Week Totals - Ironman Week 8

3/24/2008 - Bike 1:49:58, 32.21 miles
3/25/2008 - Swim 2,300m; Run 45:03, 6.50 miles
3/26/2008 - Bike 1:10:00, 22.36 miles
3/27/2008 - Swim 1,800m; Run 50:00, 6.40 miles
3/28/2008 - Off Day!
3/29/2008 - Swim 3,600m; Bike 4:07:02, 74 miles; Run (brick) 15:01, 1.80 miles
3/30/2008 - Run 1:31:47, 12 miles

Total Distance:
Swim: 7,700 meters (4.81 miles)
Run: 26.7 miles
Bike: 128.57 miles

I had a pretty steady week. My bike ride was set for Sunday, but the forecast was not looking good. Saturday was nearly 65+ degrees so I went out on my long ride on Saturday. I swam early in the morning, came home and ate a good breakfast. I waited awhile so my food could digest. I made it out just before noon.

I got two flat tires along the way. Yuck. One more and I would have been sunk. I only care 2 tubes with me. I made it from Chery Creek Reservoir to Chatfield Reservoir. Its about 35 miles each way. I thought I was going to need a nap afterwards, but I was doing pretty good.

My long run on Sunday was fantastic. I ran to Cherry Creek Reservoir and did some trail running. I ran in the marsh/swam areas. I really enjoyed myself. The temperature outside was almost perfect. I would have prefered it to be a little warmer.

New Design

I decided to change the style of my blog. I did a Google search on blog templates and I changed my blog. I found a really neat triathlon template, but it didn't seem compatible with blogger. I hope you enjoy!

I had an article published in the YourHub section in the Rocky Mountain News. I was pretty happy to see my "Yield to Bicycles" post printed. There was a huge mispelling though. It was supposed to say "green light" not green like. Oh well.

Week Totals - Ironman Week 7

3/17/2008 - Off Day!
3/18/2008 - Swim 2,500m
3/19/2008 - Bike 59:29, 14.13 miles; Run1: 23:06, 2.96; Run2: 42:24, 6.66 miles; Run3: 24:52, 2.90 miles (Total Run 1:30:25, 12.52 miles)
3/20/2008 - Run 30:18, 3.39 miles; Bike 1:51:32, 29.44 miles
3/21/2008 - Swim 2,800m; Bike 3:28:29, 57.48 miles, Run 14:41, 1.91 miles
3/22/2008 - Swim 2,200m; Bike 2:42:29, 45.24 miles, Run 12:28, 1.25 miles
3/23/2008 - Run 35:39, 4.62 miles

Total Distance:
Swim: 7,500 meters (4.69 miles)
Run: 23.69 miles
Bike: 146.29 miles

Yield to Bicycles

The challenged athletes foundation is an organization that helps injured athletes become competitive is sports again. This usually consists of them providing prosthetic legs, arms, racing wheelchairs, etc.

How are many athletes injured. Tricia Downing, who spoke at my From Tragedy to Triumph Program, was injured because she collided into a vehicle. She was ejected from her bicycle and flew in the air. Just imagine what kind of damage this can do.

Cars are crazy. Some don't even yield to pedestrians or cyclists; even if they have the cross walk sign. To prove my point just a little more. Here is goes: During my lunch break yesterday I decided to go out for my workout. Today was a different day. My workout plan said "60 minutes, Mountain Bike, Have fun!"

The trail near my work has been under construction. What other choices do you have if you want to get from point A to point B? My plan was to go from work to home, change socks and shoes and ride back to work. I had to ride the busy "Chambers Rd" for a good portion of this trip because there is no other options. There is a sidewalk to whole way. I came up to Yale Ave, up from a hill. I saw a blue van stopped at a red light looking to turn left. There was a sign that said "yield to all pedestrians and bicyclists". It was a green like for me and I saw the "Walk" sign for me to cross. I started to cross, the van didn't see me a proceeded to go. I smashed right into the van. Just like a bug flying into a windshield "splat".

My bike was a little messed up, but I just had to re-adjust the front steering and seat. My jacket was torn a little and I had a few scrapes, cuts, bruises. We exchanged info and I rode the bike the rest of the way home. I spent too much time at home, but rode back to work.

My arm and body is sore. I had a tough track workout yesterday. I ran 3 miles to the track, 8x800's with 400 recovery lap. I then ran back home for 3 miles. I am not sure if my whole body is sore for the 12.5 miles running or the collision? I guess I will never know.

Colorado has a bill called "right-of-way" bill, that is going through the legislature. Currently the fines and consequences are not stiff enough and have to be changed. This bill will make a huge difference. The minimum fine will no longer be $10. Yes that is right.

