I got through the entire month of January with at least 30 minutes of "intentional movement" every single day. Most days it was easy to get my 30 minutes in. The simplest days were when I went out and rode my bike or took Tae Kwon Do class. I actually got out and rode 320 miles during the month of January. I don't remember the last time I got out on my bike that much.
There were a few days where I was not convinced I was going to do 30 minutes of exercise. There was last Monday when I had to work and couldn't take my regular Tae Kwon Do class. It was miserable rainy day so taking a run or a walk outdoors wasn't really an option. I'm rather a wimp when it comes to running in the rain when it's 40 degrees out. So without the benefit of a home gym, treadmill or a bike on a wind trainer one has to become creative. It was time to do Grandmaster Kim's bowing meditations. This is something he really feels strongly about his students doing on a daily basis. I'm not very disciplined about these types of things.
It's hard to describe exactly what a bowing meditation move is. I tried to describe in words and then decided there must be something on YouTube. Sure enough there. This video isn't exactly how we do it our Tae Kwon Do school, but you'll get the gist of how it goes. It is a good workout.
I set the timer on my iPhone for 15 minutes and do them. I gave up trying to count. I'm sure the yoga folks wouldn't approve of my music choice. I listen to Christian rock worship music while doing it. Listening to a Christian artist such as Chris Tomlin while doing the bows helps me to focus on God. The time actually passes quickly. I do them using my hands to lower myself of go down one leg at a time. It does work the quad muscles and stretches out the back. After the bows a did a little weight training. I'm using some of the upper body workouts in the Women's Body for Life book.
This routine works well for me so at least I've found something I go do indoors when all attempts of outdoor activity fails. I do have some challenges facing me in the upcoming weeks. Weekend work and some travel will make it so I'll have to force myself to GMBOOBEAE. That stands for Get My Butt Out Of Bed Early And Exercise.
Stay tuned as I continue to work my way through this journey of movement for the sake of moving.
Thursday, February 02, 2012
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
My Newest Quest: 100 Day Challenge
It's almost the end of January. I'm not one to make New Years resolutions. I do look to set goals for the up coming year. Is there a difference? I think so. Most New Years resolutions go something like this;
"I resolve to go to the gym x days a week."
"I resolve to lose x number of pounds by December 31st."
"I resolve to stop doing __________. (pick your own vice)"
These are admirable things to aim for, but as soon one doesn't go to the gym x times a week, doesn't lose weight at the rate wanted, or starts doing _____ again she feels like a failure. That usually leads to beating up on one's self and just throwing in the towel.
I have two very concrete goals for myself in terms of my sporting life.
1. Get my second degree Black Belt.
2. Do a triathlon again. (sprint or Olympic)
All of this being said, I've decided to accept John "The Penguin" Bingham's 100 day challenge. The basic premise is this; "You can be a part of it. The rules are simple. Choose to move, intentionally, for 30 minutes every day for the first 100 days of 2012. It doesn’t matter what you do, as long as you do it ON PURPOSE."
Why do I need to do this? After all I've trained for triathlons, marathons, bike races, centuries, Tae Kwon Do, etc. Don't I already do enough? Yes and no. I can do plenty when I have people to ride with and Tae Kwon Do classes to attend. It's those days when it's too cold to ride outdoors, or I can't make it to Tae Kwon Do. Can I get myself out the door to take a walk or a run in the cold? If it's too miserable outside can I get myself to do a little strength training, Tae Kwon Do practice, or *gasp* set up the wind trainer and ride indoors?
I admit it. I am lazy and I hate doing things by myself. It's hard for me to drag my lazy butt out the door to go run, bike or walk by myself. I want someone to talk to while I'm doing these things. Sometimes I think I just workout for the social aspect of it. It's probably a carryover from my youth where sports were my in with the cool kids. Would I be so devoted to exercise if I never could do it with anyone? I'm not so sure. There were many times where I couldn't bike because I was injured. Instead of finding an alternative, I would just eat my way through my pity party. The idea of taking a walk by myself to keep some level of fitness was not on my radar.
