Squeezing off a few pounds: 1 month weigh-in: 205 to 194

Posted on August 5, 2011 by Dad

Now that’s cool 🙂

Based on my weigh-in this morning, I was able to achieve my 10 pound weight loss goal in 4 weeks, instead of my initial goal of 4 months…very nice…my 4 week chart on the right

…down below, where I added in a green trendline to ‘normalize’ the fluctuations, and the red line my 7 day rolling average weight (currently 196)

…click on the chart for the larger image

…a couple of disclaimers:

1. as I’ve noted in posts earlier this month, it looks to me like my initial 205 weigh-in was on a ‘fat’ day, so probably closer to 203’ish as a starting point

2. by looking at the chart you can see, the 194 this morning (and 195 yesterday) was the lowest point so far, so I’m probably at a ‘normalized’ 195’ish today…where my green line ends up

…so I’ll call it officially a drop from 203 to 195…8 pounds in 4 weeks, 2 pounds a week…bit more than I wanted/planned to, but I’ll take it

I’ll add a post tomorrow about what I think were the key things that helped me shed a few pounds…the Iron Dad Diet Plan 🙂

…so now what?…since my original goal was to be at 196 or less by September 30…and I’m there now, 8 weeks ahead of schedule..I guess I’ll just keep on going

…as I’ve watched the scale the last couple of weeks, and realizing that the weight was indeed coming off, I started tinkering with the idea of getting to 185

…over the past 10 years, I’ve been in the low 200’s, in and out of the mid-high 190’s…it’s been forever since I’ve been consistently in the low 190’s, leaning into the 180’s…I’m thinking maybe high school…it could be time to reclaim my youthful figure

…and even with this initial weight drop, I can still see a few fat pockets that I’d rather not carry around for 13 hours in Ironman…and can only surmise, therefore, that since it’s not gone with this first weight loss volley, that I have more to lose…without needing any deep analysis

So there it is…a new goal of 185 by October 28, which resets my original goals to a new level.

So this effectively wipes out my old chart, and begins today at 195, with my next official weigh-in 4 weeks from now, on September 2…where hopefully I’ve been able to make continued progress and be 191’ish or under.

On the ‘exceeds’ side, if the weight comes off at the same rate as it has, according to my trendline extrapolated forward, I can actually be at 185 by September 7…okay I can dream…based on what I’ve seen this past month, I’m optimistic though that I can keep the focus on and get to 185 by the end of October

In all likelihood, I’ve had my initial water weight loss, and things are now starting to settle in, so the next 4 weeks will be a telling tale, on what I would expect to be a more normalized/slower rate

…and as I get lighter, I’ll need few calories, and burn fewer calories exercising, which adds to the challenge.

…the new goal also increases my weight loss goal target to 1 pound a week, from .75 pounds a week…which makes me a bit uncomfortable…in the back of my head is the question of how much is too much?…and the nagging concern about losing muscle mass along with the fat, and therefore having a negative impact on my power on the bike in particular, and running secondarily…although the lower weight will just naturally help with running speed

…it would have been a better move to get this weight off earlier in the year, and then run a more stable weight through the Ironman training…and with the heat this time of the year, it’s going to be difficult for me to compare bike and run performance against results earlier in the year in much cooler conditions…

…so I could have my body fat tested…I’d use a DEXA scan…and have even more numbers to ponder…but for now, the tale of the ‘mirror’ tells me that I still have a way to go…and if some muscle comes off with it, I’d rather be at 185 rebuilding muscle on a leaner frame, than carrying fat around that’s not really doing me any good at all

…I guess I’ve had it with the story in my head that I’m big-boned, and muscular, and have broad shoulders, and have a great body compared to most guys that I see of any age

…which although it may all be true, has lead me to convince myself that carrying a few extra pounds is ok…in fact healthy…perhaps the power of positive thinking gone awry

…so losing that weight, just hasn’t been a priority…until now

…it could be that I’m just fat and didn’t know it 🙂

Posted in Achieving Goals, Dad's Blog Posts, Weight loss | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments

Eating before early morning exercise

Posted on August 4, 2011 by Dad

As the days have become hotter, I’ve looked at getting out earlier in the day to knock off the exercise…mainly to be able to keep High Intensity in the workouts without redlining my Heart Rate as it tries to keep my body cool.

Typically, I’m up around 6:30’ish, and if I’m planning to exercise in the morning, having my morning fruit shake for 400’ish calories by 7:00, and can get out around 8:30 – 9:00 with a pretty settled stomach…I can get out 1 hour after, but I’m typically tasting fruit shake a few minutes in with any intensity at all…not pleasant…and not really thrilled with the idea of a non-nutritional 2-300 calories of something like Gatorade just to have something easier to digest on my stomach.

…of course triathlete’s with real jobs are my hero’s…my Iron Buddies that do, including Iron Daughter, tell me that early morning workouts are just part of the deal 🙂

So I’m thinking, how about just heading out at 7:00am, and have my morning shake as my recovery drink and get on with the day…without having to get up at 5:00am just to do that.

