Oh hey

Oh hey. I guess I'm back. After a two and a half year absence, I'm going to take another stab at this blogging thing. I know it isn't ready by many (probably less than a half-dozen), but I miss writing, and I think I could benefit from a fitness "journal," if you will. So much has happened since running that half marathon in 2013, but I'd drone on all day trying to provide the details. So here's a short-ish recap of events.

Jen and I bought a new home in 2014, and we stayed in Roy. We did it because we wanted more room for a larger family, which came in the form of Russell, our second (and last) child who was born in March 2016.

Meet Russell, born March 1, 2016. Coop is pretty stoked
about being a big brother.

Our not-so-new home, now. It's been a bit of a nightmare.

I'm still working at Weber State, and I still love it. I also spent the better part of 2014 and all of 2015 earning my master's degree from Weber State. I still swim regularly, and I still compete in open water races, although I've stuck to my guns in avoiding monster fitness events that require multiple hours of training per day.

You've graduated with a master's
degree. Don't bother smiling.

Here's the log of the races I've done since my last post.

2014: Great Salt Lake Open Water Swim: 1 mile (27:30)
2014: Wounded Warrior Project Run: 5 miles (52:14)
2015: Great Salt Lake Open Water Swim: 1 mile (27:38)
2015: Bear Lake Open Water Swim: 1 mile (31:34)
2015: Deer Creek Open Water Swim: 1 mile (29:02)
2015: Xterra Off-Road Triathlon Relay: 1/2 mile swim (14:41)

In addition to these formal races, I've competed in an employee wellness competition (12 weeks long) with my colleagues at Weber State, which have become my training parters for all things fitness. We won the team muscled gained category in 2014, won the weight loss category in 2015, and are still awaiting the results for the 2016 competition, which just ended a few weeks ago.

My disappointment face after seeing my time at the finish line of the
2015 Great Salt Lake Open Water marathon. 

Last year, before the GSL race, I was in the best physical shape of my life and was hopeful to finally win that damn thing. I didn't (and probably never will), but I still put up a solid time despite the new race course being closer to 1.1 miles. I've gained a few pounds back since then, but regular swimming, water polo and the occasional racquetball with my colleagues has kept me in better condition than I was at when I last posted to this blog.

Currently, I'm finishing up training for the Ogden Marathon relay, in which I am on a 5-man team and will run a 6-mile leg. I ran six miles on the treadmill this afternoon in 1:00;14, so I'm just looking forward to getting that race out of the way before swim season really amps up.

Till next time...

Total Distance: 6 miles running

Huntsville Half Marathon Race Report

My first half marathon is officially in the books, and it went better than I hoped for.

I rode up to Huntsville with Kelly and Jessica, as Jen, Coop, her brother, Tim and his wife, Nikki, drove up later to wait for me at the finish line. It was very cold (reportedly 28 degrees) when we arrived at about 8 a.m. Fortunately, we had drop bags, so we all bundled up nicely and hung out on the bus until they kicked us off after shuttling us up to the starting point.

When the race started, Kelly hung back with Jessica and I for a few miles. Since he is a much faster runner than both of us -- much to our dismay -- he kind-of pushed us to go a little faster than we originally wanted to. Eventually, he took off and we knew he was going for his goal time of less than two hours. From that point, Jess and I had a pretty smooth run.

Seeing Coop in this goofy outfit at the finish line was a perfect way to cap the race. I ran all 13.1 miles in 2:12:16.

My knee pain arrived about six miles in, which scared the shit out me. Usually, when the pain comes, I'm forced to stop and walk and I knew I wasn't going to reach my goal time of 2:25:00 if I did that. I pushed through it for about a mile and the pain gradually wore off entirely. The course was as beautiful as everyone said it was, and having Jessica there as a running partner was such a blessing. I think we kept each other honest at a solid pace and neither of us wanted to be the one who stopped and walked. It felt like we both hit a wall around the 11-mile mark, but there was a lot of entertainment (bands, cheerleaders, and other various live music) that peppered the final few miles of the course and that kept our minds occupied for the remainder of the race.

