Update No. 11 – Back in training 2014: Preparing for 2 triathlons and a half-marathon

So…it’s been close to a month since my last training update. Unfortunately, I haven’t really done much training in that time as I have been busy with life and work commitments—AND getting my ass kicked by a cold that stayed with me for close to three full weeks.

Actually, on July 8—the day I posted the last training update before this one—I got in a 10-mile bike ride (33:59) and 2-mile run (18:28). Other than that, I have only managed to complete three 20-mile bike rides and a handful of 5K-distance runs since then.

Of course, the troubling part is that my next big event is the Hightstown Triathlon just a couple of weeks away on August 17. That event is a sprint triathlon consisting of a 0.25-mile swim, a 14-mile bike ride and a 5K run. I would really love to get in either a pool or open-water swim before that, but I don’t know if that will happen. And what’s worse is that I haven’t been swimming in months at this point, so I have no idea how I’ll do in that part of the event.

As of now, the Hightstown Tri will likely be one of my last significant triathlon training sessions before the September 14 Atlantic City Triathlon, which is of the international/Olympic variety (1-mile swim/20-mile bike ride/10K run). That’s really not ideal at all, but I may have no other option because of my schedule.

Also, this will likely be my last update before the Hightstown Tri, so don’t expect another training post until after August 17.

The good news is that I am making decent progress on the weight-loss front, as I only need to lose about 10 more pounds to reach my target goal of 168 pounds. I want to be at 168 pounds by the time I run in my final major event of the year, the Trenton Half-Marathon, on Nov. 8, 2014.

Just a reminder…I have already completed one of my main competitive, athletic events this year, as I finished the 10-mile Broad Street Run in 1:36:21 on May 4.

Note: See the January 18 update and original post below for background information…and please see the Training Tracker below to follow my major training swims, rides and runs. And, again, I apologize for not yet having a chance to reverse the order of the tracker so that the more recent results are at top…hopefully, I’ll get to that for the next update.

1/18/2014 UPDATE:
Earlier this month (see original post below), I wrote about training for my first half-marathon, the Trenton (N.J.) Half-Marathon taking place Saturday, Nov. 8, 2014, and my other goal of reaching a target weight of 168 pounds.

Well, when I wrote that, I was also eyeing another ridiculously ambitious goal…competing and finishing in the Atlantic City International Triathlon on Sept. 14, 2014. However, I was still waiting to hear back from the organizers regarding a question about my bike. Well, I was given the information I needed and have officially registered for the event, which includes a one-mile swim, a 20-mile bike ride and a 10K (6.2-mile) run.

I’ve never done an official half-marathon before, but at least I’ve run 13.1 miles in training  so I know I can do it. I have completed a swim of around a mile, have ridden 20 miles on a bike many times before and have 6.2 miles several times. However, I am in no way ready to do all of these in sequence at one time, but I’m learning as fast as I can how to get myself trained and conditioned for it.

So I must revise the 2014 fitness goals I listed in the original post. They are now: 1) get weight down to (and stay at/near) 168 pounds, 2) complete the Atlantic City International Triathlon, and 3) complete the Trenton Half-Marathon.

Wow…when you write it all out, it looks daunting. What was I thinking? Oh well, nothing to do now but to get in shape and ready to compete.

At the bottom of each of these posts, you will find a training tracker so you can follow my progress.

Original Post – January 9, 2014:
Last year, I tracked my training for the Trenton 10K, which took place Saturday, Nov. 9, 2013. It was the first organized race I have run other than a 5K. I finished the Trenton 10K with a chip time of 59:46.399, and my goal was to finish in less than an hour…so mission accomplished.

But as I watched the half-marathon runners start their race that morning, I regretted not being more ambitious with my running goals. After finally shaking off a persistent head cold I came down with the day after the race, I mapped out a route and completed a test run of 13.1 miles in 2:27:27—and, admittedly, that included about a half-mile of walking.

Now that I know I can do it, I want to announce here that I have registered for the 2014 Trenton Half-Marathon, taking place Saturday, Nov. 8, 2014.

I also want to use this opportunity to finally get into the proverbial “best shape of my life”— a sports cliché used by so many aging veterans heading into training camp. The holidays and two bouts with colds have basically put me back to square one as far as conditioning is concerned, but next week I’m going to start getting serious about working out everyday and tracking my caloric intake. And, of course, I’ll be tracking my training runs here on the blog.

In addition to training for the half marathon, it is my goal to finally get down to 168 pounds, which means losing about 23 pounds. I had lost 35 pounds back in 2006 after a false heart disease scare, but my weight-loss efforts stalled at 173—leaving me five pounds shy of my goal. Unfortunately, I gained nearly all of the weight I lost back again within the following year and have only been able to lose about 10-15 pounds a couple of times since then.

So…those are my two main goals for 2014: 1) complete the Trenton Half Marathon, 2) get down (and stay at/near) 168 pounds.

Training Tracker
I’ll be posting updates on my progress here every so often. The table below includes my swim/bike/run distances and times during this training period. Items in bold are personal records or other milestones. Also, I finally reversed the order of the table so that the most recent activity is at top…

Date	Swim/Bike/Run Distance	Time
7/31/2014	19.55 miles (bike)	1:06:54 (tracking was a bit off toward the end of the ride due to device issue)
7/29/2014	3.11 miles (run)	26:17
7/17/2014	3.11 miles (run)	30:42
7/16/2014	3.11 miles (run)	28:36
7/16/2014	20.03 miles (bike)	1:09:05
7/10/2014	3.1 miles (Nike+ recorded 3.19 miles) (run)	26:47.15 (RWJUH Strides for Stroke 5K) / 27:14 (Nike+)
7/10/2014	20.05 miles (bike)	1:09:45
7/8/2014	2.01 miles (run)	18:28
7/8/2014	10.04 miles (bike)	33:59
6/30/2014	5.00 miles (run)	48:02
6/27/2014	6.2 miles (run)	59:51
6/27/2014	20.08 miles (bike)	1:07:31
6/23/2014	3.30 miles (run)	31:15
6/23/2014	20.03 miles (bike)	1:06:44 (20-mile personal best)
6/20/2014	3.12 miles (run)	28:20
6/20/2014	15.01 (bike)	51:08
6/17/2014	3.11 miles (run)	26:09 (included personal-best mile time of 7:33)
6/16/2014	4.06 miles (run)	41:37
6/16/2014	20.28 miles (bike)	1:08:34
6/10/2014	6.22 miles (run)	57:02 (10K-distance personal best)
6/6/2014	3.12 miles (run)	26:43
6/4/2014	4.54 miles (run)	52:46
6/4/2014	20.24 miles (bike)	1:08:27 (20-mile personal best)
5/29/2014	6.21 miles (run)	1:02:37
5/29/2014	16.6 miles (bike)	58:48
5/29/2014	4.67 miles (bike)	17:39
5/27/2014	3.12 miles (run)	27:42
5/25/2014	6.21 miles (run)	58:57 (Brigantine, NJ)
5/23/2014	3.12 miles (run)	27:15
5/20/2014	6.23 miles (run)	57:16
5/19/2014	2.35 miles (run)	20:02
5/12/2014	5.01 miles (run)	46:18 (5-mile personal best)
5/9/2014	3.11 miles (run)	25:58 (5K-distance personal best)
5/4/2014	10.0 miles (Nike+ recorded 10.2 miles) (run)	1:36:21 – Broad Street Run (10-mile personal-best)
5/2/2014	3.1 miles (run)	28:15
5/1/2014	3.1 miles (run)	26:23 (5K-distance personal best)
4/28/2014	4 miles (run)	35:44
4/24/2014	10 miles (run)	1:39:04 (10-mile personal best)
4/22/2014	5.02 miles (run)	50:18
4/21/2014	5.02 miles (run)	46:38 (5-mile personal best)
4/13/2014	3.1 miles (run)	26:57 official chip time – Barnabas Health Lakewood BlueClaws 5K
4/9/2014	3.14 miles (run)	26:52 (26:35 personal best 5K time)
4/2/2014	3.11 miles (run)	26:51
3/27/2014	10 miles (run)	1:45:49
3/21/2014	15.25 mile ride followed by 6.21 mile run	59:25 (bike)/1:05:14 (run)
3/11/2014	18.46 mile ride followed by 3.11 mile run	1:10:09 (bike)/30:40 (run)
3/6/2014	6.21 miles (run)	58:45
2/21/2014	6.21 miles (run)	1:01:34
2/11/2014	3.11 miles (run)	30:55
2/10/2014	1.02 miles (swim) – 72 laps (25-yd pool)	approx. 40 minutes
2/6/2014	1.02 miles (swim) – 72 laps (25-yd pool)	approx. 40 minutes
2/4/2014	0.57 miles (swim) – 40 laps (25-yd pool)	unknown
1/31/2014	1.14 miles (swim) – 80 laps (25-yd pool)	approx. 1 hour
1/29/2014	1.02 miles (swim) – 72 laps (25-yd pool)	approx. 50 minutes
1/27/2014	0.71 miles (swim) – 50 laps (25-yd pool)	approx. 40 minutes
1/24/2014	0.37 miles (swim) – 26 laps (25-yd pool)	approx. 30 minutes
12/5/2013	13.12 miles (run)	2:27:27 – longest distance run

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Update No. 10 – Back in training 2014: Preparing for 2 triathlons and a half-marathon

Well, as the headline states, I have registered for a second triathlon. In addition to the Atlantic City Triathlon I will competing in on September 14, I now will be participating in the Hightstown Triathlon on August 17.

