Bring on the cool weather!!!

"Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going." -Jim Ryun

I've done a really terrible job keeping the blog up recently, but let me assure you that I am doing a much better job keeping up with my workouts. In fact, waking up at 4 AM has, surprisingly, gotten a lot easier and the pre-sunrise workouts have gotten a lot more enjoyable as of late. I never thought I would ever say that!

One of the best things about doing this training so far, besides of course raising money for two great charities, is seeing the world in slow motion. Although I am riding hard on my bike, actually being out on the bike allows you to view the world through a different set of eyes. It slows everything down. Instead of seeing everything through a windshield at 50 mph, being out on the bike allows me to immerse myself in my surroundings and see things that I would not normally see sitting behind a steering wheel. I can't tell you how many times I've seen wildlife that I would not normally have noticed (although some of it is roadkill that I might rather I had not noticed). It happened again last Sunday when I went out for a ride with a friend of mine who was actually out on his first big ride (> 20 miles). I had just finished telling him how many times I had seen deer and other wildlife that I wouldn't normally have noticed. Not very long after I said this, I noticed some rustling in the woods on the side of the road and saw a doe step out towards the road. She just looked at us as we passed within 20 feet of her on our bikes. This is about the 5th or 6th time that has happened this summer, although this was the closest encounter (if you'll remember from a previous blog I had a deer run out in front of me). It's little things like this that can turn a tough workout into something completely different. In fact, I've considered trying to do some trail running so that I can experience the same kinds of things while running.

Overall, training is going very well right now. I was a bit concerned about a setback after being sick, but I am pretty far ahead of schedule and have, for the most part, abandoned my training plan when it comes to swimming and cycling distances. It's gotten to where those portions of the plan have gotten too easy. I still stick to my schedule in terms of what days I swim, bike and run; but, as far as time in the water and on the bike, my workouts are much farther, longer and faster than originally planned. I have stuck with the run part of the plan because, as those of you read this blog know, running is not a strength of mine and injury avoidance is a top priority.

So, here's where my progress has brought me.
1. My swim workouts in the 1200-1300 yard range and I have done 1000 yard (40 laps) straight swims twice. My first swim workout was 8 x 25 yards (one length) with about a minute rest between each lap. So, technically I can swim 40 times farther now than when I started.
2. On the bike, most of my rides are about 17 mph for 25-30 miles and can ride faster if I have someone else riding with me to push me harder. My first bike ride was about 2 miles. When I finished that ride, I was out of breath and, boy, did that seat hurt my butt. Now, it seems my bike rides are limited only by the amount of time I have to spare.
3. On the run, I won't say that I have made much progress in the way of speed and endurance yet. I've really just been trying to solidify my base before the marathon plan begins in order to avoid injury. My runs are typically in the 3-4 mile range.

Speaking of running, I will be switching over to marathon mode very soon - about 2 weeks in fact. I will not be running full time until after October 12th, but the marathon training plan officially starts on September 22nd - just under 2 weeks away. I'm getting pretty nervous about the program, especially the 20 mile run I have scheduled on December 19th. But, I've said it before on this blog, I chose to do the full marathon because it would not be easy. I just hope the fundraising picks up soon.

So, as far as the race schedule goes, my calendar looks like this.
October 10th....Heritage Eagleman Triathlon- Hattiesburg, MS
My first triathlon- 1/3 mile swim, 16.5 mile bike, 3 mile run
November 7......Monroe Parks and Recreation Half Marathon (13.1 miles)- Monroe, LA
My first half marathon
January 10........Walt Disney World Marathon (26.2 miles)- Orlando, FL
My first full marathon

So, that's my progress and my plan. I'm headed out for a run!



Visit these links if you're interested in donating to my charities

Children's Heart Foundation (Congenital Heart Defect Research)

Special Operations Warrior Foundation (College for Children of Special Operations Soldiers Killed in Combat)