My journey to Ironman is now one step closer

So this Christmas was a special one for me.  Not only did I get my netbook from my mom, which I use constantly and am using to post this, but I got a Quintana Roo Tequilo TT bike from my in-laws.  It is the same bike that my father in-law used to complete his ironman.  It is an amazing bike, and I couldn't be happier with it.  I am so excited to begin training and racing using a TT bike.  Below is a picture of the bike, it is a stock photo, but the bike is in perfect condition.

Now I can begin training on this bike and get ready for my triathlon season and my Half Ironman in August.  They also gave me Dicks gift cards, so I used half of them for a bike trunk rack, so I can safely and easily carry my new "machine".  I will use the other half of the gift cards to get some more and updated livestrong gear.  I'm hoping they come out with some new shirts once the Tour De France get's closer next year.

Also, my month of fitness begins next month as well.  I am actually really excited to see what kind of results come from this.  I'm hoping to drop a good amount of body fat and build a great cardio base for the season.

I'll check in next week to let everyone know how it's going.  I hope you made your commitment and look forward to hearing about everyone else's experience.

My Month of Fitness Committment

Recently, a friend of mine wrote about this month of fitness challenge.  He was talking to a frequent Ironman participant who does this once a year, and for a whole month, he gives up some of his vices and trains like a crazy person (my definition).  Basically, you give up everything you enjoy for your health and fitness. 

We have decided to do our month of fitness in January, first month of the year, and right after the holidays where we all cheat a bit.  So my committment is as follows:

• I am going to give up soda pop and "junk food".  What I mean by junk food is chips, snacks, candy, etc.
• I am setting my fitness goal as 16 hours per week in the gym, including weights.  To be more specific, I'd like to get 2500 yards of swimming a week, 70 miles of cycling a week, and 20 miles of running a week.  I realize this may require 2 a days, which shouldn't be too bad with my bike trainer and a treadmill in the garage.

So, I challenge you to a month of fitness.  Pick a month and give up what you like, and enjoy a nice sufferfest of fitness.  Try to create a goal that would be difficult to reach to challenge yourself to the limit.

First full week of Triathlon Base Training

So last week was my first full week of triathlon base training.  This included obviously swimming, cycling, running, and a lot of weights.  All I can say is that I am ready to do this!  At first I was very skeptical of swimming, just because of how little training I have. 

Needless to say, swimming is much harder than I thought it was going to be.  Swimming is very cardio and strength centric.  At one time, you are breathing so hard, you just want to catch your breathe, and at the same time, you're just sore from pulling yourself through the water.  At this point, I'm so bad at it that I just want to continue to work on it and get better.  I thank Nick for forcing me to swim that first time, because now that's all I want to do, so I can get better.  Needless to say, the cycling, mostly spinning and the treadmill runs were basic, just keeping fitness up.  But swimming, is a whole new realm.  I can't wait to be better at it.

I also did a lot of spinning and weights.  Did some treadmill stuff, but not as much as I would have liked.  I am going to pick up the running some more this week.  Spinning and weights were a big focus last week.  Probably put close to 50 miles on the spin bike, and about 10 miles on the treadmill.  Weights was also a big focus last week.  I was definitely sore all week, and still sore this week.  It's always a good sore though, when you lift weights.  You know you are sore because you are getting stronger.  Most of my weight lifting has been for endurance (low weight, high reps), which will help with my new sport of choice.

So the journey begins.  I have a Half Ironman in 9 months, and many other short distance triathlons before then.  I feel that this winter base training is going to help me immensely.  I hope to have a healthy and exciting triathlon season and hope the same for you during your endeavors.

Invigorator Compression Sock Review

I was at first very skeptical of compression socks. They always looked "goofy" and just never saw the appeal. Well, that changed quickly. I got a pair of invigorators last Monday, and chose to wear them on my flight to Chicago last Tuesday. Needless to say, it was a quick turn around. All I can say is WOW, they worked great. Especially during the flight and after wards. Legs never felt so good after a plane ride. The next test was after my 5k on thanksgiving.

I ran the turkey trot on thanksgiving, as you can see from my previous post. My calves were extremely tight after the race and I began to stretch as normal. When we got home, I showered and immediately put my compression socks on. This was the true test, and they passed with flying colors. My calves had never felt better the night of a race as they did that night. It was almost as if I had not run my 5K on that morning.

If I were asked if compression socks work, not only would I say yes, but I would tell you to immediately get a pair of invigorators and try them for your self. I will continue to wear mine after my long runs and after most of my other runs, as well as after all my races. Because THEY WORK!