Transvestites have the best cupcakes

There's a lot going on this week. We begin with the MMNW:


Last week: 182.0 lbs, 20.2% body fat
This week: 181.4 lbs, 19.8% body fat


The loss of 0.6 lbs is secondary I think to breaking the 20% body fat barrier. I blew a good weigh-in with sunday's dinner, I was under 180 both mornings of the weekend. When I hit 178.8 (the number I expected to see this morning), I will cross the 30 lbs lost marker. This I am really looking forward to.


The Batchelor this year loves to torture these girls. Taking the girls whose dead fiance was a former nascar driver to a nascar track? Even if he didn't die in a race it's still harsh. he pulls some shit like that every episode. It's cruel and laughable at the same time.


I had a fantastic tempo run tonight. 5k on the treadmill at a 8.5 mph speed (that's a 7:03 pace) for a 21:55 time. Total run was 4 miles with warmup/cooldown, burned 617 calories. It's my first time breaking 22 minutes on a 5k.


January Totals:


Swimming: 0 none nada no time in the pool
Biking: 7 rides, 180.5 miles
Running: 15 runs, 74.1 miles, 1 race (5k, 24:42 PR)
Strength: 5 workouts
Yoga: 2 sessions


Yea I got in 15 runs this month. 74 miles is nice. I'm very pleased with those numbers.


Ironman training starts Feb 28th. This month I'm going to enjoy the relaxed structure I'm training with now. This is the last month I can lose weight before Ironman training starts, so I still do have to run hard and get a good calorie burn. The target weight by the end of Feb is 174. Very attainable. If I can get down to 170 that's even better. The first workout in Ironman training is a swim with the Raleigh Area Master's team, so I know I'm not going to swim this month either. That's ok.


February will have two races: the Krispy Kreme challenge is next weekend. I've got a surprise costume that Kelley is trying to pull together. I'm actually going to try and win that damn thing. Setting the pace with the first 2 miles around 7 minutes each, then stuff down a dozen glazed doughnuts. The route back to the finish line is a little harder, so gimme 8 minute miles going back. With any luck, I'll make it to the finish line without barfing. The winners usually finish in about 30 minutes, if I don't win the secondary goal is to break 35 minutes. Should put me in the top 10% at least.


Then a few weeks later we're going back to Myrtle Beach for the half marathon. Got lots of friends running that one too, can't wait to see everyone again!


I was nominated for The Athletes Plate by Sarah! It was so cool for Jason to come up with a great menu for me. Turns out he's got a really cool blog that I've started following. Check it out.


This year's garden is really coming together. This past weekend we had unbelievable weather. Sunny and 58 on saturday, and sunny and 68 on sunday. I put up 3 trellis' for muscadine vines, the girls wanted to plant some seeds, so we put some flower seeds and onion sets in the raised bed, got a structure built to grow vines (peas and later beans) from the raised bed, and we put 6 blueberry bushes in the ground. Kelley was working the planting beds in the front yard, the whole garden and vineyard is in the front yard now. The kids are super excited. I am really glad to see it coming together, and will finish with some pics. Have a great week!










Scaring people in Raleigh since 2011, it's the topless gardening family! Those girls do love helping daddy dig in the dirt.

A Gain

Indeed, as predicted, the MMNW showed a sad tale today.

Last week: 180.2 lbs, 19.7% body fat
This week: 182.0 lbs, 20.2% body fat
Gain of 1.5 lbs and 0.5% of body fat (1.26 lbs of body fat added)

So for the first time since mid-October of last year when I started trying to lose weight, I have showed a gain. It's still considerably lower than the 187 lbs I put up the week before, so I'm still quite satisfied. That's what happens when you get sick, drop lbs, and then get well again.

Still, I am quite excited about finally getting out of the 180's. It will happen soon enough. I'm having to ramp up the workouts a bit to push me over the edge, and I'm taking a closer look at the intake as well. I'm at the point now where the pounds are getting hard to fall off.

My team at work won the Fantasy Fat Bowl today! I'm very pleased that we took the weight loss for the week. I showed a 0.2 lb gain, which was the lowest gain among the gainers. One of the other guys stepped up and showed a good loss. It was still a great win for the team.

