New Found Respect

Wow! Everyone has to start somewhere.....

I have always avoided the triathlon because I am just not a great swimmer. As a matter of fact, I'm really not a very good swimmer!

But...completing a triathlon has been on my 'bucket list' for quite a while so I finally took the "plunge". I love a good challenge and, since I have been training for the 2010 Veterans National Wrestling Tournament, I thought I was probably in good enough shape to get to the finish line without too much difficulty.

The Harvest Thunder is a 'sprint triathlon'. A shorter than usual tri to give all of us mortals an opportunity to experience the "thrill of victory and the agony of defeat".

What I came out of the event with was a tremendous amount of respect for those who excel at this 'grueling', life altering event.

More about my personal experience in another post. Suffice to say that I will compete in other events......but I will definitely prepare differently for the next one.

LIFE GETS IN THE WAY

OK,,,I admit it. Life does get in the way sometimes.

I've been away a while. Too many things....too little time. Or, time directed toward other pursuits. One way or the other, it;s been a while since I last posted.

Among other things, the last month has included a move to our yet to be completed home on the farm. We're in now and things will begin to get a little more 'sane' as we move forward.

Tomorrow: Updates on the Harvest Thunder Triathlon.

Steppin' It Up A Bit

Start of another week and my early morning shift at work necessitates that I do my workout in the evening after work. That was a dicey proposition here!

We have been experiencing severe summer thunderstorm activity here in Montana so I was not able to get out on the trail...both due to excessive mud and the threat of nasty lightning strikes.

Since I'm not looking forward to getting struck by lightning I did today's run on the asphalt streets of Great Falls. Would rather not do that in the summertime...but whatever it takes. Right?

Got a lot of getting ready to do so stepped up my workout today to an 8 mile run.....and didn't even get rained on. :-)

Eight miles was a bit of a stretch and I did have to walk a couple of times for a short distance. Overall it was a great workout and I was able to finish pretty strong.

Tuesday is my day off so am planning to get a both a swim in and a 12 mile bike ride. If I can finish the day with a short run that would be fantastic! However, it's supposed to rain off and on all day tomorrow so don't know if I will be able to get everything done.

Today's dividends?
Cash dividend.....fantastic! Today's run netted four pennies and a quarter. 29 cents.
Physical dividend - Difficult but still priceless!

How Do You Measure Success?

I keep asking myself how to measure success in this quest for fitness and continued progress toward achieving one's desired goals.

I continue to work pretty hard.....sometimes, perhaps, too hard. Today I ran the Dutton (MT) Fun Days 5k and the results were less than desirable in my quest to break the 8 min. average mile barrier. I turned in what seems like a turtle's pace 26:09 time, which translates to something right at 8:20 miles.

Could be my workout yesterday had some impact on today's time. I know that it usually isn't a great idea to log a hard day right before a quest to run a personal best......but that's just what I did.

Because sometimes life gets in the way a bit, I haven't gotten the workouts in that I have wanted to so I went ahead and did a 5 1/2 mile run followed by a 6 mile bike ride yesterday. Wrong thing to do? Don't know for sure. I think that the real results will show up a little further down the road.

Could be it made me a little slower today, but I'm betting that I will reap positive results in future efforts.

Mostly, I really love to work out. I'm looking forward to wrestling in the Big Sky State Games next weekend and then re-directing my training and thinking toward my first ever triathlon in August.

I do hope that you are achieving your fitness (and life) goals. Keep rockin'!

Getting There....

Progress - the reason we set goals.

In my last post I detailed a bit of my frustration concerning the plateau I have been bumping up against in my struggle to break the 8 min. per mile average barrier in my training schedule.

Still haven't made that leap....but did make significant progress this weekend. I did run the Black Eagle Dam run on Saturday the 4th as planned. My 5k time was 25:30 and that averages out real close to 8:10 miles.

That's getting close. I have been neglecting my speed work a little since my shoulder injury so am feeling better about picking up the pace a bit.

