Week in Vancouver

This past week I had to travel on business to Vancouver, Canada. Traveling and trying to get my workouts in is always a struggle, not to mention all the food temptations. I was there for a course. I was thinking it might be a little downtime from the usual work stuff, but I was wrong. It ended up being really stressful. There were quizzes everyday and an exam at the end of the course. I spent the majority of the evenings studying. And the time zone issues!!! Being from the East Coast I had a really hard time with the time zone changes. I found myself wide awake at 3:30am each day I was there. After working out and eating breakfast I still had hours before my course started.


The good news is that Vancouver was a beautiful city. I was in a hotel right on the waterfront so I had easy access to the seawalk, a walking/running path along the waterfront. I had a few good runs there, very scenic. A few pictures from the waterfront are below.

I also got a little time on Saturday morning to visit Gastown. This is an area of the city that is mostly quaint little shops.  It also has a steam driven clock in the middle of the district.

On the weight loss front I had another great week. I lost 2.2 lbs this week, a great result considering the week of travel that I had. I was able to buy some new jeans, super cool. Here are a couple of new pictures of the new me.

Have a great week everyone!!!

Long week capped off by Long Duathon

Well it was a long week for me. Lots going on at work, keeping me super busy. Also continuing to work on the Lose it! convention, which has been a lot of fun. But the big news, I completed my third Duathon of the year. I went to Ottawa (about an hour from my house) and did a 3k run - 26k bike - 5k run. As an added bonus my daughter competed at the same event and did her first triathlon!!! Here is our before picture.....

I was very nervous about this particular race as it was the longest I had participated in to date. But, I DID IT. It felt amazing! I didn't walk at all during this race which was a first for me. As well, I actually passed people during the final 5k run, yippeeee! Here are a couple more pictures, one run and one bike.



And the final picture of me and my daughter after the race with our medals. I was so proud of her as she came in third place in her first triathlon!!! Isn't that awesome!!!!

Oh I almost forgot, my time was 1:39:01, not bad at all. I want to thank all my Lose It! buddies, your support is awesome!

Well, time to start another long work week. I am travelling to Vancouver this week so here I come jet lag.

That's all for now, be safe!

Football Season

Today is the beginning of the NFL season once again. I have always been a big football fan but the team I follow usually disappoints. Actually, they always disappoint. You see, I am a Cleveland Browns fan. They likely have support groups for Browns fans, I haven't bothered to look. I am watching them play right now and they are winning in the fourth quarter. This is usually the time when at all comes falling down. Hopefully I am wrong today.

I made a conscious decision to not work out at all today. I think I might be over training a touch. I can't believe I only have one week remaining until my next Duathon on Sunday the 19th. My plan is to pick up my training on Monday but then stop on Wednesday or Thursday and rest up for the race. I don't have any lofty expectations for this upcoming race, just finishing will be an accomplishment. If you would have told me I would compete in THREE Duathons in 2010 I would have thought you were off your rocker. It is surprising how far I have come in a reasonably short period of time.

I began to do some thinking about what my next goal will be, likely a 2011 goal as the cold weather is arriving. How do I surpass the year I have had? Any suggestions are welcome!!!!

Oh, I can't forget to mention to mention that I had a new personal best on my 5k this week. I ran a 27:40.

The End of Summer

When Labor Day rolls around it always feels like the end of summer. The kids go back to school and the hectic schedule begins. Cheerleading, football, piano, guitar lessons, are just a few of the activities that kick into high gear. As well, the fall is a very busy time at work with the annual planning process in full bloom. Yet another long year awaits.

I kept up with my exercise this past week. In fact, I ran a personal best 5k of 28:41 in the heat earlier in the week. That was a good day! I stetched my bike rides out to 25k each this week as well. The upcoming Duathon on September 19th requires a 24k bike segment so I wanted to get a little better prepared for that.

Yesterday was my wedding anniversary as well! We went out for a dinner which was nice as we often don't find the time to do things together. It has been 18 years! In fact, right now, 18 years ago we were on our honeymoon on a cruise ship in the Caribbean!