I know that exercise is important both physically and emotionally. As someone who is closer to 60 then 50 I recognize the need to keep moving. Last year a friend had recommended reading "Younger Next Year" There's woman specific version of the book. It's an interesting book. Basically the authors are saying exercise 6 days a week to help turn back the clock. I'm sure not everyone agrees with their advice, but I think the overall premise is sound. For me the 100 Day Challenge is to encourage me to keep moving even when I have no one to keep me company. Though in some ways I do have company. There's a Facebook page where everyone is sharing what they're doing each day. Also I have friends who are also doing it.
My original intent was to write this post on January 1st. Then share how I'm doing with the challenge. Okay I'm 25 days late. Being the procrastinator I am, that should be no surprise. Better late, then never. Obviously since I went to the trouble to write this post, I'm still on track. Tae Kwon Do classes, Gimbels and unemployment rides have filled up many of these January days so far. However I managed to get my 30 minutes in despite traveling for a chess tournament and dealing with very cold weather.
Day 26 awaits!!
"I resolve to go to the gym x days a week."
"I resolve to lose x number of pounds by December 31st."
"I resolve to stop doing __________. (pick your own vice)"
These are admirable things to aim for, but as soon one doesn't go to the gym x times a week, doesn't lose weight at the rate wanted, or starts doing _____ again she feels like a failure. That usually leads to beating up on one's self and just throwing in the towel.
I have two very concrete goals for myself in terms of my sporting life.
1. Get my second degree Black Belt.
2. Do a triathlon again. (sprint or Olympic)
All of this being said, I've decided to accept John "The Penguin" Bingham's 100 day challenge. The basic premise is this; "You can be a part of it. The rules are simple. Choose to move, intentionally, for 30 minutes every day for the first 100 days of 2012. It doesn’t matter what you do, as long as you do it ON PURPOSE."
Why do I need to do this? After all I've trained for triathlons, marathons, bike races, centuries, Tae Kwon Do, etc. Don't I already do enough? Yes and no. I can do plenty when I have people to ride with and Tae Kwon Do classes to attend. It's those days when it's too cold to ride outdoors, or I can't make it to Tae Kwon Do. Can I get myself out the door to take a walk or a run in the cold? If it's too miserable outside can I get myself to do a little strength training, Tae Kwon Do practice, or *gasp* set up the wind trainer and ride indoors?
I admit it. I am lazy and I hate doing things by myself. It's hard for me to drag my lazy butt out the door to go run, bike or walk by myself. I want someone to talk to while I'm doing these things. Sometimes I think I just workout for the social aspect of it. It's probably a carryover from my youth where sports were my in with the cool kids. Would I be so devoted to exercise if I never could do it with anyone? I'm not so sure. There were many times where I couldn't bike because I was injured. Instead of finding an alternative, I would just eat my way through my pity party. The idea of taking a walk by myself to keep some level of fitness was not on my radar.
I know that exercise is important both physically and emotionally. As someone who is closer to 60 then 50 I recognize the need to keep moving. Last year a friend had recommended reading "Younger Next Year" There's woman specific version of the book. It's an interesting book. Basically the authors are saying exercise 6 days a week to help turn back the clock. I'm sure not everyone agrees with their advice, but I think the overall premise is sound. For me the 100 Day Challenge is to encourage me to keep moving even when I have no one to keep me company. Though in some ways I do have company. There's a Facebook page where everyone is sharing what they're doing each day. Also I have friends who are also doing it.
My original intent was to write this post on January 1st. Then share how I'm doing with the challenge. Okay I'm 25 days late. Being the procrastinator I am, that should be no surprise. Better late, then never. Obviously since I went to the trouble to write this post, I'm still on track. Tae Kwon Do classes, Gimbels and unemployment rides have filled up many of these January days so far. However I managed to get my 30 minutes in despite traveling for a chess tournament and dealing with very cold weather.
Day 26 awaits!!
Monday, July 04, 2011
One Year Later.....I'm melting!