Like all things training, ‘it all depends’, so here are a few opinions:

The Mayo Clinic says:

If you exercise in the morning, get up early enough to eat breakfast — that may mean one to two hours before your workout. Most of the energy you got from dinner the previous night is used up by morning, and your blood sugar may be low. If you don’t eat, you may feel sluggish or light-headed when you exercise. If you plan to exercise within an hour after breakfast, eat a lighter breakfast or drink something to raise your blood sugar, such as a sports drink. Emphasize carbohydrates for maximum energy.
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/exercise/HQ00594_D

NBC on a feature on the Today show says:

Morning exercisers often make the mistake of thinking they can burn more calories by jumping out of bed and into the gym without stopping for breakfast. The problem with this thought process is that a good night’s sleep inevitably leaves your blood sugar low and your liver glycogen close to depleted. This translates into a weaker workout. Since intensity and quality of training results in a more fit body, there is no need to sacrifice a meal. Fuel up in the a.m. before you hit the gym with just enough to reap the benefits: Consume at least 25 grams (100 calories) of carbohydrate before hitting the gym and then eat a solid breakfast afterward.
http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/23058659/ns/today-today_health/t/eat-right-foods-after-workout/

Joe Friel, as quoted in an article in Lava magazine:

In brief, we recommend that athletes eat low to moderate glycemic-index  carbohydrates at least two hours prior to a hard or long workout or race. There  may also be some fat and protein in this meal. All foods should be low in fiber.  Take in 200 to 300 calories for every hour remaining until exercise begins. If  eating two hours prior is not possible, then take in 200 or so calories 10  minutes before the workout or race begins.
http://tinyurl.com/joefrielfivestages

Monique Ryan in an article in Velonews:

Real life often requires that you consume some fuel 30 to 60 minutes before training. Rising in the early morning hours to train often requires a quick bite or gulp before heading out.  You are most likely to derive a performance benefit from eating 30 to 60 minutes before training if you have not eaten for four hours or more.

You are likely aware that consuming carbohydrate in the 30 to 60 minutes before training does produce a marked increase in blood glucose and insulin levels prior to training. And there can be a small, but short-lived drop in blood glucose during exercise. Most athletes experience no ill-effects from this drop which quickly corrects itself, and there are plenty of studies that show a performance improvement with this eating strategy. Some athletes are carbohydrate sensitive right before exercise, and a few simple strategies can help them tolerate a snack at this time. You can actually have a slightly higher dose of carbohydrate.

While many athletes may consume 50 grams or more from a gel, energy bar, or concentrated drink, aim for over 70 grams to offset the drop in blood glucose. http://velonews.competitor.com/2005/05/coaches-panel/the-feed-zone-eating-before-training_7985

…sooo, I’m not really seeing anyone thinking that going out the door with _nothing_ is a good idea…and then as you can see it’s all over the place…it ultimately really depends what you can tolerate stomach-wise and/or have enough energy for an under-fueled workout

…the general rule that 2 hours before exercise remains the favored minimum interval…what I now generally do…anything shorter than that will take some experimentation…in all likelihood, your workout will not be as solid as if you had a ‘bigger’ breakfast, that had 1-2 hours to refuel your muscles, and then do your workout…or leave the morning workouts for your easier outings, and higher intensity or longer distance workouts later in the day

…it reminds me that from experience, I’ve found that what Monique Ryan says about that 30-60 minute window is true for me, and was creating a problem in races on the swim, when I was still taking in Gatorade prior to the swim, and then a few minutes into the swim, feeling wiped out and almost freaking out, until I recovered from the blood glucose drop…now I don’t take in anything 1 hour before race start…Joe Friel’s point on the 10 minutes before, is that it doesn’t have time to create the jolt up in blood glucose, and that once exercise starts, the calories are more smoothly assimilated

…not sure how that’s going to fit with my training schedule, since I do have the luxury of time flexibility most days…seems to me that one option may be Joe Friel’s idea of taking in 200 calories of Gatorade 10 minutes before going out the door one day just to see how it works out

…science experiment of one 🙂

 

Posted in Dad's Blog Posts, Nutrition, Training | Tagged , , | 8 Comments

Ironman swim start video

Posted on August 3, 2011 by Dad

Here’s what all that swim training leads to…the Ironman race start with over 2,500 athlete’s getting into the water at the same time, and heading off for a 2.4 mile swim in open water…it’s a bit cramped as you can see 🙂

If you want to avoid the frenzy of the fastest swimmers at the front, you can always wait a while, and you’ll see that the last swimmer finally sets off after everyone else, which will be typically around 4-5 minutes after the starting gun goes off…and is actually swimming in relatively calm conditions…as long as he’s really slow and doesn’t catch up to anybody, he can continue here…for a while

…at the back you don’t get the benefit of drafting behind other swimmers, and believe me, it’s a lot easier to swim straight when you’re following a pile of other swimmers around you, than having to pause every once in a while as the waves bob you up and down to catch a glimpse of a distant buoy that you’re supposed to be swimming towards…and less likely to have the side current take you off course…never mind it’s a bit discouraging to see the ‘pack’ leaving you behind

…if you find yourself at the back of an Ironman swim, as I have the last 4 years, look behind you at that point, and you’ll probably see the kayak volunteer that’s been assigned to you to make sure that you don’t become a casualty of the course…and maybe even catch a glimpse of a navy diver trolling around beneath the water watching for swimmers fading off the surface to the bottom….and if you’re out there for a couple of hours, you may even have a conversation or 2 as the volunteer points you back on course, or asks if you’re ok from time to time, as you try to figure out if you’re still going in the right direction…and they’re on the walkie-talkie when the race director checks in saying, ‘yeah, he’s still making forward progress, and his arms are moving, and last time I talked to him he seemed to know what I was saying, so I think he’s okay for the moment’

…and in Ironman Florida (IMFL), which is 2 loops, this peaceful swim will be shattered as the leaders come around on their second lap, followed by almost 1,000 others that will finish in around 1 hour or under, and run over you in the water before you complete your first lap…never mind that the current and wave chop on that 2nd lap always seem/are stronger the longer that you’re out there on the IMFL course

…so this certainly just isn’t swimming in the pool lane by yourself, doing quiet drills…your brain and body need to be confident in what you’re going to do, before you hit the water, and have a specific and exact plan on how to execute that swim, so that you can focus on the day and what’s happening around you…while keeping your perfect stroke thoughts in your head, beating like a drum to the finish line

