4. Nutrition. Nutrition is extremely important and when not executed well can turn months of great training into mush on the side of the road. [You can see more in depth views of my nutrition rants HERE, and HERE. More to come for sure]
5. Transitions. I’m sure it’s been said by others, but I do
think that transitions are a discipline of triathlon. It’s something that I practice and include in
my training. Even for sprint races, I
have T1 and T2 piles on the floor. With my trikit, wetsuit, cap, goggles and
race chip in hand I ‘run’ up to my T1 pile and exchange my swim gear for my
bike gear – Do I have everything? Then I
turn around and ‘run’ up to my T2 pile and exchange my bike gear for my run
gear – Do I have everything?
Could there be a 6th discipline? I mean how many do we need?? Well, I added another one to my training.
6. Self Chatter (or
Chattah as my TS Aus friends would say).
We all know that little voice inside our heads “This is too hard”, “I’m
so tired”, “I don’t know if I can do this”, “I don’t know if I can reach my
goals”. And we all know the little voice
inside our heads (hopefully) that says “You can do this”, “This is worth it”,
“Don’t give up”. We don’t really focus on it, but it is a part of who we
are and part of what gets us through the training. What if we DID focus on it? What if we had specific mantras that we told
ourselves over and over during our training?
What if we visualized crossing that finish line at the hour mark we’ve
been working for? Well I subscribe to
you, that if you believe it, it will happen.
In fact I know for certain, that if you don’t believe it, it won’t happen.
I’m not really one to make excuses – ‘It is what it is’ and
I ‘Do the best with what I have’, I might not be 100% during that particular
day/workout, but ‘I give 100% of whatever I have’. I’m not one to get down on myself if a workout
doesn’t go as expected, I try to ‘Set it and Forget it’. BUT I have to admit I am someone who has a
hard time telling myself ‘I am Powerful
beyond Measure”. I’m more afraid of
being a 10-hr IM athlete than I am of a DNF at the end of the day. Seriously.
That’s kind of hard to say out loud, but it’s true. I’ve taken 1:40 off my 1000yd time trial
because I’ve stayed disciplined in working on my technique and not laps. I am stronger on my bike from continually
working on a good fit with a professional fitter, and sticking to my OutSeason
like glue to get stronger. I’ve been
able to finish my last three miles of my long runs (13-18 miles) at a sub-8:00
mile pace because of my patience at the beginning of my runs. Does that calculate to a sub 11-hr IM
time? I don’t know cause I’m scared to
do the math!! I don’t want to know
because it just might be possible!!!!
So words of wisdom to myself “I am powerful beyond measure”, “I am
strong”, “I have committed to this plan
and process and I BELIEVE in it making me FASTER”.
Visualize yourself with that perfect swim stroke. Grab that shelf and pull yourself over it. EASY AND FAST.
Visualize yourself with that perfect swim stroke. Grab that shelf and pull yourself over it. EASY AND FAST.
Visualize yourself being STEADY on the bike, being thankful
that your seat isn’t slowing you down, and being STRONG AND FAST.
Visualize yourself running slow that first hour maybe two “Slow
is smooth and smooth is fast”… then build… then push. You can run fast, just DO IT. Don’t hesitate. It might hurt, but the faster you run, the
faster you get to the finish and see your support crew!!!!!
YOU ARE FAST!
YOU ARE STRONG!
And remember – this race will take less time that it did to
give birth to T – and for those who know those particulars – it will probably
be less painful. Good advice from my
midwife and doula “This pain has a purpose” – it sure does. Ready or not NZ, here I come.
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