Week One: Patient, Persistence && Time Management

April 1st. I have officially been training for my Half Ironman for three weeks now....but obviously have failed miserable at keeping up with blogging. So here's my attempt at updating three weeks work of pain, sweat and hard work:

"Be Patient and Strong; someday this pain will be useful to you"--This is one of my all-time favorite quotes. The first time I heard it was about a year ago while I was interning in a charter school. One of my coworkers and I were discussing favorite quotes and that was the one she used. I fell in love with it because it could be applied throughout the things I have and continue to face in my life....(I love it so much that I wrote it on my dry-erase board so that it's the first thing I see when I wake up in the morning).
<----Morning Motivation!!! :)

The other thing is that the whole idea behind the quote is striking--patience and strength, what a combination. Strength, so I have come to find, develops over time, and can only be obtained through hard work and persistence. Patience and Persistence. Somewhat oximoronic right? Being patient is never something I have been good at but being persistent, well that's one of my specialties! Waiting for things to fall into place is difficult, probably because I don't have any control in the situation. But continuing to put the effort and energy in to something offers that little extra something that motivates you to want to keep pushing and telling yourself you can accomplish whatever it is you want.

The first week of training was really successful I think. Granted the over-achiever in me was beyond ecstatic to start working out harder, longer and with more intensity. The basic outline of my workout schedule looked like this:

Monday: Swim & Core
Tuesday: Brick (Bike and Run)
Wednesday: Swim & Run
Thursday: Bike & Core
Friday: Rest (yea right--yoga)
Saturday: Bike & Run
Sunday: Run & Core

Nothing I wasn't familiar with already, before I started I was doing at least two workouts a day already so there wasn't much of a challenge there. The hard part now came in when I had to fit longer time slots into my day....oh yea and the core, the core is something else. Let me just say, a core workout will beat up your body but you will feel so great afterward! My first day I had core one, which looks like this:

Jump Rope Sequence: (complete 2x)

-1 min. regular jump rope

-1 min. left leg

-1 min. right leg

-1 min double jump

-1 min regular

Stretch

Main Set: (complete 3x--45 seconds rest between sets)

-1 min. tuck jumps

-1 min. split squat jumps

-1 min. vertical jumps

-45 seconds lateral jump-left

-45 seconds lateral jump-right

-30 seconds tricept dips.

Abs & Stretch

So basically I save that workout until the end so I can push hard and fully enjoy the fact that I can't move and I'm drowning in my sweat....yum! The other thing that I had to figure out was balance. At this point I was two weeks into my Jillian Micheal's ripped and 30 workouts and I wasn't about to give up on that! Oh and one more thing, there's no way I could stop lifting. Alright so now I have workouts for my IM and a need to finish this program and lift. Geeeesh. It was hard and it still is but time management has really been key this first week and continues to be a highlight. Not only do I need to find time to fit in the workouts but I also need to consider the time needed for stretching and relaxing, on top of the other activities going on in my life like school and work and internship....Needless to say I was beginning to feel like the ring leader of my very own three ring circus. But balance will naturally occur with organization, time management, and drive. Drive to wake up everyday before the sun, eat the right foods and take care of yourself. I have to say that when that balancing happens there is such a strong sense of pride that overcomes, like "Yes, I work up this morning, went to work, did my workouts, sat through class and now am applying for jobs. Look at me go!" How egotistical right? Well whatever, you have believe the best in yourself and that every bit you put in is worth the final outcome. 16 weeks of hard work will pay off when I cross that finish line. I'll think back to every moment when I was working out and wanted to stop or how much pain my body was in and it will feel soooo good. That burn that hurts so good and makes you feel fabulous! :)