BRYAN 2.0

My calf was messed up, and I couldn't run, but I didn't want to do something.  I was exhausted and didn't want to work out, so I napped. When I woke up around 8:45 p.m., I felt much more motivated to work out. I knew that if I didn't, it would be a slippery slope.  This workout focused on my legs. I've not done any leg weight lifting. I went to LA Fitness, and if there was a leg machine, I used it, including my calves.  After I did that workout, I decided to try the elliptical. I couldn't run, but I was able to do the elliptical without my calf hurting. It was a win.  This afternoon, I had a massage, the first in a long time. I figured that the massage could help loosen my calf and upper back. It turns out it was the worst massage I've ever had, and I'm an expert. I've had a lot of massages.  The person giving the massage had me waiting at the table for 15 minutes. Then, she didn't even do every body part and focused on areas that were not an iss...

I woke up this morning motivated to lift weights. I headed downstairs and started cranking it. I lifted as heavy as I could to get a pump. I wasn't worried about hurting myself. I felt strong. I'm feeling like a new, revived person.  After lifting, I did five core exercises. I'm starting to realize how important it is to strengthen my core. I should be stretching as well, but I haven't yet gotten that level of motivation. I need to get that motivation. I know I need to start stretching regularly. I have this intuitive feeling that my calf issue is caused by knots in my left calf, and stretching should help that.  This afternoon was bike-fitting day. I found a local chiropractor who offers bike fittings. I wasn't sure what to expect or if he was any good. When I put my bike in the car, I noticed the hub skewers were not like the ones I'm used to. They are flat on the end and wouldn't work with a stationary bike trainer, which is needed to do a bike fit.  I wa...

Monday is an easy workout day; it's only an hour of swimming. However, I don't enjoy swimming, so I mentally have to push myself out the door for each swim workout.  This swim session was the first one I would try my prescription goggles. I've never had them before, and when I swim with my non-prescription goggles, I can't see anything other than blur. These goggles are great. I was concerned they wouldn't be properly fitting, but they felt great, did not let in water, and I could see.  It was a high-intensity session today, with some all-out efforts for some sets. Yet, again, I felt strong; just like last week, it carried over.  There was another guy at the pool, another Ironman, Jay. I still consider myself an Ironman. He was swimming in the lane beside me and helped push me without knowing it, trying to keep up or go ahead of him during the intensity portion of the workout.  About halfway through the workout, we started conversing while resting between sets. He...

Today was my long bike ride. Although an hour and thirty minutes is not a long ride, it was on the schedule.  Before the ride, I had to put on my new bike computer, a Wahoo Elemt Bolt. It took a lot more time than I thought it would. I'd say it took me a couple of hours just to figure it all out, setting up the display, connecting to the power meter, cadence, and heart rate monitor, and then putting on a safety flashing light on the front of the bike.  It shouldn't have been that hard when I think back after doing it all. But that's after looking at many YouTube videos and reading online.  I'm glad I did take the time to put on the bike computer. It made the ride much more enjoyable to see my speed, wattage, cadence, and heart rate monitor on one screen. I've never trained with a power meter before, and seeing how much wattage I was pushing was interesting.  When I was pushing 250 watts or more on the bike, it felt like old times. Even when I was pushing 300 watts o...

I'm doing something I'm not used to when I was training in the past. I'm spending time smelling the roses and still training but not enjoying life's journey.  Our day started with breakfast at Grandma's Cupboard, another well-known place in Syracuse. It had a great atmosphere. I had oatmeal and a spinach omelet. It was the best omelet I've ever had.  Then, it was on the road with a stop in Rochester. We did a little cruising around downtown—it's a nice little city—and then I heard they had a college football game. I assumed it would be a big game, but it was like a high school football game with about the same number or fewer fans in the stands. We didn't stay long, but it was a fun experience.  It was this weekend that convinced me that we are only going to attend Big 10 football games—the games that have world-class press coverage and cameras on drones that hover over the field.  When we got home, I decided to do some weight training in lieu of my run....

In the past, when I was training heavily, I never took rest days unless I was totally burned out. Now, I look forward to my rest days with glee.  Even though I'm away on a road trip, I still keep focused on my diet and eat as well as possible. I wasn't perfect, but I wasn't coloring too far outside the lines, and considering that it's a bit of a holiday weekend, I did really well.  I tried to stay with the meat as much as possible, and we went to Dinasours, a well-known barbeque spot in Syracuse. There was lots of good food. I did some popcorn twists for snacking, mixed berries and grapes, and some White Claws at the game. You have to live it up a little. Even though I had some drinks, it wasn't like a couple of weeks ago when I had way too many. I didn't want to do my training on Saturday with any type of hangover or with my body beat up from debauchery.  Rest Day - No training.

Today was a busy day. We are heading to Syracuse for the Syracuse Orange football game, and I wanted to leave the house earlier in the afternoon. I had a busy work day and needed to squeeze in my swim and bike ride.  After waking up, I headed to the pool for my swim workout. I felt good and that I was becoming a stronger swimmer. As much as I dread going to the pool, once I get going, I get into it, and it's not so bad.  As much as I hoped to finish work early, I couldn't get out the door for my bike ride until 2:30 pm. It was supposed to be an easy ride, and I didn't push too hard, but again, it was hard to keep my heart rate down as low as I was supposed to, and the sweat kept pouring.  I was sweating a lot after my first ride on my new bike. On this ride, my bike looked like I spilled Gatorade on it, but it was my sweat spots. I will have to start wiping my bike down after every ride or at least cleaning it weekly. I've never been one of those guys who cleans his bik...