This, That, and What-Not

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So it has been a pretty crappy weekend...

Friday night I stopped at the gym on the way home to get a swim in (gotta get ready for the race in September) and I had just finished 300 yards and the lifeguard grabs my arm and tells me they are closing the pool due to lightening and thunder so I leave the gym and head home and pop in the feel good documentary of 2006 The Bridge (see review on my other blog) while planning my morning 15 mile bike ride. So after waking up at 5am(I really need to remember to turn off the alarm clock) and rolling over and sleeping until 7:30 when I finally got up and headed out the door on my ride. A mile or so into the ride the front wheel started making noise again so I turned around and came back to the house and spent the next 2 hours or so trying to figure out what was wrong using the book on bike maintainance I bought to try and work on the front brake calipers needless to say I had no luck so it is going to the shop tomorrow. I then putzed around the house until about 3 and went to the gym and did 50 minutes on the Crosstrainer and 30 minutes in the pool then came home.

This morning I got up early again and loaded music from my desktop onto the laptop so I can sync it with the Ipod. I then headed to the gym and did the 9:30 am Spin class. I walked in and the lady who liked my class thought I was teaching and was disappointed when I told her I was just there to take the class. I think I am going to start going to the Sunday morning Master's Swimming again at 8:30 then run up to the Spin class so I can get used to the Swim to Bike feeling. After that I left the gym and went to Barnes and Noble to look at the new Bible I just ordered......
I looked at some other books but this one looked the best and has some good reviews .

While I was in line for Dark Knight I started to pick songs for my Spin class tomorrow night. I had a list almost done but I decided that since I was having a crappy weekend the least I could do was to take it out on them. Currently have 48 songs I need to get down to about 16-18 which is usually an hour. It is going to be a anaerobic interval workout...I can't wait...now if I could just find my watch for my heart rate monitor. I'll try to remember to post the set list tomorrow. I was going to go in the Spin room and work on it but I got to the gym late and I wanted to get a swim in which didn't happen. One, I wasn't feeling it and two I was sharing a lane with "floppsy mcflops alot" and I was against the wall. So I did about a 500 and called it a night.

So I go to the doctor this week about my knee which should be fun...things just keep getting better...NOT!

well to bed with me sortly got to teach in the morning also...

Time To Get Serious...

***Warning this post contains pictures that may frighten small children and may cause queasiness and projectile vomiting***

So one thing I have had to deal with all my life has been my weight. I never was skinny or even "in shape" until my senior year of College. Growing up I remember trying Weight Watchers and never really having much success. Recently I have had some successes but I always end up back at the beginning. People tell me I look fine now but I know how I feel and it was evident last week during the race that I have let myself go and it is time to get back on track and stay on track. Yeah I have been fooling myself that I had been trying hard to get the weight back off before the race but I was really fooling myself.

Early Pictures

Senior Year of High School

The College Years:
People talk about the "Freshman 15" well I think I had about 20 mainly due to the fact that I was coaching youth basketball and was ordering out every night after practice since I missed dining hours. My Sophomore and Junior years we not much better since I was the league director and had more responsibilities to handle. My senior year I decided I was sick of feeling like crap so I would go out and exercise when I was not in class, studying, or doing other activities. I started out that year close to 300lbs and was around 215lbs when I graduated.

Jr Year

beginning of Senior Yr

College Graduation

So after graduating from college and after graduate school did not pan out I was working 2 part time jobs and going to the YMCA when I could but I gradually began to put the weight back on. This trend continued until the end of my second year of graduate school two years later.my second year of grad school, I was coming off of having my back surgury and it was obvious I was not going to be able to finish my Poli Sci MA in the 2 years because I had a whole sememter of work from when I was out having and recovering from the operation. I probably started the summer around 220 and was down to a nice 190lbs by the beginning of the semester. At this point I was in the gym working out with my friend who was an amauter boxer. I was feeling great about how I was looking.


Well at the end of the year I thought I would be finishing my second masters and moving on to bigger and better things...which did not happen. I ended up back home working a crappy job and I was going to the YMCA again but I did not have that motivation that I had before.
When I returned to WVU to finish my last semester I tried to go to the gym on a regular basis but was more focused on finishing my schooling. By Christmas I was getting back out of shape and not having access to the WVU rec center did not help even though I tried walking or jogging but I hurt my knee again so I had to put the stop to that. When it got to be warm enough I started trying to get back into rollerblading but I was just so worn out by the end of the day since I was substitute teaching.

