This triathlon has been a long time coming, in fact it’s been in the works since I completed my very first sprint triathlon 3 years ago. I decided to sign up for it as my big challenge for 2015 because I like to have a new challenge every year. I mean, why not? Challenging yourself to the point of near exhaustion is fun right? Right…
Actually, it IS fun and actually, I’m really looking forward to the event in 10 days so that I can see how far I’ve come. I like to challenge myself because I like the feeling of achievement and triumph when I’ve silenced my own doubts.
At the same time I’m coming to realise that actually I don’t love doing triathlons. No, that’s not right. I love doing triathlons, I’m just not so keen on endurance training. There, I said it. I find it difficult to push myself, I find it boring and I miss doing cardio for fun.
I’ve fallen out of love with running as a result of this training which is a shame because I’d just started to find my groove with it. I still love cycling as much as I did and funnily enough, a holiday spent swimming in the sea has ignited an enjoyment for open water swimming (although let’s see how long that lasts when I’m swimming in the murky and icy waters of the Thames rather than the Mediterranean…). But it’s not the same. I’m obsessing about distances and speed and working on these by just doing laps of the same areas which is incredibly boring. Not even a good podcast or playlist can help.
My first fitness love is and probably always will be body conditioning. I love to lift weights and see the numbers on the weights go up, I love to box, I love hiit sessions and I love tailoring my diet to suit my body conditioning goals. Most of that has gone out of the window for the past few months in favour of swimming, cycling and running sessions or a combination of 2 or all 3 of those as well as endurance nutrition (basically a lot of carbs and plenty of snacks so I have enough energy).
Watch this space for a round up of how I get on at the triathlon next week and no doubt it will be full of life-affirming statements and positivity but remember, squat rack I’m coming for you…