Falling off the wagon....

Well it was bound to happen sooner or later, but tonight was the night that I succumbed to temptation. I don't mean anything exciting such as making an impulse purchase of a Gamin 910XT, oh no, I mean stuffing my face with half a tub of Hagen Daz Strawberry Cheesecake!

I've been doing really well with my nutrition, I don't like to call it a diet as it isn't, really. More I'm watching what I'm consuming and trying to keep a good eye on calories in and out. I know that given the extra training the result will be a loss in weight but I really want to improve the quality of the nutrition I am consuming. I've read that when you are consuming less calories than you are expending the body can crave foods that provide what you are missing or need, I'm not sure where the craving for Strawberry Cheesecake comes into it though - I shudder at the image of me in a wetsuit at the moment.

Ahh well it looks like an extra 45 minutes on the bike tomorrow and porridge for breakfast and lunch, assuming of course that I see the morning tomorrow. I am pulling the late feed for Austin tonight which usually means getting to bed around 3am, suffice to say my ride tomorrow will not be an early one! As I mused in an earlier post sometimes I wonder if this is a good idea...

Is this wise...

You may have noticed, well the one of you out there reading this who isn't married to me!, that its been a few days since I've posted.

Life, it can get in the way sometimes. We have just moved into our new house, and whilst I am no great fan of DIY there is a raft of jobs to do, added to which the first day we moved in was the day we bought our son home from hospital after my wife, Michelle's, speedy labour in the birthing pool (I'm taking this as a sign that little Austin is destined to be a demon in the pool!). Drop my training schedule into all this and life certainly gets busy in a hurry. I've been reading 'Get Iron Fit' which has some great time saving tips so today my run was at lunch and I managed to finish 15 minutes early at work to get to the pool. I broached the subject of bringing my turbo into the house but this was swiftly rejected by she who must be obeyed - apparently it doesn't fit the aesthetic she has created! Looks like i will be confined to the garage for the foreseeable future. Looking at my training schedule my weekly hours top out at 6 hours a week in this first 10 week cycle, how do people fit in 10, 12 or even 15 hours a week?

On a related note I joined the Runners World forum today and browsed the triathlon forum to see what the 'Pirates' were upto. After reading IronHolg's book last summer, which has been a great inspiration to get started on my own iron journey, I wanted to see what the craic was and sure enough they seem like a friendly bunch and I can see that in the weeks to come a little friendly banter and encouragement may well be helpful in keeping this wagon on the road.

The best laid plans...

as always i have the best of intentions but somehow life gets in the way! I've done so well this week but on Friday I had to travel to Birmingham for work and then collect the kids from school so I only managed to run and then Saturday turned into the usual Dad's taxi service between football, dance & swimming so the ride I had planned never materialised. Note to self: be more organised!!
As it happens the day off has helped as I managed to hurt a muscle in my left shoulder swimming on Wednesday and my right hamstring is still tight. The right hamstring was the one the graft was taken from for my ACL reconstruction and the surgeon told me it will never be 100% again, infact it would probably only get to 85%-90% if I was lucky and diligent with rehab, we shall see. On that note I have an appointment with the surgeon the first week in May for the final sign off, and to pass my plans in front of him, hopefully not to be told I am barking mad!
Tomorrow it's long run day so I'm hoping for overcast, cool and no rain. I don't know what it is but I much prefer wrapping up in gloves and a hat for a run than sweating in a singlet, it must be the Mancunian in me!

No pain, no gain...

at least that is what I am hoping after nearly 18 months out of the pool i might have overdone it when I struggled to lift my kit bag out of the locker this afternoon. It was great to be back in the water and get the 'feel' again but I am definitely feeling it now! The bike was on the static in the gym, well it was pooring with rain, this being Manchester, and I figured it would break me in easy although I'd forgotten just how big those seats are on gym bikes...Another bike session tomorrow but sack time right now.

And we are off !!

Well that's the first day out of the way, short run only this evening as I didn't get chance to swim so it's been bumped to tomorrow, not the most auspicious of starts but a start nonetheless. The good news is three days into counting my calorie intake I'm managing at least a 700 calorie per day deficit - we'll see how long that lasts once the training really kicks in!
I've picked my challenge and am keen to go for it but am waiting the sign off from my surgeon on the knee to make sure I don't end up back under his knife, watch this space...

Well this is it, the start of the journey. I've had fun making my plan, creating the spreadsheets and timetables, choosing the challenge and generally talking the talk....now its time to walk the walk! They say the numbers don't lie, I wish mine did. I start the journey with a considerable load, 224lbs or 16 stone, to be precise! Since snapping my ACL in my right leg last January whilst skiing its fair to say that my lack of mobility has been an excuse to indulge in the pleasure of food and drink especially before, during and after my wedding last April. However, the birth of my son in March led me to have a good look at myself and the future. When he is 10 I will be 50, when he is 20 I will be 60... What kind of shape will I be in 10 or 20 years down the line, will I be able to play football, cycle with him, even just run around? I'm told that the worst place to carry any weight is 'the spare tyre' and guess where I carry mine. It significantly increases chances of heart disease, liver disease and even cancer. Time to shape up then!