…I’m no longer satisfied with being at the back of the swim pack, making friends with the kayak volunteers…and being run over by the leaders as they stream by and I still have another lap to go…so that’s what I’m working on 🙂

Posted in Achieving Goals, Dad's Blog Posts, Ironman, Ironman Florida, Racing, Swimming | Tagged , | 4 Comments

Swimming efficiency: finding my stroke rate

Posted on August 2, 2011 by Dad

My work in the pool continues with trying to find the correct balance between stroke rate and stroke length, to move me through the water as efficiently as possible at a sustainable effort

…the chart summarizes the Total Immersion goals for the number of strokes per 25 yards based on height…at 5’8″ I should ideally be at 15-18…although I suspect that’s based on a leaner, more tiny perfect 5’8″, rather than my bulkier, fullback version

Two weeks ago as Coach Dinah Mistilis and I were looking at the numbers, it appeared that a stroke rate of 1.28 (one stroke every 1.28 seconds) was a sustainable level over 100 yards, with 20-22 strokes per 25 yards…I _can_ go lower into the 15 to 18 stroke range, but that’s not really swimming for me…more like a gliding stretch, and _very_ slow.
https://irondaughterirondad.com/swimming-by-the-numbers-very-interesting/

Since then I’ve been experimenting with different stroke rates down to 1.1, and finding that I can sustain that rate at 25 yards in the 20-22 range, but it goes up to 24 strokes in the 2nd 25 of a 50 yard interval…so too fast, at least at this point.

…a 1.15 rate (one stroke every 1.15 seconds) gets me through 50 yards now at a 20-21 stroke count, so that’s good…although it requires a _lot_ of focus to keep the stroke count under 22 at that rate

At a stroke rate of 1.3, I feel relaxed, and usually around 20 strokes per 25 yards, but that’s pretty slow swimming, and I don’t feel as tight, or as balanced, or as streamlined in the water as the faster stroke rates…but it is sustainable over longer distances…although my stroke count still tends to go up over time

…sooo, I’m seeing that in all likelihood, I’ll probably need to find my speed with a faster stroke rate…maybe somewhere in the 1.15 – 1.2 range, with a stroke count that tends to edge up to 22 per 25 yards, than someone that may be sleeker in the water, and can more easily find a 15-18 stroke count per 25 yards.

…oh a 1.2 stroke rate, at 22 strokes per 25 yards, without turns and walls…is 26’ish seconds per 25 yards, so a pace of 1:53/100M or 1:12:44 for the Ironman 2.4 mile swim

So in the short term, I _really_ need to find that stroke rate that I can sustain for at least 100M at a stroke count under 22 per 25 yards…so that I can get on with at least doing 100M intervals…and longer…to build up my ability to maintain that efficiency combination for over an hour and a half in open water.

…or closer to 1:15:00 if I actually get it figured out 🙂

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Give yourself a break…

Posted on August 1, 2011 by Dad

There was an interesting article that I read a few months ago in the New York Times, that dealt with something that us age group athletes certainly relate to, and something that impacts all high performers, in any field…and something that I’ve said and seen over the years on many occasions:

High performers are harder on themselves than anyone else could ever be.

Of course, this is largely encouraged, in our quest for perfection, performance and impossible-to-others goals…where we often feel that will-power and discipline are the keys to success…probably are I say 🙂

…having said that, it does raise the question of ‘balance’, and mental ‘sanity’ in an imperfect world, and how we deal with the hills and valleys along the way…from what I’ve seen the line to a goal is never just straight upward

…the author has this perspective:

Do you treat yourself as well as you treat your friends and family?

That simple question is the basis for a burgeoning new area of psychological research called self-compassion — how kindly people view themselves. People who find it easy to be supportive and understanding to others, it turns out, often score surprisingly low on self-compassion tests, berating themselves for perceived failures like being overweight or not exercising.

The research suggests that giving ourselves a break and accepting our imperfections may be the first step toward better health. People who score high on tests of self-compassion have less depression and anxiety, and tend to be happier and more optimistic. Preliminary data suggest that self-compassion can even influence how much we eat and may help some people lose weight.

Makes sense that we should treat ourselves as well as we treat others, when you look at from that perspective.

The complete article from this link:
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/02/28/go-easy-on-yourself-a-new-wave-of-research-urges/?nl=health&emc=healthupdateema2

Also reminds me of a couple of books that I read years ago by James Loehr: Mental Toughness Training for Sports and Mentally Tough…these are older books that are still as relevant today, as they were when he wrote them…in 1982 and 1986 respectively…and he’s written quite a few since then

…he actually makes the same point about the advantage of positive vs. negative motivation…in his view the highest chance of peak performance came from highly positive mental energy…seeing and believing and visualizing a positive outcome

…and interestingly enough, negative mental energy came in next, in his ranking of the effectiveness of various mental states…ahead of other ‘mental states’ that were less energetic…sort of like beating ourselves like a race horse coming down the home stretch as a way to kick ourselves in the butt and stay on track.

I’m going to read those couple of books again, and write-up a few details on the ‘mental’ side of all this…something that I just don’t spend enough time on.

…except for that image of disappearing love handles 🙂

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Cycling in the heat…go inside and pull out the trainer

Posted on July 31, 2011 by Dad

A couple of weeks ago I wrote about the challenge of maintaining running pace and doing High Intensity Training (HIT) in the heat, with Heart Rate and RPE (Rate of Perceived Exertion) running higher than normal because of the body’s attempt to cool things off.
https://irondaughterirondad.com/running-in-the-heat-taking-faster-stuff-indoors/

Yesterday I was reminded that we’re faced with the same thing on the bike.