The Hightstown event is a “sprint” version of a triathlon, consisting of a quarter-mile lake swim, 14-mile bike ride and 5K run, so it will be a good warm-up for the international/Olympic version I’ll be doing in Atlantic City the following month. That one consists of a one-mile swim, 20-mile bike ride and 10K run. It will also give me a chance to refine my transition routines.

Hopefully, I’ll get to do at least one open-water swim session before the Hightstown Triathlon to test out my wet suit and get a feel for what it will be like.

Of course, this past week saw some down time in my training as I was caught up in Fourth of July activities and celebrating my birthday and my young son’s birthday (we share a birthday). And, obviously, that means I may have overeaten a bit as well. So I really need to get back into training mode. I may run in this week’s Strides for Stroke 5K at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in Hamilton if I can arrange things at home.

I have already completed one of my main competitive, athletic events this year, as I finished the 10-mile Broad Street Run in 1:36:21 on May 4.

Note: See the January 18 update and original post below for background information…and please see the Training Tracker below to follow my major training swims, rides and runs. And, again, I apologize for not yet having a chance to reverse the order of the tracker so that the more recent results are at top…hopefully, I’ll get to that for the next update.

1/18/2014 UPDATE:
Earlier this month (see original post below), I wrote about training for my first half-marathon, the Trenton (N.J.) Half-Marathon taking place Saturday, Nov. 8, 2014, and my other goal of reaching a target weight of 168 pounds.

Well, when I wrote that, I was also eyeing another ridiculously ambitious goal…competing and finishing in the Atlantic City International Triathlon on Sept. 14, 2014. However, I was still waiting to hear back from the organizers regarding a question about my bike. Well, I was given the information I needed and have officially registered for the event, which includes a one-mile swim, a 20-mile bike ride and a 10K (6.2-mile) run.

I’ve never done an official half-marathon before, but at least I’ve run 13.1 miles in training  so I know I can do it. I have completed a swim of around a mile, have ridden 20 miles on a bike many times before and have 6.2 miles several times. However, I am in no way ready to do all of these in sequence at one time, but I’m learning as fast as I can how to get myself trained and conditioned for it.

So I must revise the 2014 fitness goals I listed in the original post. They are now: 1) get weight down to (and stay at/near) 168 pounds, 2) complete the Atlantic City International Triathlon, and 3) complete the Trenton Half-Marathon.

Wow…when you write it all out, it looks daunting. What was I thinking? Oh well, nothing to do now but to get in shape and ready to compete.

At the bottom of each of these posts, you will find a training tracker so you can follow my progress.

Original Post – January 9, 2014:
Last year, I tracked my training for the Trenton 10K, which took place Saturday, Nov. 9, 2013. It was the first organized race I have run other than a 5K. I finished the Trenton 10K with a chip time of 59:46.399, and my goal was to finish in less than an hour…so mission accomplished.

But as I watched the half-marathon runners start their race that morning, I regretted not being more ambitious with my running goals. After finally shaking off a persistent head cold I came down with the day after the race, I mapped out a route and completed a test run of 13.1 miles in 2:27:27—and, admittedly, that included about a half-mile of walking.

Now that I know I can do it, I want to announce here that I have registered for the 2014 Trenton Half-Marathon, taking place Saturday, Nov. 8, 2014.

I also want to use this opportunity to finally get into the proverbial “best shape of my life”— a sports cliché used by so many aging veterans heading into training camp. The holidays and two bouts with colds have basically put me back to square one as far as conditioning is concerned, but next week I’m going to start getting serious about working out everyday and tracking my caloric intake. And, of course, I’ll be tracking my training runs here on the blog.

In addition to training for the half marathon, it is my goal to finally get down to 168 pounds, which means losing about 23 pounds. I had lost 35 pounds back in 2006 after a false heart disease scare, but my weight-loss efforts stalled at 173—leaving me five pounds shy of my goal. Unfortunately, I gained nearly all of the weight I lost back again within the following year and have only been able to lose about 10-15 pounds a couple of times since then.

So…those are my two main goals for 2014: 1) complete the Trenton Half Marathon, 2) get down (and stay at/near) 168 pounds.

Training Tracker
I’ll be posting updates on my progress here every so often. The table below includes my swim/bike/run distances and times during this training period. Items in bold are personal records or other milestones. Also, I finally reversed the order of the table so that the most recent activity is at top…

Date	Swim/Bike/Run Distance	Time
6/30/2014	5.00 miles (run)	48:02
6/27/2014	6.2 miles (run)	59:51
6/27/2014	20.08 miles (bike)	1:07:31
6/23/2014	3.30 miles (run)	31:15
6/23/2014	20.03 miles (bike)	1:06:44 (20-mile personal best)
6/20/2014	3.12 miles (run)	28:20
6/20/2014	15.01 (bike)	51:08
6/17/2014	3.11 miles (run)	26:09 (included personal-best mile time of 7:33)
6/16/2014	4.06 miles (run)	41:37
6/16/2014	20.28 miles (bike)	1:08:34
6/10/2014	6.22 miles (run)	57:02 (10K-distance personal best)
6/6/2014	3.12 miles (run)	26:43
6/4/2014	4.54 miles (run)	52:46
6/4/2014	20.24 miles (bike)	1:08:27 (20-mile personal best)
5/29/2014	6.21 miles (run)	1:02:37
5/29/2014	16.6 miles (bike)	58:48
5/29/2014	4.67 miles (bike)	17:39
5/27/2014	3.12 miles (run)	27:42
5/25/2014	6.21 miles (run)	58:57 (Brigantine, NJ)
5/23/2014	3.12 miles (run)	27:15
5/20/2014	6.23 miles (run)	57:16
5/19/2014	2.35 miles (run)	20:02
5/12/2014	5.01 miles (run)	46:18 (5-mile personal best)
5/9/2014	3.11 miles (run)	25:58 (5K-distance personal best)
5/4/2014	10.0 miles (Nike+ recorded 10.2 miles) (run)	1:36:21 – Broad Street Run (10-mile personal-best)
5/2/2014	3.1 miles (run)	28:15
5/1/2014	3.1 miles (run)	26:23 (5K-distance personal best)
4/28/2014	4 miles (run)	35:44
4/24/2014	10 miles (run)	1:39:04 (10-mile personal best)
4/22/2014	5.02 miles (run)	50:18
4/21/2014	5.02 miles (run)	46:38 (5-mile personal best)
4/13/2014	3.1 miles (run)	26:57 official chip time – Barnabas Health Lakewood BlueClaws 5K
4/9/2014	3.14 miles (run)	26:52 (26:35 personal best 5K time)
4/2/2014	3.11 miles (run)	26:51
3/27/2014	10 miles (run)	1:45:49
3/21/2014	15.25 mile ride followed by 6.21 mile run	59:25 (bike)/1:05:14 (run)
3/11/2014	18.46 mile ride followed by 3.11 mile run	1:10:09 (bike)/30:40 (run)
3/6/2014	6.21 miles (run)	58:45
2/21/2014	6.21 miles (run)	1:01:34
2/11/2014	3.11 miles (run)	30:55
2/10/2014	1.02 miles (swim) – 72 laps (25-yd pool)	approx. 40 minutes
2/6/2014	1.02 miles (swim) – 72 laps (25-yd pool)	approx. 40 minutes
2/4/2014	0.57 miles (swim) – 40 laps (25-yd pool)	unknown
1/31/2014	1.14 miles (swim) – 80 laps (25-yd pool)	approx. 1 hour
1/29/2014	1.02 miles (swim) – 72 laps (25-yd pool)	approx. 50 minutes
1/27/2014	0.71 miles (swim) – 50 laps (25-yd pool)	approx. 40 minutes
1/24/2014	0.37 miles (swim) – 26 laps (25-yd pool)	approx. 30 minutes
12/5/2013	13.12 miles (run)	2:27:27 – longest distance run

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Update No. 9 – Back in training 2014: Preparing for a triathlon and a half-marathon

Hey, what do you know? I finally remembered to post a “Back in Training” update.

