Written 20 Jan.
The only place I can start my journey is where I am right now. So where is that? Time to have a good hard honest look at ME as of today - Warts and All.
MEDICAL.
Yesterday I turned 52. My blood pressure is at the high end of good,resting pulse rate is fine-and will improve with training, Cholesterol is good (5.2 from a recommended range of 3.9-5.5), weight is 93kgs and dropping - compared to 108kgs a year ago!!, and all other medical indicators are good.
According to the doc,I am healthy and ready to perform.
Except....
For unknown reasons my Heamoglobin count is very low and has been for the last two years (131 against acceptable range of 135-175). This is the part of the blood that transports oxygen around the body so a low count creates problems for distance or extended period exercise. It is obviously bad news- It means I will run out of oxygen much earlier than everyone else, regardless of how much training I do. I will see a specialist in March to try to get to the underlying problem. My G.P. says this is a problem but to me at the moment it doesn't mean I wont be able to achieve the Improbable Dream - it just makes it harder, and I will be much slower than most people. Oh well - So be it. I will still do the very best I can- even if it is slow at the end.
Another issue is my damaged left meniscus (the gristle in my knee joint). Again, not much to be done here medically so I just have to be gentle with it and wait for it to get better. I tore it in March last year and aggravated it again last April. It's now much better than 6 months ago, when I couldn't hike or run on it for several months. It's now say 85% corrected. Still uncomfortable when I walk or run but I know I just have to ignore it, or learn to live with it.
Physical.
At school I had no natural ability in any sport. Plenty of desire, just no ability.
Since then, I've lived a boozy, lazy, indulgent life- A physical job and poor lifestyle in my 20s, an office job and poor life style in my 30s and 40's. I did do some bike riding and hiking in my 40s; I completed three 'Big Bike Rides' ie 10 days x 100kms per day rides, several multi-day bush walks and ran 5ks races occassionally, yet still manged to combined these with poor food, lots of alcoho, late nights, a stressful exercutive job and some smoking.
In the last 12 months I have stopped smoking, started eating and exercising to lose weight and started exercising regularly for improved fitness. My damaged knee meant I couldn't hike or run so I started bike riding after a few years break. In the last three motnhs I have exercised regularly to build a base level of aerobic fitness by biking and hiking - with the occassionaly short run when my knee allowed. Late last year I rode the Brisbane to Gold Coast ride (100kms @ 25kph average) and completed the 10km Bridge to Brisbane Fun Run in 70 minutes. In December I joined a gym and I am now trying to build a strength regime into my weekly activites.I recently fast-hiked 20 kms non-stop and pulled up OK which is a good start. Today my fitness is better than three months ago but still not good. It's clearly going to take some time!
I have not swum - or even been near a pool or the beach - for years.
Skills.
Honestly? I ride like a clown, run like a girl and swim like a stone.
My road bike riding technique is slowly getting better. I am now more confident with the thinner tyres/ ligher frame and I'm now understanding how to ride in traffic. My average cadence is higher (but only for as long as fitness allows) and my ability to ride in the aero position is improving.
My running technique feelis like it is OK but fitness only allows me to run well for a few minutes. This is worse than this time last year but it's a result of the sore knee. I'm sure it will improve with focus and commitment.
I have never been a strong swimmer , or even a good swimmer so I will need lessons.
Last time I operated a kayak was in high school, about 35 years ago.
I have no bush navigation skills and no first aid training. I have not compete in any real 'race' for 30 years... afun run/ride is the closest I have come.
There is much for me to do and to learn.
Mental Strength.
I have a history of achieving my goals, although I am not a good finisher- I 'vague out' and get distracted as the finish gets close. I know this and I can usually force my mind to focus and to complete. I am not a 'detail' person and have to work hard at moving from big picture/ dreams into the hard work of reality. I also tend to be a lounge lizard, and can easily find reasons to put things off. Procratinate NOW! I say. :-)
I am confident I can work with my mind to accept things like tiredness and discomfort. I am ready to accept pain although I'm not sure how I will go. (Does anyone really know until thery've been there?). I try to constantly train my mind (its my buddhism at work!) but I know I will need to work at making it strong enough to handle the journey ahead. Again, a good starting point but plenty of work ahead.
