Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Light at the End of the Tunnel?

I've been thinking a lot lately about the following question: How far is too far ahead to train for a goal? Is it reasonable to think that maybe I'm reaching towards something so far in the future that I may get bored with training? Should I be able to train in a shorter time period? Does it even really matter?

Part of the reason I'm picking races in the Spring is because I hate running/biking/anything other than hunting in the winter. We don't belong to a gym at the moment, but that may have to change if I'm going to do any swimming once the cold months set in. I have the proper apparel for running and biking in the 30 degree weather, but that doesn't mean I'm jump out of bed at the thought of it. Of course, there are only two things that I jump out of bed for early in the morning - hunting and tailgating. And golf...can't forget golf. But I am certainly worried that sometime, maybe in the 3-4 month mark, I'm going to lose sight of the goal. As I say this, I immediately just thought of the guys at Ironmannaise who started training a year in advance. That makes me feel better. Yet another reason I started this blog, it's something to keep me on track. I can just picture you guys foaming at the mouth for an update. Needing to know how far I ran, how the bike felt, or if some rogue driver permanently ended my aspirations. That's how it is, right? Well, I'll just stick with how I imagine it.

I believe I'm around 5-6 weeks into this whole thing? Seems like a good time for a weight update, as that is a pretty large secondary goal in this process. I looked back and realized I lied about my starting weight. It was actually 238. Eesh. Sick. So, onto the results:

7/24 - 238 lbs
8/30 - 223 lbs

MINUS 15 POUNDS. I know the beginning is the easiest part, but this is encouraging nonetheless. Have a good night folks, off to my Fantasy Football Draft.

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

What's New is Old, Err, Old is New...

Our new floors are in! Carpet in our living room, and laminate wood flooring in the dining and hall areas.


This takes a large burden off our shoulders as we can now get the condo back into shape to be shown to potential buyers. We're hoping to have our first "new" showing this Friday. Also, if anyone is looking into the Greenville market, I know of a great 2B/2BA condo close to downtown that's for sale.

While I'm talking about the condo, it's never too early to start thinking about winterizing your house. Seriously, all homeowners out there can avoid what we went through by looking into the following items:

1. Insulate any pipes in the crawlspace/attic or exterior walls.

2. Look into replacing old copper lines with a material called Pex. Greatly reduces the risk of a burst or broken pipe.

3. Regular maintenance to your HVAC unit. In our case, ours was installed years ago without a proper drainage system. We cut into the drain line and ran the condensate through the back of our master closet, and out the rear of the building. Less than $100 could save you an insurance claim and a lot of headache.

So, I ran again today. This was my third outing while on call, quite the feat. I shortened my route to about 25 minutes today because of all the work to do at home. It was a nice, peaceful run...if that sort of thing even exists when you run as slow as I do. I'm looking forward to trying to increase mileage in the next few weeks. I'd like to try a 5 miler before the first football game I attend (2nd week of the season) as sort of "milestone". I'm done for training this week though as I will head to Rock Hill this weekend for the annual High Cotton Sporting Clays shoot. This is an event I look forward to every year with my dad and uncle. Next week should include some heavy week days and we will once again be out of town on the weekend. My lifelong best friend is getting married and I've heard that it's frowned upon for the best man not to be there. Even if Clemson is playing at home. That's true love, Randy Jackson style.


















Monday, August 22, 2011

Settling In

When I first started my current job, I freaked out any time I was on call. I wouldn't leave the house, basically just sitting on the couch staring at the pager waiting for it to go off. I've since calmed down [some might say I'm over this whole deal]. My change in attitude has allowed me to continue training despite being on call.

So I ran my 5k route on Saturday morning in 27:26. More progress. I ran again this evening at a 27:14 clip. Saturday definitely felt better though. Most likely because it was a morning run, just after waking up...as opposed to after a long day of dealing with homeowners. Which, let me stop there for a second. If you ever have someone come into your home to complete a job, especially if they're helping you through a catastrophe of sorts...DON'T BE AN ASS. You're not our only customer and construction is a process. I don't have people just sitting around jumping at the opportunity to come work 24/7 at your house. I'm also not your personal servant 24/7. I have a family and enjoy spending time with them in the evenings and on weekends. Do you want our house put back together? Make time to meet me during business hours. /rant.

I feel better. We're quickly approaching a key stretch of months for the training...Football Season. Those of you that know me may say I have a slightly unhealthy obsession with college football. You would be right. Training on the weekends become virtually impossible. If it's not gameday, we typically have friends in town. Friends who aren't always down for a Saturday am run before College Gameday comes on. But I'm trying to be better this year. If I can net a loss of 10 lbs through football season, I will consider it a huge victory.


Tuesday, August 16, 2011

I Want to Ride My Bicycle!

You ever have one of those moments when your day completely changes from what you thought it was going to be? For me, that moment today was when Queen came on the radio. I instantly changed my plan from running again to a nice bike ride. As you know, our evening weather here in the south can be fickle, but today was clear sailing. This was only my second ride in like a year or something, so a leisurely 1:15:00, 16 mile ride was lovely. I kept thinking how pitiful it was that I was only riding 16 miles, and had to remind myself that my goal is small and a long way off. 16 miles is more than your typical bike leg for a sprint Tri, and this is only the beginning. A little bit is better than nothing Brian, a little bit is better than nothing [thank you Jer].

Now for some linkage...something I plan on incorporating throughout my blogging journey. I sweat A LOT. And have a terrible time with sweat running down from my helmet into my eyes. I recently found this Halo Headband at my local store, Carolina Triathlon. I wasn't drinking the kool-aid at first, but this thing is unreal. After two rides, I've yet to have a drop of sweat venture across my brow. It fits perfectly under my helmet, and I'm pretty sure I have the biggest head of anyone reading here, so it should easily fit under yours at home.

Sorry for the brief entry, but I have some prep to do before our new floors go in later this week.

***Quick Edit***   I may have forgotten to mention this...but I fell today. At the end of my ride I stopped for a second to rest, put one foot down and got lazy. Suddenly, my front tire turned and I went tumbling over the opposite leg. Some of you may recognize an all too familiar leg injury below.



Monday, August 15, 2011

Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder

I'm guessing I lost half of my four followers since my last post. Sorry, guys. As hard as it is to keep up with training when you're busy, it's even harder to keep up with a blog about training. But here I am, slightly less out of shape than I was a month back when I started this...

Today's big news is the announcement of the annual (minus last year) Sharp Family Fun Run. We started this tradition in 2009 after my brother and I married two amazing women. Here you see myself, Dad, Laura, Carrie, and Jeremy during the 2009 Cold Winter's Day Run in Columbia. Now, this run is more than just 5 people doing a 5k. Two years ago, this marked the return of my Dad to competitive running. Dad has completed multiple Charleston WV 15 milers (averaging a 6:30 per mile pace) in his day, so we were very excited to have him back running. In an earlier entry, I linked Jer's marathon recap. Check it out and you'll see just how much of an impact Dad had on Jeremy accomplishing his marathon dreams. Boston for those who are wondering. Big time. Baller.

So...training...today I ran my 5k route in 28:10. A little disappointing as it was only 87 today, not the usual 97. Weather permitting, I plan on getting a couple more runs plus a bike ride in this week. The announcement of the Sharp Family Fun Run has inspired Laura to run with me, so I look forward to having a partner. Starting Friday, I go "on call" for work. This basically means I have no life for a week, as the pager could go off at any minute and I have 15 minutes to respond. I'm going to attempt some early morning workouts this weekend in hopes that no one would call in a flood at their house at 7:00 am...on a Saturday...when people should be asleep.