It's a year to the day that I last wrote on this blog. I was in a frenzy trying to figure out what clothes I could take with me to Korea that were going to fit. I was totally frustrated by an agonizingly slow rate of weight loss. I was totally convinced that trying to lose any significant amount of weight as a woman in her mid-50s was impossible. Guess what? I was totally wrong on that count.
A lot has happened since I last wrote here. I suppose nobody out there necessarily knows or cares. When one writes a blog entry once a year, the chances that anyone is still following are slim and none. It said that a picture is worth a thousand words. So I figure this series of before and after pictures will tell my story better then I can. Each set of pictures are taken approximately 1 year apart. Each set marks the before and after of different areas of my life
Christmas
My sisters and I are very close. We always spend Christmas together at my sister Anne's house. It's a wonderful time of family being together with a lot of good food and drink. It's three days of eating, drinking and being merry. Christmas 2009 ended out being a very stressful event having fallen down the steps and breaking my ankle less then a week before. Would I be able to manage a car ride to up state New York? Come hell or high water I was going to make that trip. No way I was spending Christmas at home. Could I make my chocolate chunk cookies for my sisters, while dealing with a leg that I could put no weight on for two weeks? The answer to those questions was yes.
Tae Kwon Do has become a big part of my life style change. In 2007 when I was looking for something I could do in the winter that did not involve mind numbing laps in the pool, or trips to the gym. Tae Kwon Do filled the bill quite nicely. It was something completely different and involved using my mind and body in a whole new way. I thought it would be something I'd do for the workout and discipline, but not worry about belt promotions. I should have known better.
The Tae Kwon Do dobak (uniform) is baggy and not the most flattering article of clothing. "Does this outfit make me look fat?" Yes it does. It was looking in the mirror and seeing the rolls of belly fat hanging over my uniform pants that motivated me to do something about it. I wanted to get back to "fighting weight" by the time I tested for Black Belt in November 2010. My definition of "fighting weight" was my WW goal weight of 130.
A lot has happened since I last wrote here. I suppose nobody out there necessarily knows or cares. When one writes a blog entry once a year, the chances that anyone is still following are slim and none. It said that a picture is worth a thousand words. So I figure this series of before and after pictures will tell my story better then I can. Each set of pictures are taken approximately 1 year apart. Each set marks the before and after of different areas of my life
Christmas
My sisters and I are very close. We always spend Christmas together at my sister Anne's house. It's a wonderful time of family being together with a lot of good food and drink. It's three days of eating, drinking and being merry. Christmas 2009 ended out being a very stressful event having fallen down the steps and breaking my ankle less then a week before. Would I be able to manage a car ride to up state New York? Come hell or high water I was going to make that trip. No way I was spending Christmas at home. Could I make my chocolate chunk cookies for my sisters, while dealing with a leg that I could put no weight on for two weeks? The answer to those questions was yes.
Christmas Eve, 2009
Christmas 2010 was a whole lot easier. With all the food and drink related activities it's not the time to be counting calories and obsessing about being perfectly on program. I did not obsess, but I was mindful of how much I ate or drank at any particular meal. The new me realizes she has to make choices. Is it a slice of pecan pie or another one of my decadent chocolate chip cookies? No brainer. The cookies win out every time.
Christmas Eve, 2010
Floyd and I together weigh less then I did a year ago.
(No; Floyd is not my dog.)
Floyd and I together weigh less then I did a year ago.
(No; Floyd is not my dog.)
Tae Kwon Do has become a big part of my life style change. In 2007 when I was looking for something I could do in the winter that did not involve mind numbing laps in the pool, or trips to the gym. Tae Kwon Do filled the bill quite nicely. It was something completely different and involved using my mind and body in a whole new way. I thought it would be something I'd do for the workout and discipline, but not worry about belt promotions. I should have known better.
The Tae Kwon Do dobak (uniform) is baggy and not the most flattering article of clothing. "Does this outfit make me look fat?" Yes it does. It was looking in the mirror and seeing the rolls of belly fat hanging over my uniform pants that motivated me to do something about it. I wanted to get back to "fighting weight" by the time I tested for Black Belt in November 2010. My definition of "fighting weight" was my WW goal weight of 130.
