2008 Bikesource Triathlon

I know. I am really bad at this whole blog thing. I don't think that many people read it anyway, so I guess it doesn't matter too much. Without further delay. . a little update.


Weight wise, I am down to 196 pounds now. I am happy about this accomplishment even though my goal was to weigh less, but I need to face the fact that I have put on muscle at the same time, so a better guage would have been body fat percentage. . but 196 is better than last year and I still feel as though I can loose another 5-10 pounds by Ironman. If I could be 188 or so. . that would be awesome.


So much for that now on with the race. This is the first time I have done the Bikesource Triathlon as an individual. I have as a team before, but this was way more fun. So the triathlon is a sprint triathlon, consisting of 600 meter swim, 11.5 mile bike and 3 mile run.


The swim is done in Heritage Park Lake (Duck Pond) and water temp was 70 degrees. Really it wasn't that bad at all. . . but my feet did touch the bottom a couple of times while we were waiting to start and they sank into about a foot of mud/yuck/etc. . That stuff really grosses me out.




I had a decent swim. .I was second out of the water, the guy that beat me, only did by a few seconds and the third place guy Sandy Cohen (a friend) was right on my heels and we basically had the same time. I got passed by about 3 people in transition and then hit the bike as hard as I could. All week leading up to the race, I kept telling myself to just HAMMER the bike. . just go as fast as I can till all 11.5 miles were done, and that is what I did.


Normally in the bike part of the triathlon is where I get passed a lot. . well I am happy to report that I passed 3 people and only got passed by 2 people. Individuals that I expected to pass me never did, so to say I am happy with my bike portion is an understatement. The bike leg was 3 loops and had a couple of hills in it that kept everyone honest. I am a decent climber, so even though hills hurt, they can help at the same time. Oh, and I got to use my Giro Advantage 2 Aero Helmet for the first time, and I love it!!!!!


In transition I got passed by about 3 people and then on the run another 5-6 people passed me. I am not a good runner, in fact, I am just plain slow. So, my first mile was 6:48. . and that is acutally very fast for me. .. .the next two miles must have been around 7:30 or so, but I can see that I am becoming a faster runner, but just not fast enough.

Oh, and thank you to Bike Stop (http://www.bikestoponline.com/) for their help and support. Notice the jersey?




My overall time: 59 minutes 50 seconds


Swim Time: 6 minutes 37 seconds (2nd Place in the swim)


Transition 1 Time: 1 minute 38 seconds


Bike Time: 29.09 (6th place in the bike)


Transition 2 Time: 1 minute 6 seconds


Run Time: 21 minutes 22 seconds (83rd place on the run)




Overall Place: 14 out of 206


Age Group: 3 out of 39

Lawrence 1/2 Marathon and 2 months out

Saturday morning (42 degrees, rainy, cold) I went to the typical meeting spot to ride with the White Oaks group, but no one was there. . so I reluctantly went down the road to the Dog ride and Bike Shack crew and rode (tried to) with them a ways. . . Let me just say this, from time to time it is good to ride with people way better than you. 1 is humbles you and 2 it shows you how far you still need to go. So thank you Bike Shack race team for doing both of those for me.

I ran the Lawrence 1/2 Marathon on Sunday April 20th. I did this run last year and had to do it again this year as it is a great run to get in during Ironman training. If you get a chance to do this run, it is worthwhile. It is an awesome time running through the town of Lawrence up to KU campus and then back to Haskill College. My unofficial time (my watch time) was 1:49.41 . . . I wanted to beat 1:50, but the last 1/2 mile was basically a full on sprint. . It hurt . . A LOT!!!

Later in the afternoon I did a 35 mile bike ride in the afternoon with some of my cycling friends. . . it was good to test the legs a little more and to see what type of response I could get from them. . overall I am happy.

TWO MONTHS out from Ironman CDA!!!! I feel great, weight is down to 198 (from 220 on Jan 1st) and I get more excited with each week as the weather gets nicer and the time get closer. I have a goal time to beat 12 hours. Last year I was 13:35 and some change but was on the side of the road for an hour and half waiting for a new tire. . . So 12 HOURS is what I want to beat. That is the great thing about individual races. . . you can set personal goals and even though you come in 900 out of 2500 people you can still feel as though you won a Gold Medal at the Olympics. :)

Speaking of Olympics. . . this should be an awesome summer. . I can't wait to watch swimming and triathlon and cycling in August. . .

I am not good at this.

Ok, so I am not good at posting a whole bunch. . but a quick update. Training is going well. Here are my totals for March.



March's totals:
Bike:
23h 31m 30s - 392.96 Mi
Run:
13h 35m 32s - 86.96 Mi
Swim:
6h 20m - 19300 Yd
Strength:
5h 10m





I was out for a funeral one weekend and sick a couple of other days. .. but all in all a good month. It was the same as last year (or close to it). For April I am going to really get after it.





