It's Tri time!!!

March 2015 - 1/2 Ironman Triathlon Training Begins.

EEEK. It's official, I've spent $200 entering the Ironmaori event which as some of you may know involves a 2km swim, 90km cycle and a 21.1km run/whatever you can manage.

Why did I sign up for this? Good question. I needed a new goal, a new challenge, and I wanted to keep the momentum going with my fitness and pushing the boundaries...pushing that comfort zone.

I am actually really glad that I've chosen to go further down the fitness route. Entering events is not something I ever thought I would enjoy, but I actually love having a set date and objective to work towards. #goalsettingismything 

Since I reached my lowest weight point just before Christmas which was 73.8kgs (32kg of weight loss), quite a few changes have happened. You guys might remember I stopped counting calories at the same time - no more hand holding by Myfitnesspal. I am in this for life, so I needed to let go a little bit. I've been quite a bit more relaxed with my eating... having food when I am hungry, sometimes when I'm not (yes I still do this, but not as bad as the old days), and basically just letting myself eat what I feel like, but aiming to be healthy and balanced. My training schedule also became quite monotonous due to my half marathon training. I haven't done much apart from leg work, and even no body attack..which I miss so much!!

As expected, my body has changed in the last 2 months, I've put back on a couple of kilos, most of that I think just from the increased amounts of carbs I've been eating (all I craved during 1/2 marathon training), but probably also lack of variety in my exercise regime, and generally just coz I've taken a more relaxed approach. So I can at least see why the changes have happened and remain accountable.
Just today I took a couple of new photos to see the difference, and yep you can tell I am not as toned, I look a bit more cushiony in general but nowhere near as bad as my mind had imagined it. After all, I still fit into the same clothes as 2 months ago, so no need to panic, but I am quietly aware. When weight loss has been the main focus and goal for 18 months, it's quite hard to snap out of that mind set.

I decided what would be best for my Triathlon journey is that I wipe the slate clean and start fresh. Obviously I acknowledge everything I have achieved to date, and I am so so grateful for it and proud of myself, but at the same time I feel like I need to embrace that this, right now, is me. Not 106kg Eszter, but 76kg Eszter, and I want the triathlon journey to be documented as the new person I am.
It is the start of something new, rather than half way through my weight loss mission.
Does that make sense? I'm not really sure if it does, but it feels like a good idea haha.

I know that my body will keep changing and hopefully naturally still lose some weight but more importantly, I will be keeping track of measurements and other "non scale victories".
So with that in mind, over the next 9 months, I will be posting lots of progress photos and achievements on my road to Ironmaori, and this picture (normal Eszter) is my starting point:

The goal is bad ass super fit Eszter....watch this space.


The challenges ahead

• I can't swim. I can float and aqua jog with a belt on, but that's not going to get me 2kms. Official one on one swimming lessons begin Monday. I'm excited to get started on this the most! I figure as long as I don't drown on event day, I can plod my way through the cycle if I have to, and I can walk the half marathon if I have to. Worst case scenario of course, but that means my focus is to become good at swimming. With practice, I know my other disciplines will work themselves out.
• A new gruelling schedule.  At this stage it is 2 x strength, 2 x run, 2 x cycle and 2 x swim per week, just to build my baseline. I wrote up my training plan the other night, and just looking at it honestly overwhelmed me. It's not like I haven't done double days before, and it's not like I didn't already regularly do 6 days a week, but somehow having a regimented plan is different. There's not much room for fun workouts in there. I hope to fall in love with each discipline ... but I will also have to sneak a couple of body attacks in there somewhere.... ;)
• I've completely and utterly lost my morning workout habit. For 12 months I religiously did all of my workouts at 6.30am with no problems at all. Just before Christmas when I experienced my little burn out, I stopped mornings. Then the holidays came, then I started running at lunch time and in the evenings...and what do you know, all my hard work to create and keep that habit, down the drain. I've tried several mornings since then, and most have been failures. So this is a massive challenge for me yet again, to get into bed early and wake up early and workout! It took 6 weeks to build last time. I can do this.
• Cycling is scary. I've only taken out my fancy new road bike a couple of times, and it is terrifying. Going fast is definitely out of my comfort zone and really freaks me out. Traffic and cars in general are scary. Going down hills is equally scary, I honestly feel like I'm going to face plant. Also I can't get off the bike without getting myself tangled and falling over on the road hahaha. I haven't even attempted all of this with my clip in shoes. 

Massive learning curve ahead on these things that's for sure!

That is all I can think of for now, I am sure there will be plenty of laughs, fun, tears and frustration along the way, and I cannot wait to share it all with you guys. Hope you can join me on my Tri journey :)

Beginners tips for running your first half marathon!

