Monday, August 30, 2010

Getting there....

I started this adventure at approx. 211 lbs (I'm about 6 ft even in height).  I fell fairly quickly to 205/206 lbs but have been falling only very slowly for a while.  I'm optimistically calling this my "redistribution period" as muscle is heavier than fat and I like to think that I have been building some lean muscle!

Suddenly this weekend I seem to have dropped to around 202 and stayed there - yeah!



 Yeah - the camera adds a little!  My initial target weight is 190 lbs.  If I ever get there I'll make a determination as to whether it's realistic to take any more off  (I can dream!). 

Yes, I really do have road rash!

"What?"  I hear you say.... "our intrepid hero has scrapes all over his body after losing it on a ferocious 40 mph descent at the end of an epic 100 miler?"   well.....   no, not exactly.

Here's the road rash on my left knee - not exactly the stuff of heros and champions is it?  If you get out your magnifying glass and squint a little you may be able to see it.


Most embarrassingly I managed to get my first triathlon related injury in my own driveway moving at precisely....   wait for it.....   0 mph!   The cause of this catastrophy?   My new tri bike shoes and clipless pedals!

I have been riding my new road bike (Cannondale CAAD 9-5) for a month now and have been very happy zooming around northern Wake County with flat pedals and a pair of running shoes, but the time had arrived where my confidence was running high and it was time for an upgrade, so last week I headed down to our local TrySports store to see what my options were.

After spending time talking to the associate "JP" I settled on a pair of Louis Garneau Tri Lites with carbon sole:


Size 45 to accommodate my big old wide feet, but nice and comfortable both with and without socks.

For pedals I went with stainless SpeedPlays.  A little bit more forgiving than some but can be clipped into from either side and, supposedly, nice and easy to get in and out of.


On the trainer in the store clipping in and out seemed to be a breeze and, as suggested, I practiced clipping in and out on the grass that evening with no problems.

Sunday morning arrived and with great excitement I put on the shoes and clumsily wheeled my bike out of the garage (have you tried walking in shoes with a big metal plate attached to the sole?) ready for my training ride.  I uesd a giant trash can for balance as I carefully clipped in my left foot.  Snap...  no problem.  I then mounted the bike and tried to clip in on the right, but couldn't find the right position and started to lose balance, so I did what my muscle memory from years of experience told me to do....  I went to take my left foot of the pedal and put it on the ground...   except.... uh oh....  it was now attached firmly to the pedal!  Crash!  Down I went, straight into the trash can with my bike on top of me. 

After a furtive look around to make sure that no neighbors were pissing their pants laughing I did finally manage to figure things out and get started.  A nice 29 mile plus ride around Falls Lake in beautiful weather without any further pedal mishaps!   Here's my route:  http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=4000495

Sunday, August 29, 2010

Who? What? Why?

Perhaps Roger's Rash Road would have been a better title?

Hi,

My name is Roger.  I guess I should explain why I have started this blog - it's basically a selfish endeavor, so there's no reason why I should expect anyone to take any interest whatesoever unless I provide a little background and, hopefully, make things reasonably entertaining.

Me?  Well I have a very big birthday just one week from tomorrow on Labor Day, September 6th.  Yes, I was born in 1960 (in England) and have almost made it to the BIG 5-0!  In part, reaching such a ripe old age - scratch that - reaching ripening middle age, is the reason I have started this blog at all.

I'm married to She Who Must Be Obeyed (credit to the late John Mortimer for that one) who I love dearly and we have two beautiful daughters aged eight and six.  I live in Raleigh, NC and have a busy job in the biotech industry that features a lot of travel, often international.   Yep, this is me:


So why have I started this blog?   As I stated above, it's basically a selfish thing designed to help keep me motivated as I try to transform myself from "slightly too heavy middle aged dad" to "less heavy middle aged dad who has the energy to play with his kids; stays healthy; eats well and feels good"   How am I going to achieve this remarkable transformation I hear you ask....     I'm going to become a triathlete.  Yes, that's right, one of those lunatics that swims, bikes and runs until their legs drop off. 

Now hold on just a minute...   no, my aspirations don't include trips to Hawaii and participation in Ironman events (those are a 2.4 mile swim in open water followed by a 112 mile bike ride with a full 26.2 mile marathon thrown in for good measure on the back end!).   Take another look at my picture...   do I look completely insane?   No, I'll leave the 140.6 mile Ironman to those much fitter than me and start with a couple of "sprint" events in the hope that I will build up to an "Olympic" event during 2011.  Baby steps.....

Just so that I'm providing complete disclosure, I'm not actually starting my quest as I type this first post.  I told She Who Must Be Obeyed last year that I would be "fabulous by fifty" (yes, I actually said that!).   Well, that hasn't happened (again, reference photograph above!), but I did manage to run a half marathon last November on the Outer Banks of North Carolina in a time of around 2 hours 15 minutes.  The problem was that immediately after that were the holidays, a bout of something that felt an awful lot like the flu, some international travel and, hey presto!  I was very soon up to my old weight of around, gulp, 211 lbs.

A couple of months ago I decided to try again, but this time why limit things to sore legs?  Why not throw in a better than even chance of drowning and the opportunity to skid down a length af asphalt at 25 or 30 miles an our wearing only a pair of skin tight shorts with something resembling a daiper between you legs and a garish shirt?  Yes, it's triathlon or bust.

Stay tuned as I post my trials, tribulations and observations.  I should have started writing sooner - I'm signed-up for my first event on September 19th!   The Outer Banks Sprint distance event hosted by FS Series http://www.fsseries.com/index.php?action=event&event_id=50.  It's a 750 m swim in the Pamlico Sound off Roanoke Island, followed by a 13.1 mile bike ride and a 3.1 mile (5k) run.

Wish me luck!