Just a "quickie" update about what's happened since last week and report my progress. The 'bottom line' is that I lost another 5 lbs. That's a total of 25.2 lbs in 4 weeks. I'm pretty pleased with that so far, although I am waiting for the dreaded 'plateau' to hit any day now.
As for FastCamp - still loving it. Just completed week 2 and started week 3. Due to travel and other commitments, I ended up not being able to complete 2 of the 3 swims for the week but I did get in all of the runs and bike rides while burning a whopping 10,987 calories! I burned 9,091 calories during week 1. At that rate, perhaps I can stave off that plateau for a while!
My nutrition has stayed in the "most excellent" zone with only minor indulgences (2 beers and some cornbread). And even with the indulgences, I still stayed within my calorie target zones for those days.
Overall, I am pleased with my progress and am confident I will be in top form for Augusta HIM in September. I'll also be in better form for the Lake Guntersville Olympic Tri in May and Kansas HIM in June that I was for any race last year. I'm looking forward to the season!!!
Until next time...
Monday, March 26, 2012
Monday, March 19, 2012
Update to the Season - Weight Loss and Fastcamp
Well... hellllllloooooooo there! Been a while since I've posted - which means I am not exactly living up to my goal of updating this at least twice per month. I need to get better at that - something to keep working on since this is to be my 'diary' towards getting an Ironman finish.
Anyway - enough of that bibble babble. On to more interesting topics which prompted me to get back to this with an update. So much has happened since my last post I don't really know where to start. I suppose I'll start with the easy update - my weight which I committed to post from time to time. As of this morning, my weight was 266.8 lbs. Down about 18 since the last post. BUT - more important - down 20 lbs in the last 3 weeks. Yes, I said 3 weeks.
What am I doing differently? I decided to give up on all 'diets' and 'fads' and everything you would find in the best seller section of the bookstore. I decided (as my lovely wife has been telling me for 10 years) to just start eating ... wait for it.... HEALTHY. So - what does 'healthy' mean? For me it means eating more veggies and lean meats. With the occasional fruit thrown in. It means having minimal (but not "none") grains. It means I went from drinking a 6pk + beer on weekends to a total of 3 beers in three weeks. It means I have not had ice cream, french fries, anything else fried, cookies, etc in that time. Although we did treat ourselves at the Melting Pot this past Saturday night with some cheesy dip and chocolate (and 2 of the 3 beers). But that was a 1 night event that we planned. Back to eating healthy the next day. In years past, I would have looked at that event, blown it big time, and then carried the splurge into Sunday while telling myself "I'll start back on Monday". The difference this time? It's not a "start back" kind of thing anymore. It's a true, honest to goodness, lifestyle change. (damn that felt good to say - and to actually believe)
So - in addition to changing my eating habits, I have also ramped up the training in the last few weeks. Specifically, I am participating in something called Fastcamp which is being led (for free) by the fine folks at www.EnduranceNation.us. It is an 8 week "camp" designed to make you go - well - FAST! And since I am pretty sssslllloooowwwww at swimming, running, and biking, I figured I could benefit. And that started last week. But before that, I had already started increasing my time on the bike and in the gym. I had just completed a 12 week cycle specific strength program, had ridden my bike trainer a ton, went to an occasional spin class, and was either running or doing the elliptical. So when fastcamp started I was already used to the 430am wake ups and working out while on the road.
But I gotta tell you - I am absolutely LOVING the fastcamp experience. Perhaps it is because someone else is coming up with the workouts and laying out the week. Perhaps it is because the philosophy behind the workouts make sense to me. Perhaps it is because it is free. Perhaps it is because these guys seem like genuine good guys. Or perhaps it is a combination of all of these plus the fact that I had changed my nutrition therefore I have filled my body with "good" fuel as opposed to "crap" fuel as I have tended to do in the past. Regardless, I am enjoying the workouts so far and am glad to have started the program. And as with updating my weight loss from time to time, I will be updating my fastcamp experience as well. And after 8 weeks, my continued training as I work towards my races this year.
I suppose that is enough for now. Until next time.... work hard, play hard!!
