Status Update

It’s been over 2 months since I posted anything.  To say this year was challenging would be an understatement.  Everything from my wifes car accident to having to put down my awesome dog, to potential loss of employment; it’s been trying overall.  All this resulted in my old ways of 1 man pity parties and stuffing my face, and leading to more weight gain.  One good thing is I somewhat kept up my activities, and have started training for 2012.  I still have some challenges ahead of me, but I’m trying to be positive and deal with them more appropriately.

I now sit at approximately 240 lbs and the odds of me being at my race weight of 180 by May 2012 are next to impossible.  That goal weight could be met probably in July/Aug if I’m 100% dedicated.  With that said, my initial goals of being competitive in the duathlon sprint series is not going to happen in 2012.  What I will do for 2012 is rebuild myself, do a few sprint & olympic distance races to further my fitness, have fun, and stabilize this into a lifestyle.  That doesn’t mean I won’t be setting aggressive goals for these races.  I’m too competitive not to.

The first 2 races of the 2012 are the Tim Horton’s Grimsby Half Marathon on Feb 26th, and the Around the Bay 30k on March 25th.  The half marathon will serve as a “test” for 30k race the month later.  The test will serve to determine my goal time for the 30k.

My weekly run mileage is up to 42 kms (26 miles).  Next week is a recovery week.

Till next time! Take care everyone.

 

100 Things to Uncomplicate Your Life

I didn’t create this list but copied from another forum.  Can’t get any better than that.

1. Don’t try to read other people’s minds

2. Get up 30 minutes earlier so that you don’t rush/get a ticket while driving too fast/have to explain why you’re late/get fired

3. Get 8 hours of sleep per night so that you think more clearly

4. Stick to your budget

5. Start saving and investing every week, no matter how little you can spare

6. Balance your checkbook

7. Don’t try to be friends with everyone. Cultivate closer relationships with fewer people.

8. Don’t try to do business with everyone. Identify your target client and take very good care of them.

9. Before getting angry, ask yourself if it will really matter in 20 years

10. Focus on being a good person, not on pleasing others

11. Stay home this Saturday, and finish off that nagging chore that you need to finish

12. Kiss and make up

13. Make a weekly menu, and shop for only those items at the market

14. Ask your grandparents the best way to uncomplicate life, and try it for a month

15. Fill up your gas tank when it’s half full

16. Don’t drink alcohol when you’re tired, sad or mad

17. Pay your bills on time

18. Get an annual physical examination

19. Say “I love you” to your significant other and to your children. Studies show that more marriages last, and fewer kids use drugs, when these words are spoken every day.

20. For just one day, imagine everyone’s intentions are good because most people’s are

21. Give away clothes that haven’t been worn in two years

22. Throw out clothes that are in disrepair, and can’t be mended

23. When you have a conflict with someone, talk it out. Don’t let it turn into more than it is.

24. Know what your priorities are in life, and act as if they are your priorities

25. Tell the truth

26. Don’t cheat

27. Don’t steal

28. If you’re holding on to a ridiculous grudge, let it go

29. Clean your house weekly, so that it doesn’t become too large a chore

30. Do your best at work, or at school

31. Don’t eat when you aren’t hungry

32. Eat when you are hungry

33. Be yourself

34. Say no unapologetically

35. Cook simple meals

36. Don’t try to keep up with the Joneses

37. Pay off your car before buying a new one

38. Organise your desk at the office

39. Change your smoke alarm batteries when the clocks spring forward, and again when they fall back

40. Organise your important paperwork

41. Take only half the clothes that you planned to take with you on holiday

42. Help your children with their homework every night, and have an open dialogue with their teachers

43. Have white sheets and white towels in children’s rooms/bathrooms, because they’re easily bleached

44. Spend your time with nice people

45. Avoid drama

46. Don’t text or talk on the phone while driving

47. Turn off the television/video games/computer; they’re time consumers

48. Don’t engage in office politics

49. Refuse to gossip, or talk behind other people’s backs

50. Do the dishes right after dinner

51. Never go to sleep angry

52. Ask nicely for what you need and want

53. Walk 10,000 steps per day to help your heart

54. Do 20 push-ups before speaking in anger

55. Leave work at work

56. Don’t befriend anyone that isn’t trustworthy

57. Don’t envy others

58. Have your oil changed

59. Take vitamin C BEFORE you catch a cold

60. Don’t work more than 8 hours per day

61. Weed your garden weekly

62. Wash your car weekly

63. Have a spring cleaning month every year, and do one room at a time

64. You don’t need to be best friends with work colleagues, but build respectful partnerships

65. Don’t drink and drive

66. Don’t look for reasons to be angry or sad, look for reasons to be happy. You’ll always be able to find plenty of each.

67. Be friendly with your neighbours

68. Return emails and phone messages promptly

69. Schedule in free time

70. Don’t procrastinate

71. Do what you say you’ll do, when you say you’ll do it

72. Be more flexible when you’re able to be

73. Forgive and forget. End of story.

74. Break the consumerism habit…put a three month moratorium in place on buying anything not deemed a necessity

75. Start your diet on September 1, rather than January 1, so that you won’t also have holiday pounds to lose

76. Take care of any health issues or concerns

77. Have your tires rotated

78. Have your brakes checked

79. Have your eyes checked

80. Don’t let your imagination run away with you

81. Let go of perfection in others

82. Let go of perfection in yourself

83. Don’t try to help those that refuse to help themselves

84. Find a way to reduce your commute to work

85. Have an alloted amount of worry time per day/week, that you strictly abide by

86. Drink more water

87. Eat more salmon

88. Don’t make a mountain out of a molehill

89. Wear your hair in a classic, easy to care for style

90. Finish what you start

91. Wear classic clothes and shoes that never go out of style

92. Create a daily routine

93. Have a 1, 5, 10 and 20 year plan for your financial and life goals

94. Slow down

95. Eat out less often

96. When you ask your husband which outfit looks best, thank him for his answer and wear the one he liked rather than focusing on why he didn’t like the other one

97. Allow your children to grow up

98. Clean out your garage, and donate anything that hasn’t been used in the past year

99. Stretch every day

100. If a relationship is over, let it go

Failure – an understatement!

