Snow Day...again...

It is official, my training for February is complete and in the record books.

Today was my 50 minute tempo run.

It was snowing and I was running in 4 - 5 inches of snow. It was like running in slippery sand.

It was tough, I ended up only running a 10:10 minute mile pace at a 139 bpm.

It is really unfortunate the conditions are so bad, I use my tempo runs as a weekly gauge of my progress, and with the bad weather I wasn't able to do a fair comparison from last week.

Now that the month is over, here are my February totals:

Total Running - 113.47 miles
Total Biking - 407 miles
Total Swimming - 23.18 miles
Total Mileage of all three sports - 543.65 miles
Total Calories burnt - 43,408

Based on the above numbers, I set a personal training record in February. I did more mileage and burnt more calories than last July, when I did 504.83 miles and burnt 35,541 calories.

Plus, February only had 29 days and July had 31 days.

I have now been doing the program for 7 weeks. For the last 3 weeks, my weekly hours have been as follows:

Feb 3 - 9 - 15.76 hours
Feb 10 - 16 - 16.31 hours
Feb 17 - 23 - 17.00 hours

For the month of February I trained a total of 66 hours, which averages 2 hours and 28 minutes per day.

Not included in the monthly total training hours is the 4.35 hours of stretching I did after workouts.

If I didn't keep track of the workouts, hours, distances and calories, I would never believe I did so much training.

I still can't believe it, my body feels really good and mentally I feel great!

I think in the past I probably only did around 6 - 8 hours of training per week and felt much more tired, sore and at times unmotivated.

The only thing I can attribute to my ability to recover and feel good, is the "Mark Allen On-line" training program.

Oh yeah, I almost forgot, monthly party stat - 83.5 beers!

(Above is a painting Reid did today).

Doing it all Today - Family, Work & Training...

I woke up early, had my cereal and toast, and was at the pool by 6:30am.

Today was my 3000 meter tempo swim, another word for speed work.

I actually swam faster than I thought I could. For some of the 100 repeats I was as low as 1:49 per 100, others I was not so fast at 2:08 per 100.

I really did swim hard this morning. I figured if I'm going to do a speed workout, I'm going to give it everything I have, no slacking or "going through the motions".

"If it's not worth doing right, it's not worth doing" is my training motto.

As I've been swimming in the morning for the past couple of weeks, my body has been adjusting nicely, and I'm no longer tired and driving to work in "sleepy" mode.

Lately, I can't stop eating, I have constant cravings. Where I should be gaining weight, I actually think I'm starting to lose weight.

The only time my weight gets unpredictable is after I "binge" on cocktails. It takes a few days for my body to readjust.

After work, I hung up my old bike in the garage, had my nap, then dinner and did an hour of weights. I gave it all during the weight session and could feel the pain.

After working out I went to Reid's hockey game, from the weight training session, my upper body felt exhausted and tingly, like a heart attack symptom.

On the way home I started to crave ice cream!

What a difference a bike makes...

My Trek bike arrived from Florida yesterday.

It has been there since my Christmas holidays.

It took a while for my bike box to be shipped to my sisters in Florida, which meant it took a while for my bike to get back home to me.

After my evening nap, I decided to put the bike together and put it on the wind trainer.

I'm glad I did.

I could not believe the ride difference between my old Centurion and my carbon fiber Trek.

The Trek is so superior!

I would never have thought the difference would be so easily noticeable, especially as the bikes are on a wind trainer and not outside on the road.

The first thing I noticed was that the Trek was so much quieter than the Centurion. Normally Alice can hear me on the bike from downstairs, with the Trek she couldn't, it was just a nice low humming.

The feel of the Trek also felt better. When riding, the spinning is smoother, everything is a precision fit.

I did a 75 minute tempo ride at 139 bpm.

It was the only time on a wind trainer, that I had to keep it in the big front gear and continue to gear up and then down on the small rear gear just to keep my heart rate in the zone.

It felt like I was riding outside.

A busy 14 hours...

Between 6:30 pm yesterday and 8:30 am today, a total of 14 hours, I did exactly 5 hours of training.

In the past 27 hours, I've done 6 hours and 15 minutes.

This morning I got up at 5:45, had my toast and jam and drove the YMCA.

I had my 4000 meter swim, and it was an official 4000 meters in a 25 meter pool. It took me 1 hour 40 minutes. The 400 meter of kicking on the board at the end of the workout was "real" fun.

