Who is the boss of Social Media? or The World's Worst Post EVER!

What is the purpose of social media? What is the purpose of facebook? What is the purpose of Twitter? What is the purpose blogging? What is the proper usage? Who is in charge of moderating them?

Yesterday I listened to someone rant had a conversation regarding how you should not tie up facebook with whining about personal issues because no one cares. And later there was a second rant conversation about how too many people are using twitter to post stupid details of their lives that no one needs to care about.

I kind of listen to people rant for a living so it doesn't phase me much. On the drive home it hit me- Why did this person keep saying "No offense Tucker" REPEATEDLY!

That made me think about if the real point of the rant was to infer that I post details that no one cares about and do too much whining. This got me thinking about social media as a whole and about what it's purpose is. I thought about how all three of my main social medias are voluntary. With twitter, blogger, and facebook other users CHOOSE to follow you. My message are not spammed to you.

If the comment were intended toward me I thought that while one person may not care some of the 120 face book friends that I trimmed down from 2,000, the 75 twitter followers, and 73 blog followers must give some credence to my inner thoughts. Not to mention those that read my articles on Examiner.com or Run Addicts, or the few companies that have agreed to sponsor my multi-sport life.

Just in case anyone was unsure, I thought I would share a few things:

This is the button to use to manage your reading list, click it, find my blog, and then follow directions to unfollow if you would like.

This is the unfollow button on twitter.

This is the remove friend icon on facebook. 

With that little bit of aggravation out of the way, I though today I would post one of the most mundane things I could think of since no one cares..... a day in the life of me (typical Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, or Friday.)

05:15 Alarms goes off, might hit snooze. If it is cold outside or raining and I have a run or bike planned I go back to sleep. If it is a swim, I go.

05:17 Peeing, scratching, changing to swim suit and sweats.

05:25 Leave for Y.

05:26 Go back in house for towel.

05:27 Walk to Y

05:32 Swim (today)

06:05 - 06:30 Get home from Y, take dogs out, shower, dress, talk to CB, make whinnie noises while saying "Mom, I don't wanna go to school today", feed dogs, make and eat breakfast or if I am running late grab fat free yogurt and fruit.

07:10 -07:20 leave for work. On time is 07:10.

07:45 Get to work and undress to go through security. Be happy that the person working isn't the officerwho  used to touch all of your lunch. (the airport doesn't phase me anymore)

08:00 Get to office, open work email and look for emergencies, open real personal email, open blogger. Eat breakfast if I was running late.

08:15 Call inmates to office for "correctional counselling", i.e. listening to them talk about they are innocent and their sentence is too long. Then I try to get them into substance abuse programs or GED. OR I might spend the morning assigning inmates to jobs like cook, clothes sorter, janitor, etc. OR I might inventory and order barber supplies.

10:00 Snack: Today it is apple and peanut butter and a diet soda (pop, if you will). Open four blogs. Try to read all four while I eat.

10:10 Take 2 at doing the work from above.

10:45 Start paperwork associated with the above tasks. If it isn't documented it didn't happen.

12:00 Eat Lunch- Today it is spinnach salad with grilled chicken.Read blogs while I eat. Today I will also go to the fitness center to lift weights.

1:00 Repeat 08:15

3:00 Eat snack. Today it is tuna with brown mustard. Try to read blogs of those who posted at lunch time.

3:10 Round two for the afternoon, similiar to 10:10.

3:45 paperwork.

4:45 start winding down.

5:00 Leave office, walk through prison, try not to get stopped by inmates in the dining hall, leave prison, walk to gatehouse, wait outside of gatehouse, get through gatehouse and find car.

5:12 Drive home.

5:45 Arrive home. 

5:46 If I have a swim or bike planned, change and leave. If I have a run it can wait and I start dinner and take dogs out.

7:00 Eat dinner and talk to CB

8:00 try to wind down, odd and ends, bitch about the pain cave not being complete, do bills, etc.

9:30 Get in bed and wait for CB to get off the phone with mom, or to get done reading or to stop doing WHATEVER so I can go to sleep- All while I ponder the thought of separate bedrooms.

In a more perfect world, I would be hanging in a hammock on the uninhabited beach in the keys where me and my friends paddled out to and camped  the summer after we finished high school.

