When Jane lived in the UK she was busy. She was in charge of the headhunting division of a pan-European firm. Then it happened. She moved to the US, in her own words Jane “became an expert luncher.”  Then, in her forties she discovered triathlons—and her life was never the same.

Name: Jane Booth

Birthday: 23 May

Location: San Mateo, California

Website: http://transformedbytriathlon.com

Diet Detective: Hey Jane, so glad that you’re participating in this interview. My first question is your interesting history of how you got into fitness?

Jane Booth: I got into fitness totally by accident. I was a contented fortysomething who hadn’t done any exercise for over twenty years. Then I was gripped by this inexplicable urge to do a triathlon. No warning. Just a voice in my head that said, “quit whining and buy running shoes!” It was quite scary, because doing any sport was a long way outside my comfort zone. But I persevered, even though I wasn’t quite sure why I was doing it, and built up my swimming, cycling and running for one whole year until I could do my target race – an Olympic-distance triathlon in San Jose, CA. That was four years ago. I still train and compete, and now I couldn’t imagine my life without it.

Diet Detective: What was it like competing in your first triathlon?

Jane Booth: Exhilarating but painful! It was a sprint (short distance) tri at Millerton Lake, near Fresno, CA, which was a practice race for San Jose. I had a few pre-race nerves, but felt confident I could do the 400-yard swim, 13-mile bike and 3.1-mile run because by then I could do those distances in training. The swim went well, but at the turnaround point on the bike course, I fluffed my gear change, dropped the chain and then fell off my bike. The end of the handlebar jammed against my thigh and for the next 15 minutes I had a bruise appearing with the imprint of the handlebar logo on it! I somehow finished the bike course, calmed myself down and then set off to run – and went faster than in training. The exhilaration when I crossed the line, after the pain and shock of the bike spill, is something I’ll remember for a long time.

Diet Detective: The idea of competing in a triathlon seems intimidating to the average Jane or Joe.  Any recommendations? Advice?

Jane Booth: Well, I still am the average Jane! I was intimidated at the beginning. Triathlons come in three distances, so start with the short one which is the sprint distance. You can also enter most triathlons as a relay team, so get together with two buddies and each of you do one leg. That way, you get to find out what great fun the sport is sooner than you would on your own.

Triathlon is a great community and many triathletes will be happy to share advice either face to face, on message boards or on websites, so ask around for advice on training plans, transition tips etc. You can also find a lot of beginner training groups – for example at the YMCA, at Team in Training, or go to http://www.usatriathlon.org/, the national governing body of triathlon, and find a local club. Finally, remember it’s not so much about competing against others, as competing against yourself – to push yourself to do your best, whatever that may be. That feeling of achievement when you cross the line is the reward for your training, and for your determination to do something outside yourself.

Diet Detective:  You talk about that “aha” moment when you finally understood what your “bizarre journey” had all been about? Can you talk about that?

Jane Booth: It came in the middle of the running leg of the San Jose Triathlon – my target race. The swim and bike legs had gone pretty well, but early in the run my calves cramped so badly, I felt like I had knives cutting into my legs with every step. It was so painful, I was on the point of giving up. And at that moment, the same voice that had told me earlier to “quit whining and buy running shoes,” now told me that I wasn’t giving up – that this was why I was here. I had to prove to myself that I had a core of inner strength to push me through times like this. So I gritted my teeth and forced myself through the pain with a mix of running a quarter mile, then taking a two-minute walk as reward. It was gruesome. But at mile four, I had this vision of reaching inside myself for just a few seconds and touching an inner core of steel. And that was when I knew I’d achieved what I set out to do. I needed to prove to myself that I had the inner strength to overcome adversity by trying something that was way outside my comfort zone.

Diet Detective: How has becoming an endurance athlete changed your attitudes, aspirations and whole approach to life?

Jane Booth: Obviously, I’m physically much fitter than I was and that gives me more energy to cram more into the day. Before, I might have gone home after work and crashed in front of the telly with my dinner on a tray. Now, on nights I don’t train, I’ll often do something extra – see friends, go to choir rehearsal, catch a movie with my husband. But the mental changes were more profound and caught me completely by surprise. After pushing myself through that agonizing six-mile run, I had a newfound confidence that I could rely on my steely inner core when life threw me a curveball. And my goodness, only months after I finished the San Jose Tri, I had to deal with some nasty curveballs, which I talk about in the book.

I’m also not afraid any longer to step outside my comfort zone. I’ve broadened my horizons and now surprise myself with the exhilaration of trying something new. My husband and I were in Costa Rica on vacation this year, and I whizzed around on zipwires above the tree canopy, even though I’m nervous of heights. It was such a blast, and my life is enriched by trying things like that.

Diet Detective: Have you changed the way you eat? If so, what are some of the changes?

Jane Booth: I did change the way I eat when I started training, but that was driven by finding out I had elevated cholesterol. I aim for a maximum of 10g of saturated fat per day and eat plenty of vegetables. I also like high fiber foods – multigrain bread, brown rice, wholewheat pasta, etc. Recently I’ve discovered http://www.portfolioeatingplan.com/, based on research by the University of Toronto, which showed a cholesterol reduction of 20% to 30%. So I’ve now increased my intake of plant sterols (mainly by using Benecol spread) and added one ounce of almonds a day to my high fiber, lowfat diet. The plan also calls for 50g of soy protein, but as I’ve only just discovered tofu, and I can’t stand soymilk, I have a long way to go on that one. I also take 2,000mg of flaxseed oil every day.

