What I am using to track my heart rate.

I can tell you this, if you want to take your outdoor workouts to the next level, the Mio Quest is the way to do it.  I have been using the GPS enabled watch for the past three weeks. It takes a little getting used to, but after looking over the instructions you will on your way, and out the door in no time.  The Quest has Waypoints, which are locations you can save.  After saving the location you can then rename it for easy access for locations you wish to return to later.  The watch uses chest strap to gather your heart rate too. 




I have been using to track my workouts, the Mio Quest.  The heart rate monitor with GPS is able to be downloaded and information can be then uploaded to MapMyRun. 

Waiting for what?

I am in training for a half-ironman distance race in late October here in Arizona.  I have started the training before even signing up.  I know a lot of age-groupers don't normally start training for a race until they have dropped money on the entry fee.  I don't expect the race registration to close with its limit of athletes.  I still feel the pressure in training without registering just yet.  Late October will be here before I know it, and with the 113 degree days we have been having here I wish it would come sooner.  For the race, I am looking to improve my time from 2008. 
Training over the weekend was good. I took a different bike course on Saturday morning.  I felt like the hills I normally ride were getting old.  I have started more of an intense core workout, letting the light weight workouts slip.  I really need to start those back up again. 

Moving right along

This week my swimming came together.  Time in the pool just seem to fly by.  Focused on drills in the pool and looking forward to scheduling a few open water swims in the new few weeks.
I have one more weekend of testing my sweat rate and should have that all figured out.  This weekends training schedule has a 30 mile ride and 6 mile run.  Will need to get out of bed just a little bit earlier, as the temperature is pretty hot after the sun is up.  Nutrition with my PowerBar Strawberry Crunch protein bars is working out well as my pre-ride/workout energy.

Start of week two, and finding my sweat rate

Last weekend for my training I focused on my hydration. I  looked up sweat rate chart to help me figure out what I need to replace.  During a just over two hour ride I lost two pounds, or 1 percent of my body weight.  To replace what I lost sweating I needed to replace it by drinking 61 ounces of liquid an hour.  I have been using just water to hydrate with in my bottles on the bike, letting the electrolytes in my PowerBar gels and gel Blasts do their job.  I might take the test again this next weekend.  The weather was cooler so I think I might have not been sweating as much.  Run/Swim brick tonight.

Week one almost done

Almost through the first week of training and it is going smooth. I am still struggling with my hydration.
My swim Thursday night, .71 o of a mile was great. Turned on the H2O Audio and off I went. During the swims I worked on full pulls and bilateral breathing and focused on my position in the water. Waking up I was a little tight this morning, a little stretching and its gone.
Looking forward to some great workouts this weekend.

Let the training begin

Last week I got in just over 125 miles in on the bike during training, only to finish it off Sunday with a flat tire just under a mile away from my house. After taking out the tube in my tire, I found a piece of brown glass that worked its way through the tire and eventually punctured the tube. Fixed it pretty quickly and was back on the road home. Over the past week I have learned in just my recovery on how much I need to increase my fluid intake on the bike and just in general day to day.
Today, June 13, starts my training program for a half-iron distance race in late October. The training pretty much has me going five days a week, with two rest days. I am looking forward to the training I will do and trying to follow this plan as closely as I can.

More comfort in the water

For some, custom Orthotics are the key to helping their feet and knees. For me, I have been wearing H2O Audio's underwater iPod case during swim workouts in the pool for well over two-years now. It was not until recently I had been having difficulty with them staying in my ears as I swim. The headphones are great, don't get me wrong, I just needed a little better fit. I found out from some great friends over at Gold Canyon Hearing, is that my ear canals are very small and awkward shaped. They were able to help me out by starting off with making custom ear molds taken in their office. They were able then to have made custom earphones made from the molds. AWESOME! is really all I can say. Come to find out, for those not wanting to listen to music but just keep water out of your ears during swimming, they can also make custom ear plugs made. If the ear plug should ever come out while swimming (which it should not, its made to fit your ear) they float! If your in need of help, look them up Gold Canyon Hearing, located in Gold Canyon, Arizona. Tell Mark or Lisa, owners of the family owned business, I sent you.

Hope everyone can "hear" me when I say this!

Its no secret, but some out there are not aware of a great tool when it comes to swimming. I have been using the H2O Audio set up for my iPod for over two years now. With training looking to increase, for half-iron distance training, in the pool I will be using it more often. I would say the invention of the iPod is great, but the H2O Audio cases and headphones improved it. Time spent looking at the black line on the bottom of the pool or listening to bubbles going by your ears can really get boring after awhile. The first time I used my set up I instantly fell in love with it, having then to worry about keeping my iPod charged so my workouts would be flawless. I am looking at adding more great music to my iPod to keep the training going and putting together some high energy playlists.