12/5

Today was a good day. Not only did I manage to completely avoid some very yummy chocolate treats in the evil bowl at work, I actually ate a good lunch and had my mid-morning and mid-afternoon snacks that seemed to work so well earlier in the year when I managed to drop some weight.

Breakfast needs some work - cereal is just so quick and easy.

Dinner, ok, not the best, but not the absolute worst either - a plate of crack mac. gotta love some leftovers!

As for workouts, along with my runs with Gunner, I went to the pool again this evening. I've been reading the book 'Total Immersion" by Terry Laughlin with John Delves. This is an interesting book that really speaks to my inner engineer. The way they describe swimming with such an engineering approach makes a lot of sense.

I've been working on following their advice, and perhaps it is paying off. Of course, each day in the pool gives me a little more strength that allows me to be that much stronger the next time. While I am not breaking any speed records, I can tell my 50m lap times are improving.

the last visit to the pool I did 1050 meters in about 29 minutes. Tonight, I passed that mark in about 27 minutes. Then, I kept going until I totaled 1500m. Stopped the clock at 47 minutes. Still pretty slow, but I felt really good about it.

One of the reasons I felt good about it is because when I hit my lap button on my forerunner, it gives me my lap time. Last time, I saw most of my times in the 1m20s range. Mostly over 1m20s, but a few under 1m20s. This time, I saw many lap times that were in the 1m15s range. The fastest I recall was 1m13s. Still there were quite a few in the 1m20s or more range, but I was definitely feeling stronger and my technique is improving.

Speaking of technique, I know I could benefit from a coach, but I'm a stubborn fool and like to see what I can do all on my own. If I decide to do a full Ironman, I'll spring for a real coach. For this half, in one sense, I'm going it alone (well, I'll have plenty of support from my friends of course).

Here's the official food list for the day:
bowl and a half apple jacks/cheerios mix, with milk and one banana

Protein (builder bar) for mid-morning snack

Pork tenderloin and two orders of veggies (a corn / lima bean / green peas medley and a cauliflower / broccoli / carrot medley). Sweet tea (ok, shoot me)

Fibre bar for mid afternoon snack

Dinner - crack mac and a glass of chocolate milk.

Workouts:
2 x 2mile runs with Gunner. He is sacked out big time now. That running is very good for him!
1500m in the pool.