Swimming Counts

Prior to my involvement in this contest I would schedule my workouts for the week with a mix of mainly runs and bikes (or spins or other cardio) with the occasional strength session and a swim thrown in here and there when I thought I could manage to get to the pool.

The swims were always at night and if I had them scheduled I’d usually try to get in an early morning cardio session since otherwise I was ‘only swimming.’ Swimming was a pain to coordinate and technically difficult, but it wasn’t a hard cardio workout. My heart rate rarely got into my training zone. Since you’re already in the water, well, I never felt a good ‘sweat’ like I do with other cardio exercises and it never provided a decent calorie burn, in other words, when scheduling my workouts, swimming didn’t count.

Do something right and my oh my how it changes things! Since starting my training with Cadence swimming has become the most mentally, physically and technically demanding discipline of triathlon for me. I’m a ‘new’ swimmer, having started just over a year ago by taking lessons and spending my Saturday mornings last winter at a local high school pool with the ‘Swim America’ kids. So to say I’ve got a lot to learn and a long way to go is a huge understatement. Swimming takes the most thought, the most effort, the most time related to the distance covered, where I’ve got the most to learn and where I have the opportunity for the most room for improvement.

So I think I’m finally starting to get it. Like training in the other disciplines, it doesn’t help to be fatigued at the start. When you do it right it’s hard – physically and technically – but it feels good in the end. Improvements come in very small increments and coaching, guidance and evaluation by those who know what they’re doing makes all the difference in my ability to improve.
The swim may be the shortest leg of the race, but for me it is definitely the most challenging and it definitely counts!

By the numbers

So I’ve been checking out the blogs of my fellow Kona Challengers and I’ve been noticing that they’re pretty free with providing the details of their training and competition/event stats. In the interest of full disclosure, I thought maybe I should do some of that too …

Uh, and be nice when you see them, think of them as ‘triathlon stats for mere mortals’ I’m really only putting them out there to make everyone else feel better about their own stats!

One of the first stats that struck me was Scott’s note about his swim time improvements – which I’m totally impressed by – thank god he’s a guy and no where near my age group! His 50 meter time is 40 seconds, so the math wiz in me would roughly calculate his 100 meter time at 1:20 – wow! I’m pretty sure my pool is measured in yards – so I know this might be a little off, but last time I timed myself, my 100 yd time was 2:20 … hmm, is it possible that 100 yds is actually about 175 meters? I’m hoping that’s the case, then I’d be neck and neck with Scott on the swim! Right?

Now Randy, well he’s the veteran triathlete of this group and his race stats and training stats are truly amazing, definitely something to aspire to. A recent blog entry shows him ranked 5th overall in his region, only a few spots beyond his son who he’s got almost thirty some years on … again, wow!

So that got me thinking - since I’m a card carrying member of the USAT and with the 4 races I did last year, well, I must be ranked someplace. So I looked myself up – turns out only a couple of my races qualify for ranking (the other races were in Canada). But still, I am a somebody and I’ve got stats! You ready for this? Ok here goes, first number is my rank, second is the # of people in the category, remember, I said be nice!

5392/7358 Ranking per New England region

I’m thinking putting myself in with guys isn’t really fair, maybe I did better against just women:
1483/2589 Ranking per females in the New England region

Ok, now were talking I went from the top 73% to almost breaking the halfway mark by being in the ‘top 57%’ of women in my region, but if more people are ahead of you, is it more accurate to say I’m in the ‘bottom 43%?’

Wait a minute, how about my by my age? Yeah that’s gotta make a difference:
267/432 Ranking per females 40-44 in the New England region

Finally broke into the top 1000, but seeing how there’s only 432 women in my age group I guess that’s nothing to get too excited about plus percentage wise it’s worse at 61%

Ok, I’ve got it, finally “TOP 10” and I’m not talking about top 10 in the state, I’m “TOP 10” overall in the WHOLE COUNTRY!! So watch out you guys!
10/14 Ranking per females with the last name of ‘Hoffman’ in the USA
It gets even more impressive when you only look at my region – I’m 2nd!!
2/2 Ranking per females with the last name of ‘Hoffman’ in the New England region.

Suddenly I’m feeling pretty good about my chances in this whole Ironman thing, after all isn’t it really just a matter of showing up? ;-)

(written with tongue firmly placed in cheek and in total awe of Scott and Randy’s stats!)

re·solve

re·solve (re-zolv) n.
1. something one has decided to do, a resolution
2. great determination

My gym is going to be packed for the next few weeks and there’ll be a line out the door to sign up and weigh in at my Weight Watchers meetings, but sadly come March the New Year’s promise of health and fitness will be long gone from the majority of those vowing to turn over a new leaf this January 2nd.