May 17th, 2010
The above picture was taken at our retreat where the Black Belt test was taking place. That was the Black Belt test I was originally scheduled to do. Broken bones happen, so that was not my test. Though it might as well been, since I did all the same stuff at the retreat that the testing candidates did. I looked at it as a dress rehearsal for when my time would come in November.
My Black Belt test was Saturday November 20th, 2010. On Friday November 19th I weighed in at my Weight Watchers meeting and tipped the scales at 127 pounds. "Fighting weight" and then some. It was few weeks later that the new Points Plus program came out. 35 daily points for maintenance, and another 49 weekly allowance points?? What? Were they kidding?
May 19th, 2011
To go from First Degree Black Belt to Second Degree Black Belt there are 8 intermediate tests to be done. Each test involves performing one or two new forms that have been learned since the previous test, and being prepared to do any form that one has learned as a color belt. The above picture was taken after my second test. "Does this outfit make me look fat?" No. That because 28 pounds went away between pictures.
June 28, 2010
If you go back and reads old posts from this blog you will realize that at one point I was a serious cyclist and triathlete. Sometimes priorities and interests change. In April 2010 I had completed my physical therapy and started back on the road to Black Belt. I think having had my share of mishaps on the bike I decided not to make much of an effort to become a cyclist who could go hammer with the guys. I also wasn't convinced I would ever get back into the kind of shape I was in during 2003 - 2005. Cycling last year consisted of an occasional ride on the Bronx River Parkway during Bicycle Sundays, or showing up at the tail end of the unemployment ride and coming back with the group. I thought 56 was too old to make yet another comeback after a setback like my broken ankle.
June 30, 2011
I was wrong about being too old to make a comeback. I wasn't too old. I was just too overweight. It's a lot easier getting back into cycling condition when one is not carrying around so much weight. I started out slowly with short rides and meeting people at the end of rides. A few weeks ago I decided I would just go up Central Avenue with the Gimbels ride and then head south once I got to North White Plains. I got to North White Plains and decided "What the heck. Let me see if I can make it to Otto's route. The worst that will happen is I'll get dropped. Then I'll go down Lake St." I didn't get dropped so I just said "Screw it. I'm finishing the ride." Never mind it was going to be close to 10 miles longer then my previous long ride of the season.
Sometimes I just lose patience with easing back into things. Here it is 3 weeks later and I've had put in 180+ miles for the week. So much for the 10% rule. I went from 30 miles a week to 75 to 180. Do as I say, not as I do. If you asked me how to get back into training form I'd tell you to take it slowly and ease back into the weekly mileage. So much for my doing that.
One of the problems with bumping up my activity like that is not adjusting my food intake accordingly. This weeks weigh in I was down another 1.8 pounds. I don't want lose anymore weight. I've been holding steady since March once I figured out how much I could eat, and what amount of weight was reasonably maintainable. Now I've got to play around with my points again, and
Here it is almost a year later and I'm getting ready to go on another trip. Once again I'm dealing with my damn clothes don't fit. However this time I'm coming across things that are too big. What a difference a year makes.
Hopefully I'll come back here more then once a year. I'm not aiming to become the crazed triathlete I once was. I'm running a little bit, but only 30-40 minutes. I'm slow as crap. I'm not sure I'm ready to do triathlons running 12 minute miles. I was kind of hoping that wasn't going to happen until I hit my mid 60s. I would like to perhaps do a low key sprint race somewhere before the end of the season, but it won't make or break me if I don't.
Hopefully I'll come back here more then once a year. I'm not aiming to become the crazed triathlete I once was. I'm running a little bit, but only 30-40 minutes. I'm slow as crap. I'm not sure I'm ready to do triathlons running 12 minute miles. I was kind of hoping that wasn't going to happen until I hit my mid 60s. I would like to perhaps do a low key sprint race somewhere before the end of the season, but it won't make or break me if I don't.
