In a few days it will be 10 years since I started this crazy lifestyle, as I remember it was December 23, 2002.
To the best of recollection, this is the chain of events that happened in that time period:
December 2002 I weighed 195 lbs, wanted to be a better hockey player and lose some weight. I thought that 165 lbs would be a realistic goal for me and it was for that time.
I started running 1 mile every other day doing my best to keep my HR at 145bpm. From everything I read back then that was the HR I was supposed to run at to get started. The day after running I hurt so bad that I could barely walk, my friends at work laughed at me, said I wouldn't keep it up but I did. After a few weeks the soreness went away and I was running 2 miles at a time.
To keep a HR of 145 I remember running about 13 minute miles, that would be painfully slow today but evidently I was in pretty bad shape back then. I remember when I broke 10 minute miles consistently on training runs, I was pretty happy, I think that was in May of 2003.
By June of 2003 I was about 160 lbs, a remarkable weight loss I thought (still do) and felt so much better. I was playing hockey much stronger and had my first race in June. The race was the Seahorse Triathlon, I did the sprint which was 500 yard swim, 12.4 mile bike and 3.1 mile run. I have the results somewhere but I remember finishing near last in my AG with a horrible swim, decent bike and just under 30 minutes for the 5K run. I was actually pretty happy with that.
Swimming was difficult for me to learn on my own. In hindsight I should have found someone to teach me but I didn't know anyone that swam so I learned from books. Total Imersion was the first one I read, it was good to get me going and I did the drills religiously. I started swimming in January of 2003 and it took me until April to be able to stroke and breathe together...I wasn't good at it. I found a wetsuit on Ebay that fit OK but wound up buying one at Bikesport a few weeks before the race, it was a good thing I did cuz I really needed it. The first race I was scared and slow, I backstroked a lot of it, by the second race a month later I was just slow.
Biking had come easy to me, I had been doing it for a long time and was confident in my ability. Riding in the aerobars was comfortable and fun, I really liked it.
I'll finish more thoughts later
To the best of recollection, this is the chain of events that happened in that time period:
December 2002 I weighed 195 lbs, wanted to be a better hockey player and lose some weight. I thought that 165 lbs would be a realistic goal for me and it was for that time.
I started running 1 mile every other day doing my best to keep my HR at 145bpm. From everything I read back then that was the HR I was supposed to run at to get started. The day after running I hurt so bad that I could barely walk, my friends at work laughed at me, said I wouldn't keep it up but I did. After a few weeks the soreness went away and I was running 2 miles at a time.
To keep a HR of 145 I remember running about 13 minute miles, that would be painfully slow today but evidently I was in pretty bad shape back then. I remember when I broke 10 minute miles consistently on training runs, I was pretty happy, I think that was in May of 2003.
By June of 2003 I was about 160 lbs, a remarkable weight loss I thought (still do) and felt so much better. I was playing hockey much stronger and had my first race in June. The race was the Seahorse Triathlon, I did the sprint which was 500 yard swim, 12.4 mile bike and 3.1 mile run. I have the results somewhere but I remember finishing near last in my AG with a horrible swim, decent bike and just under 30 minutes for the 5K run. I was actually pretty happy with that.
Swimming was difficult for me to learn on my own. In hindsight I should have found someone to teach me but I didn't know anyone that swam so I learned from books. Total Imersion was the first one I read, it was good to get me going and I did the drills religiously. I started swimming in January of 2003 and it took me until April to be able to stroke and breathe together...I wasn't good at it. I found a wetsuit on Ebay that fit OK but wound up buying one at Bikesport a few weeks before the race, it was a good thing I did cuz I really needed it. The first race I was scared and slow, I backstroked a lot of it, by the second race a month later I was just slow.
Biking had come easy to me, I had been doing it for a long time and was confident in my ability. Riding in the aerobars was comfortable and fun, I really liked it.
I'll finish more thoughts later
