To my fellow Ironman finishers - did you take an extended period of time off after the race and did you morph into a person you barely recognize in this short time? As you all know, I have been injured and therefore barely moving. Granted I could have been a swimming fool and spending more time on the trainer, but I was burned out and didn't want to force myself to do activities that might make me miserable. I also took the old enjoy whatever you want for awhile philosophy to an extreme and I've been living the good life. The very, very, very good life. And I've enjoyed it.
But I noticed how different I look in some recent photos as compared to how I looked in September. I'm not sure why I was surprised, I've packed on 10 pounds so of course I should look different. I'm not overweight by any means and I wasn't super skinny before, I'm just average as I've always been, but I've lost the athletic look I worked so hard for and I miss it.
So even though it's the holidays and my days and nights seem to be filled with gluttony, I'm buckling down when I can and am cleaning up my diet outside of any celebrations. I figure if I can be 75% good I will at least feel better and perhaps thwart any additional poundage. I'm going to have to have an aggressive weight loss goal for January so I'm not struggling to drop weight while training, something we all know is nearly impossible. So while I'm not one for New Year's resolutions, I think the situation warrants one - go back to my uber healthy, sometimes boring training diet and stop skipping workouts come January. Until then, I've learned my lesson and will not look back at any pre-Ironman photos in comparison to now and will continue to enjoy the celebratory moments that made gaining the weight so much fun.
Luckily, my genetics are such that I look pretty much the same whether I'm training or not, but my fitness is horrible right now. My max heart rate feels like it's at about 140. Needless to say, I'm feeling pretty un-athletic these days. Meh.
ReplyDeleteBTW, I read about your trip to the notary today on BT, and just wanted to send along a blog-to-blog hug. That must have been tough. Inevitable perhaps, but tough all the same. Hope you're well.
You know, being 75% good during the holidays is much, much better than most people achieve.
ReplyDeleteGive yourself a little slack...you deserve it.
What Mike said ^^ and yes, I feel the same way. I used to feel so guilty about missing workouts and now I'm ... meh. (maybe because there aren't any to miss, really?)
ReplyDeleteGood luck with your New Years Resolution! From following your dedication through your Ironman training and success, I know that you will fall right back into your old training routine without any problems!
ReplyDeletedon't worry about it...December is a month to live it up, be with family and friends and indulge. I've missed a ton of workouts, lost fitness, and have gained 5 lbs's, but i really don't care. Full on training mode will come back to you (us), you'll lose the weight and be back on your game in no time. Sometimes you gotta live life, even if that life is full of beer and cookies. Happy Holidays and Cheers!
ReplyDelete-Chris