I sprinted the final 250 yards or so, even though I told Jess I wasn't going to. ;) Sorry, Jess. My competitive side kicked in a bit at the end. I couldn't find Jen, Coop, Tim and Nikki when I finished, but I located them just after I received my medal and cut the timing chip off my shoe. Kelly was there waiting, too, and he said he finished in 2:01:00, which was just over his goal time. I'm sure he would've gone under it if he didn't hang back with Jess and I for the first two or three miles.

All smiles after the race. Kudos to Jessica, who has always been my favorite running partner.

We snapped a few photos, got our stuff, said goodbye to Kelly and Jess and ate some lunch at the Huntsville Barbecue Company. When I got home, I looked up my finish time online and I clocked 2:12:16, which was almost 13 minutes faster than my goal. That time isn't going to turn any heads in the running community, but I am proud of myself for doing it. Despite fears about cardio and knee pain, I performed much better than expected. I truly don't enjoy running, but now I can say I've completed a half marathon and ran the whole way. And no, I don't have plans to do a full.

Three days later, I still feel like I was hit by a truck. My calves have never been so sore in my life...

Total distance: 13.1 miles running

Re-examining my priorities

I'm alive and well. I promise.

Due to an incredibly busy schedule, I haven't been able to update my fitness blog for about a month. I'm back though, and here's an update. The half marathon is tomorrow and I'm incredibly nervous about it. I haven't been this anxious about an event since my Bear Lake Crossing more than a year ago. Training was going very well until a little over three weeks ago, when my knee started hurting again after a long run with Jessica. Her and Kelly will be running the race, too.

Time for a run? No thanks. I'll watch Star Trek with my son instead. Maybe, if I'm lucky, he'll fall asleep.

I backed off my running a bit and amped up my workouts during swim class. Although I didn't stop exercising entirely, my dryland training came to a screeching halt, and I'm not entirely sure I'm ready for tomorrow morning's race. I never ran more than nine miles at once during my training, and somehow, I'm going to have to muscle through 13. Knowing that I never quite reached my training goal for Bear Lake, and still somehow managed to pull off that event does give me some hope that tomorrow will be OK, though. Even if it's just false confidence.

Work has been incredibly busy and my free time isn't really "free" as I am trying my best to spend that time with my family. Every new father thinks they know what is coming, and no matter how much you read in advance, you are never fully prepared. Despite all the diaper changing, play time, crying and simply trying to give Jen a bit of a break from the duties of motherhood whenever possible, it really has been an enjoyable experience thus far. But it has forced me to re-examine my priorities.

Fitness is very important, and I need to make sure I don't stray from it. However, I don't think intense training -- often sucking up multiple hours per day -- is a great thing for me or for my family right now. Now that Cooper is here, I find it very selfish to spend too much of my free time training for monster fitness events. He and Jen need me far more than I need these selfish "accomplishments." There is always more to every story, and every person has different circumstances in their lives, but I just don't see how people with multiple children can train for and participate in all of these marathon events (for any sport) and still give their families the attention they need and deserve. Somehow, I need to find a balance between staying fit and healthy, but not getting caught up in too many races, which are more of a hobby. Needs vs. wants, if you will.

Anyway, enough of my personal anecdotes. In a perfect world, I will finish tomorrow's half marathon in under 2 hours and 25 minutes with little or no knee pain. That probably won't happen, but who knows. ... maybe I'll get lucky.

Half way to the Half

I'm officially half way through my half marathon training. I pulled off an 8-mile run on Saturday, which is tied for the longest I've ever done on foot. Jessica met me at the Weber River Parkway in Riverdale and we went for it.

The sweet bottle-opener medals
for the half. I'm excited to earn one.