Since virtually all of my training on the bike is done with a PowerTap Power Meter, I can easily compare workouts, and all sort of detailed metrics…here’s what struck me yesterday, in a day that started at 84F and 62% humidity and ended up at 99F:

If you don’t have a Power Meter on your bike, you will think that you’re working a lot harder than you actually are in the heat and humidity.

It was as simple as this…I often use a local road for training, just over 7 miles long, and ride intervals up and back, and have lots of data over the past year for this section…yesterday, I was doing a couple of intervals while maintaining 210 Watts…but my heart rate ran up to 142HR and 145HR on the 2 laps…on what is ‘normally’ in cooler air, 130-134HR’ish.

More importantly, on the 2nd lap, as the sweat was pouring down my sunglasses, I was keeping what I ‘thought’ felt like 210 Watts, but inevitably when I looked down at the meter, it would be more like 180-190 Watts…and I had to increase my effort to a _much_ harder level to get it back to 210 Watts…if I didn’t have the Power Meter, I would have been working at a much lower training level that I wanted to, and have no way of really knowing.

…soooo, as I get back into HIT on the bike in a couple of weeks, I plan to start my workouts inside, on the trainer, and do my faster/harder interval work there…not my favorite thing, but if I want to get/stay faster, I know that I need to train faster…and when the heat and humidity is driving up my Heart Rate simply to keep me cool, I’d rather spin out a few miles inside, where it’s cool, and each heartbeat is focused on work for the muscles, not my sweat glands

…or just go to Vancouver and train with my daughter in the beautiful, cool summer air 🙂

Posted in Biking, Cycling, Dad's Blog Posts, Training | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Squeezing off a few pounds: 205 to 196

Posted on July 30, 2011 by Dad

Yesterday was 3 weeks since I began the quest to ‘squeeze off a few pounds’
https://irondaughterirondad.com/squeezing-off-a-few-pounds/

My ‘official’ first period weigh-in will be next Friday, so it’s still a bit early to draw my first period conclusions, although I’ve liked the trend that I see so far.

As you can see, the last 3 days, I’ve been at 196 which is actually within the target range that I had set for the end of October 🙂

By adding a trendline to the data (the straight green line) and taking a look at the rolling 7 day average (the red line), I can conclude that my starting weight was really probably closer to 203 (my 205 initial weigh-in probably caught me on a ‘fat’ day) and my current weight probably closer to 197, so I’ll call it a 6 pound drop in 3 weeks…so I’ll take that 🙂

…one reason that I’m not ready to declare victory quite yet is a commentary written by the Mayo clinic dealing with ‘weight loss plateaus’…in part:

The progression from initial weight loss to a weight-loss plateau follows a typical pattern. During the first few weeks of losing weight, a rapid drop in pounds is normal. When calories from food are reduced, the body gets needed energy by releasing its stores of glycogen, a type of carbohydrate found in the muscles and liver. Glycogen holds onto water, so when glycogen is burned for energy, it also releases the water — about 4 grams of water for every gram of glycogen — resulting in substantial weight loss that’s mostly water.

The full article: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/weight-loss-plateau/MY01152

…so it’s probably safe to say that a portion of that weight drop was just water, as my body makes it’s initial adjustment to the idea of operating with a few less calories each day…although I do have a pair of shorts that have been on the tighter side, that are looser now, so I’ll take that as a good sign.

…that little pocket of love handle fat still remains unchanged, so I expect that I’ll keep on going until I see that gone…well, at least, less jiggle to it…since we can’t control where on our body the weight/fat comes off, I’ll need to wait until my body finally gets to that part…I’m not really sure where the 6’ish pounds came from that’s now gone

One lingering concern about losing weight for us age group athlete’s is the question of losing muscle instead of fat…and in the reading that I’ve done, the conclusion seems to be that some muscle loss in inevitable as weight is shed off…although there appears to be a benefit to exercising and keeping up the protein…and not being too aggressive in the weight loss quest…1-2 pounds per week is a commonly quoted ‘safe’ range…a bit more if you’re ‘bigger’, so I’m right about there considering an initial few water pounds
https://irondaughterirondad.com/losing-fat-not-muscle/

…so with 11-12 hours of training each week now…and soon to start sliding up towards 16-18, I’m hoping that my body’s drive to recover and rebuild muscle from training, exceeds my body’s drive to wipe out muscle to counteract a calorie deficit

…and I keep a constant daily mental picture of that love handle fat gone, to guide my body to the right spot 🙂

Posted in Achieving Goals, Dad's Blog Posts, Nutrition, Weight loss | Tagged | 4 Comments

I turn 57 today :)

Posted on July 30, 2011 by Dad

Posted in Dad's Blog Posts | 4 Comments

Body composition…the 4th sport in triathlon

Posted on July 28, 2011 by Dad

My ‘official’ 1 month weigh-in is next Friday on August 5th, to see how I’ve done in my quest to squeeze off a few pounds during my 1 month transition between getting back home after the Vancouver Half Iron, and going back at a more vigorous Ironman training schedule in advance of Ironman Florida.

…alright…if it seems familiar I’ve used today’s picture before…it is a good illustration of a lean body though 🙂

It _looks_ like I’m doing really well, so we’ll see what next week brings.

It seems to be a Matt Fitzgerald roll for a couple of days, as he had an interesting post a few days ago on cnn.com, where he quotes a study that found a direct correlation between body fat percentages…how lean someone was…and their race performance…the interesting part, was that it even extends to already lean elite athletes.

In part…

Among recreational runners, there tend to be large differences in leanness, and it’s only to be expected that the leanest recreational runners will perform best in races.

Among elite-level runners it’s a different story. All elite runners are very lean, and the small differences in body-fat percentages have little correlation with differences in performance.

