Gearing up for the second half

When I first started writing this it was really about getting in shape during my 45th year but in reality it was a weight loss thing. Over the course of time I lost 100 lbs http://the45thyear.blogspot.com/2010/06/then-now-100-lbs-down.html . Since then I've put a few pounds back on but have been way less active than feels good. The lethargy leads to bad eating, more drinking and some really unpleasant moods! So enough of that! My real long term concern is not a number on the scale but about being a good role model for my kids,  the kind of guy my wife thinks I can be see (http://marymeldrum.blogspot.com/2010/06/birthday-card.html) and of course to get ready for an awesome second half; the second 45 years give or take a few! As a leisure professor (yeah it is a real thing!) I know how important it is not just to be activity but to have activities we care about, activities that allow us to be part of a community and activities that are not only fun and engaging but also meaningful. As a starting point I'm out to get more involved in cycling and to work toward a more Paleo diet and approach to life. Less processed crap and much much more time outside!  So some small first steps.  I've been out on the bike 3 days in row, found out where to get some amazing grass feed beef right here on Vancouver Island and am planning on doing a randonneuring event in March. More on all of these in the coming weeks. Hopefully I will post at least weekly. So we will see how this caveman biking thing works for me as a life long way to live!

A much needed return

As I haven't posted for 10 months or so I'm guessing this is more of a reflective journal for myself but regardless here goes! A quick recap of the past 10 months; I managed to get in some pretty decent shape by the beginning of summer, got pretty strong, flexible and cardio was awesome. Rode the Tour of Victoria and survived cramps and all. Then it started to fall apart a bit! Injuries, beer and BBQ, a busy fall term and now in December the clothes are tight again and I need to get moving. Running has fallen off and the injuries mounted leading to drastically reduced exercise and slowly devolving eating. So back to evolving both diet and eating. I plan to ride enough this year to feel comfortable calling myself a cyclist (more on that as we move forward) and really commit to an eating plan that will be strongly based on the Paleo Diet but refined for the modern man (details will follow)! One often reads the weight loss stories or fitness "miracles" but as is often the case there really is no finish line just continued effort. In the next few days I'll post the downside of not keeping up with it and then onto more progressive and positive posts. So back to it!

Back to the cave!

Been a while but all is good. Weight is back to before holiday hell numbers and the current focus is on strength training. Wow my body loves the weights. Eating wise I'm doing a kind of paleo thing lots of veggies and lean meat, reduced fruit and dairy/grains are all but gone. We will see! I have a 121 days left of the "45th year" really interested to see how far I can take getting lean and getting fit. The rest of the month and the first weeks of March will focus on dropping another 15 lbs and continuing to get stronger. Cardio will focus on intervals and speed and the occasional longer ride. The spring will return my focus to running and biking. As it currently stands looking to focus on getting faster at the 5 km time rather than to move on to marathon. The longer stuff will be on the bike with a couple of Gran Fondos on the horizon and a few tennis events here and there. Will post regularly on the paleo experiment, may use cave drawings if need be. Love to hear from anyone who has or is doing the Paleo type eating plan.

Failing to learn...again

We all know it is no fun to accomplish something unless there is some challenge. It is over coming those hurdles we have created that makes the goals we set worthwhile, but sometimes not achieving a goal, not pushing through may just be the smartest thing to do. As you likely have guessed by now I didn't quite succeed in my first goal this year. My goal was to workout for 45 straight days to start 2011(45 being the number of years I've been around). For the record I completed 20 straight days of working out (defined as sweating, breathing heavy for 30 minutes or more). Injury started to creep in - knee locking up, back hurting/spasming, I was feeling much more than 45 and a long way from the fittest I've ever been. So lesson learned, recovery is key, no two hard days in a row and I need to careful to stay active even when taking time off. I really lost a lot of fitness over the holidays and it will take some time to come back. So we are back still a little sore but on the bike today and looking forward to a rest day at least once a week. Lesson learned!

Guess what I'm doing?

I'm not telling!

It is that time when we wake up to renewed energy, big hairy audacious goals and then proceed to often flounder in a matter of a few short days. This year no resolutions, but I do have some goals - some pretty big ones, but for a change I'm not sharing.

WHAT? isn't telling people your goals, writing them down, having them be SMART (Google it if SMART goals are new to you!). Yes and no. I do have goals but this year only a few. Having too many goals, as many of us do at this time of year, does not lead to focus, and focus is key. I do write them down, but only for me. And I have no more than seven goals as I want to be able to remember them off the top of my head. They need to drive my behaviour, not be in a book somewhere where I find them as a reminder in November 2011 (I actually did that this year!).

No this year I have a few big outcome goals and a couple of critical process goals that will keep me on track. Come on we all know achieving our goals is simple - (eat less, exercise more and you will lose weight and improve your fitness level) but it is not EASY! Doing these key things is what leads to success, and you can't have 100 key things. 

