I'm into my first week of doing nothing. That's right, not an athletic thing at all. It's been about a year in the works and I really think I deserved this one. I may ice down my knee and foot, but that's about it.
To get some appreciation, it helps to look back to where I was nearly a year ago when I decided I had given my foot enough time since the surgery and it was time to start exercising again. It was also when I decided--at least in the back of my mind--that I was going to attempt a triathlon.
There was a lot of inertia to overcome. Here's the summary from that first run:
That's right, all of two miles and at a blistering 11:00 minute pace. I also tipped the scale at 222 that day which was actually down a few pounds from a high of 225.
But as Confucius said, "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." So did mine.
In the twelve months that have followed, Ive put in a total of 467 miles including the 13.1 that I ran yesterday. I've also ridden the bike 1942 miles and swam just over 50. I've also improved my swim time from something like 2:40 per 100 yards to a fairly consistent 2:00 as of my most recent trip to the pool on Wednesday. I've also managed to shed about 32 of those pounds and feel confident I can loose another 10 or so before my biggest race next year. Well before if I can help it.
With any endeavor like this one, there's always the question of will I continue to stay with it. One year is great, but how about five....or ten. I do think that Triathlons have given me a new-found enthusiasm. It's not just pounding the pavement everyday. It's multi-sport and it's very engaging. That in itself is not motivation, but it helps.
The other helper: success. I knew I had run a pretty fast half marathon yesterday and in fact I went screaming into the finish thanks to being able to literally run down capitol hill. But it gets better. I PR'd! My new time of 2:06:51 (per the official results on the website) beats my previous best of 2:07:02. Incidentally, that was set on the same course five years ago.
My figurative journey of a thousand miles has really only just begun. I still consider myself a first timer because I keep finding new challenges. Now it's a 70.3. That's going to provide a ton of fodder for this blog and as always, hopefully it will provide readers with a chance to learn the easy way, what I learned the hard way.
Thanks for reading.
To get some appreciation, it helps to look back to where I was nearly a year ago when I decided I had given my foot enough time since the surgery and it was time to start exercising again. It was also when I decided--at least in the back of my mind--that I was going to attempt a triathlon.
There was a lot of inertia to overcome. Here's the summary from that first run:
That's right, all of two miles and at a blistering 11:00 minute pace. I also tipped the scale at 222 that day which was actually down a few pounds from a high of 225.
But as Confucius said, "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." So did mine.
In the twelve months that have followed, Ive put in a total of 467 miles including the 13.1 that I ran yesterday. I've also ridden the bike 1942 miles and swam just over 50. I've also improved my swim time from something like 2:40 per 100 yards to a fairly consistent 2:00 as of my most recent trip to the pool on Wednesday. I've also managed to shed about 32 of those pounds and feel confident I can loose another 10 or so before my biggest race next year. Well before if I can help it.
With any endeavor like this one, there's always the question of will I continue to stay with it. One year is great, but how about five....or ten. I do think that Triathlons have given me a new-found enthusiasm. It's not just pounding the pavement everyday. It's multi-sport and it's very engaging. That in itself is not motivation, but it helps.
The other helper: success. I knew I had run a pretty fast half marathon yesterday and in fact I went screaming into the finish thanks to being able to literally run down capitol hill. But it gets better. I PR'd! My new time of 2:06:51 (per the official results on the website) beats my previous best of 2:07:02. Incidentally, that was set on the same course five years ago.
My figurative journey of a thousand miles has really only just begun. I still consider myself a first timer because I keep finding new challenges. Now it's a 70.3. That's going to provide a ton of fodder for this blog and as always, hopefully it will provide readers with a chance to learn the easy way, what I learned the hard way.
Thanks for reading.
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