Choppy water

Yesterday, I said that I needed to get my swim done today; no excuses. Well, I was awoken today by a massive windstorm. It lasted for hours, and I was nearly knocked off my feet at one point. It finally died down, and I had about an hour and a half until I needed to be on a zoom meeting for work. I told myself "no excuses". I went to the beach, and I saw how choppy the water was. I got in anyway. I've never felt more confident in the water. I reached 50 strokes frontcrawl like it was nothing. I only got 650 meters or so today, but I'm confident that a lot of that is because I intentionally swam against the current most of the time. I caught a mouthful of water several times, but I saw it as more of an inconvenience than a cause for concern. The bike back was 3 miles of driving rain, with a detour for construction. I felt fantastic.

The rest of the day was full; meeting, coffee, biking, volunteering at the flu clinic, etc. I sometimes think that just getting up and moving early sets you up to accomplish more during the day. It establishes a momentum.

I was about to type "hoping for more momentum tomorrow". But hope isn't what makes the momentum happen.

Today went well

I'm well above 3,500 calories already today.

I ran my brick, as planned. I biked to deer island; yet another opportunity to learn not to trust google maps. It seems blissfully ignorant of the concept of "roads that exist but are not publicly accessible". The run went particularly well; 9:11 to run a mile carrying the bike.

I had my intake DPC appointment today. Turns out I'm at 13.6% body fat; at the bottom of the "fitness" bracket, and nearly at the level of "athlete". So that's encouraging. In theory, if I cut fat down to the point of 180-183 pounds, I'd be at about 10%.

Tomorrow is a swim day. The day after that is a rest day; part of a "recovery week". So I really need to make this swim count. I need to get to the beach, get in my wetsuit, and make the swim count. 750 meters, no excuses. If I can get to the point of running an olympic every weekday, an the adage holds true that you can "do in a day what you do in a week", I'd be ironman-ready constantly.

Today went poorly

This is the first day I've missed a triathlon workout. It was supposed to be a brick, with a bike tomorrow. I'm going to do a brick tomorrow, but lengthen the bike portion to be the same as the plan says the bike alone for tomorrow should be. I also missed my stretches and strength training; at least I managed to get my steps in.

I have my direct primary care provider appointment tomorrow. I'll find out what percentage body fat I am. It will be good to finally know.

I've been thinking for some time about a principle. I'm sure someone else has already thought of it, maybe given it q clever name, but I've yet to hear of it. It's the idea that, given a choice, there is usually a choice that almost no one would object to, and you should go with that. Vegan versus omnivore? Almost no one is going to say it's wrong to be vegan. Smoking versus nonsmoking? No one will get mad at you for not smoking. That sort of thing.

Wetsuit day

Today, I bought my first wetsuit.

I hit 55 consecutive reps on all strength exercises for the third day in a row. I think I'll try to hold that for two more days; Sunday is a rest day. I'll try 60 on Monday. I went for the fifth run in my triathlon training program (except brick runs); just over 3 miles, at a 9:58/mile pace. That's the first non-brick run where I've broken 10 minutes a mile while carrying a bike.

Then I borrowed a friend's car and drove for an hour to buy my first wetsuit. Lightly used, in solid condition, $25. On the way home, I found a triathlon-specific store and got some earplugs and two individual packs of lube for longer runs. At home, I tried on the wetsuit (yes, I checked the manufacturer's website before buying to make sure it's my size). Conclusion; wetsuits are uncomfortable. But I think I'll try it tomorrow. The only serious issue is that there may not be a place at the beach to change. But if there is...buoyancy city. Maybe I need to get a swim robe, for warmth and as a place to change.

Success with 55

55 repetitions of each of my strength training exercises. Situps were, predictably, the hardest, but I managed 55 in a row with no rest. I heard a bit of a talk by Pavel Tsatsouline about strength training and how simple progression was not effective, or at least not as effective as other methods. However, he's dealing with people on a far higher level. So for now, anyway, I'm going to continue with progressions.

