I love suspension training!

I've been using the off-season to relax, reduce the smell of chlorine in my hair, shop for a new bike, speed up my run and most importantly strengthen my core. I started Jillian Michael's 30-day shred and occasionally throw in No More Trouble Zones. I've also taken full advantage of Groupon, Living Social and other deals to try out classes and so far my absolute favorite class has got to be TRX!

TRX Suspension Training, in case you haven't heard of it, is a super intensive workout that targets every single muscle in your body. As the Firm Fitness Trainer says TRX exercises = a hard core work out and the ladies at MyThrivePilates have totally been kicking my butt. The classes that I've been taking are only 45-50min and while they fly by it doesn't always feel like it, especially when your muscles are burning and the instructor tells you you're only halfway through a 30-second interval. Seriously, how the hell does it take so long for 15 seconds to go by?

The plank part of the workout is both my favorite and least favorite part. Sometimes I can't help but crash onto my mat in the middle of a set. At the same time normal planks during my Jillian Michael's and PearFitness workouts are now a total joke, which can only mean one thing: my core has gotten stronger.

I can't give all the credit of my new core strength to TRX, but it's definitely been a huge part. I mean just try these 3 moves back to back for 30 seconds each and tell me how you feel afterwards:

TRX Atomic Push-Up

TRX Oblique Knee Tuck

TRX Side Plank with Threading Needle

(Photos courtesy of the Firm Fitness Trainer, who by the way has a sick sick core)

TRX is truly a great strength training workout and while I can't guarantee the quality of your local classes, I highly recommend trying it out!

Update (November 29, 2013):
If you can't afford TRX classes or don't have any classes in your area, I have found a great alternative: Home Suspension Trainer Systems! I've seen these online and at sports stores before, but I've always been skeptical about them. Could a system with a simple mount that you throw over the door really work?

Well, I've only used mine a few times, but so far it definitely works! Admittedly I work harder when I'm in the classes, but that's the case for me whenever I do things in a group versus by myself and even if you just use the system for 30 minutes, you can definitely get a good workout out of it.
There are many systems available (just google suspension training systems). On Amazon they range from $29.95 to $199.95. I'm sure some brands are better than others, but most had pretty good reviews. I decided to get the Sportline Quick Adjust Suspension X-Trainer which was reduced from $59.99 to $28.95 on Active GearUp a price that was too good to pass.

The kit includes:
A door anchor
3 Carabiners which are used to secure the rope to the door anchor and the different attachments to the suspension pods
2 Suspension pods that allow you to adjust the length of the rope
2 Handles
2 Foot straps
1 Foot cradle
Fitness guide and DVD with 12 exercises

Handles

The 2 handles can be used for a wide range of arm, upper body and lower body exercises. Some examples include various rows, chest press, chest fly, reverse fly, tricep press, bicep curls, push ups, squats and various standing ab exercises. YouTube is full of videos showing you how to do the various exercises as it the TRX website.

Side plank with foot straps

The leg straps are ideal for leg and core exercises, including my favorite: the plank and all of its variations. This is what the people in the 3 exercises pictured earlier are using to do the push-up, oblique knee tuck and side plank.

You might also be able to use the foot cradle for some of these exercises. The foot cradle gives you a little extra stability since you aren't working on stabilizing each individual leg.  Doing some of your regular floor core exercises using the foot straps or cradle brings up the intensity, because you have to constantly engage your stabilizing muscles.

My attempt to snap a picture of the foot straps while in plank

Oblique knee tuck with foot cradle

While I still highly recommend trying out TRX classes if they're available in your area, I know those classes can be expensive and think an at-home suspension system is a perfect alternative, especially if you have the discipline and motivation to work out at home. It's also perfect for me in the fall and winter when I find it extremely difficult to leave the house when it's cold and dark. It's also a great way to get a quick intensive workout in while traveling. It's lightweight, which makes it easy to pack and it's super easy to set-up. I definitely plan on taking it with me when I travel home next week!

Getting ready for some hamstring curls using the foot cradle

Note these pictures are taken on a door that closes away from me. While I have used this door before, I try to stick to the recommended set-up, which is on a door that closes towards you, so that the door doesn't fly open while you're working out. In case you're scared someone else will open the door, my system comes with a door hanger that says "Stop! Exercise in Progress. Do Not Enter." For your own safety, whenever you set up your system, follow the system's instructions.  