Anyway - enough of that bibble babble. On to more interesting topics which prompted me to get back to this with an update. So much has happened since my last post I don't really know where to start. I suppose I'll start with the easy update - my weight which I committed to post from time to time. As of this morning, my weight was 266.8 lbs. Down about 18 since the last post. BUT - more important - down 20 lbs in the last 3 weeks. Yes, I said 3 weeks.
What am I doing differently? I decided to give up on all 'diets' and 'fads' and everything you would find in the best seller section of the bookstore. I decided (as my lovely wife has been telling me for 10 years) to just start eating ... wait for it.... HEALTHY. So - what does 'healthy' mean? For me it means eating more veggies and lean meats. With the occasional fruit thrown in. It means having minimal (but not "none") grains. It means I went from drinking a 6pk + beer on weekends to a total of 3 beers in three weeks. It means I have not had ice cream, french fries, anything else fried, cookies, etc in that time. Although we did treat ourselves at the Melting Pot this past Saturday night with some cheesy dip and chocolate (and 2 of the 3 beers). But that was a 1 night event that we planned. Back to eating healthy the next day. In years past, I would have looked at that event, blown it big time, and then carried the splurge into Sunday while telling myself "I'll start back on Monday". The difference this time? It's not a "start back" kind of thing anymore. It's a true, honest to goodness, lifestyle change. (damn that felt good to say - and to actually believe)
So - in addition to changing my eating habits, I have also ramped up the training in the last few weeks. Specifically, I am participating in something called Fastcamp which is being led (for free) by the fine folks at www.EnduranceNation.us. It is an 8 week "camp" designed to make you go - well - FAST! And since I am pretty sssslllloooowwwww at swimming, running, and biking, I figured I could benefit. And that started last week. But before that, I had already started increasing my time on the bike and in the gym. I had just completed a 12 week cycle specific strength program, had ridden my bike trainer a ton, went to an occasional spin class, and was either running or doing the elliptical. So when fastcamp started I was already used to the 430am wake ups and working out while on the road.
But I gotta tell you - I am absolutely LOVING the fastcamp experience. Perhaps it is because someone else is coming up with the workouts and laying out the week. Perhaps it is because the philosophy behind the workouts make sense to me. Perhaps it is because it is free. Perhaps it is because these guys seem like genuine good guys. Or perhaps it is a combination of all of these plus the fact that I had changed my nutrition therefore I have filled my body with "good" fuel as opposed to "crap" fuel as I have tended to do in the past. Regardless, I am enjoying the workouts so far and am glad to have started the program. And as with updating my weight loss from time to time, I will be updating my fastcamp experience as well. And after 8 weeks, my continued training as I work towards my races this year.
I suppose that is enough for now. Until next time.... work hard, play hard!!
Monday, January 23, 2012
The Recovery Ride
Last week, I discovered the concept of "The Recovery Ride". Well, to say I just now discovered this concept isn't necessarily true. But rather, I should say I paid attention to what it was. Why? you might ask? (Or you might not - who knows).
Well - here's why: as I am perusing the interweb, books and magazines, and digesting tweets and FB posts from various super athletes while trying to build this year's training plan, I read about the greatness of the recovery ride. And upon asking for more information, I was delighted to learn that it consists of a relatively easy and somewhat short ride designed to aid the legs 'recover' from hard rides in prior days.
As someone who loves a good ride - especially an easy and short one - I knew I had to investigate further. After searching for 0.25s on Google, I was presented with 53,200,000 items to consider. What I quickly found was that the Recovery Ride basically consisted of the following attributes:
- Should last between 1/2 - 1 hour
- Heart rate should stay in "Zone 1" or low "Zone 2" or 60-65% max HR
- Pedal cadence should be between 80-90 RPM
- Not as important as regular training - they do not significantly improve endurance but do slightly accelerate the recovery process
- May or may not actually be helpful at all - depends on which one of the 53,200,000 you choose to read
- Gives another opportunity to get on the bike on what would otherwise be an "off" day
Given all of that, I decided to do my first Recovery Ride this past Saturday. I had just completed a day of hard lifting in the gym + an indoor RPM (spinning) class on Thursday, and a hard interval ride on the trainer on Friday. Saturday would have been of "off" day for me otherwise, so I chose to give the Recovery Ride a go.