BUT... I'm not sharing, well not yet anyway.  There is some very interesting research on telling people about your goals. What happens when you tell people about a great big goal? Well, you get support, pats on the back, lots of "you are amazing" and, well, those rewards are for just saying you will do something - not actually doing it, and many of us are never actually following through. This changes our social reality, and there is lots of good social science research in this area (almost a hundred years worth!).  For a simple but very well done piece on this see Derek Silver's TED talk on goals (short version here -well worth the 3 minutes!) 

So yes I do have goals and yes I will report back, but only after I've succeeded or failed.  So stay tuned! Happy new year, go set some big goals, a few that you really care about, commit and then shut up and get to work. And then let me know about your success!

172 days

  So if you are new to my blog my goal was to see if I get as fit as possible during the year I'm 45. From my 45th birthday to my 46th on June 21st, 2011.  This Jan 1st no resolutions but a continued focus on getting fit, 172 days in 2011 until I'm 46! When I first started this I think that really I was talking about getting thinner but that’s no longer the only goal. Nor is getting healthier, lets be honest here so many of us say its about health but the genetic gods have a lot more control over whether I'll have a 80th year project than do my fitness efforts. What I do control though is the quality of my life regardless of how long that may be. So I need a little help here. How do you define fitness? What should my measures be this summer, let me know! Comment, tweet or dm me, love to know what you think?

Lurking

Anyone who has lost a substantial amount of weight, see (http://the45thyear.blogspot.com/2010/06/then-now-100-lbs-down.html) knows that the fat suit is never far away. That former self lurks just around the corner, usually sitting on the couch eating holiday baking or having "just one more drink." We all know or have seen someone get in shape for some event, a wedding, birthday or run or ride only to achieve the goal and then slip. Not unusual at all, unfortunately many of the things that allow some of us to lose the weight in the first place, like obsession (sometimes we call it discipline!) have both a positive and a destructive side. One good thing you do gain though is awareness and I am all of sudden all too aware of some very negative stuff creeping back in. The occasional treat has turned to regular holiday treats, a beer or wine to several, daily!! and the reasons to miss workouts seem so much more rationale than they did when I was pushing for the 100 lb loss and then to run a half marathon. I need to realize that the guy who gained 100 plus pounds in the first place is still with me and that's OK I like him, but I don't like the way his habits made me feel. So to slip up is human, to do nothing about it, well at least for me is unforgivable. No waiting, no elaborate planning, no start on Monday or the new year, next week..fill in your favorite! I know what to do... move and eat well and just enough, hydrate often: end of story. So good day lots of water, lots of greens, lots of vegetables and lean protein and a good 45 minute trail run. Feel better already, even the fat guy seems to like this feeling!

getting back on track

It has been a real challenge getting back on track after the half marathon in October. I've set a bunch of goals but in all reality none were really all that meaningful to me. So here goes a little bit of honesty! I want to weight under 200 lbs! goal 198 by June 21, 2011. Also,  I really don't love running but I LOVE cycling. I  was listening to this running life the other day, a fantastic podcast and Gordon mentioned that  something about loving to train and in all honesty I don't really like running all that much. that being said I don't plan on stopping running but I not sure a Marathon is really MY goal. Getting much faster on the bike is way more exciting to me and likely way better for my body. so signed up for Gran fondo in Penticton, BC this summer and may ride Whistler Grand fondo in September as well. Ok that is all for now! time to get to work!

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!

So we begin again! THE PLAN

Well its 21 days since I finished my last major goal, running my first half marathon. The last three weeks have been all about planned recovery, in the past I would have been freaking out about less than stellar eating habits and lower intensity workouts, but I knew I would need a break, more mentally than physically. The interesting difference this time is I can't wait to get back at it. I've been running and eating pretty well anyway but I miss the focus a goal brings and more importantly the way I feel when the eating and exercise are in balance and are a priority.
I've reworked an annual plan laying out three major events for the upcoming year. Something major in three of the four seasons; spring, summer, and fall and using winter to build the base, get strong and get flexible. The spring goal is the BMO Vancouver Marathon on May 1st. It will be my first full marathon. In the summer (mid July) I'm going to ride a Granfondo in the BC's Okanogan region and tie that in with a family vacation and mountain biking with younger son. Fall is still a bit up in the air, as it stands I have two events, one being a duathalon in September the other being the Victoria marathon (likley the half, this time with a goal of less than 2hrs or maybe even with the older son!) in October. These will be the focus for what I'm doing but I still plan to play some tennis, get in the pool and maybe even do a sprint tri in there somewhere, but I will fit these in around the key events.
I'm honestly a bit terrified of the marathon (not the event itself, I have a lot of faith in my ability "to gut it out" once I'm out there) but more the training volume. I'm going to continue to use a run/walk method on the long runs and slowly build on the base I have from October's half.  In the short run I have a new weight loss goal, drop 15 lbs by the new year, to help with the pounding of marathon training. Stay tuned!