2014 the year of the Ironman!

Yep, I officially lost my mind today and am now signed up for 2014 Ironman 70.3 Raleigh in June and 2014 Ironman Louisville in August. That's right 2014 is going to be the year of the Ironman!!

Sorry future children, while I was going to wait for you to be around to witness me finishing my first Ironman, you'll have to see it in videos and pictures instead. But friends and family, please do consider coming out and supporting us in Raleigh and/or Louisville next year. I know I'm going to need as many Ironman sherpas and cheerleaders as possible, especially during the run! Both races promise to be hot, hot, hot and you'll need to hang around for anywhere from 6 to 14 hours, but I promise you it'll be worth it!

Seriously, I cannot tell you how scary it was to hit that complete purchase button. Not only are 70.3 (1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike and 13.1 mile run) and 140.6 miles (2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike and 26.2 mile run) intimidating numbers, the training that comes with it is pretty intense as well. Not to mention the mental and physical challenges I am sure to experience as I train and race each of these events. But now that it's done, I am beyond excited! In less than a year I should be able to call myself an Ironman!

In 2009, Pablo and I committed to complete the Climate Ride, a 300-mile ride from NYC to DC. Back then I could not imagine completing anything more intensive than that, but here we are committing to another amazing set of events. I knew there was a reason I married that man! We keep each other on our toes and make each other stronger every day and I cannot wait to start training for these races together! Here's to a super active 2014!

Triathlon season comes to an end...

My first official triathlon season has come to an end and I have to say I'm pretty pleased. In the weight arena I'm down to 152.8lbs (5lbs less than the last time I posted in June and 15lbs less than my starting weight of 167.5 in June 2012). Besides the weightloss progress, I've also achieved some milestones and personal bests in terms of triathlons. After Jamestown, I went on to complete 2 sprint triathlons, Nation's Tri (Olympic) on September 8 and ChesapeakeMan Bugeye Classic (Olympic with a half distance swim) on September 21.

Nation's was an awesome race! My parents came to DC to support me, which was super fun, because my dad hadn't seen me race since my 1st half marathon back in 2005. It was also awesome to race with fellow DC Tri Club members and pretty cool to set a new PR.

In June, I joined the DC Tri Club's Olympic Distance Speed Program, which propelled me to become more involved with the club and provided me with an awesome training plan. I swam 2-3 days per week for 45-60 minutes, biked 2-3 times per week, with at least 1 long ride and 2 bricks (bike followed by a run) and ran ~2 times per week. I also did some strength training and continued focusing on my nutrition plan. The results were fantastic! I swam the 1500m about a minute faster than Jamestown even though others complained about being slower in the water. The bike was brilliant and I shaved a whole 7 minutes off my 1:29:05 time, averaging about 17.5mph. The run was hot and slow and I was actually almost 1.5 minutes slower than Jamestown, but my total time was still 6 minutes faster (3:07:46)!

ChesapeakeMan was also pretty cool, because while Pablo couldn't be with me at Nation's, we were able to race the Bugeye Classic together. Given that this race was 2 weeks after Nation's I didn't plan to PR. The race had a half distance (1.2 miles) swim and two transition areas, so I took it as a perfect opportunity to start practicing for the half ironman. I aimed for a 45 minutes swim and ended up doing it in 46:16, which wasn't too bad considering the longer distance and the crazy amount of jellies we swam into (those buggers sting!) The bike was a super flat, but windy course and I was ecstatic to complete the 23 miles in just under 1:17 (close to 18mph, wohoo!!) Like Nation's the run was my worst leg. I don't know if I had just pushed too hard on the bike or if my lack of running between Nation's and Bugeye tooks its toll, but I came in at a weak 1:08:95. My total time was 3:16:25, which given the distance differences was still a better performance than Jamestown, although not quite as good as Nation's.


All in all, I am super happy with the 2013 season and I CAN NOT wait until 2014! In april I was almost an Athena (165lb plus women) placing dead last in my age-group. Now I'm halfway to my goal weight and at ChesapeakeMan I actually placed 2nd in my age group!

This past week I took off from working out, but tomorrow starts the off-season training plan which will last through January when Ironman training begins. The off-season probably won't look very different than my 2013 Oly training plan, except that I'm going to reduce my swim and bike load, mix in some yoga, TRX and other strength training and focus heavily on run speed workouts.