I did get out again today and get in right at 5 miles a bit latter in the evening. It had started to cool down a bit and I felt very strong.

I work early in the morning....so will take Monday off and am planning on getting in a long, slow run on Tuesday.

Getting past a plateau is a very gratifying feeling.

Today's dividends:

Cash dividend: Zero
Physical dividend: You guessed it....priceless.
Trail day....Secret stone dividend: 1 pretty cool stone. :-)

Not Getting There Fast Enough

Sometimes it does get a little discouraging when the quest for faster times seem to stall. On Saturday morning we will be doing the Black Eagle Dam 5k...so this morning I went out and did a 'warm-up' run on the course.

Since I don't know the exact start and stop points, I can't be totally accurate but timed myself at 28:47. If you do the math, that's not going to do the trick in turning sub 8 min. miles.

Hence a bit of disappointment. This was only a training run and I will run a little faster on Saturday, I'm sure.......but I'm struggling to attain a goal that I feel I should have already reached.

We'll talk more about realistic expectations in a future post. While it may not be realistic....I think I should be there by now!

Was still a great workout. I did get in about 4 miles on the bike earlier this morning as well.... but didn't hit the pool this week at all. We'll get there!

Toady's dividends?

Cash Dividend: Zero
Physical Dividend: Priceless!
Secret Stone Dividend: 5 awesome "secret" stones.

Steppin' It Up

Didn't manage to get here and post on the weekend workouts and usually rest on Mondays...so decided I needed to step it up a bit on Tuesday.

Since I am planning on doing my first triathlon in August, I thought it would be a great time to add a biking/running workout to the mix. I discovered that it is almost exactly 4 miles from the house to my running trail. (You can see it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXPu9KJ1AnA )

Got off the bike and started off on my 5 mile running loop with legs that were a little 'wobbly'. That transition is more difficult than some would lead you to believe but after a few strides all seemed to go well.

The one thing that I didn't plan on was the heat. I usually run in the earlier morning hours but wanted the challenge. I did get dehydrated a bit. That ol' sun drags it out of you faster than one might think. I did wind up walking about half of the steep uphill on the way back.....we'll get better!

Net result - A good hard workout and 5 fantastic, new "Secret Stones" (That's another story to be addressed in another post) and my lowest weight to date....165. Need to be at 163 for the Big Sky State Games.

Actually finished up the day with a pretty good 12 mile ride with Laurie at about 8:30 in the evening. Had a very nice ride down the River Trail on a great evening.

Back on Track

Today I took the leap. Got tired of sitting around and decided to take a chance on this bothersome shoulder injury and get in a good run.

It was a beautiful morning and I managed to get in five miles at about 75% of 5k race pace. It felt fantastice to get out there and get in a workout. The shoulder did bother me a bit during the run, but I'm thinking the added blood flow to the area can't help but help.... I imagine I will know by morning for sure.

Today another little added feature. Many times I find coins along the way as I am running. I stash the coins in my little running 'dividend jar'. As we go forward you will see that I'm not getting rich quick with my running schedule. I am getting other world class dividends.....so I thought it would be fun to add my little Visa touch. So here goes....

Today's Dividend Report:
Today's run resulted in a one penny dividend. The reward to my well being...priceless!

Ouch.....

Well, it happens.....especially to those of us who are crazy enough to continue to push the body's physical limits at an age when most have committed themselves to permanent "couch potato" status.

In the midst of a robust wrestling workout, I managed to strain my shoulder enough to put me on the sidelines for a few weeks. It is causing me enough pain that I have suspended my running for a bit as well.

I won't be down for long and will resume running within a couple of days. I do still plan to compete in Montana's Big Sky State Games the weekend of July 18....one way or the other.

Don't try this at home.....I am not encouraging you to go forward with the the same disregard for your body as I am willing to endure.

Although I may have to take some time off on the mat after the Big Sky Games, my ultimate goal is still to win the Veteran's National tournament in Las Vegas in April of 2010 and to represent the USA in the world championships in the fall.

May the force be with you!