Sunday, July 04, 2010
+0.4 and none of my damn clothes fit!!
I tracked everything, exercised a lot, but....gained .4. It's kind of frustrating when that happens. Today I actually got up early and rode up Central Avenue with the group instead meeting them at the tail end of the ride. I saw a number of people who I had not seen in awhile. One woman said she hadn't seen me in a long time. I told her I hadn't been doing much riding. Her response was "I know. You've put all the weight back on." Ouch, that was a kick in the proverbial balls. I haven't put it all back on. I managed to stay under 150, but I'm well over what I want to be.
The good things about this week: I rode my bike Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. I did Tae Kwon Do on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday. Friday was the first meeting for bodan review class. All talking and no doing.
The bad thing about this week: Not losing anything, and to make it worse gaining. I guess I may have to horde my weekly allowance points, and not use so many every day.
Tuesday I leave for Korea. I started packing today. I couldn't find this one pair of capri pants that I was looking for, so I kept digging out others. None of them fit. Some I could get zipped and buttoned, but they were way too uncomfortable. Others I couldn't even zip up. It's really frustrating to have tons of clothes, and most of them don't fit. I was even having trouble with some shirts that I bought two years ago. Damn boobs have gotten too big, so the shirts don't fit well either. I refuse to buy anything else. I just will make do with what does fit.
I did finally find the pants I was looking for. They were stashed away in some bin that I had not looked in before. I find it kind of embarrassing that I have so many clothes that I have to keep some of them in bins stashed in corners or under the bed. But what makes it worse is so little of them fit right now. I don't even know what to get rid of until I lose enough weight to figure out what will really fit. I'm afraid the size 4 pants may never fit again, but I'd like to at least get into the 6s.
How will I fare with my weight on this vacation? Unclear. Korean food is not my favorite cuisine. On my last trip there were times when it was challenging to find something I liked besides rice. However I can only take so much white rice before my insides are screaming for fiber. Brown rice does not seem to exist there. Kimchi is most prevalent there. I tried it, but too bitter or spicy.
Hopefully I can get through this trip without doing too much damage to the waistline.
The good things about this week: I rode my bike Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. I did Tae Kwon Do on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday. Friday was the first meeting for bodan review class. All talking and no doing.
The bad thing about this week: Not losing anything, and to make it worse gaining. I guess I may have to horde my weekly allowance points, and not use so many every day.
Tuesday I leave for Korea. I started packing today. I couldn't find this one pair of capri pants that I was looking for, so I kept digging out others. None of them fit. Some I could get zipped and buttoned, but they were way too uncomfortable. Others I couldn't even zip up. It's really frustrating to have tons of clothes, and most of them don't fit. I was even having trouble with some shirts that I bought two years ago. Damn boobs have gotten too big, so the shirts don't fit well either. I refuse to buy anything else. I just will make do with what does fit.
I did finally find the pants I was looking for. They were stashed away in some bin that I had not looked in before. I find it kind of embarrassing that I have so many clothes that I have to keep some of them in bins stashed in corners or under the bed. But what makes it worse is so little of them fit right now. I don't even know what to get rid of until I lose enough weight to figure out what will really fit. I'm afraid the size 4 pants may never fit again, but I'd like to at least get into the 6s.
How will I fare with my weight on this vacation? Unclear. Korean food is not my favorite cuisine. On my last trip there were times when it was challenging to find something I liked besides rice. However I can only take so much white rice before my insides are screaming for fiber. Brown rice does not seem to exist there. Kimchi is most prevalent there. I tried it, but too bitter or spicy.
Jeonju Bipimbap - Traditional Korean meal
Wonderful vegetarian restaurant we went to.
It was hard to believe that some of the tofu items weren't really meat.
I finally got some broccoli!
Hopefully I can get through this trip without doing too much damage to the waistline.
