Well, it's been a week since my first posting and I'm not sure anyone has found their way to the 70.3 project yet, but I can't stop after just the first attempt.
On the training front I had a great first week of the year, for me anyway, hitting all 10 of my workouts. Even better yet was the fact that my body didn't protest at all and is feeling great. I will be gradually adding more training volume to my weeks over time, and adding more elements that I will need to be ready for my first race of the year in June.
The first 8 weeks of my program will mostly consist of cycling and running with some core workouts and strength training added each week. I plan to hit the pool by the beginning of March to start working on the technical aspect of my swimming but right now I really need to focus on building an aerobic base and losing weight before I get into the water.
For those of us returning to physical activity for the first time in a while can really be a 2 front challenge. I realize it has been a long time since I stopped racing but at my largest I gained over 100 pounds above my old race weight, 100! Through stopping and starting training I have taken and kept 20 pounds off that but I still have along way to go. While I have no one to blame but myself it's hard enough to gain fitness if you've been inactive let alone the extra challenge of dealing with all the extra weight.
But the good news is gaining fitness means losing weight, it's a great cure for each problem and a powerful motivator when you see progress in either area or both. I've learnt that doing nothing is making a choice, like sitting around on the couch while eating a bag of chips. You can either choose to do something to help yourself, which is the hardest choice to make once you feel your so far gone, or you can do nothing but realize doing nothing is a choice you are consciously making. Make the hard choice and start today, doing nothing is easy and for me it came down to my realization that I've made the choice to do nothing long enough.
For those of you who live in cold climates this time of the year, you will understand how monotonous the treadmill and trainer can be, I can't wait for warmer weather. To establish some endurance I will be using one of my favorite outdoor winter activities, snowshoeing. Shoeshoeing allows be to get outside and get 90 minutes or more of continuous aerobic activity in without going crazy looking at four walls on the trainer, TV or not. Those of you in warmer areas of the world, I envy you and dream of moving somewhere warm, particularly after the cold snap we've had over the last week.
My training this week will be a little more challenging to work in as on Friday I head out for a 3 day camping trip, so I'll have to be diligent cramming my workouts into a 4 day period. I'll still be able to snowshoe and skate on the weekend to stay active but I hate to break my routine up already. One of my biggest issues since I've stopped racing is consistency. I have trouble finding middle ground, I'm either 100% committed or 100% lazy, so becoming disciplined again is a huge element of whether I'll be successful or not.
Hopefully I'll have some good pictures to post from my trip when I return, until then goodbye from the cold, snowy north.
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Hi Mike, best of luck with that. My husband and I are going back for the 3rd year. Two pieces of advise, ride the course - you can skip the highway bits but the road in and out of Deerhurst is a tough one, also, if you can, stay at Deerhurst. It makes the logistics of the day much easier.
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