Oh, one other thing of note this week, we are trying to setup a Conference for all of the LoseIt participants. I spoke of that tool earlier as a weight loss assistant. It will be really neat if we can pull it off as it would be fun to meet all of these inspiring people that post frequently. I will keep you posted on the progress of the conference.

Podcasts, what's on my list.

I admit it, I am a podcast junkie. There are a number of podcasts that I subscribe to that listening to are a part of my weekly routine. So what are they? Here is my list of fitness related podcasts....

Marathon Training Academy - This is a recent addition to my play list. They offer up some good advice and Angie has real experience running marathons. At the same time, they are regular people and easy to relate to.

Two Gomers Run a Marathon - Funny stuff here. It started with Two Gomers Run a Half Marathon. This is about two regular guys who decide to start running. Lots of funny stories and they really don't know much about running. This is just entertaining stuff that is easy to relate to.

The Fredcast - This is a biking podcast (a Fred is a guy with all the high tech biking equipment). Very informative, follows the major bike races and has introduced me to new products over the years.

Everyday Cyclist - This podcast is very performance focused. Lots of training tips and also DVDs that you can buy with biking specific exercises and plans. This was one of my original podcasts and I am also a member of Graeme's Cycle-Core website. Lots of good info, likely too much.

Biggest Loser Cast - Ha Ha, this one is mine so of course I LOVE it. My wife Jackie and I host this weekly podcast about the NBC show The Biggest Loser. Lots of fun to make and we have a substantial listener base that must like it as well!

Well those are the top ones. As an aside I did a little running this morning. Yeah thats right, 10K. I was initially only going to run 5K but I felt good so I did another couple loops (2.5k loops). I finished the 10k in 1:05:53 for a PB. The interesting thing about it is that it was all road running rather than track where I had done my only other 10k. At the end of each loop is a substantial hill so I beat my PB and did so on a tougher course. Woooo Hoooo.

Thats all for now.

Goal Reached - Another Set

I mentioned previously that I have been using an iPhone application called Lose It. It helps me track my calories eaten and exercise, working on the theory that if I keep my net calories below a certin level I will continue to lose weight. When I began many months ago I had to set a goal. I picked 190 lbs. At the time I really never thought I would get there. It seemed to be a stretch goal for me as I have not been below 200 lbs since high school. Well, things went well and after alot of hard work I did make it to 190 lbs. I can certainly lose some more weight so I decided to reset my goal in the program. I added another 15 lbs which makes my goal 175lbs. I think it will be much harder to lose the final 15 lbs but I like a good challenge!

I also signed up for my next Duathon! I may be addicted, time will tell. The next one is in Ottawa on September 19th. A couple of differences with this one 1) it is longer (3k run, 24k bike, 5k run) and 2) my daughter was inspired by my last race so she has signed up for the sprint triathlon!! It will be fun to be at the same event as her and we have gotten to do some training together as well.

I spent some time looking at some new bikes this past week as well. My current bike is kind of an entry level one, but good quality. I would like to upgrade to a carbon fiber bike (much lighter and higher quality) but they were more expensive than I would have thought. It is parked on the wish list for now.

Post Race Report - I did it!!!!

Well I did it, the race is complete! They day started very cloudy and wet so it was a nervous start. I got to the event a couple hours early and found a spot for my bike in the transition zone. It was about that time that it really began to rain hard. Other participants were talking about the event being cancelled which would have been a real bummer. About 15 minutes before the scheduled start of the race the rain stopped, although it stayed cloudy. The cloud cover was a good thing as it kept the day a little cooler. The following two pictures are of me in the transistion zone and just prior to the start of the race.

The race began with a 2.5km run. I felt good after the run as I headed to the transistion zone to get on the bike. The bike was testy as the roads were still wet and slippery. I managed to pass a number of other competitors!! The bike is my strongest event in the Duathon. I dreaded the thought of the final 5km run at the end of the bike.

Exiting to Transition Zone

 

There were alot of supportive people cheering alongside the road, it was really motivating. I had lots of family there as well cheering me on! My daughter ran the last 200m with me which was really nice. They also made some signs for me to cheer me on! I finished the race in 1 hour 27 minutes and 13 seconds. My goal was to be under 1.5 hours so I was very pleased. I just finished a Duathon, can you beleive it?

Me and my daughter Brittany!