For 2014 I was initially going to sign up for 2 half distance triathlons, some shorter distance triathlons, maybe a couple of half marathons and a full marathon, but apparently I'm maried to a crazy man who has decided he'd like to do Ironman Louisville in 2014.

I had originally set my mind on doing an ironman in 2015 but had recently shifted to the idea of waiting until after I had kids (how cool would it be for your kid to see you finish an ironman?) But now there is a new option and I have to say I'm tempted...I mean if we're going to train together and I'm going to do the distances anyways, why not make 2014 the year of the Ironman?

My main concern is that I want to make sure I can train for it to meet the 17-hr finishing deadline while remaining injury-free. Inadequate training for our 300-mile bike ride left me with 2 painful knees and I clearly remember chasing the clock during my full marathon in Stockholm in 2005...miles 20-26.2 were BRUTAL and I was constantly running, or hobbling, against the cut-off clock. I can only imagine what those miles are going to feel like after a 2.4 mile swim and a 112 mile bike ride. Of course I'm in much better shape now than I was back then and more importantly I have a thorough understanding of the importance of proper training and nutrition. Realistically, I'm actually aiming for 14 hours, which would give me comfy 3 hour window to the midnight deadline....so what's stopping me?

It's probably fear, because why wouldn't you be scared of a 140.6 mile event that's going to take at least 14 hours. Fear is natural when considering this intense event. But there's a reason I recently acquired my first tattoo...



I'm stronger than fear.

I proved that to myself when I overcame a 20-year-old fear of dark water and I'm stronger than the 140.6 miles I'd need to conquer at IM Louisville. I'm still not 100% ready to commit, but I'm definitely getting there....

Small steps, long-term change!

"Small, seemingly insignificant goals can turn into life-changing experiences in the blink of an eye"
-Susan Lacke

We all set long-term goals, I know I do, I just did actually: Ironman 70.3 Raleigh, NC June 1, 2014 and possibly a full Ironman in 2015.

I haven't officially signed up for either, because registration isn't open yet, but Raleigh is my goal half ironman and I've got a whole lot of expectations for that race. I want to be at least 20 lbs lighter, I want to be faster in the swim, bike AND run, I want to feel stronger, look better and hopefully place in the top 50%.

Yep, I've got big expectations and I think that's okay, but let's admit it, humans are bad at long-term goals. The further away and bigger the goal, the more likely we are to procrastinate, make excuses and shift our goal. Ironman makes it a little harder, because registration is mighty expensive, so once you register, you don't really want to back out, but I could probably finish the race at my current weight and speed, so why set such high expectations?

Honestly?

Because I can. Because I deserve to be the best version of me and because I WANT to be the best version of me.



While my mind has already made this lifestyle a habit, I know in order to reach my long-term goal, I'm going to have to set some short-term ones. More importantly, I'm going to have to set realistic, attainable short-term goals that will keep me motivated.

I'm a behavior analyst, I know all about motivation and behavior change. It's what I do for a living and it's definitely what I am doing for my own training. I recently already gave you the basics: pair and condition the activities, take small steps, reinforce yourself and find your motivation.

But what does this actually mean?

Shaping: When creating new routines, you have to shape up the behavior. In run training programs you'll often see the Saturday long runs increase by as little as 10% every week. Not only is this the healthiest thing to do for your body (to avoid injury), it's also the best thing to do for your mind. Remember what Susan said, small insignificant change can turn into life-changing experiences. You've got to shape up your behavior and if you do it in small enough steps, you won't even know you're changing. Don't compare yourself to others. Collect your baseline pace and distance and build up from there. Most importantly, take it easy. It's good to be sore, but if you train right you can avoid injuries. Trust me, I know. I went from having all kinds of knee injuries to being completely injury free once I started following a plan.

Balance: Elite and endurance athletes look at their CTL (chronic training load) to help them decide when and how much to train. As Matt Fitzgerald explains in Racing Weight, CTL looks at the average training stress which includes duration and intensity of workouts. Humans it turns out have a maximum CTL. Exceed the threshold and you crash, get close to it without exceeding it and you can thrive. If you're really into racing like me, it might be worth investing in a TrainingPeaks account or some other software that can help you track your CTL.

