This has been my first week back to “regular activity”. Tuesday, I did bridge repeats and Thursday was a standard 4 mile run. I normally run 5 miles on Tuesday and Thursday but since I’m just starting back, I didn’t want to push it, get hurt, then be out again for however long. I may try to run 5 miles tomorrow since Saturday is normally our “long” day. Since I’m on-call this weekend, I have to stay close to the house. This will allow me to get out and about for a few short bike rides. The only goal this weekend is to get some seat time and put some miles on the new bike. I’m already at a disadvantage because the bike I’m using for the duathlon is a Trek FX and not a “tri” or “road” bike. The FX is categorized as a “fitness bike” and has a more upright riding position. That is why you don’t see too many of them when doing these types of events. Unfortunately, I only have so much money so I went with something that can be used for several different activities as opposed to something that was specifically designed to do one thing. As long as my strength and fitness is there, I think I’ll be fine. I may not be as fast as the others on “tri” bikes or “road’ bikes, but honestly, I don’t particularly like drop bars (think old school 10 speed), I’m more of a mountain bike guy, so flat bars (straight across) for me are more comfortable. Plus, I have always said, put me on a $10,000 full carbon fiber bike and Lance Armstrong on a $100 Walmart Huffy, and he is still going to kick my ass. I think I’ll be okay.

I have been doing pretty well regarding sugar, but the overall diet could still use some work. Again, baby steps. I had half of a cannoli at dinner Wednesday night and other than that, I haven’t had processed sugar since June 1st. I am definitely feeling my body “go through it” as I have felt pretty shitty the past few days, but I know this is to be expected.

I also started incorporating fruits and nuts for snacks and salads for meals. The downside is I’ve been eating a lot of bread lately and that needs to be reduced. Even though I cut way down on processed sugars, I’m sure the high-carb diet isn’t helping. Next week is a new week. I will continue to take it easy and go slow and just get my body used to doing regular activity again. I will also focus on improving my diet by increasing fruits and veggies, making more salads, and reducing the carbs.

Overall, it was a good week. I’ve made some decent progress, and right now, that is all I can ask for.

You can view the training log here: http://training.joebarbone.com

Feel free to leave any comments or questions below.

–Joe