RaginCajun's Daily Log

[RaginCajun]

weekend recap. i had a good weekend training wise, but ate bad! i didn't eat fast food are anything to that nature just ate a lot of brownies and sweets over the two days, mainly sunday. i know that that has got to stop so i will be trying to convince myself that it is lent all over again. like i said, i did have a good training weekend. on saturday morning, i went hit the trails up and rode 13+ miles. the track is similar to the one i will be riding this weekend so i was glad to go get some miles in. i had to cut the ride short with 13+ because i had to go meet up with the fam for lunch. i felt good after the ride and could have ran afterwards. on sunday, i did a 4 mile with ease. my legs got a lil tired at the end but i could have slowed up and did more. my legs are tight today so i may just stretch them this evening. i plan on resting my legs thursday until race day on sunday.

on another note, i have been following GB's log and the log on intermittent fasting. i am definitely interested in this type of dieting. i get frustrated now when i have to skip a meal or don't have time to get it in. i do not know if the type of training i am doing now will allow me to fast for that long without getting some type of nutrition in for energy. i know i would have trouble with the fasting at first as i love to eat, but eating a lot in the evening would be a bonus! i want to do some more research on it before giving it a try. i am worried that i would be breaking the fast too early in the mornings sometimes on training days. some bike workouts could go over 2 hours and really taxing on the body so would taking some gel packs be breaking the fast?

[SlimmerMe]

Lent all over again? LOL! I know exactly where you are coming from OOcajun!

[RaginCajun]

yes slim, i need to have more discipline in my diet. this is why i have not progressed further than i have. i need someone like you with a whip and a bat, daring me to eat sweets! i know i sound like a broken record but i am trying to come up with a feasible workout plan to where i can do all of my endurance training. in the beginning, i was doing weights with running, then came the swimming and the biking. i guess the problem i had with weight training, i was sore going into a swim or run, and was not getting the effort i wanted to out of the workout. i also have previous injuries that plague me when lifting. i have horrible joints and tore up my right shoulder wrestling a few years ago. i do what my body lets me do and always try to push it to the limit each time. its hard coming up with a sound schedule when i am waiting to see how my body will recover. this is what i have in mind.

Monday- AM- (crossfit or full body workout) PM- Bike (either trails, road, gym machine)
Tuesday- AM- Swim PM- Run
Wednesday- AM- rest PM- Bike
Thursday- AM- Swim PM- Run
Friday- AM- (crossfit or full body workout) PM- rest
Saturday- either rest/ long bike/ long run
Sunday- either rest/ long bike/ long run

this is what i have come up with so far. in the past, i would have never scheduled a workout on the weekend because i was out all night on friday. i can tell that i want it more now than i did in the past so maybe i just needed some growing up! i hold myself accountable for everything!

[SlimmerMe]

Well this is a good place to be held accountable! That's for sure~ And I understand the sweet tooth. Trust me. I have to go cold turkey. There is no middle ground for me....not one iota.

[RaginCajun]

you are so right slim!

had a good day yesterday. i wouldn't say that my diet was perfect, but i did not eat anything bad at all. not perfect because of some of the timing of meals. i did make it to the gym yesterday, which was not on my agenda but i couldn't sit still. i did 1 mile on the stair climber, 3 miles on bike, stretched, and then did a circuit with pushups and situps. overall, the workout took me an hour to do, and i felt great afterwards.

today, i went for a 1/2 mile swim. i didn't 'feel' it this morning and it felt like it took forever to get my workout in. the swim only took me 20 minutes to do, plus i didn't want to overdo anything. i plan on going do a small run this evening, prob 2 miles. i am getting pumped up about this triathlon since it will be my first. one bad thing is it looks like it is going to rain the friday before my race which sucks because it is a dirt track. i am hoping that it misses the area where will be racing because i have no clue if they will let us race on a messed up track. it will also be my first competitive swim in open water before. i grew up swimming in the bayou so not worried about anything in the water so to say. i am trying to narrow down my nutrition for the race itself. i want to be well hydrated and nourished so that i don't cramp up on the run. and my goal is to not be LAST! i will give it my all and leave nothing in the bag at the end!!!

[SlimmerMe]

Giving it your all is what ya got so......That is a great plan!

