Christmas Blizzard???

Well the good thing about a blizzard this time of year is being stuck in the house and ample of time to get some riding in.  I completed Q3 of week #1 of the winter cycling program today and it feels really good to be back into the swing of things.  My legs and body feel great and my recovery time hasn't taken all that long.  Today I watched the 2005 Ironman World Championships that I received from my wife for Christmas and it was awesome.  Such and inspiring way to complete a workout.  Too bad those videos are only an hour long because it really passed the time and will surely come in handy on my longer rides.

All in all, I think we received over 12 inches of snow this time and this makes 2 blizzards in the month of December.  If it keeps this up, I think it will be a very loooooooong winter!!  Hope everyone had a great Christmas, as we did.  My kids are growing up so fast and they both enjoyed the events this year.  I think my wife is getting a little cabin fever being stuck inside with the kids going on the 4th day now. 

Have a safe and happy new year......set some goals and go achieve them!!!

Back to Cycling

Well after my month long break from the bike, I decided yesterday that it was time to get back on the horse.  I will be starting my winter cycling program over with week 1 and that started yesterday.  My legs are in pretty decent shape from wrestling but the first day is always hard on your system.  Suprisingly, my legs feel really good today.  I ended up watching "The Miracle" (hockey movie) and it was good at keeping my motivation up through the workout.  I will do another workout tomorrow on Christmas Eve, then again on Saturday or Sunday.  I will be cycling around 3 days a week and the program is 12-14 weeks long depending on the route I take.  That should put me around the middle to end of March, which is great timing so then the weather should be decent and I can get out on the highways. 

My Half Ironman Training program officially starts on January 11th.  It is a 20 week program with the target date of the race of June 6th.  Wrestling season won't officially end until late February, so I will probably just cut off 4-5 weeks of the program.  I really need to start swimming before my program takes off or I am going to be in for a rude awakening.  I am excited about the training but nervous at the same time.  The training volume will be more than I have ever done, so that unknown has me a little nervous.  Hopefully, my body will stay injury free and my mind focused on the goal at hand.  I am really looking forward to this challenge and to stay the course of my goal of finishing an Ironman.

Merry Christmas to all.  It looks like we are on the verge of getting another blizzard, so it looks like we will be stuck in the house for a few days......good training days!!!

Cycling Break

Well wrestling season is in full swing now and I am having a hard time squeezing in time for my bike.  I have taken a couple of weeks off from Jorge's program but I am planning on re-starting the program the week after Christmas.  This will give me a chance to get through the holidays, plus it will get me closer to spring.  It will give me a program to get me through winter, so I can pick right up and go outside in March.  I should have the basement insulated by Christmas time as well, so my biking times should not affect the kids at all.  Hockey season will be starting here before too long as well, so that will cut into my biking times as well since we usually play on Sundays.  The pond is frozen now, so we will be checking the ice to see if it is ready to go. With the winter settling in, it should be great ice all winter long. 

Wrestling has been going really well and my shape is coming back.  Once wrestling is over, I should be able to transition right into the HIM training with relative ease.  The lack of swimming right now has me a bit worried.  I would like to get in a few pool sessions before February just to keep the muscle memory up.  The pool I have been swimming at has closed the pool due to state budget cuts, so that means I have been scrambling to find other locations.  All of the pool locations are at least a 30 minute drive to get to, so I have an hour travel time just to get my swim in.  Hopefully over the holiday, I can get a few sessions in. 

Well that is it for now.  Hope everyone is doing well and enjoy this holiday season with your families.