July 2009
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Fundraising Results!
For those readers have been following my triathlon trials and tribulations from the start, you’re probably aware that the main purpose for my triathlon goals was to raise awareness and funds for the Temple University Community Music Scholars Program.
And although my initial goal of raising the full $5000 needed to keep the program running was not met, I was very pleased with the successful...
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So What Happened?
So What happened to the race? It’s been 10 days since my first sprint triathlon and I’ve gotten alot of questions, the most popular being “What happened?”
Well, I made it. I haven’t posted an update for 2 reasons: 1- I was really busy picking up alot of my affairs that I had put aside to train and 2- I needed some time to sit and reflect on my race performance and...
June 2009
26 posts
“I’m Alive! Woo-hoo!”
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1 Day To Go
** Thanks so much to Kevin Saint Clair, father of CMSP students Jack and Wyatt, for taking to time to give me a few cycling tips and making some readjustments with my bike set-up. These tips proved to be invaluable and I know that once I get a more natural feel for cycling, they are going to help me to really improve my times. **
After a short tutorial session on cycling 101 with Kevin Saint...
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Maintaining My Endurance
Ok. It was a little foolish taking so much time off last week due to the weather. I swam 44 laps in preparation for the swim leg today. I tried to not stop and put my feet down once. This did not work. I also tried to pick my head up and look forward from time to time to get used to maintaining my position in the river. That was tough as well. All in all, it was a sluggish swimming session.
...
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I Hate Biking Right Now
It’s going to be a long week. I stopped by Fairmont Park today on my way home from work to put in some quality time with my newly borrowed bike. It was tough. I was pretty tired 1/4 of the way through the course. I finished, but it was through complete and stubborn will - not through strength.
I tried to then run, but I was so wasted from biking that I barely made it 0.7 miles before...
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“Isabel”, composed by Jack Saint Clair...
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Better Late than Never
I finally picked up my bike last night - great bike that I borrowed from a friend of the family (I’ll post pics soon). It took a bit to get used to having shoes attached to my pedals, but I’m getting the hang of it.
I took it out to fairmont park today for a ride through the triathlon course. It was definitely alot different than training on a stationary bike, particularly dealing...
Getting Stronger
I wish I had one more month to train. I feel like with a little more time I may actually be able to contend in this race (ie place in the top 10 percent).
I had a really long day today, waking up earlier than usual. I didn’t get to the gym until 8pm. I was feeling exhausted, but have been trying to me really disciplined.
I started with the stationary bike. It was a struggle but I...
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Runtime Challenge
Been too busy these past 3 days…
Since Saturday my schedule has been devoid of training discipline:
Sunday: took the day off to cathc up on some work.
Monday: wen to the gym and swam 64 laps - longest distance yet. 6 sets of 10 laps each with 30-120 seconds rest in between each.
Tuesday: had to take off to get some work done
Tonight (Wednesday): Did not get home until 830pm. It was...
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Triathlon Test #1: Complete!
T-minus 2 weeks. Yesterday was a great training day!
As I drove to the gym, I thought about my workout and set my goals for the day as I often do. I decided that today was going to be my first Sprint Triathlon simulation. I had planned to be ready for this the week of the Triathlon (June 21), but I felt really good today, having had a great night’s sleep. So I decided to make a go for...
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This is one of my favorite recordings from CMSP so...
Day(s) of Rest
Took two days off and came back stronger yesterday. Swam ladder drill laps of 2,4,6,8,10,8,6,4,2 and finished off with another set of 10 laps straight. Pretty solid. I also timed a set of 2 laps swimming as fast as I could - times are below (to the best of my memory).
I then finished my workout with 8 miles biking. I have to take the day off today fir lack of any time to train due to work and...
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Running into a Wall
Pretty exhausted today. Haven’t really felt well all day for some reason. I pushed myself to run. I made it about 1/2 mile and felt like turning around and walking home. It took everything I had in me to keep going and not stop. In the end, it wasn’t a complete failure, but today was definitely my weakest workout in a while.
