Ok. I'm not the best triathlete out there by a long run. I am not naturally fast and don't come from a swimming, biking or running background. I have a full time job and a family so I don't train as much as I like. I am usually about right at top 1/3 in my age group (M35-39) about top 1/4 overall. So, respectable but not great. I do Oly distances but have a strange distance - a 1/3 IM coming up next weekend.
All that being said - at this point in the season my body is an absolute machine! My resting heart rate is 45bpm. I can bike, swim and run for hours and hours. I weigh 20lbs less than I did in law school over ten years ago. I am sure all of your bodies are "machines" as well. Stop and reflect on how good you feel and what sort of crazy good shape you are in. I think we all lose perspective when we are in the swim lane next the former college swimmer that smokes us or that we lag in a group ride behind the Cat 3 & 4 bikers we ride with. We all tend to overlook how amazing (relative to most normal people) our fitness is.
Take a step back and enjoy your fitness level. It won't always be like this.
Triguy
07-28-06, 03:57 PM
Woooeee, good timing,I weighed up today and I am almost as light as I was 3 years ago when I was running 90 mile weeks at paces faster than most people race(typically 6:00-6:15 pace). I have lost 8 pounds(down to 128 well hydrated and full somach) since this winter and haven't been trying to lose weight. I love it. I've uped my protein intake as it should keep my muscles building but I don't know what else to do besides eat more.
I love being in shape. I agree with you that most triathletes, from AGer to top level, should remind themselves of how in shape they really are.
Mos of all have fun this weekend.
H2OChick
07-30-06, 10:37 AM
That's great to hear. Unfortunately, I fall into the other category. I was a 2 sport athlete in college (swimming and water polo) and was in the best shape of my life for those 4 years. Three babies and 12 years later, I do weigh less than I did in college (lost all that muscle), but I'm nowhere near as strong nor do I have close to the same endurance. Sigh. But I'm okay with that. I'm finding a place where I'm content. And I'm still reasonably fast.
It's always good to stop and assess your situation. Anytime I feel a little bad about where I am, I count my blessings that at least I can do the things I do - for there are many out there who can't.
chrisesposito
07-30-06, 04:21 PM
This weekend has driven this point home for me. Saturday was a 1.2 mile swim, 70 mile ride, and 5K run, all in just under 5 hrs. Sunday was an 11 mile run in 1:40, with my heart rate never cracking 140, so I was at the bottom end of level 2 (my sprint and oly race HR is 165-170 bpm). I am not even particularly tired (let alone totally destroyed as I would have been last year), which is even more remarkable.
The kicker was when I went clothes shopping today to discover that my waist has dropped to 29 inches, a size I have not seen since high school 30 years ago.
rplong
07-30-06, 06:38 PM
I just looked to see what races I have done this summer. I have completed 12 races, mostly sprints and short course duathlons, one marathon and 2 running only's. Thanks for the post, sometimes I get caught up so much in what I haven't accomplished or what paces I haven't been able to keep and want to attain, that I don't appreciate what I have and can do. For August I have two Olympics and one HIM lined up. Like you, I feel like a machine and it is great! It feels great to be fit and know that a long lifespan is in store! Thanks and keep it up!!!
jennings780
08-01-06, 04:57 PM
That's great to hear. Unfortunately, I fall into the other category. I was a 2 sport athlete in college (swimming and water polo) and was in the best shape of my life for those 4 years. Three babies and 12 years later, I do weigh less than I did in college (lost all that muscle), but I'm nowhere near as strong nor do I have close to the same endurance. Sigh. But I'm okay with that. I'm finding a place where I'm content. And I'm still reasonably fast.
It's always good to stop and assess your situation. Anytime I feel a little bad about where I am, I count my blessings that at least I can do the things I do - for there are many out there who can't.
H2O - you make a great point. It is a different perspective from a former competitive athlete. At 36 I am swimming faster than I ever have. But, if I was a former college swimmer who was swimming 1500 meters in 19:00 when I used to be able to do it in 16:00 I would be a bit bummed even though 19:00 is still smoking fast. Instead, I am estatic with my 24:00 1500m because it used to be 30:00.
