Need to update!

Hi everyone. Hope you are all doing well. I'm sure you are.

The fall must be a motivating season. I think I've kind of figured out how my mind works in terms of the 12 months and working out. Here's a breakdown of each month:

January - New year = new goals and motivation. Workouts are numerous and demanding
February - Start settling into groove, which means I get lazy
March - I hate this time of year and generally spend it moping and be even lazier
April - Holy hell! I gotta get to work! Race season is underway
May - Yay, nice weather outside! Bike and run a lot
June - Hooray, in full race season now
July - Ok, it's hot. But still working hard
August - Summer is over. I'm sad. Lazy time again
September - Fall! Leaves changing! Yay! Let's go embrace the outdoors!
October - Dude, season is over. Football and hockey are only priorities now
November - Oh crap, Thanksgiving is coming. I need to work out
December - Work out? Christ, I don't care

Yeah, that's the general breakdown. As you can probably tell, I don't do well in late spring or late fall/early winter. That's not going to happen this year. I plan on doing both an Olympic tri as well as a sprint next year, so I am staying in tip-top workout shape this time around.

Oh, and just so you all know, girlfriend and I are shooting for Ironmans a lot earlier than planned. 30 years old! Yeah, that's right.

Some thoughts...

After some brief hiccups in training, both T and I are doing very well. We're both running and running well and we're both motivated. Let's face it...we have the Autumn Color run coming up and that's where we're both shooting for a PR there.

Anyway, in the past few weeks/months, running around the neighborhood has gotten quite boring. You can run any different route, go any which way, but at the end of the day, you still end up running down the same street to and from home.

I've been up at Red Rocks 3 times in the past month and a half. Once to see a concert, once taking my mom up there who was visiting us and once taking my friend up there who was visiting us. And I don't know what it was, but looking at the stage, the rows, and the view, I got an image in my head. This image was me next year, doing an Olympic triathlon. Plowing my way through the water, smiling as I come into the 2nd transition off my bike, and sprinting across the finish line. So I got to thinking...what if I use the great Colorado outdoors as my own training arena? What if I harness everything that is around me and instead of just admiring it, use it?

I pondered it for a few days and came up with a thought. Swim in the reservoirs around the state including some way up in the mountains. Cycle in the foothills and again ride up to Maroon Bells in Aspen. And run Red Rocks. Why not? Mix it up! Use the state of Colorado as a training arena! Take advantage of the beauty!

We were riding back on the lightrail the other night from the Rockies game and I mentioned to girlfriend the idea of running Red Rocks. She wasn't too excited about it, but when I told her that running every row was the equivalent of running a 5K, she perked up. We both wanted to squeeze in a long run, so we headed on up. And boy, let me tell you, there's something special about running up there. Yes, it was hot. Yes, it was challenging. But my god, it was wonderful. We both had great times, and we both were feeling energized.

While I will not be able to make it up there every day, I plan on utilizing it a lot in the offseason when I can. This may prove to be the spark that ignites the powderkeg! (that's me...I'm the powderkeg...)

Tri Training has begun officially

A few important things have happened over the past few weeks.

Important thing #1. I got my bike! Yes, I did. A Trek 1.2. It's a good starter road bike that will basically allow me to do what I need to do. Which is complete my tri and add some variety cardio to my workout routine.

We went for a 14.5 mile ride the day after I got the bike. Aside from a crappy cyclometer that didn't tell me my cadence, no problems. This is going to be my weakest point in the triathlon, I believe, so I am going to be really focusing on cycling in the next couple months.

Important thing #2. I've re-evaluated my running. Armed with a new running playlist and a new mindset, my running has gotten better. I'm overnighting in Fargo a lot this month and every time I'm in town, I go for a run. The first two times this month were 45 minute runs, and today I upped it to 50 minutes. This has allowed me to run 5 miles for the first time since I ran the 10K nearly a year ago. I'm not concerning myself with distance, I'm not conerning myself with time, all I'm doing right now is running. And really really enjoying it.

Important thing #3. My mindset is the best its been in a long time. It's funny, but I guess when you have something you are trying to achieve, you can really want to do what it takes to get it. I'm shooting to complete a thiathlon, but I want to do more than just finish it. I want to do good. I want to finish it with a respectable time. And I want something to build off of.

Anyway, that's an update on my tri training for now. More to follow soon. :-)

A run and an explanation

Hey everyone...

First of all, I have worked out since I've last blogged. I've actually done some intense shit in between. But for some reason, I just haven't felt the need to blog. I don't know what it is, but I think writing the same stuff every single time I work out is getting really old. "I went for a run today. It was good." "I lifted today. Here's what I did." You see what I'm getting at there.