Lifestyle.
I have no children, a wife who is understanding ans who also likes time on her own/ with her family and my friends are spread wide. My job allows free time. I am confident I will be able to dedicate the time to the task. I had time to complete a Masters when I had a more demanding job and personal life so now it should be easier to find the necessary time.
So there it is- Some health problems and plenty of learn and to do. Overall, a good place to start the journey to 'The Improbable Dream.
So let's hit the road.
More later. Journey on!
Word Count - 1106
30 January 2010
28 January 2010
Buddhist Philosophy
Written 2nd Jan 2010
Buddhist thought has been part of my life for more than 3 years now so I was excited to discover ways to connect my philosophical approach to life with 'The Improbable Dream'. As mentioned in the last blog, I am following an excellent blog and podcast titled 'Zen and the Art of Triathlon' (ZenTri).I dont know much about Zen Buddhism so a few recent podcasts from ZenTri helped me to connect all three of the above ie my goals, my 'buddhism' and Zen Buddhism
Here's a few random thoughts -
1. The journey IS the point. Completing challenges and achieving goals is fun, yet their only really purpose is to give me some indication of where I am at, at that point in time. The Improbable Dream is a lifelong journey of making the right daily choices/ decisions, accepting the daily challenges and making constant progress. Its about Life Itself. The races and events dont make me a Distance Athlete, my daily choices do. I need to live, love and deeply experience the daily journey. I should live for now. And make the life decisions befitting a distance athlete.
2. Life is inter-connected. Everything we do is related to other parts of life. Likewise, Endurace training is a jigsaw where everything I do impacts on my results. It requires the correct balance of aerobic endurance, core body strength and a focused sensible regime of diet,rest and recuperation. It requires consistency and good decision making about life choices. It about inter-dependance.
3. 'Think like an athlete, Become an athlete'- Buddhism says we create our own world. We dont become an athlete by competing in one, two or twenty events, we become an athlete by making the right decisions each day. Zen wisdom says "Do, or dont do. There is no 'try'." Kinda like 'Just Do It'
4. A Simple life is a Pure Life- Although there are many inter-related parts to the equation, a simple life is the most pure life. I need to constantly consider how to simplify my life to its most pure form. A good starting point is to ONLY focus on the important things in life, and clear my mind of the unneccesary clutter, the 'noise'. Meditation is good, as is long training hours with only my own mind as company. Think less, feel more, experience life right now!
4. Life is REAL - The way life is now is REALITY. Pehaps it could be better in some way and it most certainly could be worse. Perhaps I could have done things differently in the past - too late, the past is a different life. So live for now, try not to be negatively influenced by things that have happened in the past, try to understand where I am at, dont demand of 'now' more than it can give- Celebrate life by enjoying 'now, enjoy the moment.
All good thoughts to keep me motivated into the future.I want to lead a simple, aware, inter-connected life. These thoughts will help too-
1. Dont complain about the equipment- Lance Armstrong could get on my bike and ride a much faster time. My times are influenced by what I do, not what I have.
2. Accept the results- Good or bad, they were the result as at a moment in time. Give it my best, learn the lessons then move on.
3. Compete with no-one except my self- This is not about being the best in the world, its about being the best I can be. Challenge myself.
When I bring these things into my life, I will be a 'Soul Athlete' (to use Zen Tri's term.) which sounds even better than a 'Triathlete' or a 'Distance Athlete'
Cool!
More later, journey on!