It's getting colder. I was almost uncomfortable when I started out on my 15 mile ride this morning (it was mid-40s), but I heated up in short order. Last year, I found myself being okay in a t-shirt and shorts down to 32F while running, but biking is not the same thing. I may have to start adding a long sleeved shirt at 42 or so.

I finally got around to donating a bunch of stuff to Borders today; I nearly filled my bike trailer and had a very slow ride over there, averaging just under 10 MPH moving speed. As an experience, it just made it even more clear to me how unfriendly this town really is to bikes; in more than a few places, the bike path wasn't even wide enough for the trailer.

I've shopped around a bit more for wetsuits. I don't anticipate needing one tomorrow; the water should be around 67F again, and the air nearly 60F by the time I arrive. I still think rental is a good idea, at least until I get my body composition analyzed next week. There is a HUGE span of body fat percentages I have, according to different calculations, ranging from borderline professional athlete to borderline overweight. I imagine it's somewhere in the middle. But I want to be sure so I have a healthy target body weight before I go investing in something as expensive and size-dependent as a wetsuit.

My new swim float has not arrived, so tomorrow's swim will not be structured as directed in my original triathlon training plan. Mostly, it will be much like my last one; stay out as long as I can hack it, practice sighting, and work on form. It's only a matter of time before they shut off the showers there: it may have happened already. Which means I risk getting salt residue on my bike. Really, my entire approach to swim training as the weather gets colder needs to be clearer. Biking to and from may become unworkable. And it's only a matter of time before the drawbridge gets lifted on my way back; if I'm not prepared to stay warm, I could be in real trouble.

A day of accomplishments

I was up at 2:30 today (yes, AM; 2:30 PM is 14:30). Stretches, strength training, brick workout, stop at home for breakfast, bike to work, supervise core refueling, silicon unload, silicon load, and bike home.

I feel confident in my 50 reps apiece for my strength training exercises. Tomorrow, I'll increase to 55 each. Tomorrow is also my bike-only day for the week; 1 hour and 15 minutes of moderate pace, which is around 15 miles for me, given the roads around here. I'm tempted to wait and make that my commute in, but I shouldn't. I should just get it done in the morning and make my commute extra. I did something akin to that today, and I'm at around 3,600 calories. With the hours left in the day, I may go over 4,000.

I plan to get a wetsuit so that I can keep swimming open water. Yes, some people swim in incredibly frigid water. But tend to A. do so for very short periods or  B. be on the edge of death when they exit. Since I don't plan on hiring a medical team twice a week, and I want to get some tri-applicable benefit from my swimming, a wetsuit is really the only option besides heading indoors. A few manufacturers are making wetsuits out of more environmentally friendly materials than neoprene; Henderson and Patagonia. Both brands are in the $400 range, new, for the sort of thing I'd want. Sizing is also an issue. I'm strongly considering renting a few suits to see what works best for me.

End of the first full calendar week

Of triathlon training.

I've done four swims so far. The last one was very rewarding. I got to the beach, and it turns out that they remove the swim markers at the end of the swim season. So I had no markers to rest at or to tell me how far  swam. It was supposed to be a 900 meter day, mostly broken up into various 50 meter chunks. After checking with a parks department employee who happened to be there that swimming was still allowed, I decided not to take the easy excuse. I left my pull buoy, water bottle, and mask several feet from the waterline and got in.

800 meters later, I got out. I knew I had been doing a poor job sighting; later review of the GPS data revealed it was worse than I thought. But it was the first time I had ever swam any significant distance open water, so I'll take it. But more importantly, it was continuous. And it was in 67 degree water; far warmer than it gets later in the year, but no hot tub either. Big downside? The tide came in much faster than anticipated, and took the swim float away. I ordered a different one from Aqua Sphere and a second pair of tinted goggles.

Today was another run carrying the bike. I really need to work out a better way to lash it to the frame; it keeps shifting and chafing my back. My running form is very different; I have to be very upright to keep the bike away from my back, but an extra 30 pounds of steel naturally shifts my center of gravity. So I end up swinging my arms farther forward than I normally would.

