Ironman Augusta 70.3 - 67 Days to go

Great day... Started off w/ a 23 km bike ride in the early morning mist. It was cool, quiet, and pretty as the sun began to rise. This afternoon, I went for a swim and did 1900M, which is the 1.2 Mile distance of the Ironman Augusta 70.3. I did it in 45:23, which translates to a 1000M time of 23:54. My time is consistently improving bit by bit.

I've been thinking a bit about my first triathlon and thought I'd share some about that. I was 21 years old and the year was 1984. At my Mom's encouragement, I had gotten into bicycling and was spending a lot of time at OutSpokin' Bicycle Shop in Columbia, SC. OutSpokin' is a great shop and would sponsor some cool riders to come into town. Anyway, John Howard was visiting and the 1984 Summer Olympics were on. I have some faint memories of us watching some of the Olympics with him and he had a funny look on his face during the televised cycling. He'd competed in the Olympics in 1968, 1972, 1976, and had made the 1980 team which didn't get to compete due to the boycott of the Moscow games. He had won the Hawaii Ironman in 1981 and would go on to set a world speed record of 152 MPH on a bike in 1985.

Anyway, that weekend a group of us were going to do a sprint triathlon. It was the "Lake City Tobacco Festival Triathlon"! Isn't that classic? We went down the day before the race, carbo loaded with spagetti, and attended the pre-race meeting. Isn't that funny they had a pre-race meeting for a sprint? Remember, these triathlon things were pretty new, especially in the countryside of South Carolina. John Howard decided to do it for fun but not compete for the prizes.

Saturday morning, I was in the next to last heat to hit the pool. I came out last in my heat and headed out to my bike. It was an old Raleigh racing frame from the late sixties that I had configured with parts from the used parts bin at OutSpokin'. I was quickly passed by the last heat racers and started my run as the last competitor running the course. As a safety measure, the race organizers had an ambulance following the field and it was right on my heels. Several times I wanted to stop during the run and walk for a minute but I was sure that the ambulance guys would make me hop in... so I kept running. As I saw the crowds and the finish line a few hundred yards ahead, a funny thought crossed my mind and I picked up a couple of tobacco leaves from the side of the road where they had fallen off the tobacco trucks. I raised them high as I crossed the finish line of the Lake City Tobacco Festival Triathlon and the crowd cheered me like I'd won. John Howard was there. He had finished first but didn't let it count. He and the official winner greeted me and if I remember right there was some cold Coors beer for us all.

Over the years I moved away from fitness and gained pounds. By 44 years old, I had ballooned to 359 pounds. When I started losing the weight, my first goal was to run a triathlon again. Eight months later I weighed 244 pounds and organized a sprint triathlon in Chiang Rai, Thailand, where I was living. There were eleven of us racing and I came in 6th... It's my best finish yet!

On September 27th, at 46 years old, I'll jump in the water with 3200+ other competitors to run the Ironman Augusta 70.3. I'll celebrate the weight lost and the fitness gained. I'll celebrate health and triathlon. I'll celebrate life.

It's great to be back in the game!

This Blog has moved

This blog has moved to blog.sabaifitness.com

I'd love to have you come join me there!

Blessings, William

Incredibly... I'm Large!

I was disappointed but not surprised that I'd gained weight during the past month of moving, packing, vacations, and travel.  I'm already back "in training" and working off those pounds and working toward new lows.

Something really exciting happened this past Friday.  We took the kids out to buy school supplies and some clothes and while walking through Kohl's I was amazed by all the clothes that are now available to me as an XL.  Something strange happened though...  Every XL I held up seemed huge. They were all big and boxy and seemed significantly larger than what I need to be wearing.

Looking through one of the sale racks while my wife was busy with the kids, I noticed this great print shirt in a color I love.  It was a large.  I held it up and realized, "I think it will fit!"  I went to the changing room, tried it on, then modeled it for the kids.  It did fit!  The proof is in the picture above.

Incredibly... I'm Large! 

I still have a smile on my face and am amazed... 

Cha-cha-cha-cha-Changes

What a lot has changed in a year!

One year ago, my family was returning to Thailand after a few months visit in the states.  Today is our first full day back in the states, where we will be making our home in Simpsonville, SC.

