Brick Training

I have decided to begin brick training.   This is generally done for triathalons but I suppose you could figure out a way to do it for lots of different things.  The question I was asked was what is Brick training? and why are you starting it?   Brick training from what I am doing helps train and improve endurance and overall speed in a Duathlon and or Triathlons.   It is the way you teach your body to transition from one major endurance function to another.   both physically and from changing shoes, etc. 

Next June I have decided to do the High Cliff Half Ironman.   Like I said in my previous post I am now addicted to putting those stickers on the back of my car.   I crave the 70.3 sticker which is the half iron man.   for some reason the thought of running 26 miles still does nothing for me which would seem easy compared to what will be roughly an 6 hour event!   

So I decided to do brick training and I did my first one last night.   I started by doing a 23 mile bike ride which is short but that is what I had time for.   I then came home and followed it with a two mile run.   This reiterated my point in doing this training.   

The issue with a bike to run transition is the way your legs have operated for the last hour or more you have been on your bike.   You put on your shoes and you would think that you would be mush, you couldn't do anything when the exact opposite is true.    I get off of my bike and take off like a bat out of hell.   The problem is now I am not sure I can keep that pace up.    

Here is a better example.   Go to a standard doorway in your house.  Stand in the door way with your wrists at waist level.   Keeping your wrists in their natural position move them outward till they are touching the door jam.  Now push outward on that door as if you were trying to widen that door for one solid minute as hard as you can.   NO CHEATING!  when that minute is up walk out of the doorway and watch what happens to your arms.       

This is the same affect you have from your legs.   When I get off of my bike my legs are so used to that motion that running is easy,  at least for a little while.    The purpose I now have with brick training is to teach my legs and heart that transition so come Iron man time I am not exhausting my muscles with a long distance left in the race.    

last night went really well and I had no issue with my two miles after my bike.   I will be curious to see what happens when I am done with a 50 or 60 mile ride and see how I feel then.   Wish me luck and will post more soon

Dieting Vs. Change (The long term success plan)

This post will be a slight continuation on my food post from a little while back.    Again please remember I am not a food expert, I don't do this for a living, and I am not the expert.  

I was at a bar (yes ironic for this particular post) but there I was and the conversation of dieting came up.    The person I was talking to is a friend and someone who explained to me that she had dieted or yo yo dieted since she was 12.

This got me to thinking.   How did we as a society come to this idea of dieting.    The word diet itself has nothing to do with starving yourself, it isn't a decision to go and by weight loss pills, by microwavable entrees that are better for you.  It refers to how we eat.   What do you or I consume to make ourselves work.   I find it ironic that we have a better understanding of how to take care of our cars, electronics, guns, etc.  yet so many of us (me included) understand so little about how our bodies work and what it needs to run.  

So here are my two cents.  As a kid we are given what are parents feed us.   We don't know any better.   they put food on the table and we ate it (or they hoped we did).   As we grow up some we start to make our own decisions in high school, college and into our young adult lives as to what we eat, how much, and where it comes from.  

At this point we are now in a habit of what we eat.   We eat what is convenient, what is accessible and what is easy.     We know we shouldn't eat it but we do (I am one of the most guilty people I know regarding this).  We have now become over weight or don't feel good about what we look like, we play video games, watch TV, drink beer, go out to eat, eat to much, etc.   In steps dieting.   we find our trigger and we move on to this new diet.   That could be an all protein, meal replacements, fad diets, weigh in diets, etc.   It is crazy the industry for this is huge!!   Multiple billions of dollars every year to help us lose weight and feel better about ourselves.   But ultimately things go back to the way they were.   you end up the way you looked before or worse.   We struggle with yo yo dieting getting ready for that next event we want to look good for.   It is so easy to do and I have done it, lots of people do it and people are doing it now. 

