Honestly I'm not sure. This whole thing started one day when I saw some pictures of myself at a Christmas concert and I said to myself, "Damn I have gotten fat."
It wasn't a bold, groundbreaking revelation by any means. I'd ventured on the scales from time to time and could not ignore the ever increasing numbers, but it wasn't until I viewed those oh so unflattering photos that it struck home that I had let myself go. It was then that I harkened back many years to my time in the Corps at Texas A&M sitting around with my buddies telling them, "I see these guys who have gotten fat and I ask myself how did you let yourself get that way?" And then I said it..."I'll never let myself get that out of shape." Ouch. Those words were like a hammer right between my eyes. Back in those days I could run, do pushup, situps whatever you threw at me and I was a rough and ready 218. Since that time I'd softened, been domesticated, gotten lazy and ballooned up to a maximum of 260 on July 31, 2011. And still it took me another 5 months to come to terms with it.
I had to sit down and think about some things and look to the future. I'd been eating terribly, frequenting fast food establishments, consuming large quantities of fried foods, abandoning vegetables at every opportunity. My activity level had dropped significantly. I had completed a half marathon in 2010 and upon completion returned to my old ways. I signed up for another in December of 2011 almost a year later and though I did complete it I was severly humbled by the experience. I hadn't trained at all and the extra weight I was carrying left me broken down and hobbling to the finish.
Also I have a family history of heart problems and it was time I came to grips with the fact that I'm not getting any younger. I've got three kids and a beautiful wife and everything to live for so why was I letting myself slide down this slippery slope. So between my family medical history, the humbling half marathon experience, and the out and out embarassment of that picture I was determined it was time I reverse course.
So how do I go about it? Two things above all will help turn back the tide. Diet, and exercise, the one-two punch I would use to change it up. On a smaller scale accountability. I told everyone I knew that I was going to get back down to 220. That I was going to take up triathlons and duathlons. I started a running group at my church, and started hitting the pavement again. I bought myself a bike and paid a larger sum than I normally would to give myself cause to use it. And now I've started this blog to record my thoughts, show progress, and force myself to continue because now its public and I have to follow through.
I will get more into the specifics of my journey on later posts, now I'm just laying out where I was and where I want to go. 140.6 is a long way in more ways than one. 2.4 miles of swimming, 112 miles on the bike, and 26.2 miles of running. More importantly its still a long way off in the future.
I made this mistake once when preparing for my first marathon turned half marathon. I decided arbitrarily I wanted to run a marathon, 8 or 9 months before it was to start. I rationalized that I used to be able to run long distance easily enough and all it would take would be a little dedication. About halfway through it I realized that if I continued to train for a full marathon my body wouldn't ever make it to the start. So I swallowed some pride, admitted I wasn't the young in shape guy I once was and instead registered for the half marathon. I finished and was proud of my accomplishment but then allowed myself to regress.
Then I registered for another half marathong figuring that my experience would carry me to the finish line. I trained very little, next to none despite the advisement of my wife, and showed up overweight and undertrained. The next 13.1 miles (actually the first 5 weren't too bad) were a myriad of aching joints, burning legs, and humble pie eating. After dragging my carcas across the finish line it was then I decided I would take on triathlons because I needed some variety in my training.
Running day after day, week after week, would be to monotonous. So why a full ironman? Why 140.6 miles after such a train wreck of a half marathon? Because folks if you're gonna be a bear, be a Grizzly. Its the pinnacle it is the top and if you ain't trying to get there then you just ain't trying. It will be two years before I consider giving it a shot, I'm looking at 2014 as a realistic goal. Some may say I'll be two years older, but I'll also hopefully have two years of training under my belt which I hope/think will make all the difference.
So this year will be training, duathlons, training, sprint triathlons, training, olympic distance triathlons and oh yeah more training. Next year duathlons, training, olympics, training, and then hopefully a half ironman. The following year will be yet more training and then hopefully a full ironman. Truth is I don't really have a good reason to do it. I'm not even sure why I want to do it. All I know is as of right now that is what I'm aiming for.
Will I succeed? Will I reach my goal? I can't say for sure right now. But as the great Wayne Gretzky once said you miss 100% of the shots you don't take.
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