On (to) Wisconsin -- 27 Weeks to Go Report Card

Didn't get anything posted last week, with nothing to blame for my omission than the usual "stuff to do." But as I look at the calendar today I see that I'm down to 27 weeks to go -- about half a year. Which got me thinking -- how's it going, anyway?

So I decided to rate myself on a few aspects of my preparation. Here we go, in no particular order or method...

Diet and nutrition -- B

Looking back, I've realized that I usually eat like c***. I'm very fond of fatty, salty foods with poor nutritional value -- in other words, I'm an average American ;-)  But without being too drastic in my diet, I think I've made some good improvements over the last few months. Fruit and vegetable consumption is up, fast food , meat, and cheese consumption is down. And I'm about two weeks into a 30-day break from beer and wine. I'm feeling slimmer, and have dropped 2-3 pounds since the start of the year. 


Strength, core, stretching -- C

A "C" isn't too bad, considering I probably used to earn a "D-" on this. I've established better routines for core, strength, and stretching, though I'm not as consistent as I'd like to be. As I get older, I'm realizing the importance of these. Need to work on this.

Faithfulness to training plan -- A 

This has been a strength for me so far this year. Having an IM coming up has really focused my mind on the task at hand, and I can count the number of missed workouts for this year on one hand, with several fingers held in reserve. With actual IM training still on the horizon, building a good base to work with is very important. It's not always easy, but I've been sticking to it. 

Swim, bike, and run -- A  

These flow primarily from the previous rating. Consistency has been paying off for me here. Swim endurance has gotten better, with a moderate increase in speed.  I'm not putting in big mileage numbers on the bike, but the work has paid off in better HR and watt numbers inside, and smoother, stronger riding outside. Running -- knock on wood -- has been injury free, and I've been able to shake it up with some good specific HR zone training and trail running. 

Mental attitude -- B

It's tough to be "up" every day, but I think my mental attitude towards training has been pretty solid. For the most part I'm enjoying what I do. Sure, there are mornings where it all seems like something of a chore, but I'm doing the little things to keep myself going. There's still a long road ahead, though, so this is something to work on and keep improving.