Start 3rd month training/Staying in the Green with MIO Link

This week has been the beginning of the 3rd month of training. According to http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/cms/article-detail.asp?articleid=730, the 3rd month adds swimming to  the bike. However since I have already been doing the bike and I added run to it plus I have not been able to join the Y yet to start swimming, I have decided to just stay with the last week of the 2nd month increasing the resistance and I will gradually increase the time in the seat over each 2 weeks. I will also increase the resistance every month.

Man what a difference it was from resistance 4 to 5!! It was like I was pedaling uphill the first time on Monday. I had a 40 minute ride and by the end of 40 mins, I could definitely tell that I had pushed my legs more than I have. Wednesday was my 50 minute ride again at level 5 for right now. I always do a 5 minute warmup usually at level 1 just to get the blood flowing thru my legs. However after Monday's session, I found out that level 1 warm up isn't enough of resistance to get my legs ready for the level 5 constant ride. So Wednesday I did my warmup at level 3 to help with the change. Now I am checking my ego at the door, the http://www.lifefitness.com/commercial/grouptraining/lifecyclegx.html has up to 20 levels of resistance so I have many many levels still to go. At increasing the resistance at 1 level per month, I will be at level 14 by the time the 2015 Triathlon season begins in March. I just can't tell you how great I am feeling before, during and after each workout.

I know I go on and on about the MIO Link but I could not even imagine training without the use of a Heart Rate Monitor. And the Link is so great cause you can keep track of what zone you are in just by the color of the flashing light on your wrist. Don't have to slow down cadence, take hands off bars or any other unsafe practices to be able to see what you heart rate is. You set the training zones using MIO GO App then you don't have to worry about anything after that. The good thing about increasing the resistance is that it now is putting me in my Zone 2 or my MAF zone almost for the whole time in the seat. So I am training my body to burn fat first before using my glycogen storage for energy.

Speaking of MAF zone, it is also a great feeling to be in the Zone 2 the whole time now during my "run" LOL. Now I put run in quotation marks and added the LOL cause it really is a super fast walk. I am right there on the edge of a fast walk and starting to run. If I go to running then my heart goes to red, so I am walking fast as hell. It is an ego check for sure cause I so enjoyed running however the benefit is my Plantar Fasciitis has not been bad at all. I just keep saying to myself "I am building base and doing it the safest that I can to keep injuries to a minium.

Friday is my long ride. 5 minute warmup, 80 minute ride, abs then my run\walk. I just got down with yesterdays training and I am already looking forward to Fridays!! I AM ADDICTED!!!!

Again, thank you so much for taking your time out of your day and reading this posts. It does many a lot to me. If you would like please subscribe to that it will come to your email with every post I do.

2nd month TRI training/MIO Link/SLS3/ZOOT Sports/Prime Nutrition/ALR/Pre & PostJYM/Sof Sole/RAAM LOTR

I have had this blog going almost everyday since May 24th 2014, and in that span of time I have had over 612 people that have taken the time to read my blog posts!! That is so humbling and amazing to me. THANK YOU TO EVERYONE THAT HAS READ EVEN ONE OF MY POSTS!!

First off let me start by saying that I am truly sorry for slacking off these past 2 days. It has been a very busy week. I have my kids this week for the start of my summer time with them. So I am getting up at 6 am, getting them up, dressed, fed. At the same time I am getting in the shower, dressed, make my lunch then get them out the door. They get to stay at my mom's house during the day while I am working. So full day at work, then 45 minute drive to get them, take them back home. I fix or pick up dinner for them (I stopped eating fast food unless it is Wendy's salad which I will explain in another blog by itself.) Then on Monday Wednesday and Friday I go to the gym after they have eaten. They get some gaming in then it is showers then bed and do it all over lol. So I got behind from posting and I am going to get caught up now.

Tomorrow marks the 2nd month of Triathlon training with an 80 minute ride plus abs and my run. Mondays training was a real good session. Had a 40 minute ride then my run. I can tell you that it does feel so good to be able to run since having the attack of the Plantar Fasciitis on my left foot. Now this does not go away instantly so I had to stop running for 2 weeks, research methods to easy and prevent flare ups and I purchased a set of Sof Sole insert that is made specificaly for Plantar Fasciitis. I can tell you hands down that they make a huge difference while I am running and day to day. When I am not running I put the Sof Sole inserts into every single shoe that I wear now. Absolutely no pain what so ever during the day. 2 things that I have learned that I have started to do to help manage the Plantar is as soon as I wake up in the morning I pull my toes back toward me and rub right where the heel begins on the bottom of my foot. What I have learned is that during the night while your Plantar starts healing when you wake up and instantly place weight on your foot it retears the microtears that were created from running the day before. By rubbing your heel and Plantar as soon as you wake up, you break up any scar tissue and get blood flowing to the Plantar which helps warm up so it won't tear. The second thing that I have learned and have started doing was I took 4 Sprite bottles filled them almost all the way up with water then put them in the freezer. As soon as I get home while I am drinking my post-workout concoction of Gatorade + Prime Nutrition Glutamine and ALR HumaPro tablets, I roll the frozen Sprite bottle under my left foot for a good 15 minutes to control any swelling that can happen. Just doing these 3 things has helped tremendously. So if you have Plantar Fasciitis, please go and purchased some Sof Sole inserts. Only $19.99, I will make a huge difference.