Looking forward to feeling better tomorrow and banging...
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Staying on Track
Bike: 15 miles at 45 minutes - improvement of 4 minutes from last 15 mile workout
Swim: 25 laps at 18 minutes, non-stop
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Trying to raise $20 from 200 people to benefit a... →
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My Best Day Yet!
Today was a great day!
Preface: I had to play last night at Chris’ Jazz Cafe in Downtown Philadelphia last night and did not get home until about 1:30am. I then had to get up early to teach this morning at Temple University, so I didn’t think my training would be very productive today. Well, I took a nice long nap this afternoon (very rare) and hit the pool first.
I started out...
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My legs hurt and I lost 10 pounds in the last 3...
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Swim length achieved...I think?
I started my workout today with the intention of hitting 40 laps swimming tonight. I tried waking up early again, but I had to play (music) last night and didn’t get home until 12:30am, so waking up to swim, run, and/or bike at 6am and then work 8 and 1/2 hours was out of the question. I was a little worried that I wouldn’t hit my goal since working out after work hasn’t been...
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Morning Training
Today was my first day of morning training. I’ve been trying to get up at 6am for the past few days to train, but have been unsucessful. I finally did it today and it was definitely worth it.
I had twice as much energy as I do when I train at the end of the day. Thanks to Brian Mavi for encouraging me to finally do the morning training. So today I ran 4 miles on the road without...
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Bike Expenses
Training for the Triathlon has been a little more expensive than I had anticipated. I went to the bike shop on South Street tonight and bought some equipment: shoes, pedals, and a helmet. Luckily, I have a friend of the family who has been biking for years and is going to lend me a decent road bike.
Shamino Road Shoes: $100
Look Classic Pedals: $100
Helmet: $50
Grand total: $250!
It was an...
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15 miles on the Bike
Did 15 miles straight on the stationary bike today. Anxious to get on a real bike. I’ve been lucky enough to have a friend of the family put a bike together for me. So, after I get some shoes, pedals, and a helmet, I should be able to start some real road bike training.
Bike: 15 miles in 48 minutes
Swim: 10 laps with ankle and wrist weights in ?? minutes
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Swimming with Weights
It’s been a while since I posted my training progress but I’ve been working hard this week. I took 2 days off last weekend due to weekend work, but jumped right back in on Monday.
Over the weekend I had an interesting conversation with Brian Mavi, one of the singers in a band I play in. Brian’s a greate singer, but he also is a personal trainer. I started talking to him about...
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May 2009
5 posts
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Dude, Where'd My "Fit"ness Go?
Ouch. Getting old is tough. I’m actually really not that old… 30 to be exact. But this has definitely been a challenge.
I used to be very active as a kid, but somewhere along the line (around 15 years old) I fell off that path. And even though I’ve managed to remain relatively fit, my long, lost “fit”ness has definitely become something that I continue to seek.
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Staying on track
Success!
I fell off track again, but I haven’t lost much… I actually made some gains. I started with a fast 2 mile run and went right into my swim.
Typically my swim consists of me swimming 2-3 Laps and then gasping for air for the next 20 minutes. Not today. Today I started with 5 laps straight! I then did 4 more for a total of 9 laps in less than 9 minutes. A new record! I...
Running
The gym closed early today, so I ran through the um, beautiful neighborhood of Mayfair. 2 miles straight, no stopping. This is the first time I made it so far without stopping. I feel myself getting stronger aerobically finally.
Block Training
Block Training is hard. Especially when you haven’t been to the gym in a week.
I did a block training set today to see where I stood. The result: not too good. Here’s to procrastination and bad weather.
Swim: 18 laps in 20 minutes (pathetic). I never pulled myself out of water only to find myself covered in sweat before…
Bike: 6 miles
Run: 1 mile! wow, that was not...
Discipline
It’s been 10 days since I’ve been to the gym… I think. I can’t remember. This is not good. It’s been raining for 9 days straight now in Philadelphia and I didn’t want to do anything but sleep (which I ended up getting very little of).
