Runner Who Tris

You don’t deserve a trophy just for participation!

Change is Good

2011 - swapped about half of my normal workouts for short (under 20 minutes) HIIT.  Late this summer began Paleo Diet.  Feel lighter, stronger, healthier than ever.  Oh…add younger to that list.

Tri’ing to Find Balance and the Fountain of Youth

I have been working out consistently, that is just what I do and who I am.  I am proud to say that my workouts are always changing and I would like to think - evolving.  My family tends to identify the changes as “fads”.  

Running since adolescence, I was plagued with numerous repetitive use injuries that were interrupting my running and also my everyday life.  So a number of years ago, in my mid-thirties, I began to add some cross-training to my running. To my surprise I love cycling.  Swimming on the other hand, is still not an activity I enjoy.  

Cross training was good for me on many levels.  It allowed my body to rest, recover and gain strength in some of my weaker areas.  It also revived my interest in pushing myself and working hard.  While swimming is still a struggle, I have noticed considerable improvement in my cycling.

After a few years of logging many miles on foot and on two wheels, and swimming difficult laps in the pool, I have once again revamped my training.  Never motivated by racing, I trained hard and consistently, but rarely raced.  My friend and running partner gets it.  She says we are training for quality of life, good health and old age.  I have to add sanity. 

Over the past year, I have once again altered my daily exercise and training.  I rarely work out for more than an hour.  Some days I only work out for 15-20 minutes. Focusing more on quality over quantity, I am very pleased with the results and love finding other things to do with my extra time.  I have gained muscle and lost fat. More importantly I sleep later in the mornings and don’t feel constant hunger.  

The latest fad in my life is less is best.  Live simply, but go hard.  

What defines a triathlete?

Am I any less of a triathlete if I have no desire to participate in an Ironman?  For that matter, can I call myself a runner if I never run another marathon?

I define myself by the journey and not by the destination, and in doing so I can answer YES to the above questions.  Last summer for instance, I trained as if I were racing, but never raced.  I have run since I was a kid…that is just what I do.  But I rarely race, and never farther than a half-marathon.

Many articles that I read tend to assume that to be a triathlete you must aspire to the IM distance.  And likewise my friends and co-workers who have known me for years and know I run, consistently ask me when my next marathon is.  In my mind triathlete does not equate to IM and runner doesn’t signify marathon.

Frequently while out running with a friend we are asked by others, “what are you training for?”  My friend always adamantly responds, “for life and old age.”  A smile naturally comes to my face when she says that because we both agree that life is the only race truly worth measuring yourself against.