The last time I ran eight miles was more than two years ago -- the first time I attempted to train for a half marathon -- and it ended badly. That day was when my knee pain first arrived, so naturally, I was nervous about Saturday's run. However, I managed the whole thing without too much discomfort. Some pain arrived in the final half-mile or so, but I'm feeling good in the immediate days after, which is a good sign. Running with Jessica was also nice, as we are very closely matched as far as pace and distance goes.

This week's "long" run is only five miles, so that will give me a nice recovery before jumping up to nine miles next week. Also, this semester's swim class begins tomorrow, so I'll be more vigilant about doing my cross training like I'm supposed to.

Anyway, there's not a ton of new stuff to report other than that. I did hit the 500-mile mark last week, which certainly is an accomplishment when stacked on top of the swimming and cycling mileage I've covered since starting this blog.

Weekly total distance: 13 miles running

Half Marathon Training: Week 2 Report

Last night, Jen gave me the biggest confidence boost I've heard in many years. I was changing after getting out of the shower, and while feeding Cooper on the other side of the room, she said, "Matt, I can see your abs right now." Although I certainly don't have defined abs or a six pack, her unsolicited compliment really lifted my spirits. I guess over time, you may eventually see a small measure of results if you stick to your training and diet.

Jen stroked my ego, complimenting my abs. This is probably what they really look like.

Anyway, I'm more than two weeks into my half marathon training plan, and all is going according to schedule, so far. I haven't missed a single workout and my times continue to improve. For example, in Week 1, I ran a 2-mile speed interval in 18:45. Today (Week 3), I ran it in 17:33. I pulled off my first 5-mile run in 53:54, and on Saturday, I clocked my second one in 50:30.

Swim class ended last week, so for the next two weeks -- until the next swim class begins -- I'm going to have to find an alternate cross training method. It shouldn't be an issue, as there are all sorts of things I can do.

I officially registered for the Huntsville Half Marathon today, so there is no backing out at this point. Even if the knee pain re-emerges, I'll have no choice but to at least walk the entire race. But so far, my knee his holding up OK, although I haven't logged any serious (6-to-11-mile) runs yet. Saturday will be the next test at six miles.

Weekly total distance: 10 miles running, 1,500 yards swimming

New kicks and new training plan

Last week, I officially started my half marathon training. Jen bought me a new pair of running shoes for my birthday, which I badly needed. We went to Striders in Layton and got my feet, positioning and running style checked out, as they fitted me with a pair of shoes that fit me best. Hopefully, that will limit the knee pain I've been plagued with during long runs this past year.

My new kicks. Probably the most money I've spent on a pair of shoes since I was in high school.

I mapped out a nine-week training plan, that involves five workouts per week leading up to race day. I will do two shorter runs (3-5 miler, 2-3 mile speed run) and a long run (starting at 5 miles, working up to 11) on Saturdays. Two days a week will be devoted to swimming and two days are for rest. I think stretching and using my foam roller regularly will be key to not injuring myself in training. That's what I did last time I attempted to train for a half, as I was running too much, too fast. This will be a gradual increase and not actually reaching the full 13-mile run until race day itself.

Anyway, I started training while on a work trip in Boston and tested out the new shoes on the treadmill in the hotel gym. I wanted to go out and about and run around the city, but I was instructed not to run outside in the shoes until I tested them out, or else I wouldn't be able to return/swap them out for different ones. Everywhere I went, people were constantly running up and down the sidewalk streets and through the parks. Running seems to be a big "thing" in Boston, which I suppose makes sense, considering the most popular marathon in the world is held there every year.

I knocked out the first "long" run on Saturday with five miles at Planet Fitness, and the shoes passed with flying colors. My knee was a little bit uncomfortable toward the end, but not painful.

Total distance (for the week): 10 miles running, 1,100 yards swimming

200th Blog Post!

