F-athlete

That is supposed to be fat-hlete but doesn't really work due to the "th" sound.

Anyway, I have had a major rethink of the training situation and come to the conclusion that weight loss is going to be the single biggest thing that will help my tryathlon time. I've looked through all my times over the last 2 months and there doesn't seem to be much of a change. Obviously I've been doing that thing of "hey I've just exercised therefore I can eat anything I want now" and that sort of self-justification isn't healthy - literally.

In 1997 I went from 15 and a half stone to 12 stone 10lb in 2 and a half months by cycling every day. Although that's a bit to dramatic to be long term it still tells me that decent weight loss is possible. So what was the difference there?

Well, firstly I cycled EVERY day. I was on a mountain bike which takes more work than the racer and I was doing between 200 - 250 miles every 7 days. At the moment I'm probably doing around 100 with a bit of leisurely indoor trainer thrown in for good, but perhaps fruitless, measure. Also I was eating only 2 small meals per day and I wasn't snacking AT ALL. From the alcohol point of view, I would only drink when I was going out (which was rarely as I was staying at my parents) and then I would only have vodka and diet coke - which now would turn my stomach actually.

I guess what I'm trying to get at is that I was committed to dropping fat and that regime worked. It stayed off for quite a while but lack of will power and reduced commitment lead to it all coming back. I have to put some blame in the court of the GUU with all the free beer and free crappy food during the 2 years I was on the Board there. However, ultimately the fault is mine and I need to get that mind set back into my head.

I was reading that every extra kilo you carry requires an extra 3 watts of energy per meter to get you up a hill on the bike. Therefore, I am about 30kg over my ideal body weight so for a 100m stretch of climb I have to generate (3w x 30kg x 100m) 9000watts. If I did a 10km climb I would require almost a megawatt worth of extra energy. Crazy when you look at it that way. I'm sure that if I lost even 10kg by the triathlon then my times would be drastically better so that's the plan.

Absolutely no snacks

2 or 3 small meals per day

Moderate, low-cal booze if required

Plenty of water daily

Some exercise EVERY day

Mix together, cook at 36.5C for 9 weeks and serve up with your favorite sports drink on a platter of Stirling Triathlon - remembering to keep fingers crossed at all times.