Tonight I went for an 8 mile run that I completed in 1 hour 15 minutes. It was a moderate run, with the heart rate not exceeding 134 bpm.

It started snowing today and it was not the ideal conditions for running. I decided to wait until 8:30 pm to run, as I thought there would be less traffic and it would be safer.

My neighbor, who is training for a marathon decided not to go out to run tonight because he thought it was to slippery and didn't want to fall and injure himself. He opted for his treadmill.

I decided to go anyway. I had to push myself out the door because the weather was miserable and I wasn't looking forward to going outside.

I am so "sick" of winter. The snow and the ice is just getting to me. It should be gone by now!!!

The one smart thing I did before my run was decide to use my cross country ski mitts. For the past few runs I've been using my fabric gloves and they have not been keeping my hands warm, so I went for the mitts.

They were awesome, so warm and toasty.

The run felt good, except for the wind blowing snow pellets in my eyes, having to dart away from the dangerous road clearing trucks three times, trying not to slip on ice and getting my feet wet from the areas that were melting due to the salt.

Other than that, the run was good.

Monday Monday...

I started my training right at 6:30 pm.

My bike ride was 2 hours, followed by my weight session, which lasted 80 minutes.

I decided to update my blog before I stretched, so after completing this update, I have 15 minutes of stretching before going to bed.

I figure by 10:45 pm I should be done for the night.

Hopefully I will get a good night sleep, as I need to get up at 5:45 am to do my 4000 meter swim.

Today's training went well. I found a couple of good TV shows to watch, which made the bike ride go faster. I did sweat a lot, as always!

The weights never get easier, but I love the results.

Highlight of the week...

I woke up at 7:30 am to do my long run.

It look me 1/2 hour just to get my legs to move fluidly.

Before the run, I had a large bowl of oatmeal and two pieces of toast with blueberry jam. I was now carbo loaded and ready to go.

I dressed a little lighter than normal as I thought it would be a little warmer out. Wrong. It took me at least 45 minutes to start feeling warmer. My hands were very cold.

I could tell I was having a good run, I felt strong for the entire run and even stronger on the last half.

I ended up running an 8:25 pace for 13.62 miles. It took me 1 hour 55 minutes, at or below 139 bpm. My long run was 3 seconds faster than Friday's 50 minute tempo run.

It was my best long run time of the year, it was around 30 - 60 seconds per mile faster than my last few long runs and afterwards my legs felt great, no fatigue.

At 10:45 I was home, stretched and showered, all according to my plan, as this afternoon is family time.

We're planning to go to the auto show.

A little less rough Saturday...except for the workout

Last night Alice and I went to a 40th birthday party in the Italian area of Toronto.

I had a great time, lots of beer, food, cake and dancing. It is a good thing Alice only had a couple of drinks, she was able to get me home by 1:17 am, or it could have been a repeat of last week.

Although it wasn't that far off.

When I start "kissing" people it is usually a sign that I've had a little to much to drink!

I woke up early, as Reid had a playoff game at 8:00 am. They won 2 - 0.

I was still feeling some of the effects of the night before and the Tim Horton's coffee and bagel started to help bring me back to normal.

When I got home I went to bed for a few more hours, then picked up a healthy burger and fries for lunch, before starting my Saturday super workout sessions.

I started at 2:10 pm and was finished by 7:16 pm.

I did a 3 hour bike ride and a 3000 meter swim that took me 70 minutes. In between the two workouts I did my regular stretching session.

It dawned on me that I probably spend more time stretching in a week than most people do working out. On average, in a week, I figure I stretch 1.5 to 2 hours.

After every run or bike, I stretch for around 15 minutes.

On today's bike ride I lost over 5 lbs of water, even though I drank 64 ounces while riding. Then after the bike, I drank back the 5 lbs and then some, plus my protein shake.

Right after the bike and my stretching session, I drove to the pool. The swim was tough. The water was making me sick. I was so water logged and the water in the pool was causing me to O.D. on water.

I was also physically tired and at points during the swim, I closed my eyes and had mini sleeps.

It turns out that the Burlington YMCA pool is in yards, not meters. The 4000 meter swim I did this week was actually 4000 yards.

The bummer is that I thought my swimming was improving to 1:48 - 1:55 per 100 meters. It turns out I'm really at around 2:00 - 2:10 per 100 meters. It was an ego let down.

