“Be the kind of person who does the types of things to have the results you want.”
Ever since I heard triathlon & running coach Bobby McGee say these words, they’ve stuck with me. I’ve repeated them in my mind, turning over the meaning, and finding much value for the place I find myself in my endurance sport life.
I realize how much I have already changed to become the kind of person I want to be. (For a great post on the progression of limiters in triathlon, see this blog post from Endurance Corner.) I’ve changed my diet, my sleeping habits, my training volume and intensity, my willingness to suffer, my social life (or what remains of it). Most importantly, I’ve changed my mindset. I no longer think of myself as someone who works out, or as someone who runs marathons, or as someone who does triathlons. I think of myself as an athlete, a runner, a triathlete.
An athlete is the person I want to be.
But, more changes are coming if I want to have the results I’m looking for. I’ve set a big goal for myself–to qualify for Kona in 2013–and I will need to be the kind of athlete that does what it takes to be an elite age group athlete. Watching my husband do it this year has both inspired and intimidated me. But, mentally, I’m ready to go all in, and with the help of my coach, the physical part will come along just fine.
I am a firm believer than any major goal must be broken down into a series of smaller goals or milestones that can be met along the way. Without these mini-goals, it becomes too easy to lose motivation or to become overwhelmed by the enormity of the task.
So in order to be the kind of athlete who will qualify in 2013, I have to do some things in 2012 to make it happen. In the spirit of the various blog posts I’ve been reading about our goals for 2012, I’ll share some of mine for this year.
First, I will do everything I need to do to remain injury free. This goal is a necessary ingredient for all that follows. While it is somewhat out of my control, there are things I can do to be proactive, which include: 1) continuing my visits to my awesome sports chiropractor Dr. Eric Nelson; 2) continuing with my functional training and neuromuscular exercises to address muscular imbalances (see the post that describes these here); 3) foam rolling and massage; 4) dynamic stretching and yoga.
Second, I will BE BRAVE on the bike this year. No more excuses. No more being a wussy. I decided on a training ride I had a few weeks back that I will no longer be beat because of fear. If you are going to pass me this year, it’s going to be because your engine is better than mine, not because I’m scared of aero or tricky descents. I can’t stand it anymore. I put waaaayyyy to much work into my training to be a fraidy-cat on race day.
Third, I will be grateful for the gift that is my body. I like to hate on my body. It’s not the “ideal” skinny girl kind of body. I have big legs – but the better to bust up the hills with. I’m short – but that’s okay, so is Rinny Carfrae and Cait Snow and they are an amazing inspiration to me. Anyway, it’s less carcass to drag around the course. So, for each negative thing I say about my body, I will respond with a counter. I will replace this negative self-talk with self-lovin’. (Oh, don’t go and get perverted on me, now!)
Fourth, I will have fun. This goal is not a hard one for me, but I think it’s important to remember that I do this sport for fun. It enriches my life and brings me joy. I’m keeping that focus no matter what.
Fifth, I will eat cleaner so I can re-arrange my body composition a bit. I’d like to lose a few pounds of fat, while keeping the fabulous muscle. John ate soooo clean this past year, and was a lean mean racing machine. I ate clean, but not quite like him. I had my moments. This year, I’m committing to it. I know this goal seems to conflict with the third goal, but it doesn’t. In the past, my motivation for losing weight was about how I looked, usually something to do with being too big somewhere. In this case, I want to achieve an optimum body composition so I can GO AS FAST AS I FREAKIN’ CAN. There’s a big difference in the mentality.
Sixth, race goals. Okay, yes, I have some specifics. In order to be fast enough in 2013 to qualify, I need to make some big gains this year, so I’m starting from a place that is realistic. I can’t go from a 12:51 to a sub-11:00 overnight. Basically, that means a sub-12 hour Ironman at Mont Tremblant this year, which includes: 1:15 swim, 6:30 bike, 3:45 marathon, ~7-9 minutes for T1 and T2 (GULP!!). This is an insanely ambitious goal, but it HAS TO HAPPEN. So, I’ll make it happen. The mind allows the body to make it so.
I’d also like to do a 5:30 half iron triathlon (current PR is 5:41, set at Shoreman 2011), and a 3:30 straight marathon (my current PR is 3:36:59, set at Boston 2011).
Bring it on, 2012. I’m ready to be that athlete who does the things that have to be done in order to have these results.
What are your goals? What will you do to make them happen? I’d love to hear from you.
