It’s not like I’m fat or anything, but we use that word “fat” in our society very loosely and along very subjective lines.\u00a0 On a measured basis, like on a BMI scale, I’m definitely far from\u00a0fat but on a perceived self image basis along, I’ve hit a point where action is now necessary.<\/p>\n
Truth be told, I’ve been very liberal in recent weeks with my diet.\u00a0 A pizza lunch at work with the division President resulted in three downed fat slices.\u00a0 A BBQ over Memorial Day weekend with good friends in Long Island sent another mass of food into the belly.\u00a0 A gallon of Prosecco a few days later added a little lighter fluid to an already explosive situation.\u00a0 I ‘ve been looking into the mirror every day after I shower, or while I brush my teeth, or when I get dressed for work, but it wasn’t until yesterday and today that I realized that I need to settle back into a good rhythm.\u00a0 It’s not that these three aforementioned exceptions from my normal routine are cause alone for action, but those are the most recent along a gorged theme.\u00a0 Ugh.<\/p>\n
I’d like to blame Elizabeth for part of this, partly because she has a sweet tooth and I like joining her in downing dessert treats, but I\u00a0know I should be my own man and take control of myself.\u00a0 She isn’t to blame in any way; my lack of self-discipline is.\u00a0 Frankly, it’s hard to be a stick-in-the-mud when you want to throw caution into the wind with the one you love.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 But, it’s time for finding that healthy balance.<\/p>\n
Here’s the plan:\u00a0 This weekend, we’re headed to her folks’ place to spend time with them and to race in the Black Bear Triathlon nearby.\u00a0 Food will be abundant, but I will be in control.\u00a0 When we get back and settle into work routines Monday morning, I will become more reserved.\u00a0 That is, I will get back into my 9 workouts\/week routine (plus hoops with the boys), spread my food intake over time better, and no longer snack or drink massive quantities of alcohol.\u00a0 This will be the plan for two weeks as I head into the Health Net Triathlon on June 13th.\u00a0 Since the race is on a Saturday, I’ll give myself a free pass from discipline that Saturday night and all day Sunday.\u00a0 Come that following Monday, I’ll repeat the two week plan of intensity which will take me to the Philadelphia Triathlon on June 28th.<\/p>\n
The “A” race (the NYC Triathlon) will be four weeks after the Philly\u00a0Tri.\u00a0 So, how I approach the month of July will be delicate.\u00a0 With the 4th of July holiday, a birthday party in the works, and guaranteed fun times on the weekends (including a sprint tri in Montauk on July 19th), I’ll need to balance training and diet along with all the socializing that comes with the season.<\/p>\n
At this point in my season, I’m pretty much focused on specific speed elements.\u00a0 An example is my new favorite ride from my apt. to River Road in NJ up to the Alpine Hill and back along on Route 9W.\u00a0 The Alpine climb along with the rolling undulations and generally fast conditions immediately following along 9W\u00a0closely mimics the NYC Triathlon bike course from the middle to the end.\u00a0 I’ve already seen major improvements in my climbing strength and stamina.\u00a0 I’ve even found that I can exert high powered efforts on short climbs like the Harlem Hill in Central Park; I don’t get passed by anyone.\u00a0 I’m committed to doing the River Road\u00a0ride at varying intensities at least once a week with a full time-trial (all out effort) once every other week or so.<\/p>\n
Another example is my favorite short run of 3.93 miles (you know me, Mr. Specific Measurement).\u00a0 I’ve been setting personal records with nearly every run in the past couple of weeks with times like 7:21, 7:18, and now 7:14.\u00a0 I know that I have it in me to break 7:00 at some point too.\u00a0 What’s ideal about this course is the topography and length, and that part of it will be on the NYC Triathlon and Central Park Triathlon run courses.\u00a0 I know that I can run another couple of miles at or just below that pace to equal the 10k run leg within Olympic distance events, so I’m primarily focused on honing in on speed and comfort.<\/p>\n
Anyway, the saving grace from my perceived weight gain is that I’ve not lost speed.\u00a0 That makes me wonder what could happen if I were leaner and stronger.\u00a0 Truly, there may be little difference physically in my abilities therein, but the mind has a way of convincing the body to do things because of perception.\u00a0 If I think I will be faster because of a perceived change in body condition, I might actually be!\u00a0 (unless it’s really humid; it’s my kryptonite!)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
It’s not like I’m fat or anything, but we use that word “fat” in our society very loosely and along very subjective lines.\u00a0 On a measured basis, like on a BMI scale, I’m definitely far from\u00a0fat but on a perceived self image basis along, I’ve hit a point where action is now necessary. Truth be […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-114","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-training"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gregghgordon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gregghgordon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gregghgordon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gregghgordon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gregghgordon.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=114"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.gregghgordon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":116,"href":"https:\/\/www.gregghgordon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114\/revisions\/116"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gregghgordon.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=114"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gregghgordon.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=114"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gregghgordon.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=114"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}