Within the special population of elite runners, it’s small differences in VO2max, maximum speed, and running economy that determine who wins and who loses.

Except that nothing I said in the previous paragraph is true.

Believe it or not, differences in body-fat percentage predict races times as well in elite runners as they do among recreational female runners. This was shown in a 2009 study involving 24 elite runners in Ethiopia.

Skinfold measurements were used to estimate body fat percentage in 12 male and 12 female athletes. These estimates were then compared to the runners’ individual race performances.

The researchers found an 80% correlation between skinfold measurements and race times in the men and a 78% correspondence in the women. All of these runners were very lean and very light, but the leanest among them were the fastest.

At every level of the sport, leanness is as important as aerobic capacity, speed, and running economy. And even at the elite level, it seems, some runners could get faster by getting leaner.

Here’s the full content:
http://thechart.blogs.cnn.com/2011/07/14/are-you-really-lean-enough/

…pretty strong summary if you’re considering whether you should drop a few pounds before your next race 🙂

Posted in Achieving Goals, Dad's Blog Posts, Ironman, Racing, Training, Weight loss | Tagged , | 6 Comments

Squeezing off a few pounds…2 good behavioral changes

Posted on July 27, 2011 by Dad

Aside from some adjustments to _what_ I’m eating, I’m finding that I have two things in particular that are coming into play on a daily basis…as it turns out, both attributable to ideas by Matt Fitzgerald that I wrote about in earlier posts.
http://www.active.com/running/experts/mattfitzgerald/

The first was on Emotional Eating.
https://irondaughterirondad.com/nutrition/emotional-eating/

To recap, his ‘Emotional Eating’ chart, his point is to only eat when at #7 or higher, and only eat to #4, never Full to Stuffed:

10.    All I think about is food
9.     Ravenous
8.     Quite hungry
7.     Ready to eat
6.     Snack hungry
5.     Neither hungry nor not hungry
4.     Satisfied
3.     Full
2.     Uncomfortably full
1.     Painfully stuffed

I’ve been really watching this carefully every day, and it’s shed quite a few calories each day, particularly during the day…I’ve overshot a few times into #8, and even heard the odd stomach growl…weird…but it’s saving me about 300 calories during the day that I’d eat out of habit…and about the same at dinner, although again I’ve sometimes eaten to the #3 Full mark…but not much past…so that’s all good.

The second is tied to the first…and working out without deliberately hitting the carbs before my shorter workouts during the week…Matt had noted that some studies say that this can be beneficial in a number of ways…details in my earlier post:
https://irondaughterirondad.com/should-you-workout-when-hungry-intentionally/

Prior to the focus on squeezing off a few pounds, I would eat more before and after those shorter 1-2 hour workouts…and during the workout, start with Gatorade on workouts over 1 hour…now I typically stay on water through 2 hour workouts to keep off the calories.

…on high intensity workouts, or longer stuff over 2 hours, I still do add in carbs and calories to make sure that the tank is full…although again, I’ve been experimenting with staying on the short side of calories each exercise hour to both save the calories, and keep my body from sending too much energy to my stomach for processing food, while it’s trying to keep my legs going, and working like a trojan to try and keep me cooled off in 95F weather.

Part of this is that in my transition for a few weeks, before turning up the training volume and intensity for Ironman Florida, I feel that I can focus on the weight reduction without compromising training, and come back to the heavier training as a leaner, meaner racing version

…we’ll see how it shakes out…promising so far though 🙂

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Reduce swelling…’drug’ it or ‘feed’ it

Posted on July 26, 2011 by Dad

With my knee acting up, my wife recovering from knee surgery last week and a good friend of ours also one week into recovering from a hip replacement, I thought that it might be a good time to circle back around and update my notes on anti-inflammatory foods.

A big part of that, is that I don’t take ‘anything’ for pain…or swelling…like, never.

As weird as it sounds, I fundamentally prefer the pain, because of my belief that it’s there for a reason, and to mask it may lead me to forget about it, or think it’s healed, and damage stuff further.

Here’s a quick ‘scientific’ summary on how anti-inflammatory drugs work…common brands are Aspirin, Advil and Motrin:

Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), alleviate pain by counteracting the cyclooxygenase (COX) enzyme. On its own, COX enzyme synthesizes prostaglandins, creating inflammation. In whole, the NSAIDs prevent the prostaglandins from ever being synthesized, reducing or eliminating the pain.

Some common examples of NSAIDs are: aspirin, ibuprofen, and naproxen. The newer specific COX-inhibitors – although, it is presumed, sharing a similar mode of action – are not classified together with the traditional NSAIDs.

I also think that taking drugs/supplements either for pain, or in trying to ‘bomb up’ certain minerals/vitamins/nutrients/whatever-todays-trend-is, can lead a body into an imbalance to deal with abnormal excesses in one direction or another…so I just don’t.

…having said that, it is the ‘Food and Drug’ Administration that oversees all this ‘stuff’, so food is in the same category as drugs…at least according to the US government.

…in my chat with Coach Gale Bernhardt yesterday…knowing that I’m drug adverse…she got the thought started by suggesting ‘fresh pineapple’

So since I’m eating everyday anyway, and would prefer less swelling in that knee of mine, I thought that I’d take a look at what I’m already eating that has anti-inflammatory qualities, and what else I may want to get into the mix.

