- Stop beating myself up and the negative thoughts. As many of you know I signed up for my first full Ironman. In the past I've had serious doubts about my ability to finish tough races and yet I still manage to finish. I've decided to leave those negative thoughts behind and allow myself to be happy and visualize crossing the finish line. My only goal is to cross that finish so I won't put the added pressure of trying to beat a certain time.
- Find a plan, get organized and stick to it. One thing I lacked last year was sticking to my plan. I can recall printing out three different training plans and each week just picking a different one that look like a decent workout. Terrible, I know. Since I can't afford a coach, I borrowed this book from a friend that came highly recommended. It's got a great full Ironman training plan in it which starts six months out. I know I'll train prior to that but at least this way I can start preparing myself and have a good solid base. What I have done is entered all of the plans into an Excel spreadsheet and each week will print off the workout. I'm really old-fashioned and have to see my plans on paper. Once the workout is complete I can check it off. My goal is to be brutally honest with myself and if I don't complete the workout, I'll make a note and indicate why and what I did instead. This way I can pull all of my plans up a month or two prior to the race and feel much more confident about the work I have put in.
- Spend more time on the bike. I admit I love my spinning classes! But perhaps I love them a little too much. In the past I have felt that I could get by with the majority of my training done during spin classes, while it's a wonderful tool it doesn't come close to training on your own bike. You have to be comfortable with your own set of wheels and more importantly riding in aero postion. I felt that was one thing I really lacked during my training for Silverman 70.3. Every time I tried to ride in aero my shoulders would ache and my back would start to hurt. I really don't think my core was string enough to hold that position for very long. I found myself sitting up every few minutes and uncomfortably adjusting myself back and forth. It cost a lot of time and really slowed me down. This year I'm starting early in the season and have already set my bike up on my indoor trainer (something I didn't bother doing last year). I'm not quite ready for hours and hours on the trainer but the point right now is to just get used to a) a new saddle and b) the aero position.
- Be thankful. Most of all I will continue to be thankful for the body that I have and that will allow me to train this year. I'm thankful for a loving and supportive husband. I'm thankful for family members and friends who are cheering me on and who have already said they'd help me out when I need it. I'm thankful that this is the year I can devote my time and energy into Ironman training.
What are your goals for 2015? What big races do you have scheduled?