Fun times around here! Time for a workout, have a great week!

New Crew and Mud

So this weeks MMNW is coming your way a bit after monday.

Last week: 187.0 lbs, 21.8% body fat
This week: 180.2, 19.7

Why the big drop? Well I came down with a stomach bug and dropped 4 lbs overnight sunday. While I can't advocate the use of a viral infection to promote weight loss, you can't argue with the results. Actually I'm probably going to put it all back on this week when I finish rehydrating. But it's nice to see the number anyway.

New Team!


I signed up with the Inside-Out Sports Delta Team. This is a local team of the cool kids with 100 members so far this year. Lots of regular group rides, group runs, discounts all over the place, and plenty of team gear. This really is a fantastic group. A lot of the other members are running plenty of the same races I'm doing, and since we get discounts on a lot of race entry fees, it ends up being free to me. Very cool group.

New Mud!

The Muck Run is on for this May 7!! I'm so glad we found a decent adventure race for the spring. This one looks fun, muddy, and close to Greenville. So we're going to visit the parents for the weekend and hit this guy.

New Garden!

I've got a great start going on a raised bed, and there are 6 muscadine vines being shipped here as we speak. Not entirely sure how the veggies are going to do with that much/little light, but it's the best spot I've got and the soil is rich with loam and compost now. Time to build some trellis' for the grapes!

MMNW Catchup

I have been slack about posting my Monday Morning Naked Weights over the holidays:


12/13/10 - 189.8 lbs, 22.7% body fat
12/20/10 - 188.8 lbs, 22.5% body fat - last one published
12/28/10 - 188.0, 22.0%
1/3/10 - 187.2, 21.8%
1/10/10 - 187.0, 21.8%


The holidays were not kind to the scales. I was plateau'd and spent 3 weeks floating between 187 and 189. I'm supposed to be averaging 2 lbs a week, not 2.6 lbs over 3 weeks. Even that was just dumb luck. Some days each week until Jan 3 I showed a number over 189. Following the average I think I should be closer to 181 by now.

Plateau's suck. I know it's January now, reaching mid-Jan soon. The end of February is when Ironman training starts. I knew going into this weight loss plan that it was going to be tough to lose this much before March. I still think it will take into march before reaching my goal weight. At this point I think about 174 is going to be the lightest I can hope for when I start Ironman Training. I'm ok with that. I have to be ok with that.

At work they are putting together a Fantasy Fat Bowl that looks really cool. They are doing it in teams, and I have volunteered to coach one of the teams. They are doing it Biggest Loser style, with weigh ins every monday morning, and measuring the total % of weight lost compared with a starting weight. Should be fun!

I forgot to mention something in my 2010 Year in Review post! All of the other fun blogger meetups I had in 2010. Meeting cool people in real life that you talk to online is so cool:

• Wes and I met up for lunch during a trip to Atlanta right before he ran IMAZ
• The Snail and I met up at the Duel in the Dunes back in Feb, where he spanked my half marathon time. Then later in November we ran Kennesaw mountain together in Atlanta
• Heather with a Side of Sneakers and I did the Tobacco Road Marathon
• Sarah the Sun Runner and I met up in Charlotte before she ran the Thunder Road Marathon
• Meredith started blogging. She's an old and very close friend from college who married one of my fraternity brothers and lives in Charlotte.
• Now that Calyx and I live close together we get together sometimes (but not often enough) for mostly social situations
• I thought I was going to see Sarah during a trip to atlanta, but she ended up with the flu and we only got to talk on the phone. booo, but my next trip to atlanta it's on.

Gah I hope I didn't forget to link anyone. In 2011, I know I'll be meeting these guys:

• Ryan is going to help me get through Ironman training with some power work.


• Frayed Laces is also running Ironman Florida


• Healthy Ashley just moved to Asheville and got engaged, I'm sure we'll meet up, maybe even at a race!


• Joe RockstarTri is also racing Ironman Florida. I'm going to enjoy making him look slow.