Yoplait Giveaway Results, Volunteering

I used the statistical regression that I learned in grad school known as eanie-meanie-miney-mo and the winner of the Yoplait prize pack giveaway was Katie from super hot mom in a bikini Run for the Bikini!. Send me a shipping address to tucker_lr (@)yahoo(.)com so I can get it over to Yoplait. By the way her post for today is titled "Quickie" and since I have the sense of humor of a 15 year old, the title gave me a chuckle.

Yesterday I volunteered at the Cool Breeze Triathlon in Huntersville, NC. My job was to greet, provide security, and assist in transition. When the transition area opened it was just a degree above freezing and the day only had a high of 47. You could watch some of the athletes turn blue as they raced. It took a lot of guts to race at those temps and with rain on and off. I was hoping to meet LB from My Reason to Run, but did not get the chance. According to the results, she did very well but I won't spoil it for her.

I talked to quite a few people and many came from far away to race. I spoke to one person who drove from Richmond, Virginia and I spoke to several men and women who were racing representing the U.S. Naval Academy Triathlon Team. I asked why so many people came so far for this race. They told me that coming this far is the only way to get races in this early in spring. This makes me glad to live here, although I'd rather be in SoCal or Florida- but the grass is always greener.

While working yesterday here are the top 5 reasons I came up with for volunteering-

5. Free T-Shirt,
4. Chance to spy on the elites and their equipment,
3. Encouraging and cheering for racers who may not have families with them,
2. Watching hot, wet chicks strip without a 2 drink minimum or the need for a stack of ones, and
1. Helping continue the sport by allowing others to race.

A Little bit of Everything.

I am somewhat overwhelmed right now. I have several things going on that I almost think deserve their own posts, however that requires time to write separate posts and having to wait to get them out. Instead of waiting and doing separate posts I am going to attempt to touch on each one with the brevity of a journal article summary. Not sure where to start but here goes....

Build Period- This week and last week have had some tough workouts, I feel like I am earning my taper week.

Race Prep- The hardest thing about getting ready for my first race is mental preparation. Lately I have been feeling like I have lost my speed. In fact, I am probably faster than last year. I train very hard and am hitting speeds I couldn't touch last year. They take a lot out of me, making me think I am not doing as well I actually am. I went slower last year but didn't feel as gassed, now I work harder and go faster- I don't think my mind hasn't caught up yet. It's like the evil dimwit in the Jimmy Dean commercial going "you can't do it, you can't run that fast!" Oh....., but I can!

Two workouts remain for the week a long ride of 55 miles, today, and a super hard brick at race tempo on Sunday. That workout will be a confidence builder I am sure. Then it will be on to taper!

CB'S race prep- No CB is not racing, but she is very excited about our trip to the beach for this race. She has been sending me links and making itineraries daily. She has a folder where she is organizing the trip. She loves the beach and is happy to get out of town. I am focused on racing, she is focused on a fun trip. I am glad I have her to keep me balanced next weekend!

Long run- After last week being the first successful long run since my knee injury, yesterday was another long run with an increase in mileage from 8 to 9 miles. Ran some good hills, but around 8.5 miles my knee started to hurt. I stopped right there, walked home and stretched. No pain after the run. I am not going to risk it. I noticed that when I look over my shoulder to check traffic, etc I twist on my knee. I think that is part of this.

Diet- Three times this year so far I have said I was going to go back to my diet and start writing things down again because my weight loss was stalling. I like writing down what I eat for a few weeks because it gets me back on the right track. Since 3/14 I have stuck to it and had positive results-

Weight- I have had slow loss while sticking to my diet but I am happy. I do not count a new weight until I see it for three days in a row. The last three days have been 186, 186, 185. I HAVE ARRIVED! I may be fashionable late, but I have met my 2010 goal. I was hoping to be at 180 by this time in 2011, but I. AM. EXCITED.

Shooting- My 2011 goals included wanting to try out a few IDPA shooting tournaments. I have to keep a high degree of proficiency with firearms for my job so I have thought about doing these for a little extra training. With most of the big ticket items on my 2011 budget handled I am probably only a few months away from buying a quality pistol I can use for these tournaments. I am also looking at buying an entry level .22 to teach CB to shoot. She has always wanted me to take her to the range. This is something we can do together.