Millions of words written on the Internet…our picture today is Dr. Weil’s Anti-Inflammatory Food Pyramid from his Anti-Inflammatory Diet…click on the picture for the BIG version

I’ve added a few more links at the bottom of this post…so in updating my reading a few things jump out…here’s the good stuff, that’s in my current diet:

Things I should consider having more frequently…good to excellent anti-inflammatory qualities:

  • Pineapple / papaya / blueberry … an easy add since I have a fruit shake every morning anyway…just adjust the content
  • Ginger (ground)…my wife has a ginger centric fresh juice every day…I can add ginger to my shake…she hits the ginger _hard_ in that juice…must be an acquired taste
  • Turmeric (ground)…same qualities as the ginger
  • Sweet potato…I like sweet potatoes
  • Carrot…I like carrots
  • Shiitake Mushroom…I like mushrooms
  • Green tea…my wife drinks it all the time…maybe a try
  • Broccoli…I can sort of eat broccoli…not much joy to it though…may not be a keeper
  • Kelp such as kombu is listed a few places…a type of seaweed…may be too exotic for me to play with

and things that I eat that can be ‘inflammatory’:

  • Non whole grain bread
  • Egg
  • Banana…hmmm…maybe need to cut that back a bit
  • French fries…well _used_ to eat…very bad in many categories

So, if all that I wanted to do was reduce swelling in my knee, would I be better off just hitting it hard with Advil for a few days?…maybe…if it got _really_ bad, I guess I may need to do something more radical than fruit shakes with ginger

…for now though, adjusting my diet to include more anti-inflammatory foods sounds like a better idea to me for both the short and long-term

…and since my wife, one week after her knee surgery is running around like nothing happened, there just may be something to that horrible tasting…but maybe effective…Green Geenie juice she has every morning 🙂

A few extra reading links:
http://theconsciouslife.com/top-10-anti-inflammatory-foods.htm
http://www.livestrong.com/article/87565-antiinflammatory-foods-diet/
http://www.metabolismadvice.com/anti_inflammatory_food/

Posted in Dad's Blog Posts, Injuries, Nutrition, Recovery | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Ironman training…PR or ‘just another Ironman’

Posted on July 25, 2011 by Dad

So with 15 weeks out…2 weeks before the ‘official’ beginning of my final Ironman training push, Coach Gale Bernhardt and I begin to lay out my training program for the final 13 weeks, to build the best-that-I-can-be Ironman body.

…the only wild-card right now is the right knee/leg strain that popped up this week, so hopefully will get sorted out in the next 2 weeks…or we’ll adjust accordingly…

One thing that we’ll take a close look at is the amount of Intensity to put into each week of training…for this we’ll circle back around to the discussions that we had earlier in the year, when we looked at the question of training Intensity…a couple of earlier posts:
https://irondaughterirondad.com/how-much-intensity-in-training/
https://irondaughterirondad.com/how-much-weekly-training-intensity-20/

So I have some homework to complete…an examination of how much High Intensity Training (HIT) I’ve been able to absorb each week of the year so far…along with the total hours of training each week.

In terms of total hours per week, my training will build to about 17 hours for the week…plus some yoga…sort of like this:

  • Swim: 3:30 (7,000+ meters), typically 3 workouts, with a long swim of 1:30 (2.4+ miles)
  • Bike: 8:30 (160+ miles), with a long bike of 6:00 (115+ miles)…or 4.5 hour Saturday/3 hour Sunday back-to-back rides
  • Run: 5:00 (30’ish miles) with a long run of 3:15 (19+ miles)

If my body complains about the running volume, I’ll probably swap in more bike time.

As I shift to Ironman specific training, my key goal for the bike and run, will be to turn whatever speed I have…the ‘fast’…into ‘long’…the ability to hold a race specific pace for a few hours…my Ironman bike around 6 hours, my Ironman run around 5 hours…and hopefully both less than that.

Swimming, my focus is to now add speed to my less-than-perfect-but-that’s-what-I’m-bringing-to-the-dance form…so faster intervals, holding form…in the quest for the perfect combination of stroke rate…how fast I can turnover my arms…and stroke length…’form’, how far I go with each stroke…so quite a bit of experimentation over the next few months to get it dialed in.

My test results will be used to determine my race plan as we get closer to race day…I’ll plan to do a final run test 4 weeks out, and a final bike test 3 weeks out from race day.

Of course, I have enough fitness right now to complete an Ironman in a decent time…maybe not record breaking, but decent.

Based on my Vancouver Half Iron race results, if Ironman was to today, I _should_ be able to complete it under 13:30:00…and with any luck, closer to 13:00:00…but of course, how much fun would that be?

…to set a PR (Personal Record) I need to be under 12:57:44…and best would be ‘comfortably’ under…or it’s just-another-Ironman 🙂

Posted in Achieving Goals, Dad's Blog Posts, Ironman, Ironman Florida, Racing | Tagged | 2 Comments

Why I ‘do’ Ironman

Posted on July 24, 2011 by Dad

Last week Iron Daughter added a post that in part talked about why she ‘does’ triathlon.

I’ve struggled with that as well from time to time, and from one year to the next

…aside from all the foo-foo stuff, there’s one compelling primary reason that I ‘do’ Ironman:

my love of great food, fine wines, and creative craft beers

Following the spirit of ‘listen to your body’, I’ve had a recent craving for a rack of ribs…hard to get it into the eating mix since it’s so high in calories…even with 10 hours of exercise a week….although soooo much fun.

This morning, I woke up with the same craving so decided to do something about it…my wife is going back to the doctor tomorrow (Monday) to have her stitches removed, so as the good nurse that I’ve been, on this last day of my official requirement, I’ll drive her to her mid-day appointment, which splinters the day, and makes ‘work’ and ‘exercise’ doable, but too much stress…

…so I combined the ribs thing with stacking workouts into today…95F outside…no problem

So instead of a normal light exercise day on Sunday, I:

  • ran for 35 minutes…488 calories…since my knee has been acting up, I was originally not going to run until Tuesday, but I _really_ wanted to ‘test’ it again today anyway…run was ok…felt the knee, but no specific pain, so good
  • swim for 55 minutes…441 calories…working on Tempo between 1.1 (seconds) and 1.2 stroke rate…took the outdoor option so the water was bath water warm…outfitted in my Speedo, maybe I softened the triathlon shorts tan lines a bit
  •  bike for 45 minutes…360 calories…fairly easy bike, on a soft lakeside path to the store to buy dinner ingredients

So there it was, added 1289 exercise calories, contained what I was eating the rest of the day, and sat down with a calorie budget for dinner of 2,246 calories left for the day…beautiful!

