The TriathleteNut

Don’t you hate those lazy days? Yes, I was comletely unmotivated to go to the gym. I was planning on it. But on the way home from my sister’s house I felt like I couldn’t accomplish anything so I stayed home.

But then guilt played the best of me. Which is good. Guilt is good sometimes. What it did was motivated me to drag my Bike and bike trainer into the house and pedal for twenty minutes. I’ve found that biking twenty minutes on a trainer is harder than an actual ride.

I then did about 240 crunches! Wow. The most I’ve ever done!

20m —– —–

Exercise Sets Min reps Max reps Min Wt. Max Wt.
ABS Crunches 9 20 20
ABS Crunches (FB) 3 20 20

Monday. Apprehension overwhelms me as I look at the calendar. Only 12 days of training and 13 days till my first Triathlon. It’s a very scary thought to be honest.

I went to the gym and had a great workout. I’m still nervous about the swim. I’m not lasting very long and need to relax. I think 100 yards is something I can complete without too much problems. It’s the events with quarter mile swim or more that worries me. But I have four months to work on that.

I swam then did weights. My legs were fatigued so I didn’t run.

13m 04s 400.00 meters 3m 16s /100 meters

Exercise Sets Min reps Max reps Min Wt. Max Wt.
ABS Crunches 3 20 20
TRICEPS Pulley pushdown 2 15 15 35 35
CHEST Seated Bench Press 2 15 10 70
BICEPS DB Preacher 1 15 15 30 30
BICEPS DB Curls Alternating 2 15 15 15 15
LEGS Hamstring curl 1 15FB 15FB

For up-to-date status on my training, my emotional well-being, and rants about Triathlon life… you know, bonking, getting fat, good and bad eating habits and of course, lack of motivation… you can check this blog.

Thanks for visiting!

Timex IRONMAN Triathlon HRM

Are you looking for a competitively priced HRM for running, walking or other training? This is a great product for you then. For under $100 you’ll get both the watch and chest strap and within minutes you can find your resting heart rate, run around the block and watch it soar. You’ll be tempted to do something like jumping jacks right after trying the watch, just to see the Heart Rate reading.

This watch has 30 lap capability, it calculates calories burned, sets alarms for target zones and tells you the most important thing a watch is supposed to tell you – the Time.

Fortunately, I didn’t have to pay $100 for a totally cool electronic toy for training. My buddy Chip gave it to me for Christmas!

The watch is stylish, very light, has an Indiglo backlight and alarm clock to go with the daily functions of a watch. Get into your run and use the Chrono, set the heart rate Zone you’d like to be at, and just let your heart do the talking – you do the running!

Excellent entry level HRM for those getting into training or those beginner Triathletes!

If my feet could kiss they’d kiss me!

A week before my first 5K in December 2005 I purchased a pair of UK’s PT-03 Running Shoes.

A good description can be found here: www.runnersworld.co.uk.

I’m a huge fan of the Kayano running shoe by Asics. I found any Asics running shoes to be the most comfortable and lightest shoe to ever exist. But I never really was a hard core runner. I just liked the comfort they gave me.

I tried on a ton of shoes from more popular brands like New Balance, Nike and Brooks to other not so Foot Locker type shoes like Pearl Izumi, Mizuno, Saucony, but when I tried on the PT-03s I didn’t really need to try on another pair. And you can only do this at a runner specific shoe store.

Jeff, from ‘Runnergy‘ shoe store in Sherman Oaks, had me try on a ton of pairs from different shoe makers. And even when I decided on the PT-03s, he made me try on more just to make sure I was sure. The guys (and girl) at ‘Runnergy’ are great. They take you outside and watch your stride as you run and tell you what they notice. Then they start pulling out boxes of shoes to try as they recommend a pair of shoes to fit your running style.

I must have had ten boxes next to me trying on shoe after shoe after shoe. Buying running shoes at a ‘real’ shoe store is a real pleasure. They don’t sell Asics at ‘Runnergy’ but a few miles West in Encino is ‘Phidippides‘ which will serve you with as much care as Jeff does at Runergy.

Now Jeff didn’t push more shoes on me in order to get me to slowly buy more expensive shoes as the comfort level kept increasing, he just showed me shoes. And from what I learned, a good runners shoe is NINETY BUCKS. Yes, all these shoes I tried were $90 each (the PT03s were actually $95). Some on display were a little more than $100 but he didn’t even pull any down because he knew I wouldn’t like the feel. So don’t get swindled in buying a $130 pair of ‘running’ shoes at Foot Locker or Athelet’s Foot. Pay $90 for something better from ‘Runnergy’ or ‘Phidippides’. Remember that now - $90 is the runners price for great running shoes.

The PT03s are light (348g or 12 oz) which is even lighter than Asics Kayano (737 g or 26 oz), but the biggest difference was the support. I’ve never gotten this much support from a running shoe and have comfort to go along with it. New Balance come close to the support I need but it rides high on my ankle bone which is a little uncomfortable to say the least.

So what I’ve found at ‘Runnergy’ are lighter, more supportive running shoes for the runners price of $90. It was so good I bought two pairs that day. Donna also found two pairs of shoes, Nike and New Balance for $90 each but we got a discount for signing up to the “Say No To Drugs Race” that day. We walked out of there dropping nearly $400 in shoes, but it was well worth it.

I switch off my shoes after every run. Rumor has it you’re supposed to let them get back into shape after going for a run. It’s good advice to treat your running shoes well… they’ll last longer and make your $90 go further.

I’m still going to try on a pair of Asics at ‘Phidippides’, but am probably going to get another pair (or two) of the PT03s before they become this shoe that is too hard to get.

I have to say, these are THE BEST running shoes I’ve ever put on!!!