Acura- YES AGAIN!!!! You can still go here- http://cot.ag/hvgAuo, click on Lucas Tucker,and then click vote. I am holding fast at #15 of 1522 athletes, but need 1200 votes to pass the leader; I am not sure how to market to get those votes. Remember after you vote go to my 3/16 post and leave a comment for a chance to win a prize pack from Yoplait.

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND RACING, TRAINING, AND SPENDING TIME WITH YOUR FAMILIES!!!

Acura Update

As of this afternoon I have 58 votes putting me in 18th place.  #1 is at 1151 votes.

2 more votes ties me for 17th, 3 more for 16th, and 7 more for 15th.

When I entered this I thought it would be easier considering my networks. I was counting contacts including high school friends, undergrad friends, grad school friends, random facebook friends, fraternity brothers, search and rescue team mates, coworkers, and bloggers. By far bloggers have the highest turnout and I thank you all for that.

I did some recon and the number 1 guy has 4,000 freinds to my 117. Maybe I shouldn't have cleaned house removing my random 1900 friends I didn't really know, two years ago.

Again thank you all and please continue to vote everday. http://cot.ag/hvgAuo

-Lucas Tucker

Sometimes other things are just more important

Last night I was on the way home from work and since I knew that CB had a teacher workday I was hoping dinner would be ready and I could eat and get my brick out of the way early. As I neared home she called and let me know that her mom had invited us over for dinner and she had made taco salad in an order to keep me away from high carb foods.

Being that the family is dealing with the death of the oldest member, laid to rest this afternoon at 99 years old, I figured although I would have rather stayed at home the family would probably like to be together. Not to mention considering everything, CB probably didn't feel like making dinner anyhow.

Before leaving home we discussed our evening plans. She planned to convince her mom to go for a power walk with her and I would start my brick from their house. She drove over in about the same time it took me to ride my bike.

After dinner was said and done she tried to convince her mother and middle sister to walk wither her and had no positive results. She decided to go home and grab our dogs to walk with her instead. As she got ready to leave I threw on my bike shoes and headed out.

Once outside, Gracie, the youngest sister at 11, was outside riding circles on her knock off razor scooter int he drive way. I decided I would ask her if she would like to ride her bike with me since I had planned to just ride the mile loop in their neighborhood for my workout.

Gracie smiled and said "let me go put on some shorts!". She returned a few minutes later wearing gym shorts and the pink, skull covered skateboard helmet I got her for Christmas. CB tried to talk Grace out of riding with me momentarily telling her that I ride fast and was going to ride 15 miles. I explained I would ride back over with Grace as soon as she was tired and then get on with my workout. I decided instead of the 15 mile goal I would just ride for an hour then go home and transition.

Gracie rode three miles with me, death gripping her brakes and averaging 8 minutes per mile. After 3 miles she said her legs hurt and I rode back home with her. I made up for the slow miles by sprinting another 4 20+ mph miles and then took a long way home through the neighborhood trying to practice cornering at speed (I realized cornering is a weakness as I ride mostly rural roads and my first race is a tight, technical course).

Much like many of us, I get caught up on data, results, key workouts, and racing. However, tonight I decided that it was more important for me to not worry about "hitting my workout" as much as to encourage an 11 year old to play outside. It was more important to share my love of riding all types of bikes with another generation.

I have been riding a bike since I was 4 years old; I have had bmx, mountain, now a road bike, and I can't wait to turn my old bike into a fixie. As a kid I played outside until it was dark. If we lived near woods I walked all threw them, I built trails with a rake. I designed dirt tracks and  jumps for bike racing. If we had trees I climbed them, ofter taking a backpack and other activities into the tree to play with. If we had a yard I dug holes in it (using kitchen utensils). I was always outside. My sibling and my in-law siblings which after 10 years feel like my own, are not like that. They mostly watch tv and play on the computer. That is why in this case I knew that my race day performance is not as important as sharing this with Grace. If shorting this workout costs me a minute on the course I will gladly take that minute knowing that Gracie had fun riding her bike with me.

Real life v. Triathlon life

 I work 5 days (at my full time job) per week. I look forward to my weekends. Since I work to live, not live to work, thinking about my weekend is what gets me through the week. I show up Monday expecting it to feel like a Monday. I show up Tuesday thinking "one day down". Wednesday is hump day and at the end of the day I revel in the fact the week is half over. Thursday I tell myself that Friday is pretty much the weekend, and on Friday I tell myself I am going to take it easy, because the weekends starts at 5.

