Tis the season

Tis the season to be jolly...

The race season is almost upon us again, and  today was the day to finally put the money down and buy my entrance to the Gatorade Series for 2012/13. At this time last year I had the opportunity to forego the age group classification and enter as a Clydesdale. This was a right I had earned over the course of many years, years of telling myself I was exercising enough to warrant the volumes I was eating. Don't get me wrong here, my diet had seen some dramatic improvement and I'd been eating better for some time. My Achilles was (and still is) portion control.

After the wind-trainer session on Tuesday night I had a brief chat about my progress with Coach Greg. The take away points:

• pay attention to my body, work to a level I can sustain (fast spin stuff just kills me!)
• focus on getting quality out of my training
• continue to work on economy
• plenty of volume of running with good technique
• it wouldn't hurt to lose a bit of weight

Upon his suggestion I plan to resume weighing myself - daily - for the next 3 weeks.

Fluctuations are expected, but, by following this routine and taking the measurement at the same time of day I should get a better picture of what is happening with my body and how I can better maintain it.

The scales and I are old acquaintances, but had recently separated. When I originally decided to get myself moving again I would step up to check the numbers occasionally. Back then they were rather impressive, but not in a good way. I seem to recall the seeing 120kg, 30% body fat; I also seem to recall thinking "70% muscle then!". Two years when I was filling out the registration form for the triathlon series I first ticked the Clydesdales box, I had dropped 15kg and was just on the max. weight for my full carbon race bike.

Last year I found myself ticking the same box, I had been confidant it'd been a one time deal but a year on, I was still in triple digits, if only just.

When I started this journey to Ironman I dusted off the scales again and was actually using them weekly (for the most part) and recording the outcomes in my training stats. Minor changes were revealed but I was still hovering around the same point. Sometimes I would miss a week, sometimes a couple, then I just stopped the practice altogether. Not a conscious decision, it's just what happened.

So, this morning it was with some trepidation that I again kicked the power button, stepped up and watched the display count backward from 5 whilst it judged the strain I had set upon it.

96.6kg

Today, as I again filled in the form and prepared to part with my hard earned cash it was the age group box I checked. Although I currently still qualify for the big man's start, the season is still 4 weeks away. Between then and now I have scheduled a 14km fun run (to raise money for Movember) a half Ironman race in Shepparton, and a Dragon boat race as part of the corporate games. Add to this the plans to employ the services of a nutritionist and I dare say there be less of me again when Race 1 finally arrives.

So, although I may still bear a passing resemblance to that Jolly dude that visits around the closing of the year, perhaps this will be the year that I'm not the one all eyes turn to when the office festivities require someone to don his red suit!