Well, the training continues as does my fight to stay on a balanced diet. In spite of the weight I've lost so far and keeping it stable through Thanksgiving and Christmas feasting (in moderation), I still remain a carb junkie! I often feel I could live entirely on junk food (cookies, chips, candy, JUNK!!!), but not successfully. Between Thanksgiving and Christmas, I was feeling that I didn't really need the accountability of MyFitnessPal (http://www.myfitnesspal.com/) and slacked off with my entries...bad idea. I've gotten back on track and find it still very helpful to track what I'm eating and what I'm doing exercise wise.
After completing the St. Jude half marathon in December, I went ahead with the "next step" and signed up for the Iron Man 70.3 in New Orleans, Lousiana this April 22nd (http://ironmanneworleans.com/). Last year the weather/wind (on Lake Ponchartrain) was so bad the swim portion was cancelled with only the bike and run portions completed. The Half Iron distance as shared before is a 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike, and 13.1 mile run. My goals (for accountability) are as follows: swim 0:45-1:00, bike 3:00-3:30, run 2:00-2:20, and allowing for a 0:15..(15 minutes) for transition times T1/T2, for a total of 6:00-7:05 (6-7 hrs).
For swimming, I've been slow to get started this winter, but ahead of the past two years. I've had two sessions with a swim coach who has been immensely helpful already, first pointing out that I was basically not using my legs. After, begging/calling I finally got into the Wellness Center at Union University in Jackson with it's 25 meter indoor pool. I've done 2 training sessions there and I'm still astounded at how easily I'm winded after short distances. I have worked up to almost 400 meters freestyle in one set without "dying" (1500 to add to that....ugh!). My goal is a minimum of 2 sessions swimming/week and hoping for 3. My dear wife for Christmas ordered me the new Garmin Forerunner 910xt (https://buy.garmin.com/shop/shop.do?cID=419&pID=90671) which was finally released last week. I'm a geek and this thing is a technological wonder. The coolest feature for now is the swim metrics which allows detailed breakdown of stroke count/length/lap times for different sized indoor pools, on and on.... more on this later. Thanks honey!
Cycling has been going fairly well indoors. My wife and I have similar "trainers" to utilize our own bikes to ride in place. I've purchased several "Spinervals" cycling workout videos by Troy Jacobson (http://www.spinervals.com/) which we've found to be very good at wearing us out. I have a 5 year old triathlon specific bike I purchased a few months ago that I'm slowly "tweaking" to my frame and posture. Hopefully as I train more I will be able to move into a deeper aero position. I'm still building my aerobic base and hope to slowly integrate more speed work as I go.
In the area of running, I'm scheduled for a "training" half marathon 2/25 in Oxford, MS (http://www.oxfordrun4hope.com/) and another 3/31 in Jackson, TN (https://sites.google.com/a/andrewjacksonmarathon.com/ajm/home). My wife is planning to run the 5k portion in Oxford and shooting for her first half marathon in Jackson on 3/31 with me (this race also has a 5k and marathon option). In the interim, I'm continuing running/training on the treadmill 1-2 times/week.
Although my job allows me to work fewer days than many, my working days are 12+ hours long and involve over 2 hours of travel (sometimes day shifts up at 4:10am and home at 7:30-8pm and some nights) making it difficult to hammer out a "routine" for training. I hope that I can stay disciplined enough to take advantage of the time I have off and not get worn out or burned out or neglect my family in the process (which by the way, they have been a great source of encouragement). More to follow.
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