So how do you change?   First and foremost for me it was a mental decision.   I wanted to!  I was sick of the way I looked.  Until your mentally there you aren't ready and  it isn't worth trying cause everything above will start over again.  I started to learn about food, how much I was eating, what I was eating, and where I was getting it from.   I made a conscience decision that dieting wasn't an answer.   Do i take meal replacement shakes?  Yes.  Do I use supplements? Yes.  I use them with food not to replace it.  I learned that some foods i thought were healthy weren't.   Sandwich meat for example.  People think it isn't bad for you but you look at the packaging and the preservatives in that stuff is crazy!  Understanding that food alone wasn't the only change I also learned about excercise.   There has to be some physical activity you have to do as well.   that doesn't mean you have to jump head first into triathlons, bike races, or p90x.   but you can't just eat, not do anything and expect everything to change.   but it also means that you need to sometimes get out of your comfort zone when you excercise.   I felt embaressed as hell when i started running.   Here was a 274lbs guy running down the street looking like he was an idiot and I felt like one until I had this thought.   I was doing it and someone else wasn't.   I was running and working out and there were a lot of people watching going I could never do that.    So push yourself a little bit.  Run, bike, do some push ups even if it is one or two.   measure what you are doing and do more next time.   CHANGE!!!!   There will be a lot of people that will admire your commitment so set and example and show others it's possible.  Learn how food fuels your body to allow you to do the things you want such as play with your kids, exercise, garden, etc.   

I now go back to my original reason for the post Dieting vs. Change.   you have to want to change your diet not start dieting.   you have to want to learn what your body needs to run, how it works, and reacts to food based on the types of food you put in it.   once you do that and take the time (it isn't a short period of time and it can be frustrating) it will pay off in great results and long term success.   I am now one year in and I can go to a bar and have some beers, eat some ice cream, eat out every now and then.   This change will allow you to do that more than dieting will.    Your body will learn to process what you put into it.  

When you go and drink and you drink to much you may wake up with a hangover.    Putting processed food, junk food and to much food in your body on a regular basis is the same thing but the affects aren't as immediate as a hangover.   you will feel tired, unmotivated, maybe even euphoric depending on the person but long term it does more harm.   

Again try and Change what you eat, how you eat, and where you get your food from.   Change what you are doing, change your lifestyle, change how you think about food and things will improve.  It did for me.   It is a ongoing learning process but I am happier than I have ever been in my life. 

Thanks for reading this insanly long post.  

-Joe




 

Race the Lake 2011

August 21, 2011 was a Sunday morning.    Race the Lake is a 90 Mile bike race around lake Winnebago.   It is a competitive race, enthusiast event, and a leisurely event all in one.  It starts in Fon Du Lac WI which is on the southern tip of the lake.  It then proceeds around the west side to the north side and into High Cliff State Park and then down the east side and back to where you started.

I never thought I would actually do this race.   I bought a Trek road bike from Wheel and Sprocket in Appleton last may because of my Triathlon.  I didn't even know about it but I went back one day to get an air pump and he said I got a free entry into the race because I had purchased a bike.   I hesitated for a while thinking that 90 miles is a long way.  There is no way I would do it but I sent in my entry form either way.  I figured it was free so why not register and make the decision later.   Turns out someone I work with Jake had been riding bike a while as a kid and wanted to get back into it so he signed up too.   It is so much easier to do events when you have someone to do them with!!!!!!

 So August 21st came and we had actually only really trained for about 6 weeks.   the longest we had ever rode our bikes during that training was roughly 50 miles!  The race started at 5:50am yes that is am so we were up at the crack of dawn to do this thing.   We both signed up for heat 8 which is roughly the average of 18mph category.   Our goal was to finish this thing in 5 hours or so.  I was up at 3am I was so excited!   Jake picked me up at 4:15 in the morning to get to fon du lac which is roughly a 40 minute drive that would give us plenty of time to get ready.   It was crazy the number of bikers.   All in all there wher 1500 people doing this race.   We had never ridden in packs like that, never done 90 miles and trained no more than 50.   adrenaline was pumping and we were stoked!!!

So Jake and I started riding and Jake looks down at his computer that is telling us how fast we are going and next thing we know we are riding at an average speed of about 23 miles per our.   We looked at each other and started to worry.   Where we pushing ourselves to hard?  Are we going to burn out?  Why are we going so fast?   Should we fall back and see what happens?   These were all questions we asked but a little bit of the competitive side kicked in and we said screw it and pushed on the picture to the right shows Jake and I at the front of about 25 people.   When you ride in a pack like that the guys in front work a lot harder as they have to take the wind.  but for a while we rode in the pack and when you do that you don't have to work as hard to keep your momementum.   It is like you are being sucked along. This continued on through High Cliff state park.   We lead our group not the thing for roughly 45 miles.  We averaged 22+ mph the entire first half and we felt awesome!

