And we're back.

The Thanksgiving splurge weekend is over, and I got back on the horse pretty easily. I hit the elliptical on Tuesday instead of swimming to try and burn off some extra calories. My weight spreadsheet tells the story pretty well - I gained a couple of pounds, but frankly it was worth it. I do not want to restrict myself during the holidays too much.

I'm excited about January - when the holidays are over, there won't be so much deliciousness surrounding me. There's something wonderful within arm's reach of just about every seat in the house, and I love it all. I know I could lose more weight if I cut my calorie intake. I burn about 500-600 calories each day at the gym, then I come home and eat pie and candy and pretty much wipe out that gain.

Do I sound like I'm complaining? I'm not. Like my wife said, last year I wasn't working out at all and I still ate the same, so I'm still better off. Worst case I am still training my cardiopulmonary system for endurance.

Speaking of which, I can definitely tell an improvement in my endurance level. I have started trying to go faster on the elliptical machine rather than just going slow at a high resistance. I set the machine to maintain my heart rate at about 70% of my max (130 bpm). This trains my body to burn fat instead of sugar (glycogen), which is better for endurance. You can burn the sugar out of your muscles pretty quickly, but fat burns slow, so it's a better fuel source.

I do about 45-50 minutes on the machines, and I realized this week that the only reason I don't go longer is that I have to leave the gym to go to work. It's sweaty, and it's work, but I don't collapse afterwards from the exertion. I actually feel pretty good. I'd love to find out how far I can go before I really feel tired. I think soon I'll go on a Saturday and do a little tri rehearsal, with a swim, bike and run all in the same day.

I also plan to accelerate my swim training. The Total Immersion program has sixteen drills before you're really swimming with a full stroke. I've been doing one drill a week, so I'm up to drill six. At this pace I won't be truly swimming until March, and the first race is in April. I'm going to try doing a new drill each time in the pool, and also adding a swim day on Saturday. This will get me up to a full stroke in January, and I can train a full swim stroke for three months before the first race.

Man! This stuff is boring. I can't believe anyone but me would ever read this blog. But thanks I guess. If you're reading this and thinking about doing a triathlon, I say go for it. It's changing me already in ways I never thought of. I'm more disciplined and focused on the future in every aspect of my life. I'm healthier and my clothes fit better. I am doing something difficult that takes a long sustained effort, and every day I succeed at it makes me more sure I can do it and makes me think I can do more in life. I absolutely recommend it. Take a step and change your life!