Monday, June 28, 2010
Alive and Kicking - Update
The weight loss journey has taken off in fits and sputters. I'm like a car that needs a tune up before going a long road trip. The short trips have had a few glitches in them. Week 2 I had lost the big walloping .4 lbs. Yes that's a decimal place in front of the 4. That was despite being really good about tracking what I ate. I think perhaps I need to fine tune exactly how many of my WA points I use. In the past I've tried to hardly use any of them, but then I'm eating in a manner that's unsustainable. This time I decided I would use them, but I had to tweak things a bit.
I attend meetings on Friday mornings. I like this one particular leader and Friday morning is a convenient time to catch one of her meetings. I was a little bummed by the minuscule weight loss, but I couldn't dwell on it because that weekend was our Tae Kwon Do school's black belt testing weekend. Even though I wasn't testing for black belt, I still had my Bodan Keup 2 test to do. Besides it was going to be a great weekend of training and testing.
I got through the weekend without too many food mishaps. I tried to make good food choices as much as possible. However the training and testing sessions were long and intense so I didn't feel bad about the piece of cake with Saturday night's dinner. Here are a couple of pictures from the weekend.
I attend meetings on Friday mornings. I like this one particular leader and Friday morning is a convenient time to catch one of her meetings. I was a little bummed by the minuscule weight loss, but I couldn't dwell on it because that weekend was our Tae Kwon Do school's black belt testing weekend. Even though I wasn't testing for black belt, I still had my Bodan Keup 2 test to do. Besides it was going to be a great weekend of training and testing.
I got through the weekend without too many food mishaps. I tried to make good food choices as much as possible. However the training and testing sessions were long and intense so I didn't feel bad about the piece of cake with Saturday night's dinner. Here are a couple of pictures from the weekend.
Working on my side kick.
I'm standing on the bad leg!
Board breaking with my hand.
Graduation Day!
Me, Marguerite & Susan
Marguerite and I spent many hours training together last Fall getting ready for this big day. However a trip down the front steps caused me to take a detour so my big day will come in November. It was a great weekend, and gave me a chance to see what I'm going to have to do in the Fall.
Week 3 I was down 1.2 pounds so that was encouraging. However 10 days of vacation wiped out that loss, and by the time I came back I was up 1.8 pounds. After a few weeks of fiddling around, I got myself back on eTools and tracking again. Last Friday I was down 3 pounds. Hurray!
The other piece to this weight loss journey is making friends with my bike again. I'm not ready to go hammer out those 50 mile rides of 4 years ago. I'm going out 3 days a week and have gotten up to a longest ride of 23 miles. The rides aren't very fast, but I'm doing them. It's hard to get excited about riding without having some sort of competitive goal. At the moment I have no interest in even trying to run again. I don't know if I had someone to do it with whether that would help or not. It probably would. I don't enjoy training on my own. I like being with people. My rides coincide with meeting up with my old group for the last part of the ride when the pace has slowed down.
My club uniform is fitting a little tight at the moment. My gut is sticking out, and I got those jelly rolls on the sides. Sometimes I feel as though losing the weight isn't going to make them go away. However if I can get rid of these 12 pounds it should help. Maybe I need a "gut-be-gone" machine.
Saturday, May 08, 2010
Getting the Black Belt Express Back on Track (knock on wood)
In September I wrote a post about my so called wake up call. I had great intentions of getting back into some kind of cycling shape, and trying to even start running again, albeit very slowly. I had just taken my first Bodan test for 3 Keup on September 22nd. This was the first step on the journey to black belt which was supposed to culminate in next weekend's retreat and testing. Part of my preparation for becoming a black belt would be to lose weight and get my endurance back.
In that post I wrote about Tae Kwon Do and how far I had come from my very rocky beginnings. I ended the paragraph with the following; "Now I am just below black belt, and barring horrendous injury, I will attain that rank next June." I hadn't given much thought to that sentence. In fact I had forgotten that I had even written it until looking at the post yesterday. How prophetic that line ended out being. I didn't really think anything would happen. I do get concerned at times about my cranky knees, but I try to listen to my body and not overdo things. I've made adjustments in certain things I do at Tae Kwon Do to accommodate the knees.
