Holiday Edition

Merry Christmas/Happy Holiday to each of you!! This entry is coming in a bit late as the holidays have been a whirlwind of activity! I hope everyone has had a chance to spend time with friends and family - eat some good food and get in at least a little bit of relaxation! I know for myself I've had a little bit of everything... well maybe a lot - especially in the food/treats department! Its so hard to show any self control with all the delicious chocolates, candy and fancy feasts that are so readily available at this time of year.

Now that things have settled down and bit and I'm totally filled to the gills with treats, its a good time to look back and reflect on the past couple of weeks. I'm just about 2 weeks into my 24 week half iron training plan. The workouts have been good, there are so many though...I definitely missed a few while trying to tie up the last loose ends of work, get things sorted for Christmas and wrap up the fundraising for the year!

Those of you who are following along on Instagram will already know that I'm spending huge amounts of time at the gym - for example yesterday I was there from 630am to 1pm! That was a full shift, and not the norm of the training program. I had to make up a few hours for what I missed over Christmas/boxing day. In the training material I'm reading, it says that its important to not miss too many consecutive workouts and to try and make up time where possible. What I'm learning is that since my program is so aggressive, it really is best to just do the damn workout on the correct day because make up sessions end up being quite long and exhausting!

I have however, been diligent in keeping my personal progress journal up to date with training details and I hit some OK numbers since day one of the plan.

To give a general idea if the numbers here is what the last 7 days looked like:
5 runs - 50km total
4 bike rides - 200km total
2 swims - 6000 metres
3 hot yoga classes
2 functional strength training sessions ( 30 mins each )

To fit in these work outs I'm usually waking up at 430/5am to make it to the gym before work. On some days I have to sneak in a session after work also. Now that its been almost 2 weeks, I'm starting to get a feel for what the routine and the level of commitment is going to be for the next few months! It too overwhelming to look at as a whole so I literally focus on one session at a time. I've actually found a way to compartmentalize each section of my day in my mind. Once one session is done - I block it off mentally and focus all energy on what comes next, like trying to trick my mind into forgetting what happened previously so I can focus fully on the next activity.

The battle between mind and body is such an interesting thing. As I previously learned while completing my first 100 day clean living challenge - my mind is the greatest enemy. That voice that tells me to skip the workout, sleep in, quit the session early or tells me that this is too hard. That's the enemy. My body is strong. I want to listen to my body, not my mind. Once I'm deep into a session and I'm in my zone, that's when that voice in my head is finally quiet. That's when my body has taken over and I can just go. That's my happy place. That's why I do this, its my meditation. Its my Zen.

I feel I am learning slowly to control that dangerous voice in my mind. To prove this point, I can proudly say that I'm nearly at 90 days clean! I was a bit skeptical of how this would go over the holidays but I managed to stay true to the plan. I've been to several holiday parties and didn't touch a drink. I even abstained while on my mini vacation to California to volunteer for Ironman Indian Wells. That was the first vacation of my life where I didn't have a drink - now that is progress. Now Im not saying it been easy, there is always the temptation. Especially on the days that I'm tired, grumpy and stressed. I've been getting better at playing the tape all the way through when I'm close to giving in. I remind myself of what I risk by making that decision. I know where it leads for me - late nights, missed workouts, poor eating and ultimately a whole lot of  guilt. Its just not worth it at this point! I'm too far into this plan and have so much more to go.

With the New Year on the horizon I'm happy that Ive got my plan for 2019 pretty much laid out. I dropped the big races into the calendar and filled in the gaps with training plans and smaller events. The goals are clear - now I just have to stick to the plan and execute. I even managed to sneak in one more race before the end of the year - on advice from one of my coaches with 3433. I'll be doing the 10K Resolution run on Dec 31. I'm interested to see if the past four months of training with coaches will result in shaving off some time on the course!

I think I've babbled on long enough for now, so I'll leave it at that for today. I wish you all a Happy New Year full of happiness and health! Thanks again for following along and encouraging me to keep going. Cheers to you!!

<3

For fundraising details please visit:
http://www.gofundme.com/amy-im70-3-2019

Here we go!

Its the night before the 24 week Half Ironman training plan begins and I'm feeling ready to climb this mountain in front of me. Over the past few months I've been laying the foundation for this aggressive plan by absorbing as much information as possible about the Half Iron event.  I've researched training and nutrition plans, I've started fundraising, I've joined a tri club and immersed myself in training. There isn't a moment in the day that I'm not thinking about racing and training. Some might say I've become obsessed. I would have to agree.

I believe the only way to achieve the lofty goals I've set, is to become 100% immersed and dedicated to the plan.

I have committed to completing three Half Ironman events in 2019 - with the final goal being to qualify for the World Championships in Nice, France. I know this sounds crazy, especially considering that I've never actually raced in an Ironman 70.3. I am out to show the world that amazing things are possible if you dedicate yourself and work towards your goals.

This will be one of the biggest challenges of my life ( and believe me, there have been many ) and it will take a lot of time and sacrifice. Friends and family, please understand this - it will be hard to work a hectic full time work schedule while balancing a 15-20 hour per week training schedule.  Social events will likely not be high on the priority list, but know that I haven't forgotten about you and I thank you in advance for understanding my commitment to this endeavor.

This blog will serve as a condensed weekly report of my training and racing progress. I don't want to  bore everyone with all the little details of food and workouts - although you will still see all of that posted on Instagram. ( You can follow me there @sinbin.tri ). I am keeping a much more detailed hand written journal of my training etc. for personal progress documentation - this blog is for my fans and supporters and for those of you amazing humans who were kind enough to donate to my fundraising campaigns. I want to keep you, my supporters,  involved in the process as much as possible along the way. I cant make this journey a success without your love and support.

This past week was lighter on training as I was out of town volunteering for Ironman 70.3 La Quinta, California, but here is what what accomplished in the days I did get to train.

5 treadmill runs - 40 km total
2 stationary bike training sessions - 2 hours total
2 swim sessions - 5000 metres total
2 hikes ( California ) - 24 km total
3 hot yoga classes - 3 hours total

Total training time: Approx 18 hours

Its overwhelming to think that these numbers are going to increase over the next 24 weeks, but my goal is to simply focus on one session at a time and keep moving forward.

I do plan on competing as much as possible in smaller local events this year, just to keep the racing mindset in the front of my mind, but the first big race is Ironman 70.3 Victoria, June 2, 2019. It seems a ways out at the moment but I know once I'm deep into the training plan, the days are going to fly by.

I will leave it at that for this first post.
Thanks again for the support, I'm excited to share this journey with you all.

For fundraising details please visit:
http://www.gofundme.com/amy-im70-3-2019