The amount that some of train are equivalent to a second job. However, I do not typically workout all week counting down to my day off. I am not exactly sure but I think last week would  be considered a build week in preparation for my April 3rd race. As the tough workouts of the week progressed I was looking forward to  my recovery day, even more so when I realized I had a second brick on Friday. I knew I would need the recovery day between that brick and the long run on Sunday.

Ideally, in perfect triathlon world my recovery day would include sleeping in, wearing compression clothes all day, trips to get a massage, a few naps, a good soak, and other generally relaxing items on my itinerary. In my mind I think of laying on my deck while being fanned with palm leaves and fed grapes, I however am not sure of the connection to that and muscle recovery. That may be a mental health issue.

The biggest problem with this, other than not having the massage and spa available to me, is that sometime the worlds collide. Just because my triathlon life says its time to recover, doesn't mean that my real life agrees. For me Saturday, my recovery day, was spent more focused on real life than triathlon life. I woke up early to drive thirty minutes away to a rec center where I recently started teaching a kids karate class, then I returned home, had a snack, went to the in-laws to grab a few tools, returned home, mowed and edged the lawn, blew the remaining fall leaves and grass clippings, fired up the chain saw to cut down a tree, cleaned the deck, then went inside to clean the inside of the house. The only thing from my perfect triathlon vision that I did was wear recovery tights under my gi at karate.

The soreness I was feeling the night before was back. Yesterday I skipped church to sleep in a little and rest my legs. Then I went for my long run and went for speed work on the bike after a 45 minute recovery period. Today I woke up with legs still sore and it is swim drill day. I look forward to this day as partially a learning day and partially a good recovery day. However, since I think that my kick rhythm and leg position are slowing me down I did kick drills this morning. Needless to say my legs are still sore (and I have a brick tonight).

In the end, it would be nice if the two worlds lived in peaceful coexistence however sometimes I am faced to live with injury, illness, prison escapes, and chores. All I know right now is that unlike last year when i was anxious and trying to sneak in workouts during my taper, this time I am looking forward to it. i feel like I am earning it.


 VOTE EVERYDAY!!! You no longer need to search for me just click Lucas Tucker on the front page :), Once you vote head over to Wednesday's post and enter to win a prize pack!  If every follower (minus Dustin) votes today and gets two friends to vote I could be 1/3 the way to tied.  http://cot.ag/hvgAuo

Week ??? of ??? training.

After two weeks sick it feels great to be back training, and it's great to have completed a full week. Before, I was numbering the weeks of training toward my HIM but I was using a stock HIM plan. Now I am still working toward that race, but my plan also has workouts that are clearly targeted toward my next sprint 100. With that in mind I wasn't sure how to title this post. But with out much further adieu my week...

S: 4100.00 M, 1h 32m
B: 50.20 Mi, 3h 11m 06s
R: 17.62 Mi ,2h 40m 08s

Str: 30m

Swimming- I am enjoying the drill workout my coach has me doing every week. I recently read that swimmers have such an edge in triathlon because they are used to doing basics at every workout and once they begin training other areas they keep up this practice. For that reason I feel these drill workouts are essential. I have been working on the stroke gold drill as one of the weekly drills. I can now get across the pool in 5 strokes, it was 23 last season. I think this means I am getting a better understanding of body positioning and catch. I still need to work on kicking and not dropping my legs.

Bike- Total this week was shorter than my long ride this week. It was two bricks, tempo and longer (20 miles), and a speed workout. No long ride, but every ride had a purpose.

Run- Highlight of the week was today. Today was my long run. 8 miles at a 9:23 pace, I did it with a pace of 9:22 and 4 miles were on trail. I think this always slows me down. However, this pace was 37 seconds faster per mile than my last long successful long swim. After missing two runs to flu, one to bad pre-run fuel, and two or three to injury, it was nice to get my confidence up and get one in the bag. The down side was my brick Friday night. I am not sure if it was the 80 degrees, the fact I rode 20 miles, or only taking 20 ounces of water on the ride, but I took everything I had to run three miles at a 9:00 pace. I usually average a 8:15 training pace after a 11 mile ride.

Diet has gone great this weak. I have eaten mostly clean and my weight has been  187 for the last two days.

