Wednesday 6 July 2011

FIT(SPIRATION)





It's been forty days since I began my 'triathlon' training, so I thought I'd weigh in and give you the scoop on my progress thus far.

For just over the past month, I have been running, swimming, and boxing (hence the 'triathlon' training--there's been very little cycling). I've gone from easy 30 minutes of running to 40 minutes and am now incorporating interval training once a week. In the pool, I started at just 500 metres and have now moved on to 750 metres, although I feel a lot stronger and so will be increasing my distance in the coming weeks regardless of what the training program suggests. As for boxing, it's an amazing workout and I love it, but I will be shifting gears for the next couple of weeks and turning my attention to the good ol' gym, where I'll be conducting my own workouts (I did a 45-minute weights and conditioning session full of squats and shoulder exercises--my fave--and I'm definitely feeling it today).

So far, though, everything is great! I have definitely noticed an improvement in my endurance. While I feel strongest in the water right now, my running has also improved. I'm actually really enjoying the interval work as it's a great way to challenge myself (and burn extra calories). The interval training is also great for footy, as the sport requires short bursts of energy, ugh, so much.

Finally, I've learned a lot so far in terms of training--some things I knew before, but never paid attention to until now--such as:

  • Listen to your body -- after all, you only have the one, so you might as well take care of it. It's important to know when enough is enough, what your limit is. It's also important, though, to know your strength and that you can push yourself--just know when to draw the line.
  • Good/Bad pain -- for me, I associate 'good pain' with a burning sensation in the muscles. On the other hand, a 'bad pain' would be actual pain of the muscle, joint, bone, anything else? If an exercise is hurting or if you've just pushed too hard (maybe you even have an injury), take it easy. Try an alternative exercise or just plain rest.
  • Recognize an injury -- actually, don't just recognize it, do something about it! I've never broken a bone in my body, never had any serious injury. In fact, the worst might be when I was a four and a fellow-preschooler dislocated my shoulder (hey, she was an enormous and strong 4-year-old!)--otherwise, I've been very fortunate to never have any serious injury. A few weeks ago, though, I messed up my foot playing footy and all I wanted to do was ignore the injury, convince myself I was okay--big mistake! Take care of the injury right from the get-go to prevent it from getting worse.
Okay, so perhaps these tid-bits of 'learned' knowledge are common sense and/or things we've heard over and over again (including myself), but they're important and so I thought I would share them.

Otherwise, training is going great. I'm feeling strong, I'm recovering well, and I'm ready for the coming weeks and the many challenges ahead!

What physical or athletic challenges are you taking on this summer?

images via egotastic  and strong is the new sexy

3 comments:

  1. I'm starving myself competitively. LOL.
    Good points about paying attention to pain. That's actually part of the reason that I don't take certain supplements because I really like to be aware of what my body is telling me (and don't want some chemical - natural or not - masking something).
    1.5 weeks to go!

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  2. Yeah, well you're insane.

    Good luck with your competition!

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  3. (I won't tell you what I just ate).

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