Although I've been backing off with daily updates of mundane workouts, today marks my 200th blog post since starting "Swimming Upstream" in October 2011. It really has been a fun way to keep track of my progress (and regression) throughout the years, even if it comes at the cost of annoying my friends and family on Facebook every time I share a link to a post. To that end, I'm sure I have been "unfollowed" on many people's social media feeds. Oh well ... I use it as an accountability tool. I don't really expect people to read through my musings about my personal health. It's incredibly narcissistic and kind of weird, I know.

A fist pump for 200 blog posts!

Anyway, today was another day of swim class and another day of me sucking wind. Since Cooper was born about six weeks ago, my diet has completely fallen apart and my exercise has mostly been limited to my twice-weekly swim classes. That has resulted in me gaining back 7 of the 12 pounds I lost during my 12-week diet and decreased stamina in the pool. I need to get back on the wagon soon, as the Huntsville Half Marathon is sneaking up on me and I have to take training seriously. At the same time, I need to continue working with the Weber State Masters team to prepare for the SDRC Meet in November.

Jen will get the OK for exercise from the doctor any day now, so we are excited to start setting new goals together and help each other out with our eating habits. It's so much easier when you and your spouse are on the same (or similar) page.

Total distance: 700 yards swimming (butterfly day)

Week 8 report

I can't believe how fast the weeks are flying by. It's strange, because as I wait for Jen's due date, it feels like time is at a standstill. But, when it comes to my 12-week diet, I am at warp speed.

Three quarters of this regimen are now over and although I don't feel like I'm seeing a huge difference in the mirror, the scale is certainly reflecting it. This week, I weighed in at 168.8, down exactly one pound from last week. That leaves me with less than four pounds to go in the remaining four weeks. It's entirely possible that I may not reach my overall goal before the baby gets here, though, as Jen has reached a point in her pregnancy where she could go into labor at any time. Honestly, I wouldn't mind cutting this experiment a bit short if our baby boy does arrive a tad early. The entire point of this was to get down to a healthy weight and body fat percentage by the time I'm a father, and I feel like I'm certainly on track for that.

A nice blurry photo during the cool down of my one-hour run yesterday.

While I had a difficult Week 7, this week was a little bit better. As always, I had a few bad days, but finished the week strong. It appears to be a microcosm of how I would like to live my life anyway. We can enjoy ourselves and let loose a little bit as long as the majority of the time, we are doing our best to be healthy. I can thank a couple of in-laws for such a good week in the gym. While having dinner at their place on Sunday, Jen's brother, Vaughn, and his wife, Chrissy, were debating if they would like to run the Huntsville Half Marathon with me in September. I still am not entirely convinced I even want to run it, but they seemed receptive to it and it gave me a fresh motivation to start training for it early. That being said, I did an extra long running session yesterday to finish the week. Plus, I didn't get to start swimming in my class yesterday, as we simply discussed the course schedule and don't get in the water until tomorrow. I can't wait!

Well, I'm now down 10.4 pounds in eight weeks. Only four more weeks remain with 3.8 pounds to go.

Week 5 report

This is starting to get tough.

After initially getting into the groove with a regular diet and exercise regimen, I'm starting to show signs that I'm faltering. I had two days last week where I went way over on my daily calorie limit, forcing myself to workout extra hard in the following days in order to break even for the week and I didn't quite make it. I went over about 150 calories for the week, which still isn't all that bad, considering I'm allotted 1,500 per day. That means I averaged a surplus of about 21 calories each day.

However, I did slip a few times and I'm afraid I'm about to hit a big wall and completely fall off the wagon. This week will be critical. I need to make sure that I stay strong and make good decisions every day, especially late at night, which is when I get the most powerful cravings for sweets. That being said, I haven't slipped up at all in the exercise department, logging well over 3.5 full hours of cardio, in addition to some weight training and my rotator cuff exercises. My goal heading into this experiment was to do at least 2.5 hours of cardio per week, so I'm tearing it up right now.

I weighed in at 172.3 pounds this morning, which shocked me, considering my undisciplined diet during the week. It's only a loss of 0.3 pounds, but honestly, I was expecting to gain weight this time. That makes a total loss of 7 pounds so far, which is about 1.4 per week. So, I'm still right on track.

