Having a quick glance at some of my previous posts, one could be forgiven for thinking I have some kind of sadistic fondness for starting, failing, re-starting and re-failing  (is that even a word?) all weight loss and fitness ventures.  I’m a really good starting, but I’m not so hot on the follow through and actual completion.  Okay, so I did the Outlaw marathon last year as part of a relay team, but having died on my arse in the heat that day, I don’t really view it as a crowning achievement, that’s for sure.  Anyway, as I said, I do like to start things, so here I am, embarking (yet again) on a bid to shift some timber and become the supermodel I’ve always dreamt of being (assuming supermodels can still eat cake).  Or something like that.

In my last post I promised that I would post my weekly weight loss figures, or at least every couple of weeks.  Knowing that I have to ‘fess up on here, as it were, will help keep me focussed.  That’s the plan anyway!  So I had a look through some old posts, and at the time I’d written one of them, I was weighing in at the very hefty weight of 16st 13lbs.  However, at some other point last year (before I wrote that post), I did weigh in at the even heftier 17st 3lbs (the weight of one of The Rocks’ biceps, probably), so i’m taking that as my original start weight (the heaviest i’ve ever been – she’s says, not very proudly), and i’ll post my losses compare to that weight.  Which gets me (eventually) to the point – i’m 14lbs/1 stone lighter now.  I reckon i’ve still got  5 stone to lose.  I’ve got some vague targets, but actually i’m not going to write them all here at the moment.  I’ll see how it goes (i.e. how much I seem to be shifting over the next month or so), and that’ll give me an idea of whether my targets are realistic or not.  I swithered about putting the actual weight down, and then reckoned since I’d mentioned it previously, and also as a way of not hiding (I want to be accountable, remember?!), I thought “what the hell”.

However, rambling about my weight wasn’t the only reason for this post.  Despite promising myself I wouldn’t sign up for any more races until i’d lost a fair chunk of weight, I completely ignored myself and decided to sign up for the Outlaw Half Ironman next May.  The course consists of a 1,900m swim, 56 mile bike ride and a 13.1 mile run to finish.  I was really lucky to get in, as it sold out in 2 days.  So what made me change my mind?  A few reasons actually:

• having spent a lot of time recently watching others compete in triathlons, I want to get back out there myself
• I just like having a fitness goal
• I’ve finished a Half IM before (Bala in 2010 (or was it 2009?) – I may have been last, but I finished!), so I know I can do this distance
• training for a half is a lot more manageable than it is for an Ironman, and I can fit it around my life more easily.

I had already planned to do a half distance this year (The Vitruvian), but decided a few months ago that my heart wasn’t in it, and I’d rather support.  Luckily for me, the lovely Happychap (a.k.a. Nicky) has offered to be my mentor for the Outlaw Half, so i’m really pleased about that, as she has a lot of knowledge and experience, and her help will be invaluable.

To that end, i’ve not sorted out all my plans in terms of training for the tri and in the time leading up to it, but I have a lot of thoughts, and once things are firmed up, i’ll do another post about it.  

In the meantime I need to stop waffling because i’m heading to the gym for a little swim 🙂

Toodle-pip.