Made it to 50 situps in a row with no rest the day before yesterday; 41 yesterday, then 50 today. I think I need to eat more protein.

The start of week 2

The REAL start of week 2. As in, I did the last workout for a full 7-day cycle yesterday, and started the next cycle today. Today was packed; I had the swing shift last night, so I biked home very early this morning. I ate and slept, then did my stretches and strength training before a zoom meeting. After that meeting, another bike ride to the beach where I swam half a mile and biked home. Shower and change, then another bike ride to a medical appointment, more biking to work for a quick stop, then even more biking home with a stop at the LBS on the way. Finally, a walking grocery trip. All told, I think I biked over 25 miles today.

I feel more confident in the water. I still have a LONG way to go, of course. But I already feel better. The sea was somewhat choppier today than it has been on previous trips, and I had to flip onto my back several times. But it was a very satisfying session. The first 10 laps were without the swim float, then 8 laps with it. I had intended to add a lanyard to it, so that I could tie it to one of the markers and not have to come back to land to retrieve it, but forgot until I arrived at the beach. By luck or providence, I found a piece of string lying on the beach. So it became my float lanyard.

I continue to take cold showers. It's satisfying, even though I know it's a far cry from cold swimming.

I met with a DPC (Direct Primary Care) doctor today. The basic idea is that I would subscribe to his services, and he would cover most of my medical care. I would still keep insurance in case of serious issues, but I hope to get it from the VA and to have lower overall costs.

End of week 1...kind of

The triathlon training program I'm using was originally written for Friday to be the rest day during the week. I prefer for Sunday to be my rest day, so I started on Wednesday. Consequently, I'll actually hit one full seven-day cycle of training at the end of each Tuesday. But today is my last day before a rest day, so I'll count it.

Today's workout was just a run, and I carried my bike as usual. I need to come up with a better method of sun protection for my eyes; both sunglasses and goggles fog up. The swim yesterday was difficult but satisfying. I did put my activity tracker in my swim float, and confirmed that the distance between the two poles out in the water is a bit over 50 meters. I'm going to treat it as 50 meters, and call the extra just more training value. Swim days are feeling productive. I come back from a swim and immediately do laundry, wash the swim float and buoy, etc. Since I'm swimming twice a week, that means laundry gets done every 3 or 4 days. Good. And the morning after a swim day, everything I need for a swim goes back in the (newly clean and dry) float and hung up, ready to use.

My strength training seems to be stagnating. I'm at 50 reps each for pushups, situps, and squats. The pushups and squats are continuous, and I managed 40 situps in a row at least once, but generally I seem to top out at 30. My diet may be at fault. I'm burning around 3,000 calories a day, and eating substantially less; my body may simply not have the protein to improve. I need to get a good critique of my nutrition. Or maybe just look into it myself; more beans and rice, less of the hash browns, that sort of thing.

2 days in

Yesterday was day 1 of my formal triathlon training program; swim day. I'm doing all my swim training in the open water, so I biked to the beach. I'm trying hard to make the bike there very leisurely so that I can put maximum effort into the swim; the bike home can be as high-effort as I like. There are metal posts holding a swim barrier rope (I imagine they're simply cast into some chunks of concrete sitting on the bottom). Since they're about the only stable markers out in the water, and since they seem to be roughly 50 meters apart, I'm using them as the end points of each lap. My vivoactive 3 does not happily track such swimming (I didn't really expect it to); such is life. I was very, very pleased with my swim float/backpack combination. It didn't come with the chest strap it was meant to, but it still felt comfortable and secure on the bike, and I was hardly aware of its presence while towing it through the water. Tomorrow, I plan to put my watch in it during the swim. That will obviously add some time to both ends of the actual workout, but I think that it may track much more accurately because it will never be submerged. If nothing else, I may be able to use the data to get a more accurate measure of the distance between the two posts. But between biking there, the swim, biking home, biking to work, and biking home again, I burned over 4000 calories yesterday.