Unfortunately I had a moment of not being able to talk and walk down stairs at the same time. December 19th I took a fall that would change my entire winter. Goodbye mandatory Friday night Bodan review classes. Hello crutches, wheelchair rides, and temporary handicap parking permits. This was not exactly what I had in mind for Christmas. I didn't expect to be spending the day before Christmas having John pushing me in a wheelchair around a museum in Albany.So much for our post Christmas trip to Chicago. There was no way I was getting on an airplane unable to put any weight on my left leg. The one bright spot in having to cancel our flights was not having to deal with airport security the day after the underwear bomber try to blow up a plane on Christmas day.
One would think having chess to fall back on would help keep me occupied in my temporary disabled state. However I quickly learned that one can't take the simple things for granted. No longer could I simply get on a train to go play chess in New York City. I needed someone to take me there.
I did go do an occasional Tae Kwon Do class, cast and all. The masters helped me modify the workout in such a way that I could participate in class. Kicking drills I would do sitting or kneeling on the mat. I practiced my poomses without the kicks. At least this way I was able to retain the steps.
Fast forward to March when my physical therapy began. I like to work with physical therapists who understand what I'm trying to do and where I want to go. So who better to help a martial artist then a physical therapist who is third degree degree black belt? She gave me a rehab program that focused on balance, coordination and building strength in my calves. These were all things that would help get me back to my old routine.
The other step to becoming more fit is getting back on my bicycle. In this past week I've gotten out and met some of guys to catch the last part of the unemployment ride. I will gradually increase the length of my ride with them until I reach the point that I can do the ride from start to finish. In this picture I'm standing with three of the most remarkable guys I know, John, Otto and Denis. Otto is in his 70s. John and Denis in their 60s. All three of them have had their share of cycling accidents, broken bones, and other assorted mishaps, but they just keep coming back for more. Unlike me who wimps out when the weather gets cold, they're out riding through the winter. I'm not ever sure I'll stop being a weather wimp, but I want to be riding in my 60s, 70s and beyond.
This is the start. Will I become a triathlete again? I don't know the answer to that one yet. I'm starting with the bike. I'll see if I can actually start to run again. I have many things going on, and I need to ease back into this carefully so that I don't hurt myself.
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Wake Up Call!
I had my annual physical on Monday, and the came back on Friday to discuss the results. The cholesterol numbers were rather ugly. Cholesterol is a hereditary factor in my family. My father's was bad. My two older sisters deal with it. Over the years I've managed to keep mine down with the amount of endurance training I had done for triathlons. These last few years my endurance athlete lifestyle has been non-existent. My feeble effort at this year's St. Anthony's triathlon was an exercise in going through the motions. A canceled swim was probably the only thing that save me from a DNF. My "race" report can be found here.
Winter was a miserable son of a bitch, and left me totally unmotivated to do much of anything except work on Tae Kwon Do. That has been a very positive thing for me in terms focus, concentration and coordination. I've come a long way since my first class when I swore I had 3 left feet, and couldn't even get past the first two movements of a beginner routine that most people learn in the first 15 minutes of their first class. Now I am just below black belt, and barring horrendous injury, I will attain that rank next June.
This past June I competed in the ATU National Championships and won my division, Red Belt 50+ Female. However not many women start doing Tae Kwon Do in their 50s so my competition was me, myself and I. I showed up, my competition didn't.
There is a serious flaw in my Tae Kwon Do training in that I don't have the sustained aerobic workout I would get from swimming, biking and running. It's been hard for me to get excited about doing an of those three sports without specific races and goals in mind. After having a long string of successes from 2002 to 2005 I got kind of spoiled. 2005 also burned me out with all the racing and traveling.
Getting back to Friday's discussion with my doctor, his prescription; get back to doing the three sports. Biking and swimming won't be that hard for me. Running is a different story. I have to start all over again. I pulled out a beginner program, and that's what I'm going to follow.
