Last night I was thinking about my training, my dreams, my plans for the future. But as I was thinking about the future I started to think about the past and the changes that have come from the decisions I have made in the past 3 years. I though about life before the changes were made and have come up with a list:
3 years ago:
I was tired all the time, no energy to get things done.
I was 50# heavier and wearing a 37+ waist.
I smoked those mini cigars on a regular basis.
I drank way too much alcohol.
I couldn't run or walk 1/2 mile without stopping to take a breath.
I procrastinated way too much.
My biggest recreation was fishing. Not that that is bad, but it is not very active.
I did not have that many friends that I associated with.
I went to bed late and woke up late.
I ate way too much.
That was how it use to be. Life was just made up of another day after day. I really did not have any motivation to move myself. But that was all changed by one simple event that sparked a flame.
I am a volunteer firefighter with my local fire department, I am a lieutenant and have been with them for the past 6 years. One day we had a call for a brush fire. I responded with a few men and met up with the firefighters from BLM. The fire was about 2 miles away across two ridge lines. We started the hike down and then on the way up the other side I could not breath, I had chest pain, and had to slow down to a crawl to get up the other side. After that call I promised myself that I would never let that happen again. In January of 2004 I decided to change everything. Now I look back at what I changed:
Post 2004 -
Stopped smoking
Changed my diet to low carb, high protein.
Lost 50 pounds.
Lost 6 inches off of waist.
Body Fat percentage down to around 9%
Only occasional alcohol.
Exercise daily.
Can run 26.2 miles - did this 5 times.
Can cycle 60 + miles
Can swim 2000 meters.
Can swim open water with freaking.
No longer procrastinate.
Lot's of energy, some to spare at times.
Go to bed early and wake up way early to train.
Making plans for races up to 2 years in advance.
My bike is more valuable than my car.
I now regularly correspond with bunch of friends that enjoy the same thing I do.
Life is no longer dull.
And #1 - I do own a Six-Pack.
So my hopes of the future remain the same. I will continue to push myself physically and mentally to complete in Triathlons. I plan on several sprint and Olympic triathlons next year as well as a few marathons. My "A" race continues to be The Timberman Half-Ironman. Then the push for the following year will be for Ironman Florida. I hope I can, at some point, qualify for Kona. My only regret is that I did not find myself in this sport earlier in life when I could have been a contender. CIAO.
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Saw you at the raceAthlete get together Saturday night in Boulder and didn't get a chance to talk with you. You looked like you were in really good shape and I appreciate your lastest blog entry as I am trying to change things around also. Hopefully since we are in the same locale we will cross paths in this tri world.