So I will be shifting my focus on this blog to specific stuff. As you may remember, I do have a triathlon coming up in July (so does girlfriend) and I will begin talking about my tri training. The official date I begin my official "tri training" is May 7th, because that is the day I am purchasing my new bike!!!! Yep, Brandon has been saving money and is ready to take the plunge.

Also, I will blog extensively about the races I do this year. How does that sound? Feedback?

In any event, I did run the other day. It was 1.56 in 16:18, but being that both girlfriend and I are coming off of illness (seriously, my immune system has sucked this year), I'm satisfied. Plus she and I walked around DC a LOT!

Elaborations

Ok, to elaborate on before, I am just kind of summing up the last month and what to expect this month.

Here's last month:

- It was an ok month. What I mean by that is I got back in the groove of working out, but was still prone to lapses and taking some unnecessary days off. Not only that, but I didn't really push myself at all. The workouts were mediocre for the most part. But I still did them.
- Still need to be smarter about food choices. When I review in my food journal, I'm still seeing too many bad items that I put down. It's not the worst thing, but still need to be conscious about what I am putting into my body. Also need a lot more fruits and vegetables.
- Use the most smart food choice. What I am saying here is let's take a day where I am flying all day and have limited options for food. Is it better to get Pizza Hut or Panda Express? Neither are very good, but at least at Panda I can get some vegetables, carbs, and proteins. Pizza hut only delivers carbs, if you think about it. Neither are good options, but the one of two is certainly better.
- Need to keep drinking water. I was really good about it at the beginning of the month, then it fell off. Gotta keep it up
- The treats were a nice thing, but really I should not need them to motivate me to work out

Ok, so that's January in a nutshelled recap. Let's take a look at February and where we're gonna go:

- As I mentioned in January, the workouts have to step up. Gotta keep pushing myself
- I reminded myself that the Cherry Creek Sneak is in April. This gives me a short time to prepare for a 5 mile race. Since I've only really run more than 5 miles once in the last year, I have a lot of work to do
- Swim more. I DO have a tri coming up this year, after all
- Really really focus on food. Focus on eating healthy and good
- Remind myself that there will be lapses. They happen. Instead of beating myself up for them, recognize why they happen and take steps to preven them

So that's where I'm at, ISD readers. Nothing in here is lofty or unattainable. The question still is, am I willing to do what it takes to keep getting healthy?

A good workout...and a summary

After a couple days off (don't really know why, other than being exhausted), I got a good workout in in Fargo. In fact, it was a step up from usual. Sure, it's still the treadmill, but today I did the runs at 6.5 and went for 30 minutes.

After this workout, I decided to evaluate where I'm at for the month of January and where I want to go in February. Here's some highlights:

- it was an ok month. Not a great month, not a good month, but ok
- I need to be smarter about food choices still
- sometimes I need to use the most smart food choice. To elaborate on that, let's say my options are just limited. I'm going to evaluate what I've eaten throughout the day and if I need some protein, for example, get some chicken or beef into me.
- workouts have to step up. The beginning of January was consistent, but probably too soft
- start thinking about where to go from here

I'm off to lunch with a friend. i'll get more on here later.

Of Resolutions and Retrospect

I promised I'd get around to my resolution/retrospective ... and here it is!

Hey, I actually followed through with a promise on this here blog. Crazy, I know.

Anyway, I figure I'll do this post in three parts. If I knew how to do a blog cut, I would, but since I don't ... this is going to be long.

First of all ... The Top ISDreams Posts of 2008 According to T

In other words, the posts I thought were the most notable, thought-provoking ... and generally, the most worthy of your time. Mostly. These will be in chronological order, not order of importance. Too lazy to rank.

- I start the blog
- Brandon hops on board
- We both go skiing for the first time in forever
- Sports help us figure out our relationship
- Brandon's first 5K in FOREVER
- Charlotte gives us our first non-spam comment!
- MizFit finds us!
- Resolution half-way point
- I debut pictures
- I discuss my crappy tri performance
- I create a CD dumbbell thanks to an idea yanked from MizFit's blog
- Brandon realizes he's gone too far
- I talk about my time on the bodybugg

There you have it, the milestones and whatnot of ISDreams's first year in blogland.

Next up, I'll review last year's fitness-related resolutions ...

Get back in shape. Not so much. Okay, okay, I was doing well with this for a while, but, as in 2007, I fell back off the wagon. Le sigh.
Compete in at least five races again and possibly add others in - includes tri. Success! I competed in seven 5Ks, one 4miler and one sprint triathlon.
Finally learn to kayak. Failboat. This is something I SO SO SO want to do, but am going to have to put off for a while.
Play more hockey. Fail. Due to a lot of random factors, I think I actually played LESS hockey in 2008 than in 2007.

