Everybody's doing it, so FGT started a new diary. I am calling it the final countdown, because that's what song is on my myspace right now...lol. Complete with a USA triathlon background.

Hey guess what- I actually have something remotely interesting to write about. Ok, here we go, I am just going to make this a pretty long entry and get a bunch of stuff up to date.

January 2-6 Terrible stomach flu, I felt the worst I have ever, ever, ever. Hardcore chills, just could not get warm, and then like moments later, I would break out in the worst sweat ever. Just the worst. One the second, I came home from work at 2, and went to bed, and woke up the next morning.

January 8-19- I start off with a cold, and then my son gets pnumonia, and then my cold gets worse, just a 2 week period where it took like all my wife and I had to survive.

Nows for the fun part- January 22- Tri training season started again, and this time I am a little smarter, a little cooler.

Monday I lifted weights, Tuesday did an elliptical (lots of calorie burn, for minimal knee wear) Wednesday did a spinning bike (good cardio, minimal knee wear) Thursday- Bike again, Friday lifted, and then here is the cool part where I get to talk about something cool (Department of Redundency Department).

Ok, way back in the last week of 06, my wife on another board, on their classifieds saw someone was selling a Garmin Forerunner 201, and thought nothing of it, until I was drooling over one in the store like a week later. She told me that someone had one on xxxxxxxxx.com (not the real site, and not sure if they merit a plug) and they were selling it for $60. These things are normally 150-160. So when we got home, my wife checked the board, and the lady had marked it down to $30! So we snagged it.

Now a little info on what this gizmo is. Its basically a GPS unit that is the size of a huge watch. You wear it on your wrist as you run, and it tracks you speed, distance, calories burned (based on the weight you put in it) and then when you dock it to your computer, it maps your run, and keeps a training log, so you can see your improvement. So anyway, I went out and used this guy for the first time on Saturday. Its a lot of fun. The only thing I wish this one had on it the slightly better model has is a built in heart rate monitor. But to no avail, so on Saturday, (it was 30 degrees or so) I went out in jogging pants, a sweatshirt, sock hat, Ipod on my right upper arm, Garmin on my right wrist, heart rate monitor on my chest, and the read out unit on my left wrist. Its techno geek jogging (great for those with ADD).

I am using spark and keeping my calories between 2000 and 2500 a day, and trying to burn 1300-1500 cals a week in cardio (hopefully this can increase soon), and lift a couple of times a week, for now. Its a good slow and steady prep towards my training goals. I am doing a lot of base cardio right now, and hoping it not only helps me condition my lungs but also drop some pounds.

Last, my race goals for this upcoming season are this - run 1 5k, 1 10 k, and 1 sprint tri.

Recreationally, I hope to do a 100 mile bike ride this summer as well.

And since these are new goals, and a new year, I am going to copy and paste this entry into a new diary for 07. (This is said diary)

The winter sucks. I live in Michiana, a region known for the "lake effect" which for those who don't know means that at any random day, we can get a foot of snow, and pretty much from November to March, we have about 3-5 days with sunshine, and thats pretty literal. So I am sure that I am not the only one with "Winter sucks a fatty fever" (that sounds better than "wintertime blues). I don't think I have SAD, but rather, "I just got a new bike in September and the Tire's are still New Syndrome". Anyway here you (we) go:

How to beat Winter Sucks a Fatty Fever

By David Edelberg, M.D.

If you live in a sunny place like Florida then you probably will not know what I am talking about. The wintertime blues, also known as Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), usually begin when the days start getting shorter and the sky clouds over into perpetual gray. People with SAD dread October because the clocks move back an hour and, in a single day, autumn twilight becomes dark night.

Symptoms of SAD include depression, brain fog, easy sleepiness, carb craving, and weight gain.

At the very heart of the wintertime blues is a lack of the feel-good brain chemical serotonin. When the gray winter days in the Northern Hemisphere arrive, the serotonin you stored up in the sunny summer months starts declining. At the same time, your brain’s stores of sleep-inducing melatonin increase, making you feel like a hibernating bear.

Women are the major victims of wintertime blues because all women start life with less serotonin in their brains than men. But if you’re someone trapped in a SAD life, with no immediate prospects of wintering on the Costa del Sol, you can beat the wintertime blues and get your life back. Basically, you’ll need to pull out the stops and do everything you can to stimulate your brain to make more serotonin. This includes lighting up your life, exercising, taking a couple common supplements, and timing your intake of good carbohydrates throughout the day.