Today was the Westchester Triathlon. My race. I worked as course marshal on the bike course. The weather sucked. It was raining, and the section of road that I was covering had a bunch of metal plates in one part and two nasty potholes. It's not a closed course but the auxiliary cop at my intersection did a good job with all the impatient drivers who had to wait for hoards of cyclists coming through. Most of the amateur racers totally ignored the yellow line rule and went outside to avoid riding over the plates. Not that I blame them, I probably would have done the same thing. The pros took the plates carefully.
As I stood out there in the raining pointing out hazards and cheering for the racers, I thought to myself "I'm so glad I'm not out here in this crap." I felt really sorry for the poor newbies doing their first triathlon. Shortly after the last two cyclists passed by I went back to my car to head back home. I caught up eventually with the sweep car and cop car tailing the last racer. I don't think we were going much more then 5 miles an hour up that hill. That's not even the hardest climb in the race. That comes later. I hope she made it through the race okay.
It's time for me to start thinking like a triathlete again. I have to get over myself in terms of what I used to be able to do. The 55 year old me is slower and heavier then the 51 year old pictured below.
Maybe I can see that weight again, but I think my days of 8:45 miles are behind me. I may have to outlast my fellow baby boomers to have a chance in my age group again. Hopefully in the mean time I can stand myself. I am finding inspiration from a wonderful young woman who calls herself The Unlikely Triathlete. She working on losing weight, and using triathlon as a tool in that journey. I've got three months to clean up my diet, and get my act together. I don't want to go on meds for my cholesterol.
Winter was a miserable son of a bitch, and left me totally unmotivated to do much of anything except work on Tae Kwon Do. That has been a very positive thing for me in terms focus, concentration and coordination. I've come a long way since my first class when I swore I had 3 left feet, and couldn't even get past the first two movements of a beginner routine that most people learn in the first 15 minutes of their first class. Now I am just below black belt, and barring horrendous injury, I will attain that rank next June.
This past June I competed in the ATU National Championships and won my division, Red Belt 50+ Female. However not many women start doing Tae Kwon Do in their 50s so my competition was me, myself and I. I showed up, my competition didn't.
National Champion?!
There is a serious flaw in my Tae Kwon Do training in that I don't have the sustained aerobic workout I would get from swimming, biking and running. It's been hard for me to get excited about doing an of those three sports without specific races and goals in mind. After having a long string of successes from 2002 to 2005 I got kind of spoiled. 2005 also burned me out with all the racing and traveling.
Getting back to Friday's discussion with my doctor, his prescription; get back to doing the three sports. Biking and swimming won't be that hard for me. Running is a different story. I have to start all over again. I pulled out a beginner program, and that's what I'm going to follow.
Today was the Westchester Triathlon. My race. I worked as course marshal on the bike course. The weather sucked. It was raining, and the section of road that I was covering had a bunch of metal plates in one part and two nasty potholes. It's not a closed course but the auxiliary cop at my intersection did a good job with all the impatient drivers who had to wait for hoards of cyclists coming through. Most of the amateur racers totally ignored the yellow line rule and went outside to avoid riding over the plates. Not that I blame them, I probably would have done the same thing. The pros took the plates carefully.
As I stood out there in the raining pointing out hazards and cheering for the racers, I thought to myself "I'm so glad I'm not out here in this crap." I felt really sorry for the poor newbies doing their first triathlon. Shortly after the last two cyclists passed by I went back to my car to head back home. I caught up eventually with the sweep car and cop car tailing the last racer. I don't think we were going much more then 5 miles an hour up that hill. That's not even the hardest climb in the race. That comes later. I hope she made it through the race okay.
It's time for me to start thinking like a triathlete again. I have to get over myself in terms of what I used to be able to do. The 55 year old me is slower and heavier then the 51 year old pictured below.
Maybe I can see that weight again, but I think my days of 8:45 miles are behind me. I may have to outlast my fellow baby boomers to have a chance in my age group again. Hopefully in the mean time I can stand myself. I am finding inspiration from a wonderful young woman who calls herself The Unlikely Triathlete. She working on losing weight, and using triathlon as a tool in that journey. I've got three months to clean up my diet, and get my act together. I don't want to go on meds for my cholesterol.
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