So about a week ago I completed my first sprint distance triathlon. I finished 16 minutes slower than I wanted to, but I learned a lot from the experience.
By the time I completed the triathlon, I had lost almost 15 pounds, and none of my clothes fit. I had to buy new pants and several new shirts. I cleaned out a lot of my closet.
The weekend of the race was Labor Day weekend, and so I spent the rest of that weekend at a cabin with friends and family — drinking, eating, and drinking more. When I came back home and weighed myself in the middle of the week, I had unfortunately gained 4 pounds back. And the new clothes I had just bought were a little too snug for comfort.
But I don’t feel particularly concerned about that, because it only took me a few weeks of training to lose weight, and I know that once I get back training I will start to see the weight come off again.
But what to do next?
I need a goal in order to get me moving. I noticed right away after the race that my motivation was seriously lacking. Should I go to the gym? Sure. But maybe not today. I mean, seriously – I can’t believe that this was the same person who went to the gym or an outside run or bike every day for 3 months!
Besides the obviously benefits of weight loss, I found that the triathlon provided dozens of other benefits. First of all, exercising consistently made me feel good about myself. I was in a better mood. I had more energy. I am much more flexible now – in fact, I can now lay my hands flat on the ground in front of my toes where before I could barely touch my ankles. I also found that my story was inspiring and motivating to others. People on my facebook page started mentioning training for runs as well. And I think that’s kind of nice; when was the last time someone said I was a motivation for them? Finally, people were proud of me – genuinely proud. Which was surprising for me. In fact, the night before the race, the hubby was listening to me worry about the race; he leaned over and hugged me and said, “I’m proud of you no matter what.” He was just impressed that I had stuck with it after all this time! His words almost put tears in my eyes.
So here I am, one week post-race, and searching for something else to do. I want to train for an Olympic distance triathlon starting in January – not because I want to do the Olympic distance but because if I train for longer distances, my endurance and time will improve for the Sprint. I plan to do the MedCity Marathon Relay in May, the Rochesterfest Triathlon in June, and the St. Croix Valley Sprint Tri in September again. But what to do between now and January? I needed another goal.
So I started searching for new races to do. I picked 10K as the distance I’d like to run because then I know I’ll be able to do the relay in May. Unfortunately, finding a 10K in the middle of winter in the midwest is kind of difficult to do. But I finally came across a race that looks perfect: the Groundhog 10K in Kansas City, Mo on January 30, 2011. It is a race that takes place entirely underground, so I don’t have to worry about cold-weather problems. And, I have family in Kansas City, so travelling may not be as big of a problem.
Doing this race January 30th will actually be a great goal for me because it will help me get through the Holidays without putting on too much weight or getting lazy. And, it will also help me get through the cruise I’m going on at the beginning of January without eating through the entire buffet.
And guess what? I think I’ve convinced my mom and my sister to join me for this little race. I guess we’ll see what they all think of running with me!
Stay tuned for more. This time I will definintely be updating as the computer problems that were my excuse before seem to now be fixed.
Now all I have to do is my training schedule!
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