With my first Broad Street Run behind me, I’m now focusing on training for the Atlantic City Triathlon on September 14.

On May 29, I attempted to do an out-of-sequence version of the triathlon, which consists of a 1-mile swim, a 20-mile bike ride and a 10K run. I rode my bike 4.67 miles to the local community college, where I had been doing my swim training. I had a backpack with my swim trunks, towels, locks (for the gym locker and my bike), etc. However, I forgot one important item…my pool pass. The lifeguards don’t let anyone in the pool without it. Instead of doing a mile in the pool, I got back on my bike and rode 16.6 miles for a combined total of 21.27 miles on the bike that day. I followed that up with a 6.21-mile run in 1:02:37.

On May 25, I was able to run 6.21 miles in 58:57 along the shore in Brigantine, N.J., which is just north of Atlantic City…so I was able to get a feel for what it will be like to run on the A.C. boardwalk during the triathlon.

I’m hoping to get some open-water swim sessions in before the triathlon to test out my wet suit and to get a feel for it. I’ll post another update if that happens.

Note: See the January 18 update and original post below for background information…and please see the Training Tracker below to follow my major training swims, rides and runs. And, again, I apologize for not yet having a chance to reverse the order of the tracker so that the more recent results are at top…hopefully, I’ll get to that for the next update.

1/18/2014 UPDATE:
Earlier this month (see original post below), I wrote about training for my first half-marathon, the Trenton (N.J.) Half-Marathon taking place Saturday, Nov. 8, 2014, and my other goal of reaching a target weight of 168 pounds.

Well, when I wrote that, I was also eyeing another ridiculously ambitious goal…competing and finishing in the Atlantic City International Triathlon on Sept. 14, 2014. However, I was still waiting to hear back from the organizers regarding a question about my bike. Well, I was given the information I needed and have officially registered for the event, which includes a one-mile swim, a 20-mile bike ride and a 10K (6.2-mile) run.

I’ve never done an official half-marathon before, but at least I’ve run 13.1 miles in training  so I know I can do it. I have completed a swim of around a mile, have ridden 20 miles on a bike many times before and have 6.2 miles several times. However, I am in no way ready to do all of these in sequence at one time, but I’m learning as fast as I can how to get myself trained and conditioned for it.

So I must revise the 2014 fitness goals I listed in the original post. They are now: 1) get weight down to (and stay at/near) 168 pounds, 2) complete the Atlantic City International Triathlon, and 3) complete the Trenton Half-Marathon.

Wow…when you write it all out, it looks daunting. What was I thinking? Oh well, nothing to do now but to get in shape and ready to compete.

At the bottom of each of these posts, you will find a training tracker so you can follow my progress.

Original Post – January 9, 2014:
Last year, I tracked my training for the Trenton 10K, which took place Saturday, Nov. 9, 2013. It was the first organized race I have run other than a 5K. I finished the Trenton 10K with a chip time of 59:46.399, and my goal was to finish in less than an hour…so mission accomplished.

But as I watched the half-marathon runners start their race that morning, I regretted not being more ambitious with my running goals. After finally shaking off a persistent head cold I came down with the day after the race, I mapped out a route and completed a test run of 13.1 miles in 2:27:27—and, admittedly, that included about a half-mile of walking.

Now that I know I can do it, I want to announce here that I have registered for the 2014 Trenton Half-Marathon, taking place Saturday, Nov. 8, 2014.

I also want to use this opportunity to finally get into the proverbial “best shape of my life”— a sports cliché used by so many aging veterans heading into training camp. The holidays and two bouts with colds have basically put me back to square one as far as conditioning is concerned, but next week I’m going to start getting serious about working out everyday and tracking my caloric intake. And, of course, I’ll be tracking my training runs here on the blog.

In addition to training for the half marathon, it is my goal to finally get down to 168 pounds, which means losing about 23 pounds. I had lost 35 pounds back in 2006 after a false heart disease scare, but my weight-loss efforts stalled at 173—leaving me five pounds shy of my goal. Unfortunately, I gained nearly all of the weight I lost back again within the following year and have only been able to lose about 10-15 pounds a couple of times since then.

So…those are my two main goals for 2014: 1) complete the Trenton Half Marathon, 2) get down (and stay at/near) 168 pounds.

Training Tracker
I’ll be posting updates on my progress here every so often. The table below includes my swim/bike/run distances and times during this training period. Items in bold are personal records or other milestones. Also, I finally reversed the order of the table so that the most recent activity is at top…

Date	Swim/Bike/Run Distance	Time
6/20/2014	3.12 miles (run)	28:20
6/20/2014	15.01 (bike)	51:08
6/17/2014	3.11 miles (run)	26:09 (included personal-best mile time of 7:33)
6/16/2014	4.06 miles (run)	41:37
6/16/2014	20.28 miles (bike)	1:08:34
6/10/2014	6.22 miles (run)	57:02 (10K-distance personal best)
6/6/2014	3.12 miles (run)	26:43
6/4/2014	4.54 miles (run)	52:46
6/4/2014	20.24 miles (bike)	1:08:27 (20-mile personal best)
5/29/2014	6.21 miles (run)	1:02:37
5/29/2014	16.6 miles (bike)	58:48
5/29/2014	4.67 miles (bike)	17:39
5/27/2014	3.12 miles (run)	27:42
5/25/2014	6.21 miles (run)	58:57 (Brigantine, NJ)
5/23/2014	3.12 miles (run)	27:15
5/20/2014	6.23 miles (run)	57:16
5/19/2014	2.35 miles (run)	20:02
5/12/2014	5.01 miles (run)	46:18 (5-mile personal best)
5/9/2014	3.11 miles (run)	25:58 (5K-distance personal best)
5/4/2014	10.0 miles (Nike+ recorded 10.2 miles) (run)	1:36:21 – Broad Street Run (10-mile personal-best)
5/2/2014	3.1 miles (run)	28:15
5/1/2014	3.1 miles (run)	26:23 (5K-distance personal best)
4/28/2014	4 miles (run)	35:44
4/24/2014	10 miles (run)	1:39:04 (10-mile personal best)
4/22/2014	5.02 miles (run)	50:18
4/21/2014	5.02 miles (run)	46:38 (5-mile personal best)
4/13/2014	3.1 miles (run)	26:57 official chip time – Barnabas Health Lakewood BlueClaws 5K
4/9/2014	3.14 miles (run)	26:52 (26:35 personal best 5K time)
4/2/2014	3.11 miles (run)	26:51
3/27/2014	10 miles (run)	1:45:49
3/21/2014	15.25 mile ride followed by 6.21 mile run	59:25 (bike)/1:05:14 (run)
3/11/2014	18.46 mile ride followed by 3.11 mile run	1:10:09 (bike)/30:40 (run)
3/6/2014	6.21 miles (run)	58:45
2/21/2014	6.21 miles (run)	1:01:34
2/11/2014	3.11 miles (run)	30:55
2/10/2014	1.02 miles (swim) – 72 laps (25-yd pool)	approx. 40 minutes
2/6/2014	1.02 miles (swim) – 72 laps (25-yd pool)	approx. 40 minutes
2/4/2014	0.57 miles (swim) – 40 laps (25-yd pool)	unknown
1/31/2014	1.14 miles (swim) – 80 laps (25-yd pool)	approx. 1 hour
1/29/2014	1.02 miles (swim) – 72 laps (25-yd pool)	approx. 50 minutes
1/27/2014	0.71 miles (swim) – 50 laps (25-yd pool)	approx. 40 minutes
1/24/2014	0.37 miles (swim) – 26 laps (25-yd pool)	approx. 30 minutes
12/5/2013	13.12 miles (run)	2:27:27 – longest distance run

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Update No. 8 – Back in training 2014: Broad Street Run Recap

Well, my first Broad Street Run is in the books…

I completed today’s 10-mile Broad Street Run in 1:36:17. You can click here to view my result, but a) first make sure the “year” drop-down menu says “2014” and b) then search for my bib number: 24716. (Note: When you see the results, I am the Brian Kelley at the top, and that’s it…I have no idea who the other one was listed in all those other events at the bottom of the page.) This was my first “big event” as I ran down Philly’s Broad Street alongside 40,000 people. Plus, it was very cool to run through the heart of a city that I love so much.