Another option is following these basic rules:
1. Listen to your body: Don't make excuses, but if you feel tired or overworked, re-assess your plan, take a day off, go easier on yourself during your workout. Again, do not make excuses, but take care of yourself.

2. Balance your sleep, nutrition and training: Are you training too hard? Are you getting enough sleep? Are you fueling your body enough? Studies have shown correlation between sleep & performance and nutrition & performance, so if you don't focus on all three, you won't get very far.

3. Take breaks: The general triathlon rule is to take a break every 12 weeks. In general, take a break after an A race (like I did this week after my first Olympic). In the half Ironman training plan I recently downloaded, the coach actually suggests a recovery period every 4 weeks of training. This doesn't mean you dont' do anything during the recovery, it just means you take it easy on your body.

4. Try High Volume, Low Intensity training: What this basically means is that you train more, at lower intensity. Sure you can do the reverse, but if you do that you're more likely to exceed your CTL threshold and crash or get injured. Try training at 80% below threshold and 20% above it. For example, if you're going to do speedwork, start with a warm-up and end with a cool-down and mix speed intervals with recovery intervals, so that only 20% of your workout was an all out effort and the rest was lower intensity.

Nutrition: Depending on your current nutritional habits, it might be unfeasible to cut out all sodas, junk food, processed foods and a bunch of calories. The thing is, you don't have to. Cut out little bits at a time, make replacements gradually and identify those things you just can't live without (for me that's a lot of stuff, including cupcakes, margaritas, chocolate, eggs benedict, and cheese, so I'm finding ways to eat a healthy balance of those things).

Cutting all your favorites out for good will not work and more importantly, it will make you miserable. This is a lifestyle change, so the last thing you want is to be miserable.

Last, but not least, celebrate progress. Set small goals and celebrate them when you reach them. Whether it's completing an Olympic triathlon, losing 5 pounds or cutting out sodas from your diet.
Set the goal, commit to it, track your progress and celebrate when you reach the finish!

The finish line!

After a painful 3-hour drive through a bad rainstorm, we made it to our hotel in Jamestown and settled in for the night. In less than 12 hours we'd be completing our first Olympic distance triathlon! Pablo was of course a lot less nervous than I was. I wasn't just going to complete a new distance, I was also going to swim in a river! In case I haven't mentioned it yet, I have...or had...a massive fear of dark water. Growing up in the Caribbean I am used to swimming in clear blue, always see your toes water and while I've gotten into darker water, I've always stayed very close to the shore and before White Lake in April (which was a clear lake), I had never actually swam in a lake. Jamestown was going to be an achievement both physically and mentally.

To calm my nerves I focused on double-checking my gear bag: goggles, bike shoes, helmet, running shoes, gels...I went down the list and after checking it twice got ready for bed. I got a few good hours of sleep and before I knew it, the alarm was going off and it was time to go. We drove to the race, picked up our packets, set-up the bikes and headed to the swim start. THE SWIM START. The James River is already murky on good days, so imagine the brown water that awaited us after a day of storms. I let the fear take over for a brief minute and then I decided it was the perfect day to get over my fears.

Pablo went off on his warm-up swim and I did a pretend warm-up near the shore. I wasn't quite ready to overcome my fear. Then it was go time. Pablo's wave went first and I watched them as they aimed for the first buoy. I chatted with some of my fellow females and finally decided it was time to get a few minutes of swimming. Then it was our turn.

1500 meters, here we go. Yikes, I'm swimming in a dark river...no, no, you don't have time for that, focus! Swim, swim, breathe, swim, swim, breathe, sight, ok there's the bouy, keep swimming. I fell into a rhythm and before I knew it 35 minutes had passed and I was coming out of the water.

I DID IT! That's really all I could think of in T1. That and don't forget to put on your helmet.

The bike went pretty flawless. I was staying above 16mph, which was my goal and I enjoyed the perfect weather and beautiful scenery. There were a few riders with flats along the way and I did a little prayer to the triathlon gods to spare me, because I don't know how to change a flat. Before I knew it I had finished the bike in 1:29:05 (under 1:30, score!)

T2 was quick, because all I had to do was re-rack my bike, take off my helmet and switch my shoes.
The first finishers were coming in and I wondered where Pablo was on the run. The run was partly on trails and partly on a running path. I ran strong and got an extra boost when I saw Pablo as he was on the last mile or so of his run.