I know, I’ve ‘been there, done that’ many times over. Thankfully, for a fortunate few, there’ll be resolutions that stick – they’re usually the kind that come to you, not on a certain ‘date’ or after a season of indulgence, but rather out of the blue. Out of the blue after years of frustrations, failed attempts, self doubt, unanswered questions and endless excuses – but then a sudden realization that something’s clicking or an instant ‘a ha’ moment that makes you realize your time is now.

So go ahead, make a resolution, be resolute, resolve something … and be relentless and unyeilding in your quest to make it happen.

Avoiding the inevitable …

I know at some point I’m supposed to be talking about my training program on here. Up until now I think I’ve done an excellent job of pretty much avoiding the subject altogether, and with good reason. Well actually, I’ve got a few good reasons. The first being that I’m very much a novice and consider myself to be sort of an ‘accidental triathlete’ and I’m not really sure what I can offer to anyone reading this blog. I mean chances are you’re either a friend, train with me or are related to me (and therefore either already know or don't really care about my training sessions! :-) or you're already a subscriber to Triathlete Magazine and I certainly have little to offer in the way of technical advice since I’m just reading and learning right along with you all.

As recently as yesterday, my sister asked me why I felt the need to do triathlons, rather than maybe just stick with cycling (since it wasn’t like I don’t have a lot of room for improvement in that sport alone!). All I could do to respond was kind of shake my head and meekly reply ‘good question.’ I’m still working on my answer and I’ll get back to you all when I figure that one out myself.

So I’m thinking I may just have to stick to singing the praises of Cadence, and Ryan, my coach, along with providing moral support for anyone who thinks they wouldn’t be able to do this, because I'm proof that you can. If you don't set limits on your goals, and, not unlike trying to lose weight, if you can just take it one day at time and not get overwhelmed by the big picture, well then you just never know where it'll take you! And believe me it's not 'talent' that got me here, and more than a tricked out bike and cool gear, this is gonna take some hard work and a lot of dedication, and those are things I’m starting to know a little bit about!

Which brings me to another reason: I'm not gonna sugar coat it, for the average person this training stuff is a lot of hard work! Not to mention it can be a bit tedious at times. I’m not saying that’s always the case, but having to pick this up in the traditional ‘off season’ has had it’s challenges, logistic and otherwise. And certainly the stress of the holidays adds another wrinkle on top of what’s already physically and sometimes an emotionally exhausting regime…and I’m not looking to be some kind of killjoy for all the opportunities I’ve been handed with this, but no one ever said it was going to be easy, I can attest to the fact that, indeed, it is not!

But it certainly is challenging and exciting and satisfying and, while I really hate to admit this, at times it can be pretty rewarding and a whole of fun ... so I leave at it that and wait till next time to talk about my 3 hour spin classes 4000 yard swim sessions!

It just wouldn't be Christmas ...

....without an ‘all-nighter!’ I really wasn’t kidding about the last post, and since shopping and wrapping and baking weren’t on that list I had to make some trade offs the past few days. Turns out I traded in a few swim sessions and whole lot of sleep to get ready for the holidays. But as I wandered around Target in a daze yesterday after spending an hour and a half on the treadmill at the gym, the one thing I knew for sure was that I was in good company. Why else would that young woman be buying a nose hair trimmer for her husband? And why would her husband be thinking that the “Ab Away 2” would make the perfect gift for their first Christmas together? I was definitely not alone, but just because I was among friends doesn’t make it right! You should see what I ended up with for a “tree!”

I actually think decorating my bike may have been a better call, and this was a tough decision given it’s the first time ever I haven’t had a real, full size Christmas tree in my house. I’ve certainly thought about it before, when you consider all the time saved putting it up and then packing it up, not to mention having to spend the better part of New Year’s day vacuuming up pine needles! But it just didn’t seem right, well, I guess it still doesn’t but given my schedule and the fact that I’m not doing any real entertaining this year I’m happy to have all those hours back for something more important, like sleeping and swimming and … well, you get the picture. And when I post up a picture of my tree this year please be kind, since I already know it’s pathetic, but it’s the best Target had to offer on December 23rd in the “pre-lit, $7 price range!”

So I’m thinking pretty soon I may actually get around to writing about my training, perhaps I'll make that my New Year's resolution. Yes, that's it! Since I've already got the typical things like 'join a gym,' 'workout more,' and 'lose weight' pretty much covered 'I resolve to blog more!' But for now I’ll spare you the details of my sweaty 3 hour spins and never ending swim sessions and leave you to enjoy your holidays with your friends and family. Safe travels and happy holidays to all!!

Work, swim, bike, run, eat, sleep, repeat

This is pretty much my life these days, if it’s not on this list, I’m not doing it, but there seems to be a slight problem. No where on that list do I see shopping or baking or decorating or entertaining or wrapping or even cleaning or shoveling or ‘blogging’ for that matter. So are you starting to see my dilemma? This Ironman training gig seems to be taking an unbelievable amount of time and coordination, and I know it’s only going to get worse. I’m sure that’s the reason I never thought to do this before now, well that and the fact that I couldn’t swim or bike or run ... but I digress ...

