Training/workout playlist

I mentioned my "Go go go!" playlist in my last post. It is a selection of songs that are good for me to hear when I'm working out. They either keep me motivated or are just favorites. I did several Google searches and couldn't find a good list of training songs, so here's mine for you if you're looking.

Motivation/"I'm The Man" songs
These are songs that contain inspirational lyrics about not quitting, going for it, or just say "I am a total bad ass."

Thunderstruck - AC/DC
TNT - AC/DC
AC/DC is great for this kind of song. "Cause I'm TNT, I'm dynamite!"

Go Faster - The Black Crowes
Snatched from someone's sig on beginnertriathlete.com. "You can't stop or I will pass ya/If you slow down, I will outlast ya"

Iron Man - Black Sabbath
Can you have a triathlon training song list and not include Iron Man?

Iron Lion Zion - Bob Marley
Reggae may not be the best training music, but this one is uptempo and has great lyrics. Being a Leo, I have always thought of the lion as my "spirit animal". "I'm gonna be iron, like a lion, in Zion"

The Distance - Cake
About a bike racer (I think). "He's going the distance, he's going for speed"

Whorehoppin' (Shit Goddamn) - Eagles of Death Metal
Another "I'm bad" song. "I said shit, goddamn, I'm a man, I'm a man"

Bad To The Bone - George Thorogood
The ultimate "bad dude" song.

You Only Get What You Give - The New Radicals
I don't know what the verses are about, and the end has some rap/rant about fighting Courtney Love and Hanson or something, but the chorus reminds me that I have to put in effort to get results. "Don't give up, don't let go, can't forget you only get what you give"

Princes Of The Universe - Queen
(From the movie Highlander.) Oh man. If I could only choose one song on this list, this would be it. I should listen to this song every day when I wake up. I'll listen to this ten times on race day. "I am immortal, I have inside me blood of kings, yeah! I have no rival, no man can be my equal!"

Crowd Cheer - Sound Effects
This is a 40 second sound effect of a big crowd cheering. Helps me visualize the finish line.

I Won't Back Down - Tom Petty
See previous post. I am focused on my goal. I am the FIERCE TORTOISE.

Songs I just like
You may laugh at some of these, but they always make me turn up the radio. They're uptempo and energetic.
Take On Me - a-ha
Sweet Emotion - Aerosmith
Shake Your Rump - Beastie Boys
Shakedown - Bob Seger
Peace Of Mind - Boston
Rock & Roll Band - Boston
Taking My Time - Boston (Boston rules!)
Train in Vain (Stand By Me) - The Clash
Not Exactly (Original Mix) - Deadmau5
Groovy Train - The Farm
Footloose - Kenny Loggins
Last Train To Trancentral - KLF
Run Like Hell - Pink Floyd
My Old School - Steely Dan
Step it Up - Stereo MC's
Legs - ZZ Top

New record low weight today! Why can't that happen every day? Oh, because I'm doing this slowly and healthily. (healthfully?)

Rode 11 miles today on the recumbent stationary bike. I've adjusted my training plan. I've been joking that I'm "training to get in shape to train," and that's exactly what I'm going to do. I will just do various individual activities (walking, stationary bike, swimming) until the end of this year (two more months). Then next year I'll start really training for the triathlon, practicing transitions and biking the appropriate distances and all that.

I've read that your workouts, regardless of what they consist of, should last as long as you think your race will last. I have no idea what that will be, but I currently walk a 5k in an hour, so maybe two hours? That's a loooong workout to do.

Also, I've created some affirmations for myself when I hit the hard parts. Oh, there's a hill coming up? "I eat hills. I devour hills. I destroy hills." I get excited when I see a big hill near the house. I can't wait to get out and walk up one. There's a hill about 1/4 mile long at about a 30 degree slope, and it just about killed me on Wednesday. Luckily I had my "Go go go!" playlist on the iPod, and Tom Petty reminded me that "I Won't Back Down". Yesterday I noticed that there is an additional 100 foot dirt driveway at the top of the hill to a water tower. Guess what I'm doing tomorrow?

"Hey, baby - there ain't no easy way out
"Hey, I - stand my ground. And I won't back down."

FIERCE TORTOISE!

Oh, it's on. Bring it.

I had decided last week to walk a 5k (3.1 miles) every Saturday just to get used to the distance. Today was Saturday. My dad came over this morning and we worked on a pergola for about four hours. Nothing crazy strenuous, but I went up and down a ladder about six hundred times. Cortney and I went out to eat and we had about two hours to kill before going to a friend's party tonight. I was watching Comedy Central, some old Rodney Dangerfield movie, when I realized I was about to miss a day of working out. (Tuesday is my day off because of school. Not Saturday.) And good for me, I immediately got up, got dressed, and went for my 5k walk. It was difficult - about 60 degrees in shorts and t-shirt, I hadn't drunk enough water beforehand, and Mellow Mushroom pizza is not the best pre-workout food. But the point is, dammit, I did it. I destroyed some hills and I will be sore tomorrow, but I am doing this damn triathlon. It's on. FIERCE TORTOISE

First day swim

Today I started learning how to swim using the Total Immersion technique. (www.totalimmersion.net) It's very popular with triathletes. In a triathlon, you swim, then bike, then run. The swim is always the shortest leg of the race. You don't win a triathlon in the swim; you just get through it so you can get to the bike and run where the real race is. The TI technique is about swimming efficiently and conserving as much energy as possible. It has a series of drills that start easy and become more difficult. Today was ridiculously easy - I basically floated on my back for forty minutes. It was very frustrating because I would kick and just barely creep down the lane. Next time, I get to float on my side, wheee! Eventually I'll be swimming for real, but today my small victory was just getting in the pool.