ACURA- As of this evening I was number 19 on the leader board with 43 votes. The leader has 1020. I can still catch up in 13 days if you all keep voting for me and I keep pushing my other networks. With 200 facebook friends, 72 followers, and 100,000 fraternity brothers I should be in lead by my math. VOTE EVERYDAY!!! You no longer need to search for me just click Lucas Tucker on the front page :), Once you vote head over to Wednesday's post and enter to win a prize pack! http://cot.ag/hvgAuo

Updates, Thoughts, and Junk.

Update: As of this morning when I checked I had twenty votes to win the Acura TSX Wagon. I know a few people have messaged me since that they voted. If you haven't voted today or at all go vote http://cot.ag/hvgAuo .

Once you vote you can have an entry into yesterday's giveaway for some gym stuff. I am looking for prizes to do another giveaway the week after this one ends. Maybe some cooler stuff. At work I have resulted to promising taxi services should I win. This harassment will continue for 15 more days.
The good news is that with my 20 votes I was officially on the leader board, last but on it. The bad news is I was 788 votes from the leader. I was thinking that with 100,000 fraternity brothers I would get a little closer, no luck so far, maybe my 71 followers and your networks can help me :)

Thoughts: The other day I mentioned that my first race of the season is just two and a half weeks away. That kind of hit me upside the head the other day. I hadn't really thought about it much. I had thought about registering for races, watching caps to make sure I get in, getting training miles done, but never about the race. All of a sudden I am thinking about it a lot. I am analyzing my next two weeks of workouts about how they pertain to the race. I am thinking about it a lot but not obsessing...not at all like I was in the fall.

Although I am still not convinced that having a coach has been the best option for me, however I have been very thankful lately. In the past when a schedule change came up or I switched races I had to take the stock training plans and spend hours reorganizing them after soliciting advice here. It is good to not have to think about things like that, just follow the plan, if I change races call the coach. easy peasy.

I also found out today (not sure how I missed this) that my upcoming race will start in a heated OUTDOOR pool. I find this interesting. Not sure how I missed this in the details- adapt, overcome!

JUNK: The Wounded Warrior Project is one of my favorite charities and one of their partners for fund raising is the One Tough Mudder race, something else I would like to one day. I follow them on facebook where this video was posted, I thought it was funny so I decided to share!

Yoplait Yogurt Review and Giveaway

Recently, through http://www.myblogspark.com/ I had the chance to take part in the Yoplait one million cup giveaway. Yoplait provided me with a voucher for a free cup of yoplait yogurt in hopes that I would try it and write a review. According to their spark here is the information they want you to know:


"Yoplait is committed to making it easier for women to add more calcium to their diet every day with the newly reformulated Yoplait Original style yogurt.




Now with two times the amount of calcium of the leading yogurt, that’s 50 percent of the Daily Value in one convenient 6-ounce cup, Yoplait Original yogurt provides women with an easy and delicious way to get the calcium they need. Yoplait Original also contains 50 percent of the Daily Value of vitamin D, which helps with the absorption of calcium. Yoplait is committed to women’s health and is proud to offer a product that has even more of the calcium and vitamin D they need for strong, healthy bodies.


Yoplait Original Style yogurt is available in 4-cup packs and easy-to-store 8-cup fridge packs in 23 delicious flavors including Strawberry, French Vanilla, Harvest Peach, and Blackberry Pomegranate."

I took the voaucher to my local supermarket and picked up a cup of Yoplait Strawberry Yogurt (if memory serves me corectly)

Here are my thoughts: I enjoy eating Yoplait, it is the yogurt I was raised on. There are more flavors than I can list that I enjoy. The only drawback that I find is that after cleaning up my diet during the last few year every style I try tastes a little too sweet and not very natural to me. Personally, I do still like to eat either with fruit as a breakfast when I running late or as a late night snack. I could eat worse for a desert but the sweetness of the yogurt serves me sweet tooth well.


Yoplait via MyBlogSpark have provided me with a prize pack with a gym bag and a few other gym accessories in order to giveaway. They suggested that I ask readers to leave a comment about how they are getting more calcium in thier diets, however I am throwing a curve ball. Here are the ways to enter this giveaway:

1)**MANDATORY** Go to Acura Compete Like a Pro- Facebook Page and enter my name -Lucas Tucker- and then click vote twice. You can repeat this everyday until the cutoff of this giveaway (below)

2) After you click the vote graphic on the above facebook page, click the share button to put a note on your own facebook wall.

