2016 for me was all about that little thing called my wedding, which happened at the end of June and was one of the most incredible days of my life (so far!).

 

 

It’s been the first year for a few years that I haven’t had a physical performance goal, like a triathlon or distance race. I’ve really noticed the difference in my motivation and my focus (or lack of it) on nutrition and fuelling my body. Without an event or race to target my efforts on my training has been sporadic and a bit random. Some weeks I’ve smashed out four weight-training sessions and eaten like a bodybuilder. Other weeks I’ve spent hours walking my dog across the marshes or cycling in circles round the road track at the Olympic velodrome.

 

 

Since the wedding I haven’t been tracking my nutrition closely after spending months logging all my food to keep an eye on my intake. I’d bought my dress a year before my wedding as it was an ex-sample dress and it meant that apart from a few adjustments the dress had to stay the size that it was. I therefore couldn’t lose or gain much weight or size otherwise my dress wouldn’t have fitted!

 

By not tracking my nutrition and without having any performance goals I’ve seen my bodyweight creep up over the last couple of months which normally would freak me out but actually I’m learning to love my body whatever it looks like. I can still get on my bike and bash out 20 miles without much thought and my strength in the gym doesn’t seem to have dropped drastically.

 

What’s interesting though is that my body doesn’t quite feel like it’s performing at its best. I feel sluggish, I’m lacking motivation and I’m lacking a focus. I love my body but I know it’s not in performance condition. Performance condition for me means that I feel strong, fast and efficient in my digestion (sorry for the overshare but if that isn’t working then nothing is…).

 

I’m learning that it’s ok to have periods where you lack motivation and focus but it’s now time to get some goals in place and get out of this rut. Thanks to a Black Friday discount my major goal for 2017 has been locked in, the Olympic distance race at the London Triathlon. It’s a distance that I did in 2015 and the sense of achievement to just get round the course was huge.

However, this time I mean business. When I’m back from my honeymoon in January my life will be triathlon, triathlon, triathlon (amongst other fun things) and I can’t wait to improve my technique in all 3 phases.