I'm back different...

I can't believe the last time I blogged was February 5th. So much has happened since then.

The big thing is I quit my job as a Silicon Valley president to move to Boise for 90 days with a documentary crew to follow me on my journey to create the next big social app. An either billion dollar idea or bust. We still don't know yet which it will be. It's called Salmon Social and you can read about the journey here as I blogged daily.

In the process I started somewhat in shape as I did Ironman Cozumel in December and over this 90 day journey I gained about 15 lbs and got somewhat out of shape.

Here's why...my total training hours
January - 8.33 hours
Feb - 21.34 hours
March - 28.87 hours
April - 11.28 hours
May - 15.58 hours

For a grand total of 85.4 hours over 5 months.

To put it into perspective in November 2013 alone I did 61.19 hours of training just before Cozumel.

I now have exactly 8 weeks to go from no real training base to full Ironman ready in 8 weeks. I also need to ideally bring my weight down 20 lbs. I'm about 206 lbs right now and need to be around 185 lbs.

This past week has been my first week back training since getting back from Boise and it was very unexpected when I felt so lousy. I've went periods of time without training before but I've never had it kick my butt when I get back to training. This week I had my butt kicked. It was kind of scary.

I wasn't sure if it was the climate change or just I'm out of shape and heavier than I have been in over 7 years.

This week I was riding and a guy name George pulled up and we started talking. I told him I loved it out here. He asked where I'm from and I said Winnipeg. Then it dawned on me. I've been here now for 10 years. I'm no longer a new bee from Winnipeg. I'm an Ontarian after 10 years.

That got me thinking that I got back into Ironman shape in 2007 by dropping 50 lbs and doing my Ironman comeback in 2008 at Ironman Louisville. Fast forward 7 years and so much has happened. In 2010 I qualified and did Kona and now in 2014 I'm back being about 25 lbs overweight and out of shape and since 2008 I did 8 Ironmans.

Fitness is a zero sum game. It doesn't care nor take into account what you've done in the past. If you don't keep training you lose it. The only benefit to once being in shape is your body has muscle memory and it can bounce back a little faster than those that do not have it.

These past 5 months have been a major life changing experience for me on so many levels. I think getting older makes one more motivated to want to change one's life for the better.

I made a decision that this is going to be my best ever summer. My last best ever summer was when I was 13 years old and didn't have to work a summer job and hung out with my buddy Jerry. What made it was a great summer was I had a ton of fun. I was staying with my grandmother and found $300 in her drawer and as the summer progress I took $20 at a time and had fun with it. Then found some coins I sold when we rain out of that money.

By the end of the summer it was gone and I was done when I got busted. I paid a heavy disciplinary price and eventually paid it back with earnings from selling popcorn at the Winnipeg Jet's games and it was an ugly situation when I got caught. I then replaced the coins in my 30's.

Looking back it was also the greatest summer of my life. I want this year to be the greatest summer of my life and to make that one number two.

Having the greatest summer is not about having a great summer of training. It's about having a well rounded great summer on all level, especially with my family.

This summer I want to....

* Spend as much time outside enjoying the weather even when I'm working. I want to work from outside if the weather is nice. Too many summers past I worked all day and never saw the light of day.

* Put my family ahead of training and still not sacrifice training.

* Enjoying and valuing the little things. Like sitting having a coffee or walking around a shopping mall or sitting on a park bench watching.

* Get rid of unnecessary life noise, that which takes away from the richness of life. Things like getting caught up on Facebook or Twitter for no value other than fighting boredom.

* Enjoy every meal and every beer.

* Do things that have no end goal. Like going to a concert or festival. Volunteer.

* Smell the roses. Appreciate what I have.

* Enjoy the summer launching Salmon Social.

At 48 years old and after all those years of experiences am I only now starting to fully understand the errors of my ways and what is truly important in life. I now feel hurried to make the best of the amount of time I have left. Strange part is I may have 30 more good years left yet at my age you never know, it could be 3 months or 3 years.

All I know is I have this overriding sense that I need to chill and start enjoying life with those I love around me.