A post of thanks! pt 2!

Wow what a year to give thanks! 100 lbs down! self supportted tri done! 1/2 marathon complete! Definitely deserves 2 posts! Yesterday I thanked Mary , my partner for past couple of decades. Today we sat at dinner and my 15 yr old and his friend announced that next year they want to run the half marathon and my youngest son is looking forward to getting to the gym! After a teen sleep over they were there yesterday am at km 9 cheering me one, pretty impressive lads thanks!! I also have a bunch of other folks to thank especially those nameless few at work who had the patience to get me out walking then walk/running and finally running, I am forever thankful! I'm also thankful to a bunch of folks I've never meet! @holisticguru on twitter has offered some killer nutrition advice and support. She is awesome check her out! Two podcasts that never fail to inspire and entertain @kelownagurl on twitter (who also has been unreal in her support!) kelownagurltris podcast and zentri, zen and the art of triathlon podcast. Thanks to everyone, look out for me I've only just begun. The goal for me in the coming year is to help inspire others and to give back, an impossible task really, but one I look forward to taking on! Enjoy Canadian thanksgiving!

A post of thanks! pt 1!

It is thanksgiving weekend here in Canada and I certainly have a lot to be thankful for. Today, 10/10/10 I ran and finished my first half marathon. No records but I did finish in under 2 1/2 hours and I finished with enough left to enjoy the rest of the day and to already start searching for my first full marathon, ideally next summer, to wrap up the 45th year! I have down played this event, lots of people run and finish these events and way more challenging events, as was evident as I watched footage from Kona yesterday. Yet this was VERY special for me; it was a way to celebrate my 100 lb weight loss and my return to living like an athlete. More importantly it was a commitment I finished. I took a chance and took on the challenge of running without knowing I would succeed. We often choose goals we know deep done we can achieve but putting yourself out there is something I haven't done much of.  As I got up this morning the espresso maker had a card signed by my wife kids and even my mom who is visiting. Mary wrote a reminder of a favorite Theodore Roosevelt quote of mine that really sums up what this run meant to me. 

 

“ The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; because there is not effort without error and shortcomings; but who does actually strive to do the deed; who knows the great enthusiasm, the great devotion, who spends himself in a worthy cause, who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement and who at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly. So that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.”

 

I can't thank my family enough for their support. Tomorrow more thanks, a race recap and what next????

How NOT to train for a half marathon

So 2 weeks to my first half marathon. The training plan was well laid out but alas plans are guidelines are they not?? Last week no long run, decided to play a final fall tennis tournament, 2 weeks before foot injury no long runs, before that a summer ending sprint tri, all great stuff (except the injury) but not on focus for the event to cap off summer. Back at the long run today, 8 plus miles felt fine, one more long run next week back to 9 or 10 miles and I should be fine, but not ideal prep. Strange how I feel I need to make stuff more challenging, "hey anybody can do a half marathon if they do the work!" I still haven't really internalized and acted on the fact that it is ALL about the WORK! OK lesson learned and some pain to come in a couple of weeks but I will push hard and finish strong. Time will tell how successful I'll be!

Fail to succeed

One of the things I've learned over the course of getting back into shape is the need to fail. Failure is the KEY to development. I think we all realize that to do anything at a high level we have to push things a bit. The part we sometimes don't get is that pushing the envelope means that we will encounter failure. How one deals with this failure is ultimately the key to moving forward or stagnating. Do you see it as something you can change? or is it some fixed shortcoming. In the past I've tried running but encountered injury or limited cardio capability and my old answer was often "well you are just not built that run". To be frank that was a cop out. Worse when we believe that one can't change we tend to avoid the behaviour, be it running or weight loss and then things actually get worse and you create a self fulfilling prophecy.  My success didn't come until I realized that failure were lessons, walk before you run (literally) take walk breaks, adequate rest etc. All these failures have taught me to understand my body and how to get to be a runner. The same was true of my weight loss. I've know this intellectually for ages but only recently internalized it and put it into action in regard to fitness and weight loss. Psychologists often refer to this as a growth mindset vs a fixed mindset. There is a lot of great evidence out there that one's effort and motivation is often tied very closely to this belief that one can grow. I'm a strong believer that their are no gifted people just those who work hard, work smart, and have access to opportunity etc. Yes, in some cases genetics helps or creates boundaries, but those boundaries are often very large and for most of us will never be out real limiters. There are some good popular books out today that take a lot of this literature and boil it down to some key elements. If you get the chance check out the Talent Code by Daniel Coyle or Bounce by Matthew Syed. So this week give yourself the chance to fail and reap the benefits down the road.

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!!