Oops I did it again

I have a confession to make. After a late night home improvement pow-wow with my buddies Adam and Matt, I broke a 90-day streak of no fast food and succumbed to the deliciousness that is Taco Bell.  In my defense, it was a perfect storm, including a day of working out, manual labor, no food in the house, TB being on my way home and a sleeping wife. In an ideal situation, however, I might not have hidden the wrappers and then downplayed my gastrointestinal distress the following day. I'm a grown man, who was I hiding it from? (Betsy saw the charge on the debit card anyway #foiled).

Aside from this single setback, I have experienced mixed results in this monumental pursuit which has included countless other issues that were slightly less my fault. 

The first to report is a big achievement. Over the past few years, I had been systematically cutting the legs and then retiring all of my underwear as my thighs grew unmanageable by common textiles, and had substituted them with knit boxers. As I resisted laundry last week, I found that my old underoos, albeit slitted, are once again comfortable to wear. This may be attributed to my new, 166 lb mass, which is nearing the 20 lb loss mark.

With my weight-loss progressing on track, it was about time that I hone all of this man into something that can actually go fast. With Triathlon as my goal, I bid farewell to all of my tri buddies as they departed for Tucson to train and saddled up to my trainer for some late-night training binges.  The best part about rising the trainer while it snows outside is that Betsy usually sleeps in a bed next to me for encouragement.

Biking consistency has been a challenge with adverse outdoor riding. After a few weeks of falling short, I can report that I am now on top of my bike training goal of 7-9 hours a week and my booty have been sufficiently hardened to the cause. With a subtle base, I am ready to work on my 20K TT fitness which includes a lot of time at half-ironman pace and sets of 3 minute intervals somewhere called zone 4. I have rarely been to Zone 4 before, so I just define it as "painful and uncontrollably sweaty."

My favorite bike workout is actually led by crappy internet provider BridgeMaxx and Netflix. I just   ride towards sweatytown whenever the movie is interrupted to reload. I've passed out once during this specific interval session. 

Running, on the other foot, has progressed a little too well for this guy. Unfortunately, most 170 lb runners find the muscular fitness that they are seeking before their joints, bones and connective tissues are ready for the challenge. With the IT pain and PMTSS(shin splints), enter another of my custom solutions.

My homemade foam roller has served me well and I have been able to maintain some consistency in weekly mileage, though have not yet mastered the restraint needed to keep myself under control for the long runs.

My swimming has gone as well as my twice-a-week plan allows, with some quick timed efforts showing above average fitness for me at this time of year. (Fat does help you float and reduce resistance).  I have been off for a week now due to the shingles virus which is only slightly related to my first time home buyer attempts. My understanding is that this single-sided (left) disease is caused by my compromised immune system and is expressed by rash and nerve pain. It feels something like someone taking a blowtorch to my side and I'm hoping that this expensive herpes antiviral makes it go away fast. 

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