A Re-Cap and A Goal Revealed

Frankly, I'm a little bit crazy. If you're new here, you might not know that my ultimate goal has to do with wrestling. No. Not the 'crazy stuff' you see on TV. Not the professional rasslin' you've seen on TV since the 50's or the cage craze ultimate fighting that is the craze of the day.

I have been involved in amateur wrestling since I was in junior high school, was a high school state champion, a collegiate all-American, coached high school wrestling for many years and only recently decided that......you guessed it....that it is simply Too Soon To Quit.

So, I got my lazy tail off the couch and started working out for the Veterans National Wrestling Tournament in Las Vegas this past April. Bear in mind that I am 59 years old and that this hasn't been the easiest thing I have ever attempted.

I started out at nearly 200 pounds (197 to be exact) and entered the national tournament at 76kg (or 167.5 lbs.).

That was victory number one. Whatever the motive, the weight loss has contributed greatly in producing a more vibrant lifestyle. Along the way, many people have asked me how I managed to shed all that weight and get in shape to compete in a couple of short months.

The simple answer is exercising more and eating less....and, of course eating higher quality foods.
As I have stated in earlier posts, I started running, swimming and working out with the Cascade, MT high school wrestling team. It was difficult at times, for an "old man".....but my commitment was to compete. I focused on my goal and found myself in Vegas in April actually living my dream.

I finished third in Greco and fourth in Freestyle and qualified for the World Games. That's the 'pat on the back' part. The truth is that I discovered that I simply was not really prepared to compete at that level with the best-of-the-best.

So....I re-grouped and re-goaled. I decided to forgo the 2009 World Championships in Kouvola, Finland and to dedicate the next year of my life to training for a return to the 2010 Veterans National Tournament prepared to win and then compete in the World Championships with the physical ability to bring home a gold medal for the United States team.

There you have it. I continue my quest for GOLD and it has developed into a further goal to help motivate others to get moving, get motivated and go for the gold at whatever it is that excites them!

Life is too short to just go through the motions.......go for the gold!

Coming down....

As I mentioned in my last post, I have been a little disappointed in my progress in getting my 5k time moving downward so have resorted to a little more 'speed' work. It's helping, so I will continue my quest.....

My initial goal has to get my 5k time under the 8 minute mile barrier. While that may seem an easy task for many, it's been much harder that I anticipated for this aging athlete.

Warm-up and warm-down excluded I did manage to get four 'quarters' in the books in sub-2 minute times.... 1:41.85, 1:41.01, 1:38.54 and 1:38.94. I did miss my goal of running the last quarter the fastest but was satisfied with the times overall. I finished with a sub 4 minute half mile (3:54.83).

I was scheduled to throw in 100 yard sprints but passed on them this workout due to some 'tightness' in my right hamstring/glute areas. Better to not go quite so hard and avoid the downtime caused by further injury.

Am planning on running another 5k this weekend and will throw in another day of speedwork on Wednesday.

I do hope that you are reaching your fitness goals as well. Don't know if we'll break that illusive 8 minute barrier this week or not....but progress always feels great!

Another Race Down

Wow..... It's been awhile since I posted. Guess I'd better get up to speed.

I have been training hard. Running 3-5 miles a day at least 5 days a week and have felt good about my progress.

As I've mentioned earlier, my short-term goal has been to get sub-eight minute miles for a 5k before moving up to the 10k races. Saturday I ran the Governor's Cup 5k in Helena and finished with a very disappointing 8:47 mile pace. That hurt!

There was considerable up-hill but I still felt I ran a better race than that. I didn't wear my watch and the course didn't have mile marker electronic timers, so really didn't gauge my 'splits' very well....I guess. Some lessons to be learned here?

I did do a little 'speed' work last week and was aware that my speed was still lacking. I did manage to get one sub 8 in (7:41), but my last two splits were successively slower at 8:21 and 8:43. Still..... I was really thinking I would be able to pull off 8:15 to 8:20.