Next Wednesday marks the half way point, so I'll check back in then.

P.S.: Jen and I can't wait for the baby to get here. I caved the other day and bought this infant-sized Weber State jersey for him. Sweet!

Weekly update

Since starting my new job, it's become a bit harder to find time to update my workout blog. When I find the time to exercise, I completely forget about it by the time I come home. I'm going to do my best to keep updating, but I might just do what I'm doing today, and do weekly blogs that recap my exercise for the week.

I went to the gym on Wednesday, Friday and today. On Wednesday, I did a 30-minute run on speed intervals, going 5.5 mph for 2 minutes followed by 7.0 mph for a full minute. I logged exactly three miles doing so and followed it up with some biceps/triceps work using nothing but my own body weight, so no dumbbells this time. On Friday, I went for the same thing (speed intervals), but this time on the stationary bike. I ended up setting a new 30-minute personal best of 9.35 miles (old record was 9.30).

Today, it was the first time I've tried going to Planet Fitness on a Sunday morning and to my surprise, there were quite a few people there. Not so swamped that I couldn't find a machine, though. I planned on doing another 30-minute run, but after a mile, my shins were starting to throb, so I stopped right away. I spent the rest of my hour doing hip-strengthening and some light ab work.

Not a terrible week, but I still need to do better.

Total distance: 4 miles running, 9.35 miles cycling

Angry Sunday run

I was watching the NFL playoffs this morning and was getting so angry with my favorite team's dismal play, I turned off the TV and went to the gym.

I got there and ran my ass off on the treadmill. I hear people talk about exercise being a good way to vent frustrations and today, that was especially true. My negative energy needed a place to be released and a long run was just the way to do it. I ended up watching the end of the game on the treadmill and my team almost came back and won, so my heart rate was probably through the roof, but I'm still glad I went.

Total distance: 5.5 miles running

Do. Or do not. There is no try.

I woke up a bit early this morning for no reason in particular. I love it when you just wake up at a reasonable hour all on your own and don't get that immediate urge to go back to sleep. I took advantage of it and went straight to the gym.

A guy at work made this and it reminded me of my fitness goals, although I'm not a big fan of New Year's resolutions.

After nibbling on some dried fruit and nuts, just to get something in my system, I hopped on the treadmill to test out my knee. I set the program for speed intervals, jogging slow at 4.5 miles per hour for five minutes before sprinting at 7 miles per hour for one minute. Repeat as desired. I lasted a full 30 minutes with zero discomfort in my knee, which was very surprising. I did take extra time to stretch and warm up well, so maybe that helped.

I followed that up with some light ab and chest work. I hope to do more leg sets tomorrow, followed by a swim some time this week. As far as my diet goes, I've sinned in a few departments, but I've made a lot of conscious efforts to eat healthier in the first few days. I've stuck to my goal of one diet soda per day so far. I hope to do that for a few more weeks before bumping it down another notch. Also, although I'm not counting calories, I'm still keeping an eye on them, and have resisted several urges to snack on candy and other junk. Just like Yoda said, "Do. Or do not. There is no try." Although I admit, I did munch on a handful of Doritos late last night after work. That being said, I have a fridge full of veggies that I've been working through.

Total distance: 2.5 miles running

Rare Sunday workout

Already, this new gym membership is paying off. Before, especially during the winter, I rarely worked out on Sundays because in Utah, everything shuts down on that day of the week. In warmer months, I occasionally squeezed in a run or something outside, but now I can go any Sunday I want.

I didn't do anything crazy, basically considering today a bonus, but with some football games on in front of me, I rallied off 30 minutes on the bike in what seemed like a blink of an eye. I followed that up with a quick one-mile run on the treadmill and called it good.

Not bad ... for a Sunday anyway.

