I signed up to do Oregon IronMan 70.3 next July. Half IM, WHOLE CRAZY. Honestly I love the training, and I haven't really even started! I signed up because I've always wanted to do one, I feel really strong right now, and it just sounded fun. Let's see what I think next April when I'm in the middle of all the training! DH is super supportive, so I definitely have that going for me. Again, we'll see how that is going come April ;)
My goal is to finish top 50% of my age group. Stretch goal is to do it top 30%. I am already doing the work.
- Goal #1 is to get to the race healthy. That is my priority, to stay as injury and illness free as possible for the next 11 months.
- Goal #2 is to lose ~15 pounds before the end of this year, so I don't have to carry extra pounds on the course! This is happening, slowly. My eating changed dramatically for the better after I signed up for the race. (Excluding last week when we were on vacation.) I will definitely be faster if I am lighter; apparently you can cut up to 30 seconds per mile off your run time with each pound lost. Losing 15 pounds could cut ~7.5 minutes off my run time,
- Goal #3, get my head right - I am reading a lot of sports psychology and triathlon mental training books. I am so glad I started reading them immediately, mental preparation is incredibly important and a great advantage, I'm already seeing the benefits.
- Goal #4, build my aerobic base this year so that come January, I can really delve into training to get to that top 30% finish!
- Goal #5, preserve the muscle which will be helpful - basically, keep up the Caroline Girvin strength training.
Regarding goal 1 to get there healthy, I saw a PT about my latent knee/hip issues and the fact that my right quad is not developing like my left - this is a very noticeable difference. I'll work with them the next month or two to correct it. Knee already feels better after my first ever dry needling session!
Goal #2, weight loss, these days I just eat like a triathlete. Lots of protein, good carbs, less alcohol (will likely go dry next year), less sugar, good fats, and track it all for a calorie deficit. What this really means is I've cut back on the number of days I drink each week, cut back on cheese, increased avocado and nuts consumption, forgo the bread, and try to only eat junk food that I cook or bake myself. This is not hard at all to stick to, except for vacation, but again I deliberately took a break from EVERYTHING for this vacation so no regrets, there.
Goal #3, I'm reading the books and applying the philosophies to my workouts. For example, one point was to figure out what makes you derail (mentally) in a race. I hate when I have the wrong information, such as the finish is marked to be a mile away but on my watch I can see I have 1.4 to go. This mentally shifts my focus and energy to "Which one is right? Why are they different?" and not on the task at hand, which is getting to the finish line as quickly as possible. So knowing that irks me, and wastes my energy, when a "wrong info" scenario came up, I was able to SHIFT the negative energy quickly back to the task at hand. The scene: last night at a group track workout, on the third set of 3x300s, I thought I was off because I finished in the wrong spot on the track. Someone said, no, you have one more 300. Apparently I had missed in the first 2 sets, that the workout was 4x300. I had done them, but it hadn't registered. So when I was started the third set, I told myself I only had to do 3x300 and then it will all be OVER for the night. Well, come that third 300, I was PISSED that I had to do not only what I thought was my last 300, but one MORE after that. But then I realized this is an opportunity to let that $hit go, the workout is what it is (the finish line is where it is!) so just suck it up and do the fourth 300. Guess what, those two 300s were my fastest one of the night. SHIFT. Mental prep starts as soon as possible!
Goals #4 and 5, I'm increasing cardio workout frequency (swims, bikes, runs) and will decrease weight frequency, but definitely continue to lift. Keep working out, but now build the aerobics a little more than the muscle.
I suppose I have a goal #6, to get a coach. I don't need a super hand-holding type of relationship there, but I want someone to give me a solid training program, help me tweak it as I go through it (if needed), and who can just be an experienced resource to help me get to the start and have a great finish. And of course, it will help to have them be able to answer my silly questions!
So this is my new adventure. I need to go get ready for swim practice, which will be, like, the 2nd time I have been in a pool in 2 years. HERE WE GO. :)
