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!

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...

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...

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.

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.

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...

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.

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,

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.

Here's a list of injuries I had better be proactive about making sure they don't bite me in the ass: bilateral Ilio-tibial Band Friction syndrome, R Lateral Collateral Knee ligament sprain, L Rotator Cuff strain, R adductor strain (this one was brought on by a leg cramp that lasted 20 minutes while swimming in open water...not nice), chip fracture of R Great toe, cracked lower L rib, and some kind of R knee internal derangement.

I took the day/night off "training" yesterday and took the family down to the Chinese Lantern Festival (http://www.chineselanternfestival.ca/e/home.html) at Ontario Place...was very nice actually.

Well it's been an interesting few days...gym one day and run 20 minutes the next. A couple of folks I know have mentioned to me that I may not have the athletic talent to even try this. I most likely don't, but nothing ventured, nothing gained I suppose. My best times were done quite a while ago, but for reference they are 20:58 1500 swim (LCM), 1:04 40km ITT (spokes, drop bars, no aero stuff), and 37:12 10km...none of them are particularly stellar, but they are somewhat balanced I suppose.

After sifting through some of the AG results from the various North and South American Ironman races, it is pretty clear to me that I'll need to be in sub-11:00 shape to even have a shot at a roll-down spot in the 50-54 age group. When I do the math, I don't find this impossible...especially since I feel I was in sub-11:30 shape for IM Florida 5 years ago when a distraught lateral collateral ligament in my knee picked the 8 mile mark of the run to go on strike. This led to a 5:47 hobble for the IMF marathon and a 13:30 time. The 7th mile I ran in just over 8 minutes so perhaps I was capable of a better time than 5:47.

Now don't get me wrong...this is certainly no slam dunk goal...but I have never trained more than 3 years in a row for triathlon in my whole life...I managed 3 years in a row before my best Oly time of 2:10 back in 1986. I therefore declare my dream possible.

I have some good resources available to me. I still own my old Computrainer (Nintendo version) and a first generation VASA swim bench. I see no need to replace my ol' Lightspeed from 15 years ago...you may recall the model with the curved seat tube, not unlike the Cervelos of today. I should really do some kind of inventory...dunno how many old wheels, tires, etc I have in the basement.

I have some preliminary thoughts on intermediate goals I would like to accomplish. The three main ones that hit me are a 20km XC-ski race (free technique); a 1/2-marathon in May; and an Olympic-distance triathlon in August. I'm not sure what times are possible yet but at this point, just finishing them sounds good to me.

Hi all (all 0 of you?). I ran 20 minutes and did a full-body weight workout at the Y that I have been paying for over the last 5 years without using. In that time my daughter has sure learned how to swim though!

Damn I'm sore today...did everything easy but the ol' bod dinna recall exercise too much it seems.

I'm going to check the results of the 50-54 AG at the various IM races in NA to see what is required for a qualifying effort for Kona...then I suspect I'll have to subtract 15-20 minutes as the good guys in 45-49 are all moving up along with me...methinks a real reality check will be in order, but I suspect I'll need an effort in the mid 10 hour range at the very least.

I weigh in right now around 185 pounds and was 169 pounds for IMF 5 years ago and 162 for Hawaii 21 years ago. I also will set some short term (1 year), mid (2-3 years) and long term (4-5 years) goals over the next few days as benchmarks to be met along the way.

Hi all...blog active now...just had to start posting about this dream I had. The short version is that I first did Ironman Hawaii as a 25 year-old in 1985. Not long ago, I experienced an incredibly realistic dream that I toted the Hawaii starting line as a 50 year-old (4 years hence)...on the 25th anniversary of my race there.

The race is a totally different animal now...very tough to qualify...and to be quite honest, my athletic strengths are not what they used to be and were never swimming, cycling, and running. My best sport was tennis as a kid, with basketball a distant second.

I completed the Hawaiian Ironman in 12 hours and 30 minutes in 1985. I finished Ironman Florida in 2001 as a 41 year-old and was in much better shape than when I was 25. Unfortunately an injury occured during the race that reduced me to hobbling most of the run...but hey, that's the breaks.

Anyways, let's see what happens. I am totally out of shape...relatively speaking...so will begin something resembling training today.

I wonder...