[RaginCajun]

i weighed in at 183 this morning so no real change in weight. i was expecting it to be up a tad since i have been taking in more carbs. i need to get back to having my meals planned and prepared, because that is when i was really getting the results. i am happy with what i am doing now but i know with just a little more effort and emphasis on diet, i will reach my goal sooner. i am pretty much at a personal best for weight and fitness at the moment and i know i still have a long ways to go to get where i want to be. and even then, i still prob won't be satisfied.

i trained ok yesterday. i am trying not to injure myself before this race and nothing i do this week is going to help out any on sunday. after work i did a very small brick workout, did 4 miles on the bike and ran 1 mile after. today, i brought my bike to work and am going hit the trails up whenever i get off. my how i have changed where i am bringing my bike to work and can't wait to get off to go ride!

[SlimmerMe]

Planning and preparing is the key.......and a challenge.... but when done WE see it works!

[RaginCajun]

well i almost did it yesterday! i crashed and burned on my bike. i was going downhill and a root shot me in the opposite direction. i hit a big ole tree head on and went flying over my handle bars. i wound up doing a complete flip and landed on my feet! i have a couple of scratches and bruises, but nothing major. i am shutting it down until my race on sunday. i did have a good ride, did 12+ miles in 80 mins and felt good afterwards. i am just glad i didn't injure myself worse and it definitely could have been a lot worse.

[SlimmerMe]

Ouch!!!

[RaginCajun]

what can i say, i live life on the edge!!!!!!!!

[SlimmerMe]

You are quite a gymnast landing on your feet! That must have taken a lot of flexibility with quick thinking!

[RaginCajun]

You are quite a gymnast landing on your feet! That must have taken a lot of flexibility with quick thinking!

well i did hit the ground, but i was going downhill so i just rolled onto my feet and popped up. i am pretty flexible for a male even though i have horrible joints. they snap, crackle, pop all the time. i can't sneak up on anyone!

its finally friday and just two days out from my triathlon. i will be getting a sneak peak at the track on saturday because my podna is doing a bigger tri on that day so i will get to see the beast i will be attempting to slay. i have been eating more carbs the past few days and see no change in my weight. i am still at 182 lbs with the added carbs so i may have to start lowering my calorie intake some more or start training one more session per week. i plan on stepping it up after this triathlon and get back to some sort of lifting. on my two lifting days, i am thinking of going light weight on monday, lots of reps, and doing the big 3 (bench, deadlift, squat) heavy on fridays. i would like to start on monday but i will decide that on how i will be feeling on monday. i think that adding some lifting into my routine will help me get thru this little plateau and start burning some more fat by putting on some lean muscle. i will be re-upping on my supplements this weekend to prepare for next week!!!

[SlimmerMe]

I bet you are excited.....2 more days! Best of luck to you OOCajun! Show 'em what ya got!

[GirlyGymRat]

Cajun...this is an epic journey...have a blast cuz seems you're READY!!

[RaginCajun]

well i survived!!! i had an absolute blast this weekend, even though the triathlon was pure torture. i first got to see the track and pond on saturday, and let me tell ya, it was intimidating! just looking at a half mile in the water was overkill. there were drops of 30+ feet where you can reach up to 30mph!! it was fvckin' intense!!!! you just guide the bike and hang on!!!!!! also caught some air, which you really don't want to do, but i was just enjoying myself! i did struggle through the whole thing. i did good on the swim part, did 1/2 mile in 17 minutes, and that was one of the parts i was really worried about. when i was coming out of the water, i strained my calf stepping in the soft mud and that killed me mentally. i knew that i had 10 grueling miles of hilly/rocky terrain and a 3.5 mile run of the same, so i took a big hit mentally. i just sucked it up and jumped on the bike. the bike was really enjoyable but tough as hell. one point, you had to carry your bike up the hill because it was so steep, only some of the pros made it with their bikes, and that was on mile 9! when i jumped off my bike, my right hamstring locked up! i was like, damn, i'm done! my friend told me not to go hurt myself, but i am hard headed and just took off. it was the worse 3.5 miles of my life!!! my quads locked up and my legs just shut down. at one point on mile 2, i couldn't move my legs hurt so bad. the thing that killed me, i wasn't even tired, just pissed that legs weren't working. i was asking volunteers if i could rent their legs for the rest of the race. i finally crossed the finish line 2 hours and 30 minutes later. after the race, i was more pissed about my legs cramping up because i really wasn't tired after i finished. i did give myself a pat on the back for nutting up and finishing, some people didn't even finish the swim. i now know what it is going to take to do it next year, so after a few rest days to recoup, i will be taking training to another level. i knew that i wasn't really ready for this race, but i said F it and signed up and i am glad that i did!