My ride:
- Time: 45:13
- 9.94 miles
- Average speed: 13.2 mph
- 687 calories burned
- Average HR: 126
- Average cadence: 82
Impressions:
Enjoyable and easy ride. Listened to Adele while watching the kids play in the neighborhood from my garage. I opted to ride on the trainer rather than on actual roads since I knew there would be no way to control my HR while riding on pavement. And even on the trainer, I found that I had to concentrate to keep my cadence so low which kept my HR down. Going that slow is HARD!!!!
I'm not sure of the benefits, however. I did not marvel at how well my legs felt afterwards as did many who commented on the interweb and in my interviews with real people. That said - I would do it again. Any time I can get on the bike, I consider it a good thing. But as I ramp up my training to include running and swimming, I imagine the Recovery Ride will likely lose out.
So, until next time..........
Well - here's why: as I am perusing the interweb, books and magazines, and digesting tweets and FB posts from various super athletes while trying to build this year's training plan, I read about the greatness of the recovery ride. And upon asking for more information, I was delighted to learn that it consists of a relatively easy and somewhat short ride designed to aid the legs 'recover' from hard rides in prior days.
As someone who loves a good ride - especially an easy and short one - I knew I had to investigate further. After searching for 0.25s on Google, I was presented with 53,200,000 items to consider. What I quickly found was that the Recovery Ride basically consisted of the following attributes:
- Should last between 1/2 - 1 hour
- Heart rate should stay in "Zone 1" or low "Zone 2" or 60-65% max HR
- Pedal cadence should be between 80-90 RPM
- Not as important as regular training - they do not significantly improve endurance but do slightly accelerate the recovery process
- May or may not actually be helpful at all - depends on which one of the 53,200,000 you choose to read
- Gives another opportunity to get on the bike on what would otherwise be an "off" day
Given all of that, I decided to do my first Recovery Ride this past Saturday. I had just completed a day of hard lifting in the gym + an indoor RPM (spinning) class on Thursday, and a hard interval ride on the trainer on Friday. Saturday would have been of "off" day for me otherwise, so I chose to give the Recovery Ride a go.
My ride:
- Time: 45:13
- 9.94 miles
- Average speed: 13.2 mph
- 687 calories burned
- Average HR: 126
- Average cadence: 82
Impressions:
Enjoyable and easy ride. Listened to Adele while watching the kids play in the neighborhood from my garage. I opted to ride on the trainer rather than on actual roads since I knew there would be no way to control my HR while riding on pavement. And even on the trainer, I found that I had to concentrate to keep my cadence so low which kept my HR down. Going that slow is HARD!!!!
I'm not sure of the benefits, however. I did not marvel at how well my legs felt afterwards as did many who commented on the interweb and in my interviews with real people. That said - I would do it again. Any time I can get on the bike, I consider it a good thing. But as I ramp up my training to include running and swimming, I imagine the Recovery Ride will likely lose out.
So, until next time..........
Saturday, January 21, 2012
Lovin' My Bike Trainer
We are three weeks into the new year and so far, I have found that I am LOVING my bike trainer. I have ridden it 3-4 times per week since I got in last month and am seeing much improvement in my bike fitness. I have also completed four weeks of cycling specific weight training that has helped as well.
I don't have a power meter (anyone who wants to buy me one, the Cyclops Powertap Pro Alloy Training Wheel Set would be peachy), so I am using average speed, distance, and revolutions that the rear wheel spins for a given workout to determine improvement. For one particular interval workout, the revolutions for a workout on 12/24/11 was 13,656 for 1 hour. On 1/14/12 it was 14,748 - roughly a 7.4% improvement. I'll take that...
As for the weight training, I am doing squats, hack squats, leg presses, leg curls, bench press, pull-ups, and dead lifts. So far, the training has been designed more to help me get used to the motions of the workouts, but I can already tell a difference in how I feel on the bike. My back is stronger and I feel like I have more stamina on the bike. Yay!
The slow carb diet has was difficult to get into at the start of the year because I had to get back used to traveling again which was difficult. But this past week I finally had a 'breakthrough' week and finally earned my cheat day (today). I also lost 5 pounds, which is encouraging as well.
And that, my friends, pretty much sums up the progress so far this year. Overall, I am pleased with where I am at this point and am looking forward to continuing on in the coming weeks/months. Next week I will be in Bham all week so it will be another good week to stay with the program. And on 1/30/12 I will start an 11 week Outseason Training Program where I will add in some running and other high intensity cycling. I am modeling this Program after the free resources at endurancenation.us (if I any of you wanted to purchase me their training packages, feel free to do that as well).