I was definitely getting tired during the last 2 miles and my mind starting messing with me, but the accomplishment of swimming in dark water and my self-motivating mantra gave me the boost I needed to finish strong. You got this, I kept telling myself. When I saw the finish line I picked up the pace and sprinted across - 3:13:44. Take that 3:15 goal!

Just last week I had had a disastrous training ride/run and I was worried that I wouldn't be able to finish at Jamestown and here I was finishing faster than I thought I could. 

The lesson I learned?

Whether it's an Olympic Distance Triathlon, overcoming a fear or simply starting a new journey. Our mind will quickly send us into doubt. I don't blame it. It's not easy and your brain knows it will be hard. It knows it will take strength, perseverance and willpower. Sitting on the couch, making excuses, saying tomorrow, those options are much much easier....but they are not as satisfying as the success you feel when you cross that finish line!

Today I conquered both my mental fear of dark water and the physical feat of an Olympic distance triathlon. Let me tell you, I have never felt so proud, accomplished or happy in my life. I have also never felt so strong both physically and mentally. I didn't come in first, I didn't break any records and I still have a long way to go, but today I accomplished a milestone and I am exhausted and elated!

From chore to habit

Let's admit it, at one point in your life (maybe right now) working out felt like a chore. I know it did for me. I'd drag myself to my workouts, making all kinds of excuses for why it was okay not to go.

Now I crave the workouts. I anxiously await my workday to end so I can jump in the pool, hop on my bike or put on my running shoes. I no longer make excuses not to workout, it's a habit. It's a need, it's part of my every day routine and a day without some activity feels strange.

How did I get here? As a behavior analyst I definitely looked at the patterns that helped me, and can help you, make working out a habit instead of a chore.

Here's some of the things that helped me:
1. If you don't love it now, you have to build up your love for it. In behavioral terms you have to condition or pair it. That said, pick activities you like, do it with people you like and find little ways to reward yourself.

2. It takes time. Don't expect to hate it today and love it tomorrow. Slowly build up how much time you spend working out and always celebrate small successes.

3. Challenge yourself. Let's admit it, humans are competitive. It's good to have a workout routine, but make sure you're constantly challenging yourself so it doesn't get boring.

4. Take advantage of technology! You could say that I'm an fitness app addict.
My favorites are: MyFitnessPal (food & exercise log), Jawbone Up (wristband and app that tracks steps and sleep), Strava (for cycling), Nike+ (for running), EveryMove (rewards you for working out), PearSports (requires you to purchase their heart rate monitor but it's awesome and ill write a review soon), BodyShot (tracks your weight loss progress) and TrainingPeaks (athlete's version of FitnessPal).

(If you know cool apps I haven't mentioned here, please message me! I'd love to try them!)

5. Do it for yourself. You might need some external motivation like a margarita, cupcake, Facebook likes, new outfit or half marathon medal, but your internal motivation is crucial to make your workouts part of your daily routine. Find your personal reasons for doing it and make it your mantra.

Overcoming Disappointment

Today I'm down to 156.8lbs. You'd think my 3+lb weightloss this week would excite me, and it is exciting, but it's also going a bit too fast and I worry some of it might have been muscle loss. There's really no way to know other than sticking to my workout plan and making sure I fuel my body enough...especially given the upcoming Olympic distance triathlon next Saturday!

1500 meter (0.9 mile) swim, 24 mile bike and 10K (6.2mile) run. I thought I was ready for it, but my training today has left me disappointed...

We did a 1hr25min bike followed by a 45min run and I burned out in the first 30 min of the ride and never recovered, running my slowest pace in over 3 months.

Was it the 3 hills we climbed right at the start of the bike? Was it the 90 degree weather? Was it the alcohol I had last night? Was it improper fueling? Or is it my fast weight(/muscle) loss?

I won't ever know the answer and most likely it was a combination of those things. What I do know is that the mental game I played with myself today was exhausting. I reached that burn out point and started the epic battle of "I got this" and "no, you don't."

Overcoming your own demons is the hardest battle in endurance athletics...and in weight loss. This stuff is HARD and when things get hard your brain is good at making excuses. When faced with disappointed your brain is good at telling you, "see, I told you you couldn't do it."

So today's lesson is one of overcoming disappointed. Convincing yourself that one bad day doesn't have to mean you failed. That one bad day doesn't warrant quitting. It should actually inspire you to push harder and keep going.