Diet Detective: If you could eat one forbidden or unhealthy food (candy, cakes, etc..) whenever you wanted without gaining weight, what would it be?

Jane Booth: Huge chunks of cheese. I moved from the UK to the US eight years ago, and  one of the main things I miss about England is the variety of hard cheeses – creamy Double Gloucester, tangy, nutty Red Leicester, white, mild, crumbly Wensleydale with a sharp bite at the end – can’t you just taste that?

Diet Detective: What is the one food or meal you always eat before training?

Jane Booth: Oatmeal, dripping in thick, sticky Lyle’s Golden Syrup, another UK comfort food. I don’t do well eating before training – no matter what I try, anything more solid than oatmeal gives me indigestion.

Diet Detective: What’s your favorite breakfast?

Jane Booth: A glass of pomegranate juice, half a ruby grapefruit, a slice of toast made with fresh homemade wholewheat bread covered in fat free cream cheese and kippered salmon. I used to eat toast and jam, but since I started training, I’ve lost a lot of my sweet tooth and I like to eat something savory for breakfast. And of course, English Breakfast tea with nonfat milk. At least a 12oz cup. Or two.

Diet Detective: What do you consider the world’s most perfect food?

Jane Booth: That’s the toughest question! Probably salmon –– smoked, baked with dill, salmon pate – so many ways to eat it and all delicious.

Diet Detective: On those days when you're not motivated to work out, but you should, what's the one thought that gets you going?

Jane Booth: That if I get changed into my workout gear and I still want to stop, then I can. It’s my choice. Of course, once I get my gear on, I start to feel the adrenaline and I march off to my spin class, masters swim or out on my run. If I let myself umm and ahh before I get changed, then I’m doomed. And I’ve only twice got changed and not worked out, and those were days when I felt a bit under the weather anyway.

Diet Detective: What person do you respect most, or who motivates you?

Jane Booth: I respect great athletes for what they’ve achieved, especially the British marathon runner Paula Radcliffe. But I have to admit they don’t motivate me because their experience is so different to mine and they perform at a level I can’t begin to imagine. I’m motivated instead by the people I meet along my training journey – for instance, by the woman I helped do her first 5k walk. She was seriously overweight and struggled to walk more than 500 yards, but she trained regularly, changed her eating patterns, lost 25lbs, and for her, the 5k was a lifechanging achievement. What she went through to get there was an inspiration to me, and reminded me that all of us can make changes, no matter where we are on the fitness ladder. I had tears in my eyes when she crossed the finish line.

Diet Detective: What do you do to reduce stress/relax/center your mind? Do you participate in an organized relaxation activity such as yoga, meditation or tai chi?

Jane Booth: I’ve tried yoga a few times because I think it should be good for me, but I’m very inflexible and I struggle so much to do the poses that I have no time for the meditative part. Running connects me with my core being – it allows my mind to go into free float while I get into a rhythm of running and breathing. I often come home with a solution to whatever problem has been nagging at me, even though I may not have been consciously thinking about it during the run. When I’m not running, I do sudoku puzzles – the more difficult, the better. Just focusing on something completely different for ten minutes is a great stress reducer.

Diet Detective: Do you have a Calorie Bargain?

Jane Booth: When my appetite hits at just the wrong moment, I eat a small portion of something with very high protein and a lot of flavor, like a slice of pastrami, an ounce of kippered salmon or a spoonful of jalapeno hummus. Protein takes the edge off my appetite straight away, whereas the more carbs I eat, the more carbs I want to eat – especially bread.

Diet Detective: What was your worst summer job?

Jane Booth: Working in a hotel in Bavaria, Germany, between school and university. I had a college place to study German, so the idea was to polish up my language skills. But in Bavaria they proudly speak “bayrisch,” an almost unintelligible dialect of German, so I had a very lonely time. I went on a cultural exploration of the region’s food – I ate a lot of sausage, cheese, every layered cream cake you can imagine and of course, Hefeweizen, the local brew. I added 14 lbs in three months. 

Diet Detective: Define failure.

Jane Booth: When I don’t meet my expectations. Because I’m not a natural athlete, every ounce of increased performance in triathlon is a big achievement for me. In the early days, I was beating myself up for not making huge strides of progress. Now I’ve learned to see the times I fail to meet a goal as a learning experience – to celebrate that I tried, analyze what went wrong and decide what to do differently next time.

Diet Detective: What’s the best book about health that you’ve read? (Aside from your own)

Jane Booth: I’ve recently read “Longevity Made Simple” by Richard Flanigan and Kate Flanigan Sawyer. It’s about how our lifestyle can affect whether we get one of the top ten diseases in the US – and what we can do to change that lifestyle. It’s not just about nutrition or exercise – it gives a really good overview of how to maintain balance in our lives.

Diet Detective: Do you have a pet?

Jane Booth:  No.

Diet Detective:  What’s next on your “to-do” list?

Jane Booth: On the “broadening my horizons” front, I’m going to try cross-country skiing and snowshoeing at Lake Tahoe this winter. I’m also getting more involved with programs to mentor people who have done no exercise for a long time to take that first step – I find such personal reward in seeing people change their lifestyle. And my husband and I are planning to start a small winery at our second home in the Sierra foothills next year – we’ll try our hand at making a barrel of Zinfandel. Hopefully the results will be drinkable!

Thank you!!!!

Bookmark:

TrackBack URI for this entry

Comments (0)

Subscribe to this comment's feed