Reality check

In my last entry I was filled with optimism. I had just started an official training plan and I had a gung-ho, full speed ahead, make-every-minute-count mentality. Today I am drained. And yesterday was a rest day. All I did was walk the dog. I'm left wondering if this trip towards Ironman will be worth it. Thankfully, I have 5 months of half-ironman training before I have to make a decision about entering the full-Ironman. Thankfully, too, I have a wonderfully supportive and understanding boyfriend. It's going to be an interesting ride.....(and swim, and run)!

Planning

I have now officially started my training for my half-ironman in July. I am trying to figure out how to squeeze eleven hours of training into the upcoming week. Ah yes, life will indeed be very busy for me for the next six months, but I am so mentally prepared for the journey that I will find a way to make enough time for training. I have pledged that every minute of every day will have a purpose. Very lofty, I know. But I do best under pressure, so I'm looking forward to the challenge.

Communing with nature

Yesterday was spent skiing in New York's Tug Hill region, an area of 150,000 acres sitting just east of Lake Ontario. The region receives massive amounts of lake effect snow each year (typically around 400 inches). The day was picture-perfect; bright blue sky, abundant sunshine and about 4 inches of snow clinging to all the trees. It was cold, somewhere between 10-14 degrees Fahrenheit. Each time I put a pole into the snow, there was a little "squeak" and I easily fell into a rhythmic stride. It took me back to when I was a kid and my mom and I would go skiing in the neighboring woods. I am grateful that she took the time to encourage and join in on our outdoor activities.

Today I'd like to get a long-ish run in, since it's so hard to squeeze it in during the week. I finally feel like I've got the appropriate ambition to train properly for my long-distance race goals and I am itching to do longer distances. I am having to hold myself back from increasing distances too quickly, as I don't want to risk injury. Right now I'm comfortably running 4-5 miles at a time, but at a very slow pace. I'm currently researching training plans for the half-iron distance in July. All indications are that I should start a 20-week plan around March 1st so that I can be adequately prepared.

All of this training time is going to leave little time for accessory "stuff", so I am trying to trim unnecessary internet surfing time. This past week, I loosely kept track of the time I spent on the internet and I was surprised at the total number. And that was when I was purposefully trying to keep it down. Well, that definitely means there's room for improvement!

Another step

As in - another step closer to chasing my Ironman dream. Registration for volunteering at Ironman Lake Placid (IMLP) opened up yesterday and I am registered. See, entries into the race fill up very quickly, but preference is given to people who volunteer the previous year. Since I want to race in 2010, I need to volunteer this year. I don't know yet what my assignment will be - my first preference was to help athletes at the bike transition, second preference was to help pass out food and drinks on the bike course. I will be happy to be doing just about anything - I just hope it doesn't rain all day like it did last year!

B-Fit B-Day Challenge

40 years old 10/23/08!

(Almost) Gold Challenge

10 mile run time = 1:34:57

swim time (unknown distance) = 1:30:00

40.54 mile bike time = 2:49:02

Total run/swim/bike time = 5:53:59

Start – 8:30 AM

Finish – 4:44 PM

Total time with transitions = 8:14:00

The beginning of my challenge day was bright, clear and cold. I am fortunate that I had an extra couple of day’s vacation from work, so I took two days off (one to complete the challenge, the other to rest up!) My co-workers weren’t shy about voicing their opinions that they thought I was nuts to want to spend my birthday running, biking and swimming.

My initial plan had been to ride first, and then swim, then run. That changed when I realized the temperature had dropped to 23°F overnight. Since the pool was only open for 70 minutes in the morning (vs. 2 hours in the afternoon), I knew I wanted to swim starting at 11:30. Thus, I decided to run my 10 miles first. After a couple of documentation photos, I was out the door.

What a chance for reflection. Perfectly dressed, I marveled at how effortlessly my steps were coming. Running is usually my least-favorite discipline, followed by swimming. Bicycling is my favorite of all. I found myself thinking of all the things I have to be thankful for, especially good health. And by maintaining a regular workout routine, I hope to be able to keep my fitness and to compete in triathlons for many, many years to come. Too soon, it seemed, my run was over and I was back home and definitely hungry!! After another couple of photos, it was time for a snack of toast with peanut butter. Since I had about an hour before I had to leave to get to the pool, I took advantage of the time to get my clothes set aside for the afternoon’s bike ride, fill water bottles and pump up my tires.