Two years ago (almost to the the day) when I moved to Albany I was waaaay out of shape.
A few months after moving to the area I joined the YMCA and was consciously trying to drop weight. I changed my diet started working out at the gym religiously. I was 244 lbs when I joined the gym on that November and started my 2-a day workout session and really had gotten into shape. At the end of 3 months I had lost a total of 32lbs bottoming out around 200 before I broke my wrist last summer and basically gained everything back. I tried to continue SPINNING but having to use a sling just put so much stress on my back that it was not fun. Also before the accident I was on a schedule (which some called insane) of being able to get up and making it to the 5:30 am SPIN classes at the gym and then go back and do the evening class...well hydocodiene sure knocked that train off the tracks. Once I got the cast off I still had ~2 months of PT which was exhausting and painful.

Since then it has been a roller coaster of starting to get in a groove of working out and backsliding. But now it's time to get serious about the whole thing especially if I am going to be doing races.

Pictures

So I have received a few pictures:

Pictures of the lake

Race Day!!

Me with Fellow Tri clubbers

Ready to swim while shamelessly self promoting

Makeshift run belt

With fellow Tri clubbers after the race

Put Me on a Wheaties Box...

Play That Funky Music, White Boy....

For me music is one of the most important parts of a Spin workout. Having done Spinning classes for over a year now, I have taken classes that have used a variety of types of music…some are good and some, well not so good. For me, choosing the music for a Spin workout is probably one of the hardest parts of putting together a workout. I like for the song to match up with the workout I have planned. One thing I enjoy about teaching SPINNING is that I get to choose the music that gets played. I think part of it is that growing up I was a music buff and I told my parents I was going to be a radio DJ when I grew up and had to get a job( I think the other was a professional comedian). Now during my Freshman year of college I did train to be a DJ with the college radio station but after I finished and was certified I got so busy with classes and other activities that I never really pursued it any further. Now that I am a Spin instructor I can "DJ" to a semi-captive audience.

So the other night I was subbing the evening class at the gym and the workout was supposed to be a reenactment of the Pinebush bike route and I was just going to "go with the flow" on the music since I use my Ipod instead of burning a CD every time. Now I appriiciate most music…not a big fan of Rap or current Top 40 music, I tend more towards the current "Alternative" music plus the 80's and 90's cheese music holds a dear place in my heart (have ~2 gigs of 80's and 1 gig of 90's music currently on my Ipod).

So we were a over half way through the class and as we did the ride I told the class about my experiences during the triathlon. I was doing a recovery and the song I chose was Dinosaur Jr -Feel the Pain, yeah not a widely known song but a nice low key song for a recovery. About half way through the song one of the students said "You need to play happy songs"…so I found a happy song (Jump Jive and Wail – Brian Setzler Band) on the Ipod then proceeded to embarrass myself by finding the cheesiest songs in the collection.

So I subbed again this morning and spent an hour and a half last night putting together an Endurance ride with the following playlist:
Tarzan's Boy –Baltimora (80's)
Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots - Flaming Lips (2000s)
Land of Confusion – Disturbed (2000's)
All Over You - The Spill Canvas (Current)
Can't Get Enough of You Baby – Smashmouth (90's)
Goin' Down to New York Town - Counting Crows (90's)
Future's So Bright I Got to Wear Shades - Timbuk 3 (80's)
Pork & Beans – Weezer (Current)
One Step Closer - Linkin Park (2000's)
You Get What You Give - New Radicals (90's)
Rescue Me - Hawthorne Heights (New Release)
I Want A New Drug - Huey Lewis and the News (80's)
We Can Be Heroes - The Wallflowers (90's)
The Underdog – Spoon (Current)
Great DJ - The Ting Tings (New Release)
And We Danced - The Hooters (80's)
Swing Life Away - Rise Against (Current)
Country Roads - John Denver (70's)* probably going to be in every playlist

So it's a bit schizophrenic but it was a fun playlist…hmmm better start working on the playlist for Monday night…thinking Interval Workout

Triathlon = $$$

Apparently this did not post last night...
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So back in January when I first talked to Lisa (Group Exercise director and Tri-Club coach) about the possibility of doing the Pine Bush triathlon little did I know that Triathlons were the Rich Man's Sport. Since the beginning of the year I have spent money on the following preparing for my race:


SWIM GEAR
2 Swim Jammers - $14.95 each $29.90
1 pair Speedo Goggles : $10.55
SWIM TOTAL: $40.45