So here came the problem!   At the beginning in the morning we tried and tried and tried to make sure that the bathroom wasn't going to be an issue.  Mile 5 I had to go....WTF!!!  I had gone 4 times that morning so I guess I was hydrated but for the goodness sakes I had to go again!   There was no way in hell I was stopping.   I had a long way to go and I figured I wouldn't have to go if I held it long enough.   we got to mile 45 which was half way and I thought about going the problem was there was no bathroom.   So now I have decided to go as fast as I can.  The pain is starting to build you know the kind where you don't want to stop when you are driving cause you just want to get there.   I made it to mile 55 yes I made it an additional 55 miles before the pain was bad enough I had to stop.   The really crappy part was it was  10 minute stop as this was obviously not a one person issue!1!  Jake caught up to me and probably should have just kept going.   getting off of a bike after 55 miles is not really the smartest move for your legs.   This ended up causing Jake to cramp a little bit and his muscles got tight.   I was fortunate enough to finish get back on the bike and make up some time.

During the race I had an app on my phone called realtime GPS tracker.   I turned it on at the start of the race and I was able to give a user name and password to friends and family to watch where I was in the race.   Jen was then able to track us and go and see us in multiple spots to take pictures.  It was also cool cause my mom and others who wanted to watch no longer had to sit and wait to see me for 5 seconds you could see exactly where I was.   By clicking on the icon of me the tracker would give you real time information such as speed, direction, GPS position, and elevation.   At one point when I did stop to go to the bathroom my Mom called my wife and asked if I was OK.   My tracker showed me drop to 0 mph and she didn't have a map to show that I was at an aid station. 

In the end I did make up some time and finished well ahead of where I wanted.  Jake and I both did.   the last 20 miles was a lot of hills which we both fared well.   Jake after he stopped cramped up a little but all in all it was an amazing day.    We have already started looking at next year and trying to compete in the 22-23mph category.  Something to train for and something to compete for us.    Below is Jake and I at the finish line.   We wanted to finish in 5 hours we both finished in about four and half hours I finished in 4 hours and 22 minutes and jake just a little later (due to cramping) which I still give him crap about.   It was an awesome day and a great time!!!

Tough Mudder!

July 23rd, 2011 was a hot day in Mirmac WI.    After signing up for so many events this was going to be the pinnacle of my years worth of work.    Tough Mudder for those of you that don't know is a 10 mile obstacle course involving intense hill runs and military style obstacle such as crawling through mud, swiming, go across narrow platforms that are suspended off of the ground and running through a live wire obstacel that can shock you with up to 10,000 volts of electricity.  

At first no one wanted to do this but eventually one of my co-workers again called and asked about it.   We had a convesation around the fact that Tough Mudder is not a race but a challenge.   Can you get across the finish line.   It was not about speed but teamwork.    In the end we had 11 people sign up on our team and our goal was to make sure everyone finished.  

So Saturday the 23rd came and I could barely sleep which sucked cause we had to be up early to drive down to Devils Head Resort.    We left around 6am and I picked up three of my teamates.    We got about 2 miles away and traffice came to a dead stop.  after about and hour to go to miles we were parked, registered, and ready to go for our 11am start time.   At the begining of the race you take an oath, sing the national anthem and understand that you are doing this as a team.



 Overall the experience was incredible!!  My year worth of work felt like it paid off I was running and completing the obstacles at the head of the pack.  I kept that up for about 8 miles and still did great at the end but felt myself slow a bit as the cramping and fatigue started to set it!



Green Bay Triathlon

June 5th 2011 came fast.   I had joined a gym a this point becuase I needed a pool to train in.   Anyway I did my training and found swimming to be quite challenging.  I am an excellent swimmer but it's a different type of cardio workout but incredible good for you!  