I took the “standard” B-Fit B-Day swim photo at home for two reasons. First, cameras are not allowed at the pool. Second, even if I sneaked my camera in and took a quick shot, I had no way of keeping it secure while I was swimming. I guess you’ll have to take my word on the swimming portion! And this leads me to the (almost) gold part. I don’t know how far I swam. It wasn’t even close to 4000 yards. I started counting laps and lost count three times before 10 laps, so I stopped counting. I then decided I would swim for the entire time the pool was open, 2 hours. After an hour, I was terribly bored and not really having a lot of fun. After and hour and a half, I decided that life was too short to make myself swim just for the sake of the complete challenge. The younger, “all-or-nothing” me would have canned the whole thing right then and given up on the bike ride. Now (being older and wiser!) I decided that the spirit of the challenge was to get out and do something, even if it wasn’t the “whole” challenge. As for total distance, I believe I probably swam about 2600 yards, based on time. Given that my longest swim previously had been about 1000 yards, I was very happy with my accomplishment. Besides, it gives me something to shoot for next year!

I returned home ravenous and took the time to dry my hair and re-heat some leftovers before my bike ride. At this point, I was starting to get worried about making sure I got out on the bike quickly. I dressed in several layers, took another batch of photos and was off.

Oh my! I had desperately underestimated the difficulty of this challenge. My legs definitely felt like lead. I can honestly say that yesterday’s bike ride was one of the three toughest in my life. Being that I hadn’t mapped out a precise 40-mile route, I made route decisions based on how I felt. I avoided as many hills as I could. By mile 18, I was already averaging about 3-4 mph slower that my usual rides and I was starting to get really cold. I was afraid that if I looped back towards the house, I’d abandon the challenge. So I chose a route that avoided any chance of a short-cut back to the house and committed myself to the full 40 miles. At approximately 26 miles, I was afraid that my planned route would fall short of the 40 miles and I very nearly chose a loop around a small reservoir that would have added about 6 miles. Thankfully, I continued as planned, figuring I could always extend the ride later if I needed to. Imagine my delight when I pulled into my driveway and my odometer read 40.54 miles! Originally, I had thought that I would have gladly put an extra few miles onto the bike ride, but I was more than ready to call it quits for the day.

I took one last photo of my ending time. Being easily amused, I got a big kick that I snapped the last photo at 4:44:44. I guess “4” will be my lucky number this year!! After a long hot shower, I refueled with a piping hot bowl of soup and thought about how I wanted to do my write-up. When I sat down at the computer the following morning, I couldn’t help but think that I would rather be out running or biking!

In closing, I’d like to say “thank-you” to Roman for creating the challenge and thanks to the sponsors who support us. Lastly, I’d like to extend huge congratulations to everybody who did the challenge this year and lots of inspiration to anybody who considers taking on the challenge for next year.

Tri-Day!

Cazenovia Triathlon

Sunday 8/10/08

I had been looking forward to this triathlon since the start of the summer, however, life turned pretty hectic and I wasn’t able to be as consistent with my workout and sleep schedule as I’d wanted to be. Oh well, life happens! Since the start is just a couple of miles from my house, I had planned on bicycling to the park. And typically, I prefer to arrive at the venue with at least two hours to spare (crazy, I know…pity poor Janet who frequently carpools with me!) However, upon crawling out of bed, I was immediately conscious of the very relentless rain coming down. I scratched the idea of arriving early and savored breakfast and coffee, even took a few minutes to check the weather forecast. The radar showed that the rain had already moved off to the east and with nothing behind it, I figured we might have a decent day. Having tortured my long-suffering boyfriend (Dave) with my tri-day exuberance (he’s not a morning person!) and since the rain had stopped, I decided I’d better get going. On my way past fellow cyclist Kate’s house, I noticed her car was open and she was loading her stuff for her trip to Auburn to compete in the Great Race. Forgetting that it was still early, I hollered out “Happy Tri-Day!” Pity her poor neighbors (anyone sensing a theme here…?) Sometimes my enthusiasm just can’t be contained. I did look pretty unprepared for a triathlon; since it was wet and rainy I had street clothes and a rain jacket over my tri outfit. I must have been a sight pedaling through Cazenovia! Kate snapped a quick picture, we exchanged wishes of luck and we were both off.