Total distance: 9.7 miles cycling, 1 mile running

New gym: New motivation

Today I started at a new gym. Earlier this week I noticed a Planet Fitness was opening up a few blocks down the road from my house with a big advertisement that said "Only $10 per month NO CONTRACT!" I was interested and went in to take a tour. Sure enough, there really are no gimmicks. It's a very nice facility with tons of machines and the fee never changes. And the real kicker for me, was that it's open 24 hours during the week and the weekend hours (including Sunday) are still quite long. That sold me and I immediately signed up.

Only one small part of the gym. The staff is very helpful, too.

I've been having a very hard time staying motivated and I have all sorts of excuses why I haven't been working out much, but in the end, I truly think stress is the main factor. And what usually helps with stress? Exercise. I don't want to work out when I'm stressed, but it helps with the stress every time I do. Kind of a Catch-22.  

Anyway, I went in for my first "trial run" today and I was quite pleased. There weren't very many people in there, and I could plug my headphones into the machines and watch any of the plethora of TVs on the wall. I did a nice long ride on one of the stationary bikes before hitting the weights and just like the machines, everything was brand new. I followed that up with a short run on the treadmill to round out my full hour of cardio and then went home.

So far, so good. I have a feeling this is going to work out nicely, even though they don't have a pool. I'll still have to hit the Rec Center for that in the winter.

Total distance: 14 miles cycling, 1.5 miles running

Long week of guilt

Something is seriously wrong with me. More than I've experienced in a long time, my motivation to get up and work out just isn't there. I had several opportunities to work out this week and didn't. Plain and simple. I've pigged out all week, stayed up way too late a few nights and haven't been able to drag my self out of bed early enough to get to the gym. I went six consecutive days with zero exercise and whether or not it's all mental, I feel like crap for it. I haven't felt this guilty about my health in some time.

So, today I broke the streak and went for a run. I didn't last very long before my knee started hurting, so I turned back early. It wasn't much, but it was something and I suppose that's better than what I've done these past several days. I actually made the quick drive over to the gym first, but it was closed for the holiday weekend. I need to find a new motivator and fast. I am terrified of falling out of the exercise habit, because I know it can happen before you know it and just like that all my lost weight is back. Ugghhhh....

Total distance: 1.54 miles running

New goals for rest of 2012

It appears as if I am going to come up well short of my 2012 exercise goals. I may have set the bar a bit too high and various injuries and random spells of laziness didn't help my cause, as well. However, I want to finish this year strong, so I set some short-term goals for my remaining 48 days. Here is where I stand so far and what I want to reach by New Years Day.

Swimming: 100.03 miles (need 115)
Running: 125.46 miles (need 183)
Cycling: 475.10 miles (need 730)

Given my knee and shoulder issues, I plan on doing extra bike time, so I set that goal a little higher than the others. I don't have any events in mind for the next few months, so I'm going to have to find some sort of extra motivation. Any suggestions?

Anyway, today I finally got a decent swim in, making sure to alternate breaststroke into my set every 150 yards. Gotta lay off too much freestyle. I also ran a quick mile on the treadmill, just to get my blood pumping before the swim.

P.S.: I finally passed 100 swim miles for the year. I'm ahead of last year's pace, but far behind my initial "Go The Distance" goal of 175 miles.

Total distance: 1 mile running, 1,950 yards swimming

What now?

Today, I had no idea what I wanted to do. With the Turkey Tri behind me, I don't have an upcoming event on my radar just yet. So, I'm not really training for anything in particular. I did want to get some cardio in, though, so I stuck with the familiar.

I hopped on the bike and rode at a elevated level for 30 minutes. I followed that up with the treadmill, but didn't stretch very well, and I paid for it. I only lasted about a half mile before the pain in my shins was too much, so I stopped immediately. After that I did some weight work in addition to push-ups to get some upper body time in. Not a bad little workout.

