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