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!