This:

Now that's out of the way, I wanted to do a post about some of the things I've learnt on my training journey. You guys know I love my goals, but I also think it's very important to evaluate after each one has been met (or not, if that was the case!).... It's the only way we can move forward.

The biggest problem I had throughout my training was my injuries - the Iliotibial Band (ITB) issue I developed (read about that here) and also the start of achilles tendinitis on one side. These were caused by a various different reasons, all of them annoying -  incorrect running style, certain muscle groups not activating properly and/or not strong enough and also too much too quickly (distance or speed). Turns out you can't just start running, and get good at it without a whole bunch of other stuff being involved. Go figure! 

With that in mind...here are a few tips from my half marathon training journey. If you're a beginner like I was, hopefully these help you :)

1. Enter an event.

Have something to work towards! Choose a realistic time frame though :) 

2. If you're going down the long distance route like me, I would start by getting a professional to check out your running technique.

After 12 months of running, I recently learnt that I was a "shuffler", having had a mid-foot strike combined with a little push/shuffle forward before I lifted my foot again. Not ideal. This is one of the reasons why I I developed leg injuries. Google for running clinic, or if you go to a gym, chances are your own PT or another one will know about running and correct form. Even just going to a specialised shoe store will probably give you some good info. No matter how many pictures you look at on the internet, you won't truly know how you run until you see it in action i.e. a video.

On that note, I wish they actually taught children how to run properly in school. I feel like if I'd known all this technique stuff years ago, running would be way easier now. Instead we played forward pass rugby and badminton for a whole term pretty much every year. No wonder I gave up PE after year 11 ;)

3. Get good running shoes.

It took me four pairs of shoes to get to one that I found comfortable. Unfortunately shoes are one of those things that you won't know how they feel until you actually run in them. 

It's worth investing in a good pair, and even better to go to a specialist store and have them fit you with the correct shoes for your foot type, rather than just going solely off comfort (wish I'd done this now).

4. Get a running buddy - preferably one with similar abilities as you.

Having an accountability buddy is the best thing ever, especially if you are both training for the same event! I do think it is important to choose someone who is at a similar stage as you. While it's amazing training with extremely talented runners, and it pushes you harder, it can be a little too taxing when you're a newbie. 

5. Strength train aka leg day errrr day. 

Ok so not leg day every day, but strength training is so important! I didn't really realise this until it was already way too late in the piece. Yes I'd read about it here and there, but I thought "meh, surely it can't be that important". As it turns out, you can't just run and expect your legs to be able to carry you for a tonne of kilometres. Sure they do get stronger a little bit just by running, but when you actually start increasing the distance, that isn't enough to keep up any more. 

Lack of strength training = injured Shrinking Eszter legs.

6. Stretch & foam roll - properly.

As with strength training, I didn't bother doing much stretching, what I did do was a half attempt or too short, and I didn't bother with my foam roller unless I was already sore. Because running is so high impact, especially if you are out on the road/concrete, it has a huge effect on your muscles. Stretching/foam rolling before and after helps prevent a tonne of issues. As soon as I added these to my routine a few months ago, I felt better almost straight away. 

Deep tissue massages are also amazing!!

7. Have a plan.

Find a plan that works for you and your abilities and stick with it. If that means doing run/walks, then build from that. I have found that doing 2 x short runs, 1x medium and 1 x long run was about right for me. I put my running dates in my calendar and kept to this week by week.  Because I had 7+ months to prepare, it meant I could also adjust my plan as I needed to :)

8. Get injuries checked out as soon as possible.

A little niggle turned into a massive headache for me, and I wish I had looked into it sooner. Tired legs is normal, pain isn't. Check it out as soon as you can. 

9. Go at your own pace.

Don't feel pressured to run a certain speed. There is no right or wrong here, whatever speed is natural to you, is what you should do. As you run more, your speed will increase anyway, but don't ever feel bad for being "slow". Endurance is more important. 

10. Walking is ok.

Running a half marathon doesn't actually have to mean you cannot stop to have a breather. I had quite a few walking stops myself, but tried to make sure they were around 1-2 minutes only. These didn't end up having much of an effect on my overall time, because it meant the bits I was running, I could run better/stronger. It's ok to walk!!!

11. Enjoy the experience.

This was something that was at the forefront of my mind at all times. I knew that I didn't want to run my half marathon and finish with "I'm never doing that again", so I focused on every little achievement, every bit of progress, knowing that all of them added up to the bigger goal. I frequently imagined the finish line, and how amazing it would feel. This made the training so much more enjoyable and kept me motivated. And of course when the big day comes, make the most of it - you'll only have one 'first' half marathon...with hopefully many more in the future (you can smash yourself later) :)

Running a half marathon is totally achievable. 

With some smart training, realistic goals and full on commitment and dedication - you can do it!!!