To refuel after the training was over, Alice, Reid and I went to Shoeless Joe's. I had a craving for pasta and apple pie and ice cream. It hit the spot.

Another Super Saturday in the record books!

Tempo run day...the test

Today I woke up with the "sniffles".

Yesterday I could tell something was coming on. I planned on running in the morning, but I'm glad I forgot to set my alarm. I needed the sleep.

I'm part of a research study and I had an appointment for blood work and measurements this morning.

From two years ago my weight has went from 101.5 kg to 83.1 kg, my waist from 106 cm to 79.9 cm and my hips from 105.6 cm to 85.9 cm. Also my resting heart rate sitting down is now 41 bpm.

I'm loving it!

I ran after work and I felt like I was going slower than last week and the heart rate was always at the top end at 139 bpm. It was a 50 minute tempo run and I ran an 8:28, 18 seconds slower than last weeks tempo run.

I wasn't surprised, as I was feeling a slight cold coming on and my nose was running.

Friday is my test day, where I find out if I'm getting any fitter.

This week it didn't count!

Early bird gets the pool to himself...

I knew I was going to have a busy day at work today and was not going to be home until after 7 pm, so I hit the pool at 6:00 am.

Reid was also up early. It turns out with all the snow, rain and cold weather we have been getting, a natural skating rink formed in the empty lot behind our house.

So Reid jumped the fence with his stick and skates and decided to practice his hockey skills.

While he was skating, I went to the Flambrough YMCA and to do my 3000 meter speed swim workout. For at least 1/2 hour I was the only person in the pool. It was great!

My lap times were really slow, around 2:00 per 100 meters. It was freaking me out because I was going pretty hard and I was slower than my last few swims. The entire swim took me about 75 minutes.

Then it dawned on me that the other YMCA may be in yards not meters. I hope that is not the case, but I'll find out tomorrow.

If it was in yards, then I didn't do a 4000 meter swim this week, but a 4000 yard swim.

The lifeguard at the Flambrough Y thought the Burlington Y was in meters. I hope he's is right and I just had a slower swim today.

The one thing I find when I work out in the morning is that I'm tired until noon and more hungry and apt to eat during the day. Today I just couldn't stop yawning and eating!

When I got home I ate my cold dinner and hit the weights.

It's great having the weight machine at home. It saves me so much time. I don't have to drive to and from the Y, and I can watch TV as I work out.

It took me about a 1 hour 20 minutes to finish the workout and I got a really good workout, especially in the arms.

So far, this month, I've done 399 miles of training and have burnt 32,000 calories, with 8 days remaining in the month to add to those totals.

Biking to the oldies...

Today I woke up with slightly sore legs.

I think I'm still paying the price for having to much to drink last Friday night and Monday's heavy duty "leg blasting" weights workout.

But as the day went on, my legs loosened up and by the time I was ready to do tonight's tempo bike ride they were feeling back to normal. Maybe even better than normal, I started to feel strong again.

The plan was to do a 1 hour ride at my top 139 bpm heart rate.

Before the ride, I pumped up my tires and increased the tension on the wind trainer. This is my speed work day on the bike. I knew I was ready to giver and needed more resistance to get the heart rate up.

I pushed hard for the entire ride and I had the sweat on the mat below the bike to prove it. The ride seemed quick as I was watching American Idol contestants singing 60's music.

Today, tomorrow and Friday are my speed work days and as I'm getting in better shape, they are getting harder and harder.

I actually now look forward to the long training days over the speed work days as the intensity is actually enjoyable, even though it's long.

Now I'm off to my next session, playing hockey with Reid in the basement.

My longest pool swim ever...4000 Meters!!!

I woke up at 5:38 am and was in the pool by 6:15 am.

I did a 4000 meter long swim. It's the longest swim workout I've ever done in a pool. As a matter of fact, the only time I've done this distance is during an Ironman which is also 4000 meters.

I almost wasn't able to do it, as I didn't realize that half way through my swim the central swim club takes over the pool. The only place they don't swim is the leisure lanes, which were empty and I was able to use.

The swim went well, the only tough part was near the end, when I had to do 300 meters of kicking using the board. All in all, the total swim took just over 1 1/2 hours.

As the day went on, I could really feel muscle soreness in the hamstrings and glutes. It was from yesterdays lower body weight blasting session and today's swim kick drill. I felt really sore.

At the end of the day, after work, it was snowing and I was "pissed off". I'm sick of the snow. I just didn't want to run when it was snowing, with snow covering ice on the road.