Finally, I give you ... T's 2009 Resolutions. These are not all health and fitness related ... so the ones that aren't, I'm not going into grand detail.

My overarching goal this year is to GET ORGANIZED. This means financially, mentally, emotionally, physically, technically, whathaveyouly.

From there ...
1. Find a job that will help me be more financially stable, whether it be in my field or not and whether I have to swallow my pride to take it or not.
2. Develop a healthy lifestyle that I can actually STICK TO, not something that is inflexible with the demands of life. I feel so much better when I'm well-hydrated and well-nutrified (yes, i know it's a fake word) that it's really a wonder why I don't adhere to eating well and working out on a consistent basis.
3. Embrace frugality.
4. Continue racing, and expand beyond the 5K. I started this in November by doing the Mile High United Way Turkey Trot (the aforementioned 4miler) and actually almost ran the whole thing. To that point, it had been the longest distance I'd ever run. There's a 5miler I'd like to do in late April and I'd ideally like to be able to do the Bolder Boulder (a 10k) at the end of May. I have a lot of work to get there, but I think I can do it. I might also do more than one tri this year or, at the very least, add in a duathlon.
5. Consolidate my crap and cut down.
6. SEE PEOPLE.
7. Write more often.

Point seven deals with my other, more social-type online journals that I rarely update, but it goes along with here, too. I started this blog as a workout blog (and it even says what it is right there at the top), but I'd like to expand on to other things, as well. Add in more exercise history so y'all can get a feel for who Brandon and I are and why we are the way we are when it comes to exercise and working out. The above linked bodybugg post is somewhat of a start, but I'd like to go so much further.

I'd also like to post about other topics within the realm of health and fitness (yes, i'm stealing my ideas from the rest of the fitosphere), although I doubt I'll ever get myself/ISDreams to the stage of information that, to give a few random examples, Crabby and Merry, Mizfit and Charlotte do.

Is that something our small but awesome readership would be interested in? Let me know ... but I may just do it anyway.

Happy 2009, everyone. Thanks for stumbling upon this here blog and hope you've enjoyed what you've seen so far!

T's Goal Recaps

Sprague Lake; Rocky Mountain National Park

Yay, it's fall!

First things first, haven't worked out today. I won't, either, unless you count running up ... 6 flights of stairs twice so far and at least once more at CC. Silly work.

So, September review:

General Goals:
- Skirt Chaser 5K and the Autumn Color Run
- core, cycling and general cardio
- MAYBE looking into hockey leagues
- run Red Rocks
Personally:
- H.I.I.T. training for cardio
- general focus on upping the strength training
- flexibility

I ran both the SkirtChaser and the Autumn Color Run, so check. Core? Check. Cycling? FAIL. General cardio? Half-check - didn't do as much as I probably should have. When I wasn't running a race or running outside, all other cardio I did was H.I.I.T. training, so check! It probably helped with my awesome time in the Autumn Color Run, too, so yay. Didn't strength train as much as I wanted to, so half-check there, but check on flexibility.

Overall? Not bad.

Now, let's repost October's Goals:
- maybe a 5K
- enjoyment outside - REJUVENATION
- hockey
- agility
Personally:
- endurance for cardio; stamina
- functional strength training

I'm extremely unsure on whether a 5K will happen this month or not, but I'm thinking succeeding this month will be better than last.

A review of goals for both September and October

Ok, so here comes the much anticipated goal reviewing. As you all know, girlfriend and I established goals for two months to keep us on track. I'm training for a triathlon next year and also trying to just get in better shape.

Here's September goals:

SEPTEMBER GENERAL GOALS
- Skirt Chaser 5K and maybe Autumn Color 5K
- Core, cycling, and general cardio
- Run Red Rocks

SEPTEMBER PERSONAL GOALS (MINE)
- Endurance for cardio (treadmill workout, hill sprints, etc)
- Core strengthening
- CONSISTENCY (week to week)

I did both the Skirtchaser 5K and the Autumn Color 5K, each time setting a better PR. Goal, check. I did a lot of lifting focusing on my core. Goal, check. I did quite a bit of running + a few treadmill workouts. Goal, check.

I didn't cycle once. Fail. I didn't run Red Rocks. Fail.

My endurance can speak for itself with two PR's in 5K's! My core I believe is stronger. And the consistency thing went pretty well.

So overall, I would say September was a success.