One year ago, I weighed 359 lbs and looked like the picture on the left.  Two days ago, as I was passing through the exit passport check in Thailand, the immigration officer scanned my passport and then looked at me with serious concern.  "This is not you!", the officer spoke.  I said "What?" and looked at the image she showed me on her computer screen.  It was me as I entered Thailand a year ago.  All the fat and my beard made me look like a different person.  I started laughing as she looked at me confused.  I told her I'd lost 50 kgs over the past year and yes, the picture was me.  She smiled and processed my exit stamp on the passport.

My first thought was how I looked forward to blogging this.  How funny!

On a sad note, I weighed in last night and had gained some weight during the move and vacations.

I'm not going to fret too much as I get to begin my routine in America today.  This afternoon looks like a great time for a walk/run.  There's fresh strawberries in the fridge to go with the homemade granola that my Mother-in-law made for us yesterday.  What a blessing!

I'm writing this at 5:40 am, since my jet lagged body didn't want to sleep past four.  It's great to be back in America, back to blogging, and back in my foundational four:  workouts, healthy foods, water, and sleep.

It's hard to explain how excited I am to get into a healthy routine again!

Rock Climbing in Krabi, Thailand

Yesterday the weather cleared enough to grab a boat and head to Railay Beach, on a nearby island. The objective... rock climbing!

I took a course in rock climbing for a PE credit in college at Montreat. I loved the challenge and this was something I really wanted to try again. Our vacation in Krabi offered the perfect opportunity. There are huge limestone outcroppings all over the place here and there are several companies at Railay beach who offer rock climbing.

We had a blast and it was really challenging. There are so many lessons to be learned from climbing. Here are a few that I was thinking of yesterday:

• What looks impossible from the ground is quite possible once you're on the rock and climbing. I think many challenges in life seem so daunting until you get started.
  
• It doesn't help to stay still and thinking too much. Energy and momentum is lost by staying in one place. You get far higher by moving on, even when you're not sure you can make it.
  
• Overcome your fear because the downside doesn't exist. What happens if you miscalculate and slip off the rock? The rope catches you and you get to regroup. So often we worry about the "what ifs", when in reality, the downside isn't that bad.
  
• The downside wasn't bad because of the planning and preparation that went into the climb before it happened. Ropes were set, special clamps and safety harnesses were tested, and people were trained.
  
• It's a lot more fun living an active life being challenged! 

I'm thankful for this opportunity to spend some great time with the family and be challenged by rock climbing again.

Here's a link if you want to see some pictures: picasaweb.google.com/Thaihaynes/Rock
ClimbingKrabi 

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

We've been in the process of moving 1/2 way around the world, which is no small feat with a family of five. Ever since Cindy and I got back from our anniversary trip, we've spent a bulk of each day packing, selling, shipping, or other fun activities associated with moving. The Good: My weight loss has maintained during this time, even though my workouts have not been consistent at all. The Bad: It's been a lot harder to get in my workouts with things packed, the gear sold, and a crazy schedule. The Ugly: It's not only the workouts that are crazy... We have no fridge anymore which means the next two weeks will be eating out exclusively. The next time I'll get a homecooked meal will be July 27th! We're leaving Chiang Rai today and are finished with our home. Everything is packed and shipped and our airline cases home are packed as well. Today our family is heading to Krabi, for a final family trip to the beach in Thailand. Emily and I plan to rock climb at Railay Beach and Cindy's going to parasail. It's going to be an active vacation with lots of family time together. I'll take it... The good, the bad, AND the ugly! I'm just happy that I'm heading back to the states 120 lbs lighter and looking forward to seeing the reaction of my friends who haven't seen me since I weighed 359! We'll be back in the states on July 26th...

Thai Boxing

Today I got to try my hand (and feet) at Thai boxing. The resort has free lessons several times a week as part of their fitness program. After 20 minutes of warm up and initial instruction, I got to punch, kick, and knee the instructor over the next half hour. While I got in some good connects, I'm still sore the next morning.

It was a great workout. Cindy and I also went for a run/walk this morning and did water aerobics in the pool near midday. It's been a great holiday and I realized yesterday that I'll be coming back home more fit after my break than before I left! That's wonderful and such a change from the days of vacation meaning that I need to be a slug.

The other funny realization is that the people here have no idea that I used to weigh 120 lbs more! To them, I'm just a fit guy who loves to exercise and be outdoors. It's been really interesting over the past few months as I get to know new people. Their perception of me is that fitness is just who I am and how I live... I like that :-)