Today I am stronger than I was yesterday.
Tomorrow I WILL be stronger than I am today.

Eat more to lose weight?

Best news of the week: Starting weight 167.5, current weight 157.8!!

Almost 10 pounds lighter and definitely much fitter. Perseverance and hard work it turns out pays off! That, and good nutrition planning.

A few months ago I posted that I was sticking to 1200-1400 calories on days off and 1600-1800 calories on workout days. Now I actually eat at least 1600 calories on off days and closer to 2000+ calories on workout days. As I've increased my calories I've actually also increased my rate of weight loss. Not to mention that I am eating a pretty decent amount of carbs.

Doesn't really make sense right?

Well, Matt Fitzgerald explains it beautifully in his book Racing Weight. In this book he focuses on endurance athletes, but personally I think the information he provides is useful for everyone who is trying to lose weight and has gotten stuck.

Traditional diets, he explains, count on decreasing your calorie intake, whether it is through low-carb or some other limitation on the types of foods you can eat. These diets can be very useful for people who are extremely overweight and/or consume a high and unhealthy amount of calories, think sodas, pizza, fast food, chips and other junk foods. For these people, simply restricting caloric intake by making changes like cutting out sodas and limiting junk food may lead to significant weight loss. If these dietary changes are permanent and also include the addition of some exercise, you can probably keep a lot of the weight off. At some point however you will either reach a plateau or add certain foods back and regain some weight.

So how do you get past the plateau to lose those last few pounds and keep the weight off?

The secret is making sure you don't restrict your calories too much and making dietary changes that can be maintained long-term. This means that instead of eliminating all bad food, you work on limiting your intake of bad food and overall modifying your diet to a diet you are comfortable keeping long term. In a sense, it's no longer a diet, it's a lifestyle change. It also means making sure you don't starve yourself. Not only is that not feasible as a long-term plan, it might actually be detrimental to your health and your ability to exercise and lose weight.

Your body is a machine. Feed it with the right nutrients and it functions properly. Feed it inappropriately and it might work for a while, but it won't be at its best and it definitely won't run as long and strong as a well-fed machine.

This is actually what happened to me. When I stopped working out, I kept eating the same amount of calories I had been before, so I gained weight. Then I decided the way to lose weight would be to exercise and restrict my calories. For almost a year I limited myself to 1100-1300 calories and my weight dropped a little, but I could not keep it off or get lower than 162.

Turns out my resting metabolic rate (what I burn when I just sit around and do nothing) is 1525 calories and by keeping my calories far below that, I led my body to believe that it was starving and as a result my metabolism most likely slowed down to a crawl. The inefficient fueling of my body was blocking my weight loss and it was also leading me to be exhausted and less able to effectively exercise, making weight loss even harder.

When I started running half marathons and signing up for triathlons, it became clear that something had to change. I slowly started increasing my caloric intake, obsessively tracking how this would effect my weight loss. The first month I went up to 1900 calories and I lost 1.5 lbs! I dropped to 1850 and lost 2 lbs. Since then I've stayed around an average of 1850 calories (1600-2000 depending on how much I work out) and I have lost about 2.5 pounds each month.

This is much slower than other diet programs, but this is also meant to be a long-term plan. The weight has stayed off, even when I take a 5-day workout break, and I'm following a diet I am happy with. I can still eat a gigantic brunch with mimosas or the occasional cupcake without guilt and without weight gain. More importantly overall I feel healthy and my athletic performance has improved significantly.

So what do I eat?

I am focused on nutrient dense foods; healthy carbohydrates like oatmeal, whole wheat pasta, brown rice, lean meats like fish, chicken and less than 15% fat meat and lots and lots of fruits and vegetables. For workout recovery I love chocolate milk and I am a big fan of coconut water (Zico is my personal favorite). When I do eat something unhealthy it is a conscious, guilt-free decision and as much as possible I try to stick to natural, unprocessed, locally made or homemade items, where I can control the ingredients.

I love food, so eating is still a pleasure, but food is now also a fuel source, so I always think about what my body needs before deciding what I will eat.

The mental game

While the highlight of my week might be that I have stayed below 160 lbs all week, the highlight of the day is most definitely my Ladies' Choice Sprint Triathlon time. Remember I set a goal of just under an hour?

