HOW FIT IS FIT ENOUGH?
By Tim DeBoom
February 14, 2020
Before big races, I often had to do interviews or press conferences. I would say 100% of the time, I was asked the question, “So Tim, how do you feel? Are you ready?” If training had gone well, and if things had gone to plan, I answered the same way every time.
“I feel fit.”
I was critical of myself, and knew my body better than most people know their own, so if I said, “I feel fit,” it meant I was ready to try and uncork a good one.
My current definition of being fit has evolved drastically from my racing days. It doesn’t have to do with performance anymore, and I don’t judge myself after a test of my fitness level either.
My current definition of being “fit” is that I never want to say “no” to a workout, adventure, or even learning a new skill because I am too tired, not strong enough, don’t know how, or not “fit” enough to do it. If I’ve already had a great workout and tired myself out properly, and someone calls at the last minute to go out again, I want to say yes. Every time.
I also want to add to my skill set. I have friends who do things that I haven’t done or am not quite proficient at yet, so I push myself to get better. Then I don’t have to say no.
Super Bowl Sunday was a recent example of a day I was able to say, “I feel fit.”
My plan on the day was to get up early and skin a little on the mountain as the sun came up. I was having a great time and ended up going a little extra before I had to rush home. I ended up with about 4000 feet of vertical uphill when my plan was about 2500 feet.
I was rushing home, because Wilder had Alpine Ski Club back at the mountain, and Nicole and I were going to ski the 3 hours while she was there. After a quick turn around at home, I was back on the mountain riding lifts and enjoying a little day date with my wife. (Rare these days!) We even met Wilder for a couple runs throughout the morning. Total activity time at this point was going on 6 hours.
This is where the day’s plan took a turn to test my “fitness” a little. As we were driving home from the mountain, Nicole said she and Wilder were going to run a few errands downtown after lunch. For some reason, I said, “Great! Maybe I’ll go skate ski a bit while you run errands since it’s all right down town.”
Workout 3, and my 3rd ski of the day, was good to go! About an hour and a few laps around the nordic center later, I was meeting back up with the girls who had another curve to throw into my Super Bowl Sunday.
While I was out on my skinny skis, Wilder had been invited to one of her quarantine-safe friends for dinner. That meant Nicole and I could actually have another date! She asked if I wanted to skin up the mountain again for a sunset lap. (I actually wasn’t her first choice as she had asked all her friends first.)
I only hesitated to answer for a few minutes, as my feet were beginning to feel all the hours in different boots throughout the day, but I couldn’t say no. Another outdoor adventure with skis and a sunset thrown in was a recipe for good stuff.
Little did we know how good the stuff would be. The light was amazing and Nicole and I always have the best connection when out moving in nature. We got to the top of our climb and were blasted with our own crazy fan cheering us to the top.
We had an ecstatic snowcat driver hooting and hollering with enough stoke that it was contagious. He was letting us know that he had just groomed our entire run down, and we had it to ourselves.
If you don’t know, freshly groomed warm snow is like velvet. I’ll put it up against a good powder run any day. We proceeded to hoot and holler ourselves the whole way down. The picture at the top of this newsletter was on the way down and pretty much sums up the day.
My original plan was the sunrise uphill, a little lift-riding downhill, and a strength session later in the day. What I got was so much more. (A little over 9 hours worth of ski time!) I didn’t ever say no, and I felt very “fit.” (And I still got in some core work, because I never skip core!)
What’s your definition of “fit” right now? Send me a note and let me know.
Gear
A good base layer can make or break a workout. Some are too thick and cause you to sweat from the get go. Some are too light and can’t keep the chill off. Many claim to be wicking material, but never live up to the hype. And still others, start to stink even before they actually touch any of your skin or sweat.
I have a good amount of experience with lots of brands and different materials of base layers. I wear them everyday. For a few years of my career, I worked with the Swedish company Craft Sports. They definitely know about base layers and make some of the best.
As an athlete who likes to use reliable equipment till it breaks or disintegrates, I have taken good care of the last few remaining base layers I have from Craft. The pic above shows me wearing a Craft base layer that is probably 15 years old. It made it through my entire Super Bowl Sunday adventure. I stayed warm, dry, and Nicole didn’t complain of any offensive odors all day.
I still know the fine people at Craft Sports, and I know their innovation has probably made their latest base layers even better than these vintage versions I covet. When mine finally do disintegrate, I will definitely head back to them to grab some new ones. If you haven’t tried any Craft product or someone is beginning to complain about your odorous base layers, check them out.
Lifestyle
In a recent Instagram post, I mentioned a quote from the movie Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. If you haven’t seen the movie, shame on you.
The quote takes place while the title character and his friends are skipping school and sitting at a baseball game. Ferris turns to his friend and says, “Do you realize if we played by the rules right now, we’d be in gym?” Then they both give a good laugh.
I think everyone needs some days where life is so good, that they feel like they are getting away with something. Hell, everyday should feel like that! My whole career as a professional triathlete happened because I decided to not play by the “rules” that my parents and society expected. I definitely don’t regret it.
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Till next time…
All the best,
Tim