But to my surprise, when I got home there was no snow falling in my neighborhood. The roads were clear.

But I was also really tired. On the way home I was "sleepy" as I drove home. I'm not used to getting up so early.

I wasn't sure if I should run right when I got home, or have a nap and then run later tonight. I decided to do it right away. I just didn't think, I was robot like. I changed into my running clothes and went out the door.

I started slow and my legs were tight. But I started to feel good. Before I left the house I noticed my heart rate got as low as 49 bpm just standing, which means my body was not distressed or over trained. Although mentally, I felt differently.

Just as I was 5 minutes into the run, I stopped to help a lady who's car got stuck in the snow. At first I didn't want to stop, but she looked my way and the "Winnipeg Boy" in me came out. She was quite shocked and happy that I would stop.

I couldn't get her out, but I tried.

The rest of the run felt great. My spirits became very positive and I felt really strong. I ran for 1 hour 10 minutes at a 8:30 pace at 122 - 134 bpm. For the first time in a long time, my heart rate was leaning towards going lower, where it usually wants to go higher.

It was by far my fasted moderate run since I started the program. Most of the other runs were in the 9:30 range. I also ran the last half a few seconds faster than the last half, negative splits, you gotta love it!

I think what helped me was all the sugar I've been eating. Alyssa, my baking daughter, had made a bunch of chocolate chip cookies, which I can't stop "nibbling" on. Plus the "heavenly hash" ice cream I bought on the weekend.

I ended up throwing the ice cream in the garbage this morning and Alice hid the cookies.

The temptation was just to great, especially after I weighted myself and gained 2 lbs.

100th Post on Family Day...

Today was a holiday in Ontario, it's family day.

All the stores were closed and it was a lazy day at home. I slept in until 9 am and just relaxed.

I did 1 hour and 45 minutes on the bike before noon and a hard 1 hour and 20 minute weight session at the YMCA before dinner.

I had a strong bike ride, at 126 bpm I was in the highest gear on the front small chain ring. That is a first.

Yesterday I bought a yoga mat to put under my bike when I ride. I figured getting sweat on the rug wasn't a good idea. The bath mat just wasn't "cutting" it.

At the Y, I think I may have done the legs a little to hard as my left side of my knee has a mild "burning" sensation.

I met an older women at the Y who is doing Ironman Canada this year for the first time. Last year she had her friend drive behind her and she did a full Ironman by herself, just to be sure she could do one. She did it in 15 hours.

The more I work out, the more I realize how much strength I have lost over the years. I had trouble bench pressing 85 lbs for 15 reps with Olympic weights. On the second set I had to change the weight midway through to 65 lbs just to finish.

My mind feels young, but my body is telling me something different.

I was thinking that after this triathlon season is over that I should take 6 months and really get into weight training, like 5 days a week with a very structured program to gain real muscle.

I'm just not sure how I will be able to train for both muscle building and triathlon racing. I guess when the time comes, I'll have to ask Mark Allen.

Sunday Long and Slippery

I got up at 7:30 am.

I wanted to get my workouts in early, so I could enjoy the afternoon. Reid also has a hockey game at 2 pm.

I was out the door by 8:00 am and had a 1 hour 35 minute run. About 30 minutes into the run it started to drizzle rain with a -5 c temperature outside.

The roads quickly became ice and were very slippery. At the turnaround I almost fell just by trying to stop to run in the other direction.

I tried the sidewalks but it was no better. So I figured out that the best place to run was in the part of the road where the cars tires have been driving. It was much better.

The run went well, although at the end my legs were getting sore. I figured it was the dehydration.

I ran a 8:58 pace, 30 seconds per mile better than last week. I was down to 170 lbs after the run. I lost about 4 lbs of water.

I got home, stretched and ate a bowl of cereal and then within 30 minutes was at the pool for my swim. I decided that I was going to swim with the Masters group today.

When I got to the pool there was no one there. It turned out that they were hosting a swim meet at another pool. Which was great, I had the entire pool to myself and I followed my Mark Allen Training Program instead.

Today I only had an hour time limit in the pool and couldn't finish the workout. I only got 2300 meters in, but of those meters; 650 were straight kick. For some reason my kick is the worst and somewhat painful.

My arms and shoulders also felt real sore, especially at the beginning of the swim.

At least my body is feeling somewhat back to normal and I finished all my workouts before noon.