Well....(drum roll, please)....I did it in 58:52 and most impressively was that I ran the 2 mile run at a 9:00 min mile pace! I'm not a 9 min mile runner especially not after a 400 yard swim and an 8 mile bike ride! Just a few months ago when I started running again I was running 2 miles at barely an 11 min mile and that was on fresh legs! Now many of my training runs are below that and I'm setting my new goal to a 10 min mile and wondering, could it one day be a 9?

If you're not into racing, you might not understand my excitement or constant goal setting. But here's the secret straight from the mouth of a behavior analyst: in order to get to where I want to go, I'm going to have to work hard and in order to work hard, I'm going to need to be motivated. Racing myself IS my motivation (although high-fives and cheers from spectators are pretty awesome too). Meeting personal goals and recognizing that you are stronger than you thought, is a huge motivator and aiming for that elusive Ironman is the biggest motivator I could have.

This race actually awakened something in me that I have never felt before. I've always known I was stronger than I thought and that I could push myself further than I expected, but part of me always disagreed, part of me always whispered you have limits.

As I fought with crazy winds that made my bike move sideways while going up a hill and pushed myself to sprint to the finish so I could beat my goal, I broke free from that part of me that I feel has been holding me back for months. Working out, losing weight, living life...it's partly physical, but it's also very much a mental game.

Today I feel like I have broken down some of the self-defeating words my mind feeds itself.

Yeah, I have physical limits, but today I realized my mind had set those limits way too low. Today, I stepped away from the notion that I could never be a sub-10 min mile runner, that I could never place during a race (I placed 4th in my age group!), that I could never weigh 140 lbs or have a rock-solid body. Today I felt confident that I COULD become that person, that I could complete in an ironman AND, more importantly, look like one.

An ironman might not be your dream, but we could all benefit from a battle with our own demons and trust me, you are way stronger than they are!

Still on track!

July 23, 2012.

That's the last entry in this blog. I actually had to go back and read all the previous posts to remember where along the journey I was 8 months ago. A whole Summer, Fall and Winter have passed, but the good news is, I'm still on my journey!

A lot has happened in my 30th year of life, but one thing has stayed consistent: I am focused and determined to find my way back to fitness!

My journey is far from over. I'm only 7.5 lbs lighter than when I started, but I've lost inches all across my body and more importantly I am fitter than I've been in over 3 years and that after all is my end goal: to be fit and healthy.

When I started this blog I could barely run 20 minutes, but that is a thing of the past.  Just yesterday I completed the Nike Women's Half Marathon in DC in 2hr and 24min at a 11:03 min/mile pace. While I am nowhere near the fastest runner, I am happy to say that THAT is a personal record!

Since my last post I've actually completed 3 half marathons (getting faster every time) and 1 sprint triathlon and I've got another sprint triathlon and possibly 2 olympic triathlons coming up in the next few months.

Races, it turns out, might not be for everyone, but they are definitely for me.

I'll never mingle with the pros and I don't ever plan on winning, but the motivation to beat your own time, challenge your own abilities and continuously push to new distances, is enough to get me in my running shoes, on a bike or in a pool at least 5 times a week. I am a triathlete and I love it...and cross training, it turns out, is for me the absolute best way to get in shape and remain injury-free.

It also doesn't hurt that my athletic husband has also recently embraced races and together we are now working towards our (half)-ironman goal. Nothing like your significant other to help you wake up for a run when it's 40 degrees out or hold you accountable when the training schedule says swim.

Today, post-half marathon I'm allowed a day of rest, because we all deserve (and need) at least one day of rest per week, but tomorrow, it's back to the training schedule, which these days looks something like this:

Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat	Sun
rest	swim/core	swim/run	bike/core	yoga	bike/run	swim/bike
	45min	60min	45min	60-90min	60min	60-90min

*Schedule is adapted from various triathlon books and guides, which I'll be sharing with you as I fine-tune my own training schedule.

It's a lot more intensive than when I started working out last June, but it's also a lot more focused on the goals I have in mind, starting with the Ladies' Choice Tri (400 yard swim, 8 mile bike and 2 mile run) which I'm trying to complete in as close to an hour as possible.  I know that a sprint tri is far from the ironman distance and 7.5lbs is far from the 20-25 lbs I want to lose, but small attainable steps will eventually lead to big changes and for now I am enjoying every step of the journey!