Registration, chip pick-up, body marking and transition set-up all went very smoothly. I had a bit of trouble deciding what time I wanted to put on my wet suit, as transition closed at 8:00 when the Olympic-distance athletes started. That left me with 45 minutes before my start. Ultimately, the weather dictated that I put it on earlier than later, because I was starting to get cold. I did manage to get a glimpse of Janet running from the swim finish to transition…she had a fantastic swim time and really hustled up the hill to transition. That would be the last I saw of her until the finish! Finally it was time for the first of the sprint waves. Wisely, I had seeded myself in the fourth and final wave. I spent the last few minutes conversing with two other women who were very nervous about the swim. One, doing her first ever tri, started sobbing a couple of minutes before we started. The support displayed from all the other women was very moving and once again, I felt tremendous pride in being involved in an incredible group of people.

The swim pace started fast and I rather surprisingly found myself sticking pretty well to the pace and feeling almost comfortable to boot. I settled into a somewhat steady rhythm and tried to maintain that pace. When I finally had the presence of mind to look for the first buoy, I realized I had strayed quite a bit into the center of the course. I corrected, slowed down and did fairy well for the rest of the swim. I sure wasn’t able to run up the hill to transition nearly as fast as Janet, though!

T-1. Well, what could go wrong, did go wrong. My wet suit caught on both arms and both legs, my socks didn’t want to go on my feet, I had trouble getting my bike off the rack and to top it off, I was a couple of paces away from my spot when I realized I forgot my race belt with my number. I had to set my bike down and go back for the belt. What fun.

Here’s what I look like when I’m trying to quell those evil voices that keep nagging me when I’m not doing so well. I was just thankful that the swim and T-1 was over and that I was finally able to get onto my favorite leg. In case you’re wondering, this bike course starts on a fiendishly steep hill out of the parking lot and onto the main road. Leaping onto the bike in traditional tri style is pretty difficult for most people (though I have witnessed Janet mastering it!) and impossible for me. I have to get one foot clipped in before I even think about moving forward. Once onto the main road, it’s mostly down hill or flat; then there’s a 90-degree right turn and you’re climbing another steep hill. To add some excitement, the race organizers offered a hill prime for the fastest time up the hill. Now, I had told myself before the race that I shouldn’t bury myself on the hill prime and I thought I was okay with that decision. Once the timing mats were in sight though, that competitive spirit took over and I was giving it all I had. To my great disappointment, the results of the hill climb were not posted, so I have no idea how I did (I do know that I didn’t win, though). I didn’t feel as good on the bike course as I usually do, but I did have a better swim and run time than last year, so I guess training is paying off and the three events are evening out for me. I purposely held back a little on the bike, hoping for something left for the run, but I don’t really think that strategy worked. I don’t think the time I made up on the run was worth what I spent on the bike leg. Oh well, each race there’s something new to learn!

The good part, though, was that I felt pretty strong on the run; I was even able to crack a smile when I saw Dave on the sideline with the camera! It turns out that I probably held back a little too much on both the run and the bike as I finished feeling better than at any of my previous triathlons. My biking and running could certainly handle the step up to Olympic-distance, but I’m sure my swimming couldn’t; so that will have to wait until next year, as I had originally planned. I will conclude my triathlon season in six weeks at the Finger Lakes triathlon in Canandaigua, NY. I’ve set a goal of 26 minutes or less on that run; lofty but I’m pretty sure I can do it. Now I’m off to go running so I have a chance of reaching that goal!

