What on earth am I thinking?

BIG congrats on your decision.  You will find a bunch of us here with a similar background.  You are amongst friends! 

BT was designed for people like you and me.  Welcome.  Enjoy!  Good luck!

Hey Avi,

Congrats on the weight loss and your commitment to changing your lifestyle.  That's what is is all about!

All of us here became crazy at one time or another and decided to become triathletes too for various reasons.  I'm 41 and when I started all of this was in the worst shape of my life and weighed 205.  In Jan of 2002 my daughter thought it was more fun to bite than suck and my wife had enough, so my wife & I started "getting back into shape"!  I'm now a fit 170 have done several triathlons and run races and am working on Half Ironman training for a race this November. My wife ran a Half marathon last Nov and is addicted to spin classes and running.  These weren't even conceivable 2 years ago.

You'll find training will have the usual up and downs.  I've stopped and started again too many times over the years but since this past December have been pretty consistent barring injury and illnesses that occurred.  Over on the Challenge Me discussion topic you'll see various challenges that have been done over the past 6 months that have helped me stick with it, swimming in Dec, Running in Feb, Multi sport in April & May and Biking now in June.  It really helps to have the support and encouragement of your peers here on BT and a training plan that you can use as a guide to keep you progressing. 

Best of luck and feel free to ask away, we all did!

Don

Yeah, what where you thinking??  I'll take a stab at answering that:

You MIGHT have been thinking that you needed to set a B-HAG (Big Hairy A$$ Goal)  for yourself and you DID just that by choosing triathlon.  In choosing triathlon you are already ahead of the couch dwellers and weekend warriors. 

Or perhaps by committing to a training plan to reach physical fitness goals for yourself, you subconciously wanted to be THE role model for you kids.

Of course that's just what I can come up with on the spur of the moment.

Congrats and you WILL reach your goals.  Get ROCKIN and Keep ROCKIN!!!

Signed,

250lbs at Christmas and 228lbs as of this morning.

Free Tip (and worth every cent you paid for it):

Mary - get familar with the log function and inspires.  By logging your workouts and having others check in on you from time to time....you'll find yourself with an extra measure of motivation.  Also, check other's logs.  They are great sources of inspiration and info. 

Good Luck! 

I am a (almost) 37 year old mother of three (last one born in 2001)- so we were on similar life plans...

 anywhoo...what I have learned is that "a fit mom is a powerful mom" (stolen from Moving Comfort) ...in so very many ways.

I am going to share one poem with you from Womens Bodies Womens Wisdom- which is a must for all of you moms out there...

"In a society preoccupied with how best to raise a child, I'm finding a need to mesh what's best for my children with what's necessary for a well balanced mother. I'm recognizing that ceaseless giving translates into giving yourself away, you're not a healthy mother and you're not a healthy self. So now, I'm learning to be a woman first and a mothee second. I'm learning to just experience my own emotions without robbing my children of their individual dignity by feeling their emotions too. I'm learning that a healthy child will have his own set of emotions and characteristics that are his alone. And, very different from mine. I'm learning the importance of honest exchanges of feelings because pretenses don't fool children, they know their mother better than she knows herself.

I'm learning that no one overcomes her past unless she confronts it. Otherwise, her children will absorb exactly what she's attempting to overcome. I'm leaning that words of widom fall on deaf ears if my actions contradict my deeds. Children tend to be better impersonators than listeners. I'm leaning that life is meant to be filled with as much sadness and pain as happiness and pleasure. And allowing ourselves to feel everything life has to offer is an indicator of fulfillment.

I'm learning that fulfillment can't be attained through giving myself away but, through giving to myself and sharing with others. I'm learning that the best way to teach my children to live a fulfilling life is not by sacrificing my life. It's through living a fulfilling life myself.

I'm trying to teach my children that I have a lot to learn because I'm learning that letting go of them is the best way of holding on...

 So, if you want to do a triathlon...do it!

i was about to tell half your story for you toska. i met toska last w/e at our first tri, not knowing she was a fellow bt-er. a true inspiration and what a body!

good luck on your new goal and enjoy it!