I could barely sleep the night before I was so excited.   I didn't think my coworker that convinced me to do this was actually going to but he signed up two days prior to the event.   So this was a little different than most I was doing my first Triathlon and normally people will start with a sprint triathlon.   That consists of a .5 mile swim, 13 mile bike, and 3.2 mile run.   That didn't seem like a large enough challenge as I wanted to push myself so I decided to do an Olympic distance.   That is normally a 1 mile swim, 29 mile bike, and 6 mile run.  there isn't really a good lake in the area for this event to the swim had been shortened to a half a mile.  

Swimming was odd it was a big circle you swam in so by the time enough people got in the water it created a giant toilet bowl effect and became dificult to swim.   I got through that and on to the bike!!! 

So the bike was 29 miles but man that was fun.   riding with that many people is a ton of fun.  Mid way through I found a group that was at my pace and we talked for about 5 miles.    I did my bike ride in just under 1 hour and 29 minutes.  The worst part but also very lucky was when i made my last turn into the park to tranistion into the run my back tire blew.   I was able to get it to the transition area thankfully without damaging it but I still was bummed.   Overall  I was extremly happy but now came the hard part.   6 miles after swimming and biking was what I new was going to be a challenge.   I needed to get my legs to go numb and push through. 

 So after practing the runs the hard part for me was slowing down my legs.   When you have been on your bike for that distance your legs are now in memory mode.   they had no issue moving but they were moving way to fast.   I concetrated hard on slowing them down so I wouldn't burn myself out.  

It took me 2 miles before I got into a running grove.  My legs wanted to move faster but I knew if I pushed it I wouldn't make it.   Once I got past mile two I was in a groove.   As the miles moved on I started to get more and more tired.  Not issue it was only 6 miles!  I did get there but I had help.  

One of the coolest things about doing events like this is the support group that comes with.   I had my wife and kids, mother and father in-law, brother and sister and law, and a good friend all cheering me on.   It isn't like they get to see you for long either.  You ride, run, or pass by for a second and you are gone.   But knowing so many people had come to watch and support me I wasn't going to give up.   I was going to push until i collapsed (I didn't obviously).   I got about 400 yards from the finish line and my brother in law was waiting.  he started running next to me and talked me through my last little bit while running side by side.   It was an awesome feeling to have so many people.   It is a seriously addictive feeling!   either way I had finished and I was stoked.   I had completed a triathlon which is something I never thought I could or would do!

 

Events!

So now it's coming to spring and again I needed to keep going.   How do I do that?   When I did the turkey trot I realized that when I signed up for it and payed for it I needed to train for it.   It was only 5 miles (that is a phrase I never thought i would say) but I couldn't pay for it and then not do it.  

Spending that money helped me stay motivated.   So one day at work one of my fellow co-workers said to me "we should do the Green Bay Triathlon.".  Mind you this was long before spring it was around Christmas time this happened.  At the time he didn't actually think I would go through with it but I signed up early.   Sometime in January I think but I signed up and now I was committed.   Then it got a little out of control.   

Next thing I knew the same co-worker asked me to do the warrior dash.   I looked at it and told him he was crazy but we signed up.   Then I was online and looking at the warrior dash and someone made the comment that grown ups do the Tough Mudder (www.toughmudder.com).  I looked at that and originally said to myself "that is effing insane"  who would do that to themselves.   Next thing I knew I was trying to find someone to do it with me.   It took over a month but next thing I knew my boss was covinced and we signed up for that.   

So now it is roughly May and I have gotten myself into a triathlon in June, Tough Mudder in July, and the Warrior Dash in September.   That is a lot of stuff!  but where was August?  So in the time of signing up for the triathlon i realized I was never going to ride a mountain bike 30 miles.   So I went and invested into a nice Trek Road bike.    By doing that I received a entry in to race the lake.  Race the lake is a 90 mile bike ride around Lake Winnebago.   so i was booked in a sense and had a lot of reasons to keep going!!! 

More on each event as they come!

Inspiration

The phrase I hate more than anything is "If I can do it....you can to".   That to me is the biggest line ever invented.    My personal opinion is the only person that can make you do it is you.   you have to want to do it.   It has to become important to you.   In my case I got on a scale and said enough is enough.  