Live and Learn! OK....with no formal coach on this team, I have come to the conclusion that I will have to build a little more variety into my workouts. The plan today is to get at least one good speed work-out in every week and to get to back-to-back-to-back sub-eights in the next couple of weeks.

I'll let you all know how that works out! :-)

Until next time...... Keep your feet moving!

Winter, winter and more winter......

Just a quick update this morning.

We are in the grasp of quite a sensational spring snow storm here in central Montana. Up to 6 feet of snow in several places just to the north of us. Dangerous for travel and deadly for livestock producers.

We have had a couple of feet of snow here in Great Falls and I have taken a couple of days off. Will begin to 'slog' on our very wet city streets when the snow begins to melt in the next couple of days.

Our always popular Ice Breaker road race did manage to get off on schedule before this spring storm set in. It was pretty chilly (which may have accounted for the lower than usual number of participants) and a little windy, but was still a pretty good day for runners.

I managed my personal goal of 8 1/2 minute or less miles for the 3 mile....although I was hoping to push that to perhaps 8 minute miles.

We'll get there! I really want to get down to around 7 minute miles and then move up to a few 10k's next.

Hope you are achieving your fitness goals! Leave me a comment if you would like to connect.

It's Amazing.....

It's been a while since we've visited. No excuses....

I did make it down to the Veteran's National Wrestling Tournament in Las Vegas. It is amazing just how well conditioned and prepared a bunch of 'boomer athletes' can be!

If you are a boomer athlete and are reading this post...... Congratulations! You are one of a very select group of people who have chosen 'The Road Less Traveled'.

What I have discovered is that age really is just a number. I found a very vibrant group of people, in a wide range of numerical ages who are living life to the fullest and doing things that most people don't even dream of!

The whole experience has left me even more energized and eager to continue my quest toward my personal physical goals and my committment to take the message to as many others as possible.

Don't just think about doing something...get out there and do something about it. Every part of your being will benefit.

You will feel better, look better, have more energy and, most likely, find yourself looking for greater challenges to overcome.

I feel like a kid again and do hope you will come along for the ride.

What if you didn't know?

What if you didn't know that you could fail?

What if you removed all of the self imposed limitations from your life?

Yould you attempt more things that you currently don't consider? Would you live life more fully?

Start today to live life like there was no possibility of failure. Start with something small that you have put off because you weren't sure you could get it done or, worse yet, were afraid you might fail at.

Take a chance. Learn a new skill. Try something new. Step outside of your own limitations!

Little steps lead to bigger steps which lead to small successes...which lead to big successes.

Are you willing to risk your 'status quo' for something more?

Getting there!

It's been a few days since I updated......

I've been a little busy getting my conditioning in, working my full-time job and trying to keep up with my networking and internet buisness growth.

My fitness progress has been moving forward pretty much on schedule. I'm now down from 197 pounds to 173. It's been a long grind and I hit a place right at 177 pounds where I just couldn't seem to get by. It took about a week of 'seemingly' no progress and then my body started to cooperate again. It's been pretty smooth sailing since and, although the last few pounds will be a "crunch", I'm confident we'll make the 167 by my April 7th deadline.

My work schedule this past week or so has been fantastic! I had an unplanned day off on Monday and have been working a late shift, so I have had mornings to work out.

Morning work-outs have been consisting of an 800 yard swim (most would call it 'flailing' around in the water more than swimming) followed by a 4 to 4 1/2 mile run.

I'm finally getting stronger and more energized afterward instead of totally wiped out. I also have more energy thoughout the day and much greater mental clarity. I'll take that!

My 'flailing' around in the water is improving. Water has never been my friend, so this is the most difficult aspect of my training program. Those who know me well can certainly appreciate my progress in this area. I can thank Linda Hughes, my swimming instructor at Black Hills State University for her efforts. God knows she tried!

I've decided to do my first triathalon in August, so will have to be able to do a much stronger 800 yards by then. Just another mini goal along the way.

Hope you are meeting your workout goals and having fun!

Keep on keeping on!

Start or Finish?

