I've just come home after a 7.5 week holiday in Europe and UK visiting family. I had a fabulous time and did a tonne of walking, I'd say on average most days around 15km, with a number of massive 21km days. Pretty cool!! I love exploring on foot, no better way to do it (if you can!). Managed to fit in a couple of runs here and there, even participated in some 'Park Runs' with the family. I am really happy that I fit some exercise in, but of course with all the amazing food (and eating it all), I still put on a few kilos. Starting back on the #whanaujourney triathlon programme, it's all been a bit of a shock to the system!!
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| Siena (Italy) in the background |
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| Florence |
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| Budapest (my birth city!) |
Even with only a little bit of running in the UK, I've managed to work up to being able to run a full 5km again after last years injury. Lots to work on, but it's a great start, the key here is to not re-injure myself. A 10km run is on the cards in about 6 weeks, which I intend to run the whole way, and I'm excited to see what I can build up to in that time. I will be targeting my strength training around my hip flexors, glutes and core... they are all very weak.
What about the other disciplines? Cycling. My biggest challenge. Conquering my fears and improving my confidence will be a big feat. My big wish is that I actually end up enjoying cycling. As some of my readers will remember, I got on a bike for the first time in about 25yrs in February last year. I didn't have a bike growing up, and while I did learn to ride when I was about 5 years old, it was really only the bare basics of staying upright and pedalling. I'd never ridden in traffic and I didn't learn control my bike in slightly more challenging situations. Everything is so much easier to learn and deal with as a child... there's that real lack of fear and 'give it a go' attitude, as adults our minds tend to hold us back more. Learning all of these new skills was pretty overwhelming, added to with the completely different feel of a road bike and having to use clip in shoes, and doing long distances. I had a number of falls, lots of bruises, cuts and grazes and a scary close call with a car on event day which still resulted with me tangled with my bike in the middle of an intersection.
I haven't touched my bike since that day, in fact I only pulled off my race number 2 days ago. I only recently realised that the crash had probably affected me and my confidence more than I originally thought. Combined with my anxiety, which seems to be going through a particularly bad wave at the moment, it meant a pretty scared Eszter leading up to my Sunday ride (images of getting hit by a car or ending up with some horrific injury or some other equally irrational scenario). My friend and now one of my coaches, Alicia, was nice enough to escort me for the whole 50kms, and you know what, I survived. I'm not going to lie, there were a few heart racing, sweaty palm, nerve-wracking moments, but there were no incidents, no near misses. Everything was fine. It has boosted my confidence a lot, and I already feel way calmer about the weeks and months to come.
Essentially by getting out there and just doing it regardless of my fears, I have proven to myself that cycling does not equal doom. Going forward, this will help turn those anxieties around. At the end of the day I am still a rookie, with 5 months of cycling experience under my belt, and like with anything else in the learning phase, it takes time to get comfortable.
Swimming? I have my very first swim squad session this Friday and I am truly excited. Having worked through all the fear stuff when it came to swimming last year, it's nice to have a discipline where I am truly comfortable and I can focus 100% on improving my technique and speed.
Reflecting on last year's triathlon experience, I feel like I plodded my way through the three disciplines (still find it hard to comprehend sometimes that I actually did it!!). I often got asked which one was my 'strength' and I'd be stumped because I didn't feel any of them were. I think my true strong point is my willpower and mental strength, and that is what got me through on the day.
Knowing I can endure, and stay motivated is a pretty good foundation to build on and now I'll be able to focus on getting physically stronger especially with the dramas of 2015 behind me! On the other hand, it is interesting that my true weakness is the other side of my mental strength with the anxieties. It's a bit weird that it's both for me, but the motivation and willpower is stronger, always has been (or maybe it's just that I'm stubborn), so it will win :)
When in doubt, my new mantra for the hard times will be "I can and I will".
Along with all the basics I have a lot more to work on, the main one being my nutrition, and hopefully losing a bit of weight again, let me rephrase, dropping a dress size again (even if not actual weight on the scales), and generally having less wobbly bits. :) :) I feel more motivated now than I have for quite some time, and like I have purpose again, so look out for more updates soon! x
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