Well, here we are in the beginning of what for most people is a very trying time of year both for athletes and non-athletes alike. For many it is a time of relaxation and spending time with family and friends to celebrate the finer things in life, giving thanks for all that is right in the world....and of course eating. There is a stigma that surrounds this time of year, that my family is definitely trying to perpetuate (from the looks of my pantry and fridge), of heavy foods rich in flavor (butter/sugar) to overdose on then resign ourselves to the couch for the rest of the day drinking wine and slowly taking in large amounts of pie and ice cream. Ice cream is my cryptonite. We are very fortunate to be able to take part of this celebratory feast, even more the series of feasts that is Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, Christmas, New Years, and best of all MY BIRTHDAY!!
That being said, I am a man on a mission right now, a mission to lose the off season weight that I gained since I decided to take the entire summer off after 70.3 Boise in early June. I am currently sitting around about 8 big ones above where I raced the last 2 years and about 18-25 above where I would like to race this year. That means some added attention to diet and more consistency in my training. I have in the last month doubled my volume to around 8 hours per week, and will be working to increase that as time goes on. I am struggling through some lower back issues right now, thanks to some over compensation to a pinched nerve in my neck.....for future reference, when you realize that you just woke up at 3 am on the couch, and think about going to bed but decide to be lazy...just go to bed, because your wife will scare the shit out of you when she is going to work and you will then be paralyzed from the neck down for what seems like an eternity....or just really sore for a couple weeks. But I digress. So here we are in the shortest days of the year, the snow has started to fall on a fairly consistent basis, the trails are slick and muddy/icy, and I love every mile of it. But that dark thing poses a problem, since 4 days a week I don't get home until after dark, and it is scary to run trails after dark by yourself....what with boogie mans and mountain lions and such. So I have to resign myself to the treadmill, the trainer (bike treadmill), or the pool (swim treadmill) to train and lose weight, because if there is anything that I have proven to myself over the years is that food is my weakness. And when I go off the deep end into this time of year with all my favorite delicious food described above, my portion control is more of a problem than my will power to not eat bad food. It is like I am in a one man eating contest and I am determined to beat myself, so I always wind up eating more food in one day than I need to eat in a week. My goal is to minimize that this year and allow my self a slight indulgence while still keeping to what can be called some semblance of a plan/diet.
Now, contrary to what the title to this is, I don't actually plan to "lose" weight over either of the holiday breaks that are impending, rather to maintain my weight to within a couple pounds over each break, then concentrate on dropping the pounds in the weeks between them. If I can net a loss of 8 pounds by the beginning of the year I will be happy...shit I will be ecstatic. But in reality I will be concentrating on getting in some quality training during the time off. The base phase is upon me, and as of the first of the year I will be in a full-on, periodized training schedule, 6 days a week, consistency being the name of the game, getting a head start is crucial.