As far as weight goes, I am down to 201 now, so that is a total of 19lbs lost since January 1. I am happy with that and want to be 195 by the end of April. 190 by the end of May and 185 June 22, 2008 for Ironman CDA.


So that is 5lbs a month. I should be able to do that. The problem with Ironman training and trying to loose a bunch of weight is that one is hungry most of the time. . take food to fuel the 70+ mile bike ride and the 15+ mile run. . .not to mention the other swimming, biking and running and weights during the week. Just need to eat the right kind of foods.
That is all for now.

If anyone can guess where this picture is taken I will take you there and pay. :)

Aero Power and Hemi Power

I got my new toy today. . . Amy was not happy because she said I didn't discuss it with her first or let her know. . I think I told her sometime that I was going to get one. :)

Anyway, here is the new helmet with a little props to The Bike Stop (team I ride for).

And a pic of Amy's new toy (Dodge Charger). . which one costs more?!?!?!?!?!?!

Bad Jared

Ok, so I am not great about updating my blog. . I will try and be better. But what can I really share? I ride on a trainer 3 times a week, run on a treadmill 3 times a week and swim in a pool 2 times a week (sometimes 3). . oh and lift weights twice a week. It has been cold and snowy here since the beginning of December so not much nice weather to get outside and take pics. .



Although there is good news. . I am down to 205 now. . this time last year I was 215, so I am about 2 months ahead of last year at this time. Be then end of March (hopefully we get some warm weekends) I can be down around 195. . 10lbs is a lot in a month especially with the weights and strength building that I am doing, but I need to get lighter. . if I am 185 by Ironman, I will be very very happy.



I have "before" photos that were taken on January 1 and I look at those from time to time. . I can tell my body has changed, but won't post the final pictures till the week before Ironman. . . .



All for now. Here is shot at Ironman last year of me and some friends from http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/ (from left to right) Doug, Andy, Bonnie, Me. . .this was taken two days before the start in front of the beach where it all began.



Oh, and I am not tracking what I eat anymore. .so if you were wondering. . but I basically eat the same thing as when I was tracking and still just one day to splurge on whatever I want.

Snow and Cold, Cold and Snow

Well, it seems as thought I will spend the rest of my training days inside. Either on a bike trainer or on the treadmill. During the week it is hard to get in a ride or run outside due to it being dark in the evening when we get home from work and on the weekends when it is light out at 7:00 AM, it is usually 20 degrees with a strong north wind or snow/ice/rain. So I have done my past long runs on the treadmill. At one time I could barely stand to run for 20 minutes on the treadmill and the past two sundays I have done a 1 hour 50 minute run and a 1 hour 40 minute run on the treadmill. The same can be said for the bike trainer too, although on Monday and Thursday evenings I have the great opportunity to be part of a cycling class (KMA) run by Greg Goodman in Blue Springs, MO. It makes the time go by so much quicker when I am suffering with 30+ people. :)

We got about 3-4 inches of snow this morning and the forecast calls for 30 degree weather the rest of the week. March is right around the corner, so I am praying for some warm (60+ degree) weather in March.

As far as Ironman goes, I am about 2 months ahead of where I was last year. I am down to 207 lbs now (compared to around 215 lbs in February of 2007) and am on target for my goal weight of around 185 for Ironman in June. When I get to 185 I may cry. I haven't been that weight since 2001. Hm??? What happened in 2001??? Oh, I got married!!! :) Just kidding, gaining weight is a choice and I let it happen to me, Amy is a wonderful wife and supports me in all of my training and races. She loves me no matter if I am 220 or 185. :)

All right, not too much else to report. I am hitting my long runs and rides each week and feeling good about everything. One thing I wish I would of had measure in the first of Jan was my body fat percentage.. I am curious to see how much muscle I have put on while fat is going away. . .

All for now. . . till next time. . .

I figured this would happen. . I would be off to a good start and then nothing. So let me catch everyone up. Training is going really well and the weight is starting to come off. I am now down to 209 from 220, which makes me very happy. But the main thing is I can tell the difference physically, I just feel better all around.

We wen't to Colorado last week for a total length trip of 5 days and I had 3 splurge days and 4 rest days (besides skiing, tubing, snowmobiling), so I was "off" of the nutrition and workout plan for a while. I expected to gain about 2-3 lbs, but actually I lost about a pound of weight and it seems to be just going down from there.

It was nice to have the rest days, but my body was starting to miss the workouts and I feel so much better getting back into the swing of things. I am exactly 20 weeks out from Ironman CDA and I am about 1 month ahead of where I was last year at this time. I weighed 197 for Ironam CDA in 2007 and I am already down to 209, so that is only 12 more pounds to lose and my goal is to have that gone and more by the end of March. I would LOVE to be at 180 for Irornman this year. Weight is the single biggest hinderance when it comes to running and cycling. . so I hope to help myself in those areas this year.

If you want to see some Colorado pictures go to http://www.amyandjared.com/ and you can view some samples and then Amy has a link for more pics on her website.