New Year = New goals!
Complete a 70.3 distance race. That’s a big jump, given this is only my second year being a triathlete. However, as I started to figure out what my body needed for training, my times improved over the course of the 2019 season (and combined with a healthier eating plan - see more below), I think this is doable. I don’t have a specific time goal in mind, I really just want to see how my body responds to the distance and the time needed to train (and compete) at that distance. So the goal is to complete the race in one piece!
Low Carb High Fat Lifestyle. This one is a little more controversial. Everyone seems to have different views on what is the right diet. From reading various sources (including lots of testing results), what I found out is that different diets work for different people. After some trial and error, I have found that my body tends to not respond well when I have eaten food high in sugar (thank you left over Halloween candy for assisting with that “discovery”). After researching different options, I believe that the low carb high fat lifestyle is what is going to be the best fit for me. I’m going through the transition period to start this lifestyle now, I continue to keep notes to see if this is the solution or not. (More information is available at EndureIQ.com). Note that I said lifestyle and not diet ... what I'm looking to implement is a change that is sustainable for years and years to come.
Revised and Smarter Training Plan. I’m not convinced that hiring a coach is necessary/appropriate given where I am in my triathlon journey. So this means, I need to structure my own training plan and more importantly stick to it as the season progresses. This means adding in strength training during the off-season and adjusting where I am spending my time to (1) work on my bike (i.e. my weakest sport) and (2) preserve and build strength in my knee (as my 20 year old injury resurfaces from time-to-time). This means less running during the off season, more swimming and more structured bike workouts. Also, after research I’m going to focus on more Zone 2 training and using HRV to help gauge how my body is responding to training sessions.
Figure out how to get our kiddos more involved. The only downside of the revised training plan is that it does mean a little more time away from the kiddos (in addition to working all day). There are several ways I hope to do this. First, set up a space in our home so we can do as much training here as possible – that’s less time driving back and forth to the gym. Second, is to get the kiddos more involved in our training and races. That means improving their skills in all three sports. We’d love to be able to make some of our races family events.
Trial and error is how I’ll know if this is going to work. I’ve put systems in place (mostly apps on my phone) to help hold me accountable to these goals. After a year of trying to track various tasks in excel while I experimented with different applications, I’ve settled on the ones that I found the most helpful and I think will do the most to help me achieve the above goals.
I’ll dive into more details about the above goals as the year goes on and there is progress or additional lessons learned.
Happy training!
Working Mother Triathlete
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