Complacency

Sometimes we forget why we started things. I've had a good year so far, made my long term 100 lb weight loss target, ran my first 1/2 marathon, did a self supported sprint tri and had some great long rides, even played some decent tennis. BUT the 45th year is about something more. My first post said

 "I've committed to making my 45th year my fittest year yet." Not to have a good year, not to be a bit fitter but fittest ever. So time to move forward on the bigger goal. I'm lingering at 225 ish lbs but see some old habits creeping back in. A few less work outs a little less care with diet a few too many beers, one word really complacency.  Yeah I'm healthier than the past, healthier than a lot of guys my age but that wasn't what I committed to. Time to ramp it up. 7 more months of being 45 left so no time to waste. I want to see how lean I can get. I have a great base so time to ramp up the fitness, and clamp down the diet. I haven't been below 200 lbs since I was 20 so not sure if that is possible but challenge goals are only fun challenging if there is a chance of failure. So I putting it out there my goal is a lean 199 by my 46th birthday. Details to follow!

Seasonal training!

One of the things I've been talking about in class lately is how we view time. For the last couple of hundred years western society has viewed time as linear, finite; that is when time goes it is gone forever. Now of course it is gone in the most rational of ways, but other civilizations and more agrarian societies have viewed time as being more cyclical, that it is comes and goes like the patterns we see daily and seasonally in our life. Essentially our actions are governed more by the seasons and their variation than by a clock and calender. It seems to me that we are trying to make a return to a more agrarian way of life, at least in part. The eat local, eat seasonal movement is moving more and more to the mainstream. So I thought this would also be a great way to view my training focus and training challenges. Winter is our time to restore, the purpose of hibernation for some creatures, but for humans it seems that winter is a time to recover, to build strength, to experiment and set one's self up for performing. Spring is rebirth, time for a big challenge and to put your winter efforts to the test. Summer is to challenge and grow even more. Finally fall is the harvest, time to aim for a personal best, to leave it all on the table before another winter of recovery and restoration. A simple view of a annual plan but for me it just seems to make sense. We will soon see. Winter comes early in my world (Nov-March) so I'll keep you posted on my new training seasonally approach! Let me know what you think!