First someone decides to bomb the Boston Marathon earlier this week, ricin letters sent to Obama and now a massive explosion in Texas. I'm thinking we are all looking forward to some good news and the weekend.

Last Sunday, I went for a five mile trail run on South Mountain. One way to sum it up - hills. It seemed like every turn we made, another hill was waiting for us. The trail running will help build up more ankle stability due to the fact you have to stabilize each step more because of the terrain. After I injured my ankle last October in NJ's Tough Mudder, it hasn't been right since. Therefore, I will have to work hard in getting it stabilizing well again. Click here to see the details of the run.

Monday night I got the chance to see Muse at Madison Square Garden. They played for solid 20-song set and rocked MSG - it was a good time.

With Tracy away this week, I repeated our sprint workout from two weeks ago just to try and build up some more endurance. Yesterday was tougher than the first time partly because I had to do my runs later in the day and didn't have as much energy.

Today calls for a short run in Verona Park after work followed up by a lift day tomorrow and rest on Saturday before another long run on Sunday.

Now Playing - Silverstein - With Second Chances

Say it with me now - "Fartlek"

Fartlek - which means "speed play" in Sweedish - is a training method that blends continuous training and interval training. Basically when you hear this word, prepare for a great workout.

Tracy wanted to work more on recognizing different paces and yesterday was identifying my 5k pace. The workout "only" lasted about 25 minutes, but it definitely left its mark. We started with a five minute warm up, then quickly went into a much faster pace (5k-pace) for six minutes. After the six were completed, we slowed it down to a much more manageable recovery-pace for two minutes - which happened to be the shortest two minutes of my life (and kept getting shorter). After recovery, back up to 5k-pace for four minutes; recovery for two minutes; 5k-pace for two minutes; recovery pace for two minutes; 5k-pace for two minutes; crying in the corner for two minutes. All in all, I felt good once the run was over, but drained.

Today is an off day so I'll be able to give my legs a little bit of time to rest. Friday lift, Saturday rest, and Sunday long run most likely on the trails of South Mountain Reservation.

Now Playing - White Zombie - More Human Than Human


149 Days until the Nation's Triathlon

151... And Counting

One hundred and fifty-one days out from the triathlon. We're finally experiencing some spring-like weather in the area, making outside runs much more enjoyable. This past weekend flew by and unfortunately I didn't get a chance to get out and get some miles in. Yesterday I ran a short two miles (17:32) around South Orange and everything felt good. Tracy has already warned me I'm not going to like Wednesday's workout so that should be interesting!

My workout plan for this week is looking like this:
Tuesday - Lift
Wednesday - Run
Thursday - Run
Friday - Lift
Saturday - Rest
Sunday - Run

We'll see if this week continues to go as planed.

April 15 - Muse at MSG
May 17 - Birthday at Medieval Times
May 19 - Skate and Surf
May 25 - Attack Attack! at Gramercy in NYC

Now Playing - Bring Me the Horizon - "Sleep Walking"

Feelin' It Today

Yesterday turned out to be a painful workout day. Tracy (my trainer) called for a speed workout and that's exactly what we did. After our warmup we made our way outside in the parking lot corner for the first part of our workout.  We found a slight incline and walked out about 150 meters and sprinted uphill... nine times. The reason? Speed workouts are going to help me reach a faster "race pace" and build up more endurance for the long runs. Although the workout was short, it left its mark. Moving forward I'll be including these sprints once a week.

The second part of the workout consisted on finding a "tempo" pace - the pace I'll use once a week to log a few miles while pushing my pace. This tempo pace would fall between my race pace and long-run pace. Still working on finding it and establishing it, but tempo runs will be present from now on as well!

Tomorrow I'll try to sneak in a run before Sunday's long run - stay tuned!

Now Playing -  Calvin Harris - Sweet Nothing

Weekend Recap

So this past weekend I needed to get my first long run, which in reality, wasn't too long. I went up to South Mountain Reservation and ran four miles at a very slow pace as per Tracy (my run coach). We want to establish and build upon a slow pace to help make even longer runs more enjoyable. Typically I would have tried to push a 9-min/mile pace and would have been gasping for breath at the end. This time I ran an average of 11:09 min/mile pace and felt like I could keep going for several more miles. So, mission accomplished.

This week I'll go back to lifting some weights in a full body circuit I wrote up as well as get some more miles under my legs and on the bike. Stay tuned for more details as we're only 158 days away from the triathlon!

Now Playing - Set Your Goals - Like You To Me

Setting a Pace

So yesterday I met with my trainer Tracy (yes, personal trainers have trainers of their own) and we established a long distance pace to train at. This is a totally new approach for me as in the past I would just run as fast as I could for as long as I could and just work on getting the miles under my legs.

The way we are tackling this challenge is through a smart approach (one I'm not familiar with). Yes I've done half marathons before and even a full, but they were never fun or enjoyable for me. It's time to change that. This weekend I'll be going for a nice, paced, long run in South Orange and work to maintain my pace time. It's significantly slower than what I have been running, but what I have been doing in the past hasn't been working well for me.

There are 163 days left before race day with no time to waste. For all of those celebrating Easter this weekend, enjoy!

Now Playing - La Dispute - St. Paul Missionary Baptist Church Blues

The Next 48 Hours

... Are going to be rough. Tonight my roommate and I are going to see A Day To Remember in NYC as part of the Right Back At It Again tour. Tomorrow I'm working from 5:30 AM to 1:00 PM with two half hour breaks in there and then scattered clients until 9 PM. Thursday is just as rough, but at least I get out early to spend some QT time.

Now Playing - Parkway Drive - Anasasis (Xenophontis)
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Today's Workout: 20 min bike (4.85 miles) followed by a 1 mi run (7:53).

What did I get myself into this time?

In 166 days I will be getting ready to cross off another item on my bucket list - my first triathlon. On September 8th, I will travel down to Washington D.C. to compete in The Nation's Triathlon at the Olympic distance. This physical challenge is unlike any I've done before. The race starts with a 0.9 mi swim, then goes to a 26 mi bike ride and then concludes with a little over 6 mi run.

So it seems like my days pumping iron will soon transition to pounding the pavement and strokin' some butterflies. This transition will take some time, but I'll e sure to document it all here.

Today's Workout - Abs and 20 min interval bike ride (4.77 mi)

Now Playing - Coheed & Cambria  - The Afterman