Just over a month away

Hey all, just thought I would update you all on my training for the Sprint Triathalon which is May 22nd.  Training is going well and while I know I won't break any records I know I'll finish.  Just a reminder for those that care, the sprint tri that I'm doing is a 500 yeard swim, 12.4 mile bike ride and 3.1 mile run.  It sounds like a lot, but once you get going it really isn't.  The mind is great about putting up road blocks

Anway, what really is the message is that I made this a goal to make me get up and go to the gym.  My wife and I awake at 4:45 on weekdays and 6:45 on weekends to go to the gym first thing in the morning.  I am not good about going after work as I can always find some legitmate excuse as to why I can't go, so I go in the morning.  I have good days and bad days, and I have skipped.  But, I don't beat myself up over it and I get there the next day.  As I say to my wife, it is a pain to get up but I'm never sorry that I have gone, but I am sorry if I skip.   I am NOT a triathalete.  I'm not a runner, I not a swimmer, and I'm a marginal bike rider but it has motivated me to go to the gym.  What I have learned is how great swimming laps is as far as my mind set and my body.  There is a certain calm in the quiet of being underwater and just swimming.  When I started, it was tough to go more the 50 yards without stopping, now I'm up to 300 yards non storp and I'm swimming at least 800 yards a day.  

Just do it! Do something.  Go out walk a block.  Walk a block and a half the next day, or just a block, but do something.  Much like a 12 step program, this is day to day.  But I can tell you that if you do something and you want to go longer, just getting started is half the battle.  The easy thing to do is to sit around and beat yourself up about what you ate and that you didn't workout.  But, while it won't change things overnight, it will change if you stick to it.  You will feel better in your mind and body.  Plus, I have found that after I busted my hind parts in the gym,  I'm less likely to eat something I shouldn't because I don't want to blow my workout on something that will most likely make me run to the toilet with a case of screamers.

I am so far from perfect, but I am proof that if you set a goal, start picking at it and work everyday towards it, you will get there.    One of my favorite football coaches used to say you eat an elephant one bite at a time.  So, start eating that elephant!

Hi Ken, great post. I decided to swim on my lunch hour yesterday for the first time in over 2 years - the college where I work has an outstanding Olympic size indoor pool and I remember when I first lost the weight, I was swimming regularly. So easy to let go of the body and to, as you say, sit around and beat myself up about what I'm eating and how my workout regimen has gone down the toilet. Getting up and moving is much, much harder to do than throwing myself that old familiar Pitty Party. But the swim felt wonderful - I remember the early post-surgery days when I would get into the pool and feel the length of my torso cut through the water and I was absolutely stunned by how slim and lean I felt! I don't feel that way anymore, but there is a wonderful peacefulness in the water that is as good for the mind as the swim is for the body. Thanks again - always so good to hear from you. Maureen