Here are 10 low-cost steps you can take right now to banish the wintertime blues:

1. Go outside and walk briskly with your face in the light -- even if it’s gray outside -- for 20 minutes every day. Both the light and the exercise will kick up your feel-good serotonin. Of course, if the wind-chill outside will deep-freeze your face, find a health club with windows, locate a treadmill or a stationary bike in the brightest light, and hop on.

2. Keep your curtains or blinds pulled open all the way so sunlight (or daylight, even on cloudy days) can pour into your living/work space.

3. Paint your walls light colors -- they’ll reflect the light.

4. If your car has a sunroof, let in the light while you drive (singing along to your favorite songs is optional, but I recommend that too).

5. Increase the wattage of your light bulbs to between 5,000 and 10,000 lux (units of light). Choose subcompact fluorescent bulbs, a bit more expensive but mine have lasted 7 years. The newer bulbs don’t have the annoying flicker and strange light the old fluorescent tubes once had, use 25% less energy than a standard bulb, and fit in most fixtures. If you have any sort of a desk job, buy a full spectrum light box (available online) and aim it at your languishing self for an hour a day.

6. Add the raw materials your body needs to make more serotonin by taking these supplements every day: 2 grams of fish oil and one B complex 100.

7. Eat a small amount of high-quality carbohydrates with every meal and as snacks throughout your day. Fruits, nuts, veggies, and whole grains are among the best choices, as are beans, soups, and oatmeal. You need a little carbohydrate at every meal for your brain to produce serotonin. In fact, craving comfort foods in the winter is your body’s cry for more carbs to boost serotonin -- but, please, if you want to keep your weight stable, make good food choices most of the time.

8. Premenstrual aggravation of wintertime blues is very common (especially for me FGT). If you notice a worsening in the week or so before your period, understand that your hormones are taking your serotonin levels on a roller-coaster ride: when your estrogen drops, as it does in the week before your period, your feel-good serotonin goes right along with it. Get your PMS under control by following the healing path in The Triple Whammy Cure.

9. Try alternative therapies: acupuncture and Chinese herbal remedies -- together called traditional Chinese medicine -- have a seasonal component that make them effective for mild wintertime blues. Flower essence therapies like honeysuckle, mustard, and sweet chestnut all have antidepressant and energizing qualities. And bodywork therapies such as massage and Reiki allow your chi to flow freely thought your body, reducing symptoms of wintertime blues.

10. If after trying the ideas in items 1-9 your symptoms haven’t budged, consider taking St. John’s wort or 5HTP, both of which increase serotonin levels.

welcome to your new diary

Thanks old buddy old pal.

Oooo....Nice clean new diary

Good to see you posting FGT!

did you just call me old?

i know it's stating the obvious but geeez...

I guess your new l ittle gadget will come in handy when your beautiful wife tells you to get lost HA HA you won't be able to now

Just for the record - the title of this diary is going to bug me now... please don't tell me you're fan of the glam rock band Europe -they were one of the bigger embarassments to come out of the 80s

myspace.com/joelkratzer

Not a fan, more of a joke. Its the song that we hum whenever we are in "Rocky mode". YOu know, jogging up that stairs of the state capitol building, chasing a chicken, drinking raw eggs.

Hey, thanks for the tips. I actually like Winter, I think better for some reason. Sounds like you gots yourself a plan. I'm all for natual remedies! They rock..lol.

Funny, because its true. The weird part about my new GPS system is that the sheriff came over and put it on me, and its not like velcro or soemthing, its basically locked around my ankle. Strange.

nice to see law enforcement taking an interest in your health i figured i'd be the first one tagged but i guess indiana - i mean newfoundland-- doesnt have stalking statutes

Man, there are so many different schools of thought on how to train for something. Run hard, no just run long an slow, no intervals, no, not intervals, do brick training. Its really crazy. I am just going to go out there, and buy the coolest looking tri-plan, and follow it to a T. Forget the actually trying to understand the why, and just do it. Just do it, I think I just coined a phrase. Just do it. Maybe will get that trademarked, and put it on some shoes or something.

You might just be on to something there FGT -

Here's another novel idea I am going to implement in this journal: Proofreading. Proofread posts will make this much different than my last diary.

Bahahahahahahaaha!

OK - How long is that gonna last?