On the bright side of things, my family and friends seem to be a pretty understanding lot and I’m sure they’ll forgive me when their usual homemade gourmet gift basket is reduced to a powerbar and a packet of chocolate energy gel. Or when they stop by my house for some ‘holiday cheer’ and the only ‘mixers’ I have are protein powder and glutamine. And even then I’m sure they’ll be kind enough to not comment on the fact that a bicycle on a trainer is now the centerpiece of my living room. Conveniently, it has taken over the spot traditionally reserved for the tree – actually I’ll bet they won’t even notice if I throw some lights on the handlebars and let them pile the unreciprocated presents around the sweat mat, uh, I mean ‘tree skirt.’ But the final straw may just be when my single crack at ‘holiday entertaining’ is inviting them to read this blog! Glad I’m not the only one having to suffer this holiday season.

Well, how did I get here?

There's a song called "Once In A Lifetime" by the Talking Heads with the line in it: 'you may ask yourself, well, how did I get here?' It's been running through my head for the past several weeks and I can't seem to shake it. I remember the video from early MTV days and while it was just a fun song back then that didn't, and still doesn't, hold any particular meaning to me, I keep finding myself thinking about the title and referring to those lines in the song - along with a few others like:

>>And you may ask yourself
Where does that highway go?

And you may ask yourself
Am I right? ...am I wrong?

And you may tell yourself
My god!...what have I done?<<

It's right about then I break out in cold sweat!! I guess for me now, it's just the idea that you can wake up one day and find yourself in a place you could've never imagined, doing things you never dreamed possible and you have no idea how you got there. I mean really, how does someone who's been severely overweight and pretty inactive their entire life end up in an Ironman Triathlon competition? It just makes no sense to me so I keep asking myself, well, how did I get here?

As I think about it, certainly there's been a sequence of events in my life over the past four years that has taken me down this path and I'm realizing that it's lined with family and friends, both old an new and colleagues and competitors alike. And they've all guided, and pushed, and supported, and motivated, and inspired and moved me every step of the way. From my family who got me started on Weight Watchers in the fall of 2003 and my friends who encouraged and put up with me as I started to change so drastically, along with all the dedicated online and meeting members and leaders who continue to inspire and support me as I inch my way towards my goal. There's my gym crew who motivate me to show up at 6:00 a.m. and my spin instructors who helped push me out the door and put me on the road to begin with. There's my cycling club gang who challenge and complement my riding all at the same time. And this past year especially riding and running and learning to swim was so much fun because I trained with people with similar goals and ambitions who loved it too. Plus I've been fortunate in that I've managed to work with some great coaches and mentors and counselors who've always seemed to have my best interests at heart. And for the past year I've had a friend and training partner who's far younger, faster and stronger than myself, and pushes me past what I would consider a reasonable limit. She is certainly smart enough to make her own judgments when I provide pointers and I profess to be "older and wiser" but it’s her determination and dedication to triathlon as a sport that has finally started to rub off on me. I'm thankful that we'll be training to compete together in 2008 70.3 and Ironman events.

And I couldn't begin to explain how much it meant to me when it was so many of these same people who stood by me and made and kept me strong as I faced my cancer diagnosis. And despite all the physical changes my body had been through previously, it took this event to really change my life and force me to realize how fortunate and blessed I've been. Having any kind of cancer is scary for sure, but I was far luckier than most and couldn't be more grateful for the experience I've had, for all I've learned, for the people I've met because of it and for all of life's graces that I've been given.

I can attest that the folks at Triathlete Magazine got it right when they talked about my 'second chance' - actually I think I've had a few of them and few people are that fortunate. And because of this perhaps it's my responsibility to make the most of all the opportunities I've been given, to not just sit idly by or fritter it away, but rather to stand up and get out make the most of it. I can't say that I ever sat back and made a conscious decision to make triathlon my 'vehicle' of choice in this regard, but with this contest it's more like Ironman Triathlon picked me, and considering how unlikely this all is, well who am I to argue?!

It feels like this contest has been a great catalyst for all of us, and I think I speak for at least a few of us when I say it's pushed us WAY outside of any comfort zone we may have known. But as long as we’re here, there's no doubt we're all looking to make the most of this incredible opportunity we've been given. And I'd be remiss if I didn't acknowledge and thank all the great people associated with this contest. The New York City event was a wild rush enjoyed by everyone who attended. And without trying to suck up too much, I can also say that everyone I've met through this contest has been great! Not only all the other contestants and finalists from NYC, but especially all the Cadence staff and coaches, the sponsor representatives and of course the judges. Sure the time trialing and endurance tests were fun and all ;-), but it was all the great people involved in this event that have really sealed it as being 'once in a lifetime!'

So as I slap myself on the forehead and ponder "Well, how did I get here?" I'm still not exactly sure, but I know I didn't get here by myself.