6 Month Anniversary of Tri'ing

It has been 6 months since I decided to get off the couch and start running....err, mostly walking. At the time, I was about 30 lbs overweight and my size 36 pants were getting extremely tight. My goals were to lose weight and get in-shape: not just for me but to provide an example of an active healthy lifestyle for my kids as they get older. I don't want them to get fat playing video games non-stop.

I first started running and dieting. I knew I wanted to get into triathlons, but I wanted to prove to myself and my wife that it wasn't a fad before plunking down the money for a bike. So my goal was to do two 5Ks. At first it was hard and progress was slow, but I found the Couch to 5k program and that made a path forward clearer. However, every incremental step seemed daunting; when I could run 2.5 miles, running 3 miles seemed impossible.

I only had one 3 mile run before my first 5k and it was at a 10:39 pace - breaking 30 minutes seemed impossible. Three days later, I hit 29:20. A month later, I shave a minute off that time and six weeks after that, another minute was shaved off. When I first got in the pool, I could only do 3 laps (25 yd pool) of freestyle before having to switching to backstroke. On Monday I did 32 laps without stopping (yes, it was hell).

6 Months by the Numbers (some August 2012 data are estimates):

I have to remind myself of my progress, because the next incremental steps still seem so daunting. After biking 15 miles last Friday, running a 5k seemed impossibly daunting: "Oh no, I only have 11 weeks until my big (full sprint) triathlon!" However, 11 weeks was the same amount of time from going from couch to my first 5k. 

I read a quote by Mike Pigg who was asked if he was frustrated or felt cheated by not winning Ironman (a persistent stomach bacterial infection prevented him from continuing in the extremely long distance events): "No, I don't have nightmares about it. Different people say you have to win to win. My philosophy is you have to give it your 100 percent and you're a winner. That was my 100 percent. Why have any bad feelings about your 100 percent?"

That is that attitude I want to carry forward. I squeaze as much exercise into my week as I can, given other commitments. I exercise about 5-6 times/week, each for about 40 minutes to over an hour, time permitting. This is despite whether conditions are not ideal:  I run when it is drizzling, I bike when its cold, I swim when the kids have woken me up multiple times over night, etc. So I will continue to give 100% during training and will give 100% during the events. After that, who cares about how my time compares to other people?