Can a Dream really come True?

noreply@blogger.com (Bill) — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 22:34:00 +0000

...stand by...honest!

Bill

noreply@blogger.com (Bill) — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 13:59:00 +0000

Yeah yeah...been a long time...just a quick update to say that things are going well...currently running, spinning, and weights 3x/week each. The weight is fluctuating around 170 lbs which is intersting since my last Ironman race (Florida) was 2001 and I was 169 the morning of the race. Now that the snow is here I will be adding 2-3 XC-ski workouts to the schedule. My plan is to not swim until XC-ski season is finished somewhere near the end of March. However, I will try and get on the VASA trainer 2-3x/week also.

I'll try to be a little more diligent about updating...just in case anyone actually reads this.

WW

noreply@blogger.com (Bill) — Mon, 13 Aug 2007 13:14:00 +0000

Well all is well in my tri-world for now. I actually won the Masters division (due to fewer than normal numbers they combined the 40-44 and 45-49 for award purposes) at the "Give-it-a-Tri" event in Cobourg on the weekend...even losing 3 minutes with a thrown and tangled chain on the only uphill on the bike course. I know it helped me that the swim MUST have been long, but generally I felt ok, even though I have not done any intensity whatsoever. I suspect the next one on the list will be the same distance in Wasaga Beach 4 weeks from now...still enjoying the training!

noreply@blogger.com (Bill) — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 22:02:00 +0000

I oftern wonder what kind of training is possible in my "now life" as a father, husband, and working guy vs. what was possible in chiropractic college. At that time I would get up at 4:45 am to be on the Computrainer at 5 am so I could eat and get to school by 7:30 am. I would then be in class until about 11, swim and eat lunch intil 1, then run after class. I would then "go long" on the weekends along with studying.

Perhaps if I was as time-efficient now as I was then, interesting levels of fitness become possible? I'll explore this further soon...

They just announced IronMan Muskoka 70.3 for September 2008...sign-up begins tomorrow morning...hmmmm...it whets the appetite but dunno if I'm ready for that in a year's time...I already made the mistake of trying to squeeze in a full IM (Florida) on only 7 months training.

noreply@blogger.com (Bill) — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 20:55:00 +0000

Well...here goes nothing...signed up for a mini-triathlon this weekend...400mS/10kmB/2.5kmR. My wife's race will be twice that distance and my daughter's event will be half my distance. But I hammered my back on Saturday saving my 2 year-old son from a fall so hopefully I'll be "on-line" by then...as on-line as I can be going into this thing.

...wish me luck...gonna need it!

noreply@blogger.com (Bill) — Mon, 30 Jul 2007 21:04:00 +0000

Well...so far so good...I'm the lightest I've been since IMF in 2001...but still feel like I slog in all three sports. At least I'm out there in all three though! There is a small chance the coming out party will be at the Cobourg Try a Tri in a couple of weeks...just getting the feet wet again...I doubt I'll fit into my old T1 wetsuit by then, but hope to by early September when I plan to do the Wasaga Beach triathlon. My wife (the REAL competitor) is scraping the rust off of her fitness also after 2 kids...warning: do not get in her way in a race...at least not a few years ago...we'll see how she reacts if she also does the Wasaga race.

I found a sweet bike for my daughter to race her KoS races in...she was on a 12" wheel bike but now she is on an Argon D18 24" wheel bike and she can really move on that one...she says she is now looking forward to the next race...we'll see...

noreply@blogger.com (Bill) — Wed, 04 Jul 2007 20:30:00 +0000

A few things have happened that remind me of what it's like to actually be fit again..not quite there but approaching it. A carful of girls yelled something at me as I was running and they kept looking as the car went by...a good sign I suppose.

What is more interesting is that, the other day, it occured to me that I was ACTUALLY LOOKING FORWARD TO TOMORROW'S RUN! This is somewhat of a revelation and has NOT occured in many years.

The spin classes are pretty good but they are only 2x/week...still enjoying the gym...no swimming yet.

noreply@blogger.com (Bill) — Tue, 19 Jun 2007 18:59:00 +0000

Another 60 minute spin class this am at the Y...I'm in the class that rushes off to work early so you can guess the demographic that the 'music' is aimed at...

With all apologies to Yvonne Elliman, I DON'T love the night life...and I DON'T want to boogie!

I'm thinking about taking the Y fitness leadership course just so I can program my own class, actually aimed at riders who want to improve their pure cycling power output...rather than a glorified version of the '20 minute workout' , remember that one?

