complete a triathlon

Now that I’ve looked up the distances, I want to rethink this goal. Well, I guess I’m getting the same butterflies in my stomach that I got before my first marathon. Jeepers!

Ironman – swim 2.4 mi, cycling 112 mi, run 26.2 mi
Sprint – swim .47 mi, cycling 12.3 mi, run 3.1 mi
Olympic – swim .93 mi, cycling 24.8 mi, run 6.2 mi

Well, for the deconstructed goal, I’ll use the Ironman as a goal: For the actual triathlon, I’ll start with the Sprint.

So, I’ll keep track here:

swim – 0.5/2.4 mi
cycling – 26/112 mi
run – 4/26.2 mi

Okay, clean slate… What did I get myself into???

So, while I was exercising today, I thought it would be fun to do a decontructed triathlon. Basically, I made it up unless someone else already did and I’m not aware of it. I thought it would be fun to keep track of the running, cycling, and swimming until I log all the miles of a full triathlon. I could set a goal to complete all the mileage of a triathlon in a week or two or something like that. How fun, I think??? Well, I guess I’ll figure out the logistics of where I could swim before I set this mini goal. Hahaha… Did I spell triathlon wrong on my goal? What a ding dong… I should change that.

Well, I added the new 43things about swimming since that is the area that will require the most work. I’m not actually looking at breaking a record other than my own, which will be easy since I’ve never done one before.

I ran on the treadmill yesterday and I increased the speed of my miles. I only ran 2 miles after a dance class, but, hey, at this time last year, it would have taken me the same amount of time to walk 1 mile.

Wow, I’ve been really hard on myself lately because I know where I used to be. I know that several years ago, I looked so much better and was able to do so much more, which makes me feel a bit like a loser now. Based on that same logic, I should’ve felt even worse about myself over a year ago; but, I guess I was in the worst condition of my life and probably didn’t even notice since I was so burnt out and down.

Now, that I’m out of my slump and trying to keep my priorities straight, I can see where I am and it’s so easy to be hard on myself. I feel so much closer to where I should be, which should be more encouraging than discouraging. I know I had so many excuses in the past, but we all do. I have to get over it and suck it up. I’m going in the right direction and reconfiguring my life to make it flow better.

When, I set this goal a year ago, I never thought I would be running as fast as I am now. It’s progress… baby steps… Now, I’ll work on the baby strokes & pedals too!!! :)

So, I just read my last entry from 3 weeks ago. I’m excited because I’ve made more of a commitment to eating healthier and exercising more regularly. I have to admit that some days are a lot easier than others. I’ve noticed the secret to every goal is making a plan and multiple backup plans just in case unexpected temptations come up! Woohoo! Commitment + Planning… Hmmm…

So, I feel like the tortoise, moving extremely slowly on this goal. It’s been several years since I ran marathons; so, I’m not going to rush into this goal. I have to get back into shape, which I’ve been successfully doing. Less than a year, I took an aerobics class and thought that I was going to literally die. Due to stress, poor eating choices, lack of physical activity, and all of the other typical excuses, I was really out of shape. I was in that class, thinking that I actually couldn’t make it through the class standing up. I don’t recall what type of class it was, but I remember thinking that I was probably going to fall over and die. Fortunately, I didn’t. I decided that day that I would have to make significant changes, which I have made since then. I got rid of a great deal of stress from work by finding another job. I recently starting paying more attention to what I was eating, which became easier as I spent less time working and stressing. I got more sleep and started exercising! Now, here I am writing my entry abou the triathalon that I’ve wanted to do. I started walking again, then jog/walking, then running again!!! Yay! Then, I started spinning. The pain after the first couple classes seemed like a good reason to give up, but the great instructor reminded me that it would get easier and she was right! It has gotten easier and I’ve gotten stronger too. A year ago, I never would have guessed that I would be feeling as good as I am in such a short time. The blessing is that I am! I’m feeling great and I still have a long way to go, but I’ll just keep taking the baby steps. I’ll keep up with the running and try to pick up more spinning classes. Then, I’ll soon incorporate the swimming once I get back into my bathing suits! Yippee!!!