Total distance: 9 miles cycling, 0.5 miles running

Weber State Turkey Tri race report

What started out as a crummy day turned out to be a good one. I woke up early so I could get up to campus and set up my transition area for the triathlon, but it there was still a ton of snow on the ground and it was still falling. Sure enough, when I checked in, they announced the bike leg had been canceled. I was very disappointed and my heart kind of sank a bit. I've trained primarily for the bike leg, given my knee and shoulder issues restrict my swimming and running, so that was a blow. Obviously, trying to beat my time from last year was out the window since the race was only a duathlon this time around.

Chatting with Kelly and Jess just after finishing.
They were in the first wave, while I was in the second.

However, the weather cleared up a bit just before the race started and when it was my wave's turn to start the race, I was amped and determined to go all out on my run, regardless of pain, knowing I wouldn't have to follow it with a bike leg. It hurt and I was certainly sucking wind, but I gave it my all and didn't stop despite the cold. The swim was cake. I cruised past people in the short 300-yard pool event and mostly, people were conscious of faster swimmers, letting them pass when needed. I really wish that leg was longer, because it's the only place where I have an edge over most triathletes.


Me at the start of the race (in all black). Note the damn snow, just like last year.

I finished in 36:38 minutes, good enough for 5th out of 10 in my age group and 48th out of 112 overall. In the end, I'm still bummed I didn't get to use the bike I went through the trouble of borrowing, but with the time I logged on the other two legs, I'm still confident I would have finished in under an hour this year and possibly finished higher up. However, I did have one of the top 10 fastest swim legs in the whole race. To counter that, I also had one of the top 10 slowest transitions. I probably could have shaved a minute off my race if I didn't take my sweet effing time getting to the pool.

Jess, Kelly and I hanging out during the post-race raffle with our new bling.

Jessica and Kelly each won prizes in the raffle and Jess was given a medal for finishing first in her age group which was kind of cool. She acted very surprised and with good reason, because when the official results were posted today, she actually took fourth in her age group. What a fraud! Haha! Also, ran into some old friends and some acquaintances I work out with at the Roy Rec Center. After the race, I joined Jon McBride and Gentry Reinhart, -- my old pals from The Signpost -- for some lunch at the Shooting Star Saloon in Huntsville and we followed that up with a Weber State football game (also in the snow). The day still didn't end, as I took Jen to an Ogden Mustangs hockey game later that night (also in a cold ice rink).

The famous Shooting Star. My stomach
 didn't sit right for the rest of
 the day, though. Worth it...

What a day... A cold one.

Total distance: 3.1 miles running, 300 yards swimming

Run around the block

Not a whole lot new to report today. I went for a run around noon and figured I'd just run around the neighborhood for a little while. After all, the weather has been perfect the past few days. I ended up going for almost 45 minutes before my knee was starting to hurt a bit, so I stopped and walked the rest of the way home. I certainly don't want to aggravate it right before the Turkey Tri next weekend.

All in all, it was a nice little run, though.

Total distance: 4 miles running

Wedding anniversary triathlon

I didn't have the intention of doing anything special today, but when I got to the gym, I was feeling ambitious. I started out on the treadmill and went a full 3.1 miles and was feeling OK, so I thought, "What the hell?" and hopped right on the bike. I was still feeling good, so after about 10 minutes I decided to go the distance and complete the full 6.2-mile leg of what the Turkey Tri will be.

I immediately jumped off, started my watch and timed myself as I ran down to the locker room, threw on my suit and dove into the pool. I went through the 300-yards as fast as I could before turning off the timer. Adding it all up, including transitions, I did the full triathlon in 59:33, which is VERY fast by my standards. However, realistically, the actual tri is much more difficult with big hills and such. I finished in about 1:08.00 last year and based off how I ran the run leg of the course yesterday, I can't imagine I'm going to crush my time. Hopefully, I'll be able to knock a few minutes off, though. Getting under 1:05.00 would be an accomplishment for me.

It's been a good day, other than upsetting Jen for taking longer than expected at the gym. Today is our third wedding anniversary.

Total distance: 3.1 miles running, 6.2 miles cycling, 300 yards swimming