Wrapping Up Triathlon Training

This morning I did my last longer ride before I start tapering for my triathlon next week. I rode for 23.63 miles and practiced my nutrition plan for the race. I still need to write a race plan but I was overall pleased with how today's workout shaped up. Now it is time to relax and start getting mentally and physically prepared to race next week.

I still have some things to work out, like what the heck am I supposed to wear during the swim, but overall I have been pretty on top of things. I took some time this week to create a packing list of all the goodies I will need for my race. I have been doing the little things right and trying to mentally prepare for what lies ahead of me.

This has definitely not been an ideal training cycle but I still made a lot of progress during it. I feel stronger and more confident in my abilities then ever. I feel ready to race and officially become a triathlete.

At the beginning of training I set some goals for myself and although I didn't pay any attention to them during training I still want to reflect on how I did.

1. Don't succumb to the fear of failure.
When it came to running and half marathon training I put so much pressure on myself to do well. I wanted to be fast and always set unrealistic goals for myself. Going into triathlon training I switched to the mentality that I am a newbie and just finishing is enough for me. Sure I want to do well, but I want to do well according to my standards.

2. Train consistently and don't let small things derail me.
Although there were a few weeks where I completely fell off the training wagon I was far more consistent than I was while training for either of my half marathons. During this training cycle I focused more on just getting out there and doing something regardless of how hard of an effort it was. I think the mentality that something is better than nothing really helped me.

3. Practice the things that scare me or I have never done.
I didn't do so good with this one. I did practice running on tired legs, and practiced running fast on the track but I didn't make much progress with my cycling. I also didn't do any open water swims during training. I still have one week left so maybe I can squeeze in some of the things I forgot, or skipped.

4. Make training a priority.
I did really well with this and I am really proud of myself for it. I started focusing on myself and what I need to do in order to be successful. I learned to say no and didn't worry about pleasing everybody anymore. I also did a few training runs with my boyfriend that I otherwise would have missed. It really is great to combine social activities with training.

5. Lose weight but fuel my body properly.
I wasn't so good at this during the beginning of training but over the past few weeks I have really started to pay more attention to my eating habits and how it affects my training. And as a result I have lost a few pounds and feel lighter and leaner.

6. Take things one day at a time.
I could have done even better with this but I surely did better than I normally do. There were many days where I didn't want to ride so I switched to something else. I didn't let a training plan control my life and by doing so I enjoyed training much more than I normally do.

7. Don't forget about the big picture.
I often get caught up in wanting to do everything but lose sight of how things will turn out in the long-run. I didn't stress about my lack of speed on the bike because I know that it will come with time and that I don't want to overtrain in my first season and end up injured.

Overall I would say that training has been a big success. I will be writing about what I would do differently but I am still really proud of what I did do.