Our picture today features the dinner that I prepared…out of the picture the 2 Kona Fire Rock Pale Ales already consumed while cooking and ‘rehydrating’ from the hot day :

  • butternut squash ravioli…on the plates…soft and delightful
  • 2 types of salmon, both fresh, wild and line caught…King and Coho for a variety of taste and texture…both grilled on the BBQ…beautiful
  • Sashimi grade tuna…seared 1 minute per side to give it a variation of temperature and texture…excellent…so good…so lean…so perfect
  • sourdough bread toasted on the grill…great compliment to the rest of dinner
  • antipasto: sliced cucumbers, grilled sweet red peppers, marinated beets, grilled zucchini, and marinated, grilled artichokes
  • ah…the ribs…baby back, full rack…sooo fall-off-the-bone exquisite
  • spinach salad, with bella mushrooms…always a good choice…my nightly habit
  • my wife’s favorite Pinot Noir, my glass of an lovely buttery Chardonnay

…no we didn’t eat it all…but made a dent…I don’t know how many calories I actually did eat, since with a focus on squeezing off a few pounds, I’ve been coming into dinner with a 1,500 calorie budget, and don’t go through the brain damage of counting the minutia of my dinner calories, and just enjoy it

…and tonight it was a 2,246 calorie budget…so whatever it was, I’m under that…might not be a lot under, but under…

…that’s why I ‘do’ Ironman 🙂

Posted in Achieving Goals, Dad's Blog Posts, Ironman | Tagged | 2 Comments

it’s getting to be that time again: IMFL 15 weeks away

Posted on July 23, 2011 by Dad

Tomorrow will be 3 weeks since the Vancouver Half Iron
https://irondaughterirondad.com/vancouver-half-iron-61733/

…and 2 weeks to go before heading back into the Ironman Florida training focus beginning the week of August 8th…which will be 13 weeks from race day

Since the Vancouver Half, I’ve taken it easy, getting in workouts, but more in maintenance mode…since the race:

  • Week 1: 4:20:00 for the week…:30 swim / 2:33 bike / :37 run / :40 yoga…2 days off after the race, travel back from Vancouver, very light week with only 30 minutes of running
  • Week 2: 11:02:01 for the week…2:30 swim/ 4:55:01 bike / 2:47:00 run / :30 yoga…so a bit on the short side for time, and low intensity all week
  • Week 3: 10:30:00 projected through Sunday…3:30 swim / 5:33 bike / 1:25 run / :30 yoga…right knee has acted up this week, so I’ve cut back the running to rest it

Other than the knee issue…still optimistic that it’ll stay intact…swim and bike are good.

In the pool yesterday with Coach Dinah Mistilis, we continue to work on finding that ‘perfect’ cadence, that will give me the most efficient combination of Stroke Rate and Stroke Length…the elements of how fast you go.

…in an interesting twist, I was able to knock out a few, quite relaxed, 25 yard lengths at a 1.1 second Stroke Rate and 20 strokes…adding on 2 strokes for the push-off the wall, means a ‘theoretical’ open water speed (without walls) of 22 strokes x 1.1 seconds = 24 seconds for 25 yards = 1:36/100 yards = under 1:10:00 for the 2.4 mile Ironman swim
https://irondaughterirondad.com/ah-that-swimming-thing/

…alright, it was only 25 yards, and not 2.4 miles, but that’s where dreams begin 🙂

…I was reminded of something that Coach Al Gentry, one of my Masters swim coaches said to me, very early on in my triathlon journey, after one of my wimpy race swims:

It’s called a race for a reason…you do know that right?

You’re a big guy…you can run right over these little guys in the water…just run right over them…own that first buoy

…at the time my heart rate would go through the roof just standing on the beach at the swim start, and it was all I could do to find some clear water away from everyone else to get through the short, 500M sprint distance swims without becoming a medical emergency…

But you know, to a large degree Coach Al was right…it is a race after-all…so the swimming work continues on ‘form’, although now with an increasing eye on speed…and putting some ‘life’ into my swimming…and getting the racing speed Stroke Rate dialed in to something that I can maintain for 2.4 miles in open water…with good form

…or more properly, the Stroke Rate that I can stick in my head, and have confidence in on race day…and just run over anybody in the way 🙂

At this point, my bike remains solid.  On my long’ish ride today, 2:43:20, I took up the power a bit for an up and back on the rolling/hilly Shearer road route, 213 Watts northbound, and 204 Watts southbound for a total time of 43:41…turned out to be 19.8MPH average, so good!
https://irondaughterirondad.com/whats-it-take-to-bike-20mph-for-112-miles/

…with my Ironman goal power at 200 Watts, I’ll still need to get my Functional Threshold Power (FTP) to 285 Watts or higher to ‘allow’ myself to run the race at that power…70% of my FTP to leave as much in my legs for the run as I rationally can

…my Vancouver Half was a holding-it-back 203 Watts Average (213 Watts Normalized), so exactly where I wanted it for that race…so I ‘can’ run at that power for 112 miles…although right now, based on my last bike test at 270 Watts, that would give me a current race plan of 270 x 70% = 189 Watts…which is still good for 19-19.5 MPH on the rather flat Ironman Florida course, on a ‘normal’ weather day

So for the bike, it’s more of what I’ve been doing…getting in as much Intensity as my body will allow, while jumping up the mileage…and hopefully, I’ll be able to pick up that extra 15 Watts of FTP before race day…with the hot weather now settled in, it’s going to be a challenge to get in quality, high Intensity workouts in the heat…so some early morning starts in my future.