What was my inspiration or motivation?   It started off by me wanting to be happy about the way I looked.   As I went along I realized something else kept me inspired.  I started losing weight I loved when people would walk up and tell you that you where doing a great job.   That lasted a little while then one of the largest inspiration happened.   In the midst of doing P90X both of my kids loved doing it to.   They knew the catch phrases and what workout i was supposed to do.  They had their favorite routines.   Asked if I was going to do P90X before I went to bed cause they wanted to do it with me.   I know I should have seen it but my kids where excited about exercising they were seeing it as a normal thing to do in life.   They would ask me how my runs where, how my workout were going, and would tell me if I was eating something I shouldn't be.    I was teaching my self and on accident I was teaching my kids that being healthy was a priority. 

Then something else happened that made want to keep going.   Family memebers saw what I was doing and wanted to do it too.   Maybe not as much as me but they wanted help, they were asking me "what can I do?", "What should I eat?".   Next thing I know I had running and workout partners all over the place.  A support group to keep me motivated.  Another reason to keep going!  

For me one thing triggered my change and inspired me to keep pushing.   Next thing I know my inspiration was spiraling and I had more and more reasons to move forward.   I keep pictures like the ones below to show what I will never go back to as another motivation.

FOOD!

So i've now lost 62 lbs!  I feel like I have accomplished a lot.   It seemed easy and now started the hard part.   I've exhausted what I know from a resource perspective.   Where do I go from here?   Food became my next challenge to overcome.   

During P90X I realized I wasn't eating enough.    30 days in I couldn't figure out why I was tired or why weight wasn't leaving as quickly I thought I had it the dreaded plateau.   After doing a little research I found I wasn't eating enough.  That was the one thought that never crossed my mind in the world of weight loss was eating.   this was a struggle during P90X and to this day is still a struggle!!!

This was one of the largest challenges I have ever had to overcome.   My brain was telling me not to eat when everything I read said I should be eating a lot more than I was.    Again I went online did some more research and learned how to eat (be careful online as there is a lot of conflicting articles).   I realized I was supposed to be consuming upwards of 3000 calories a day.   I know that isn't hard to eat that in normal food but if you are concentrating on what you eat and trying to eat healthy food 3000 calories is almost a chore to eat every day.   I started eating every 3 hours, eating a lot of protein, vegetables, fruit, etc. 

Breakfast had always been a staple since I started this journey but now I was up to 8-10 egg whites every morning plus toast, or granola.  Mid morning was a 200-400 calorie snack such as nuts, cottage cheese, fruit, protein shakes, etc.   Lunch was a huge salad with chicken, tuna, veggies and Italian dressing.  Another snack simialr to that in the moring and a good size meal at dinner.   Grocery shopping was crazy and I felt bad for my wife.   I was eating like I was a teenager going through puberty again.  

The crazy thing is as soon as I did that weight started coming off again at a faster rate and it was awesome.   Eating was actually something I did to fuel my body not just something to do.   

P90X

If you never heard of it before P90X stands for Power 90 Extreme and it is a 6 day a week workout for 90 days.   The concept of P90X is muscle confusion strength and cardio training combined.  My first day I thought to myself "what in the hell have I gotten myself into?".    I watched some of the DVD's prior to starting and it didn't look so bad.    That tune changed really fast when I started day one.   Went through the pre workout motions with starting weight, measurments, etc.  the pressed play!

I set small goals for myself.  The turkey trot was at the end of November on Thanks Giving day so I said to myself all I needed to do was stick with this until then.    I did and my results were great.   I shaved my miles down to 9 minutes a piece, I felt great and I had pictures to show that things were changing all around.  

After that my next goal was to get to the first of the year.   It was only a little more than 30 days and Christmas comes so fast how hard could it be.   Again I accomplished that goal and felt good.   6 days a week was tough and there were definitely days where I wanted to not do it but i pushed through and always felt great when I was done. 

next thing I new I could weight myself.   My goal of 230 lbs was achieved and destroyed.   at the first of the year January 2, 2011 I weighed in at 215 lbs.   that was a grand total of 59 lbs!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Now I just had to push through the last 30 days finish take and take my "transformation" pictures.    I got to the end of January and accomplished my goal of comleting P90X and officially weight 212 lbs a grand total of 62 lbs!   I was stoked ready for more and was feeling better than I ever had in my life.

NOW WHAT!