Here's a quick (and true) story that really spoke to me and I thought everyone would appreciate.

Long after the crowd had left and the cameras had moved, a lone runner entered the stadium to complete the 26-mile-long marathon in the 1968 Mexico City Olympics. Injured earlier in the race during a fall, he stumbled along, more than an hour after the others had finished.

Hurling himself to the finish line, John Stephen Akhwari of Tanzania finished dead last. But before you judge him as a loser, take careful heed of the words he uttered when asked why he did not quit earlier when he had been injured: "My country did not send me 7,000 miles to start the race."

"They sent me 7,000 miles to finish it."

So.... What's your story? Are you a starter or a finisher?

My goal for you is to be a finisher, to set an example and to follow through when I set a "boomer athlete" goal.

Today was a particularly difficult day to get through my swim workout. I had a very tough workout on the mat last night and today I hurt in places where I had forgotten I had places.

Do you know that feeling?

As a result, I really didn't feel like dragging my 'butt' out of bed and heading to the pool....but I did. When I did get there, the first couple of laps were difficult, but once I got going each stroke felt better.

Same way every day. Just get out the door and put one foot in front of the other. The hardert thing is always just Getting Started! Get started. Make it happen.

It's always too soon to Quit!

Some days are more difficult

Today was a beautiful day for a run. The temperature was nearly 20 degrees faranheit and the sun was shining. Such a fantastic improvement over the below zero temps we have been experiencing.....

But, some days are more difficult that others. Today my body was telling me to slow down a little. Just didn't have the "zip" I usually have so had to walk a couple of times when I usually don't. That's how I manage my fitness program. I just 'listen to my body' and when it tells me to slow down, I usually pay attention.

What I am doing is pretty much 'crazy' for the average "boomer athlete".... so my advise is, "don't try this at home". But do get yourself moving.

I'm just a tiny bit 'tipped' but stick with me. We'll see what's possible!

Well, here we are. I have been training but not posting my progress for way too long.

I created this blog, at least in part, to help motivate athletes of all ages....but especially aspiring 'boomer' athletes.

At age 59, I am one of the 'aging athletes'....

Personally, I have a number of pretty agressive goals; the first of which I am currently training for. I will be competing in the Veteran's National Wrestling Tournament in Las Vegas during the first full week of April.

I started this quest several months ago, weighing in at somewhat over 197 pounds and having not worked out seriously for quite a long time.

Although I wouldn't recommend any of my workout schedule to other 'boomer athletes', I currently work out at least once a day and sometimes as many as three times daily. I run at least every other day, swim 2 to 3 times a week, and work out with one of the local high school or college teams as often as possible (which hasn't been as often as I would have liked).

Today, I weighed in at 178, which made me very happy! I'll be competing at 167 at nationals, so seems like I am almost there.

Follow me on Facebook @ http://profile.to/bobward or on Twitter @ http://twitter.com/Bob_Ward

I'm just getting started here; but, you have to start somewhere!

Have you quit?

So here we are early in another new year. Have you given up on maintaining a healthy, active lifestyle?

My mission in creating this blog is to create a forum that will help everyone explore their 'inner athlete' and provide a little motivation, through my own experiences and the experiences of others.

I'm an aging athlete who has decided that it is far "too soon to quit" and has some pretty aggressive fitness and athletic goals. I would not suggest the same for the average boomer athlete who might be just getting started.

For certain, if you are inspired to get yourself moving...... Make certain that you are phycically capabible of whatever fitness goal you set for yourself.

• Make a doctor's appointment and get the appropriate physical.
• Start slow and gradually build your endurance.
• Don't compete with anyone but yourself.

On the other hand, start! Do something to get yourself moving more. Spring is right around the corner. Get outside, enjoy the sunshine and fresh air. Need motivation, accountability? Start with a friend, family member or spouse.

And remember..... The hardest part is pulling on the shoes and getting out the door!

More on my mission in future posts. Today I swam...I guess about 750 yards. Tough for me as I'm not a great swimmer. Working up to it.