DWD

Friend and Follower: Done and done!

I had a physiology professor when I was in grad school who would never wear a coat in the winter (in Canada) and purposefully get his hands as close to frostbite as he could. Same reasoon. Apparently, it also boosts the hematocrit, too. I tried the hands part, but I'm too big a pansy!

I thought Canadians didn't do the Macarena. Wait, I bet Barenaked Ladies would.

Isn't it great hitting that nutrition stride? I quit dairy a while ago, and a week later felt like Hermes' shoes were laced on my feet. Now if I can reduce my Oreo consumption... Fun to read of your success!

History Once upon a time I was runner. Not a great one, but I loved it. In grade nine at my small high school, no one else wanted the mile and two-mile jobs on the track team, so I was ecstatic to get the top varsity spot. After the first track meet, I took my carefully calculated goals off the wall by my desk and threw them away. In their stead, I wrote: Don't finish last in the 3200 meters Don't get lapped in the 1600 meters I finally achieved both those goals at the second-to-last meet of the season. And I was happy. When I was seventeen, I wondered if the trouble wasn't my lack of speed but too few laps in the race. So I entered a half-marathon. Turns out I was partly right. I won the under-19 category, beating a guy who had recently competed in his state high school track meet. I have to admit, though, he was the only other person in the age group, and his event was the 200 meters. At age 21, I finished a full marathon, though it wasn't pretty. Still loved it despite being unable to maneuver stairs or urinate for two days. Then came some medical problems which made a mess of things, and one day I found myself 15 years older and unable to crank out three kilometers without pain. In process of trying to figure out what happened and how to fix it, I came across Nerd Fitness. As part of my care plan, I made some significant changes to eating habits and my exercise patterns. A year later, I'm feeling better than ever. Motivation Framing my behaviors in terms of a video game was the event horizon which turned me around. As though I suddenly had permission to fly my nerdly Middle-Earth banner like I was welcoming Elladan and Elrohir home to Imladris. Why had I never thought of that before? You're a genius, Kamb. But I never checked out the forums. Never did the 6-week challenges. How much more fun would it have been? I could have been helping some fellow rebels, too. I started lurking about them the same time I completed my culminating summer feat – a ten-mile trail run up and back down a ski resort. My goal was to average nine-minute miles. I did 8:23. As fantastic as that felt after years of fetid sluggishness, I thought of those who've stopped smoking. Lost a hundred pounds. That's impressive. On a date with my wife soon after, we strolled through a park where preparations were underway for an Ironman Triathlon. I had a surge of excitement and fear. I counted up the sprint and Olympic triathlons I'd done over the past eight years in trying to pull myself together. Between the medical issues and failure to train well, I performed poorly in all seven of them. All! Once I was second to last of every finisher. The man I beat was 71. I hung up triathlons in embarrassment two years ago. But If I could find an Olympic now, I was sure I could be competitive for once. Because I was now a different person. A level 13 DWD, according to my version of the Epic Quest of Awesomeness. And I had just kicked my trail run goals in the teeth. So I found and finished an Olympic triathlon, the first ever at which I had a competitive showing. But none of these new accomplishments were really new. I was doing the same old things, just doing them well. What could I do next, heroic enough to be my version of stopping smoking or losing a hundred pounds? Another triathlon would make nine. Level nine? As in Hyrule? Yeah! Level Nine. Death Mountain. Ironman. Main Quest Death Mountain Gannon-Bane Ironman Triathlon in under 13 hours, June 2014 Wooden Sword – complete weeks 1-6 of running schedule Olympic Tri: <3 hours A 2:55:35 Miles: 6 Pace: 8:00 C 12 mile bike ride instead Miles: 4 Pace: 7:00 Miles: 2 Pace: 6:45 Miles: 4 Pace: 7:00 Miles: 10 Pace: 9:00 Boomerang – complete weeks 1-6 of biking and strength schedule Olympic Tri: <3 hours A 2:55:35 Body weight strength training, weights A Miles: 10 Ave mph: 18 BWST, weights Miles: 20 Ave mph: 16 BWST, weights Heart Container – Time with my family Get kids up and ready four days weekly Summer vacation until week four Home for dinner four days weekly A, A Weekly date night A, A Life Quest Dungeon Key – Finish my novel Review editor's notes A Make changes A Beta readers week one Beta readers week two Beta readers week three Final draft Evaluation A As planned B 10% slower, three days weekly C 20% slower, two days weekly D 30% slower, one day weekly F Not an option. A screenwriter had Gene Krantz say so.

Your signature quotes are of the nerd-most quality. Bravo!

Funny rant! And impressive goals.

Hi all, I'm stepping up from "finish triathlon" to "finish triathlon under time goal". I need to track my average speed on training rides, and don't really need any other functions. Any recommendations for a wireless cyclocomputer on the cheap? Cheers,

Nice work!

This has been a great thread for me to read. I'm a PA, and I bring this up with patients every day. What I knew before is the cheap gas station models don't work, but the more expensive brands do. Now I can give a more intelligent answer. Thanks, Rebels.

Welcome! I spent a year in Calgary. My favorite city in the world. Miss it a lot. Impressive goals, man. Best of luck!

I used to teach high school biology. Miss it the students. A mountain bike team!? That's too cool to be real!

Hey all, Thought I'd level up from email-reader to forum-poster. It's like a wooden sword from a nice old man in a cave... Today marks a year of work in re-making me. NF has been a huge part of the success I've experienced so far. Time to keep learning and start giving back.