TysonB
08-01-06, 10:24 PM
Ok. I'm not the best triathlete out there by a long run. I am not naturally fast and don't come from a swimming, biking or running background. I have a full time job and a family so I don't train as much as I like. . . . I do Oly distances but have a strange distance - a 1/3 IM coming up next weekend. . . . Stop and reflect on how good you feel and what sort of crazy good shape you are in. I think we all lose perspective when we are in the swim lane next the former college swimmer that smokes us or that we lag in a group ride behind the Cat 3 & 4 bikers we ride with. We all tend to overlook how amazing (relative to most normal people) our fitness is.
Take a step back and enjoy your fitness level. It won't always be like this.
Jennings,
Funny, Like you, I am a full time lawyer with other commitments too. A young ADA in our office is a 2:40 marathoner who at 37-years old is toying with doing some tri's. When others in the office overhear us talking about our training they go ga-ga over a 10-mile run, a 50-mile bike ride or a 2-mile swim. He and I know that there are lots of much faster guys out there. We are only speaking to one another about how our individual training is going and not really speaking to our co-workers about it.
I'm 55 and am pleased that I can always take off on a long run or other workout and not worry about it and just enjoy it.
You are right, step back and enjoy it once in a while.
Tyson
Cushing, Oklahoma
H2OChick
08-03-06, 11:00 PM
H2O - you make a great point. It is a different perspective from a former competitive athlete. At 36 I am swimming faster than I ever have. But, if I was a former college swimmer who was swimming 1500 meters in 19:00 when I used to be able to do it in 16:00 I would be a bit bummed even though 19:00 is still smoking fast. Instead, I am estatic with my 24:00 1500m because it used to be 30:00.
I think it's good to celebrate improvement and progress of any kind. I'll never be as fast as I was (and wouldn't want to train that hard again, either), but I have other measures of my success. I also am very forgiving to myself about where I am right now. I've got 3 kids, all under age 7 and I'm in grad school, and doing long workouts of any kind is a challenge. For now the goal is to maintain a certain baseline, and sometime in the future I can work on more specific goals.
On a slightly different note - my college team (several years worth) got together in June for Masters Nationals (water polo). We had a 30 and over team, and I have to say that collectively, we were the fittest team out there. And we won. So at least we're doing something right - esp. compared to some of our peers! (Yikes!)
cjbruin
08-04-06, 12:30 AM
^ Not to mention...she's totally cute :)
H2OChick
08-05-06, 08:16 AM
"...at least I got that goin' for me... which is nice."
not2fast
08-05-06, 08:30 PM
"...at least I got that goin' for me... which is nice."
Well dont tease us, how about a pic? I need some new wallpaper for my computer!!;)
H2OChick
08-06-06, 09:37 AM
Aw, c'mon. CJ's just being nice. I'm not wallpaper material!!! He said cute, not stunning! ;) He was probably beer-goggling, anyway. :p
chrisesposito
08-06-06, 06:10 PM
Aw, c'mon. CJ's just being nice. I'm not wallpaper material!!! He said cute, not stunning! ;) He was probably beer-goggling, anyway. :p
Sorry H20, as probably one of the few others to have actually met you, I'm with CJ on this one :) No need to post a picture though; the average fertile male imagination has no problem generating them for itself.
H2OChick
08-07-06, 12:29 AM
Dear, dear, dear. This has gone seriously off topic...
Who else is a machine!? Who else is a washed-up has-been!? Who else can keep their HR below 150 on a 10 mile run? Who else is as svelte and trim as they've been since law school?
Anyone? Bueller?
kmkurdone
08-07-06, 02:15 AM
haha. This thread is great. I guess I can do a 10 mile run with my heart rate under 130, but that's not really fair cause I have to run at least 10 miles a day at a faster pace then that. On a bike, I would not consider myself a machine at all.................yet. :)