April Fools! Obviously, I am completely lying with that statement. However, I believe in the power of positive thinking and a positive attitude (no, really, I do!) and have decided to adopt this as my mantra to kick my ass into gear. Why? Because my insanity has reached extreme levels – not only am I doing my first triathlon in August … but I signed up for a second in September. WTF???
I hate to admit this, but one of the reasons that I decided to sign up for these events is because I do best when I am scheduled. When I make appointments, when I know that “a+b = not dying during a fitness event”, I tend to stick to the program as much as possible (when happy hour doesn’t get in the way of course. Priorities!).
While my hard-core training doesn’t begin until after Memorial Day, the get-into-gear training technically began last week. Although I have a pretty detailed plan, I’m mostly doing my own thing. I swam twice (which means making it 25 meters, then resting for 10 minutes before trying again), did two yoga classes (hello, headstand!!) and rode the bike for more than an hour. Sure, it was the recumbent bike … and I used the opportunity to catch up on a year’s worth of Advertising Age … but I did it.
Yes, I still need to figure out the running thing (after I buy new shoes, of course). And learn how to swim for longer than 30 second increments. But last week is more exercise than I probably did in all of 2010 — so that’s progress!
I’m sure my ripped abs will reveal themselves next week.
Getting good gear helps! When you own the clothes, you want to wear them and you feel accountable. Plus, if they are cute, you feel cute exercising, which is a nice bonus. I also always try to have a fitness goal, otherwise I’ll NEVER do it. Sometimes it’s weight related, sometimes it’s a race, and sometimes it’s just a random goal like fit into my skinny jeans, don’t die in step class, etc. It all helps.