Oh what a beautiful day...

I had a great sleep. Woke up at noon. I needed it after staying up with Alice until 3 am. Today was unusually warm weather, it got up to plus 9 C. I decided to go for my run in the afternoon when it was warmest and I could put some food and lots of water in my body before the run. Before the run, Alice and I ran a lot of errands and of course it all cost money. I needed to get new shoes and a new coat. We lucked out because every store was having a sale, I got a great jacket from Danier Leather at half price. The deals were so good, even the employees were buying jackets for themselves. 

Saturdays are my long run and I like to run in the escarpment, it so scenic. My resting heart rate was higher than normal because of the late night, which mean my running heart rate is going to be higher, which it was. To keep my heart rate below 140 bpm I had to walk at least a dozen times. At the best of times it is hard to keep the heart rate down in the Escarpment with all the hills and today it was REAL windy. I started the run feeling a little rough and by the time I got back I felt great. It's amazing what a good run in the fresh air can do for the body and mind. Only downside was both feet are starting to get blisters from the new shoes.

Long Run - 9.26 miles / 1:15:42 / 8:09 pace

16b

Back in the water...

I had a great day at work today. It was one of those days were I was on a roll, I got everything done and done well. I didn't eat lunch, other than a bag of microwave popcorn and a couple of yogurts and by the time I left work my desk had nothing on it but an in basket. Right from work I went to the Y and on the way I was debating if I should swim today or wait until Monday. I ended up taking the plunge, pun intended, and did a swim. It just worked out that today's scheduled workout was a short one. I did 4 x 100 meters of speed work and my fastest was 1:35 and my slowest 1:38. Not bad considering being off for 16 days. After the swim I did weights. I set a PR on the squat press, I did 540 lbs, that's 12 - 45 lb plates (6 plates per side) and I was able to do 15 reps. I found that my left calf was cramping. I think it was because of the swimming and having to point my toes, although I'm always paranoid that it's dehydration. I made sure I had a good stretching session after the weight training. On the way home I picked up some beers and when I got home I met Alyssa's boyfriend for the first time. He seems alright. It was also a big night for Reid, he went to the local community center for a dance. It is the first time he's ever been to a dance.

Swimming - 22:21 / 1100 meters.

Weights - 35 minutes

15b

The blog logged over 5000...

This week has just flown by. That's the one thing about training regularly, it's like ground hog day everyday. I Wake up, have a protein drink, go to work, come home, eat, nap, train, log my training, blog, watch the Daily Show, go to bed, and then do it all over again. It causes the week to fly by, especially the weekdays. Which I guess isn't necessary a bad thing. I'm finding as the days get longer my energy gets better, the less sleep I need and my evening naps are becoming much shorter. In December and January I was napping 60 - 90 minutes a day, now I can get by with 15 - 20 minutes. During the Spring and Summer last year I don't think I napped very much at all, if any. Tonight's training was a tempo bike ride for an hour. Before the ride, Alice and I went to the LCBO to pick up some beer and rum. It's been a good week, I've got a lot done and I figured a few cocktails tonight will be a great way to ease into the weekend. I made sure I only picked up 6 beers, I don't want to over do it, I need to get up at 5:30 am to get Reid to his hockey practice and I need a clear head for work, I've got a couple of important meetings. I also saw my blog visitor clock surpassed 5000 visits to my blog today. I'm amazed and shocked at how many people have been to my blog over the last 15 months.

Tempo Bike / 1 hour / 18.93 miles / 18.84 pace / 138 - 140 bpm

8b

A blistering run...

I weighed in today at 182.8 and a 21.8 BMI, it was exactly what is was last Friday when we went to Winnipeg. I was actually pretty surprised that it was back down after eating and drinking so much on the weekend. I felt much better today, I'm fully recuperated. Before my tempo run tonight, Alice, Reid and I went to the movie "Gran Torino". It was a pretty good movie. Before we left I was pretty tired and could have used a nap. When we got to the movie I thought I was going to fall asleep in my chair, but as we got into the movie, it got my interest and I got my second wind. When we got home and I got out the door for my run around 9:30 pm. I was a little frustrated before I left because my GPS ran out of power again. It's not like a regular watch with a battery, it's a rechargeable battery that only lasts 7 hours and then has to be recharged and if you leave it on overnight it drains the battery. It was frustrating because whenever I do a tempo run I'm always like looking at my speed during the run and tonight I couldn't. Before I left the house I put on an old pair of socks, which was a big mistake. With the old socks being loose and moving around in the new shoes, I got a blister starting on my left foot. It was irritating but didn't get painful before I finished, thank goodness. I need it to heal by my Saturday long run. Time for some new socks, the ones I was wearing were probably 4 years old. In the end, I had a good run and at times I felt like I was running on springs.

Tempo run - 45:00 / 6.01 / 7:28 pace / 138 - 142 bpm

New shoes, new spring in my step...