Anyway - that's it for now. Until next time..... have a great day!
I don't have a power meter (anyone who wants to buy me one, the Cyclops Powertap Pro Alloy Training Wheel Set would be peachy), so I am using average speed, distance, and revolutions that the rear wheel spins for a given workout to determine improvement. For one particular interval workout, the revolutions for a workout on 12/24/11 was 13,656 for 1 hour. On 1/14/12 it was 14,748 - roughly a 7.4% improvement. I'll take that...
As for the weight training, I am doing squats, hack squats, leg presses, leg curls, bench press, pull-ups, and dead lifts. So far, the training has been designed more to help me get used to the motions of the workouts, but I can already tell a difference in how I feel on the bike. My back is stronger and I feel like I have more stamina on the bike. Yay!
The slow carb diet has was difficult to get into at the start of the year because I had to get back used to traveling again which was difficult. But this past week I finally had a 'breakthrough' week and finally earned my cheat day (today). I also lost 5 pounds, which is encouraging as well.
And that, my friends, pretty much sums up the progress so far this year. Overall, I am pleased with where I am at this point and am looking forward to continuing on in the coming weeks/months. Next week I will be in Bham all week so it will be another good week to stay with the program. And on 1/30/12 I will start an 11 week Outseason Training Program where I will add in some running and other high intensity cycling. I am modeling this Program after the free resources at endurancenation.us (if I any of you wanted to purchase me their training packages, feel free to do that as well).
Anyway - that's it for now. Until next time..... have a great day!
Sunday, January 1, 2012
A New Year....
A new year is upon us and with it, another chance at new promises and resolutions. But as I was perusing Facebook last week, I noticed an update that said "I don't make resolutions, I make goals" or something like that. That resonated with me as I (along with everyone else) would make annual resolutions that would last a few days at best. Then back to normal. But after reading that post, I thought to myself: "Self, instead of the yearly fail-fest, why not take the same approach as that other lad and make a few goals. And work to achieve them". So that is what I am doing this year and will outline them below.
1. Complete two half Ironman's. One will be in Kansas in June, the other will be a repeat of Augusta in September.
2. Finish Augusta HIM in under 5.5 hours. That is a stretch - but with proper training and fitness, I hope to be able to do it. That would be almost a 2 hour improvement over 2011, but I can improve the bike by about 30-45 mins, and should be able to cut over an hour off my run time.
3. Ride my bike at least 2000 miles this year. That includes rides on the trainer - total miles greater than 2k miles.
4. Update this blog at least 2x per month.
One thing I will also be doing this year is posting my weight from time to time. That's going back to an earlier post on 'being honest' with myself. As of 1/02/2012, my weight is 284 lbs. That's pretty much where I started last January where the Slow Carb diet had me drop about 40 lbs in 3 months. That will be my plan again - Slow Carb (starting tomorrow when I return to work) - but will add a ton more workouts than last year. I have kicked ass on the bike trainer and gym for the last few weeks and am happy with my progress. The weight will come - oh yes - it will come.
And that, my friends, is the 1st post of the new year. Here's to wishing you much success and happiness in this new year. CarpeAnnum!!!!
1. Complete two half Ironman's. One will be in Kansas in June, the other will be a repeat of Augusta in September.
2. Finish Augusta HIM in under 5.5 hours. That is a stretch - but with proper training and fitness, I hope to be able to do it. That would be almost a 2 hour improvement over 2011, but I can improve the bike by about 30-45 mins, and should be able to cut over an hour off my run time.
3. Ride my bike at least 2000 miles this year. That includes rides on the trainer - total miles greater than 2k miles.
4. Update this blog at least 2x per month.
One thing I will also be doing this year is posting my weight from time to time. That's going back to an earlier post on 'being honest' with myself. As of 1/02/2012, my weight is 284 lbs. That's pretty much where I started last January where the Slow Carb diet had me drop about 40 lbs in 3 months. That will be my plan again - Slow Carb (starting tomorrow when I return to work) - but will add a ton more workouts than last year. I have kicked ass on the bike trainer and gym for the last few weeks and am happy with my progress. The weight will come - oh yes - it will come.