I began training again today and realized that I need to exercise the same discipline that I try to teach my students at...
April 2009
11 posts
First full run
Outside. First full run. Ran immediately after work. 3 miles. Around 22 minutes. Thinking of signing up for the broad street run - 10 miles this Sunday. Not sure if I can get ready by then…
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Training for a Great Cause!
Hi,
My name is Jason O’Mara. I’m a musician, web designer, and teacher.
I have been incredibly fortunate to have had the opportunity to teach for the Temple University Community Music Scholars Program. This is an often overlooked yet incredibly comprehensive program of jazz and classical music instruction for school-aged Philadelphia children who have limited financial means....
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Things are looking up
Good day at the gym:
30 minutes on the bike (11.5 miles)
10 min. solid spinning warm-up, 5 min. stretch, 20 minute ride
16 laps in the pool (400 yards)
4 laps warm-up, 3 minutes gasping for air, 6 sets of 2 laps and 2 minutes of breathing really heavy…)
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Dave Scott, Six-time Ironman World Champion →
I love this guy’s approach to “open source” training.
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Mental Challenges
“What stands in the way becomes the way.” - Marcus Aurelius
I posted this quote earlier today before my training session with thoughts of swimming on my mind. I had a great learning session at my gym a few days ago and have been anxious to get back and practice my newfound swimming techniques.
I must have been tired, because I made it 3 laps and completely ran out of energy… I...
“What stands in the way becomes the way.”
– Marcus Aurelius
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Learning to Swim...
I’ve been working my way into a regular training schedule - at least trying to - and have been doing a little research. I’ve been thinking about the challenges that lie ahead in learning to swim with proper technique and heighten efficiency, and have been a little worried that i may not be ready in time. I’m having trouble making past 2 consecutive laps and tire after about 4...
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It's Official
It’s official. I’ve registered for the Philadelphia Triathlon (Sprint) yesterday. I’ve shared my plans with a few of my friends and briefly told my Temple University CMSP students today after our dress rehearsal for next week’s concert.
More to come on why I’m crazy enough to do this with so little time to train.
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Setting the Pace
Today I tested myself - Swim, Bike, then Run. I’ve never attempted this before and it was a very interesting challenge (actual stats below).
Today’s challenge: swim to complete exhaustion, rest for 5 minutes, bike to complete exhaustion, rest for 5 minutes, run to complete exhaustion.
I definitely have some hard work in the months ahead. Maintaining the endurance to move from one...
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Day 1 of Training...
So it’s been a month since I posted my progress. This was partly because I have been really inconsistent and partly because I wasn’t quite sure if I was going to go through with the race (more on that later this week…). At any rate, I started my training today with a nice run.
Weather: 48 degrees
Time: 8:05pm
Distance:1.5 miles
Time: 13.15 minutes
Rate/mile: 8.84...
March 2009
6 posts
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iPhone Training Apps
So I downoaded a couple free training apps for my iPhone and tried them out on my first 2 days of Preliminary training. I wanted to find a way to easily track and post my training online so that potential donators can follow my progress. So far, I haven’t been too pleased with the results, but I’m sure I’ll find an easy solution.
RunKeeper - Easy app to use. Just press start...
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Day 2: Another Cold Run
So I had made arrangements to take a swim at my girlfriend’s gym yesterday, but work got in the way. Balancing my training with work will probably be the biggest challenge as I work towards June. So, I took the night off since the sidewalks were pretty much all ice from sunday’s snowstorm.
Tonight I took another run, as I don’t have a pool or a bike yet. The run will probably...
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Day 1: Pretraining Training
Today was my first day of preliminary training for the 2009 Philadelphia Triathalon. It was a tough night to start out on. It started snowing the minute I walked out the door - I hope this is not a sign of things to come. I’ve dedicated this week to do a little training to better guage if I can get prepared for the Sprint Triathalon in June. It was a bit rough, but I feel pretty...
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