[SlimmerMe]

WOW! YOU DID IT! CONGRATULATIONS TO YOU OOCAJUN! Sounded tough but you pulled thru.....

REST~ REST~ REST~.........

I bet you are very proud of yourself. I would be. Quite an accomplishment!

[RaginCajun]

thanks slim, i really appreciate it! now, i am rewarding myself with a pizza, loaded to the gills!

[GirlyGymRat]

Awesome....this makes you a 1/4 percentage or some really low number of people in the population that do something like this. i like folks who DON'T QUIT!

i take it no "thin crust" pizza 2nite!

[RaginCajun]

Awesome....this makes you a 1/4 percentage or some really low number of people in the population that do something like this. i like folks who DON'T QUIT!

i take it no "thin crust" pizza 2nite!

thanks for the kind words! and i have never really been a quitter. i broke my arm playing baseball twice and still went back year after year.

[RaginCajun]

i am post pizza right now and still sore as hell. i think from all the stretching that i did to try to relieve all the cramps, i strained some ligaments in my knee or woke up an old injury (tore my left knee in the mosh pit years ago). it could be some old scar tissue broke up and now its just sore. i will be resting again today but i will start to ease back into it tomorrow. it felt really good to get some needed sleep so my body can try to heal. i look back at when i decided to do this triathlon (early february) and see that i did not put enough time in before the event. i did have 3 weddings and two bachelor parties that got in the way so i really can't be too down on myself. i only trained for about 3.5 months so i know that i really need to put more time in. i really want to do another Xterra tri but that is the only one around here for the year. looks like i will be saving up to get a road bike so that i can do some more triathlons. i need to get a higher paying job so that i can afford this sport, it is expensive! some of the people out there were on 5000 dollar bikes! it looks like i may have found a new hobby to go along with all the other 1000 hobbies i have. i am still pondering my workout plan for the next one. the guy who won both the Epic Xterra (basically an off-road 1/2 ironman) and the one i did, said that he does P90x. this guy was ripped to shreds and was muscular. i still plan on using the schedule i have proposed above just want to figure out where to add P90x in at. i will have to play with it along the way and see what happens. i honestly wish i wasn't sore right now so that i could get back on track now, but i know my body needs some rest.

[gbrice75]

Congrats brotha!

[RaginCajun]

Congrats brotha!

thanks G!

[SlimmerMe]

You are correct: your body needs to rest now.

What are your 1000 hobbies?

[RaginCajun]

maybe not a 1000, but i do have many. fishing, hunting, boating, running, eating, biking, golf, gun collecting, football, baseball, basketball, dancing, swimming, women, and whatever else i can get my hands on! pretty much anything outdoors i am a fan of. one hobby that i would like to do if i had some time and room would be to learn how to paint. and no, not painting a house/room, but art. maybe one day when i get my own place i can have an easel in the corner where i can make a masterpiece!

[SlimmerMe]

^^^ Great list!

THANKS!

[RaginCajun]

nothing to report over here except that my legs are still sore! it feels like i killed them yesterday doing squats. these rest days are really boring although i did get a lot of stuff done. i will be going to the gym this evening to go do some sort of training. i know that i need to take it to another level and will be trying to do so. i definitely need to do some more interval training and focus on my back/core and legs. i think that adding this to my routine will help shed the pounds quicker and make me stronger. it sucked during the race where i wasn't even tired but couldn't move because my legs were knotted/cramped up. this is the purposed workout i am going to try this evening: warmup on bike 10 min, then 5 rounds of each, 7 deadlifts with 175 (weight may change), 12 burpees, and a 200 meter jog. i will see how my legs feel with the weight and will lower it if i have to, really don't want to pull/injure anything. i plan on going swim some tomorrow morning so don't want to kill myself to where i don't make it swimming.

[SlimmerMe]

I am looking forward to swimming soon.....love it! Always have. Even as a child I was a fish.

[RaginCajun]

I am looking forward to swimming soon.....love it! Always have. Even as a child I was a fish.

i picture myself more like a shark! swimming is great exercise and its motivation to get in shape for the beach!

