With the new year on the horizon I have made one of my resolutions to begin updating or entering blogs on a more frequent basis. My goal is to get caught up on stories from 2013 and begin blogging about my actual training in preparation for Ironman Coeur D'Alene 2014.
My last blog entry was dated July 20, 2013 and talks about my weight gains and losses through the years. Even in my efforts to train for the Ironman I am still struggling with weight fluctuations. My priority over the next few months is to learn to eat properly to fuel my body for long training sessions while changing my body from overweight to slim and trim for the Ironman.
Today as I think about 2013 I realize I have many funny and not so funny stories to tell about my pursuit to get in better shape. I began to tell some of these stories in this particular blog but decided that they should have their own posts and that this post should really be about my resolutions for 2014.
My first resolution is to put myself in position to complete the Ironman Race and be happy with the race when I am finished. This means I need to have some IM goals. First and foremost is to arrive healthy and injury free and in shape to complete the Ironman. Completing the IM means finishing in under 17 hours. While I feel this is a reasonably doable goal it can still be disaster if I don't train or approach the IM properly. Ultimately my goal is to be able to run most of the marathon and feel that I properly paced myself (physically and nutritionally) throughout the day to be able to run most of the marathon. Over the months I have read a lot about the 1st IM and how having certain time goals means almost certain disaster. While I have hopes of finishing with certain times, I realize that I should not set too much weight on these hopes and focus more on biking and running within my limits.
Nested with my first resolution are many additional goals such as eat better, get enough sleep, focus on my training and keeping my training focused.
My second (and most important) resolution is to be focused on my family every minute that I am not in training. This means I need to be present and active with my family while I am with them, not daydreaming about my next workout or my next race etc. Every bit of advice I have received from other parents whose kids are grown and gone is to enjoy every minute and every day because it goes by too quickly. Being the math geek I am I realized that for every year more than 5% of my time with my child has passed (assuming they move out of the house by age 20). This is a scary thought, but it really puts time into perspective. I know that family is sacrificing a lot for me to train and prepare for IM, so when I am not training I need to be present!
My last blog entry was dated July 20, 2013 and talks about my weight gains and losses through the years. Even in my efforts to train for the Ironman I am still struggling with weight fluctuations. My priority over the next few months is to learn to eat properly to fuel my body for long training sessions while changing my body from overweight to slim and trim for the Ironman.
Today as I think about 2013 I realize I have many funny and not so funny stories to tell about my pursuit to get in better shape. I began to tell some of these stories in this particular blog but decided that they should have their own posts and that this post should really be about my resolutions for 2014.
My first resolution is to put myself in position to complete the Ironman Race and be happy with the race when I am finished. This means I need to have some IM goals. First and foremost is to arrive healthy and injury free and in shape to complete the Ironman. Completing the IM means finishing in under 17 hours. While I feel this is a reasonably doable goal it can still be disaster if I don't train or approach the IM properly. Ultimately my goal is to be able to run most of the marathon and feel that I properly paced myself (physically and nutritionally) throughout the day to be able to run most of the marathon. Over the months I have read a lot about the 1st IM and how having certain time goals means almost certain disaster. While I have hopes of finishing with certain times, I realize that I should not set too much weight on these hopes and focus more on biking and running within my limits.
Nested with my first resolution are many additional goals such as eat better, get enough sleep, focus on my training and keeping my training focused.
My second (and most important) resolution is to be focused on my family every minute that I am not in training. This means I need to be present and active with my family while I am with them, not daydreaming about my next workout or my next race etc. Every bit of advice I have received from other parents whose kids are grown and gone is to enjoy every minute and every day because it goes by too quickly. Being the math geek I am I realized that for every year more than 5% of my time with my child has passed (assuming they move out of the house by age 20). This is a scary thought, but it really puts time into perspective. I know that family is sacrificing a lot for me to train and prepare for IM, so when I am not training I need to be present!