Monthly Archives: October 2014
Don’t Let Illness Force Your Fitness
So most of you know that I’m 63 and that this past summer before my birthday was my first triathlon season. And yes I’m proud and happy and all that good stuff. Yet every morning when I get my day started I have to take several pills that for now help to keep my situation in control. So I thought this morning as I was pumping it around the track in the park (I’m a walker), lots of things could have been better if I had done this my whole life.
Like many during my 20’s and 30’s and 40’s I was an episodic athlete. Usually it was tied to an upcoming event or something that I considered a tragedy at the time. Once the situation was over I usually fell back into my more challenging habits. Somewhere around 50 (it’s a blur now) I received an early morning call from my Doctor saying that my blood sugar was elevated. Dang I could see that one coming. Diabetic father and many of his family members combined with my over weight and bad eating habits. Hmn…. no surprise.
My point today is that perhaps I couldn’t have prevented the eventual diagnosis but I sure could have tried. A healthy lifestyle should be a life long pursuit. Kudos to those of you with family, and work responsibilities as well as pursuing a healthy lifestyle. I know the athletic part is tough and is usually the first to suffer. Tired and all. But I can’t help but think in the long run it is essential. Like I said, don’t let illness force your fitness.
What Is Your Excuse?
We can all dream of living the life of maybe a singer, an actor. a writer, a musician, a teacher or maybe just traveling the world. However many of us can block ourselves from pursuing our hearts desires because of the excuses we tell ourselves and the excuses we believe to be the truth.
These excuses can range from;
“I’m too old” “I don’t have the time” “I don’t have the money” “ I’m too young” “I’m not creative enough” “It won’t work out” “I have too much to do” “It’s just not practical” “I’m too tired” “I will not succeed in this” “I’m not good enough” “It’s not realistic”
I can see in my own life that I have been guilty of some of these excuses. I have found it fascinating the…
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Wetsuit or Not?
Do you wear a wetsuit for open water swimming (OWS)? This past season I borrowed a wetsuit from dear Roz and used it for my one and only open water training swim. I was so busy focusing on the process that I can’t say how the suit felt. I decided not to wear it for either of my first two sprints. Would it have made a difference? I’m not sure. My swim performances were less than stellar. Especially since I swim four to five says a week in the summer. But I wasn’t tired in either swim. Just slow. They both took longer than they should but I attribute that to poor training on my part. I was so freaked about riding that I concentrated on that and let my swimming kind of go.
The people who I know that swear by wetsuits see swimming as the necessary evil of triathlon. Like I feel on the bike, I just want to get it done. Don’t care how it looks just do it. So would the added buoyancy have made me faster? I doubt it. So will I get a wetsuit next season? Probably because I intend to do one earlier and one later that last season and the water may be chilly. We’ll see. What do you think? Read the rest of this entry
What is You Resting Heart Rate?
Your resting heart rate is a tool that determines how efficient your heart is pumping blood. The more athletic you are the lower the rate will can be. Now the article I read said that if your RHR (resting heart rate) is below 60 or above 100 you should check in with your Doctor particularly if you have any symptoms including nausea and dizziness. On my recent to the cardiologist my resting heart rate was 64 which according to the chart I read is excellent for my age.
Definitely a result of all the training I did for the triathlons. Makes it all worth it I think.
My Path To Triathlon
So how exactly did I get here? An admitted lifelong couch potato I have had episodic bouts of fitness over the last 62 years but nothing consistent enough to call a way of life. Honestly I’m not sure how I got here. I guess Roz was the biggest moving force. She took the rest of us to a Triwomen meeting and we began our triathlon journey. When I began swimming with my team BrickCity Masterswim, my intention was to improve my swimming and that’s it. The next thing you know I am volunteering at Iron Girl, Sandy Hook and I became intrigued. The next year I signed up and due to health issues I couldn’t do it. This year I did two sprints.
After spending time with my swim family it just seemed like a natural progression. I swore that if I just finished both times, I wouldn’t do it again but I’m getting ready to sign up for 2015. Perhaps this has become my new way of life.
Read All Rules Carefully Before “Tri”-ing
You know already that I’ve only done two triathlons. Jersey Girl and Iron Girl. Each was considered a sprint triathlon but the only consistent thing about them was a 5K run. Jersey Girl was supposed to have a 300 yd. swim (it turned out to be shorter due to the weather) and an 11 mile bike ride. Iron Girl was a 1/3 mile (540ish yards), 15 mile bike ride and a 5K. Starts can be from the shore on in deep water for the swim portion. There can be other variations that may affect performance that you should be aware of.
Even with races that are Ironman and Half Ironman, you need to know the rules. Knowing the distance is generally not enough for you to be successful. Is there a long walk from parking to transition? How early do they open?
You get my points. There is enough to deal with on event day without being blindsided by something you could have handled earlier. Just my thoughts!
What is a Tread Start?
I have so much to learn about triathlon. I have inquired of people who have done the New Jersey State Triathlon about the event before I pay my money and sign up. First the swim is in a lake and I’m not crazy about lakes. But okay I can give it a tri Lol! Second it is a USTA sanctioned event and it’s timed. Only 35 minutes for the swim, which makes me a bit nervous. Even though I covered more distance in 32 minutes anything can happen and over 35 minutes from your start and you are pulled from the water and dq’d. I would be devastated to say the least. From what I gather you have about three hours to complete the ride and four hours to complete the whole event. They close the course at 11:30 am. That shouldn’t be a problem but I’m anxious about the timed aspect. Now I’m told it’s a “tread” start. Do you know what that is?
You actually start the race in deep water and swim out to the start and tread water until the horn goes off! What? Well this will be a new challenge if I decide to tri it.
Maintaining Fitness in the Off Season
Today I went to the park for the first time in weeks. Actually, I’ve been lazy since Iron Girl on September 7, 2014. Once the day was over I had nothing to train for. My next event whatever it will be won’t be until next summer (if my knees cooperate). So I just haven’t had the urgency to get out there. So this morning I decided if it wasn’t raining I would take a quick walk and come home. My second round (1/2 mile track) I ran into an old friend and started walking with her. Did three miles and called it quits. Well I hate to say it but my legs have been sore all day. Wow! I know that I have to get back in the groove and put together an off-season schedule. I may not start formal Triathlon training until spring but there are lots of things I can do until then. For sure I can’t go weeks without walking again.
What do you do in the off seasons to keep fit?
You Know Your Addicted When………
You off and on watch Ironman Kona on-line from early morning until late night and are thrilled watching people finish. Now an Ironman is out of my realm of possibility but it is still thrilling to think about what it takes to do one. I see now how people escalate from sprints to olympics to 70.3 to full Ironman events. How far can we push ourselves? I look at olympic distances and say to myself I can train for the swim and ride but I can’t run so walking 6.2 miles is out of the question. Or is it? OMG what am I saying. After both of my events this year I swore that I was finished. As the day wore on I had rationalized that I just needed more training. Well that’s true. But I am way ahead of myself. Let’s just get through the winter and then…..
First Steps the Hardest 