I did see some areas in need of improvement regarding the event itself, which was surprising to me since this was its 35th year…and, actually, that in itself was part of the problem. The finisher’s medal incorrectly says “35th anniversary” instead of “35th annual”…the words “annual” and “anniversary” are not interchangeable. It was the 35th edition of the annual race. However, an anniversary can only happen a year after the initial event. Think about it…I got married in 2010 so my first anniversary was 2011, my second anniversary 2012…and so on. Pretty basic stuff. This year marked just the 34th anniversary of the first Broad Street Run (2014-1980=34). I’ll address that and some other issues in a separate post later.

Anyway…in addition to running a pretty good race (for me, anyway), I want to say that I feel great and I am no longer experiencing any of the health issues discussed in my last post. That said, I am following up on everything to see if I can find a cause for the numbness I was experiencing.

Approaching the 2014 Broad Street Run finish line!

Now that the Broad Street Run is behind me, I have to get back to training for the Atlantic City Triathlon on Sept. 14, and then the Trenton Half-Marathon on Nov. 8, 2014. (See the January 18 update and original post below for background information.)

Please see the Training Tracker below to follow my major training swims, rides and runs. And, again, I apologize for not yet having a chance to reverse the order of the tracker so that the more recent results are at top…hopefully, I’ll get to that for the next update.

1/18/2014 UPDATE:
Earlier this month (see original post below), I wrote about training for my first half-marathon, the Trenton (N.J.) Half-Marathon taking place Saturday, Nov. 8, 2014, and my other goal of reaching a target weight of 168 pounds.

Well, when I wrote that, I was also eyeing another ridiculously ambitious goal…competing and finishing in the Atlantic City International Triathlon on Sept. 14, 2014. However, I was still waiting to hear back from the organizers regarding a question about my bike. Well, I was given the information I needed and have officially registered for the event, which includes a one-mile swim, a 20-mile bike ride and a 10K (6.2-mile) run.

I’ve never done an official half-marathon before, but at least I’ve run 13.1 miles in training  so I know I can do it. I have completed a swim of around a mile, have ridden 20 miles on a bike many times before and have 6.2 miles several times. However, I am in no way ready to do all of these in sequence at one time, but I’m learning as fast as I can how to get myself trained and conditioned for it.

So I must revise the 2014 fitness goals I listed in the original post. They are now: 1) get weight down to (and stay at/near) 168 pounds, 2) complete the Atlantic City International Triathlon, and 3) complete the Trenton Half-Marathon.

Wow…when you write it all out, it looks daunting. What was I thinking? Oh well, nothing to do now but to get in shape and ready to compete.

At the bottom of each of these posts, you will find a training tracker so you can follow my progress.

Original Post – January 9, 2014:
Last year, I tracked my training for the Trenton 10K, which took place Saturday, Nov. 9, 2013. It was the first organized race I have run other than a 5K. I finished the Trenton 10K with a chip time of 59:46.399, and my goal was to finish in less than an hour…so mission accomplished.

But as I watched the half-marathon runners start their race that morning, I regretted not being more ambitious with my running goals. After finally shaking off a persistent head cold I came down with the day after the race, I mapped out a route and completed a test run of 13.1 miles in 2:27:27—and, admittedly, that included about a half-mile of walking.

Now that I know I can do it, I want to announce here that I have registered for the 2014 Trenton Half-Marathon, taking place Saturday, Nov. 8, 2014.

I also want to use this opportunity to finally get into the proverbial “best shape of my life”— a sports cliché used by so many aging veterans heading into training camp. The holidays and two bouts with colds have basically put me back to square one as far as conditioning is concerned, but next week I’m going to start getting serious about working out everyday and tracking my caloric intake. And, of course, I’ll be tracking my training runs here on the blog.

In addition to training for the half marathon, it is my goal to finally get down to 168 pounds, which means losing about 23 pounds. I had lost 35 pounds back in 2006 after a false heart disease scare, but my weight-loss efforts stalled at 173—leaving me five pounds shy of my goal. Unfortunately, I gained nearly all of the weight I lost back again within the following year and have only been able to lose about 10-15 pounds a couple of times since then.

So…those are my two main goals for 2014: 1) complete the Trenton Half Marathon, 2) get down (and stay at/near) 168 pounds.

Training Tracker
I’ll be posting updates on my progress here every so often. The table below includes my swim/bike/run distances and times during this training period. Items in bold are personal records or other milestones. Also, I finally reversed the order of the table so that the most recent activity is at top…

Date	Swim/Bike/Run Distance	Time
5/4/2014	10.0 miles (Nike+ recorded 10.2 miles) (run)	1:36:21 – Broad Street Run (10-mile personal-best)
5/2/2014	3.1 miles (run)	28:15
5/1/2014	3.1 miles (run)	26:23 (5K-distance personal best)
4/28/2014	4 miles (run)	35:44
4/24/2014	10 miles (run)	1:39:04 (10-mile personal best)
4/22/2014	5.02 miles (run)	50:18
4/21/2014	5.02 miles (run)	46:38 (5-mile personal best)
4/13/2014	3.1 miles (run)	26:57 official chip time – Barnabas Health Lakewood BlueClaws 5K
4/9/2014	3.14 miles (run)	26:52 (26:35 personal best 5K time)
4/2/2014	3.11 miles (run)	26:51
3/27/2014	10 miles (run)	1:45:49
3/21/2014	15.25 mile ride followed by 6.21 mile run	59:25 (bike)/1:05:14 (run)
3/11/2014	18.46 mile ride followed by 3.11 mile run	1:10:09 (bike)/30:40 (run)
3/6/2014	6.21 miles (run)	58:45 (10K personal best)
2/21/2014	6.21 miles (run)	1:01:34
2/11/2014	3.11 miles (run)	30:55
2/10/2014	1.02 miles (swim) – 72 laps (25-yd pool)	approx. 40 minutes
2/6/2014	1.02 miles (swim) – 72 laps (25-yd pool)	approx. 40 minutes
2/4/2014	0.57 miles (swim) – 40 laps (25-yd pool)	unknown
1/31/2014	1.14 miles (swim) – 80 laps (25-yd pool)	approx. 1 hour
1/29/2014	1.02 miles (swim) – 72 laps (25-yd pool)	approx. 50 minutes
1/27/2014	0.71 miles (swim) – 50 laps (25-yd pool)	approx. 40 minutes
1/24/2014	0.37 miles (swim) – 26 laps (25-yd pool)	approx. 30 minutes
12/5/2013	13.12 miles (run)	2:27:27 – longest distance run

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Update No. 7 – Back in training 2014: Preparing for a 10-miler, a triathlon & a half-marathon

One last update before Sunday’s Broad Street Run…

I should begin by saying that this was a strange week for me. Monday morning, I woke up and realized I was slightly numb on the left side of my body and face. I went to the doctor that afternoon and there was some concern that it could be stroke-related. However, since everything else (blood pressure, pulse, oxygen, etc.) was normal and I’m in generally good health, the doctor just told me to take an aspirin a day, get a brain MRI and get some lab work done.

I made the lab work appointment for Wednesday morning. On Tuesday morning, the doctor’s office–having trouble getting my insurance to cover the MRI–asked me to see a neurologist for two reasons: 1) another opinion, and 2) the neurologist might have better luck getting insurance to cover the MRI. I wound up making an appointment for Wednesday afternoon.

However, before that happened, my right side started going numb Tuesday night so I went to the hospital. Again…everything checked out normal, including a CT scan of my brain. I was told to just go ahead with my Wednesday appointments.

Well, the right-side numbness was mostly gone by Wednesday afternoon, but I still feel a bit of numbness on my left side. It’s definitely not normal, but it’s not as noticeable as it was on Monday. The good news is that the doctor at the hospital and the neurologist both find it very unlikely to be stroke-related. The bad news is that no one knows what exactly is causing it. Things like MS, Lyme, and a pinched nerve are still on the table, I guess, but the neurologist doesn’t think those are likely either. Anyway, I should be getting an MRI at some point next week and then going for a follow-up visit to the neurologist…but it seems like there is nothing seriously wrong with me (he types, somehow, with crossed fingers).

Now, you may recall in my last update, I mentioned that my left leg experienced some numbness early into my 10-mile run on April 24. This is something I’ve felt in the past while bike riding or running, but not for long periods of time and not on one entire side of my body and face. But is it related? Who knows at this point? It seems odd, though, that it’s my left leg and the left side of my body that this started with.