BIKE GEAR
1 Fuju Newest 2.0 Bike $885.00
1 Bike Helmet $ 40.00
1 pair of Shimano Clip Pedals $ 53.00
1 pair of Bike Gloves $ 16.00
1 Bike Tire Pump $ 26.00
2 Spare Tubes - 4.00 each $ 8.00 (got first tube for free)
1 Multitool $ 20.00
1 Pair or Tire Levers $ 4.00
1 Water bottle holder $ 8.00
(free water bottle)
BIKE TOTAL $1,060.00

RUN GEAR
New Balance 1110 Running Shoes $114.00

TRAINING
Winter Session 1 $ 45.00 (1 day)
Winter Session 2 $ 45.00 (1 day)
Spring Session $75.00 (2 day)
Summer Session $50.00 (2 day)
Crystal Lake session (Open Swim) $20.00
TRAINING TOTAL $235.00

PINE BUSH ENTRY FEE: $38.00

TOTAL: $1487.00

If you factor in Injuries
2 Doctor Visits ($18 copay) $54.00*
*including X-Ray of knee
8 Physical Therapy Visits ($18 copay) $144.00
TOTAL MEDICAL $198.00

NEW TOTAL $1685.00

and I was looking at Cycling jerseys the other day and found one I really like...

and yet I am not ready to part with the $80.00

My wallet hurts…..

So What Now?

So now that I have done my first Triathlon and I have been bitten by the bug.

The other race in the area that is popular is the Crystal Lake Triathlon, which is a 1/2 mile swim, 18 mile bike, and 3 mile run. Unfortunately I am going to be on vacation in California on the day of the race so I have been looking online and found two possible races:
The Fantastic Nantasket Beach Triathlon
Buzzard Bay

But if I don't do either of these I do plan on continuing my training and know where I need to work.

Swimming:

I would like to learn the Total Immersion Technique. and increase my efficiency in the water


Biking:
I really need to get comfortable and used to shifting the gears into the correct positions. Also need to work on being able to reach down and grab the water bottle while I am riding. Right now I am just focusing on balancing and staying upright.

Running:
This is where I need the most work. I think a big part of it is going to be dropping about 20-30 lbs while building lean muscle and strengthening my knee. I bought The Runner's Handbook : The Bestselling Classic Fitness Guide for Beginning and Intermediate Runners

So hopefully I can get some good tips to help me build up and become a better runner. If I can cut 5-10 minutes of my run then that would be awesome and help me improve my race times.

This is all dependent on what I find out next Wednesday when I go to see the doctor about my tendinitis in my right knee which hasn't gone away yet,

Okay really I will post the I have pictures tomorrow.

Race Day: Part 2

Before we get to the exciting conclusion of my first triathlon let me just say I slept like a rock last night until about 4:30 in the morning when the Garbage truck clunked its way through the neighborhood. I managed to roll over and go back to sleep even though my legs felt like a ton of bricks. Last night I was debating whether or not to teach my morning Spin Class at the Albany Y and this morning I decided to go ahead and cancel since I am subbing tomorrow evening, have my regular class on Wednesday morning, and also subbing the 5:30 am class on Thursday. So I slept in a bit and stopped at the Y before heading to work and sat in the hot tub which felt wonderful.

AND NOW….The REST OF THE STORY…


T1->BIKE->T2

So once I hit the beach and ran up the hill, ripping my goggles and bathing cap off as I went to my transition area. Being in the last heat was both good and bad. Good because I didn't have to deal with a lot of bikes in my way, bad because my transition crate had been knocked around and the stuff I had methodically placed to get in and out quickly had become jostled. I pulled everything out grabbed my bottle of water poured it over the feet, toweled them off quickly and flung the baby powder on them ( I then did a few quick tosses over the shoulder trying to hit my back…but I think I got more on the bike and ground and none on my back.). Threw on my shirt and shorts, threw swim stuff in my bag I put in the crate, choked down 4/5th of a bottle of Gatorade and then put on my helmet and riding gloves and ran the bike to the head of the bike path.

Once on the bike path there were 2 people about 50 yds ahead of me and I tried to keep them in sight the whole time, but I lost them when I accidentally shifted down when I was trying to shift up a gear. For the most part the bike was enjoyable yeah I was passed more than I did the passing but as I passed the volunteers and cops (occasionally asking if they would be willing to switch places) I got my wind back. I did smoke a few of the kids in the younger kids who were doing the race with their parents…who I doubt appreciated the fact that I was smack talking like…Eat my Dust, kiddie or Burned You, slowpoke (okay joking here… I think it's cool and impressive that they were doing the race). Before I knew it I was making the turn off of Old State Rd onto Fuller Station then on Western Ave. I was expecting Old State to be the more difficult part of the race but Western was tough.