October...not off to a great start. I've been sick for a little while (boo). And been pretty busy unfortunately. But I will review the goals here.

OCTOBER GENERAL GOALS
- Maybe a 5K
- Enjoyment outside (October is probably our favorite month)
- More hockey

OCTOBER PERSONAL GOALS (MINE)
- Intense weight training
- flexibility
- agility

Doubt the 5K is gonna happen, but that's ok. It's not something I was planning on. More hockey...I'll try. I need to put 45 bucks aside for ice time. And enjoyment outside has been happening. Thankfully.

I need to hit the gym for the weights. It's not too late to get started for sure.

September has begun

Yeah, that's right.

I had to take yesterday off being that I had a 21 hour day of work. Yeah. So today was an extra big day of working out. As we mentioned earlier in our blog, we have created some goals for September and October. I am posting the September goals below:

SEPTEMBER GENERAL GOALS
- Skirt Chaser 5K and maybe Autumn Color 5K
- Core, cycling, and general cardio
- Run Red Rocks

SEPTEMBER PERSONAL GOALS (MINE)
- Endurance for cardio (treadmill workout, hill sprints, etc)
- Core strengthening
- CONSISTENCY (week to week)

Today I incorporated two of my goals into my workouts. The endurance and the consistency. For the endurance I am playing hockey later and also ran 1.87 miles. Nike Plus said I ran 2.06. I like Nike+ better, but oh well. I could have definitely gone faster but I still think I am recovering from my 10k a couple days ago. The time wasn't too good...18:39 but I definitely wasn't pushing myself and hadn't exactly eaten properly. I mean, not bad, but not really any food that was going to energize me throughout the day.

The running weather was nice. Low 60's, not a lot of wind, and overcast. Probably ideal, actually. And I got to pull out a new running shirt, which always makes me happy. :-)

Tomorrow will be a gym day. It's strange, but I just feel energized lately. I think a lot of things go into that, including that I am done with training and actually have a job, that my job is looking more and more secure, that I am training better, but whatever it is, this fall is going to be good in terms of getting in even better shape.

More working out tonight, cause we're cool. HOCKEY!!!! Go us.

Oh, and Mizfit, if you have any core exercises you could send me, you would be my hero...even moreso than you already are. ;-)

September Goals and a Run

As it's near the beginning of September (was gonna work out yesterday, but an ass-early wake-up call, work and feeling like poo stopped that), I'm going to revisit my September goals for you so you can keep me (and us!) on track.

General Goals:
- SkirtChaser 5K and the Autumn Color Run (no longer a possibility!)
- core, cycling and general cardio
- MAYBE looking into hockey leagues
- run Red Rocks
Personally:
- H.I.I.T. (or crabby's s.h.i.i.t.) training for cardio
- general focus on upping the strength training
- flexibility

Today, we technically did one general goal (cardio!) and I technically did two of my personal goals. Given that we have the SkirtChaser race on Saturday (!), we decided to go for a run. Something not quite so long given that we're a.) back at altitude and b.) in hill land.

The weather was actually nice for a run - high-50s, low-60s and breezy. We ended up running in long sleeves - how crazy is that?! Yay for fall! (*ahem*) Started off with a nice warm-up - I did 40 jumping jacks and five 25 yard(ish) sprints in the backyard. Then it was stretch stretch stretch which I SO need to do everyday. Then we ran to Target.

Yes, Target. The neighborhood Target is close by (1.85 miles) and I needed greeting cards, so we decided to run there. I kept pace with Brandon for the most part which kind of surprised me. Anyway, did the 1.85 mi. in 18:28 which was a little slower than I'd like (mmrrraaaa). However, we were running into the wind which I've noticed plays havoc on the ol' sports asthma. I'm trying to count my breathing and nature is trying to make me take in more air than I want. Stupid nature.

Of course, we were awesome and walked back home and felt good.

And, because we're even MORE awesome than THAT, we're playing hockey later tonight too ... which will obviously garner its own blog post then.

Traning and Triathlon goals

Since my toe is fixed and a triathlon is looming on the horizon, while we were both in Seattle, girlfriend and I came up witn some training goals. Basically we lumped them into two things, training and personal. There's also some nutrition goals in there as well.