3) Share this contest via your blog, facebook, or by tweeting "Win a Yoplait prize pack by helping @superfatlete win a new Acura http://tinyurl.com/46offln ".

4) Lastly, if you have done the others leave a comment about the importance of calcium in your diet.

Leave a comment for every entry you earn (14 total I think). This contest will run through March 27, 2011.

Note: Yoplait provided you with the free product, information, and giveaway through MyBlogSpark

Hello World

First off and very important- for the next 17 days I will be trying to win a Acura TSX Wagon, competing against 1000 (if I recall the email correctly). To win I need my friends, family, followers, and coworkers to vote for me on the Acura Compete Like a Pro- Facebook Page. To vote do the following- (1)click contestant roster and (2) just above the first line is a search box where you can enter my name ***Lucas Tucker*** otherwise Kovas says I am on page 30. (3) click vote on the line by my name, (4) on the next page click the vote graphic. After this please click share and encourage anyone else you know to vote.

Yesterday there were people who only clicked on the vote line next to my name but not the vote graphic on the next page so the votes did not count. As of this afternoon I was about 500 votes behind the leader and not even on the leader board, but not far behind others on the leader board. I think I can pull this out if exploit all of my contacts. I have also started promising taxi service to my coworkers for voting.

Everyone can vote once per day. 17 more days left!! With your help we can make it happen!!!

In a comment yesterday one crazy pengiun said she wanted to hear some good news from me today, not sure if that was in reference to the Acura or not, but since she asked I will share some. If you watched the Ford Ironman World Championship broadcasts in December you may remember an add for a a Ford Ironman Challenge through DailyMile. Well, I entered one of the four challenges and it turns out I am one of the winners. I was contacted this afternoon and their PR firm is sending me a pair of K Swiss running shoes. If I get quality shoes I will be sure to share their performance with my friends.

Another piece of positive yet unsettling news is that my first race for 2011 is only about 16 days away. The Wilmington Athletic Club Sprint Triathlon on April 3rd. CB is looking forward to the time away at the beach, she is more excited than I am. USAT dues paid, registered for the race, hotel booked, dinner plan made. Have a few plans for the trip but I have plenty of time to post about those in the weeks to come. My 70.3 race is also less than 2 months away.

The first week I was sick I still got in a few workouts. I had a few bagged before I admitted I was sick and I snuck out of the house to do a few more (don't tell CB) after I admitted sickness. I was not able to do my long run or long ride, I took an L and admitted being sick. For the first week of march looked like this:

S: 2650.00 M, 1h 02m
B: 22.06 Mi, 1h 30m 54s
R: 2.00 Mi, 16m 54s
Str: 30m

The next week I was not able to start training until mid-week but probably should have waited longer. I worked hard and pushed it all together, even managing to keep my rest day. I did however, short my long run, coach had me doing tempo for part of it and I was not able to handle it. This was also my first week back doing lower body weight training, however it is limited to one set.

S: 3550.00 M, 1h 25m 35s
B: 77.00 Mi, 4h 53m 30s
R: 12.33 Mi, 42h 15m 30s
Str: 40m

So far do good this week, however I have not been able to hold tempo runs, the two weeks out with an injury and two weeks with the flu almost back to back don't help (in my opinion). My coach has my HM pace as 7:55, my fastest mile ever is 7:13.  It is tough to hold onto the speed for too long, but hopefully by May 7th, I will have it with no problems.

More to come this week.

Back from the Dead

After multiple doctors visits, a hospital visit, and ordered bed rest I have returned (and returned to training). I look forward to giving a longer post tommorow with an update and what's been up but in the mean time....

I am trying to win an Acura on faebook. In order to win I need your votes, voting is via facebook and you can vote everyday!!!  Help me win a TSX Sport Wagon! Go to Acura's Facebook page and vote for me! http://cot.ag/hvgAuo

For those of you who do not know my real name, I am listed on the polls as Lucas Tucker.

Thank you everybody!!!!

NOTE: There should be a box at the top of page 1 of athletes where you can put in my name, avoiding going from page to page looking.