Ironman Lake Placid

This past weekend was spent in Lake Placid, NY. We were scoping out the Ironman scene. Swim 2.4 miles, bike 112 miles, run 26.2 miles. Talk about a run of emotions for me. During the drive up, I was all gung-ho about sticking with my long-range goal of competing in 2010. At the start of the swim, I was feeling melancholy about whether I really wanted to commit to the hours upon hours of training necessary for me to complete it successfully. While watching the bicyclists come through town after the bike course, I was convinced that yes; this is something I want to shoot for. Then, after four hours of volunteering, we went to the run course where some of the last competitors were still out running. It was 10:00 PM by this time, they had started at 7 AM and they still had about six miles to run to the finish. That was a reality check. That lonely solitude which I must be prepared to endure if this is to become a serious goal. I’m still thinking. I have time to decide. If I can make it through this winter with some serious training under my belt, I will volunteer again in 2009 and register for 2010.

Ooh, ooh that smell

Ooh, ooh that smell
Can't you smell that smell? Lynyrd Skynyrd, "That Smell"

My day at the "Mini-Mussel" Triathlon; Seneca Lake State Park, Geneva, NY

Let me start by saying that the Musselman has a lot going for it. It has super organization, great volunteers, and good courses. But that smell! I am not one who is usually bothered by natural odors. I actually like the smell of skunk. I can pick up all sorts of animal waste and not think twice about it. I can ride by a farm where liquid manure has been spread and almost enjoy the odor. It just doesn't bother me (man-made perfume, though - that's a different story!) I had been warned that the smell at this triathlon was pretty objectionable, but I just didn't think it would be that bad. Was I ever wrong. It hit me when I first got out of the car at the park and it didn't go away (of course, we got away from it when we were on the bike course and you didn't notice it when swimming, but still!) There was lots of time spent setting up and waiting so it did get a little tiresome. But enough of the bad and on with the good!

My good friend Janet (who is mostly responsible for getting me into triathlons), had participated at this venue previously. She decided not to race this year, instead volunteering to help with the running of the race. We were able to carpool together, which made the drive so much more enjoyable for me, considering we left well before daybreak. We drove through substantial fog, but as the morning progressed, the fog started lifting. At one point, as we crested a hill overlooking a valley, I thought the fog below took on the appearance of a lake. Janet (being of Swedish descent) thought it looked like snow. Of course, my camera was stashed in a bag in the trunk, so I wasn't able to snap a photo. I doubt that the effect would have been the same, at least that’s what I’m telling myself to make me feel better!

Janet and I stayed together through registration which was held off site and which went very smoothly. Upon arriving at the park, she departed to fulfill her volunteer duties and I got my gear set up in transition in record time. Once set up, I made my way to the body marking, where Janet was ready with the permanent marker. We were numbered in five places! Janet included some smiley faces along with the numbers and they drew a couple of comments from fellow athletes. It's always good for morale!

I had lots and lots of time to debate with myself whether I wanted to wear my wet suit or not. The lake temperature was reported to be 72 degrees, so I didn't really need it for warmth. It does help with flotation, though, and since I'm not a good swimmer (in fact, I'm a terrible swimmer,) I ultimately decided to wear it. I managed to get a good warm up swim just before the start, something that I need to do to get into the rhythm of breathing and calm my butterflies. Seneca Lake is the second longest of the Finger Lakes (38 miles) but greatest in volume. It is 618 feet deep at its deepest point and has a mean depth of 291 feet. It rarely freezes in the winter. It has waves! Bigger waves than I have ever swum in before. I realized the wet suit was helping me to roll with the waves. I mentally congratulated myself for making a good decision for once.

There was a short pre-race meeting, and then it was time for the first of five waves of swimmers. My wave was the third to start. Once again, I saw Janet as she was helping give a hand to the athletes as we were stepping off the dock into the water. It was good to see her smiling face and her calm demeanor further quelled the uneasiness in my stomach. We quickly waded to deeper water, waited just a couple of minutes and then we were off. Within minutes I had gotten swiped in the face by a wave just as I was breathing in. Uh oh. It was similar to the feeling you have when you get the wind knocked out of you. But I was in the water. I wanted to yell for help from the kayakers, but I couldn’t get any words out of my mouth. I also couldn’t raise my hand, because I was busy treading water to stay afloat. Thankfully, my wet suit helped keep me buoyant enough that I was able to cough and sputter and finally get my breath. The entire episode seemed like an eternity, but probably was 1-2 minutes at most. I was able to get back into the rhythm of swimming and managed to make it out of the water in pretty decent shape. As I was running toward the transition area, I heard Janet running beside me, shouting encouragement and reminding me to remember to drink on the bike leg.

