1st sprint tri

So was thinking the tri idea might not be a great one..once doubt creeps in you really only have two choices give in or think no more and just do! So I had a day away from the office today and finished my first sprint tri! Not an official event but my own self supported tri. No timing chips or transition splits but 375 m in the pool 25 km on the bike and a 5 km run.  I dropped the lovely wife (see http://marymeldrum.blogspot.com/) at the office and went straight to the pool. Elite swim team be damned I hopped in the slow lane with a bunch of high energy seniors and slugged out 375 m. Swimming is NOT my thing but I survived using my patented dog paddle turning occasionally into freestyle method (swim lessons are a must in the fall!). Then I  rode 25 km up the lochside trail encountering a family of deer, great ocean views, a number of other MAMILS (see http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-10965608 for details!).  I finished the morning with a 5 km run around cedar hill golf course. No real idea of overall time but lots of fun. What did surprise me was the run was about my usual 5 km time and I had lots left over when I finished. I'm psyched to sign up for an "official" spring tri and get the swimming down before them. Also realized that I can go way harder in a race environment, at least in a sprint distance. Finished and thought this was no big deal but sometimes it is important to remember where we have come from to understand how far we can still go.  I reread what my wife wrote for me on birthday  (see http://marymeldrum.blogspot.com/2010/06/birthday-card.html) and looked at a few old photos (see below) and well getting out there Friday was pretty special for me and reminded me of how much more I still can do. OK too much deep introspection, this is supposed to be fun, next week focus is back on half marathon and getting back to some work structure!

Not that many years ago! but about 100 lbs more of me!

Time to Play my 1st sprint tri on my own.

I think I forgot how to play. Sounds kinda weird I know but this is even more bizarre given that I'm a Recreation/Leisure Professor (yes it is a "real" job!).  Trying to lose a 100 lbs and more recently getting focused on longer term fitness goals like running my 1st half marathon in October has me downloading data from my garmin, tracking miles, elevation, intervals, heart rate and perceived effort and even protein intake in grams. And I know from twitter and the podcasts I listen to I'm not the only one! I think sometimes we forget the benefit of play when it comes to our passions! So I've taken to simplifying a bit. I need to go fast, go easy and go long each week. Training plans do matter but I've taken to tracking things a little less vigorously. I've also decided to throw in the occasional twist. Remember being at the playground and finding something new and cool? or being invited to play some other games with a different group, we didn't say "can't today" I'm doing swing intervals, we explored, we experimented, I think this is really what makes having fitness worthwhile, to try new and different stuff sometimes. So that being said this weekend I came up with my own sprint triathlon (also my 1st tri). A swim in the lake a 20 k ride and 5 k run. Lets see what happens! I have base fitness but no I haven't trained bricks or transitions, but whats the worst that I can happen? Too often we train to minimize any chance of failure yet failure is how we learn, it is how we push past our comfort zone. So maybe a little play might not only add some fun, it just might make you better as well? What do you think??

Are you an athlete?

What exactly is an athlete? I have thought about this a lot and recently on her podcast and subsequently on her blog (http://kelownagurl.blogspot.com/) Kelownagurl (ps great podcast check it out!) posed the question of how many triathlons it takes before one can call oneself a triathlete? I choose the something else option, in my case ZERO. To me an athlete is about the time and effort one puts into train whether one chooses to put that training to the test in a formal competitive setting is irrelevant. The lady trying to pound out a personal best on the local chip trail is as much an athlete as someone running a charity 5 km. In some cases I might even argue that some who compete in events aren't really athletes, if they don't put in the hard training before the event. To me the preparation is key, even if that preparation is for some unspoken, unseen event.  As I struggled with weight I still played the occasion tennis tournament but I wasn't an athlete, I showed up and usually played ok but I didn't  "chop the wood and carry the water" as @simonwhitfield so aptly tweeted about @paulafindlay's second straight ITU tri win.  Outcomes follow effort and effort to me gains you the title of athlete, be you first or last if you did the work that is one title only you can bestow on yourself. Motivational quotes get a bit too much play but this one always stood out for me.