• Tammie is doing the Umstead 100 again, maybe this year I'll actually be able to pace her for a lap!


• Carol. I'm bound to run into her sooner or later. Hopefully sooner.

I've also made a gym change. Got out of Gold's and joined the Planet Fitness ($10 a month? really?) that's right across the street from our house. Kelley's been going there for a while now, and it is very convenient. There is no pool. To make up for that, I'm joining the Raleigh Area Masters swim team. I'm *hoping* that a master's swim team is going to be the right way to go to make it through Ironman swim training. It's cost effective and they meet at the right times.

Allright, it's kind of a wild week around here. There was a ton of snow falling everywhere around Raleigh, but we only ended up with ice inside of the city. Have fun!

2011 Goals and Race List

Every year we set some targets to go out and achieve. Something measurable to hold ourselves accountable to; and something to work towards. For this year I am trying to establish a few meaningful goals.

Goals:

1. Ironman on November 5th at IMFL

2. Single digit body fat percentage and maintaining a healthy weight throughout the year

3. Age Group Placement - I'm getting lean and fast right now. 4th place AG in the 5k yesterday, I think I can crack the top 3 pretty soon. in something.

4. Time goals: This gets difficult to measure given the odd race schedule. I would love to throw out the standard running time goals by distance:

• 5k under 22:00,
• 10k under 50:00,
• 5 mile under 40:00,
• 13.1 miles under 1:55,
• 26.2 miles under4:00,
• century ride under 6 hours.

But I'll have to include training times (not just races) to have a chance to set them.

5. Have a garden. Small, but something that I can tend to on recovery days just to see what I can make grow.

6. Live in a way that makes others proud. That sounds vague, but the target is to complete Ironman training without completely abandoning my family. Don't let the house go into disrepair, keep the yard up, let the garden grow, that kind of thing. Don't abandon friends that don't run triathlons.

Race list:

Please come out and join me at any of these events. Most are pending registration, in the hopes that I can still get in. And like all race calendars, it's mostly fluid and can change on a dime based on the whims of my family and availability.

1/1/2011 - Resolution Run 5k, Cary, NC - Done! PR, 24:42, 4th place AG (out of 17 male 30-39), and 34th out of 185 overall

2/5/2011 - Krispy Kreme Challenge Raleigh NC - run 2 miles, eat a dozen doughnuts, run 2 miles. What could be better?

2/19/2011 - Myrtle Beach Marathon, Myrtle Beach SC. This is the only half marathon I have on the schedule, so I'm trying to break 2 hours. Might even pace out for around 1:50ish.

2/28/2011 - the Ironman training plan starts. Weight loss should be at or very near goal weight (160 lbs, 9% body fat) by this time.

3/5/2011 - Greenville Track Club Reedy River Run - 10k in Greenville SC. This is one of the most popular races in Greenville, and a good excuse to go visit my parents.

4/9/2011 - Potential - Rugged Maniac Adventure Race, Greensboro NC

4/9/2011 - Potential - Cary Long Course Duathlon, Cary NC. Same day as the rugged adventure race, so if we pick a different adventure race I'm going to do the du.

4/16/2011 - Potential - Beaverdam Oly, Wake Forest, NC. This is one of those "if I have the extra cash for the registration fee" races. It's local, an Olympic distance triathlon, and early in the season. I had a lot of facebook friends who did this one last year and loved it. It would be a fantastic, truly wonderful warmup for.....

4/30/2011 - TryCharleston Half Iron, Charleston, SC. I've been wanting to go visit my brother Michael for a while. Spring travel, no kids, no hotel, Kelley and I can head to chuck town for a weekend of fun and a spring half ironman. What could be finer?

5/15/2011 - Potential - Warrior Dash Georgia. We can stay with my parents for this adventure race. Should be crazy fun!

5/21/2011 - Potential - Battle at Buckhorn, Sims, NC. A local sprint triathlon that's a lot of people on facebook did last year and I would love to do this year. Could be a good chance to show off some speed.

