Breaking through walls...

Interested in donating to one or both charities I will be running for? Click the following links or on the widgets on the right side of this page. Special Operations Warrior Foundation Children's Heart Foundation

Somewhere along the way over the last few weeks there was a wall. I never saw the wall, but I think I went right through it...at least on the bike I did. I actually rode 74 miles last week. I went on some really great rides, too. The first one was a 20 mile ride on the Natchez Trace north from Ridgeland, MS. The second ride was from Bayou Bowl in Monroe, LA to Sterlington, LA (24 miles) via Horseshoe Lake Road. The third ride was also on the Natchez Trace north from Ridgeland (30 miles). I have learned very fast that the Natchez Trace is a wonderful asset for cyclists in the Jackson area for a number of reasons (limited traffic, low speed limits for cars, shade), but perhaps the best thing about the trace is the view. I left from the craft center in Ridgeland at 6am with Josh Sullivan, a new cycling friend here in Jackson. A few miles into our ride when I first came up alongside the reservoir, the sun was just coming up out over the water. It was a great view that got my mind off of the fact that Josh was pushing me a couple of miles per hour faster than I normally ride. It was a really fun ride!

The run is still something I will continue to work on and hope that at some point I can break through that wall...hopefully sooner rather than later. I do enjoy running most of the time although I don't ever see myself being very fast. The first 10-15 minutes are never fun, but after that initial mile to mile and a half I'm usually good to go. Speaking of running, the "official" marathon training plan starts in about 6 weeks. I am looking forward to it, although I will admit that I am a bit nervous about the distance. The 30 mile bike ride last Monday really put it into perspective how far I am going to be running.

I took 3 days off this week. They were not scheduled, but I felt like I needed them. So, as a result, I skipped both of my swims this week. I am looking forward to getting back in the pool Monday. I have made a lot of progress on my stroke over the last few weeks and am getting more and more comfortable in the water. I guess soon it will be time to venture out into the open water...

Patience....

Before I start rambling about my training, I just want to remind everyone who reads this that I really need your help in reaching my fundraising goals. I have made a good bit of progress in reaching my goals for both charities thanks to everyone's generous donations so far. If you know anyone who might be interested in donating to either of these great charities, please let them know about my blog and fundraising pages. Feel free to copy and paste the links below to an email, message board, your Facebook or Myspace, etc. Also, if you haven't donated and are interested in doing so, you can click the firstgiving links the the right side of this blog page.

Children's Heart Foundation http://www.firstgiving.com/scottmckenziechf
Special Operations Warrior Foundation http://www.firstgiving.com/scottmckenziesowf

When it comes to training, my new best friend is patience. I was getting impatient and have decided that if I'm training alone, then I have to stay aerobic! I'll be keeping my HR less than 145 no matter what. Up to now, it has gotten frustrating because part of me wants to go out and run at a higher heart rate because staying aerobic requires that I run slowly or even walk- and sometimes I just don't feel like I am working very hard. I assume this is mostly a result of never having participated in any type of endurance sport...and of course about 10 years of doing a whole lot of nothing when it comes to cardiovascular fitness. But, since the point of my training is going farther, not faster, I have come to the conclusion (with the help of some knowledgeable people around me) that being patient is the only option.

Concerning my weight loss and my goal of getting back to 175 pounds. I had a setback last week. I'm not sure what the culprit was, but I actually gained 2 pounds back. According to my calorie calculator, this should not have happened. I don't know if this is muscle growth or a big miscalculation when it comes to calories burned during workouts. I guess in the grand scheme of things this doesn't really matter because the weight will come off eventually as my mileage increases.

I had a really great bike ride on the Natchez Trace last Friday- 19 miles. It was awesome getting out on the road since most of my rides have been on the trainer because I'm having to ride before the sun comes up. It also makes a huge difference to ride with someone else....very motivating! I did have a deer run across the road about 20 feet in front of my bike. That added a bit of excitement to the ride. I'm excited about my ride tonight. I think I am going back out on the Natchez Trace for about 20 miles.

I also did two 1000 yard swim workouts in the last week. These are my first 1000 yard workouts, so my endurance in the water is definitely improving. However, I do wonder if there is going to be some limitation in my endurance due to some stroke mechanics issues that I am having trouble correcting. Maybe some more swimming lessons are on the horizon for me.

I even had a decent run/walk last week and a great treadmill run last night. I found a really cool program on the treadmills at the gym that is compatible with my heart rate monitor. All I do is set the target heart rate and the treadmill automatically adjusts the speed and incline of the treadmill to keep my heart rate at the target. It's a very cool feature that really helps me keep myself in check.