Please be careful while you are out there on the road; riding or driving. It will be my goal now to advocate driving/cyclist safety. I have already contacted the local congress and State Governer to share my story and make sure this law gets passed.

My Journey Update

There is certainly not enough time to do things. I have tons of stuff to post of my blog. Here is a re-cap of my week.

From Tragedy to Triumph Library Program

I have been planning the library program for quite a while now, since at least October. I originally thought this was going to be a fundraiser event, but since I work for the Library I was unable to collect money.

The event had two outstanding speakers. Tricia Downing, a paraplegic Triathlete and Jason Regier, Denver Wheelchair Rugby Member. Each shared their stories and told the audience about how they overcame a tragedy in life. They shared stories about themselves and their involvement with sports and the community.

Check it out:

Aurora Sentinel (This explains the event in more detail)

Aurora 8 (Video)
Westword Magazine

My Fox 31 News

The Denver Channel 7

YourHub

My Charity (Challenged Athletes Foundation)

I started the Janus Charity Challenge several weeks ago because I want to help out the Challenged Athletes Foundation (CAF). It was a hard decision to make because it is always hard to ask others for donations. I have raised a total of $315. My goal is set at $500. Please donate if you can. Thanks.
http://januscharitychallenge.kintera.org/cda08/ericgreene

My New Toy
I received a new HP iPAQ (pocket pc). What a cool toy to have. Nicole asks me a question and if I don't know it...let's google it. I am really seeing how this could get me into trouble. I must not do this too many times. The iPAQ was purchased from work. I am now becoming better organized at home and work. No more missing meetings, deadlines, emails, etc. No excuses

Calorie Count Update
I have been doing pretty good with counting calories. My initial goal was to reach 3,500 calories. That is extremely tough and almost impossible. Let me take that back. Not impossible if you eat tons of "junk food". I have come close to 3,000 almost every day. Some days over, some days under. I need to consume nearly double than what my wife should be consuming. Nicole is counting calories which helps because I am not alone.

Less than 100 Days

The count is now at 96 Days. The weeks just go by and training is going great. I got sick on Thursday which only slowed me down for one bike ride. Less than 100 days should scare me, but I get more excited just thinking about my race. It is getting tougher to plan those long runs and ride, but than again...it seems the same

Denver Harlequins Quad Rugby Match

Nicole and I went to watch the Denver Harlequins Quad Rugby playoff games on Sunday. We went just after church and watched 2 games. The best game was Denver vs. Texas. There was a pretty big crowd and lots of excitement. The crashes, scoring, screaming and more made the match awesome. I wanted to see Jason, mentioned above, in action. Checkout their website http://quadrugby.harlequins.org/ for more information.

Week Totals - Ironman Week 6

3/10/2008 - Bike 1:10:14, 20.46 miles
3/11/2008 - Run 40:22, 6.0 miles; Swim 2,300m;
3/12/2008 - Off
3/13/2008 - Swim 3,250m; Run 1:16:32, 9.98 miles
3/14/2008 - Sick - Day off
3/15/2008 - Swim 4,200m; Run 1:28:04, 10.75 miles
3/16/2008 - Bike 3:00:22, 50.87 miles

Total Distance:
Swim: 9,750 meters (6.09 miles)
Run: 26.73 miles
Bike: 71.33 miles

What is a Calorie?

This is a good question. We can see calories on almost any food product. Some are tougher than others. Vegetables, fruits, produce, meats, etc. don't have the calories on the package. What on earth would you do if you wanted to count them??

Think of calories as energy. Food calories listed on packages are known as a kilocalories. When we exercise fitness charts show that we burn 100 calories for every mile we jog. The faster you run, the more calories you burn. If you run slower, you will burn few calories.

Here is a Caloric Breakdown:

1 g Carbohydrates: 4 calories
1 g Protein: 4 calories
1 g Fat: 9 calories

Our bodies can burn calories by a metabolic processes where enzymes break carbs into sugars, the fats into glycerol, fatty acids and proteins into amino acids. The process is finished by the rest broken into smaller bits and flows through your bloodstreams cells. It's mixed with oxygen to release the stored energy.

How many calories do we need to intake. So many people have so many responses. The daily average is set at 2,000. Height, weight, gender and exercise level can make a big difference in this amount.

How do you loose/gain weight? If you take in more calories than you burn, you will gain weight. If you take less calories than you burn, you will loose weight. Is that it? 3,500 calories equals one pound of fat. If you exercise more and eat less your one pound of fat is converted into energy and poof...the one pound is gone.. Cya.

The amount of exercise is important. The quality of exercise can make a big difference too. There are tons of charts to help gage how many calories you can burn.

