At last the Holidays are upon us. Time to kick back and recover from the rigors of the past season. It's usually the time we all gain about five or ten pounds too from all the food we consume and the lack of working out. This year I'm continuing to train right on through the season. I have vowed to maintain at least ten hours of workout time per week. It's a little more difficult to get in those early morning runs with it being dark so much of the day, but that's what reflective vests and headli…
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Added by Larry on December 6, 2009 at 8:07am —
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Less than a five days to go now. Basically I'm not really training this week. I am going to swim in the lake three times to get used to the very cold water with limited visibility. It's such a different environment from the warm, clear swimming pool with the black line down the bottom to direct you. I will bike one or two times to be sure that all systems are working. I still have time to get any problems fixed before the race. A short run or two should help with the last minute nervous energy d…
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Added by Larry on August 25, 2009 at 8:06pm —
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The countdown continues. Four weeks to the day till the big event. I'm beginning to have those second thoughts. You know, have I done enough distance work? What about nutrition? Is my nutrition plan going to be adequate? I know I could use more distance in the swim and the run. Biking should be okay, but will I have enough left in the legs to do the run? I still have a little time to bump up the distance a little more. I plan to do my last long workouts next weekend and then begin a three week t…
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Added by Larry on August 2, 2009 at 8:08pm —
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Nothing new or exciting to report. Training since my last post has been typically pretty consistent. I am making my goals for time and distance. Swimming endurance has increased considerably so I feel pretty confident that the distance will be there. Time wise I would like to be a little faster of course. I am very pleased with the biking at this juncture. I had a great long ride on Sunday and worked out some nutrition and hydration issues. Again, I would like to pick up the pace a bit more whic…
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Added by Larry on July 15, 2009 at 6:05am —
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I'm back on the road again. Saw the Doc on Tuesday. The report is that I apparently am in the obsessive-compulsive bracket. The knee problems are probably overuse. Backing off took care of the symptoms. No surgery needed at this time. I just need to be more cautious when adding distance to the running. The Doc advised me to only increase my mileage by 10% each week. He thought that three days running per week should be adequate if I did one long run, one speed/fartlek session and one easy recove…
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Added by Larry on July 3, 2009 at 8:00am —
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Had the MRI and waited to hear from the Doc's office. Talked to the Doc's assistant on Friday. He informed me that my medial meniscus was not torn, however my right meniscus was torn. There were also some arthritic changes in the knee. The assistant indicated the Doc wants to see me again to check my knee and address the symptoms I'm having on the medial side. More of the same instructions that swimming and biking are okay, but no running. The good news is that with all the time off running my k…
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Added by Larry on June 28, 2009 at 1:18pm —
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A little snag in the training plan. The right knee never really got better. In fact as I increased my mileage it got worse. It didn't hurt to swim, bike or run, but did hurt to walk on it. It was especially painful in the morning when getting out of bed. Finally after six weeks I saw the orthopedic physician. He suspects I have a torn medial ligament. I am scheduled for an MRI on Tuesday to rule out or confirm the ligament damage. He said it would have to be scoped and repaired if it turns out i…
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Added by Larry on June 13, 2009 at 2:00pm —
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At last I'm getting some serious training in. It seems strange that I would have to get back to a regular work schedule to get any training done. Last week was a high for the year in total hours of training. I managed three really good bike rides with a minimum of two and a half hours and a maximum of four hours. My goal is six hours on the bike. Running wasn't too shabby either. I did three good runs of a minimum of one hour ten minutes and a maximum of two and a half hours. My goal is three ho…
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Added by Larry on May 26, 2009 at 2:46pm —
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Well, in spite of being on the road I did manage a reasonable week training. I was able to rise early enough on three days for a run of one hour each day. Swimming turned out to be no problem since the facility I stayed at had a very nice lap pool. I did manage to use that pool on three occasions for swims in the one hour neighborhood. I even used the weight room twice during the week. The week is not over for me. I have miles to go before I rest. I will get in an hour run this morning. Travel b…
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Added by Larry on May 16, 2009 at 7:05am —
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I had a relapse in training the past two weeks. I have to admit that I was remiss in my duty. I did manage three weight workouts and three short bike rides. I didn't do one mile of running and not a single yard of swimming. I wish I had an excuse for my behavior, but I don't. Actually, maybe I do have an excuse. I was really on a roll the week before falling off the wagon. I did a two and a half hour run and a three hour bike that week. I noticed all sorts of aches and pains. I really noticed a…
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Added by Larry on May 8, 2009 at 7:00am —
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I was on the road for business and pleasure for two weeks so my training was catch as catch can. I did manage several runs without a problem. I ran long on one run so I salvaged the week that way. Biking was a little less successful. I did three rides of around an hour and one ride of two and a half hours. Swimming was a total bust. I did swim once in two weeks for about an hour. Now that I'm back to work I will be able to get back into a steady routine. I vow to be more consistent. Time is gett…
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Added by Larry on April 14, 2009 at 2:00pm —
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This week has been right on track. I had two really great swims. I've broken down my swim workouts into a warmup of 50 yards easy free then 500 yds x 25's stroke drill. My main set at this point is 1000 yds x 50's easy free with minimal rest between the 50's. Cooldown is 200 yds x 25's of stroke drill. Then 50 yards very easy free. My intent is to increase the main set by about 10% each week. The biking is on track with a long bike this week of 50 miles at a steady pace. I plan to increase the l…
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Added by Larry on March 27, 2009 at 8:00am —
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Well, finally I'm back on track. I've sorted through the work problems and managed a reasonable week so far. I did a weight workout Monday following work which seemed to break the lack of motivation issue. Tuesday I hopped on the Computrainer and rode for an hour and fifteen minutes. Wednesday I did a 4 mile run. Today I think I'll hit the pool for about an hour. It's good to be back on the road again.
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Added by Larry on March 19, 2009 at 8:30am —
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Training went very well in February until the last week. I was hit with some tough work issues and I had a very difficult time motivating myself to get the training done. I have vowed to pick it up again this month.
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Added by Larry on March 2, 2009 at 7:02am —
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So far so good. I am still on track. This week was really good for all three disciplines. I managed an extra swim of an hour and 15 minutes on Friday. My long run for the week was an hour and a half at a very easy pace. The longest bike for the week was two and a half hours at a moderate (16 to 18 mph)pace. Total time for the week not including today or Sunday is 10.2 hours. I should easily get a couple of more hours training time in. More next week.
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Added by Larry on February 21, 2009 at 9:39am —
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So far so good. I've had a reasonable week as far as training is concerned. My swim on Thursday was especially good. I think the Total Immersion swimming course is really paying off. I did miss a run on Wednesday, but social activity is important for attitude adjustment as well as working out at times. I plan a nice long bike ride today. I know it's Valetine's Day, but I must get in this long bike ride. Tomorrow I plan a similar nice long run. We'll see how the planning transfers into the doing.…
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Added by Larry on February 14, 2009 at 8:08am —
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So far my training has been pretty much on target for February. Yesterday I was able to bike for two hours. Today I am planning a run in the neighborhood of an hour to an hour and a half. I'll let you know how it goes later.
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Added by Larry on February 8, 2009 at 8:25am —
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Update December 6, 2009