Well, that's the last week or so in a nutshell. No really interesting thoughts or experiences this time around (except almost hitting a deer on my bicycle), but I did achieve a couple of milestones. The milestones don't really seem to be that interesting to blog about, but it's those milestones that are really the ultimate motivators from where I sit, especially considering the fact that I started and continue to be so out of shape.

"Anything worth doing is worth starting poorly." --G. K. Chesterton

What are you doing to test your limits?

While I was reading a blog that I have been following for quite some time I came across a blog entry that I had to share with everyone. First, here's some background. The blog's author, David Goggins, joined the military at 290 lbs. and eventually became a Navy Seal. He wanted to find a way to raise money for the children of other Navy Seals who had been killed in a mission that went bad in Afghanistan after 9/11. He chose to do it by running ultramarathons (any race longer than 26.2 miles). His resume is quite impressive. Check out this video and you'll get a taste of what this guy is made of. I mean, just imagine yourself running the Badwater Ultramarathon, "the world's toughest footrace", starting at Badwater Basin in Death Valley and finishing 135 miles away at Mount Whitney. And to top it all off, elevation at the start of the race is about 280 feet below sea level and rises to about 8400 feet above sea level. So, to put that into perspective, that's like climbing about 1.6 miles!

Anyway , David Goggins was recently diagnosed with an atrial septal defect. Basically, this guys has been doing all of these races with a congenital heart defect all along. David recently had surgery to repair the defect but has had some complications which have put his endurance sports career in jeopardy. His most recent blog post was extremely inspiring for a beginner endurance athlete like myself. Now, I doubt I'll ever do anything like David Goggins, but you never know.


Anyway, on to a quote from his post.....

".....One thing that always comes back to my mind that I am going to share with you is this..... What good does all of this actually do. What does running ultras, biking, lifting, etc. What does it do for you? Where does it get you? For me, the answer is this. It's not about what you do in life. It is about what you don't do. The truth is running has not gotten me anywhere in life. I don't enjoy it. I hate it really. It certainly hasn't made an income for my family. And it definitely takes up a lot of my spare time. So why do it then? Because I can. When I was running 100 mile races back to back weekends, people never understood. They thought I was crazy. They told me how injured I was going to get. But I didn't care. I still don't. Tomorrow is never promised to you. If I looked back on those times now and didn't do the Plain 100 because it was to soon after my other race, I would kick myself. Now I can look back and say. I'm glad that I did what I did when I could. I am not saying that this is how everybody should be. What I am saying is that I believe everybody should push themselves to their limit. Whether it be in life or in sport. If not, you will wake up one day and your limits will have been determined by other factors. Health, family, work, etc. Why you have it in your power to do something, do it. Don't wait until that opportunity gets taken from you. I know I'm not."

Those are powerful words from a man who can look back without regret and say he did it while he could. So now I ask you this.....are you testing your limits? I haven't tested mine either....YET!

Speaking of limits, I just ordered a book called Ultramarathon Man: Confessions of an All-Night Runner written by Dean Karnazes. If you ever get a chance to check out what this guy has accomplished, you should! Amazing!.....50 marathons in 50 states in 50 days, 350 miles in 80 hours and 44 minutes without stopping, single-handedly completed the 199-mile Saturn Relay six times, 148 miles in 24 hours on a treadmill, winner of the Providian Badwater Ultramarathon in 2004... I can't wait to read his book and find out what goes through a man's mind at mile 100 of a 199-mile race!

So, on to my training update. Overall, training went well last week. I had a couple of really good bike rides. I had one bad and one good swim. I think I am going to be adding another swim to my weekly workouts (somehow) because it is clearly my weakness! The runs went OK, but the heart rate issue that I struggle with incessantly is really going to be the limiting factor in improving at running. It doesn't take much time or effort for my heart rate to get far over my recommended aerobic maximum. The plan for this week is as follows:

Monday..........16 minute swim, 30 minute bike trainer ride
Tuesday.........Rest Day
Wednesday....29 minute swim
Thursday.......20 minute run
Friday.............58 minute bike ride (hopefully outside for once!)
Saturday........Rest Day (extra swim workout??)
Sunday...........26 minute run

You are probably wondering why such weird times for my workouts. Why not certain distances? Well, the training plan I chose is based on time and time increases every week by about 10% (except every 4th week is a recovery week). Most of the reading I have done suggests that this is a healthy amount when trying to increase workout volume and avoid injury. I am just trying to make sure I make it to the starting line!

Lastly, I need to give credit to my wife, Amanda, for putting up with me while I'm taking this journey. It requires some commitment (and tolerance) from her and I appreciate her for giving it to me.