Resources:
http://health.howstuffworks.com/calorie.htm

Week Totals - Ironman Week 5

3/3/2008 - Bike 35:04, 8.73 miles; Run 20:00, 2.34 miles
3/4/2008 - Swim 2,000m; Run 25:06, 3.05 miles
3/5/2008 - Bike 50:00, 14.16 miles, Run 30:05, 4 miles
3/6/2008 - Swim 2,900m (2 workouts today); Bike 1:20:01, 19.96 miles
3/7/2008 - Off Day!
3/8/2008 - Swim 1,800m; Bike 2:24:22, 43.99 milse
3/9/2008 - Run 1:10:01, 9.24 miles, 7:35/pace, .29 miles walk/cool down

Total Distance:
Swim: 6,700 meters (4.19 miles)
Run: 18.63 miles
Bike: 86.84 miles

Running Old

I want to be like this guy when I grow up.

A great article was written a few days ago. He Sings, He Runs and He's Only101. Buster Marin drinks, smokes and runs. I am not sure about the drinking and smoking, but I want to be running when I am 101.

Buster's so famous in England, that a beer was named after him, "Buster Beer". That's pretty ironic because my fantasy baseball nickname is "Beer Busters".

How long do you want to be running or doing triathlons? Sister Madonna Buder is doing triathlons at the age of 76.

Week Totals - Ironman Week 4

2/25/2008 - Off Day!
2/26/2008 - Swim 1,500m 5x100 (2:06, 2:03.11, 2:01.93, 2:03.11, 2:01.93); Run 1:00:00, 8 miles, 920 Calories (3 mile repeats 6:17, 6:22, 6:02)
2/27/2008 - Bike 1:09:22, 19.80 miles
2/28/2008 - Swim 2,500m straight swim 58:21.82 (200m split avg: 4:40.95 ), Run 30:13, 3.71 miles
2/29/2008 - Run 40:00, 5.46 miles; Bike 55:01, 14.71 miles
3/1/2008 - Bike 3:48:06, 62.55 miles
3/2/2008 - Swim 2,500m 5x200 free(3:58.83, 3:54.77, 3:51.69, 3:51.18, 3:58.40); Run - Trophy Series Race 3 miles - 19:23, 3.06 miles, 6:20/mile; Run 19:37 Cool Down, 1.99 miles

Total Distance:
Swim: 6,500 meters (4.06 miles)
Run: 22.22 miles
Bike: 97.06 miles

I had another great week. The bike miles went up because of my long saturday ride. I had two good 3 miles (time trial like runs). One was 18:43 and the other was 19:23. The first one was on a treadmill and the second was on snow.

The 2,500m straight swim was a great workout because it gave me a great idea where I am at and what I need to work on. I was satisfied with my average 200m split at 4:40.95. This will improve once I have my wetsuit on.

My Saturday long bike ride was probably too long. I was only supposed to go out for an hour, but ended up at 3:48. It was a nice day. I met Nicole at church afterwards. I got two flat tires at the very end. Hint: Never ride on sidewalks!! I averaged 16.4mph for the entire ride. My max speed was 41.8mph.

RMRR Trophy Series - Crown Hill Park

Today was a winter weather land race. It was so nice yesterday. It reached 74 degrees, but extremely windy. I took advantage of the weather. I rode my bike for 3:47:00. That was pretty awesome. I rode with the Front Rangers who are a cycling group for teenagers and young adults. The age range is 15-22 (or so). I don't fit in with the group, but I rode with them by a recommendation from the Bicycle Village store manager.

I rode and rode and rode. I was only supposed to ride for 1:15, but I figure I would get some good riding in while I can.

I woke up early this morning to a big mess. It snowed an inch or two and was still going. I woke up early enough to eat my "race day oatmeal" and took off. I left with plenty of time to spare. I was close to an accident. I bumped the curb and got past the car. I hope my car is alright.

This month's RMRR trophy series race was at Crown Hill Park. This race is a total of 3 miles. I ran the race last year at 18:39. It was nice weather and I pushed it hard. This year's goal was to race against my current handicap time which was 18:59.

Despite all the snow and slush I came really close to my predict time. We all started at the same time and I was in 2nd most of the way. I couldn't make a break and pass Scott ahead of me. Scott finished about 10-15 seconds before me. My total time this year was 19:23. That was pretty darn good for all the snow. I might have done such a well job that I might receive a ribbon??

After the run, 5-6 of us went another loop around the park. I was glad because I got my 35 min of running in. Afterwards my feet were soaked. They were unthawed but wet. The shoelaces were frozen. There were about 12 of us who went to Village Inn afterwards. I got some Chili and coffee. Guess what I did afterwards? I went to the pool and swam 2,500 meters. My average 200m was awesome today. I was under 4:00 for everyone!!! Very cool.

I really needed a nap afterwards, but I went to a Library "Wagging Tales" event and JcPennys. Nicole and I went to church a little later and that's it. Time to work on dinner and call it a night.