Planning the year ahead

I have been quiet over the last few weeks I know, this is because I have been coming up with a master plan. You see, I get so obsessed with losing weight, only ever seeing the numbers, that I get so stressed I can't think of anything else. And what does stress do? It prevents you from losing weight. Not losing weight despite my efforts has been stressing me out even more, so it's a vicious circle, and I needed a plan, and I think I might just have one.

Back in August last year I toyed with the idea of a 70.3 triathlon this summer, I think I even wrote a blog about it, but decided it wasn't for me at the time. If I did it, I wanted to do it properly, I didn't want another performance like London Marathon. So I will do it properly, next year, and I have a plan to get me there. I'm lucky that I have so much support from friends, family, Oli and through Twitter, and my best friend will be completing an Ironman this summer, so I don't have to look far get help and advice on training.

The 70.3 will be next year, so this year is where I will be getting ready for it. During the last 9 months I've worked hard to get a good base for training, although my core strength isn't brilliant it has vastly improved, and it is something that I want to concentration on to base my training around in the gym. I really am starting from the beginning with this, I'm not a great swimmer and I don't own a bike (having not ridden one since I was 12) but hey, at least I can run.

Tuesday saw my first swimming session with Rachel. Rachel is a good friend and sports coach who I met through Regency Runners and was also my mentor during training for London Marathon, after I told her what I was planning she instantly offered a swim session. I was a little nervous beforehand as I'm not comfortable in water. When I was two I had Meningitis and lost my hearing, so through my early years had countless operations to correct this, it affected my balance and for a long time I wasn't aloud to get water in my ears. When I was given the all clear I had a few close calls in school swimming lessons and I lost all confidence, so this is why I swim off of Nans, a member of the dry hair brigade!
Rachel was a little dubious when I told her all this, but after seeing what I could do during the session she has confidence that I will pick it up quickly, apparently I have a very good leg kick for crawl so that's something to be pleased about! I enjoyed the session, and was pleased with what I achieved. It may seem silly to some but learning how to put my head in the water and breathe out was a massive breakthrough, now I just need to learn to control the breathing as I'm swimming. Rachel has given me some drills to practise so I plan to swim twice a week, as I have an event that I am hoping to enter in May. I also received a great message from Rachel after the session, showing her belief in me. This really meant a lot as I look up to Rachel, and as a sports coach, she really knows her stuff!

This years goals:

• 2lb weight loss per week for 15 weeks
• Sub 29 5k March
• Regency 10k April
• Super sprint triathlon May
• Sub 28 5k July
• 25% body fat August
• Sprint triathlon September
• Sub 25 5k November

And this years races:

• Spring Shakespeare 5k - 9/3/2013
• Resolution Run 5k Warwick - 24/3/2013
• Leamington Regency 10k - 7/4/2013
• Stratford 220 Super Sprint Triathlon - 12/05/2013
• Warwickshire Sprint Triathlon - 29/9/2013
• Autumn Shakespeare 5k 16/11/2013

So, I have a plan, now to break the news to Oli tomorrow!