All that being said, I still plan on running in Sunday’s Broad Street Run. In fact, because I still felt good–despite the left-side numbness–on Monday, I went on 4-mile run prior to my doctor’s appointment that went rather well. I followed that up with a pair of 5K-distance runs on Thursday and Friday. I used Thursday’s run to push myself a bit and wound up recording my fastest-ever 5K time at 26:17. I took it pretty easy during Friday’s run, which I completed in 28:15.

Until a couple of weeks ago, my goal was to finish the Broad Street Run in 1:40:00 or less. But I’m getting more and more comfortable running long distances closer to a 9-minute-per-mile pace, so I’m aiming for a sub-1:35:00 finish now.

After the Broad Street Run and all these follow-up tests and exams, I have to get back to training for the Atlantic City Triathlon on Sept. 14, and then the Trenton Half-Marathon on Nov. 8, 2014. (See the January 18 update and original post below for background information.)

Please see the Training Tracker below to follow my major training swims, rides and runs. And, again, I apologize for not yet having a chance to reverse the order of the tracker so that the more recent results are at top…hopefully, I’ll get to that for the next update.

1/18/2014 UPDATE:
Earlier this month (see original post below), I wrote about training for my first half-marathon, the Trenton (N.J.) Half-Marathon taking place Saturday, Nov. 8, 2014, and my other goal of reaching a target weight of 168 pounds.

Well, when I wrote that, I was also eyeing another ridiculously ambitious goal…competing and finishing in the Atlantic City International Triathlon on Sept. 14, 2014. However, I was still waiting to hear back from the organizers regarding a question about my bike. Well, I was given the information I needed and have officially registered for the event, which includes a one-mile swim, a 20-mile bike ride and a 10K (6.2-mile) run.

I’ve never done an official half-marathon before, but at least I’ve run 13.1 miles in training  so I know I can do it. I have completed a swim of around a mile, have ridden 20 miles on a bike many times before and have 6.2 miles several times. However, I am in no way ready to do all of these in sequence at one time, but I’m learning as fast as I can how to get myself trained and conditioned for it.

So I must revise the 2014 fitness goals I listed in the original post. They are now: 1) get weight down to (and stay at/near) 168 pounds, 2) complete the Atlantic City International Triathlon, and 3) complete the Trenton Half-Marathon.

Wow…when you write it all out, it looks daunting. What was I thinking? Oh well, nothing to do now but to get in shape and ready to compete.

At the bottom of each of these posts, you will find a training tracker so you can follow my progress.

Original Post – January 9, 2014:
Last year, I tracked my training for the Trenton 10K, which took place Saturday, Nov. 9, 2013. It was the first organized race I have run other than a 5K. I finished the Trenton 10K with a chip time of 59:46.399, and my goal was to finish in less than an hour…so mission accomplished.

But as I watched the half-marathon runners start their race that morning, I regretted not being more ambitious with my running goals. After finally shaking off a persistent head cold I came down with the day after the race, I mapped out a route and completed a test run of 13.1 miles in 2:27:27—and, admittedly, that included about a half-mile of walking.

Now that I know I can do it, I want to announce here that I have registered for the 2014 Trenton Half-Marathon, taking place Saturday, Nov. 8, 2014.

I also want to use this opportunity to finally get into the proverbial “best shape of my life”— a sports cliché used by so many aging veterans heading into training camp. The holidays and two bouts with colds have basically put me back to square one as far as conditioning is concerned, but next week I’m going to start getting serious about working out everyday and tracking my caloric intake. And, of course, I’ll be tracking my training runs here on the blog.

In addition to training for the half marathon, it is my goal to finally get down to 168 pounds, which means losing about 23 pounds. I had lost 35 pounds back in 2006 after a false heart disease scare, but my weight-loss efforts stalled at 173—leaving me five pounds shy of my goal. Unfortunately, I gained nearly all of the weight I lost back again within the following year and have only been able to lose about 10-15 pounds a couple of times since then.

So…those are my two main goals for 2014: 1) complete the Trenton Half Marathon, 2) get down (and stay at/near) 168 pounds.

Training Tracker
I’ll be posting updates on my progress here every so often. The table below includes my swim/bike/run distances and times during this training period. Items in bold are personal records or other milestones. Also, I finally reversed the order of the table so that the most recent activity is at top…

Date	Swim/Bike/Run Distance	Time
5/2/2014	3.1 miles (run)	28:15
5/1/2014	3.1 miles (run)	26:23 (5K-distance personal best)
4/28/2014	4 miles (run)	35:44
4/24/2014	10 miles (run)	1:39:04 (10-mile personal best)
4/22/2014	5.02 miles (run)	50:18
4/21/2014	5.02 miles (run)	46:38 (5-mile personal best)
4/13/2014	3.1 miles (run)	26:57 official chip time – Barnabas Health Lakewood BlueClaws 5K
4/9/2014	3.14 miles (run)	26:52 (26:35 personal best 5K time)
4/2/2014	3.11 miles (run)	26:51
3/27/2014	10 miles (run)	1:45:49
3/21/2014	15.25 mile ride followed by 6.21 mile run	59:25 (bike)/1:05:14 (run)
3/11/2014	18.46 mile ride followed by 3.11 mile run	1:10:09 (bike)/30:40 (run)
3/6/2014	6.21 miles (run)	58:45 (10K personal best)
2/21/2014	6.21 miles (run)	1:01:34
2/11/2014	3.11 miles (run)	30:55
2/10/2014	1.02 miles (swim) – 72 laps (25-yd pool)	approx. 40 minutes
2/6/2014	1.02 miles (swim) – 72 laps (25-yd pool)	approx. 40 minutes
2/4/2014	0.57 miles (swim) – 40 laps (25-yd pool)	unknown
1/31/2014	1.14 miles (swim) – 80 laps (25-yd pool)	approx. 1 hour
1/29/2014	1.02 miles (swim) – 72 laps (25-yd pool)	approx. 50 minutes
1/27/2014	0.71 miles (swim) – 50 laps (25-yd pool)	approx. 40 minutes
1/24/2014	0.37 miles (swim) – 26 laps (25-yd pool)	approx. 30 minutes
12/5/2013	13.12 miles (run)	2:27:27 – longest distance run

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Update No. 6 – Back in training 2014: Preparing for a 10-miler, a triathlon & a half-marathon

A quick update since my workload has continued to be rather busy lately…

…I went on three runs this past week. I started off with a pair of 5-mile runs on April 21 and April 22. I took a day off and then set off on my final 10-mile practice run for next Sunday’s Broad Street Run. Amazingly, it may have been the best run I ever gone on…I felt great throughout nearly the entire run. I never felt labored even though I was running at a faster-than-usual pace for me. The only issue I had was when my left leg started feeling heavy during the second mile—not a cramp or tightness, but almost as if it were numb or “asleep.” However, it went away and I went on to complete the run in a personal-best time of 1:39:04.

Since my last update, I also ran in the Barnabas Health/Lakewood BlueClaws 5K, which I finished in 26:57 (click on the link and enter “2415” — my bib number — in the search box to see my result). That’s the first official 5K race I’ve completed in less than 27 minutes.

With my workload tapering off a bit, I’m hoping to squeeze in at least one 5-mile run and a 5K-distance run during this final week before the Broad Street Run. I’m also hoping to get back to the pool once or twice so I can refocus on training for the Atlantic City Triathlon on September 14. And, then, there is the Trenton Half-Marathon on Nov. 8, 2014. (See the January 18 update and original post below for background information.)

Please see the Training Tracker below to follow my major training swims, rides and runs. And, again, I apologize for not yet having a chance to reverse the order of the tracker so that the more recent results are at top…hopefully, I’ll get to that for the next update.

1/18/2014 UPDATE:
Earlier this month (see original post below), I wrote about training for my first half-marathon, the Trenton (N.J.) Half-Marathon taking place Saturday, Nov. 8, 2014, and my other goal of reaching a target weight of 168 pounds.

Well, when I wrote that, I was also eyeing another ridiculously ambitious goal…competing and finishing in the Atlantic City International Triathlon on Sept. 14, 2014. However, I was still waiting to hear back from the organizers regarding a question about my bike. Well, I was given the information I needed and have officially registered for the event, which includes a one-mile swim, a 20-mile bike ride and a 10K (6.2-mile) run.

I’ve never done an official half-marathon before, but at least I’ve run 13.1 miles in training  so I know I can do it. I have completed a swim of around a mile, have ridden 20 miles on a bike many times before and have 6.2 miles several times. However, I am in no way ready to do all of these in sequence at one time, but I’m learning as fast as I can how to get myself trained and conditioned for it.

