First Blog of the New Year

A Family Photo

(I'm the one in the waistcoat)

Hi All

I know it’s been a while since I last ‘blogged’ but now we’re in January 2011 hopefully I’ll get back on course.  

Let me get the important bit out of the way and wish you all a Happy New Year. We had a quiet one spending some of the time in a small place in Co. Cork called Castletownbere, and the remainder of it in Clonmel. I would recommend a visit to Castletownbere as the scenery is well worth seeing. We’ve had no water at home since the 19^th December 2010, and even now there’s only a very slight trickle coming from the kitchen tap. It makes you realise how reliant we’ve become on commodities we take for granted.

Now back to the Ironman training that’s starting to take over my whole life, and change the way I live it. Over Christmas I spent time planning out a 32 week training program, which will commence on the 1^st February 2011 and end on the day of the big race in Wales. The program details the specifics of every training session on every day. This way I know exactly what is expected of my body, and how the gradual increase in training will occur. It is a demanding program but it’s the only way to ensure I get the best opportunity to complete the gruelling challenge. As part of my training program I have included two short triathlons, one in Co. Cork and the other in Shetland. I know Shetland seems a distance away from Ireland but I’d like to thank my friend Sandra, who’s kindly planned her wedding date to coincide with the Shetland triathlon (fingers crossed they allow me to race in it).     

Over the next few weeks prior to the 32 week program commencing, I intend to continue with my usual daily training routine of swimming, cycling, or running, twice a day. The week over Christmas I didn’t do any training so it feels good to get back into it.

For the first time in my 49 years of existence, I’ve decided that SIZE DOES MATTER! As part of my training program I’ve started to count calories, something I’ve never done before. I’m presently aiming to consume 1950 calories per day, but to date I’ve been eating slightly less. The size of the meals has surprised me as I use to eating at least twice the amount I consume now. My body is getting use to having smaller portions and I’m starting to gauge what foods contain what calories.

While speaking about size my weight has not changed that much over the 3 week period over Christmas having lost only 2lbs, which is better than gaining it I guess. When I started out on this Ironman quest I weighed-in at 242lbs and on the scales last night it showed me at 224lbs. That’s a loss of 18lbs in 10 weeks. More importantly, my body has changed shape from a large rotund shape to a more shapely physique. Mind you I still some pockets of fat to get rid of.