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Beth Willard
Last Spring I completed the Wilmington YMCA Triathlon. A spring
tri, it was a 1500 meter swim, 12.4 mile bike, 3.1 mile run. A complete
novice, I trained for a short 3 months and rode a mountain bike for the
cycling portion! What a feeling of accomplishment at the finish line,
but it didn’t start off that way….
The tri was March 31st and I signed up January 3rd.
I started my training hating every minute of it. I hated being in a
bathing suit at the pool. I couldn’t breathe when I ran. I felt
cumbersome on my bike and out-of-place at the gym. I was miserable.
Somewhere throughout my training I saw a quote that helped me
change my attitude. It became my mantra:
“What the mind
believes, the body achieves”
When I started to get
negative during a run or a swim, I would say those words over and over
to myself. After a few weeks the pain subsided. I started feeling
good. No, I felt great! I went to bed tired and woke up refreshed. I
lost weight! I actually learned to enjoy the running, and still do. I
‘inherited’ a road bike that I LOVE! I’m still not a great swimmer, but
I haven’t given up. That
was nearly a year ago, when I lived in Wilmington. I’m now here in
Asheville sitting at my desk staring at a yellow post-it bearing those
very words. I take them with me wherever I go!
Chuck
Bennett
I managed to lose a bit of weight last year (acutally about 50
lbs) mostly by hiking and walking. I try to hike at least once per week,
and if I am going to spend the time and gas to get to a nice location, I
try to hike at least 5-6 hours. I don't walk all that fast - maybe 2-3
miles per hour, so this is enough time for a 10-12 mile hike with plenty
of time for rest stops and lunch. This area
has so many beautiful places to hike within a short drive. What a
blessing to live in the Asheville area. As my capacity to walk uphill
increased, I started to look for hiking trails with a good vertical
climb.
One of my favorite trails is the
Baxter Creek trail
(http://www.carolinamtnclub.com/hikedetails.asp?which=Mt.+Sterling+via+Baxter+Creek+Trail)
with a 4100 ft
vertical climb in 6 miles. The Mountains to Sea trail offers many nearby
opportunities without so much uphill walking:
http://www.ncmst.org/.
I also go to the gym
a lot, but nothing beats getting out on the hiking trail, especially in
the spring.
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