The other weight training

Numbers, numbers, numbers. Training for a triathlon is full of numbers. Goals, targets, zones, distances, paces and now, weight and percent body fat. I started this by deciding that I had to weigh 135 lbs in order to run as fast as I want to. That's not a dramatic a weight loss for me -- about 7 pounds. Given that I've lost about 10 pounds from when all this triathlon madness began, that doesn't seem so tough, right??

But nothing is ever easy and isn't each pound supposed to be harder than the last? Not to mention, skinny just isn't in my genes. When I look around my family I see exactly zero people you'd be tempted to call "skinny" and quite a few you'd call, to avoid more negative terms, "big-boned". And yet, taking the fatalistic view and just giving up seems like a cop out.

So recently I took a body composition test during a "health fair" at work. The nice lady told me that 26% of my body mass is fat. Mmm mmm. Turns out body composition is a popular test among triathletes, but all the other female tri bloggers seem to be in the teens! I can't even imagine what I'd look like at 15% body fat. I would certainly not look like the person I think of as me, and I rather like me.

So what is my aspiration? To run fast. To be low risk for injuries. And to be the curviest fast girl out on the course!