Word Count - 582
Buddhist thought has been part of my life for more than 3 years now so I was excited to discover ways to connect my philosophical approach to life with 'The Improbable Dream'. As mentioned in the last blog, I am following an excellent blog and podcast titled 'Zen and the Art of Triathlon' (ZenTri).I dont know much about Zen Buddhism so a few recent podcasts from ZenTri helped me to connect all three of the above ie my goals, my 'buddhism' and Zen Buddhism
Here's a few random thoughts -
1. The journey IS the point. Completing challenges and achieving goals is fun, yet their only really purpose is to give me some indication of where I am at, at that point in time. The Improbable Dream is a lifelong journey of making the right daily choices/ decisions, accepting the daily challenges and making constant progress. Its about Life Itself. The races and events dont make me a Distance Athlete, my daily choices do. I need to live, love and deeply experience the daily journey. I should live for now. And make the life decisions befitting a distance athlete.
2. Life is inter-connected. Everything we do is related to other parts of life. Likewise, Endurace training is a jigsaw where everything I do impacts on my results. It requires the correct balance of aerobic endurance, core body strength and a focused sensible regime of diet,rest and recuperation. It requires consistency and good decision making about life choices. It about inter-dependance.
3. 'Think like an athlete, Become an athlete'- Buddhism says we create our own world. We dont become an athlete by competing in one, two or twenty events, we become an athlete by making the right decisions each day. Zen wisdom says "Do, or dont do. There is no 'try'." Kinda like 'Just Do It'
4. A Simple life is a Pure Life- Although there are many inter-related parts to the equation, a simple life is the most pure life. I need to constantly consider how to simplify my life to its most pure form. A good starting point is to ONLY focus on the important things in life, and clear my mind of the unneccesary clutter, the 'noise'. Meditation is good, as is long training hours with only my own mind as company. Think less, feel more, experience life right now!
4. Life is REAL - The way life is now is REALITY. Pehaps it could be better in some way and it most certainly could be worse. Perhaps I could have done things differently in the past - too late, the past is a different life. So live for now, try not to be negatively influenced by things that have happened in the past, try to understand where I am at, dont demand of 'now' more than it can give- Celebrate life by enjoying 'now, enjoy the moment.
All good thoughts to keep me motivated into the future.I want to lead a simple, aware, inter-connected life. These thoughts will help too-
1. Dont complain about the equipment- Lance Armstrong could get on my bike and ride a much faster time. My times are influenced by what I do, not what I have.
2. Accept the results- Good or bad, they were the result as at a moment in time. Give it my best, learn the lessons then move on.
3. Compete with no-one except my self- This is not about being the best in the world, its about being the best I can be. Challenge myself.
When I bring these things into my life, I will be a 'Soul Athlete' (to use Zen Tri's term.) which sounds even better than a 'Triathlete' or a 'Distance Athlete'
Cool!
More later, journey on!
Word Count - 582
Food is my Fuel
Written 1st January 2010
I’ve been reading a lot about the structure of food and how it can add or subtract from my efforts to be fit....
-For a start, I need to lose the spare tyre around my middle- what’s the point of wishing for a faster, lighter bike if I’m carry an unnecessary extra 10kgs with me?
- Endurance Athletes who don’t pay attention to correctly fuelling their body- at the correct time -will ‘bonk’ and will have to stop. A self induced defeat!
- It’s well known we eat lots of bad foods that cause unnecessary health problems such as diabetes, energy spikes, unhealthy chemicals in our body etc etc.
- The excesses of our modern society are not good for our bodies, or our environment. And it is unneccesary – we don’t need that much food, or even that sort of food.
So I have been researching by reading lots of good books and articles on diet and eating habits. I found the blogs of ‘The Holistic Guru’ and ‘Zen and the Art of Triathlon’ to be the most thought–provoking. They have convinced me to change my eating style - I now live by the Spartan Creed of ‘Small and Raw’. This means I eat ‘as close to the food source as possible’. It means lots of fruit, veges, legumes, natural sources such as fish meat etc, and almost no processed foods including starch ( bread, rice, pasta). It also means I now limit my alcohol- in fact, at the moment I am totally alcohol free.
This is basically a Paleo Diet (ie Caveman)- That is, if you can’t pick it off a tree or kill it, don’t eat it. if you're interested, check out the above mentioned blogs for more details.