Now all I have to do is get food and fluids in my body!

Friday Night Stupid...

Last night things got carried away.

Alice and I went downstairs to shoot some pool and have a cocktail or two, which for me turned in to over 20 beers. I counted the empties tonight.

We were having such a great time and started pulling out of storage my Ironman medal from Hawaii, newspaper articles and pictures.

All my other Ironman, triathlon and marathon medals were lost, I think when Reid was little he took them or gave them away to his friends. But at least I still have the one that matters most.

My parents also called us last night, they were having a few glasses of wine and realized that I'm "old" and they just wanted to tell me that. We had some good laughs talking on the phone.

We got to bed real late and for the first in a long time the room spun a couple of times.

Here's the stupid part, or the second stupid part...

I woke up at 8:30 to go to Reid's hockey game, but thankfully Reid was still sick and decided not to go. I ate a bowl of cereal and went back to bed.

I woke up a second time at 12:30, still feeling the alcohol's effects, not hungover, but still a little tipsy. I ate a couple of poached eggs on toast decided to start my workouts.

I started my 3.5 hour bike ride. It just so happened that the Hawaii Ironman was on TV. I didn't feel that good on the bike, I was dizzy, but I was able to still ride.

As I was doing my ride, I was thinking 3.5 hours is a long ride, especially indoors, but then I saw the pain that some of those Ironman triathletes were in, forcing them to walk or shuffle along. I thought I'd rather train hard now to avoid going through that pain.

At the 2:19:22 into the ride, the hangover started. I felt so sick and nausous and it happened so quick that I near collapsed off the bike. I was lying on the floor with a massive headache and feeling sick to my stomach. I could hardly move without pain.

It was the worst feeling. It was my 24 hour flu.

I got into bed and knew I needed to fall asleep. I had lost around 6 lbs on the bike and was really hungry. I was craving grease. I asked Alice if she could go to KFC and get me a snack pack.

When I got it I could only nibble. A few fries, some chicken, I didn't eat that much. I was also craving sugar and a super ripe banana hit the spot.

I fell asleep for 3.5 hours.

When I woke up I was feeling much better and decided to try to finish my workouts. I completed the balance of the 3.5 hour ride and then did a 30 minute brick run right after.

I actually didn't feel to bad during the training and when it was all over I was glad.

That was one STUPID thing I did last night. Something I hope not to repeat.

Although it seemed like the right thing to do at the time!

Tempo day X 2...

I was up early and at the pool by 6:30 am for a 3000 meter tempo swim.

Because of the hard weight session last night I was feeling a little sluggish in the arms and shoulders. But as I got going I loosened up and my splits surprised me.

For much of the swim I was between 1:43 - 1:50 per 100 meters. Which for me is amazing, considering I was at 2:25 per 100 when I raced last year.

Right after work I had my tempo run for 50 minutes and did 6.17 miles. I was feeling tired when I got home, but pushed myself out the door without hesitating.

I wanted to run in daylight and enjoy doing my weekly tempo run, it really gives me an indication if I'm improving.

The run was great. I kept my heart rate under 139 and ended up running an 8:10 minute mile. That time was an improvement of 20 - 30 seconds per mile faster than the last 5 weeks of tempo runs.

The whole time my legs felt real strong. It never fails, start the run somewhat tired and end the run feeling like a "million bucks"!

Now its time to have a beer, hang out with the family and rest up for tomorrow's mega workout sessions.

Happy Valentines...oh my muscles hurt!

Today all I had to do was weights.

But the weight session was intense. It was a 2 sets of 15 reps, it's called the endurance phase.

By the end of each sets final reps, I was in pain. In retrospect, I'm glad all I had to do was weights. It took my almost 1 1/2 hours to finish and my muscles are screaming.

It's interesting, doing the endurance phase, it's painful but you can put your mind to overcoming the pain and keep going.

I was going to have a valentines cocktail with Alice, but I'm going to have to postpone it, tomorrow is an important day, I need to be up early and have a clear head.

At least she has the chocolates and bear I bought her!

Catching up wasn't that hard...

I got up at 6 am to get to the pool to do yesterdays long swim today.

I really enjoy swimming at the Burlington YMCA. For some reason it just feels good to me. Also, swimming in the early morning felt pretty good as well.

I did a 3500 meter long swim and on my long 5 x 500 meter sets I was averaging about 1:52 per hundred meters. I'm real pleased with my progress, I'm no longer the slowest person in the pool.

