Wow, thanks for all of the detailed info, Drew. I will definitely study this and do and or plan for many of your suggestions. This is really valuable info I appreciate it.
Hi Richard -
Family life is good. I definitely cannot enjoy my hobbies anywhere near as much as a bachelor, but my wife and I have been making time for each other to exercise even with our work and taking care of our three young kids. She has lost 55 lbs since September last year. I lost 20 lbs since March of last year.
I don't really know how to explain my current fitness level but I can give it a shot. I am 33y/o 6'0" 164lbs. I am probably in the best shape of my life, although that is not saying a lot. I ran a marathon in November. Since then I have been focusing on swimming and cycling while maintaining 4-6 runs per week. Between swimming, cycling, and running I average about 11 hours of activities per week. I am building up to 15 in early May to prepare for my first triathlon, and 70.3. I feel great. 11 hours per week is to balance family life, no where near the edge of what I can handle.
My indoor FTP is 265w. My last long ride I maintained 154w for about 6 and a half hours outdoors. There was an extra hour of stopping but it was not all entirely needed. I could have only stopped a half hour if needed. I felt strong the entire time. I could have either increased watts or increased distance.
6.5 hours my longest time doing any activity, so I will be doing a little more than double that if all goes well on my ride.
Thanks for the well wishes. I will be sure to update the thread after the ride to let you all know how it went and lessons learned.