I wanted to wake up early in order to give myself enough time for a relaxed breakfast. Since I stopped snacking after 8 pm, I long for my breakfast. It's like my treat. I actually don't eat perfectly before 8 pm, I try to minimize bad eating, but I'll still have some potato chips and such, but I try not to pig out. But after 8 pm, no food, except for fruit or power bars every hour if I'm exercising. I find not eating after 8 pm gives my body more time to recover and get rid of toxins. I find my weight is more manageable when I don't eat past 8 pm. My next step is to try and not eat any fried or simple carbohydrate foods at all. I was thinking about it during my run tonight. My plan is to race this year around 170 lbs and I currently weight about 183 lbs. I was thinking that rather than trying to lose all the weight over a one month period, I should just make some simple adjustments so that I loose about 1 lb a week. I think that if I cut out fried and simple foods and not eat after 8 pm it will happen. The only thing I won't do is cut out the beer, but I will try to limit it.

I had 8 hours of sleep last night, but still woke up pretty tired. I started to feel better and feel sharper as the day wore on. At lunch time I went and bought a new pair of runners. It broke my heart spending $150, but I knew I had to or risk injury. When I got home I was tired. I had something to eat, then a quick nap and then on to training. I did a moderate paced run and bike ride. I made sure I drank a lot of water and I had a really good stretch after the session. I could really tell the difference with the new running shoes. Much more support and I felt like I was running on springs. It was unbelievable. I compared the new ones to the old ones and the old ones were about 3/8" flatter, same model, but compressed from the wear and tear. After the run I did a bike ride, for the first 15 minutes I couldn't push hard and keep a high cadence. Then after about 30 minutes my legs felt super human and I was just powering. It's strange, I can get sore, but if I just keep going, I get stronger, I don't feel the pain. The pain somehow gets masked and then I feel like a machine. Bryan "the Train" Payne.

Mod Run - 50:18 minutes / 6.18 miles / 8:13 pace / 130 - 135 bpm

Mod Bike - 75 minutes / 20.02 miles / 17.62 mph /129 - 133 bpm

Back to business...

I looked up at the alarm clock at 5:55 am and was going to get up to do my long ride, but figured it would probably be best to catch up on my sleep. It was a good call, I need recovery from this past weekend. All day long I've been drinking water, I'm not sure if my calf's are dehydrated, or they are phantom pains. When I woke up I decided to use my massage roller on my calves, just as a precaution and I think I'm going to keep doing that until I feel comfortable again. Plus new shoes are a must. 

I had to go to the dentist again today, just 20 minutes before the Wedding one of my crowns came off when I bit into a pre Wedding snack. In the last two months I've had a root canal and three crowns. Hopefully after today's permanent gluing of the crown I won't have to see the dentist for a while. Although I do like going to see Bruce Gardner, he's my dentist and has done over 40 marathons and also does triathlons. I took a picture of us in his office, on the walls of his office are pictures of him doing his marathons throughout the years. It's a great idea, a "wall of fame". I did a long ride today, afterwards all my lower legs were doing was twitching from muscles spasms. I love that feeling, I always think my muscles are growing when that happens. I found myself really tired after the ride, my legs weren't sore and I wasn't bonking, I was just tired in a "Zen" like way. I think the weekend was catching up with me. After a snooze, I literally pushed myself out the door to get to the Y and do my weights. The first half of the session was HARD and I felt like I lost strength. By the end, I felt great and got my energy back. It's amazing what working out can do. I'm so glad I'm back home and getting into my regular routine.

Long Bike - 2:35 /47.02 miles / 18.02 mph

Weights - 35 minutes

January Training Totals:

Swimming - 6.05 miles

Biking - 330.08 miles

Running - 82.42

Weights - 9 sessions

Totals - 418.55 miles / 31,582 calories

Total Time - 38.48 hours

100b

Super Bowl Sunday and we had our last fun day...

Another late night, and I woke up with an even bigger "black dog". We ended up going for brunch with Rich and Sharon. They had a late night as well and Rich also had the "black dog" chasing him. Alice and Sharon are lucky, they can get hungover but don't get the BD. We went to Shooters on Main and the food was awesome, it's in the club house of a driving range which you would think would be the most unlikely place to have a great restaurant. It was packed, it is becoming one of those hidden, word of mouth treasures. The timing was perfect, by the time we were done, we got to the Airport and for the last day of our mini holiday, sans kids, we had a few cocktails. Nothing fixes a sore head like more drinks. It was a great flight, it arrived early and we decided to go for dinner and drinks around the corner from our house and watch the Super Bowl before heading home. It turned out that my phone died and we were having such a good time we forgot to call the kids, which is not like us, especially Alice, and by the time we got home it was 11 pm. The kids thought we'd be home by 7 pm, so they were starting to get worried, checking to see if any planes crashed or major  vehicle accidents, then they started to call my parents. I was torn, I was glad to add drama to their home alone stay, but I felt bad for dragging my parents into it and causing any worry. My plan was to do a 3 hour bike ride, but for only the second time in 18 months I didn't do it. I figured I'm dehydrated and don't want to get injured, Alice and I are having fun, it's the off season and not a critical workout (although I do need to burn off all the food and booze) and I can always do it tomorrow, since tomorrow is a swim day and I still can't swim because the tattoo is not healed.

Fun Day - Rest Day