This morning I got up and went for a run. I forgot my cycling shoes this trip so it’s been a couple runs instead of a couple rides. The Lake Placid Ironman is tomorrow and the little lake village is simply flooded with athletes. Somewhere around 3,000 folks will swim 2.4 miles, bike 112, and then polish it off with a 26.2 mile run.
I’ve never run with so many folks as I did this morning. They were all tapering for their big event tomorrow. Me, I was just taking in the scenery as I ran around Mirror lake for the second time.
And, I was reminded of why I am healthier today than I was on August 1, 2010. You see on 8.1.2010 I made a decision to change my relationship with sugar. I was riding my bike like a man possessed and felt like I was in the best shape of my life but I was NOT. I was “skinny fat,” or so I would learn. My body was storing all the sugar as visceral fat around my organs. I looked healthy. I was not.
Starting on August 1, 2010, I made a decision to focus less on the amount of miles I was ticking off and focus more on the amount of sugar going in. I now push, pull, plank, run, and ride. And, all told, I spend about 40% less time exercising than in the past. My focus is on what’s going in.
The 80-20 rule applies here. If you want to build a more healthy/physical lifestyle, invest 80% of your energy on changing your relationship to what you are putting into your system and 20% of your energy on exercise. Counter-intuitive it is. Lots of folks completing this ironman are not as healthy as they think. They, just like you and me, may need to build a new discipline around what’s going in.
I’m off for a nice walk with my Miss up to the local coffee shop. Gonna get some coffee with cream. No sugar…
BUILT TO LEAD 