My transition to the bike was uneventful but the first couple of miles of the bike leg were very crowded. The first several miles of the bike course are a gradual climb and we had a pretty stiff headwind to boot. It took a lot of mental effort to keep fighting into the wind, but I hoped the tailwind at the far end of the course would make up for it (it did.) About half-way into the course, we turned west and after another mile or two, crested a hill with a beautiful view overlooking the lake. I felt so completely happy and lucky that I am able to participate in something which brings me tremendous joy. It was about this time that I passed three women standing on the side of the course cheering wildly. They each had on grass skirts and I wondered for a minute if our own VeloBella LiLynn was there. I gave them a good “woo-hooo” as I went by and felt completely stoked!

It seemed I had a pretty clumsy dismount from the bike, probably should practice that a little more. I did hear Janet in the background, again shouting encouragement, but this time I didn’t see her. My transition into running gear went very smoothly and before I knew it I was out on the run course. It was in full sunshine and hot! Did I say hot? I love the heat, but it was hot even by my standards. I had trouble keeping my breathing deep and even. I settled into a pace I figured I could maintain to the end. Lo and behold, I started to feel better and was able to pick up the pace a little for the last mile.

The finish area was lined with spectators for quite a while, which really helped make the last few yards painless. Next thing I knew, I was handed a cowbell with a special mini-mussel finisher paint scheme and a bottle of water, which I desperately needed (even though I had remembered to drink on the bike leg!) Janet and I reconnected and after a short rest, we headed out onto the bike course for a little cool-down lap. We returned with plenty of time to get to the start of the men’s elite race. My biggest disappointment of the day came when I discovered that the battery in my camera was dead. No photos. Oh well, there’s always next year. It was pretty neat to hear the athletes’ accomplishments introduced over the PA as they made their way down the dock into the water. When the start gun went off, my overwhelming impression was astonishment at how fast they swam! As they neared the completion of their swim, we walked to their transition area so we could watch them. Since none of them wore wet suits, and their bike shoes are already clipped into their pedals, all they had to do was throw down their goggles and swim caps, put on their bike helmet and run to the bike mount line. Our original intention was to watch the start of the women’s race and the end of the men’s race, but by this time both Janet and I were feeling pretty tired and we still had to drive home. We made our way back to the car, loaded up our gear and we were on our way.

Did I mention that it was hot? We stopped a few miles down the road at a donut shop where Janet got an iced coffee and I decided on a strawberry-banana smoothie. I had never had a smoothie from this particular chain before. It was awful! I don’t have the most discerning taste buds, but this was on the verge of being un-drinkable. What a disappointment. All-in-all, I was pretty happy with the results - 8th in my age group. There's still plenty of room for improvement, but hey, that's all the more incentive to get out and train!

Busy, busy

Just a short post today...I've really been busy exercising - even did another 10-mile run a week ago on July 4th. It was right here in my town, so I figured I couldn't pass it up. I was really happy with my overall time and the fact that I was able to maintain an even, steady pace. My splits at each mile only differed by 30 seconds. This spurs my hope that I might be able to tackle a marathon someday (but I will need a lot more steady training!) In addition to the running race, the weather here has been beautiful and dry most of the week, enabling me to bike to work four times.

Tomorrow I will compete in my second triathlon of the season, my fifth ever. I haven't competed at this particular venue before, so I have no expectations about my performance. The neat part about this venue is that they run four separate races throughout the weekend, including an Olympic qualifying race for professional triathletes. The start times are staggered so that the amateur athletes will be able to watch the professionals. Talk about inspiration! I can't wait. Hopefully I will be able to get a report written on Sunday and possibly even snap a few photos!

Triathlon Fun!

