Just get out there and do it

I was out on a run a few days ago and thought, “Ain’t it great to be out here and enjoying the simple pleasure of running.”

A training plan is certainly essential if you are pursuing specific performance goals, but I am enjoying not following any sort of plan right now – that will come soon enough. I think some downtime needs to be scheduled every year and this is that time for me.

It feels great not to have any restrictions whatsoever. I open the door, head out and whatever I feel like doing, I do. I run or bike whatever distance, at whatever time, and with no regard for heart rate. And such freedom feels awesome. It is not like I dislike the structured or harder stuff, but this carefree approach keeps things fresh for me.

The same thing goes for swimming. I should be swimming in a faster lane at my swim club but I have backed things up so I can work more on technique, rather than try to pound it out and keep up with at a faster pace. Plus, with my bum shoulder, I don’t want to get injured and get burned out from swimming. I went from swimming 3-6 times maximum a year for 10 plus years (a few times during an Ironman race week), then I joined the Markham Masters Swim Club last year and had a blast. I totally enjoyed 99% of my workouts (you can’t love them all), I became a much more well rounded athlete, and I improved my best Ironman swim split by over 6 minutes. For the next few months, I will enjoy my “relaxed” time and cool lanemates because once the new year rolls around, those faster lanes will put a serious hurt on me. Hopefully, my shoulder will be ready.

So, just get out there and enjoy being active. We are experiencing some pretty nice weather right now so take advantage of the outdoors. Just last week I ran 3 days in a row and was going to take the next day off, but it was such a beautiful day out, I just went out and run anyway – and the day after that too for that matter. So just get out there and do what feels great. Go for a roller blade, mountain bike, nature hike, or whatever. Who knows how long this weather will last?

As this weight loss challenge is concerned, I’ve shed 2 lbs from last week, so I’m down to 183 lbs. For about 3 days this past week I actually hovered in the 181 lb range, but I ate back up to 183 to make my weight loss more gradual. On to another week.

Congratulations go out to all MultiSport Canada Series Award winners. Yesterday’s banquet at the Mississauga Golf and Country Club was a perfect close to the 2009 season.

Have a great week!

Roger