So I must revise the 2014 fitness goals I listed in the original post. They are now: 1) get weight down to (and stay at/near) 168 pounds, 2) complete the Atlantic City International Triathlon, and 3) complete the Trenton Half-Marathon.

Wow…when you write it all out, it looks daunting. What was I thinking? Oh well, nothing to do now but to get in shape and ready to compete.

At the bottom of each of these posts, you will find a training tracker so you can follow my progress.

Original Post – January 9, 2014:
Last year, I tracked my training for the Trenton 10K, which took place Saturday, Nov. 9, 2013. It was the first organized race I have run other than a 5K. I finished the Trenton 10K with a chip time of 59:46.399, and my goal was to finish in less than an hour…so mission accomplished.

But as I watched the half-marathon runners start their race that morning, I regretted not being more ambitious with my running goals. After finally shaking off a persistent head cold I came down with the day after the race, I mapped out a route and completed a test run of 13.1 miles in 2:27:27—and, admittedly, that included about a half-mile of walking.

Now that I know I can do it, I want to announce here that I have registered for the 2014 Trenton Half-Marathon, taking place Saturday, Nov. 8, 2014.

I also want to use this opportunity to finally get into the proverbial “best shape of my life”— a sports cliché used by so many aging veterans heading into training camp. The holidays and two bouts with colds have basically put me back to square one as far as conditioning is concerned, but next week I’m going to start getting serious about working out everyday and tracking my caloric intake. And, of course, I’ll be tracking my training runs here on the blog.

In addition to training for the half marathon, it is my goal to finally get down to 168 pounds, which means losing about 23 pounds. I had lost 35 pounds back in 2006 after a false heart disease scare, but my weight-loss efforts stalled at 173—leaving me five pounds shy of my goal. Unfortunately, I gained nearly all of the weight I lost back again within the following year and have only been able to lose about 10-15 pounds a couple of times since then.

So…those are my two main goals for 2014: 1) complete the Trenton Half Marathon, 2) get down (and stay at/near) 168 pounds.

Training Tracker
I’ll be posting updates on my progress here every so often. The table below includes my swim/bike/run distances and times during this training period (at some point, I’m going to reverse the order of this so my latest activity is at the top…not sure why I started doing it this way):

Date	Swim/Bike/Run Distance	Time
12/5/2013	13.12 miles (run)	2:27:27 – longest distance run
1/24/2014	0.37 miles (swim) – 26 laps (25-yd pool)	approx. 30 minutes
1/27/2014	0.71 miles (swim) – 50 laps (25-yd pool)	approx. 40 minutes
1/29/2014	1.02 miles (swim) – 72 laps (25-yd pool)	approx. 50 minutes
1/31/2014	1.14 miles (swim) – 80 laps (25-yd pool)	approx. 1 hour
2/4/2014	0.57 miles (swim) – 40 laps (25-yd pool)	unknown
2/6/2014	1.02 miles (swim) – 72 laps (25-yd pool)	approx. 40 minutes
2/10/2014	1.02 miles (swim) – 72 laps (25-yd pool)	approx. 40 minutes
2/11/2014	3.11 miles (run)	30:55
2/21/2014	6.21 miles (run)	1:01:34
3/6/2014	6.21 miles (run)	58:45 (10K personal best)
3/11/2014	18.46 mile ride followed by 3.11 mile run	1:10:09 (bike)/30:40 (run)
3/21/2014	15.25 mile ride followed by 6.21 mile run	59:25 (bike)/1:05:14 (run)
3/27/2014	10 miles (run)	1:45:49
4/2/2014	3.11 miles (run)	26:51
4/9/2014	3.14 miles (run)	26:52 (26:35 personal best 5K time)
4/13/2014	3.1 miles (run)	26:57 official chip time – Barnabas Health Lakewood BlueClaws 5K
4/21/2014	5.02 miles (run)	46:38 (5-mile personal best)
4/22/2014	5.02 miles (run)	50:18
4/24/2014	10 miles (run)	1:39:04 (10-mile personal best)

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Update No. 5 – Back in training 2014: Preparing for a 10-miler, a triathlon & a half-marathon

I’m back…sorry about the lack of recent updates on my training, but my workload rapidly picked up so I haven’t been doing as much preparation for my upcoming events lately. However, I haven’t stopped training…I just haven’t had time to update the blog or my tracker.

Since the last update, I’ve added to the list another big event for which I am preparing…Philly’s 10-mile Broad Street Run on May 4.

Anyway, I managed to get in a 3.11-mile run in the rain today and it went very well, finishing in a personal-best time of 26:51–a full 1:03 faster than my previous best 5K time of 27:54 in the American Heart Association’s Mercer County 5K Heart Run in Mercer County Park in 2006. My Nike+ app says that I completed the 5K distance today in 26:45 (since I ran a little longer than actual 5K distance).

Other recent highlights include: a 10-mile run in 1:45:49 on March 27; a 15.25-mile bike ride in 59:25 followed a few minutes later by a 10K-distance run in 1:05:14 on March 21; an 18.46-mile bike ride in 1:10:09 followed a few minutes later by a 5K-distance run in 30:40 on March 11; and a 6.21-mile run in 58:45, marking a 10K personal best, on March 6.

I haven’t been to the pool in over a month now, I think. But with the Barnabas Health BlueClaws 5K Run in the Park coming up on April 13 and the Broad Street Run on May 4, I’m using my limited free time these days to focus on running. Once the Broad Street Run is completed, I’ll start swimming again…but I don’t think I’m going to be posting all my swims from here on out. I’ll just post any significant milestones or anything of interest from a particular session.

For those new to these posts, let’s recap a bit: In addition to preparing for the Broad Street Run, I am currently training for the Atlantic City International Triathlon on Sept. 14, 2014, and the Trenton Half-Marathon on Nov. 8, 2014. (See the January 18 update and original post below for background information.)

Please see the Training Tracker below to follow my major training swims, rides and runs.

1/18/2014 UPDATE:
Earlier this month (see original post below), I wrote about training for my first half-marathon, the Trenton (N.J.) Half-Marathon taking place Saturday, Nov. 8, 2014, and my other goal of reaching a target weight of 168 pounds.

Well, when I wrote that, I was also eyeing another ridiculously ambitious goal…competing and finishing in the Atlantic City International Triathlon on Sept. 14, 2014. However, I was still waiting to hear back from the organizers regarding a question about my bike. Well, I was given the information I needed and have officially registered for the event, which includes a one-mile swim, a 20-mile bike ride and a 10K (6.2-mile) run.

I’ve never done an official half-marathon before, but at least I’ve run 13.1 miles in training  so I know I can do it. I have completed a swim of around a mile, have ridden 20 miles on a bike many times before and have 6.2 miles several times. However, I am in no way ready to do all of these in sequence at one time, but I’m learning as fast as I can how to get myself trained and conditioned for it.

So I must revise the 2014 fitness goals I listed in the original post. They are now: 1) get weight down to (and stay at/near) 168 pounds, 2) complete the Atlantic City International Triathlon, and 3) complete the Trenton Half-Marathon.

Wow…when you write it all out, it looks daunting. What was I thinking? Oh well, nothing to do now but to get in shape and ready to compete.

At the bottom of each of these posts, you will find a training tracker so you can follow my progress.

Original Post – January 9, 2014:
Last year, I tracked my training for the Trenton 10K, which took place Saturday, Nov. 9, 2013. It was the first organized race I have run other than a 5K. I finished the Trenton 10K with a chip time of 59:46.399, and my goal was to finish in less than an hour…so mission accomplished.

But as I watched the half-marathon runners start their race that morning, I regretted not being more ambitious with my running goals. After finally shaking off a persistent head cold I came down with the day after the race, I mapped out a route and completed a test run of 13.1 miles in 2:27:27—and, admittedly, that included about a half-mile of walking.

Now that I know I can do it, I want to announce here that I have registered for the 2014 Trenton Half-Marathon, taking place Saturday, Nov. 8, 2014.

I also want to use this opportunity to finally get into the proverbial “best shape of my life”— a sports cliché used by so many aging veterans heading into training camp. The holidays and two bouts with colds have basically put me back to square one as far as conditioning is concerned, but next week I’m going to start getting serious about working out everyday and tracking my caloric intake. And, of course, I’ll be tracking my training runs here on the blog.