And that running thing…I’m in very good running shape…at least the engine is…the chassis is feeling a bit worn though, with my right knee acting up again this week…and therefore…or as a result of something else going on in that leg…getting some pain/strain that shouldn’t be there…sort of came out of nowhere…like no ‘event’ or ‘trauma’ that set it off…so that’s the good news I guess

…easy 3.5 and 5 mile runs this week, were ok, but the right quad/knee/calf feeling a bit strained

…hoping that standing down on the running…probably keep in some light/short runs…will allow it to sort itself out again, and I’ll be back at it

The Endurance Nation folks have a good saying:

if you have an injury, your injury is your coach

…so running workouts will be dictated by how that right leg comes around

…I was very happy with my Vancouver Half Iron run…and shows me something that I know already…holding back on the bike, can lead to a very good run…or more properly a nice balance between the two, sets up for the fastest overall time.

This week coming up, gets a bit cramped again, my wife going back in to get her stitches removed…her recovery is going well, so that’s good…and guests coming at the end of the week through the weekend, so will probably be a little lighter on the exercise hours this week again…and watching that calorie thing in the face of a BIG restaurant week coming up

…and as always, constant adjustment based on how well the entire body package stays together 🙂

Posted in Achieving Goals, Dad's Blog Posts, Injuries, Ironman Florida | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

squeezing off a few pounds: 205 to 200

Posted on July 22, 2011 by Dad

Well, 2 weeks ago, on July 9th, I set out to ‘squeeze off a few pounds’
https://irondaughterirondad.com/squeezing-off-a-few-pounds/

…specifically to move out of my 205’ish range to the 195’ish range…or less…by Ironman Florida in 4 months.

…my goal was a weigh-in once a month…first ‘official’ target weigh-in 4 weeks from the start, 2 weeks from now:  August 5: 202′ish or less

This translates into a rather modest goal by weight loss standards:

My goal will be to lose .75 pounds a week / 3 pounds every 4 weeks, so run a deficit of about 375 calories a day

The chart on the right is my first 2 weeks…my weigh-in this morning at 200 pounds…Friday morning is probably as close a day of the week for a ‘normal’ weigh-in, after a week of typically behaving myself mid-week, before dinners out on the weekend, and before carbo/hydration loading/recovery for the weekend workouts.

how much weight have I actually lost in 2 weeks?…who knows…’some’ I’d say

As you can see, weighing in every day, and trying to chase numbers, can drive you a little nuts…I think that my initial weigh-in probably caught me on a ‘fat day’, and then normalized the next few days, maybe a bit dehydrated in the first week, as I started to workout in hot weather again, after a couple of weeks in cool Canadian weather…so most likely my ‘normalized’ starting weight may have been closer to 202-203’ish than 205, so maybe a bit of a running start…but I do know that I haven’t seen 205 again…so I’ll take it…better than the other direction…  🙂

…and then some leveling out this week, with the 2nd high peak of 203 the morning after an excellent steak dinner downtown, with all the associated eating and drinking debauchery…well maybe tamed down a bit from usual, in consideration of the ‘weight goal’ thing now in play.

Creating a trendline through the data shows that mathematically I’ve gone from 202.5 to 200 pounds, so I’m probably on target, if not a bit ahead

…my target losing 1.5 pounds the first 2 weeks…I’d say I’m probably down around 2 pounds anyway…so good!

The largest adjustment that I’ve made is to manage my calories during the day, so that I have a target of 1,500 calories left in my diet budget when I sit down for dinner.

I know that as I get near to, or over 1,000 calories at one meal, I start feeling stuffed, so this leaves me with a 500’ish calorie cushion.

I haven’t been willing to kill off an excellent dinner every night, to cut calories for the next 4 months, so have worked to control calories during the day…and it hasn’t been easy shifting away from eating when/what I ‘normally’ do, to only ‘eating when hungry’…weird feeling I have to tell you.

…and it’s not like I’m starving…with 10-12 hours of exercise a week, even mid-week, I’m still burning 1,000 exercise calories per day, so typically working with a calorie budget of at least 3,000 calories a day…more on BIG workout days…so eating about 1,500 during the day, and trying to keep it under 1,000 at dinner…bit out of balance, bit too much at the end of the day…but there is that living thing 🙂

…I don’t bother meticulously counting those dinner calories…a few spot checks after dinners at home have been between 750-1,100 calories, so where I thought it would be…so that’s also good…and I have been cooking this week with my wife recovering from surgery, so that ends up being lots of great food to encourage her to keep up her strength 🙂

Aside from the calorie management during the day, the largest adjustments that I’ve made:

  • no french fries / in fact no fried foods of any type
  • no desserts except for a couple of dinners out
  • no butter or olive oil with bread
  • no once-a-week martini just on principle
  • and cutting back alcohol…didn’t say ‘no’ alcohol…just watching it more carefully

Certainly way too early to declare victory, but off to a promising start…at least heading in the right direction…for the moment…I ‘should’ see a 198 in there somewhere in the next couple of weeks if all is going well…

…so I’ll continue to monitor my eating constantly during the day, weigh in daily just to keep it in front of me, and report again in a couple of weeks

…I do ‘feel’ slimmer, but could just be in my head…now to see if I can keep it going…will be interesting to see where I’m at in 2 weeks, with a full month of weigh-in data 🙂

Posted in Achieving Goals, Dad's Blog Posts, Nutrition, Weight loss | Tagged , , | 2 Comments