What "The Flu" Taught Me

I recently had a nasty bout of the flu.  Not the 24-hour-stomach-flu but real Influenza.

It floored me.  No energy whatsoever for a week, and pretty limited the week after that. 

What did I learn?

• Despite 3 weeks between rides, after a couple of trainer sessions I rebounded to where I had been pre-flu!  This was surprising and a relief.  You kind of feel like your body is decimated, but in reality all that work from years past doesn't just vanish in a few weeks.
• It is possible to gain weight while sick with the flu.  I have proved it.  Mostly I was overcompensating for that sense of fatigue by eating, which didn't actually help my energy levels and resulted in me adding another few pounds to my already inflated waistline. 
• Running while overweight still sucks - I feel sluggish and gross

Fortunately I've managed to drop a few pounds in the week since with my Intermittent Fasting / Calorie Reduction plan, so I expect to be back in fighting shape very soon!

2015 Goals

I'm sick with the flu, so figure it's a good time to look ahead (while I endure the present!).

2014 Goal Check

I set some goals in 2014:

Goal #1 - beat my previous Ironman time (13:57)

Done!  12:54.

Goal #2 - lose lots of weight

Nope.  In fact I'm heavier now than last year at this same time.  I just didn't get going with it.

2015

Goal #1 - lose weight!  I have a plan and a chart and everything. You can't fail if you have a chart.

Goal #2 ... I honestly can't think of anything I really need to do.  I am not doing a big Ironman or marathon or climbing Kilimanjaro, I'm just going to keep healthy and active and do events I enjoy.  Is that a goal?  Enjoy active stuff!

Good enough for now.

Bye to 2014!

Final cycling mileage: 6137km

That is probably as far as I will ever bike in a season, given that I have no plan to go back to Ironman...

It didn't feel like that much.  About the only time it felt like I was forcing myself to go out was during the peak of Ironman training, but even then it was hardly a chore.  I just love being out there.

All in all a successful year.  I felt motivated, saw some results I was happy with, and just generally felt good.

Only trouble is right at the end of 2014, I've let my weight get out of hand... so that's something I'll need to address in 2015.  No big.