"It's not the will to win that matters—everyone has that. It's the will to prepare to win that matters."

— Paul "Bear" Bryant

To me being an athlete is being ready to take on whatever I choose to challenge myself with or whatever I may be forced to take on as a challenge, be that climbing a local trail, taking on a younger foe on the tennis court, coming back from an injury, or even just beating back the covers to get out of bed and run, ride, stretch or lift. Above all I think the title of athlete is one only YOU know if you deserve, and one you don't keep based on your past performance but that you need to earn again and again, day in and day out. Do you deserve the title? Let me know why!

Weight loss and training: two very different animals

This may seems common sense to many, but I just finally getting this into my head losing weight and training for something do not go hand in hand. Having lost a little over 100 lbs, still freaks me out to write that, I understand that you lose weight by creating an eating plan and nailing the details, activity is important but in the giant scheme of dropping pounds it may be overrated. It wasn't until I took my nutrition, and in particular my portion size into account that I really understood this. As a big guy a hour ride can't be rational for the all you can eat bread or pasta buffet and no your don't need a pocket full of gu, gels or other carb of choice you want to burn the stuff you are already carrying!. NOT if you want to drop pounds. When you look at what you burn (above and beyond what you would burn just sitting there) the numbers are not as large as we often imagine. This becomes even more the case as we become more and more efficient at working out. I do buy the muscle burns more calories idea but to do that one needs to really be aware of how much work is required to add a pound of muscle, a lot of what I see in the gym just isn't going to cut it. The harsh reality is if you want big change you need to make big change and get into a place of discomfort, not just in the gym but in your diet as well.

As I change my focus to train for events rather than to satisfy a number on the scale I have to realize that hard uncomfortable efforts require fuel and proper rest. Conversely my most successful period of weigh loss came with a strong focus on what I put in my mouth and consistent but mild exercise that I did not compensate for with additional fuel or rest. As I talk to people about losing weight or listen to comments on podcasts or other media I hear my old self using exercise as the magic bullet. Exercise is amazing, it adds energy, helps you sleep, makes you more creativity, it is a magic bullet in many ways but not for weight loss, at least not in my experience. If you are looking to drop pounds spend the energy getting diet right and just get moving, no needs for training plans or epic events. Plenty of time for those when you get to test out the new fitter body!

FOCUS!

Been a while since I posted, a bit up and down. the ups have had a couple of consecutive long runs over 90 mins, felt good during but have been suffering from foot and ankle issue that have kept other runs relatively short. back out there ran an easy 30 min push run, check out zen and art of triathlon for more creative exercise ideas! Push runs are stopping every 10 mins and pounding out, in my case 15 push ups them back to running.  Eating is fairly good but the less it requires attention, lack of attention for me leads to an increase in portion size and yes you can eat too much food even if it of the good and healthy variety.

As I started this 45th year project I had and still have a lot of goals, but as I know all too well too many goals does not lead to success! So my focus until Thanksgiving, (Oct 11th in Canada) is on running and completing my first half marathon, the Royal Victoria Marathon. That means 4 runs a week including a long run. The other days are a time for active recovery and cross training, cycling, some tennis and continue to do body weight resistance training and some stretching/yoga.

Pretty excited about running, in by far the longest race I've ever thought about. At this point each weekend my long run is my personal best longest run, nearly 10 miles at this point. I've only been back running for about 6 months and never really had sustained running other than to get ready for a sport in the past so pretty cool getting into the almost 2 hr over 10 mile territory. I am certainly feeling the long run and fatigue and soreness have been a frequent visitor the past few weeks. Need to really pay attention to recovery. It is interesting as the shift from a focus on weight loss, get there burn lots of calories, vs training, focus on smart workout proper fueling and especially on adequate and intelligent recovery. No time goal just to finish and finish with a smile on my face, that being said I'm going to push, it is part of me and part I really like so we will see in a couple of months what my half marathon PB or PR will be!!