Here’s my rules for eating –
1. Food is fuel – what I eat today, I exercise with tomorrow. No empty kJs
2. Portion size is critical – keep it small and regular. Eat small amounts throughout the day. No big meals -ever!
3. Small and Raw – I get most of my carbs from veges, fruit, nuts. Protein from meat, fish, mushrooms etc.
4. A Paleo diet- i.e. what my cave-dwelling ancestors ate- eat ‘close to the source’
5. Monitor / record what I eat- keep a detailed track of what goes into my body and when. Learn by reviewing the data. Look for continuous improvements in ‘Raw and Small’
6. No processed sugar- severely limit, or stop, alcohol, soft drinks, cakes, biscuits, processed breads etc
At the moment I am trying to lose the 10 useless kilos I am carrying so my daily goals is 8,500kJ per day, with a strong dose of active exercise to provide negative energy requirement for the day. Here’s my daily targets for the 8,500kJs – 80g max of Protein, 300gs of good carbs, 80g max of fat, 35g Fibre.
I’ll let you know how it goes. Thanks to the Holistic Guru(http://www.holisticguru.blogspot.com) and Brett at Zen Tri (http://www.zentriathlon.com) for the inspiration.
More later, journey on!
Word Count - 498
I’ve been reading a lot about the structure of food and how it can add or subtract from my efforts to be fit....
-For a start, I need to lose the spare tyre around my middle- what’s the point of wishing for a faster, lighter bike if I’m carry an unnecessary extra 10kgs with me?
- Endurance Athletes who don’t pay attention to correctly fuelling their body- at the correct time -will ‘bonk’ and will have to stop. A self induced defeat!
- It’s well known we eat lots of bad foods that cause unnecessary health problems such as diabetes, energy spikes, unhealthy chemicals in our body etc etc.
- The excesses of our modern society are not good for our bodies, or our environment. And it is unneccesary – we don’t need that much food, or even that sort of food.
So I have been researching by reading lots of good books and articles on diet and eating habits. I found the blogs of ‘The Holistic Guru’ and ‘Zen and the Art of Triathlon’ to be the most thought–provoking. They have convinced me to change my eating style - I now live by the Spartan Creed of ‘Small and Raw’. This means I eat ‘as close to the food source as possible’. It means lots of fruit, veges, legumes, natural sources such as fish meat etc, and almost no processed foods including starch ( bread, rice, pasta). It also means I now limit my alcohol- in fact, at the moment I am totally alcohol free.
This is basically a Paleo Diet (ie Caveman)- That is, if you can’t pick it off a tree or kill it, don’t eat it. if you're interested, check out the above mentioned blogs for more details.
Here’s my rules for eating –
1. Food is fuel – what I eat today, I exercise with tomorrow. No empty kJs
2. Portion size is critical – keep it small and regular. Eat small amounts throughout the day. No big meals -ever!
3. Small and Raw – I get most of my carbs from veges, fruit, nuts. Protein from meat, fish, mushrooms etc.
4. A Paleo diet- i.e. what my cave-dwelling ancestors ate- eat ‘close to the source’
5. Monitor / record what I eat- keep a detailed track of what goes into my body and when. Learn by reviewing the data. Look for continuous improvements in ‘Raw and Small’
6. No processed sugar- severely limit, or stop, alcohol, soft drinks, cakes, biscuits, processed breads etc
At the moment I am trying to lose the 10 useless kilos I am carrying so my daily goals is 8,500kJ per day, with a strong dose of active exercise to provide negative energy requirement for the day. Here’s my daily targets for the 8,500kJs – 80g max of Protein, 300gs of good carbs, 80g max of fat, 35g Fibre.
I’ll let you know how it goes. Thanks to the Holistic Guru(http://www.holisticguru.blogspot.com) and Brett at Zen Tri (http://www.zentriathlon.com) for the inspiration.
More later, journey on!
