"Revising Expectations"

I'm afraid that the natural aging process  is undeniable.

But if only I did more weight training, or if I lose a bit more weight, or if I train smarter, eat healthier,   or just plain work harder, I would be able to delay the process......NOT!

As an amateur athlete that aging process can be measured by slower times in everything you do.

But if only....

My first Ironman was in 2009 and I finished with a time of 11:36.  In 2012, I was 11:39, and at the time I was a little disappointed.  I now know that it was actually a good accomplishment.

After most humans reach 50 years of age the downward spiral is quite quick.

I had a brief  look at the 2013 Tremblant results, and just searched for athletes in relevant mens age  groups that finished under 12 hours.

Here's the numbers!

45-49.......137
50-54.......93
55-59.......17
59-60........3
65-69........0

For me to expect to be faster 5 years after my first Ironman would perhaps be reasonable if I had started out when I was 40, but as I approach my 59th birthday.....well enough said I suppose.

But armed with this data I'm still only relaxing my expectations as to finish time.  I'm actually gonna increase my self imposed expectation  to have an exceptional race.  The measure of that will be how I feel in the marathon.  Believe me it will be a big challenge because the key to the whole thing will be forcing myself to go slower on my bike than I actually could.  Going slower at that point, is decidedly harder than going faster!

Today I practiced going slower, although it wasn't easier.  It was my first semi-serious ride outside this year, and unfortunately the speed continues to erode.  For years I set the standard for a long ride at 30 kms/hr, and yet on a reasonable riding day like today I could only muster 28.4 over my 120 kms.   To top that off, I struggled through my transition run, and ended up walking part of the last km.  That's not the way it's supposed to be, and indicates that I rode too hard

So I actually think it's important to come to terms with my revised expectations very quickly, so that I keep my long efforts at a reasonable pace.  If I kill myself in training it will only be counterproductive.  The wonderful thing is that with my new pedals I can focus on power instead of speed, and today I decided that my long ride standard will be to average 150 watts.  Let's see how that goes.

And I also have to report that I am suffering from the cyclists worst nightmare, a skin infection next to my right testicle.  It's occasionally been a problem area for me, but with good hygiene I generally managed to keep it in check.  If anyone knows a surefire quick solution for boils I sure would like to hear it.  I would post a picture but I have few enough readers as it is.  Help please!!

But that's not the only thing I learned today.  I had a nice chat with brother Terry, and now I know everything he knows about septic systems.  I have a plan!!  Game on!
,
bike 120 kms, 28.4 kms/hr, 149 watts---run 5 kms

"My happiness grows in direct proportion to my acceptance, and in inverse proportion to my expectations."---Michael J Fox

Love
Peter