I am the best version of myself when I am in training mode. I have spent long stretches of time in this space.

I exercised until I gave birth and was back in the gym The day the physician cleared me for exercise. I bring the heat during my exercise sessions. But, I have been out of training mode for a long time. So long that I am somewhat terrified to jump into this 16 week training plan that I have put together. However, I am also almost giddy about it. When I am training, I do not mess around. I am a machine. Everything is intentional. My workouts are whole hearted and not a moment wasted. If I’m waking up at 4:30am to make these workouts happen, I better not be wasting time. My head is clear. I am present in my work and my relationships. An added bonus, temptations with food are typically a non-issue.

For me, training is a mindset change. I am not just exercising to lose weight or stay at baseline, I am using forms of exercise to train, with a purpose.

In your journey to living a healthier, more active and more intentional life, success begins in your mind. Accomplishing goals doesn’t just happen, you have to want it and fully believe in your heart that you will succeed in your journey. You are putting all of the right things in your head, surrounding yourself with the right people and are not allowing distractions to pull you away. Your beliefs will drive you to the behaviors necessary to accomplish your goals. But it must start there… in your beliefs… in your mind.

Before I made the decision to commit to this goal, I actually spent some time giving myself grace, because I knew that the first month or so would be tough. I am very competitive with myself and I knew that I would likely be hard on myself early on. I needed the friendly reminder that I have been living a lot of life lately and that it is beyond OKAY that it has been awhile. I have avoided long endurance workouts for about three years, since before I was pregnant. I am actually really excited to see what my new, arguably stronger, and mentally tougher, mom body is able to accomplish. I’d like to prove to myself that this “mom body” can kick some ass.

When I am training myself or others, it is important to establish a clearly defined goal. Your goal might be 10 pounds of body fat in 2 months, or an 8 minute mile half marathon pace, to finish a pull ups focused CrossFit workout without support, to do a handstand, or maybe to build the physical confidence to join a training group you’ve been wanting to join.

I have the very ambitious goal to dominate a 50 mile triathlon in October. The race includes a 1 mile open water lake swim, a 40 mile bike and a 9 mile run. The distance is challenging, but that is not what makes my goal so ambitious. It’s ambitious because I want to crush it and I have never really “crushed” a race at this distance. What makes it less ambitious is that I am giving myself plenty of time to prepare and that I know what needs to be done. What makes it 100% possible is that for the first time in years, I am mentally prepared to put in the work to achieve this goal. I have an amazingly detailed schedule prepared and, come hell or high water, I am going to stick to it. I have an idea of what “crushing it” looks like, but I haven’t put numbers to it yet because I honestly don’t know what I am capable of.

This morning was my first day of these 16 weeks of training. I was out late last night, grilling out and having some family time with the whole crew. My workout wasn’t too terribly early this morning and so I was able to get a decent amount of sleep. Regardless, I felt sluggish and as I began warming up on my bike, I texted my husband...

What training means to me is that you show up for your goals EVERY DAMN DAY. There are no excuses during training season. If it doesn’t bring you closer to your goal, then what are you doing?

My workouts are in the morning before the sun wakes up. S*** gets done when I schedule it for the morning. I tend to avoid alcohol during training season, because I cannot afford to wake up hungover the next day and potentially miss a workout. I tend to avoid foods that upset my stomach (dairy & bread) because I cannot feel gassy or weighed down. I tend to drink a lot of water, because I sweat buckets during cardio workouts. I also tend to go to bed pretty early so that I can be well rested.

Sorry not sorry that you stayed up too late watching Netflix. Suck it up buttercup and let’s go.

I am training to be a stronger athlete, a more present mom, a more giving wife, and a more focused business partner.

What are you training for?

In love and sweat,

-IV

Stop Exercising. Start Training.