So summer came and went I was excited about the weight I had lost and now I was hooked.    I didn't know what to do and my first thought was NOW WHAT!

The picture to the left was taken in October at the Packer vs Vikings game.   I have no shame when I go to these games and make sure that everyone knows I am an avid vikings fan!   I doesn't go well and the Vikings lost but a good time none the less.

At this point my goal was to get down to 230 lbs which would be a grand total of 44lbs lost.   Lofty I think but i was trying.   I had completly changed how I ate.   Didn't miss much from a food perspective.  loved running and in this picture I was at 235 lbs so I was down almost 40 lbs at this point.

My issue had now become how my clothes fit.   I couldn't keep up with my clothes or I should say they couldn't keep up with me.    Every time i went and bought new pants 3-4 weeks later they didn't fit anymore.  I started this whole thing with a 42" waist.  as you can see in this picture my belt and pants are at the end of their rope and are folded over.   I felt like a tool but it was a good problem to have.


I had signed up for the turkey trot here in the cities so I needed to keep going as I had paid to do something.  I found this would be the beginning of what motivated me to do something and keep going!

It was starting to get cold and I wasn't sure how I felt about running outside so I needed something to keep me motivated during the winter months.   A friend of mine had bought P90X and never really used it so he offered it up to me to use.   I jumped at the opportunity and starting November one I would be getting my ass kicked by Tony Horton for the next 90 days.

The First Two Months

So to start things off I didn't really know what to do or where to start.   I knew something had to change.   The picture to the left is me at 274 lbs.   I hated pictures and no look at it now and can't believe I got that way but now  it's something to never go back to.

My wife has always been good with the kids about making things that are healthy for them.  Making sure they had fruits, vegetables, and balanced meals.  I figured my first step was to start eating more of that and less food in general and get rid of things I didn't need like pop, candy, deserts, etc.

I started by counting calories.   I know everyone says they do this and it is a pain in the ass!   there are websites that help, phone apps that help,  but I only had to do it for a while to understand what I was eating and originally it was crazy what I was putting in to my mouth!  After a while you just knew what you could and couldn't eat and it made things easier

After I started the calorie counting I knew I had to excercise so I figured why not start running!   I got 8/10 of a mile before I had to stop on my first run.   I never wanted to run outside cause i was embarressed but I figured if people were watching and laughing i could always say they weren't doing it and I was so that was my motivation.

By the end of the summer I couldn't wait to go running.  8/10 of a mile turned in to 1 mile which turned into 2 miles and so on.   I couldn't believe I was becoming a runner!  In two months I had changed the way I had been eating started running on a regular basis and had lost a total of 25lbs!!!  I was stoked and wanted more!!!!

My Story and First Post

For those of you that don't know me here is my little introduction.   My name is Joe Grady and I am 32 years old.   Born and raised most of my life in Minnesota in the Minneapolis Suburbs.   Did the typical things as a kid and some not so typical but that was a long time ago.    Graduated from St. Thomas Academy High School in 1997 and attended the University of Minnesota for 2 years.    Meet my now wife of 7 years and pursued my sales career in electronics and technology. 

I know live in Menasha WI which is a small town south of Green Bay.   I have two kids and work for a technology company called Enterprise Systems Group.   I currently am in sales of IT products to various companies in the upper mid west. 

My blog is a way for me to keep a record of where I have been and where I am now in my life.    This started all because of a night at a friends house back on 4th of July weekend 2010.   There were three of us doing what we did best.  hanging around a campfire drinking beer and talking the night away.   It was a great time but at one point Dave a friend of mine looked at us and asked us if we ever thought about losing some weight. 

It was funny that this question came up because I had just weighed myself at home about a week earlier and was extremely upset with what I had found.   I was 274lbs close to the worst I had ever been when i was 284 lbs.  Anyway it was July and there was a lot of summer left in the world of WI so we made a bet.   Not for money, or material just bragging rights on who would win.

So it began I changed the way I ate and what I was doing and our challenge began.   I was never a sports person growing up that was my older brother.   I was good and the athletic part of things but never good at the games themselves.  This blog is to document my journey from that life changing weekend for me to now.

Hope you enjoy following along and look forward to keeping this up to date!