Saturday 6/21/08

Green Lakes Triathlon; Green Lakes State Park; Fayetteville, NY
(aka Fayetteville Triathlon, Syracuse Triathlon or YMCA Triathlon)

Green Lakes Park is home to a couple of meromictic lakes, which are deep glacial lakes where there is no fall and spring mixing of surface and bottom waters. A wonderful description of the park can be found on the Wikipedia site.

This is where it all began for me one year ago…my first triathlon was here in 2007. I never got around to documenting that first triathlon, but I do remember the terrible time I had during the swim leg. I remember resorting to every stroke, even the doggy paddle, just to maintain some semblance of forward momentum. I was seventh to last coming out of the water that first year! This year I did much better. I settled into a nice rhythm and even had the energy and presence of mind to enjoy the beautiful aquamarine blue water. The lakes are each about 200 feet deep and swimming is usually confined to a shallow beach area. As far as I know this triathlon is the only time that people can swim legally in the deeper portion of the lake. I even managed to get my wet suit off without too much difficulty. All other times I have swum with the suit on, I have struggled to remove it (in my mind I imagine it must be somewhat like having a full-grown octopus clinging to your arms and legs which you must remove before you can hop on your bike). Who wants to bike 12 miles with an octopus clinging to them? Once on the bike, I felt strong on the flats, but a little weaker than usual on the hills. I did get a burst of adrenaline from fellow bicyclist Kate, cheering us on at the top of the steepest climb. Amazing how someone screaming at you can do that! Silly pride!

It was a different story for me on the run, however. Upon starting the run, I was seriously out of breath, even though my heart rate was reasonable, considering my exertion level. Within a few hundred feet of the start of the run, I entered the part of the path where I had hiked with my parents a couple of months previously. This is what it looked like then….

I felt a calm come over me and I just kept telling myself not to worry about staying ahead of the other competitors, just to do my best. I expected to get passed by some men, but deep down I was hoping to stay ahead of the other women. I did end up getting passed by a couple of women, including one from Cazenovia whom I had met at a training clinic. This was her first triathlon and she did terrific! She even had a few words of encouragement for me as she passed by. Somewhere between miles two and three, I was really starting to have trouble maintaining my pace and was starting to really slow down. This also happens to be one of the prettiest views of the lake.

Another runner passed me and again I heard words of encouragement and we commented to each other on the beauty of the lake. Soon enough, I was approaching the finish area and by this time my good friend Janet (who had already finished her race with an awesome time) was there to cheer me on. Again, another burst of adrenaline and I was able to get to the finish.

Janet and I walked around a little bit to cool down and search for Kate, but we never found her. We both considered another dip in the lake to cool off, but realized we needed to get our gear out of the transition area so they could start tearing down the equipment. By the time we loaded our gear into the cars, we were both ravenous and headed over to the picnic area where the volunteers had been preparing tossed salad, hamburgers and hot dogs. Mmmm! There’s nothing like some exercise to work up a hearty appetite.

All in all, I managed to shave almost six minutes off last year’s time, which I was very happy with. I placed 8^th out of 22 in my age category and Janet placed 7^th out of 12. Most of all, I am inspired to keep steady training and maintain my goal of Ironman Lake Placid in July 2010.

Finally, I’d like to leave with a link to a YouTube video – “The Triathlon Song.” It sums up this wacky lifestyle perfectly. Feels so good when you are done!