In addition to training for the half marathon, it is my goal to finally get down to 168 pounds, which means losing about 23 pounds. I had lost 35 pounds back in 2006 after a false heart disease scare, but my weight-loss efforts stalled at 173—leaving me five pounds shy of my goal. Unfortunately, I gained nearly all of the weight I lost back again within the following year and have only been able to lose about 10-15 pounds a couple of times since then.

So…those are my two main goals for 2014: 1) complete the Trenton Half Marathon, 2) get down (and stay at/near) 168 pounds.

Training Tracker
I’ll be posting updates on my progress here every so often. The table below includes my swim/bike/run distances and times during this training period (at some point, I’m going to reverse the order of this so my latest activity is at the top…not sure why I started doing it this way):

Date	Swim/Bike/Run Distance	Time
12/5/2013	13.12 miles (run)	2:27:27 – longest distance run
1/24/2014	0.37 miles (swim) – 26 laps (25-yd pool)	approx. 30 minutes
1/27/2014	0.71 miles (swim) – 50 laps (25-yd pool)	approx. 40 minutes
1/29/2014	1.02 miles (swim) – 72 laps (25-yd pool)	approx. 50 minutes
1/31/2014	1.14 miles (swim) – 80 laps (25-yd pool)	approx. 1 hour
2/4/2014	0.57 miles (swim) – 40 laps (25-yd pool)	unknown
2/6/2014	1.02 miles (swim) – 72 laps (25-yd pool)	approx. 40 minutes
2/10/2014	1.02 miles (swim) – 72 laps (25-yd pool)	approx. 40 minutes
2/11/2014	3.11 miles (run)	30:55
2/21/2014	6.21 miles (run)	1:01:34
3/6/2014	6.21 miles (run)	58:45 (10K personal best)
3/11/2014	18.46 mile ride followed by 3.11 mile run	1:10:09 (bike)/30:40 (run)
3/21/2014	15.25 mile ride followed by 6.21 mile run	59:25 (bike)/1:05:14 (run)
3/27/2014	10 miles (run)	1:45:49
4/2/2014	3.11 miles (run)	26:51 (5K personal best)

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Update No. 4 – Back in training 2014: Preparing for a half-marathon & triathlon

Well, not much to report regarding my training for the Atlantic City International Triathlon, which I’ll be competing in on Sept. 14, 2014. (See the January 18 update and original post below for background information.)

I’m at the point where I’m basically swimming 72 laps—1.02 miles—in about 40 minutes, which is something I didn’t think I would be doing for at least another week or two when I started this. The unfortunate thing is that I’ve been doing it mostly with just my right arm the past couple of outings since straining my left shoulder a few laps into my final workout last week.

So far, I’ve been able to compensate by keeping my left-arm strokes a bit wide of my body, which seems to minimize any pain. I’m also adding more kicks for extra propulsion. However, that’s something I don’t really want to do in the triathlon since the one-mile swim will be followed by a 20-mile bike ride and a 10K (6.2-mile) run. I want to keep my legs as fresh as possible.

I also suspect that the pain is the result of a broken left clavicle I sustained in a cycling accident when I was a teenager. That never did heal exactly right and I have a slight protrusion near the junction of my neck and shoulder to prove it. That shoulder seems to have issues every now and then, and I’m just realizing that the clavicle may be what’s causing it—or, at least, augmenting the discomfort.

Anyway, this is throwing off my attempts to improve my technique and breathing, as I’m working much harder in the pool to compensate for the weakened state of my left shoulder rather than becoming more efficient with my strokes and breathing.

And, of course, I still need to get back on the roads for cycling and running sessions. It seems we may have a major snow storm coming our way later this week, but I may try to sneak in a run before that happens. Remember, in addition to the A.C. Triathlon, I’m also running in the Trenton Half-Marathon in November.

Please see the Training Tracker below to follow my major training swims, rides and runs.

1/18/2014 UPDATE:
Earlier this month (see original post below), I wrote about training for my first half-marathon, the Trenton (N.J.) Half-Marathon taking place Saturday, Nov. 8, 2014, and my other goal of reaching a target weight of 168 pounds.

Well, when I wrote that, I was also eyeing another ridiculously ambitious goal…competing and finishing in the Atlantic City International Triathlon on Sept. 14, 2014. However, I was still waiting to hear back from the organizers regarding a question about my bike. Well, I was given the information I needed and have officially registered for the event, which includes a one-mile swim, a 20-mile bike ride and a 10K (6.2-mile) run.

I’ve never done an official half-marathon before, but at least I’ve run 13.1 miles in training  so I know I can do it. I have completed a swim of around a mile, have ridden 20 miles on a bike many times before and have 6.2 miles several times. However, I am in no way ready to do all of these in sequence at one time, but I’m learning as fast as I can how to get myself trained and conditioned for it.

So I must revise the 2014 fitness goals I listed in the original post. They are now: 1) get weight down to (and stay at/near) 168 pounds, 2) complete the Atlantic City International Triathlon, and 3) complete the Trenton Half-Marathon.

Wow…when you write it all out, it looks daunting. What was I thinking? Oh well, nothing to do now but to get in shape and ready to compete.

At the bottom of each of these posts, you will find a training tracker so you can follow my progress.

Original Post – January 9, 2014:
Last year, I tracked my training for the Trenton 10K, which took place Saturday, Nov. 9, 2013. It was the first organized race I have run other than a 5K. I finished the Trenton 10K with a chip time of 59:46.399, and my goal was to finish in less than an hour…so mission accomplished.

But as I watched the half-marathon runners start their race that morning, I regretted not being more ambitious with my running goals. After finally shaking off a persistent head cold I came down with the day after the race, I mapped out a route and completed a test run of 13.1 miles in 2:27:27—and, admittedly, that included about a half-mile of walking.

Now that I know I can do it, I want to announce here that I have registered for the 2014 Trenton Half-Marathon, taking place Saturday, Nov. 8, 2014.

I also want to use this opportunity to finally get into the proverbial “best shape of my life”— a sports cliché used by so many aging veterans heading into training camp. The holidays and two bouts with colds have basically put me back to square one as far as conditioning is concerned, but next week I’m going to start getting serious about working out everyday and tracking my caloric intake. And, of course, I’ll be tracking my training runs here on the blog.

In addition to training for the half marathon, it is my goal to finally get down to 168 pounds, which means losing about 23 pounds. I had lost 35 pounds back in 2006 after a false heart disease scare, but my weight-loss efforts stalled at 173—leaving me five pounds shy of my goal. Unfortunately, I gained nearly all of the weight I lost back again within the following year and have only been able to lose about 10-15 pounds a couple of times since then.

So…those are my two main goals for 2014: 1) complete the Trenton Half Marathon, 2) get down (and stay at/near) 168 pounds.

Training Tracker
I’ll be posting updates on my progress here every so often. The table below includes my swim/bike/run distances and times during this training period:

Date	Swim/Bike/Run Distance	Time
12/5/2013	13.12 miles (run)	2:27:27 – longest distance run
1/24/2014	0.37 miles (swim) – 26 laps (25-yd pool)	approx. 30 minutes
1/27/2014	0.71 miles (swim) – 50 laps (25-yd pool)	approx. 40 minutes
1/29/2014	1.02 miles (swim) – 72 laps (25-yd pool)	approx. 50 minutes
1/31/2014	1.14 miles (swim) – 80 laps (25-yd pool)	approx. 1 hour
2/4/2014	0.57 miles (swim) – 40 laps (25-yd pool)	unknown
2/6/2014	1.02 miles (swim) – 72 laps (25-yd pool)	approx. 40 minutes
2/10/2014	1.02 miles (swim) – 72 laps (25-yd pool)	approx. 40 minutes

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Update No. 3 – Back in training 2014: Preparing for a half-marathon & triathlon

Just wanted to post a quick update on my training for the Atlantic City International Triathlon, which I’ll be competing in on Sept. 14, 2014. (See the January 18 update and original post below for background information.)

As I mentioned in my last update, I struggled during my first day in the pool at the local community college. The triathlon starts with a one-mile swim, which equates to roughly 70 1/2 laps in a 25-yard pool…but I barely made it through 26 laps that first time out. Granted, I knew I wasn’t going to swim a mile right out of the box, especially since my technique is terrible and my muscles aren’t conditioned for that kind of swimming.

However, I have been reading up and watching videos on proper swim technique (breathing, balance, stroke, etc.) and it’s already starting to pay off as I have quickly been able to increase the number of laps I am able to complete.