6/1/2011 - Aquathon #1, Raleigh, NC. FS Series is putting on a series of three aquathons that I'm absolutely amped about!!! They are on wednesday nights at 6:30 pm in June, July and August. This one is in Harris Lake state park with an 800 meter open water swim followed by a 3 mile run. It's just like triathlon without the bike. I can't wait!

6/4/2011 - Probable - Run on the Wild Side 9k, Asheville, NC. I'm lining up some friends to do this run too, and it's still probable because I don't have confirmation about staying with them. We'll skip this one if the friends have to be out of town.

6/11/2011 - Chatham 3Ring Cycle, Chatham, NC. This will be my only century ride, and it's local. Tours 4 counties around Raleigh, so I think I can get some other folks from work to ride this one too.

6/18/2011 - Bandits Challenge, Wilkesboro, NC. This is going to be the most difficult course in the series that SetupEvents puts on. It's high in the mountains. Do I want a tough course for a sprint triathlon this year?? Bring it on. We get a weekend in Boone with no kids? sounds great.

6/26/2011 - Potential - Chattooga 50k in SC. I think this is going to be the best chance to pop my ultra cherry. The Snail is lined up for this one, and he is very persuasive about getting me to do it too. I would love to run this one, but that's already a LOT of racing in June. and it's going to be hot.

7/6/2011 - Aquathon #2, Raleigh, NC. This one has a 1500 meter open water swim and a 4 mile run. Awesome!

7/23/2011 - The Big Deuce, Raleigh, NC. This is the only 2 mile open water swim I could find. Should be fun!

8/3/2011 - Aquathon #3, Raleigh, NC. This one has a 400 meter open water swim, 3 mile run, and another 400 meter open water swim! bah, fantastic!

8/14/2011 - Potential - Greenville Sprint Triathlon, Greenville, SC. This would be my third time running this sprint, and it keeps getting more fun. I'm trying to talk a friend or two from Raleigh into coming to Greenville with me for the weekend to run this one. I might skip this one if the friends don't want to do it.

9/17/2011 - Outer Banks Half Iron, Kitty Hawk, NC. A fall half ironman is a great warmup for IMFL. I might switch this one up and run the Patriot's half again like I did in 2010, but Kelley and I both would rather hit the outer banks.

11/5/2011 - Ironman Florida, Panama City Beach, FL. This is the big dog. 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike, 26.2 mile run. Bring it.

If 2011 were to be described as a chinese zodiac symbol, it would be the year of the Dick because I'm going loooooooooong. Two half iron's and a full ironman? Potentially a 50k? Some of these are just for fun, some are to be competitive, and some (century and the big duece) are for Ironman prep. I've got nothing lined up for october or december thanks to IMFL.

Pick some of those races and meet me out there! That means you!

Like the header says, if I can go from smoking 26.2 cigs a day to running 26.2 miles, then I can go from Iron Lung to Iron man. It's time to make that happen. Let's get it on!

2010 Year in Review

2010 was a pretty amazing year. I started out setting some goals for what I wanted to accomplish for the year. Then I set a bunch of PR's in races, moved into the house and got my family back. Then I started getting fat and slow, then started getting thin and fast.

Let's review those goals:

1. Ironman Prep Year: Success! 2010 was supposed to be my year to raise my confidence for completing an Ironman in 2011. I did my first century ride, second marathon, and first 2 mile swim. I also did an Iron Week (completing all ironman distances in one week) just to be sure I was ready.

2. Have an Iron Week: Success! I used a week in February that contained my only 20 mile run before the full marathon. Iron week was amazing. I can't wait to do it again.

This was how I felt at the end of Iron Week

3. Put up a sub-22 minute 5k: Success?* It was in training, on december 30th, and I came so close at 22:16 that I'm going to call this one ok. 22 minutes is seriously fast. Don't really know what I was thinking with that one.

4. Break one hour in the 10k: Success* It was in training run, on the treadmill, fastest time was 50:00 flat. Set the treadmill at a 7.5 mph speed and just went for it. Also in december.

5. Break two hours in the half marathon: Success* It was in a training run, on the treadmill, fastest time was 1:56:00. Also in december. That was a really cool saturday.

