Thursday, May 16, 2013

Self talk

We all have our moments when doubt creeps in, but it is absolutely imperative that we cut those thoughts at the root. Sometimes when I am riding, I say out loud, "I AM NOT TIRED!!" or "I AM SOOOO STRONG!!" and ironically, less than a minute later that feeling of fatigue goes away. Conversely, when I think or say, "This SUCKS" or start whining and asking who's idea was it to ride this course?!, it seems like the agony is unending. Our minds tell our bodies what to do. There are so many new folks training for a triathlon that don't seem to know and use the power of their thoughts to get them through. I hear so many excuses of why they can't do something, that I just want to tell them, "no you can't! If you think you can't, then you absolutely CAN NOT",  but I would be labeled as the mean girl, so I just keep my lip zipped. It's really simple. If there is something that you want to do, you find a way to do it.

I recall my self talk being completely different when I was learning to swim, trying to stay vertical on my bike and starting to run again after my surgery and double pneumonia. I remember having this belief that I could actually complete a triathlon, despite my challenges. I didn't know where the mental strength came from, but I knew it. I wrote about it here. I found out what I needed to do to accomplish that goal and I accomplished it. It wasn't easy, I fell, I cried, I was slow, there were many events that I missed out on, but I accomplished my goal. The word "can't" isn't even a part of my vocabulary. I have my moments just like everyone else, but I don't let those moments stop me. I don't quit. I can, because I believe I can. Our self talk is so very important. If we simply change our thoughts, we can change our world.

Believe you can, put in the work and don't quit.

Tri Becca


Friday, May 3, 2013

Tri training check in

Things are well under way with training for the 2013 Triathlon season. So far this year, I have run a 1/2 marathon, a 10 miler and I'm almost done with a 2 month boot camp. I am trying to eat less wheat, more smoothies and have seen the scale go down by 8 lbs! I have started to work on my training plan that will take me to my Olympic distance Triathlon in 7 weeks, my Ironman 70.3 triathlon in August and my first marathon in October. The biggest accomplishment so far has been been to finally move out of the slow lane at the pool and actually hold my own in the medium lane! GO ME!!

I am excited about this tri season, as it is my time to focus on speed and diet. I have never given these two things that much attention, as I have been trying to build my endurance and get my "head game" straight. As we all know, most of this is mental and it doesn't mater if you are speedy if you don't have the endurance. Now that I have the endurance, I am all about working on speed drills and my diet so I can hopefully lean out and finish faster. I can't wait to see what this year will bring!

The only bad thing is my hip that's been hurting off and on for a few months now. I am trying to stretch more and have taken yoga here and there, but have plenty of room for improvement. I will do my best to address this, so the hip is not my nemesis for the whole season. I have a free entry into a 1/2 marathon on Sunday that I'm thinking about bowing out of, as I don't want to make the hip hurt worse. I have to figure this hip thing out quickly...

Full speed ahead,
Tri Becca