It\u2019s been a long time since I last posted, and I was reminded of that fact by a co-worker who happened to know that I ran a 10k a couple of weeks ago in Central Park because he checked the race calendar on this website.\u00a0 Part of the reason for staying away is guilt\u2026 for having been sloth-like, gluttonous, and generally, the anti-thesis of who I was back in October.<\/p>\n
2011 was an incredible year for me in so many ways.\u00a0 Intertwined into all of the life achievements was the continued focus on training, and with two Ironman events on the calendar, I had to apply this focus early on\u2026 from December 2010 through the Ironman World Championships in Kona in October.\u00a0 So, after this big race, I was tired!\u00a0 It wasn\u2019t just the race that was tiring; frankly, it was just a hard day, but I recovered fairly quickly.\u00a0 No, I was tired from having to be focused and disciplined for so long.\u00a0 It was a mental fatigue which necessitated a break.<\/p>\n
I look at so many of my friends and training partners who seem to not need a break, who find this training culture to be part and parcel of everyday life.\u00a0 I\u2019m not like that.\u00a0 Running, for example, isn\u2019t something I usually look forward to doing, unless I\u2019m feeling really good about past running sessions or unless it\u2019s wrapped around a group run or social event.\u00a0 Sports, like football and softball are things I can do forever and not get sick of it.\u00a0 In any event, I took my time off, ate like the world was going to end, drank like a convict, and made sure that my butt imprint would be remembered on my couch.\u00a0 Boy, did it take a toll.<\/p>\n
So many areas are affected by one\u2019s activity level.\u00a0 By now, most people (I think) know that exercise is generally good for you.\u00a0 When you exercise, you feel better about yourself, you have more confidence, you look better, etc.\u00a0 When you stop, you would expect that you\u2019d essentially be on the downswing.\u00a0 What I\u2019ve learned a few times in this \u201ccareer\u201d is that there exists an even sharper drop when you go from high-intensity training, e.g. Ironman training, to relative lethargy.\u00a0 I once went through a depression lasting three months and directly following the completion of an Ironman.\u00a0 I researched it a bit and found that some reported the condition as being called Post Ironman Depression or PID.\u00a0 I was aggressive with trying to get better, and one solution was to begin exercising again.\u00a0 I did, and it rapidly helped me get back to normal.<\/p>\n
For the last three months, I wasn\u2019t depressed per se, but I was definitely not myself.\u00a0 I was more critical of Roya, had to expend far more energy than usual to be lucid and effective at work, and I physically felt the effects with certain emanations and malaise that hadn\u2019t previously existed.\u00a0 The applied solution?\u00a0 Training.<\/p>\n
Many people turn over a new leaf at the new year as part of their resolution package, and that\u2019s why you see so many gyms and the like super busy in January and February.\u00a0 Eventually, some percentage of those enthused folks find themselves taking a short break, which then leads to a longer break, which then leads to quitting.\u00a0 C\u2019est la vie, and it\u2019s not my concern.\u00a0 I turned over my new leaf at the same time, but I have a different agenda, since I\u2019ve signed up for a bunch of races and without the proper training, I just won\u2019t be able to achieve the lofty goals that I\u2019ve set for myself.<\/p>\n
So it is with this writing that I announce (seriously, like anyone cares?!) that I\u2019m back to training.\u00a0 I\u2019m twenty pounds heavier and it shows, but I\u2019m serious and ready to work hard\u2026 and a lot of hard work awaits me.\u00a0 I\u2019m already a little battered with a pulled muscle here, a little abrasion there, etc., but my nutrition plan is in full force and I\u2019ve employed the services of a personal triathlon coach who knows me, who is a top performer himself, and whose advice I implicitly trust and value.\u00a0 I will remain on the Terrier Triathlon team, I am actively working towards procuring sponsors to help pay for this expensive hobby, and I\u2019ve put together an ambitious schedule that includes at least 12 triathlons and as many other events culminating with three big goals:\u00a0 1) to complete my 100th triathlon, 2) to complete my 200th<\/sup> endurance event, and 3) to complete my 2nd<\/sup> NYC Marathon.<\/p>\n I\u2019m excited and it seems to show as my enthusiasm has been noticed by my coach, wife, and training partners.\u00a0 I love seeing the progress and I really want to work hard.\u00a0 I love the feeling after an intense training session where my legs feel like absolute jelly, and where ascending and descending my brownstone stairs reminds me of the work I put in.\u00a0 It means I\u2019m getting stronger and better.\u00a0 After all, that\u2019s what this is all about for me:\u00a0 finding ways to improve.\u00a0 I happen to be applying this to my triathlon hobby in this discussion, but it\u2019s a recipe for life.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" It\u2019s been a long time since I last posted, and I was reminded of that fact by a co-worker who happened to know that I ran a 10k a couple of weeks ago in Central Park because he checked the race calendar on this website.\u00a0 Part of the reason for staying away is guilt\u2026 for […]<\/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-733","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-training"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gregghgordon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/733","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=733"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.gregghgordon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/733\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":734,"href":"https:\/\/www.gregghgordon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/733\/revisions\/734"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gregghgordon.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=733"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gregghgordon.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=733"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gregghgordon.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=733"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}