What can I say about MIO Link that I haven't already said? What a great amazing device! And even though I am a guy, I tell as many women that I know that they have to get this. I can only imagine how uncomfortable a chest strap for women can feel. It is so convient to just be able to look out of the corner of your eye to see what zone you are in. So if you are not seeing green and are seeing blue, need to push a little more. If you are seeing red, need to back it down. I have a Samsung Note 2, I have downloaded the MIO GO app on my Android phone. It lets you set up to 5 different training zones which is great for many different types of training. The App links up by bluetooth with the Link seamlessly. However the iPhone app has so many more features than the Android app for right now. The additional features from the iPhone will be coming over to the Android app some time soon which I am very excited for. Please if you are tired of the rubbing and chafing of a chest strap, then pick up a MIO Link. Works with Bluetooth and ANT+, IPhone and Android phones, so here is no excuse not to run and get one.

SLS3 FXC Compression Sleeves in Lime Green I am seen when I walk into the gym lol. So far they have been great. As someone who is still a beginner in the Triathlon field, my long rides and running have made my legs drained and a little sore. So far I haven't felt drained or any soreness in my calves nor have I gotten 1 shin splint. I use to get shin splints all the time but since I have been wearing the Compression Sleeves I have not. I will do a SLS3 FXC Compression Sleeve review this weekend after my long ride plus run tomorrow.

I will be looking at getting a new pair of shoes from a running store here in the very near future. I currently have a pair of New Balance 690 right now. I do like them however I just purchased them off the shelf and with no expert to see how I run to pick the right shoe for me. I have been interested in what ZOOT Sport has to offer due to Dave Mirra uses them. Now I am not usually a follower of what celebrities use, but Dave Mirra has been an inspiration to me with his Triathlon training and races. He has interacted with me on Instagram many many times which is so rare nowadays. As soon as I get a pair I will be doing a review of them. Also ZOOT has interacted with me on Instagram as well which let me tell you is huge in my opinion. If companies take time to interact with people that takes time out of their day follow the companies it can easily make them a loyal customer for life just for that reason alone.

Prime Nutrition has been helping me with my nutrition both during and post training sessions. I use the EAA and Glutamine with Gatorade every training day. During my ride I mix Gatorade with the EAA to keep my going and hydrated. For the post workout, as soon as I get done I take Gatorade and mix it with their Glutamine. Also so that I get my protein intake right away, I take the ALR Industries HumaPro tablets. I take 6 tabs each time. Here is the link to exactly what makes HumaPro such a great protein source: http://alrindustries.com/products/humapro-tablets . By taking this combination of Gatorade/Prime Nutrition/ALR HumaPr, my recovery time and hydration while working out has been great. What I am looking for now is a good pre-workout supplement. Like I posted before I was sent a 4 day sample of X2 Performance. I tried them and I can not say if I experienced anything different than when I didn't take them. Dr. Jim Stoppani has a line of pre and post workout supplement line that I have been interested in trying. He is great with interacting with people on Social Media to. Now it might be a day before he responds but he is bombarded with question on Twitter all the time. If I decide to get his supplements I will review them on here like I do with everything that I use.

Finally again a shout out to the incredible team of Dave Mirra, Micky Dymond, Dave Zabriskie and Ben Bostrom for their effort in the Race Across America which is still going on. Currently they are in second place only 3 km behind the 1st place team. Also a huge shout out to Rick Tillery who is handling the support vehicle and helping to keep the riders going since there is no stopping until they cross the finish line. Follow them on Twitter at @LegendsoftheRoad and on Instagram they have taken over the Bicycling Magazine account. Also don't forget you can donate to their racing on GoFundMe.com.

Thank you guys so much for your patience and understanding of the slackness of mine lately. Stay tuned for more of my training, iRacing, and hopefully many more reviews of many different products for the viewpoint of a 40 year old gaming triathlete!!

Longest ride yet with Mio Link/Thank you to these people/Planet of the Ape Podcast

So I am sitting here on the couch thinking to myself, how do I cover this whole weekend in my blog since I didn't do it one day at a time. I decided that I would cover each thing that happen this weekend with its own post. So the first one will be about my training on Friday night.