6. Break 4 hours in the marathon: Fail. 4:34 was my fastest and only time. I am still quite happy with this time. I firmly believe that a sub-4 is in my realm of possiblities, but I didn't get to try the distance very often last year.

7. Sub-six hour half ironman: Fail. Just like the marathon, I only tried the distance once, and the swim and bike legs turned out to be considerably more difficult than I had originally anticipated. 6:55 (not even a PR) in my only attempt at the distance.

8. 14 workouts in one week: Success! The first part of the year I could work out as often as I wanted as there were no other weekly responsibilities (wife, kids, house.....) so I was able to knock them down.

9. Sell our house and our rental house in Greenville SC and move into a new house in Raleigh: Success* We still have the rental. But we did sell the house we lived in with the huge garden, and bought a new house in Raleigh. Moved in may 21st.

10. Keep making new friends: Success? Who sets that as a goal? Yes, I have gotten much closer with a lot of people this year, and met plenty of new people that are also pretty awesome.

11. Get on a plane: Fail. I didn't fly anywhere this year. Took a nice trip to Atlanta to visit friends, and went to Williamsburg, VA for a race. but no flights.

12. Take the 6 pack out of the fridge: Fail. I did run a race shirtless, but I was still over 200 lbs when it happened. The abs were still nestled safely in the fridge. Currently I am on a weight loss kick that should result in single digit body fat, so I have high hopes for 2011.

13. Be funny again: WTF kind of goal is that? I'm always funny.

14. Race and train with friends: Success! I met plenty of awesome people at races this year, and got to train with some of the same folks sometimes, and got into the cycling group at work for quite some time.

Here's some other awesome that I picked up in 2010:

Kelley and her cousin Kendall took first place in their age group at a 5k!

We did the Monster Dash in costume on halloween. It was Evil Genius's first race, and we all ran the mile and had a wonderful day.

Evil Genius got her first haircut!

Bigun came with me out to a triathlon! She had a blast.

I got my first tattoo! It still seems unusual to me to wait until I was 35 years old to get one. But it works!

We all got to go to Myrtle Beach for a fun 5k race, and hung out with some family and friends!


Kelley got to meet Bob Harper from The Biggest Loser! He is incredible.

Got my second tattoo!


Made several fun trips back to Greenville, and got to hang out with my parents in the pool a lot! The kids absolutely loved it.

December Milage:

Swim: 0

Bike: 71 miles, 4 rides

Run: 86.4 miles, 15 runs

Strength: 4 sessions

Yoga: 3 sessions

All in all, that's ok. 86 miles running is pretty sweet. I was secretly hoping to get in a 100 mile month, but that's still pretty good.

2010 Annual milage:

Swim: 41.3 miles

Bike: 1779.5 miles

Run: 524.65 miles

Strength: 55 sessions

Yoga: 47 sessions

That's pretty awesome. I feel really good seeing the whole year laid out like that. 41 miles of swimming? wow. Seeing all of those numbers aggregated makes me think about some milage goals for 2011.

Have a great 2011! My 2011 race list and goals are coming soon. hopefully tomorrow or monday.

Resolution Run - Quickie

This new year's day we did a Resolution Run in Cary. I was primed to set a 5k PR, and I did! Finished in 24:42, 4th place in my age group (male 30-39). The 3rd place guy beat me by only 30 seconds. I pulled a 7:57 per mile pace.

It felt really good to PR, but I know I could have done better than that. The course finished with some tough hills in mile 2, about 2.6 miles in my abs gave out. They were still really sore from the hard runs Kelley and I did on wednesday and thursday. I hit the 2 mile mark in 15:21 which was right on target with my 7:3x goal pace. But the abs giving out killed the 22:xx time I was shooting for.

I don't run very many 5k's outside of triathlons, so this was a really fun one. Last year I ran a half marathon on new year's day in Travelers Rest, SC and it was only 22 degrees at the start. Today it was 55 and I was able to run in shorts and a sleeveless shirt. Kind of wish I had gloves on, my hands still got pretty cold. But overall it was a fun race and a sweet PR! Great way to star the new year. Here's to a great and active 2011!