And that, my friends, is the 1st post of the new year. Here's to wishing you much success and happiness in this new year. CarpeAnnum!!!!
Sunday, December 25, 2011
Merry Christmas
Here's wishing everyone out there a very merry Christmas - or happy Hanuka - or whatever else you may celebrate this time of year. As I sat to write this, I was going to give some simple, thoughtless, and generic stuff just like most folks at this time. But - I've never been one to be 'generic' or PC. So.... here goes...
As I have grown up, the activities surrounding this time of year continue to amaze me. As a guy with a "mixed" religious background and varying beliefs, I often feel conflicted this time of year.
While I grew up celebrating Christmas "real big" as a kid, as I have grown up and learned more about the history of Christmas and how it came into being, I am not so inclined to 'go big' as an adult. Most, if not all 'traditional' customs have nothing to do with anything in the bible and, in reality, are rooted in paganism. But I'm sure most of you know that already, so no shocker there. But it makes me wonder what people actually think when they say we have to "remember Christmas for what it was" and "put Christ back into Christmas" - since, well, it was never really there to begin with.
Also, as I learned more about the bible as I grew up, it seems to me that we are instructed more to remember and 'celebrate' Jesus's death and resurrection rather than his birth. Yeah, I get it that without the former, the latter could not have occurred. And I know that's what Easter is also all about. But the bible is very clear about how to remember his death Very little is mentioned about what to do to remember his birth. So again, going back to the scriptures, I am conflicted as to which one should be most remembered.
I am also a bit disgusted at how commercial it has become and how 'freaky' people get. It amazes me how folks can look me right in the eye and question me for not putting up decorations and then talk smack about their most recent shopping trip when someone 'cut them off' or does something else to anger them. If nothing else, shouldn't we be a bit more tolerant and forgiving this time of year if, in fact, this time of year is about the birth of our Savior?
Anyway - those are just a few thoughts that run through my little brain this time of year. Don't get me wrong - I love giving stuff to my boys and seeing their smiles this time of year. In fact, we rarely make it to Christmas day before having most things opened already. But we also don't go thousands of dollars on gifts. They get plenty - but really - the amount some people I know spend is ridiculous. At the end of the day, it shouldn't be about all that anyway, should it? If someone can be inspired to read the bible, do something good for someone else, or make someone smile - then, really, that's all good, right??
But regardless - I guess that's enough. As I mentioned at the start - I wish you all a merry Christmas to everyone who may happen to read this. And Happy New Year to you all as well. I sincerelly hope that 2012 brings you all the happiness, success, and peace you could ever want!!
As I have grown up, the activities surrounding this time of year continue to amaze me. As a guy with a "mixed" religious background and varying beliefs, I often feel conflicted this time of year.
While I grew up celebrating Christmas "real big" as a kid, as I have grown up and learned more about the history of Christmas and how it came into being, I am not so inclined to 'go big' as an adult. Most, if not all 'traditional' customs have nothing to do with anything in the bible and, in reality, are rooted in paganism. But I'm sure most of you know that already, so no shocker there. But it makes me wonder what people actually think when they say we have to "remember Christmas for what it was" and "put Christ back into Christmas" - since, well, it was never really there to begin with.
Also, as I learned more about the bible as I grew up, it seems to me that we are instructed more to remember and 'celebrate' Jesus's death and resurrection rather than his birth. Yeah, I get it that without the former, the latter could not have occurred. And I know that's what Easter is also all about. But the bible is very clear about how to remember his death Very little is mentioned about what to do to remember his birth. So again, going back to the scriptures, I am conflicted as to which one should be most remembered.
I am also a bit disgusted at how commercial it has become and how 'freaky' people get. It amazes me how folks can look me right in the eye and question me for not putting up decorations and then talk smack about their most recent shopping trip when someone 'cut them off' or does something else to anger them. If nothing else, shouldn't we be a bit more tolerant and forgiving this time of year if, in fact, this time of year is about the birth of our Savior?