Sleeping in for the Cure

Today was the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure (5km/3.1 mi) to benefit breast cancer. (Well, not to benefit breast cancer, but to benefit research that will stop breast cancer. But you knew that.) It's a big team event where I work. Cortney and I wanted to sign up and contribute, but man, it started at 8:30, and we like to sleep on the weekends. Luckily the website had a "Sleep in for the Cure" option (no kidding) so that's what we did. Around 11:30 we went for our own personal 5k walk. It took us exactly an hour, and it was great! The dogs were wiped out afterwards. We're tired but feeling good.

5k is the same distance as the run in the Trideltathon in April. I think I will do a 5k every Saturday to get used to the distance. I know I can walk it (since I just did!) so now it'll be a matter of adding some jogging and getting the time down, just like the bike. Eventually I'll have to string the events together, but right now I'll just train piece by piece.

We're doing it!

So, being a huge nerd and a fan of Excel spreadsheets, I made a spreadsheet for my training. The distances of the Trideltathon in April are 400 yard swim, 6 mile bike, and 3 mile run. Cortney and I have been walking about a mile several days a week, but I still want to start slow and increase gradually. I figure I should train to 150% of the race distances so that race day won't be as difficult.

Anyway, I went to the gym to ride the bike on Wednesday, and according to my spreadsheet, I am riding 1/2 mile (just getting started, you know?). I jump on the stationary bike...and rode 1/2 mile in about four minutes. Hmmm...methinks this spreadsheet needs a redesign. So I rode seven miles instead! Sweet! Only took about thirty minutes and my legs weren't sore the next day. I guess my bike training will be more about speed and just getting used to the distance.

I still haven't done anything in the pool, but I am committed to get wet on Monday. I have no idea how it will go. I remember swimming the length of an Olympic pool (50 yards) when I lived in Chicago (about 15 years ago!) and practically drowning. The pool at my gym is a "junior" Olympic pool, which means it's 25 yards long and only 5 1/2 feet at its deepest, so at the worst I can just stand up and walk out. The swim will definitely be my weakest event so I will need to train that a lot. But I have six months and I'm committed - I know I'll get there.

Fierce tortoise!

Joined the gym yesterday. My brother-in-law Mike and I are going to work out tomorrow for the first time, sweet! We'll probably ride the bike and lift a bit. I have GOT to take it easy - I did about 30 chest presses during my tour yesterday, and I still feel it. But I'm just getting started so that's okay.

Today we're going to the Vols/NIU game. We will be parking about 2 miles away from the stadium and walking back, so that might be enough of a workout, but just in case I want to get a walk in before the game.

No biggie today. Walked at the park for 30 minutes with the dogs, just them and me (Cortney's feet hurt, so she took a day of rest). Stepped it up just a little - every ten minutes, I would walk really fast for 100 steps. Sounds lame, but for me that's the equivalent of jogging. Then we went to P.F. Chang's and I went kind of carb crazy - pan fried noodles, rice, wontons. But hey, I had water to drink!

Today's workout:
30 minutes walking

Work today, met with my Tusculum school team right after, came home about 8:00 pm and really didn't feel like walking. It reminded me of a story about Ray Charles I always liked.

Ray Charles was in an interview, and said something like "When you're performing, when you're on stage and that whole audience is with you, man, there ain't nothing like it." The interviewer asked "What about when they're not with you, Ray? What's that like?" Ray smiled and said, "That's when you find out if you're a professional."

This was my first time to prove if I was really committed to this whole project. So I got my new shoes on and went for a walk, in the dark, outside in 58 degree weather. And you know what? It was just fine, and I'm thrilled that I did it. I'll have to remember this day in the future when I don;t want to workout because it's early/cold/wet/too far/whatever. Having done it feels much better than the pain of actually doing it.

Today's workout:
30 minute walk - 2 miles

We have new shoes!

Cortney and I went to the shoe store today to buy new running shoes. Hers are cute and white with light blue accents. Mine are silver and red and look like robots. I think they're Terminator shoes. They're the most expensive sneakers I've ever owned (about $100) but I have a philosophy about tools that applies here. I always buy excellent tools (you know, drills and hammers and ladders) when I need them. I figure they will do a better job and last longer than cheap ones, and more importantly, good tools make you want to use them. They make you want to work. Surely you know what I mean. Haven't you bought a new cooking gadget or lawn tool and then just been itching to get a chance to use it? Same idea. So I bought good shoes so I will want to exercise. I am excited about tomorrow's walk! It's working already!

Today's workout:
30 minutes walking with Cortney and the dogs at the park