Today was the first run on the plan. 30 minutes, carrying my bike. A bit past halfway, the right strap on my backpack gave way; I tried to fix it while moving, but failed. I had to stop for about a minute in order to fix it. Also, there was some unpleasant rubbing on my left shoulder blade. The current method of mounting the bike on the frame is good, but still needs some improvement.

I took Ursus (my cat) to the vet today in my bike trailer. He was never going to be happy about it, but he also isn't happy about riding in a car. He meowed a bit, mostly when we started moving, but that contrasts well with the continuous meowing when we take an uber. He calmed down almost immediately upon arrival, and apparently purred for most of the appointment. So that's good.

A nice surprise

Supposedly, my "wild swim bag" was going to arrive in the mail tomorrow, almost certainly in the afternoon or evening. It's a combination swim float (essentially a small, brightly colored inflatable bag that you tow behind you while swimming in for visibility and safety) and dry bag (for carrying personal items) that can be converted into a backpack. The first workout of my triathlon plan, which starts tomorrow, is a swim. So I was going to swim tomorrow morning, sans bag. No big deal, except it makes for a potentially awkward situation at the beach regarding personal goods.

Well, it arrived today. So I will be able to bring it tomorrow. Ideally, I'll get to the point where all my swim equipment will get mostly washed down when I shower at the beach, then completely washed and dried at home and packed to be ready to go for the next swim.

Cold showering continues to go well. My morning routine this morning came in under an hour. I sort of fell into a 13+ mile bike ride this morning; my peak speed was over 20 MPH.

One more day

Between me and the day I start formal tri training. On Wednesday morning, I go for a swim. I have swing shift the same day, working until midnight; I'm tempted to try and knock out the Thursday run as soon as I get home, but we'll see.

I started taking cold showers today. Three, actually. One after strength training as part of my morning routine (which took just over an hour; two minutes over, if I recall correctly). Then I decided to bike to the beach to see if it had any rental lockers (it did not), and took a shower after my return. Then, in the afternoon, I decided to go on a trek carrying my bike (3.76 miles), and needed a shower after that. I'm not sure if it was because I felt so warm after the trek, but the cold shower was much more tolerable than the first one this morning.

Another month's worth of keto chow should arrive tomorrow. I'm not keto right now (I ate rye toast this evening, and it was delicious), but I had very good results with it. I think I may go to just doing keto most of the time. I'm not sure how to approach it; my two experiments thus far have been with pre-determined lengths of time. I decide to do keto for X weeks, and that's how long I do it for. But perhaps I can just make it my default, only coming out for good reasons. Of course, I need to decide what a "good" reason is. Once  week? Do unused days get "saved up"? Just for family? Perhaps at or below a certain weight? Anyway, I'll cancel my subscription for a while; I'll have enough for easily six weeks if I ate nothing else.

Feeling okay

Which is surprising. I was expecting my first day off keto to be much worse. I suspect that I may have (inadvertently) been in ketosis most of the day; I didn't eat anything until the evening anyway. I did accomplish a few things today. I tidied up my home. I did three loads of laundry, which admittedly is somewhat inflated by the facts that I was washing several towels and other bulky items and that I have a tiny apartment-style washer/dryer. The dryer is a spin dryer that requires that I hang the clothes to finish drying afterwards, which pleases me to an almost unreasonable degree given the tiny amount of energy it uses.

I'v read more about cold water swimming. Following yesterday's destruction of my main computer, I've also fortunately rediscovered my intended triathlon training plan. I intend to add cold showering to my morning routine. It should go something like this: wake up, void as necessary, weigh, supplements, stretch, strength (pushups/situps/squats), cold shower, then hot drink (usually coffee). Ideally, I'll get to the point that it all takes under an hour. In time, I hope to start acclimatizing myself to cold water swimming, largely by swimming more and more in the open water as the seasons turn cold. The big problem is what to do immediately after getting out; I can't really hop right onto the bike and travel three miles to get home. If I'm swimming in water that's 

Coming off keto

 Even shorter post than usual today. Ate nothing until going out with my friend for dinner. We went to a restaurant specializing in Australian meat pies. It was delicious. Feel okay. Going on a walk tomorrow.