AUGUST GENERAL GOALS
- Get my foot fixed (done)
- Work out when we can (given how busy the rest of the month is for us)
- Just stay active somehow

AUGUST PERSONAL GOALS (MINE)
- Foot fixed (hooray, done!)
- On basis of that, run Nike Human Race 10K on 8-31-08
- Run more

SEPTEMBER GENERAL GOALS
- Skirt Chaser 5K and maybe Autumn Color 5K
- Core, cycling, and general cardio
- Run Red Rocks

SEPTEMBER PERSONAL GOALS (MINE)
- Endurance for cardio (treadmill workout, hill sprints, etc)
- Core strengthening
- CONSISTENCY (week to week)

OCTOBER GENERAL GOALS
- Maybe a 5K
- Enjoyment outside (October is probably our favorite month)
- More hockey

OCTOBER PERSONAL GOALS (MINE)
- Intense weight training
- flexibility
- agility

Each month will bring on new challenges and mix it up. I think over the summer one of the problems was I was doing the same workouts day in and day out. I mean, it was good that I was training and whatnot, don't get me wrong, but only running 5K's, for example, is not going to help me grow. That's why I'm doing the 10K on 8-31. Running Red Rocks is another goal of mine. I want to run every row + sprint up the rows at the end. Mixing it up will help both of us stay motivated.

As for nutrition, it's a tough thing for me being I'm a pilot. However, I think I can take it in baby steps. Here they are...

- No fast food except Subway and Taco Bell (options at the airport suck)
- Pack food for trips
- Eat out less and when I do, wise menu choices
- Cut down snacking
- Actually eat while bartending (have girlfriend bring something or pack some food)
- Try multi-vitamin
- More water (not Gatorade)
- Don't waste treats

Even further into these goals, girlfriend and I have set a couple rules for each other. Promises in motivation. These are...

- Support each other. We are not competing against each other. We are helping each other
- No sabotaging each other, unintentionally or otherwise
- Say fuck you to our inner critics (definitely the hardest thing I will do all year)
- No negative self talk unless its telling the inner critic to go fuck itself
- Keep each other on track and help each other get back up
- Remind each other not to overdo it

With these goals in mind, the next couple months should provide entertainment on the blogs and help girlfriend and I shed some poundage, but more importantly, help us feel better about ourselves and in general.

Training Goals

As we've both alluded to recently, we each came up with some goals for the next few months in terms of fitness, nutrition, training and overall confidence. We're each going to do a separate post with our own goals, but there will be some overlap.

I won't yammer on much, so onward!

Rest of August:
- get Brandon's foot fixed (DONE!)
- work out when we can (i've got a friend visiting, brandon's got airplane stuff)
- just stay active somehow
Personally:
- run, run, run
- lift (even if it's lunging around the house or whatnot ... like moving furniture)

September:
- SkirtChaser 5K and possibly the Autumn Color Run
- core, cycling and general cardio
- MAYBE looking into hockey leagues
- run Red Rocks
Personally:
- H.I.I.T. (or crabby's s.h.i.i.t.) training for cardio
- general focus on upping strength training
- flexibility

October:
- maybe a 5K (might be one at red rocks)
- enjoyment outside - REJUVENATION
- hockey
- agility
Personally:
- endurance for cardio; stamina
- functional strength training

We also made some general goals in regards to our nutrition ...

T's Eating Goals:
- mini meals - eat every few hours
- more fruits and veggies
- start taking a multivitamin
- drink lots more water (i always feel better when i do)
- no soda pop (whatevs) except for some rare Diet Pepsi
- smarter menu choices when eating out (meaning, split with brandon when i can)
- when I have the option, choose healthier restaurants
- don't waste treats (so if we're at a buffet-type restaurant, don't get the dessert there because it's crappy quality. instead, save it for some place where it's going to be really damn good)

Finally, we made some promises to ourselves and each other in terms of motivation so we stay on track ...

Our Pact to Ourselves:
- SUPPORT EACH OTHER
- no sabotaging each other, unintentionally or otherwise
- say "fuck you" to our inner critics (harder for boyfriend)
- no negative self talk ... unless it's telling the inner critic to go fuck itself
- keep each other on track AND help each other get back up if we fall off the wagon
- remind each other not to overdo it ... since we both have tendencies toward overtraining. This goes back to Brandon's thing a few posts ago about always feeling like there's a little left in the tank at the end of a work out.


I'll repost the monthly goals as those months come around this here blog. If you, the (few) readers notice that we're not doing something in regards to our personal pact in this blog (like trashing ourselves), CALL US OUT ON IT. It'll help in the long run.

Here's to training ...

A goal achieved...

After a much deserved day off, I left the girlfriend at home and went out on the same run I did last Sunday.

Again, no real hurry, just wanted to run slow and keep building up the endurance. Today it was 3.73 miles in 39:19. Not too bad. Better than last time by over a minute per mile. And I really wasn't pushing myself crazy like either...which is good.

I also achieved a goal of running 20 miles in the month of June. I will set another goal for July...still TBD