Word Count - 498
27 January 2010
My first blog- 31st December 2009
This is my first ever blog, and therefore my first ever post. So don’t expect too much just yet. I’m sure it will take me a while to work out how best to write these posts, how to make them interesting and easy to read. I will work hard with every post to improve both the content and the quality of the writing.
The good news is I am confident that I am clear on why I am writing the blog, and what will be in it.
Why the blog? As the heading says this is an improbable dream yet one I’ve had for a while. The more I’ve thought about it, the more I realised it was achievable.... Difficult, challenging, confronting but not impossible.
And this means that for now at least my motivation is high. There is much I want to achieve, and to do them I need the aerobic endurance and the mental and body strength of an endurance athlete. And I need a lifestyle that enables me to achieve my goals. My plan is to work consistently and determinedly towards this lifestyle and this person.
Naturally, I don’t know how long this motivation will last. I’ve been living the life of a full time sports person for the last 12 weeks so one of the questions is how will I go in maintaining this goal when ‘normal life / work etc’ kicks in? Time will tell but at the moment, and for at least the last three months, I have been totally focused on improving my fitness and on ‘finding my goals’. I now feel committed enough to my new path to be able to detail my goals and my journey on a regular basis.
So this blog is how I learn to live the life of an endurance athlete, and how I become a better person as a result. What about the posts themselves? What are my rules for ensuring readability and focus?
Well firstly, I will keep them short. Don’t know how long exactly. I will learn the optimum word count and try hard to keep to that limit.
Second, I will keep them focused and reflective. This blog is not a travelogue. It is not about what I do, but rather it’s about what I’ve learnt from what I do; about becoming an endurance athlete, of changing my life, of getting fitter and stronger, about setting goals, and achieving them, of failing occasionally, and what all that teaches me about myself.
Lastly, I will try to write in a style that uncovers the lessons learnt, rather than preaches some sort of version of the truth. I will try to make each post a search for new ideas, of discovering new concepts, of a new way of thinking about life in general.
By the way, I found some great tips on blogging at http://www.bloggingtips.com/
So that’s my first posts. Hope it’s of interest......
More, later.
Word count – 477.
The good news is I am confident that I am clear on why I am writing the blog, and what will be in it.
Why the blog? As the heading says this is an improbable dream yet one I’ve had for a while. The more I’ve thought about it, the more I realised it was achievable.... Difficult, challenging, confronting but not impossible.
And this means that for now at least my motivation is high. There is much I want to achieve, and to do them I need the aerobic endurance and the mental and body strength of an endurance athlete. And I need a lifestyle that enables me to achieve my goals. My plan is to work consistently and determinedly towards this lifestyle and this person.
Naturally, I don’t know how long this motivation will last. I’ve been living the life of a full time sports person for the last 12 weeks so one of the questions is how will I go in maintaining this goal when ‘normal life / work etc’ kicks in? Time will tell but at the moment, and for at least the last three months, I have been totally focused on improving my fitness and on ‘finding my goals’. I now feel committed enough to my new path to be able to detail my goals and my journey on a regular basis.
So this blog is how I learn to live the life of an endurance athlete, and how I become a better person as a result. What about the posts themselves? What are my rules for ensuring readability and focus?
Well firstly, I will keep them short. Don’t know how long exactly. I will learn the optimum word count and try hard to keep to that limit.
Second, I will keep them focused and reflective. This blog is not a travelogue. It is not about what I do, but rather it’s about what I’ve learnt from what I do; about becoming an endurance athlete, of changing my life, of getting fitter and stronger, about setting goals, and achieving them, of failing occasionally, and what all that teaches me about myself.
Lastly, I will try to write in a style that uncovers the lessons learnt, rather than preaches some sort of version of the truth. I will try to make each post a search for new ideas, of discovering new concepts, of a new way of thinking about life in general.
By the way, I found some great tips on blogging at http://www.bloggingtips.com/
So that’s my first posts. Hope it’s of interest......
More, later.
Word count – 477.
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