Anyway - those are just a few thoughts that run through my little brain this time of year. Don't get me wrong - I love giving stuff to my boys and seeing their smiles this time of year. In fact, we rarely make it to Christmas day before having most things opened already. But we also don't go thousands of dollars on gifts. They get plenty - but really - the amount some people I know spend is ridiculous. At the end of the day, it shouldn't be about all that anyway, should it? If someone can be inspired to read the bible, do something good for someone else, or make someone smile - then, really, that's all good, right??
But regardless - I guess that's enough. As I mentioned at the start - I wish you all a merry Christmas to everyone who may happen to read this. And Happy New Year to you all as well. I sincerelly hope that 2012 brings you all the happiness, success, and peace you could ever want!!
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Managing the Mind
As I go along in this "off-season" or, what I think is more accurately termed, "in between season", I am learning how to manage my mind. Let me explain. You see, in my professional life, I have always been very goal oriented - very focused and driven. And always eager to take on new challenges as I tend to get bored easily with the status quo. That has led me to live in 3 states and many different 'jobs' in the last 19 years. But only 2 companies. My drive has taken me from stepping stone to stepping stone as I have moved forward in my career, but not from company to company. The path has stayed fairly constant.
That being said - I have not had nearly the same success in my personal life as my professional life. Don't get me wrong - I have an amazing family with a great wife, 2 incredible kids, wonderful parents, an inspiring brother, etc. So that's not what I really mean. I am talking about finding 'personal' success in the same way as I have found 'professional' success. Finding something that drives me, challenges me, and motivates me to succeed.
I have always had issues with my weight ever since I can remember. And in the last 10 years, I blew up to over 300 lbs, lost some of that and bounced around the 275 mark for a while. I used to think my drive was to lose a ton of weight - get to some magical 'number'. But then what? But in the last 2 years, I have found I have a new drive. That of finishing an Ironman. And the "then what" after that? Well, do more, faster. After that, who knows. But at this point in the journey, I have a long way to figure that out.
But back on track - or rather - explaining how I got to my focal point. At some point around 3 or 4 years ago (don't remember which) I started attending group fitness classes and was drawn to indoor spin classes. This led to becoming RPM certified in 2010 but basically went nowhere after gaining certification. At the same time, I had a goal of doing a sprint triathlon which I did - also in 2010. And I was hopeful, all along the way, that my weight would just drop off as I trained and competed in these events. But alas, that was not to be the case.
I went into this year, 2011, with enhanced race goals which were all achieved as described in prior posts. And again, I hoped the weight would just fall off. And again, this was not the case. But as I ended my Augusta race and looked towards the remainder of the year, I knew that I had to change my focus - had to lose weight - in order to be more successful in any future race. And that becoming more 'race fit' would be imperative to reaching the ultimate goal of finishing an Ironman.
I initially thought that if I just stopped riding/running/swimming and did ONLY a workout routine designed to aid in weight loss, I would be able to start back up in January. Fresh, lighter, and ready to go. So I chose something that would help lose weight AND add strength, which, I figured, would only help as well - P90x. The only problem?? I don't really enjoy the workouts very much - I get bored - and I missed the crap out of riding my bike and (gasp!) running!
Going back to my work progression, I had (have) a "somewhat" unclear destination, but each "next step" has been very clear along the way towards my growth. I could never have predicted where I would currently be. But I could visualize each "next step" along the way. And each of those steps took me closer to where I am today. Some of those steps were harder than others, some just flat out sucked, and some were quite rewarding. But for now, my current 'step' isn't so bad.
But in this fitness/triathlon/etc. progression, my "next steps" have been mashed together haphazardly in hopes I would somehow just "make it" to an Ironman finish. This aint workin, so I need to change. What I have come up with is that the actual goal at the end of the road isn't what is most important as long as there is some goal - even it isn't realistically achievable (Ironman in less than 10 hours, perhaps). I have to focus on each stepping stone. And for now, that stepping stone is all about losing weight. I have to treat each day, week, month as if losing weight were my job. And that is where I have to 'manage my mind' as I tend to do with my career. Know what the future holds and work towards that. But focus on the now. Win today, then win tomorrow, and then the next day, and the next. And eventually that stepping stone will be cleared and the next set up to tackle.
So after numerous failures and adjustments so far this off-season, I am refocusing (I see my wife rolling her eyes as she has heard this before). Regardless, after reading a ton and getting great advice from great friends who are willing to share their expertise, I have developed a "base" weekly schedule based heavily on cycling (outdoors when I can, indoors on a trainer or class if not) and strength training 2x/wk. These will be modified week to week, but will be basically the same until February when I will change to race specific training in preparation for Kansas.