Of course, I would feature such disco favourites as "Anger" by Skinny Puppy, "Closer" by Nine Inch Nails, and perhaps some cuts from the movie "Hackers."

noreply@blogger.com (Bill) — Mon, 18 Jun 2007 14:37:00 +0000

I can't believe I'm actually getting requests to keep this blog up to date! Well, here goes. I've been doing my general fitness training now for a bit over a week, and I'm amazed at the feedback I've been getting...not only from my own body but from other people who see me periodically...pretty much all positive...so will keep it going...

I have a few people I know who are in the same boat as me re: returning to the sport after a long hiatus and they have been coming along nicely also. I still would like to get in a short triathlon this summer before getting serious about XC-skiing this fall. I hope to co-ordinate the 'race' with my wife and daughter in an appropriate race the same weekend.

This week I'll run 3x, get in 2 spin classes, 3 weight workouts and perhaps one short swim. I'm waiting for the local outdoor 25y pool to open before I get 'serious' about swimming.

Thanks for listening...

noreply@blogger.com (Bill) — Wed, 25 Apr 2007 12:54:00 +0000

Well, today is the last day of the cleanse/fast, I can report that I weighed in 7 pounds less this morning than 8 days ago. I'll be doing the measurements at lunchtime and will report back then, All in all, I cheated twice in 8 days which I think is not bad considering how restricted my intake was at times. I thought i would be "eliminating" a lot more stuff but perhaps I didn't have that much to eliminate.

What is interesting is how well I thought I functioned with such a low intake of food/calories. It makes you wonder. I would say that is the best thing to come out of this exercise. I now know that limited caloric intake will not whack me as much as I thought.

...more a bit later...

noreply@blogger.com (Bill) — Thu, 19 Apr 2007 23:25:00 +0000

Well here we are at day 3 of the cleanse and today has been BRUTAL! Nothing but liquids and 2 of these rabbit-food-like pellets at each meal.

I cheated...I had a slice of pizza at dinner with the family...I just couldn't resist it...it just looked soooooooooo good, but interestingly only tasted so-so.

They say that sleeping is a priority at this point in the cleanse...kinda wondering if that is because when you sleep you're not eating...but could also be because of the stress on your body from either the lack of food or just the toxin release into the system...more tomorrow...

noreply@blogger.com (Bill) — Thu, 19 Apr 2007 23:20:00 +0000

Cleanse Day 2:

Today was not too bad at all in terms of hunger...but the headache I've had building all day has almost been too much to bear. I got some pics and measurements taken today also so it will be interesting to see where those compare to 7-8 days from now.

Tomorrow the hard part starts...2 days of fasting featuring only water and some liquid supplements from Isagenix. A cetain amount of cheating is "allowed" within reason as long as the cheating is decent quality, healthy food such as organic apples or hard-boiled eggs...that sort of thing...

We'll see...ciao for now...

noreply@blogger.com (Bill) — Tue, 17 Apr 2007 19:02:00 +0000

Well here we are...day 1...was on auto-pilot this morning and had a single cup of coffee before I remembered that this is day 1 and coffee (and beer, wine, and some other niceties) are disallowed for 9 days. So far today I've had 1 shake which was pretty good tasting actually along with 1 "Accelerator" tablet...will see what happens with that one.

...lots of water...

Lunch was just a bowl of vegetable soup and a bit of Rigatoni with the kids. Dinner will be a la breakfast and at 10pm I'll have something called Isaflush tabs which are part of the cleansing program. Right now I'm on a 2-day "pre-cleanse" before the official 7-day program starts.

...not doing too bad so far but I am clearly hungrier than normal and I had to fight the wheel driving past Starbuck's on the way to the office. I'm also planning to read a lot more when the hunger hits...should be an interesting 9 days!

Bill

noreply@blogger.com (Bill) — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 14:00:00 +0000

Hi again. I'm going to be starting a 9-11 day "cleanse" early next week as a precursor to actually beginning more focussed training for a short triathlon in late-June or early-July. I'll be on a program recommended by a friend of mine. The protocol (and supporting nutrition) is by a company called Isagenix. Yes...it's MLM...but I cannot fault the results I have seen with my own eyes with my (already lean/fit) friend.

I cannot say I will be training a lot while under the regime as it involves a restricted diet and a few days of fasting thrown in, but I will commit to working my abs every day using the Abs of Steel for Men video. I may just get to the Y for some basic/light training just to keep up what little momentum I've built since the ski race. I am kinda scared since I don't think I've EVER gone a whole day without food in my life...let alone 2 whole days...

NO COFFEE...'nuff said there...

I have been back to the Y for general weights and bike/elliptical, but nothing I would call focussed training yet...but it's coming. The ski race got me pumped a bit and I would like to ensure I get in 2-3 triathlons this summer...and about 10 books.

