A Triathlon - What Have I Done?
When I left these shores in 2000 I was fit and healthy. Through a combination of work and lifestyle I find myself approaching 40 having packed on 35 lb’s (2 stones in old money) and hardly healthy.
I now have no excuses. Its really easy to eat healthily in the UK; just go to M&S for lunch and get small fresh fruit packets instead of chips, freshly squeezed juices are the norm and healthy options that actually look appetizing. Organic food is everywhere and the choice is incredible. Weve got two good resturants on the campus that both do great food. As part of my health benefits with Microsoft I even get a full health check up include full cancer and major illness screening and we have a band new gym on campus.
So now my mid-life crisis includes a plan to train for a triathlon in an attempt to shed the flab and get my health back. It’s really an excuse to buy some new gadgets as my wife probably knows! You can now get heart rate monitors that sync with Excel to plot pretty progress charts and running watches with built in GPS so you know how far you went. How cool is that! I reckon I need a triathlon bike for Christmas dear if you are reading!
November 5, 2007 at 4:52 pm
Ambitious ambitious
it’s always good when people make a decision to take better care of themselves. Which distance are you aiming at? Hope it’s not an Ironman (yet) because that might cause you lots and lots of frustration on the way…
November 5, 2007 at 5:22 pm
I signed up for a triathalon next year (half ironman in Wisconsin). Biking is easy for me, but losing weight to make running easier will be my downfall.
Oh, yeah, and swimming. ouch.
In any case, best of luck to you as well. Maybe someday we’ll have a “network security guys” triathalon team.
November 5, 2007 at 7:41 pm
The Garmin Forerunners are awesome tools and work in multi-sport mode.
What type of bike are you looking at?
November 5, 2007 at 8:36 pm
Ha! Against my better judgment I dragged myself through the Austin half marathon last January and just completed the MS 150 bicycle ride a couple of weekends ago. Since Elite Sports is bringing the Rock N Roll Marathon to San Antonio next year I suspect I will end up in that as well. My advice for a new biker: buy the most comfortable, most padded shorts you can find and also buy a ton of the “butt cream” to reduce friction. Good luck!
November 6, 2007 at 1:56 am
I am in the exact same boat, only slightly better; I need to shed 20lbs. And I actually really enjoy being active; I find myself happier, more productive; less stressed and additionally; I feel better about myself.
But the last two years ‘I have been anything but active’; I am not sure if it is middle age creeping up on me or nearly 2 years of 90% travel for my employer; I am always tired (timezones and the like), I can not control what I eat (restaurants are my only food source 90% of the time; and believe me I do eat clean) and sitting in front of the computer for hours on end does nothing to help. I am 20 extra pounds heavier.
A gym at work would be a real boon to my productivity. Because sometimes you think better when you get the blood flowing to your brain.
This post really struck me; so today I took my first step on the road back; I went out for a jog…
November 6, 2007 at 6:45 pm
Hay, I have not done one in 4-5 years, so I don’t know if that counts. Drop me a line if you need advice.
November 7, 2007 at 5:33 pm
COOL!
I found myself running my first marathon (NYC) the year leading up to my 40th birthday!
Believe me you will feel 20 again…. when you’ve recovered
November 7, 2007 at 5:52 pm
Hey Mark,
Go for it! I have a couple of brit friends in my “triathlon team” here in California; we are all training for Ironman Arizona in April 08… but we started building up from 5k runs in the past years.
Isn’t the challenge amazing? Register for different races in short, mid and long term and start training! No excuses and good luck!
I will start my blog anytime soon!
Renata
November 8, 2007 at 10:47 am
That’s amazing that Microsoft does a health check for their employees. Do they include it on your employee record and put those with bad health first for redundancies, though?!
As for the gadgets, that sounds so like my husband. We have climbing equipment, a pull up bar, great mountain bikes, wine making equipment, and books on almost every subject interesting to a man. Thankfully he’s not an IT geek like me or we’d have probably spent a lot more money. I think I’d tell you to begin your training schedule and if you made until Christmas then maybe you might get the gear. The funny thing is, who has time for all the gadgets? Stick on an old pair of running shoes and hit the road.
I began marathon training a month ago - the 30 minute, 3 times a week one, where you add 30 seconds on to your runs every week. Week 1 - run 30 secs, walk 4 1/2 minutes, repeat for 30 mins. Week 2 - run 1 min, walk 4 mins, repeat for 30 mins, etc. You get the idea. It works well, though I really don’t know if I’ll make it ’til Christmas. Maybe if I check your blog every week I’ll stay motivated. So don’t quit on me now!!
November 17, 2007 at 10:13 am
I knew a new hobby was a new reason to buy gadgets - so what is it now, triathlon bike and sooper dooper tricked out pimped up training watch? Send me the links babe, I’ll see what I can do …
PS - If you’re in America before the end of the year…well, you know what I like