The day off..... by default

Have you ever had something that you needed to do that you couldn't? I did today. Today it was sleep. On Monday and Tuesday I left work early because I was not feeling well, I couldn't keep my eyes open. Yesterday, I got home an hour early and planned to take a forty-five minute nap and ended up sleeping for two hours. Today I am home and can't fall asleep as hard as I try.

Having felt odd since Sunday night I woke up this morning with a tender throat, I went to the pool for a 200m swim and then came home to get ready for work. I debated if I should take the day off and rest but was hedging. I worried that my work and my wife would think I was just skipping for the sake of avoiding work. It is openly known by my wife and some of my coworkers that I do not enjoy work (those same coworkers detest the job as well).

I decided to go to the urgent care, partially to see if I was sick, but mostly to prove to my wife and work that I was not just calling out to avoid work. I was seen by a physician and assess. He then informed me that I am on the tail end of the flu and I have strep throat. He then told me I needed to take a few days off work.

After I left I called CB. She seemed stunned. She then explained that she was so shocked over how well I was handling it considering Sunday I went for a 47 mile ride followed by a recovery swim, Monday I went for a swim and lifted, and yesterday I did a brick. I explained to her that clearly this is the regular flu, not the man flu.

Today I rented The American and Salt. I recommended Salt for a good action movie. It didn't go the way I thought it would but it was good none the less. I found The American slow and anti-climactic. I have also almost watched half of the Sopranos box set.

I am looking forward to tomorrow off too.

Week 8 of HIM Training

I can not believe it has already been two full months of training. It all seems to be running together at this point. My leg is feeling better so I am picking up distance on the run again. I am stretching my hamstrings and IT band twice a day.

FOR THE WEEK:
S: 2450.00 M, 56m 15s
B: 88.87 Mi, 6h 28m 35s
R: 5.01 Mi, 46m 12s
Str: 20m

Swim: This week I did my first long swim in three weeks. It felt awkward. My plan has me doing one to two short swim concentrating on drills and  one long swim. This week it only had one short swim, during this swim I did drills for 350m. I alternated stroke golf and a face down kicking drill(as opposed to on  my back or side). The 200m cool down I swam after the drills was the most fluid feeling swim I think I have ever had. I even worked up the nerve for my first flip turn during this. BTW, I also started working on flip turns this week.

Bike: One long ride, two trainer rides, and a very short ride as part of a brick. One of the trainer rides was an bonus that I threw in to make up for shorting a run. The long ride ended up longer than planned because I stopped my garmin at a stop light and forgot to turn it back on. I spent the first half of the long ride in aero. My parts that sit on the tip of the saddle hurt by the time I was half way through the ride, so I didn't spend much time in aero on the way home. By the time I was home my butt hurt. I say it every week but I need a new saddle. I also want a Profile Designs Fast Forward seatpost.

Run: The highlight of the week was my brick. On Tuesday I rode a short 8 miles and then a 2 mile run. I got a weird feeling when I started. It felt labored similar to the start of all of my brick runs, like it is taking a minute for my legs to change sports, but it also felt fast. I looked at my GPS and was in the 7:45 range. i made myself slow down to 9:00. I finished the first mile at 8:40. I made myself slow down again, but I ended up finishing the second mile in 8:30. The coolest part about this run was that it did not feel hard, I was not winded. A third mile at that pace would top my run leg of either of my races last year. It would almost top my 5k PR. It makes me feel like it is going to be a good year!

Working my mileage back up, my long run this week was to be 6 miles. Unfortunately I did not finish. It wasn't because of my knee or IT band it was because the whopper and onion rings I had eaten an hour earlier made me want to puke.

Weight: I hate to admit this but I am going to put it out here in an effort to remain accountable- my weight is back up to 195. That is a 5 pound gain in a week and a half. I had 5 consecutive days during that time frame when my nutrition was completely out off the reservation. As of today I am going back on the protein power diet. I plan to stick to it for at least 2 weeks in order to get my system back in check. I may stick to it until I hit my goal weight.

Random Stuff

Watched a movie for the first time while on the trainer. I watched SWAT and did a pyramid workout.

Finally bought new shoes. I bought the Saucony Mirage, I will post a review soon.

For V-day CB bought me the book  "The Perfect Distance" I will also give you my thoughts on this soon.

I am looking for a good movie to rent, any suggestions? May even rent something today if I leave work early.