A little bit of frustration....

Just arrived back after spending a week in Denver where I was taking some business training.  I always find it energizing to get to those types of events and learn new things to apply in my day-to-day work.  The drawback, of course, is that I am away from my family for an extended period of time.  I feel much guilt at those times being the absent father, not being able to do things with my kids, and putting the burden of childcare exclusively on my wife. 

The benefit from being away from home, and not having the responsibilities that typically come with all that (e.g., getting kids to functions, cleaning the garage, cutting the grass, etc.) is that it affords me the opportunity to get in workouts that I otherwise might not be able to manage.  So I was good at doing that in the week away in Denver.  Starting on Sunday, after arriving at 9 a.m. from Edmonton - and then waiting for my hotel room to be available, I threw myself wholeheartedly into the effort to recapture my former (imagined) glory!  Got in a 2 hour workout with a mix of weights, bike and running.  Now the bike workout is not really the same as getting on my own bike, but the fact that I actually got in a workout should really be the most important point.  From that point on, I continued to commit to a workout every day while in Denver and did very well in getting in at least an hour a day from Sunday to Thursday.  I definitely felt the absence of regular workouts in the weeks leading up to this point - a little stiff and sore to be sure!

Heidi and I had also signed up for the 100 km version of the Tour de l'Alberta some time ago.  That was likely at a point when we expected to be a little more diligent about workouts and staying in shape and when the prospect of a little ride together in the summertime didn't seem as daunting as it now became in the week leading up to the event.  Unfortunately, we were not able to secure child care for July 22nd.  Heidi was gracious enough to let me take on the ride anyway and stayed behind with the kids...we are still not sure who got the better of the deal!

I was fortunate enough, however, to be able to ride with a friend of mine for the 100 km.  Trevor got involved with tri about a year ago now - he said that Heidi and I inspired him to give it a go.  This was after he'd lost a great deal of weight and started doing a ton of running.  We eventually convinced him that tri - with it's variety in workouts - would be easier on his body.  He's been quite dedicated and committed this whole year to competing in numerous tri and running events.  Congratulations!  So needless to say, he helped me out a lot in the 100 km ride this past Sunday when I had not be on an outdoor ride since last August's Ironman and had not been in the saddle for more than 90 minutes in the past year! 

Sooo...needless to say at the end of the day my ass and feet were killing me!  But I did finish and the ride was certainly less adventuresome than last year's 185 km version of the Tour - no flat tires, no lost equipment, no unplanned detours...So maybe kind of boring.  The weather definitely cooperated and because I was trying to figure things out again and forgot my sunscreen I ended up with quite a funky tan to go with my sore body. 

This morning, however, I was disappointed to do my weigh in.  Considering my week of workouts in Denver and my 100 km ride I would have thought I could have dropped a couple of pounds.  Alas, it was not too be. Perhaps things like the the Hershey Chocolate Bar Cheesecake with two scoops of ice cream and whipped cream did a lot more damage than I thought...time to get back to starvation rations...and more workouts!

Thank you!

A bit of a different entry today.  I've been writing this blog for getting on 2 years now.  Have to say I was inspired to start writing about my experience as a triathlete based on how I had seen others document their experience.  However, at no point did I really think anyone - outside of a small circle of friends - would actually be reading it.  And perhaps ignorance in that regard really was bliss.

So for the past 2 years I've been writing on and off about my experience, primarily as I moved towards and beyond my second consecutive Ironman Canada event.  I certainly wasn't as dutiful as I should have been and I guess when one thinks one is writing for himself there really isn't much pressure to write updates every week or even every couple of weeks.  Truth is when you are in training mode one week pretty much looks like any other week other than the occasional breakdown, weather event or similar tragic-comic event.

Nevertheless, I never truly thought others might be paying attention to my experience.  It's only been in the past couple of months as I've undergone a significant change in my career, and started a leadership blog as a consequence (http://itsaboutleadership.blogspot.ca/), that I even stumbled across the fact that people had been paying attention to my triathlon adventure.