I'll be blogging daily about my experiences...beginning with a weigh-in and getting measured up on Sunday. The program is basically designed to de-tox my body and also to switch on the body's fat-burning system.

Wish me luck...my feeling is that this is gonna be tough!

noreply@blogger.com (Bill) — Mon, 12 Mar 2007 21:42:00 +0000

Sigh...I'm back.

Well, it's been a truly brutal year so far...flu rampaged through the family in February and my son would basically not sleep all of January...but things are looking up finally!

I managed to finish the Hardwood Hills Fischer XC-ski loppet (20km on a broken boot) this past Saturday in a dismally slow time. But hey, considering I've done about 6 "workouts" so far this year...not bad at all to finish a race in a sport that clearly is the most aerobically demanding of all.

In fact, I'm totally stoked to train for XC-skiing...all other aerobic sports seem easy by comparison...definitely the best engine builder out there...but how do you train in the other 8 months of the year? I've got to hit the web/books/usenet/forums to find out the answer.

I'm still pretty sore from the race but I plan to get back to the Y by Friday and start the ball rolling again...back to basics for now...but will look into getting some roller skiis...perhaps another 2-3 weeks left on the snow.

noreply@blogger.com (Bill) — Sun, 14 Jan 2007 23:04:00 +0000

Stand by!!

noreply@blogger.com (Bill) — Mon, 30 Oct 2006 12:53:00 +0000

It's been an absolutely berserk 3 weeks. My bad cold was the last of it. Another health crisis in my wife's family put us all on edge for a bit but has resolved favourably. So let's get back to work!

noreply@blogger.com (Bill) — Tue, 10 Oct 2006 18:20:00 +0000

It's beginning to look like I'll have to get up at the crack of dawn like most working tri-stiffs. While the lunch-time workouts are going well, the rest of the time has been just awful lately in terms of getting in the workouts (ie running). I'll have to get up at 5:30 am eventually to get in the training I'll need to do so I might as well get used to it sooner rather than later...looks like next week I'll start...

noreply@blogger.com (Bill) — Tue, 03 Oct 2006 19:33:00 +0000

I've added 20 minutes of time on the elliptical trainer to the M/W/F workout after 20 minutes on the bike and the split weight routine...so far so good...

The family health crisis spiked on Friday and resumed it's normal uptrend about 2 hours later...we'll see what happens to the trend over the next 72 hours or so...

noreply@blogger.com (Bill) — Wed, 27 Sep 2006 19:03:00 +0000

I had better get back to my old habit of stretching every night before bed. I can feel myself starting to tighten up a bit. I've been training consistently but man is there a lot of rust to scrape off.

I'm also trying to streamline my life somewhat. I am getting rid of stuff that is distracting, or is in anyway negative.

It also appears that another family health crisis may be in the offing...will let you know if it manifests...if it does then our immediate family, also known as the "go-to gang" will have more crap heaped upon us than I care to vividly imagine right now.

I was explaining to my daughter the other day that she actually inspired me by doing her first triathlon last summer. I was so proud of her because once she finished, she went back on the course to cheer on her other "competitors," all without encouragement from Mom and Dad.

...still rolling the boulder...not increasing the running yet as I still feel like I'm adapting to the pounding. Next week I'll be increasing the bike and elliptical time along with a very slight uptick in intensity.

noreply@blogger.com (Bill) — Wed, 20 Sep 2006 22:05:00 +0000

I've been fighting a cold for the past few days. It seems that everytime the stress-o-meter is redlining, as it has been since the death of my mother-in-law, then you finally get a chance to rest, some sort of ailment develops. However, the "training," while still guilt-producingly-easy, is consistent and is definitely upticking,

I've been giving some thought to the events I would like to focus on in the next few seasons. As discussed, I would like to do a 20km XC-ski race this winter, a 1/2-marathon next spring, and then focus on sprint triathlons all summer, culminating in an Oly to end the season. Similarly, in 2008, I would like to focus on Oly's and subsequently end the season with a 1/2-Ironman distance race. 2009's focus will be to train for a "low-key" Ironman-distance event...preferably within driving distance...but definitely race the shorter distances locally that summer. There exists an outside chance at going back to IMF that year.

2010 will be the Hawaii qualifying attempt...most likely in Placid but we shall see.

I stocked my back-office fridge here with all kinds of healthy food designed to keep me from going down the street to Tim Horton's. I also had a blog-reading patient bring in a new coffee maker and a new blender for me...nice guy that he is. The Smoothie of the Day was filtered water, plain yogurt, bran, mixed frozen berries, and 2 scoops of 5 year-old Interphase left over from IMF 5 years ago. If there are no posts for a while, then chances are I've died of botulsim.