Tracking physical activity

I am a natural “data” person. I enjoy facts and figures, comparisons and visuals of how I am performing. In past years, I’ve gotten a little too wrapped up in data keeping and have spent so much time documenting my progress that I end up with less time spent exercising (not a significant amount of time, but some nonetheless). Most of my data in past years has been tracked on my own spreadsheets, but for the true triathlete geek, I found “BeginnerTriathlete” to have the best free tracking site. However, if you’re not interested in getting that technical, I also found a couple of sites which encourage simpler tracking (one based on mileage, the other based on time). The "President's Challenge" awards points for virtually any activity you can imagine (mowing your lawn, gardening, baton twirling (!), trampoline, etc, etc) and tracking is done by minutes, so logging is extremely easy. The other site I've become fascinated with is from a researcher at Berkeley who has developed a transcontinental virtual trip across the United States. Each time you enter your mileage, it is added to your total and shows you exactly what you would see if you had been traveling from Yorktown, Virginia to Florence, Oregon. For example, if you ran two miles one day, walked four miles the next, and cycled six miles on the third day, you would see the views at 2, 6, and 12 miles west of Yorktown on days one, two and three. They also provide maps that show your progress. The disadvantage to this site is that they only provide for walking, running and biking mileage. Since I do many other things, it's nice to use the other sites to track progress. However, it is neat to explore the site and see your progress on the maps. I have been tracking my daily mileage since June 4th and I'm already at 176.5 miles, which puts me near Woodridge, VA , just south east of Charlottesville. Pretty cool. Both sites allow you to enter activities retroactively, so you don't have to log on the computer daily. Happy walking!

Team Hoyt

This has been a "catch-up" day for me. As I move through the house and see things to be done, I do them right then and there rather than wait. Of course, not *everything* gets done, but it is an extremely satisfying feeling of accomplishment (since I have a natural tendency towards procrastination)! I even managed to break away mid-morning and did a 44-mile bike ride. I was especially pleased with myself because I have been eating better (no snacking), so this ride was a legitimate training/fun ride, not perceived "punishment" for having over eaten. Now if I could just maintain that willpower!

One of the subjects I've wanted to write about is a father-son duo who compete in marathons and triathlons. Today's title links to their web page, if you click on "Who are we", it opens their story. My original intent was to summarize their story, but I don’t trust myself to convey it like they can. I've also included a link to their video below. If you get a chance to watch it, I don't think you'll regret it. Their story is so amazing to me and inspires me to try to be the best person I can every day. They are extraordinary. Go Team Hoyt! I hope I can meet you at a race someday. YouTube link here.

B-FitB-Day

I've taken another leap, folks! This one's going to be a real challenge. There's a grassroots group of individuals who are taking their chronological age and turning it into an athletic challenge. Take your age and in any order:
1) Swim the number of miles in the first number
2) Run the number of miles in the second number
3) Bike the number of miles in the combined number

So a 45-year-old athlete would: 1) Swim 4 miles 2) Run 5 miles 3) Bike 45 miles

Since “0” Birthdays like 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, and so on are important milestones the "0" in your birthday represents a 10. This means that on those “0” Birthdays you get to celebrate this big milestone by running ten miles.

This should give me adequate incentive to actually put some thought into my training, rather than just stringing along whatever I feel like doing on a particular day. Hopefully this will improve my consistency and thus my overall performance. Since this is a "0" year for me, I will be trying for a 4 mile swim, 40 mile bike and 10 mile run.

You can navigate to the B-FitB-Day home page by the banner on the left, or by the title of this post. My personal page within the B-Fit site is here. There are three different time frames to accomplish the birthday mileage:
Bronze: Do all three (swim/bike/run) during the week of your birthday
Silver: Do all three (swim/bike/run) in the three days before, after, or on your birthday
Gold: Do all three (swim/bike/run) in 24-hours to celebrate your birthday!

I plan on taking my birthday off of work and will attempt to go for the "gold" challenge all within the 24 hours on my birthday. Come to think of it, maybe I should take the day *after* my birthday off, too!! The site has some great training plans and tips for getting started with exercising -- I could spend way too much time there!

Dreams vs. goals

Please forgive me for having piqued your curiosity yesterday and then leaving you hanging. I have been giving a lot of thought to the fact that I committed to the Mountain Goat and now I am backing out of it. I suppose most of my turmoil lies in the fact that I have been toying with the idea of doing a long-distance triathlon. I dabbled last season with “Sprint” distance triathlons, which were a ton of fun. However, I’m very inconsistent with training. I will go great guns for a few weeks, then slack off. That’s okay with the shorter distances but I will really need to step up the consistency if I want to do longer distances. So I really had to make up my mind that this is something I really want to focus on, before “going public”. For now, doing a longer distance is still a dream….I won’t consider it a goal until several things happen. But the dream is becoming more and more clear as every day goes by.