Wrestling

I woke up at 2:30 am today, wrestling in my mind with the coming year. Do I try to do my Ironman in 2010 or not. After some deep soul searching I have decided that I will wait until 2011 for Ironman. 2010 will be a year of focusing on burning off my excess weight, which I absolutely must get rid of. I am at peace with this decision and am now getting excited about the upcoming year.

I think this is the focus I need and will be the most beneficial for me. Long and slow does not burn my fat, I will be doing high intensity during the week and long and slow on the weekends.










My race goals for 2010 will be to complete two half ironman distance races and knock off 3 or 4 more states. I’m looking at VikingMan in June, which would take care of Idaho, then RedMan in September, which would take care of Oklahoma. Hopefully I can do some sprints or Olys in nearby states such as New Mexico, Utah, or Wyoming in my quest to race in all 50 sates (5 down, 45 to go). I will do Glenwood Springs which is a must every year, a celebration of my new life.

Thursday I am off to Tempe to watch Brandy, Andy, Molly, Sarah, Suzy, Cheryl, Barbara, Karla, Tammy, Jeff, Delinda and others do IM AZ, what fun! Blogger party at Andy's! I will be doing body marking with Melissa and then will enjoy the day with Staci. Oh yes!

Interesting - I Am Intriqued

"Fat, sugar, and salt-especially when combined, interact with the opioid circuits in the brain, which causes us to consume more of the substance that triggered the reaction. Think about potato chips. You don't think of them as having sugar, but the simple sugars in the potato covered with fat and topped with salt are a deadly chemical combination that triggers an insatiable desire to consume all of the potato chips. The same thing happens with tortilla chips or bread. You can't even tell when you are satiated, because the combination of the fat, sugar, and salt overrides the ability for the body to create satiety signals to get you to stop eating." (from The End of Overeating, D. Kessler)

Now I can certainly relate to the bread thing. There have been many times I have devoured piece after piece and was still starving.

Do foods layered with salt, fat and sugar really trigger the pleasure centers of our brains, releasing opioids that cause us to lose control and overeat? (paraphrase).

I just went Paleo on Monday, so it will be interesting to be away from those foods and see what happens!

Ironman Arizona and Next Year

I am going down to Tempe to watch friends race and for that I am happy, but it will be bitter sweet since I am not racing. It will be good to hang with friends and meet new ones for the first time, but I think I will be very conflicted. I have gone up and down in depression since dropping out. The first six weeks were hell, then I got better, now I am in a deep funk. I hope this reactivates me.

I am volunteering (body marking) but I am not signing up for next year. My plan is to focus on weight loss and shooting for a 1/2 IM distance June 5th - VikingMan. At that point, if my weight is where I need it to be and if my training has helped me get through my first 1/2 IM, I will sign up for a community slot for AZ (if there are any left). If not, maybe RedMan in September.

Coaching? I am looking for a new coach. Any referrals would be appreciated!

Elk Hunting 2009

Well, no elk this year, but we had a great time! Becca and I drove to Meeker and met up with Adam and Melissa and we all headed to elk camp. This year there were only the four of us (we were missing Joe, Tyler, Kyle, Greg, Ron, and Kelly).

The weather was fantastic, we saw two moose, some big horn sheep, turkey, deer, and that beautiful Colorado landscape . . majestic green forests punctuated with the golden shimmer of quaking aspens, the clear blue sky dotted with an occasional puffy white cloud drifting lazily by, the fresh scent of pine floating on crisp zepyhrs though the meadows with a backdrop of snow-capped peaks. Heaven! And of course, hanging with Becca, my sweetie! Enjoy!

CAF

Want to help me raise some cash for challenged athletes? Maybe you could donate just $1 or $2, or maybe even $3? By helping me reach my goal of $500, you will help people with physical challenges realize their dreams. Your donation will go to the Challenged Athletes Foundation, an incredible 501(c)3 non-profit organization that provides funding and inspiration to hundreds of physically challenged athletes each year so they can participate, compete and live life to the fullest.

If you would like to donate, please go here: Donate

Thank you for your support,
Duane

In the Doldrums

Nothing to train for, nothing on the schedule. Hmmm. Volunteering at IM AZ and focusing on weight loss but I still need events!

Maybe the Jingle Bell Tri in December, maybe a 100 mile bike ride by January (if it doesn't snow too much), something else?

Ideas anyone? And I desperately need help redesigning this blog! Anyone game?

Glenwood Race Report

Well, I have mixed emotions over this race. But first, as far as the weekend goes, it was great as Becca and Kelly were my sherpas. I love my girls and hanging with them is fun. They even are getting along! LOL!

Kelly won our annual putt-putt golf outing (AGAIN!). Redemption shall be mine! (Becca in foreground)

And of course Kelly is never without her IPOD.


Now for the race. Of course I should be happy I finished. That is always nice, but I wanted to smash my time and I did not.

THE SWIM (825 meters): On the swim I felt strong and fast and was passing people and even drafted a couple times but my time shows I was full 27:11 AND I was penalized 5 minutes for not being out in 25:00. Two other athletes were penalized 5 minutes, but there were 7 others who were not, yes I earned the 5 minutes but I think fairness needs to be applied here. Not a big deal, but still. On a good note, there were 5-6 athletes still in the pool behind me so that was nice for a change :-)

T1: 4:09, getting better.

THE BIKE (15 miles):Started out strong, was cruising about 23 MPH as it is slightly down hill and them my bike computer stopped working and I didn't know my speeds the rest of the time. One lady would pass me on the uphills going about 2-3 mph faster than me, then I would blow by her on the down hill where i was screaming fast (well, for me anyway!) We passed each other back and forth several times, then we hit the turn around and mile 7.5 and started the slight climb back into town. Here was where my hopes of killing my bike time were dashed. Mile 7.5 through about mile 12 are in the narrow part of the canyon and the wind is compressed and it was howling! I slowed way down and was pushing hard. Even the fast guys were grinding hard. By the time I got to t2, my thighs were screaming! I only chopped off 5:25 from my bike time, I was shooting for 20. Pete says that is good considering the conditions, but I am still a bit disappointed. Ok, more than a bit.

T2: 1:58 (Now that I like!)

THE RUN:My thighs were toast. I headed out and knew I would finish but I knew I would be slow. I ran more on this than any other tri I have done, at least a mile, maybe another quarter. Becca and Kelly were waiting for me a about 100 yds before the finish line and promptly told me to get my butt running! So I ran in and ended up doing the five miles in 1:48:41, not what I was aiming for.

TOTAL TIME: 3:48:12. Chopped off a whole 39 seconds for a new PR. Doesn't seem like a PR. I think the whole eight months of trying to train for IM and not losing weight still has me in a funk. And obviously at this weight, I could never do an IM, it took me almost 4 hours to do a sprint! Argh!

The race is still fun, the directors run a good show, the swag always has a really nice long sleeve workout shirt (drymax kind of stuff) and you even get a pass to the Hot Springs which Kelly and I enjoyed very much! I still intend to go back and smash my PR next year, I WILL be under 2:45! Pics hopefully tomorrow!

I was interviewed by the local paper, check this out: Story

And congrats to Mike and Jenny Wimmer(they really showed toughness yesterday by finishing), Chris Lopez, Laura Nyhaus, and Triboomer!