Last day of keto

Well,for the second time; I did keto once before, for three weeks. This is the end of the sixth week this time around, and things have gone much better. I'm not sure exactly how things will be moving forward, but I do intend to spend at least a few days off keto enjoying foods I've missed. Toast with butter, pasta, rice with beans, that sort of thing.

I start my formal triathlon training program soon; this coming Wednesday, to be precise. It involves two swims a week, and is twelve weeks long. That takes me into December. If I'm swimming at the local beach, that starts to get into some really cold water temperatures (as low as 43F, according to records). I started reading about people who swim in cold water; many of them do it without a wetsuit. I'm interested to see what it's about, but more so that I can keep swimming rather than for any benefit of cold swimming specifically. It would be interesting to be able to swim a mile in bitterly cold water with a wetsuit, and all the more so without. If the training goes as planned, I'll be swimming in open water every Wednesday and Friday for some time; I'll probably become somewhat acclimatized to the cold just by virtue of that.

A lot of cold swimmers seem to emphasize the importance of staying bundled up and warm until just before you start swimming, and getting warmed up as soon as possible immediately afterwards. It makes me think fondly about the possibility of van life and parking right close to the beach; imagine coming out of the cold water, straight into your home for a warm shower and then a warm bed and plenty of hot tea.

A big success today

 The olympic-length triathlon training plan I've selected specifies that you should be able to run at least 20 minutes continuously before you begin, and the first run workout is 30 minutes long. Before today, almost all of my exercise carrying my bike involved walking, and the farthest I had run was 1 mile. I decided today that I was going to go out, carrying my bike, and move for 30 minutes, with as much of it as possible being running.

1 mile in (which took just over ten minutes), I decided that the coincidence of speed and length was too good, and that I would keep going for 3.1 miles (the length of a sprint triathlon run) if I could. And I did; I successfully ran the entire length without walking at all. I'm not even upset with myself anymore for not stretching this morning. I feel like I could have kept going a substantial distance. Sure, 10-plus minutes per mile isn't super speedy. But carrying 30 pounds of steel? I'll take it. And I'll improve as time goes on. I'm also very pleased with how well the bike stayed in place with the new lashing method.

The last few days

The last few days of keto, that is. Probably. It's very early on Wednesday (I've had a very odd work schedule for a few days now), and Saturday I'll be going out to eat more or less whatever I want when I get to the restaurant. So that's basically guaranteed to drop me out of ketosis. I've found the keto chow shakes to be very convenient; I've generally been just having three shakes a day, or two shakes and a large salad. I find myself wondering about continuing with keto in a more lax fashion; having more carbs, even enough to drive me out of keto, but still consuming the majority of my calories as fat. People often put a ceiling on carbs for keto of 50 or 25 grams a day, but say you consume 100; that's still 400 calories, WAY less than I burn in a day. So, in theory, I should be able to eat more carbs than a keto diet allows, but still be getting the bulk of my calories from fats. I need to research a bit more.

My new goggles and my swim buoy arrived. The swim buoy is smaller than I expected, but that actually pleases me. It fits well into my backpack. If it works decently to keep half of me afloat while the other half exercises, I'll be very pleased. I'm thinking seriously about trying it tomorrow. Today, I biked to the beach, then immediately to work. A bit shy of 13 miles, just over an hour of actual moving time, and the only issue was a slight increase in breathing difficulty late in the ride (sweat+mask=harder to breath).

Anyway, there will be at least some carbs in a few days. I plan to have a few things that many people would regard as normal foods, or even undesirable, but that I have come to regard as treats. A good slice of rye toast with butter. Pasta; maybe with olive oil and some oysters. Grape nuts on my salad (don't judge). Not a lot; I'm still optimistic about getting down to 180.