CX - crusher

i did my first cyclocross race of the season on sunday - and wow, what a wake up call. it was really hot for cross - 80+ degrees - in Wisconsin in october. i raced men's B - the same category i raced last year and it was crazy fast this year. the race started off ok for me - the first two laps i was in the 2nd group about 50 yards behind the 5 leaders, but on the run-up near the end of lap 2 i fell (oops! ha!) and by the time i got up was gapped by the group. there was just no way to catch up and by the time i got to the start of lap three i was blown.
wow - i already look stuffed here and it's only lap number 2! wait until later in the race. So my average heart rate for the first two laps was 179. i didn't know it went that high! actually after lap two i felt ok and just got into a rhythm – and tried not to loose too much ground. here is a shot of me looking good before i went into survival mode and lost more time to the group ahead of me!

the race finished and i was roasted. i finished about 20th (i think) and was no where near anyone else - a slow leak the caused my rear tire to go flat on the last lap took care of that.

So here i am - still 194 and still getting my ass kicked. two weeks of training until the next race!

hold fat-batman 196 pounds

Here's how fat i managed to get myself. with 196 pounds i started ironman wisconsin on sept 11th 2005. the day didn't go as planned but i'm happy that i managed to finish (still in the top 25%) but way outside of what my goals were.
the best part of this photo is that i was really trying to run but i was just shuffling the whole way. wow - did that ever hurt!

this will be a good lesson for me about not only how to prepare physically but also how to manage expectations. i let myself get convinced i could do more (work, training, socially) then i have time for and this lesson came back in a hard way about 10 hours into this hot sunday afternoon.

as i make my move toward a fitter and more balanced self i'll keep track of it here so i can't hide behind goals that i only tell myself about.

i want to be more balanced, i want to be more fit and ultimately i want to be more happy more of the time! this should be a good start.

Time to start...

i'm starting this blog to force myself to review my ongoing battle to create balance in my life. i look at where i am now and realize in the next few months i need to have a three way balance between:
1) work
2) having a personal life
3) getting back into shape

a bit of background - i like my work - i design cycling trips and plan active vacations. i'm in charge of a small department and have a lot of challenges at work each day, but am constantly fighting to free up more time to try new things.

three weeks ago i did the ironman in wisconsin and had a terrible day. i've been doing ironman triathlons for the past 4 years and have usually enjoyed them. this time i hated it. i swam ok, but rode terribly and shuffled through the run for a 12:24 finish. this was over an hour slower then last year and i attribute it to my letting myself get out of shape and loosing focus this year. so for the next six months i'm going to focus on getting more out of each day and getting more out of my workouts so that i can do ironman again and enjoy myself.

today is the first day of my new start.

it's october 3rd. i weigh 194 pounds and i have 20 pounds to loose. time to be serious about this.