From the swim, I lost almost 2 lbs. It never even feels like I'm sweating when I swim.

After work and a post dinner nap, I did an 1 hour 15 minute tempo ride on the bike while I watched American Idol. I was really pushing the bigger gears in order to keep my heart rate up at 139 bpm.

The one thing I'm looking forward to is riding outside. Inside, I sweat way to much and end up getting the "chills", especially after the workout. At least outside, the wind drys the sweat off the body immediately, sans "chills".

Like swimming, when I ride outside, I don't even feel like I'm sweating.

Because I'm loosing body fat, I'm finding that I feel colder more often and have to wear layered clothes. Even when I go to bed now, I need to wear a shirt or I freeze.

I guess this is the price you pay for getting in shape!

The long Tuesday workout got shortened...

Tuesdays are pretty long workouts.

Today I was scheduled to do an hour run and a long swim of 3500 meters.

I did the run right after work. The weather was bad, blowing snow and I was forced to run on the road which was all snow. At times I was worried I'd slide into a car.

On the run I had to take my glasses off because they got fogged up. Then when I hit the turnaround point I started running directly into the wind and the snow was hard and blowing into my eyes like a sandblaster.

I had no choice but to put the glasses back on, I just couldn't open my eyes without them. I still couldn't see well, but it was the lesser of two evils.

Other than the weather, the run was good. My body felt good, my heart rate was in the 126 range for the entire run. It felt effortless and enjoyable at a 10:10 minute mile, it was like running in thick sand.

After dinner I went to the pool for my swim, but the pool wasn't open. It turned out that someone "fouled" the pool and they had to shut it down for 24 hours. They said it was not something solid. I could only imagine what it was. Yuck!

So I need to improvise and do my long swim in the early morning tomorrow. I also needed to find a different pool for tomorrows swim. I just couldn't see myself swimming in that "fouled" pool for a few days.

I know they say it will be okay to swim in the pool in 24 hours, but I need more time to feel comfortable that everything is back to normal. After all, water does get in my mouth when I swim.

So for the rest of the night I'm just going to relax and watch some TV and hang out with the family.

I'm feeling better after I hit the reset button...

Yesterday at the end of my run I was getting a little down. Life was starting to feel like "ground hog day".

Then I hit the reset button.

For last nights dinner I barbequed steaks and Alice and I had some cocktails. One beer lead to another, and before you know it I had about a dozen.

I was feeling good and we were having a good time. At around 10 pm we went to the supermarket and picked up some ice cream and cake. I had the munchies. It tasted so good.

We had a great time, but had to get to bed early because it was a "school night" and I had to get up at 6:00 am to drive Reid to hockey practice.

When I woke up, I felt like a new man. Just blowing off steam last night was all it took. This morning I was looking forward to training tonight! I had my positive attitude back.

It's funny how a few cocktails is a "reset button".

I got home from work at 6:00 pm, ate and was on the bike by 6:36 pm. I rode for 2 hours then had an 1 1/2 hour weight session.

I enjoyed the workouts. They felt good.

I told Alice that the worst is yet to come. Once I start doing the speed workouts in the next 4 - 6 weeks, my training is going to get extremely hard. I'm really curious to see what type of results I'm going to get from those workouts.

In the back of my mind I'm worried that if I don't race well, that all this training will be for nothing. I don't want to think to far ahead, but if I only do as well as I did last year or worse, I'll probably be really disappointed.

On the other hand, at least I'm training how a semi-pro would train and it is a new experience. I really do want to see what I am physically capable of with proper training.

I guess I'll find out in 99 days.

I really wasn't looking forward to my long run...

The weather today sucked!

It was - 16 C (-29 C with wind chill) and winds of up to 50 km/h.

I'm sick of the cold weather. Don't get me wrong, I like it, but not in February. By now it should be nicer.

Today was cold and real windy. My buddy John decided he was going to do his run on the treadmill rather than go with me outside.

The weather started depressing me. I usually look forward to the long run, but when it is so windy and cold I really need to force myself out the door.

I was even debating whether I should run inside on a treadmill. It has been years since I've used a treadmill and to think of doing a long run on it was not all that appealing.

I got new skates for Reid this morning and saw runner after runner, at least 10 of them. It was weird seeing so many runners on such a cold day, I think there is a half marathon coming up soon and I figured they are putting in some final weeks training.