Wow, where do I begin?  OK how about some race reports for the last 2-3 weeks?

June 19th Lake 2 Lake Classic 50k MTB RaceDNS – I wasn’t feeling it and some reports indicated the trails were crap so I lamed out.  Post-race reports from others say it turned out to be a great race, and I remember the weather was perfect.  I also learned this was the last year for this race.  Oh well, I missed out.  Add it to another regret.

June 25th Welland Sprint TriathlonDNF – That’s right DID NOT FINISH.  I barely finished the swim (3rd from last overall), where I found myself not being able to catch my breath.  Even on the bike my breathing & heart rate were off the charts and I was barely moving, kept getting coughing fits probably from inhaling too much Welland canal water during the swim, and hyperventilating to entire swim.  Lets see what probably led up

Welland-Swim Exit

to this:

  • My swimming is simply not up to snuff – as in I almost drowned in this race.  Although I did progress since I started last January, it simply wasn’t getting better quick enough, not to mention lack of open water practice.  Once again, I just seems I’m not cut out to be a swimmer and you know what, I have no regrets about ditching the swim.
  • Mentally I was simply not feeling it as seen by my shitty / lack of training in June.  A combination of things simply left me unwilling to put in the time or control myself.  This also led to a very bad diet, including pizza, beer, chinese food, etc. etc.  Simply atrocious and one of those embarrassing setbacks.  Well, there’s consequences to a bad diet and lack of exercise….weight gain, and plenty of it.

    Welland-Bike Start

Well that covers the race reports, or whatever you wanna call those.

So with what happen at the Welland race, I officially pulled the plug on swimming, again, and like I said, I have no regrets.  I tried – tried hard, but it just isn’t working out.  Not to mention I don’t really enjoy swimming anyhow.  With that said, any multisport I do in the future will be duathlons – run, bike, run.  I’ve adjusted the race schedule to reflect this revisited direction.

Now regarding the diet; I knew I was on a bad path but I didn’t think it was that bad until I jumped on the scale this morning – 222.6 lbs - Yeah that’s right, last year at this time I was low 190s.  I feel sick to my stomach just thinking about it – all that hard work evaporating away and I have no one to blame but myself. I’ve been trying to get to the bottom of this eating issue for the last few months – what’s changed? I’m still not 100% sure. All I can do is set goals, be accountable, and forge ahead.

Now that all that is out of the way, my main focus is to bring the weight back down, and any racing participating I do this year is only to have fun. Trying to be competitive at over 220 lbs is simply not going to happen.  Hence the reason all the races are basically shorter distances while I drop some weight and build up my fitness again.  Since I’ve dropped going to the pool, I’ve also restarted my strength training routine 2-3 times a week to hopefully gain some of the muscle mass I’ve loss this year.

Speaking of goals, here are a few milestones I’m shooting for:

  • Aug 1st – 212 lbs
  • Sep 1st – 205 lbs
  • Oct 1st – 197 lbs
  • Nov 1st – 192 lbs

Those weight targets are while maintaining or even gaining some lean muscle mass, hence the slower drops.

And finally, I had to have a new look for the site to go with the new direction, something a little more simple and clean. Hope everyone likes it.

Final Message:

Setbacks and challenges will happen throughout life.  You can choose to dwell on them or you can pick yourself and push through them.

 

Expense Report: February 2011

So here is the total for February:

February 2011

  • Paris to Ancaster Bike Race Registration $53.50
  • Gym Membership(monthly) $36.75
  • Bike Tune up $39.00
  • Pool Membership (1 year) $224.50
  • FSA Crankset (bike part) $52.00
  • Shimano 105 STI Shifters $85.00

So the grand total for February expenses: $490.75.  Could have been worse I guess.  ;-)

 

Expenses Report: Nov 2010 to Jan 2011

I’ve decided that I’ll post what my monthly expenses are for all this endurance stuff I do, including equipment, memberships, self-care, etc..  This will serve 2 purposes in my view;

  1. I’ll keep me accountable for this habit;
  2. Show other what they’re about to get themselves into.

Now, this first report will be from Nov 1 2010, to Jan 31 2011, and from now on it’ll be a monthly update.  Here goes:

November 2010

  • Gym Membership: $30
  • Swimming Pool 3 mth Membership $121.50
  • Brooks Ghost 3 Running Shoes: $75
  • Massage: $70
  • BT 6-Mth Membership $33
  • Infinit Nutrition $11.65

December 2010

  • Gym Membership $30
  • 2010 Jamis Comet Tri Bike $1,723.25
  • Aero Bike Helmet $90.50
  • Zoomers Z2 Swim Fins $46
  • Bike Stems(2) $36
  • TurboCrank Bike Training Program $12
  • Sudbury Rocks 10k Race Registration $33
  • Runner’s World Magazine Subscription $36

January 2011

  • Gym Membership $30
  • 30k Around The Bay Race Registration $75
  • 3k Tim Hortons Race Registration $28.75
  • Shimano Compact Bike Crankset $120.43
  • Cobb V-Flow Plus Bike Seat $85
  • Shimano Dura Ace Bottom Bracket (Bike part) $32
  • Road ID Bracelet $27
  • Infinit Nutrition $71

So far totals are Nov $341, Dec $2,007, and January $470.  There’s already a few “entries” for the month of February. :)

Good times!