Yesterday's Calories: 1,948 (348 over target range)
Yesterday's Protein: 107 grams (Within target range - Yeah!!)
This Morning's Weight: 158.0 (5 down, 3 to go to get to pre-screw-around-week "normal weight" of 155)
This Morning's Exercise: 4 mile run (combination running fast, sprinting, slow jog, and walk)
"Emotions at War," pretty much sums up my yesterday.
On the plus side, I am still riding pretty high on my decision to become a strong athlete. What does this mean, exactly? It means that someday I want to be able to compete in triathlons (within my age group), not just finish them. Part of my advantage may just be that I outlive the competition - but that's OK with me. The triathlon that Ruth and I did last week was one of the most difficult things I have ever done, but it left me with such a feeling of accomplishment. I CAN swim. I CAN cycle. I CAN run. And I CAN put all three together. I know I can get better and faster at all three sports as long as I work hard. I liked the the triathlon event. I like that training for triathlons forces me to train in three different sports which I feel like keeps me from overly stressing my body in any one sport. In order to actually get good at triathlons I am going to have to be very dedicated to my training. This year, when I was training for the tri, I was using the tri as a goal to keep me from falling off the exercise band-wagon. I was afraid of slipping into old habits, so having the tri out there as a goal that kept me exercising. Training for the 2013 tri was more about exercising then it was about actually training for the event.
Now I have decided to take it beyond just using the tri as a motivation to exercise. I want to get good at this sport. That means I am not just exercising, I am training. Those feel like two completely different things. One is because I have to, the other is because I want to. Exercising requires diligence and consistency and commitment. Training requires all of those things and really hard work. I need to push myself. I am excited about this decision and it makes me feel good about the year to come.
On the not so plus side is work. I won't get into a public discussion of what is going on at the moment, but it is weighing heavily on me. I did eat some chocolate at the end of the day, yesterday, that contributed to me going over my allotted calories for the day. In the plus side, I did get all my protein in, so that is good.
Yesterday ended up being a day of high highs and low lows. Huge mood swings, throughout the day. I was glad when the day was over and I was able to crawl into bed. The mood swings may be partly due to my recovery from last week's excesses, too. My blood chemistry is probably fighting to get back to normal after eating wheat and drinking alcohol last week. I am glad to be back to more normal and healthier eating and drinking this week.
Here's to a steadier day!!
You are right that getting older is a great advantage if you want to place in your age group in any race.
ReplyDeleteOnce you get over the fear of the swim, you can make the biggest gains on the bike. The bike is the longest part of any tri, so if you want to place, that is where you should focus.
The Jackson County race we are doing next year is 26 miles, so we need to be able to ride 26 fast miles. This is what I recommend:
1. Change your bike. You can either add aerobars to your Giant or get another bike with aerobars. I would not recommend spending the money on a tri bike, but I would recommend a very good fitting on your bike plus aerobars or a new bike at a bike store where the staff understands triathlons. Ask around. The aerobars will feel strange at first, and you don't need to do most of your training in the areo position, but they make a huge difference in a race -- reducing drag by 2 to 10 percent depending on how draggy you are now.
You might feel unsafe on the aerobars. Wear a helmet and don't worry about it. If you are moving and you stay away from the lip of the road, you won't fall.
2. Do 2 training rides per week starting now, and 3 training rides per week starting in May. These are training rides, not rides. You don't go fast the entire ride, but there have to be difficult portions. We can talk about bike training when you are ready. The bike part of the race will not be a fun Sunday ride.
3. Do one brick per week. It does not have to be a long bike and a long run, but it should be a hard bike and a 3-5 mile run.
That is it for now. This will be fun.
Ruth