During my second time in the pool, on January 27, I completed 50 laps. Two days later, I successfully completed 72 laps–about 1.02 miles–in approximately 50 minutes (although I’m not too concerned about time right now). Granted, I was still taking frequent breaks and falling back into bad form, but I covered the distance. That was an important goal for me. It would be disastrous if I failed to complete the swim during the triathlon. At least I now know that I’m capable of swimming one mile, even if I have to take a short break or dial it down a bit at times.

Still, though, I need to continue getting stronger and more efficient in the pool. That will make my life a whole lot easier come September 14.

Hopefully, I’ll be able to get back to cycling and running in the next couple of weeks. I have to keep reminding myself that I’m also training for the Trenton Half-Marathon in November.

Please see the Training Tracker below to follow my major training swims, rides and runs.

1/18/2014 UPDATE:
Earlier this month (see original post below), I wrote about training for my first half-marathon, the Trenton (N.J.) Half-Marathon taking place Saturday, Nov. 8, 2014, and my other goal of reaching a target weight of 168 pounds.

Well, when I wrote that, I was also eyeing another ridiculously ambitious goal…competing and finishing in the Atlantic City International Triathlon on Sept. 14, 2014. However, I was still waiting to hear back from the organizers regarding a question about my bike. Well, I was given the information I needed and have officially registered for the event, which includes a one-mile swim, a 20-mile bike ride and a 10K (6.2-mile) run.

I’ve never done an official half-marathon before, but at least I’ve run 13.1 miles in training  so I know I can do it. I have completed a swim of around a mile, have ridden 20 miles on a bike many times before and have 6.2 miles several times. However, I am in no way ready to do all of these in sequence at one time, but I’m learning as fast as I can how to get myself trained and conditioned for it.

So I must revise the 2014 fitness goals I listed in the original post. They are now: 1) get weight down to (and stay at/near) 168 pounds, 2) complete the Atlantic City International Triathlon, and 3) complete the Trenton Half-Marathon.

Wow…when you write it all out, it looks daunting. What was I thinking? Oh well, nothing to do now but to get in shape and ready to compete.

At the bottom of each of these posts, you will find a training tracker so you can follow my progress.

Original Post – January 9, 2014:
Last year, I tracked my training for the Trenton 10K, which took place Saturday, Nov. 9, 2013. It was the first organized race I have run other than a 5K. I finished the Trenton 10K with a chip time of 59:46.399, and my goal was to finish in less than an hour…so mission accomplished.

But as I watched the half-marathon runners start their race that morning, I regretted not being more ambitious with my running goals. After finally shaking off a persistent head cold I came down with the day after the race, I mapped out a route and completed a test run of 13.1 miles in 2:27:27—and, admittedly, that included about a half-mile of walking.

Now that I know I can do it, I want to announce here that I have registered for the 2014 Trenton Half-Marathon, taking place Saturday, Nov. 8, 2014.

I also want to use this opportunity to finally get into the proverbial “best shape of my life”— a sports cliché used by so many aging veterans heading into training camp. The holidays and two bouts with colds have basically put me back to square one as far as conditioning is concerned, but next week I’m going to start getting serious about working out everyday and tracking my caloric intake. And, of course, I’ll be tracking my training runs here on the blog.

In addition to training for the half marathon, it is my goal to finally get down to 168 pounds, which means losing about 23 pounds. I had lost 35 pounds back in 2006 after a false heart disease scare, but my weight-loss efforts stalled at 173—leaving me five pounds shy of my goal. Unfortunately, I gained nearly all of the weight I lost back again within the following year and have only been able to lose about 10-15 pounds a couple of times since then.

So…those are my two main goals for 2014: 1) complete the Trenton Half Marathon, 2) get down (and stay at/near) 168 pounds.

Training Tracker
I’ll be posting updates on my progress here every so often. The table below includes my swim/bike/run distances and times during this training period:

Date	Swim/Bike/Run Distance	Time
12/5/2013	13.12 miles (run)	2:27:27 – longest distance run
1/24/2014	0.37 miles (swim) – 26 laps (25-yd pool)	approx. 30 minutes
1/27/2014	0.71 miles (swim) – 50 laps (25-yd pool)	approx. 40 minutes
1/29/2014	1.02 miles (swim) – 72 laps (25-yd pool)	approx. 50 minutes

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Update No. 2 – Back in training 2014: Preparing for a half-marathon & triathlon

With snow and ice covering much of the cycling/running surfaces and temperatures below or near freezing for a significant period of time here in central New Jersey, I have started concentrating on preparing for the swim component of the Atlantic City International Triathlon, which I’ll be competing in on Sept. 14. (See the January 18 update and original post below for background information.)

All I can say is…I, like many first-time triathletes, completely underestimated how tough the one-mile swim is going to be. I used the 25-yard pool at the local community college for the first time last week and needed to break for a bit after just three laps. I need to get to 71 laps to cover a mile (actually 70 1/2 laps). I wound up struggling through 26 laps during my swim time that first day…and felt completely exhausted for the next hour or so.

The good news is a) it was only my first time training in the pool, and b) I was not employing any proper swimming technique. I just wanted to activate, so to speak, the upper body and core muscles necessary for competitive swimming.

I’ve read up and watched videos on proper swim technique (breathing, balance, stroke, etc.) so I’m going to work on that this coming week to make myself a stronger, more efficient swimmer. I have to be in order to get to the cycling (20 miles) and running (10K/6.2 miles) components of the event.

Please see the Training Tracker below to follow my major training swims, rides and runs.

1/18/2014 UPDATE:
Earlier this month (see original post below), I wrote about training for my first half-marathon, the Trenton (N.J.) Half-Marathon taking place Saturday, Nov. 8, 2014, and my other goal of reaching a target weight of 168 pounds.

Well, when I wrote that, I was also eyeing another ridiculously ambitious goal…competing and finishing in the Atlantic City International Triathlon on Sept. 14, 2014. However, I was still waiting to hear back from the organizers regarding a question about my bike. Well, I was given the information I needed and have officially registered for the event, which includes a one-mile swim, a 20-mile bike ride and a 10K (6.2-mile) run.

I’ve never done an official half-marathon before, but at least I’ve run 13.1 miles in training  so I know I can do it. I have completed a swim of around a mile, have ridden 20 miles on a bike many times before and have 6.2 miles several times. However, I am in no way ready to do all of these in sequence at one time, but I’m learning as fast as I can how to get myself trained and conditioned for it.

So I must revise the 2014 fitness goals I listed in the original post. They are now: 1) get weight down to (and stay at/near) 168 pounds, 2) complete the Atlantic City International Triathlon, and 3) complete the Trenton Half-Marathon.

Wow…when you write it all out, it looks daunting. What was I thinking? Oh well, nothing to do now but to get in shape and ready to compete.

At the bottom of each of these posts, you will find a training tracker so you can follow my progress.

Original Post – January 9, 2014:
Last year, I tracked my training for the Trenton 10K, which took place Saturday, Nov. 9, 2013. It was the first organized race I have run other than a 5K. I finished the Trenton 10K with a chip time of 59:46.399, and my goal was to finish in less than an hour…so mission accomplished.

But as I watched the half-marathon runners start their race that morning, I regretted not being more ambitious with my running goals. After finally shaking off a persistent head cold I came down with the day after the race, I mapped out a route and completed a test run of 13.1 miles in 2:27:27—and, admittedly, that included about a half-mile of walking.

Now that I know I can do it, I want to announce here that I have registered for the 2014 Trenton Half-Marathon, taking place Saturday, Nov. 8, 2014.

I also want to use this opportunity to finally get into the proverbial “best shape of my life”— a sports cliché used by so many aging veterans heading into training camp. The holidays and two bouts with colds have basically put me back to square one as far as conditioning is concerned, but next week I’m going to start getting serious about working out everyday and tracking my caloric intake. And, of course, I’ll be tracking my training runs here on the blog.

In addition to training for the half marathon, it is my goal to finally get down to 168 pounds, which means losing about 23 pounds. I had lost 35 pounds back in 2006 after a false heart disease scare, but my weight-loss efforts stalled at 173—leaving me five pounds shy of my goal. Unfortunately, I gained nearly all of the weight I lost back again within the following year and have only been able to lose about 10-15 pounds a couple of times since then.

So…those are my two main goals for 2014: 1) complete the Trenton Half Marathon, 2) get down (and stay at/near) 168 pounds.

Training Tracker
I’ll be posting updates on my progress here every so often. The table below includes my swim/bike/run distances and times during this training period:

Date	Swim/Bike/Run Distance	Time
12/5/2013	13.12 miles (run)	2:27:27 – longest distance run
1/24/2014	0.37 miles (swim) – 26 laps (25-yd pool)	approx. 30 minutes

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