Six And A Half Percent and It's Okay Not To Finish

I decided to get my body fat tested. The last time I had it done was four years ago—just before I started training for triathlons—and it was 11 percent. What prompted me to get it done this time around is that I have been losing weight at an unbelievably rapid pace the last couple of weeks—nine pounds in two weeks—and I have been thinking of getting together with a nutritionist to figure out how to keep weight on while I train. Why? Don't people want to try to lose weight while they are training? Sure, but I am starting to look like a svelte Brian Boitano in tights circa 1988 Calgary Olympics (minus the great hair and tights.) I could do it by trial and error, or just eat a pint of my favorite Ben and Gerry's ice cream—Chunky Monkey—every night, although that would probably not be good for my sugar levels.


I have noticed that a lot of my friends, fellow bloggers, and training partners are going through a little bit of mid-early season training doldrums. You know... your six or seven weeks into a training program for a half or full triathlon that isn't until August or September, and you are already swimming 3000 yards three or four times a week by mid-February. Sound familiar? You are in good company. I, for one, do not subscribe to this notion of doing every single thing according to the letter of the law. If my parents read my blog, they could easily vouch for me. I mean, I do not get overly concerned with those mornings that I wake up and say "Holy crow! I have nothing in the tank this morning." It does not make sense for me to "go through the motions" if I am not getting anything out  my workout. I really can not run intervals if I am concerned about being thrown from the treadmill like a caber at a Scottish games ceremony induced by a spontaneous narcoleptic-like sleep. No, I teach one night class this semester, and I seldom get home before 9:30. I then have "dinner," talk to Alaina for a while and get to bed. Except by the time I get to bed it is well after 11 p.m., and five and a half hours of sleep to prepare for a 3000+ yard swim is just not enough in my book. Okay, I have been taking some liberties with the wifey's rule about getting all the training done before 8:00 a.m. However, I have been managing to squeeze my swim workouts in at noon at the university, which is cool and I can still make it home in time for dinner (if I am not in my office trying to hammer out another piece.) I am not going to get stressed out about missing part of my workout, or a workout all together. I can't. Unfortunately, sometimes real life rears its ugly head and I can not spend all my discretionary time away from work and family at the gym. When my  new Kinetic fluid bike trainer comes in, I will be able to put even "more time in the bank," as I can ride at home before the kids get up, or after Alaina and I put them in bed. I have to be okay with the fact that my life is crazy and I am not always going to have the time or energy to finish a workout to the letter of the law. C'est la vie!




The Kids: In the most bizarre comment yet by any of my children, I was getting dressed in my room when I overheard Luca make the comment after his shower while still in the bathroom getting toweled off "...hmmm, I smell like ranch dressing."   Ranch dressing?   What?!   I kind of laughed. It prompted one of my friends to insist that I really ought to check the labels on our salad dressing before dinner to make sure we are not eating Suave conditioner. 


The Plan Today: 1 hour and 10 minute run and a 40 minute bike ride. Here is a comparison of this past week and next: 


WEEK #7 - 1st Week of 2nd Pre-Season Cycle 
Swim 2:30 - Bike 4:25 - Run 2:35 -- Total: 9:30

WEEK #8 - 2nd Week of 2nd Pre-Season Cycle Swim 2:30 - Bike 4:40 - Run 3:05 -- Total: 10:15

Okay, off to the gym in a bit. Train Smart everyone!