I pulled into the Bike to Run transition area and headed to the Batman balloon. Now remember what I said about there being a good and bad thing about being in the last heat for the first transition? There was nothing good about this transition at all. When I found where I had setup that morning, there were bikes blocking my crate of gear. I had to fiddle with peoples bikes, trying to be a nice guy and not knock them over in the process, and grab my gear and ended up plopping down on the ground and changing my shoes and shirt and literally choking while trying to drink my bottle of Gatorade. By this time people had already finished the race and meandering back to their gear so running out of the transition area was almost like maneuvering through an obstacle course.

Total Transition and bike time: 56 min 09 sec. Overall: 349/450

THE RUN
I jogged out of the transition area still trying to get my legs to adjust from being on the bike. Ran down the hill, past one of the coaches who was cheering and once I was around the corner I had to slow down so I could adjust my knee band which ended up giving me fits the whole run. So I started walking just to get my legs back moving when the other coach, the one also racing, was running up the hill towards the finish and told me to get running which I did ..for a little bit. I basically ran for a bit then walked (was trying not to tear my groin muscle or totally screw up my knee). I would pick it back up when I would pass someone I knew who would encourage me, causing me to raise my arms like Rocky and start running again. So as I approached the loop it started to sprinkle which didn't bother me…well as I was half way through the loop heading back out to the main road the skies just opened and it began to pour down the rain. Within seconds I was drenched, couldn't see out of my sunglasses, yet oddly refreshed. So when I got back to the last water station I took some water to rinse my mouth out (I think I was starting to taste Bile) one of the kids asked if he could cool me off by throwing water on me which I politely declined since I was drenched enough already. So I told myself that no matter what I was going to run up the hill and cross the finish running (that and I saw someone in the distance behind me and I was not going to be passed). As I turned the corner the coach was there waiting for me to come back and she was like "You look comfortable with your running" well I couldn't lie and told her I had been walking on and off because of my knee. So I ran up the hill with the coach telling me to relax and reminded me that "we spit on hills" (which I did). Truth be told I was running out of fear of what she would do if started to walk. I turned the corner into the YMCA parking lot and ran across the finish line as the race clock hit 2 hours 8 minutes and 30 seconds.
Total Run Time: 39 min 26 secs. Overall: 356/450

MY TOTAL TIME: 1 Hour 41 Minutes and 31 Seconds. Overall: 349/450

I then had to do what had to be the hardest thing of the whole race... getting my timing chip off without collapsing. I then posed for pictures with the people I trained with, drank a ton of Gatorade, ate some bananas and hung around waiting for them to post the times. Finally after the awards ceremony I caught the shuttle back to the lake to pick up my car and gear at the lake. Then before heading home, I stopped at Fleet Feet and picked up a gift to myself for completing my first(of hopefully many) Triathlon….

I then went home hung up my wet gear and shoes…


Hit the swimming pool and then headed to the Tri-Club Picnic which was fun swapping stories from the day, hanging out, and eating foods like Cheesecake that I tried to avoid for the past months.
Some of the TRI-CLUB members

Overall I am proud of my times…especially for my first race and the injuries I have been dealing with while training. Now that I have a time I can start training in a few weeks to do better next year, a post for later this week perhaps. I think that completing the race ranks up there with such accomplishments as my schooling and earning my Eagle Scout.

I am so ready and pumped to do the Pine Bush Triathlon again next year and perhaps other races this summer if I am clreared by the doctor.
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So I was sitting at work this afternoon and I get a phone call at my desk.
The following is the actual conversation...
Me: "Cost and Revenue this is Chad"
"This is the guard"
Now I thought why is the National Guard calling me at work...is this someone pranking me?
"There is a delivery for you down here"
Me: "uh ok be down to pick it up, thanks"
Really I thought this was a prank...as it turns out my mother sent me a cookie basket congratulating me...now it made sense why she asked me for the office location when I called after the race to tell her I was still alive and had finished the race.

Who Knew Accomplishment Tasted So Good With Milk?

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Well off to bed if I am going to try to make it to Spin at 5:30 am and have to teach the evening class...

I will posting more pictures as people send them to me...I have a few already