As I said before, I expected that a small circle of friends would drop in to take a look at my entries every once in a while.  A few of them even became followers.  However, in the past few weeks I have been STUNNED to discover that I have had people from AROUND THE WORLD "drop in" on me!   So bear with me as I list for you the countries from which views of my blog have taken place - Canada, United States, United Kingdom, Norway, Netherlands, Phillipines, Germany, Russia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Thailand, Austria, Australia, Italy, Brazil, India, and Denmark!

I am truly astonished.

So I want to thank all of you for tuning in and watching the adventure.  Now that I know you are out there I'll try to write to a higher level, one that is more worthy of a worldwide audience.

I would also love to hear from others across the world about their experiences in triathlon.  I am learning so much from my own personal journey and from my own small circle of friends and colleagues here in Alberta.  I can only imagine how much richer my experience would be if I could benefit from the experience of amateur athletes around the world!

Yikes! How did this happen!?

Soooo...I knew that I was experiencing a bit more constraint in my clothes of late and I really had been dreading taking that fateful step on to the weigh scale...But, it had to be done.  And the scale don't lie - as much as I hoped it would. 

At this point, given all the time that has passed since my last Ironman and my return to this blog, I'm not sure if anybody other than me is reading this.  However, I really think I need some sort of public ridicule (even if imagined) to get my butt back into gear - and it's formally taut shape :).

So in the interests of feigned public disclosure the masses should know that as of this morning I tipped the scales at 207 pounds!  Well into the Clydesdale division!  When I started my Herbal Magic weight loss program I tipped the scales at 223 pounds.  Hitting that goal again is not an option.  For one thing, I can't afford to reinvest in my wardrobe again!!  It's a bloody expensive undertaking. 

Now in both my Ironman races (and likely all of my prep events leading up to Ironman) I tipped the scales at about 195 pounds pre-race.  So I was not the poster boy for Ironman anyway.  That being said, I still fit into my clothes rather nicely.  Now...not so much. 

So I think it is beyond time to recommit to a diet and exercise plan.  Must forgo - again - any thoughts of juices, pop, chips and liquor (stick to only one glass of wine a day).  Must again exercise portion control!  Must again limit the carbs!  And must start to work out at least once a day.

In my head the goals become these.  2012 - lose between 10 and 20 pounds before Christmas.  2013 - book in some races.  I believe 10k and half-marathon runs.  Great White North half-Ironman at least.  And the 100k or 180k version of the Tour de Alberta.  Rest of year then try to lose another 10 to 15 pounds - goal weight being in the 180s.  2014/2015 - same again with consideration of taking on another full Ironman. Technically I won't be racing at 50 in 2014 - I only hit that category in 2015.

That's the general template for getting the flab off and my hard body (or as close as I ever was) back!

Wish me luck!

Time to recommit?

It's getting on to be close to a year since my last Ironman effort...and, almost a year since I did any sustained workouts.  I've had some bursts of energy and commitment which have lasted for about a week, but I tank rather quickly thereafter and revert back to a sedentary lifestyle. 

I've been inspired of late, however, with the tri adventures of 3 friends who perhaps were inspired by my Ironman journey of the past couple of years.  So maybe this where they now help me get off my butt and back to the fitness lifestyle that served me well enough to get in a few races over the past couple of years.  It was quite exciting to see them each achieve their personal goals and again inspire me as to what I could accomplish if I get back at it.  I had talked about this year being a year of smaller events and perhaps even just focusing on running - some 10k efforts, perhaps a half-marathon.  But other than a commitment to doing a 100k ride in July (which will now be a painful experience due to lack of training) nothing actually got put into my calendar. 

So I'm thinking if I start talking more publicly about my efforts again it might act as some much needed self-imposed peer pressure to get me committed to sustained workout regimen!  In this I believe I will have a partner in my wife Heidi - the one who got me into this tri world to begin with.  We will have to break our mutually supporting cycle of chips, wine and TV before bedtime and hopefully revert to something more like windtrainer time while watching a past Ironman championship on the big screen!

I hope my recent investment in some new run flats will also get me back on track too.  A parting gift from my work colleagues.  As one of them said "Just think how fast you'll be able to go now..."  For me it was never a problem thinking how fast I could go, it was the problem that my body has not yet been able to achieve the pace my brain fantasizes my body could go....