It is interesting to see the changes in what I want to eat now that I've started to train again..."craving" is not the right word in that I'm not freaking out over anything in particular. I certainly notice that I'm paying more attention to what I eat and I suspect that this is not a concious activity...it just seems that I want better food/nutrition.

...no change in aches and pains...hope they get better soon!

On another note, I'd like to commend 40+ Rick Hellard (a guy I was always about 10-15 minutes behind in Olympic races 20 years ago) who just crushed the field AND the course in the Esprit Ironman-distance triathlon in Montreal this past weekend.

noreply@blogger.com (Bill) — Fri, 15 Sep 2006 20:49:00 +0000

It's been a decent week of "training." Consistently sore though...the price I pay for an extended layoff...joints feeling better. I'm looking to get one of my old bikes in shape for training...an old Cyclops frame custom-made for me. I have an assortment of old parts around the house (circa 1986) that are usable such as crank-arms, wheelsets, and stems, but I'll look to acquire a used Shimano drivetrain with integral brake levers/shifters.

I've got a few roadie friends that I would like to ride with next year...see no need to bring out the Lightspeed to ride with them.

...just rolling the boulder...putting in the time...no increases in aerobic volume yet...

noreply@blogger.com (Bill) — Sun, 10 Sep 2006 15:33:00 +0000

Well so far I'd give my efforts about a 4/10. In fairness to myself it's been quite a stressful and busy time as my mother-in-law passed away shortly after "the dream" and it's been a whirlwind of activity since then. We've already had a catholic funeral mass (with subsequent social time at our house) for her but we are hosting a memorial dinner for her next weekend so still miles to go. I did manage to research a digital camera and decided on the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ50 (http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/panasonicFZ50/) which should hold me unless I get the Digital SLR disease.

This week is looking better as most of the busy work is done and my role this week will be mainly to look after the kids while my wife completes a few more tasks.

...no change in weight...still 185...but looking and feeling better for sure...diet marginally better...need to stock the fridge at work with fruits, veggies, and protein-rich foods.

noreply@blogger.com (Bill) — Tue, 05 Sep 2006 19:07:00 +0000

Well...I'm looking to step things up a bit to prepare for the XC-ski season. For those of you who may not know, XC-skiing is clearly the #1 aerobic engine builder so I plan to put it to good use...travel and snow conditions willing. I've been doing some basic weight training for a couple of months now so now I'll split the training up into Legs/Arms & Chest/Back/Shoulders. Clearly I need to focus on Leg Strength in general, while I can focus on Shoulder rehab on that day. I'll do abs all 4 days but I'm not really doing any "trendy core" workouts yet. This also puts me in the gym an extra day so I'll add some time on the elliptical machine as well as the bike...I'll maintain the 3x/week running for quite a while I suspect as there is currently no need to go more. In the past my running fitness peaked on 5 runs/week but clearly I'm nowhere near a peak of any kind. I also suspect I'll gradually edge up the aerobic work duration a few minutes per workout per week.

I like starting new things in September so I guess this is it. The current schedule looks like this: Monday/Friday...Weights (Legs/Arms), 20 minutes each of elliptical and bike, Wednesday/Saturday...Weights (Chest/Back/Shoulders), 20 minutes each elliptical and bike, Tuesday/Thursday/Saturday...20 minutes running.

Oh yeah...I found my old Polar Accurex II...gotta get a battery for it now. I'm a huge proponent of HR-based training to ensure my HR does not EXCEED the appropriate level for myself...especially at my remedial level of training.

I also in addition to watching my diet need to watch my hours of sleep...bit of a challenge with kids, myriad of interests, etc but it will have to be done...cheers,

noreply@blogger.com (Bill) — Sun, 03 Sep 2006 22:10:00 +0000

I had better start right now to get a handle on my diet. My eating is just terrible right now. I used to be a pretty good Paleo-diet kinda guy so I think I'll re-read Cordain's book. I understand that Joe Friel and Cordain have collaberated on a book that combines the basics of the Paleo-diet with the specific needs of endurance athletes. This sounds like the best combination so I'll investigate further.

It's been a little bonkers the past couple of days as there has been some health crises in the family...should be back on track by Tuesday...might be able to squeeze in a run late tonight.

I'm also thinking that I don't really need to be all that specific in my training right now...ie anything will currently work for me and is better than nothing. However, I do want to do well (for me) in the 20km free XC ski race in February so most of the training before that will be geared with a bias towards XC-ski fitness. I suspect I'll be skiing once or twice a week, getting in 3 runs or so, 2 spin classes, weights, and the occasional swim over the fall/winter in order to prepare as best I can for the XC-ski & run combo...perhaps even try the Winterlude Triathlon? I also want to learn Classic technique in XC-skiing.