In either event, seeing those runners motivated me to do my run outside.

I bundled up and pushed myself out the door. One foot in front of the other, listening to my ipod. The wind was over 50 km/h, at times it almost brought me to a complete standstill.

One positive was that my heart rate was well under 139 bpm for the entire run, which lasted 1 hour and 55 minutes.

Last night I got to bed by 11:30pm. I was in a mellow mood and really didn't feel like partying or having to many beers. Today I noticed my attitude changing.

I'm finding that the weekends seem to be training, training and more training. They are not as relaxing as I'd like them to be.

I feel like I'm being a little selfish and not spending enough time with my family. I've need to figure something out.

I may have to do a workout in the morning during the week, so my evening is not as full. And I think I may have to start my weekend workouts early in the morning while my family is still sleeping.

I'm not a morning person, but I think this is a sacrifice I need to make.

I don't want my racing to be a negative to my family. They haven't said anything, but I'm sure they want to get out of the house and do something as a family on the weekends.

I know I do.

The longest day so far...

Done!!!

My training schedule today consisted of a 3000 meter swim, a 3 hour bike ride and a 30 minute run following the bike ride.

To do it all and get it over with, I woke up at 6:05 am, had a good breakfast, and was in the pool by 7:05.

My swimming is really improving. It was to be a moderate effort swim and I was consistently swimming around the 1:50 - 1:55 per 100 meters.

I went to the Burlington pool for the first time. The pool is older, but I liked it, it was warm.

After the swim, I picked up a Tim Horton's coffee and bagel and watched Reid's hockey game. He's getting better every time I watch him. His team won 6 - 0 and he had a good shot on net.

When I got home I ate a waffle and prepared for my 3 hour bike ride.

I started off the ride by watching the movie "The Flying Scotsman", which is a true story about a cyclist that built a bike in his garage and even used parts from a washing machine, he set the 1 hour speed record and other world records on the track.

He was also bi-polar. Very inspirational, especially while I was riding and watching on my bike. I got "choked up " and "tingly" a few times. I love that feeling.

The ride went well. I could not believe how much I was sweating.

When the ride ended, I had to towel down my entire body. My feet looked like prunes from the sweat going into my shoes. My feet looked like they were in a bath tub for 3 hours.

I prepared my running clothes before the bike ride so I could have a quick transition. It took me 4:24 to go from getting off the bike to starting the run.

People may think I'm "sick", but I love the way my legs feel when I start running off the bike. When I first started triathlons, I hated the pain of the transition from biking to running, now I LOVE it. Maybe that is why my last name is Payne, I love Pain.

Once I got on the run I was home free. A 30 minute run is like a walk in the park.

I felt so good on the run, I didn't realize that I was out of my heart rate zone for the first 3 minutes. When I looked at my watch, I was 147 bpm. A few times I had to stop and walk a little to keep it under 139 bpm.

I ended up running at a 9:22 pace. It felt even slower.

At 2:36 pm my Saturday training journey ended and I don't even feel like I worked out all that much. My legs are pumped but not sore. There was no tension when I stretched.

My weight has been unstable.

Last night I went to bed I was 177.2, when I woke up it was 175. Then today when I got back from the pool, before my bike ride, it was 178lb. Then after my run, it was 169 lbs.

Now that I'm done training for the day, I'm going to shower and go for a burger, and maybe a beer or two.

But first I need to drink 9 lbs of water!

The start of a big weekend...

For the past few days, all I want to do is eat. I'm not craving bad foods, I just want to eat carbs.

It seems my system is asking for food all the time. I find myself snacking a lot on oatmeal cookies, fig newtons, and supplement bars.

I normally enjoy running in winter, but I've pretty much had my fill this year.

Tonight I did my 50 minute tempo run and the streets started freezing. In spots I was running on ice and even slipped a couple times.

I was a little worried running on ice, in the dark and around 9 pm on a Friday night when some people may have had a little to much to drink.

Other than that, the run felt real good. For the first time, I started to feel like an athlete.

My legs felt strong, like tightly coiled springs. It felt like I was floating, especially at the beginning of the run.

The rest of this weekend is one big training session.

I've got a 3 km swim, 3 hour bike, followed by a 30 minute brick run tomorrow, then just under a 2 hour run on Sunday.

Essentially, I'm doing more than a half Ironman in training this weekend.

My reward is that Saturday is my "eat and drink anything I want day"... Boy will that first beer taste great!