It was my long ride of the week and also the longest so far of my training 75 minutes plus 5 miles (still making up for not being able to run). I strapped on my Mio Link, had my Gatorade + Prime Nutrition EAA Watermelon all mixed up in my bottle and completely forgot to take the X2 Performance. So I will have to wait for next Friday to take it with my next long ride. Got on the bike at Pivotal after making sure everything was set up, plugged in my training zones into the Mio GO app so that I would stay in Zone 2 for the whole ride. And off I started pedaling keeping my cadence between 80 and 85 rpm. One thing that some people might not think about is sitting on a very skinny seat for almost 2 hrs and not having a lot of natural padding lol. I have built up the tolerance of riding in the saddle to about 45 mind now without any kind of discomfort. But at about 45 to 50 minutes it begins.  So I had another issue with sitting on a skinny seat that I finally found out a fix for. Not to get to detailed let's just say sitting on a bike seat for awhile can make a certain male specific area go numb lol. Now by going from a seated position to the aero tuck position has fixed that interesting issue. And from what I also found out was that it can help with the saddle soreness of long rides. Stayed in the target zone, took nice swigs of the Gatorade + EAA every 10 mins to stay hydrated and just got into a rhythm while listening to Pandora. Once I hit the last 2 miles of the +5 miles, I was struggling for sure. I don't know if the X2 Performance might have helped or not. It wasn't an energy thing, it was small little cramps in the back of my legs and just being so uncomfortable in the rear area from sitting for that long.  But rides like these is what pushes our body to go further and further each time. 19.2 miles was the farthest I have gone so far and felt so proud and excited for going that far. Starting Monday I am going back to riding then going straight to the treadmill for a run. I am amazed to say this but I can't wait to get back to running. Again I am taking that very slow to not get injured and I will incorporating the motion of slower is faster training. So I will be using the Heart Rate Training by Dr. Philip Maffetone. It is used to develop the Aerobic system first before working on the Anaerobic system.

Many of people that I would like the thank for motivation and inspiration!

Stephanie Stephens Johnson is such an inspiration and motivated person. Mother of 2 who is also training for Triathlons, Marathons, and UltraRunning. Find her blog under her tag on all social media RunTriMom! Glad to call her a social media friend.

Tammy Hassenpflug is another great woman that shows amazing strength and will to compete in Triathlons and brings motivation to many people.

Dave Mirra is another one that most people know already from BMX competition,  XGames, Global Rally Cross and Rally Racing. He has been training and racing triathlons as his new sport to take on. Following his Twitter and Instagram accounts have been keeping me motivated. And it doesn't hurt that he liked a couple of pics that I posted on Instagram lol.

Rowena De Belligny (I hope I got that right) and Mio Global together!! She is also a mother and Mio Global brand ambassador ( which one day I hope I get that title) and a top age grouper in the Pacific Asian triathlon races. Such a great blog to follow like RunTriMom's. Rowena's blog is ironmummy.com. Please look at her blog too.

And now something completely off topic. My brother @savagegm and his best friend @aberandall have started a podcast about The Planet of the Apes whole lineup of movies, books, comics, and TV show. You can find them at
http://goapepodcast.blogspot.com/2014/06/episode-0-dawn-of-podcast.html?m=1 listen in if you liked or still like anything that has to do with Planet of the Apes both old and new alike.

Well thank you so much for taking the time and reading this again. I will be posting other blogs with what else happened this weekend and of course stay up to date from now on so this doesn't happen again lol. It is a learning process.

Great Pool Day/TRI training/Curse COD

Going to be a short one tonight/this morning. I am getting started real late and I am getting very tired.

Had a real good day. Went to the pool for a couple of hours today to start getting a good base tan going. Pretty much going to go to the pool everyday this week. I have some good news that is starting on Monday June 2nd that I will share with you then.

Triathlon training month 2 week 1 day 2. 35 minute cycle ride with an additional 5 miles added on to it to make up for my left foot healing. 12.5 miles total felt great.  Of course had my go to workout drink of Gatorade and Prime Nutrition's EAA watermelon. It is so delicious,  then after the training I immediately go with be post workout drink of Gatorade and Prime Nutrition's Glutamine unflavored.  I also take 6 tablets of ALR's HumaPro for my proteins.  They are great cause they are formulated for humans and your body uses 99% of the protein rather than only like 15% with Whey.  Plus go to www.primenutrition.com and www.alrindustries.com and get some of their great products. Now another Triathlete from Google+ named Jilian Towar shared with me Herbalife's Hyrdate instead of Gatorade. I am also thinking about SOS Rehydrate and Nuun tablets.  I am still talking with her about it and might give it a shot and of course like everything else I will be giving my review of it on here. 

Got home from the gym and got in 2 iRaces driving the Indy Series Fixed at Richmond. Now it has been almost a year since I drove this car.  Did real well for that much time off.  Finished 10th in the first race out of 19. Just took it easy,  got the new race jitters out of the way.  Second race finished 7th of of 18. I realized how much I loved racing wheel to wheel at almost 200 mph. There is always someone to race against. Will be doing a ton more this week and a lot of Skippy at Mazda Laguna. Will also be uploading to my YouTube channel www.youtube.com/bcutler71352003 the first race in the Indy car. 

Finally wanted to give a shout out to @CRSBURNSOFF. He is on the Pro COD gaming team of Curse. Really enjoyed his stream tonight on MLG. Thinking I might be switching from non-fan interactive Optic Gaming to Curse just cause of him and that he interacted with my post on Twitter. And call it childish but if someone takes their time to talk about you in their blog and tags you in it in social media acknowledge them at least.  Very disappointed with Optic right now but maybe that is just a sign that Curse is my team.

Have a great night and will be posting again tomorrow.