I half thought about doing a rink this year but then wisdom won out. Unfortunately my decision also resulted in all this snow and cold. I can unequivocally guarantee you that if I had made the other decision, that it would be about 3 degrees and raining right now! Instead the gauge says minus 15, going down to minus 20! In this kind of weather you can practically build a rink overnite. Next year I may tackle it again just to control the weather.
And when I think about it maybe I really will. What I need to do is a bunch of advance work. I think that the only way it is worth investing in a rink in our part of the world is to prepare in the summer time. The keys are to have a very flat surface (within 2 inches of level), and to have a good enough liner to be able to retain the water when it melts. We'll see?
Meanwhile winter is upon us in all it's glory, and while I never shy away from going outside in any weather, I admit that this morning I was just a wee bit glad that I'm on an injury break. The nasty east wind made it feel like minus 30. I give Roo credit for braving it. She says it's a mental thing for her and that I understand well. I can already tell the difference that a few days inside wreaks on my psyche. If I can't run I'm gonna have to get out there and walk, or find some other outdoor activity. Blowing out the driveway doesn't count, even though I enjoy that as well.
Interestingly enough the downtime isn't stressing me from a training perspective like it would have in the past. I think the biggest thing I learned is that IM preparation is a long journey, and other than the first time (when I was starting from scratch), I probably did too much, too soon. Not having to think about an end of April marathon is helping a lot as well.
The one thing that still bothers me a bit however is my weight. Not because I'm uncomfortable with the way I look, but only because I don't want to carry any unnecessary baggage on race day. I am over 170 now which is probably 10 pounds over my best weight, and 15 more than I would really like. I try to console myself with the knowledge that it will make no difference on the swim, and very minimal on the bike, but who wants to run with an extra 10-15 pounds for 42.2 kms?? And although 10 pounds doesn't sound like much, it needs to come off very, very slowly. Any quick lose would be counterproductive. Which simply means I gotta get my act together now!!
I know that part of my eating problem is in response to stress, and while it probably appears that I live an idyllic life, I do still manage to create my own demons. My wife calls it "running her tape".
Other than my "elephant" (which some of you know about), the only real stress is related to this retirement thing. Practically as we speak, any real source of employment income is coming to an end, and although we have planned reasonably well for this day, I still struggle.
And I don't really think it's about the money itself. Money is only a symbol somehow. I have spent my entire life gathering up my little pile, and taking some real pleasure in it. Now my pile is suddenly going to start getting smaller. Perhaps it adds another meaning to the expression, "over the hill", where the hill is your pile. I think it may be part of the reason that many people struggle to retire at all. It brings with it this sense of a quickly approaching ending.
I think it's funny that we always feel sorry for anyone who "died penniless"! That should in actual fact be the goal, should it not. Some peoples pile is big enough that it sustains itself but that ain't us so we best shoot for penniless eh?
Any how. Winter it is, impending old age it is, and despite my assertions that I can influence at least one of those, the reality is that I control very little. Best come to terms with that eh?
I hope someone is thinking about the weather in Mont Tremblant though. Minus 30!!! Holy
smokes!
Tomorrow is supposed to be my easy day, and I'm gonna make it so despite the fact that I didn't do a long run today. I think that's okay. Maybe I'll take the kids swimming.
swim 1000 metres, weights
"Money never made a man happy yet, nor will it. The more a man has, the more he wants. Instead of filling a vacuum, it makes one."---Benjamin Franklin
Love
Peter
And when I think about it maybe I really will. What I need to do is a bunch of advance work. I think that the only way it is worth investing in a rink in our part of the world is to prepare in the summer time. The keys are to have a very flat surface (within 2 inches of level), and to have a good enough liner to be able to retain the water when it melts. We'll see?
Meanwhile winter is upon us in all it's glory, and while I never shy away from going outside in any weather, I admit that this morning I was just a wee bit glad that I'm on an injury break. The nasty east wind made it feel like minus 30. I give Roo credit for braving it. She says it's a mental thing for her and that I understand well. I can already tell the difference that a few days inside wreaks on my psyche. If I can't run I'm gonna have to get out there and walk, or find some other outdoor activity. Blowing out the driveway doesn't count, even though I enjoy that as well.
Interestingly enough the downtime isn't stressing me from a training perspective like it would have in the past. I think the biggest thing I learned is that IM preparation is a long journey, and other than the first time (when I was starting from scratch), I probably did too much, too soon. Not having to think about an end of April marathon is helping a lot as well.
The one thing that still bothers me a bit however is my weight. Not because I'm uncomfortable with the way I look, but only because I don't want to carry any unnecessary baggage on race day. I am over 170 now which is probably 10 pounds over my best weight, and 15 more than I would really like. I try to console myself with the knowledge that it will make no difference on the swim, and very minimal on the bike, but who wants to run with an extra 10-15 pounds for 42.2 kms?? And although 10 pounds doesn't sound like much, it needs to come off very, very slowly. Any quick lose would be counterproductive. Which simply means I gotta get my act together now!!
I know that part of my eating problem is in response to stress, and while it probably appears that I live an idyllic life, I do still manage to create my own demons. My wife calls it "running her tape".
Other than my "elephant" (which some of you know about), the only real stress is related to this retirement thing. Practically as we speak, any real source of employment income is coming to an end, and although we have planned reasonably well for this day, I still struggle.
And I don't really think it's about the money itself. Money is only a symbol somehow. I have spent my entire life gathering up my little pile, and taking some real pleasure in it. Now my pile is suddenly going to start getting smaller. Perhaps it adds another meaning to the expression, "over the hill", where the hill is your pile. I think it may be part of the reason that many people struggle to retire at all. It brings with it this sense of a quickly approaching ending.
I think it's funny that we always feel sorry for anyone who "died penniless"! That should in actual fact be the goal, should it not. Some peoples pile is big enough that it sustains itself but that ain't us so we best shoot for penniless eh?
Any how. Winter it is, impending old age it is, and despite my assertions that I can influence at least one of those, the reality is that I control very little. Best come to terms with that eh?
I hope someone is thinking about the weather in Mont Tremblant though. Minus 30!!! Holy
smokes!
Tomorrow is supposed to be my easy day, and I'm gonna make it so despite the fact that I didn't do a long run today. I think that's okay. Maybe I'll take the kids swimming.
swim 1000 metres, weights
"Money never made a man happy yet, nor will it. The more a man has, the more he wants. Instead of filling a vacuum, it makes one."---Benjamin Franklin
Love
Peter
Gosh!! Some of this sounds so familiar! We really need to have coffee sometime (tea for me). We can compare notes. Love, gail
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