[RaginCajun]

well i went to gym this evening and had a fantastic workout! i did the workout i posted above and it was very taxing. my heart rate shot up to 198 after the third set of burpees. i almost threw up! it was very satisfying hitting the weights again! feel pumped right now!!!

[RaginCajun]

i can tell that i did some weights yesterday and glad to have that feeling back. i went for a swim this morning but didn't keep track of laps/distance, just kind of swam 50-100 yards at a time. i concentrated mainly my stroke and breathing, but i need to start doing some kickboard exercises to build up my legs. my weight is 183 today so i will see how this new routine goes before i change anything just yet. i have not been 100% strict on my diet and it is showing, but i have not gained any weight. i think that adding the weight lifting to my routine, it will help build some lean mass and ultimately burn more fat. i think i need to start setting some reachable goals on my weight. my goal is to look good on the beach for the 4th of July, and thats about it. i am not trying to reach a certain number with my weight, but i would like to see under 180 soon!

[RaginCajun]

TGIF! i slept in this morning and i could have stayed in the bed longer. my body is sore all over from my wednesday workout. i am debating on whether to go today and do something (maybe a light jog). next week, i will be starting the new workout routine to see what i will be able to handle. i definitely have to get stricter with my diet and stick to it more. i know i have said this before so i know its getting old but it is very difficult. i hope to get some type of training in this weekend, maybe a bike ride or something.

[SlimmerMe]

Sounds like this week-end would be great for a "just for the fun of it" kinda workout....

[RaginCajun]

Sounds like this week-end would be great for a "just for the fun of it" kinda workout....

couldn't have said it any better myself! i am at the point now where i feel like i have to workout/train. i am liking this newly found attitude! on another note, i do have a hot date tonight and suppose to go do something with her and her friends on saturday night. so we will see how it goes!

[SlimmerMe]

^^^ like I said...for the fun of it! Hot date and all~

[RaginCajun]

it is monday, i am back at it! i had a fabulous weekend and wound up getting a road bike!!!!!! it is a used one but now i really have no excuses! i put in 15 miles on saturday and 15 on sunday. i need to get it fit for my size, so i have some tweaking to do. i am really excited about it because i think it will help me get to my goal quicker and i plan on doing another triathlon this fall. i hit the gym this morning and had a great fullbody workout. i will be sore from it for sure! i will be going do some yard work at my grandparents house this evening because they need some help so i will be getting another calorie burn, plus i will be riding my bike their. they live a few miles away so i might as well use my new wheels!


oh and slim, if ya want details, pm me

[SlimmerMe]

^^^ HA HA! details? Hot and spicy cajun style?

[RaginCajun]

^^^ HA HA! details? Hot and spicy cajun style?

what other way would ya want it!!!!!!

[RaginCajun]

well i couldn't swim this morning because i busted my ass on my bike yesterday. it was my fault, i should have gotten off of the bike when i saw the rocks but i figured i could muscle through it, wrong! skinny tires + rocks = ass busted! i just scratched my elbow and a cut down my forearm. i did however make it to the gym where i did a nice back routine. i did some moves with the bands that mimicked swimming and did some lower back exercises. i went to my chiro yesterday and she said that i need to strengthen up my back, so that is one thing that i will be concentrating on when at the gym. swimming will also help this and i hope to be back in the water soon. i need to stop eating like a pig and get back to stricter eating. i have been hoovering whatever is in front of me. yesterday we had bday cake for one of the doctors so i had to have a piece. everyone was messing with me because i normally would not have eaten any cake and now i just shoveled it down! i am feeling stronger already since hitting some weights and i know that my weight will go up some, it always does when i start lifting. i have to get back to eating right and it starts here! this morning i had a protein shake and a piece of ezekiel bread before lifting along with some BCAA's and carb mix (waixy maize) in my water bottle to sip on while working out. after, i had two pieces of ezekiel bread with steak n eggs. i need to go get more oats so thats why ezekiel bread was used heavily. trying to tidy it up because i want to see under 180!

[SlimmerMe]

You are a character~ Love reading all of this.

I too was very tempted yesterday with a platter of lemon squares sitting right in front of me for over an hour at a function. I did not take a bite. But man o man they looked so tasty and had I had one? It wouldn't have ended there...I can tell you that!

Cuidado on your bike!