Week two of Ironman training has been a great success! I am really happy with how things are progressing & I have managed to maintain consistency in my program since I started at the beginning of the year, which is a huge deal considering the back end of 2011. One of my goals this year is to learn how to train on my own. And like it! I always push myself harder when I train with others & its a lot more enjoyable (somehow, time just flies by). But sometimes its difficult to find people who can train on the days that I can & do the disciplines I need to do. With this comes mental toughness, a weakness I am working on, so this week, I just had to put my head down & remind myself why I was training. It all comes down to the big goal of Ironman & I know that if I remain consistent, I will make it to the start line in one piece. My ankle still isn't healing as fast as I want it to, which is getting me a bit frustrated to say the least. The surgeon said he was happy with how it was healing though, and recommended I go back to training slowly, within the limits of pain, so I guess thats good news. I haven't run since August now & I was ok with it for the last few months but now its just doing my head in! I attempted to do a few high impact moves in Body Attack on Friday but I can already tell my ankle isn't up for it just yet.
I had a very character-building training week to say the least. I had a 15.5 hour training week, consisting of 2 x swim sessions, 4 x cycle sessions, 1 power yoga class, 2 x Body Attack classes & 3 x Body Pump classes on top of a 40 hour working week. I went back to teaching group fitness at the gym for the first time in four weeks (most of which took a break over the Xmas/New Year period plus recovery from surgery) & boy did I feel it! On Tuesday, I taught Pump & the next day, I could barely get out of bed. It wasn't pretty. I had to teach Pump again the following night & really struggled to walk, let alone show people how to squat. It was pretty entertaining for everyone else I am sure. I soaked my body in a radox bath for two nights in a row & almost couldn't get out. Everything hurt. Walking down stairs was the worst. And don't even get me started on trying to wash my hair. I barely had enough stamina to take the elastic band out of my hair. Damn you muscles!
The highlight of this week's training session was definitely Centennial Park on Saturday. Thankfully the rain wasn't torrential & I managed to smash out 55km (including riding there & back, plus a 10 min effort on the wind trainer when I got home). The one thing that kept me motivated was a girl who was cycling with one arm. Yep, she only had ONE functioning arm! It was amazing. Her left arm was made of carbon that looked like something out of the movie, Short Circuit, which clipped onto her left handle bar. It was pretty cool! She totally kicked my ass too. It was embarrassing. We would take turns over-taking each other but when I rode up next to her, she didn't really seem interested in chatting. So I did efforts & just kept her in my sights the whole time.
This upcoming week, my training is going to be a bit different. In addition to my IM program, we have a challenge going on at work to see which staff member can go to the most classes in our community in January. On Tuesday, we have a Stand Up Paddleboard Yoga session with Di from SUPYoga.com.au on Narrabeen Lake & on Wednesday morning, we have a kayak fitness session at Balmoral Beach. I will be going to Yoga on Monday & Thursday morning too. Might have to book myself in for a massage at the end of the week!
Nutrition has been pretty good too. I don't usually weigh myself but decided to this week, just to see where I am at (even thought its never a true indication of body fat loss). I am pleased to say I have dropped about 1.5kgs since the start of the year & have not given in to chocolate or lollies or chips! I indulged in some white bread on Fri night at my friends farewell party (including a teaspoon of Maggie Beers burnt fig & honey ice cream - YUM!), plus a couple of salt & pepper prawns on Sat night because I was out for dinner with the family for my Dad's birthday. But generally, the only sugar I had was in the form of fruit. And you know what they say, an apple a day...
Anyway, just got my first Triathlon And Multisport Magazine for 2012 in the mail so I am going to have a flick through while I inflict some pain on my quads with the foam roller. If you haven't heard from me by tomorrow morning, it means I fell asleep in agony on the living room floor.
See you next week, and remember WWFD...HTFU!
Bel
I had a very character-building training week to say the least. I had a 15.5 hour training week, consisting of 2 x swim sessions, 4 x cycle sessions, 1 power yoga class, 2 x Body Attack classes & 3 x Body Pump classes on top of a 40 hour working week. I went back to teaching group fitness at the gym for the first time in four weeks (most of which took a break over the Xmas/New Year period plus recovery from surgery) & boy did I feel it! On Tuesday, I taught Pump & the next day, I could barely get out of bed. It wasn't pretty. I had to teach Pump again the following night & really struggled to walk, let alone show people how to squat. It was pretty entertaining for everyone else I am sure. I soaked my body in a radox bath for two nights in a row & almost couldn't get out. Everything hurt. Walking down stairs was the worst. And don't even get me started on trying to wash my hair. I barely had enough stamina to take the elastic band out of my hair. Damn you muscles!
The highlight of this week's training session was definitely Centennial Park on Saturday. Thankfully the rain wasn't torrential & I managed to smash out 55km (including riding there & back, plus a 10 min effort on the wind trainer when I got home). The one thing that kept me motivated was a girl who was cycling with one arm. Yep, she only had ONE functioning arm! It was amazing. Her left arm was made of carbon that looked like something out of the movie, Short Circuit, which clipped onto her left handle bar. It was pretty cool! She totally kicked my ass too. It was embarrassing. We would take turns over-taking each other but when I rode up next to her, she didn't really seem interested in chatting. So I did efforts & just kept her in my sights the whole time.
This upcoming week, my training is going to be a bit different. In addition to my IM program, we have a challenge going on at work to see which staff member can go to the most classes in our community in January. On Tuesday, we have a Stand Up Paddleboard Yoga session with Di from SUPYoga.com.au on Narrabeen Lake & on Wednesday morning, we have a kayak fitness session at Balmoral Beach. I will be going to Yoga on Monday & Thursday morning too. Might have to book myself in for a massage at the end of the week!
Nutrition has been pretty good too. I don't usually weigh myself but decided to this week, just to see where I am at (even thought its never a true indication of body fat loss). I am pleased to say I have dropped about 1.5kgs since the start of the year & have not given in to chocolate or lollies or chips! I indulged in some white bread on Fri night at my friends farewell party (including a teaspoon of Maggie Beers burnt fig & honey ice cream - YUM!), plus a couple of salt & pepper prawns on Sat night because I was out for dinner with the family for my Dad's birthday. But generally, the only sugar I had was in the form of fruit. And you know what they say, an apple a day...
Anyway, just got my first Triathlon And Multisport Magazine for 2012 in the mail so I am going to have a flick through while I inflict some pain on my quads with the foam roller. If you haven't heard from me by tomorrow morning, it means I fell asleep in agony on the living room floor.
See you next week, and remember WWFD...HTFU!
Bel
You go girl! Very inspiring blog : ) Not even a milky way now and then? Now that's true dedication. Good luck with the training x
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