Back to the rolling of the eyes - I also know that I need accountability - so I will be posting at least every 2 weeks with progress reports that will include total weight lost, any improvements in a timed cycling route, obstacles/hurdles along the way, etc. There may be no one out there who is intersted, but just by posting, it will keep me honest.
So - until next time.....
That being said - I have not had nearly the same success in my personal life as my professional life. Don't get me wrong - I have an amazing family with a great wife, 2 incredible kids, wonderful parents, an inspiring brother, etc. So that's not what I really mean. I am talking about finding 'personal' success in the same way as I have found 'professional' success. Finding something that drives me, challenges me, and motivates me to succeed.
I have always had issues with my weight ever since I can remember. And in the last 10 years, I blew up to over 300 lbs, lost some of that and bounced around the 275 mark for a while. I used to think my drive was to lose a ton of weight - get to some magical 'number'. But then what? But in the last 2 years, I have found I have a new drive. That of finishing an Ironman. And the "then what" after that? Well, do more, faster. After that, who knows. But at this point in the journey, I have a long way to figure that out.
But back on track - or rather - explaining how I got to my focal point. At some point around 3 or 4 years ago (don't remember which) I started attending group fitness classes and was drawn to indoor spin classes. This led to becoming RPM certified in 2010 but basically went nowhere after gaining certification. At the same time, I had a goal of doing a sprint triathlon which I did - also in 2010. And I was hopeful, all along the way, that my weight would just drop off as I trained and competed in these events. But alas, that was not to be the case.
I went into this year, 2011, with enhanced race goals which were all achieved as described in prior posts. And again, I hoped the weight would just fall off. And again, this was not the case. But as I ended my Augusta race and looked towards the remainder of the year, I knew that I had to change my focus - had to lose weight - in order to be more successful in any future race. And that becoming more 'race fit' would be imperative to reaching the ultimate goal of finishing an Ironman.
I initially thought that if I just stopped riding/running/swimming and did ONLY a workout routine designed to aid in weight loss, I would be able to start back up in January. Fresh, lighter, and ready to go. So I chose something that would help lose weight AND add strength, which, I figured, would only help as well - P90x. The only problem?? I don't really enjoy the workouts very much - I get bored - and I missed the crap out of riding my bike and (gasp!) running!
Going back to my work progression, I had (have) a "somewhat" unclear destination, but each "next step" has been very clear along the way towards my growth. I could never have predicted where I would currently be. But I could visualize each "next step" along the way. And each of those steps took me closer to where I am today. Some of those steps were harder than others, some just flat out sucked, and some were quite rewarding. But for now, my current 'step' isn't so bad.
But in this fitness/triathlon/etc. progression, my "next steps" have been mashed together haphazardly in hopes I would somehow just "make it" to an Ironman finish. This aint workin, so I need to change. What I have come up with is that the actual goal at the end of the road isn't what is most important as long as there is some goal - even it isn't realistically achievable (Ironman in less than 10 hours, perhaps). I have to focus on each stepping stone. And for now, that stepping stone is all about losing weight. I have to treat each day, week, month as if losing weight were my job. And that is where I have to 'manage my mind' as I tend to do with my career. Know what the future holds and work towards that. But focus on the now. Win today, then win tomorrow, and then the next day, and the next. And eventually that stepping stone will be cleared and the next set up to tackle.
So after numerous failures and adjustments so far this off-season, I am refocusing (I see my wife rolling her eyes as she has heard this before). Regardless, after reading a ton and getting great advice from great friends who are willing to share their expertise, I have developed a "base" weekly schedule based heavily on cycling (outdoors when I can, indoors on a trainer or class if not) and strength training 2x/wk. These will be modified week to week, but will be basically the same until February when I will change to race specific training in preparation for Kansas.
Back to the rolling of the eyes - I also know that I need accountability - so I will be posting at least every 2 weeks with progress reports that will include total weight lost, any improvements in a timed cycling route, obstacles/hurdles along the way, etc. There may be no one out there who is intersted, but just by posting, it will keep me honest.
So - until next time.....
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)