Scott Gibson's Ironman Journey

Non-training day for Memorial Day weekend.

Great 5 mile run tonight! Along with having more endurance, I am really noticing how quickly my heart rate returns to normal after I am done exercising.

As I am getting more in shape, it is interesting how I now look forward to workouts instead of viewing them as something I ‘have’ to do.

A big weekend planned for Memorial Day and its going to be a big test for me.  I think I will be able to eat smartly, but I will probably go ahead an enjoy the adult beverages and celebrate a great 5 week start towards my Ironman goal.  I should also have the opportunity to get in a little swimming in Lake Lanier.

It was tough getting in a work out today.   Dawn is out of town and I am a single parent for a few days.

Wanted to take another night off, but I know if I start to make excuses I will only make them more often.  I was happy that I forced myself to at least do an hour, consisting of 30 mins on the bike and 30 mins on the treadmill.

For the record, it is noticeably harder going from the bike to the treadmill vs. the treadmill to the bike.  Leaving the bike for the treadmill makes my legs feel like lead until I get going for a few minutes.  I guess I need to get used to that since transition 2 in the Ironman goes from the bike to the marathon.

Going to give another supplement a try that seems to have a lot of good reviews.  It’s called SportLegs and it is really designed to help with endurance in the legs.

Skipped the work out today to run Dawn to the airport for a family emergency.

While this blog is primarily to talk about my journey getting ready for  Ironman Florida in November, I do have to start this off by giving my wife a bit of recognition.

Over the past 5 years or so, she has definitely been more health conscious than I have, and has always worked out in some fashion or another.  After I started my journey, she also decided to kick it into high gear and started getting more serious about getting back into shape.

Without question, she is currently in way better shape than I am, and proved it today by doing an awesome 9 mile run in about 1.5 hours.  Does she rock or what?

I am definitely seeing some gains of my own, but not quite ready to run 9 miles non-stop.  I did another 20 min bike ride around then neighborhood (hills suck by the way), then 40 mins on the treadmill, and finished up with an hour on the exercise bike.  A very nice 2 hours of working out and I actually feel great.  Forcing myself to keep the resistance high on the bike and trying to get that deep burn for as long as I can take it.

As I projected from my mid-week weigh-ins, I did have a weight gain this week and I am truly baffled as to how that happened.  Dawn and I watch the Biggest Loser and I was always curious how those people could possibly gain weight when they are doing nothing but eating right and working out…now I know.  I really watched what I ate and worked out consistently.

Weight loss was a big focus to start, but I have decided to not put any thought into it any more.  While I will still keeping weighing myself and carefully watching what I eat, I have to put my training first…the weight will naturally follow, even if it doesn’t come off as fast as I would like.

Now that I am 4 weeks in, I will be incorporating bricks into my training.  Shifting between the treadmill and the exercise bike is a simple version, but I need to get some swim time in as well.

The 4 week break-in period is over…time to get serious!

Current Weight: 205.3 lbs
Weekly Weight Gain: 2.0 lbs
Total Weight Loss: 11.7 lbs

My energy and strength came back today and had a good workout.  30 minutes on the treadmill then an hour on the bike really worked up a good sweat.

I am expecting to either have no weigh-loss or possibly a slight weight-gain this week.  While I am making great strides in endurance and energy, the weight is coming off much slower than I hoped.  Guess that’s what I should have expected for being 37 years old vs. 22.

Today was a rest day.  Enjoyed some time with the family and just chilled out.

Tonight was a real mix of workouts.  Started with 20 mins on the real bike, then another 20 mins on the treadmill, but after the knee started feeling tight, moved to the cycle machine for 45 mins.  Finished off with about 30 mins of yoga and strength exercises on the Wii Fit.

Seem to be hitting a wall with weight loss even though I am working out and eating right the same way I have from the beginning.  I have to keep pushing though…I know the weight loss will come, but I am so anxious to get below 200.

So the verdict is in on creatine…FAIL!

I think there was a slight placebo effect at first, but over the past 2 days, I have noticed that my endurance has decreased, if anything, and I feel like my legs are made of lead even after having a rest day.

Rode the bike around the neighborhood for about 20 mins and it is still uncomfortable, but I could tell there was improvement.  Just going to keep at it as I am confident it will get better.

After my ride, jumped on the treadmill for about 50 mins and it wasn’t one of my better workouts.  As I mentioned, I felt like I had very little energy and had to stop a couple of times.  I have actually been eating more lately so I really feel it must be the creatine.

It would seem that Dawn and I have a silent competition going on right now as to who can get in shape quicker.  She is definitely more fit than I am right now and could totally kick my butt in a run, but I think in another month I will be able catch up.  It’s kinda nice having something we’re working on together.

Finally picked up the bike today and I am really looking forward to some cycling.

The setup process took about an hour and it was definitely worth it.  I will say that the biggest thing to get used to is going to be the seat.  After riding for about 45 mins during the fitting and about 15 mins when I got home, I must say that my nether-regions are a little sore.  While certainly expected, I will just need to get some ride time to get my body used to the seat.

I made yet another commitment today….I signed up for the half-ironman (called a 70.3) in Augusta on Sept 27th.  All the details about the event are at http://www.ironmanaugusta.com.  I think it will be a great way to get prepared for the full deal 5 weeks later.  Anyone want to join me?