The 'last supper'

25 January 2010

I had my ‘last supper’ on Friday night after meeting with my trainer and dietitian for the first time last week. My body was reeling from the shock of the news that I need to do 9 workouts per week right from the start, and I thought it best to make sure that my blood sugar didn’t drop too dramatically. Then I had my last large and greasy breakfast, my last heavy lunch, my last cappuccino from my favourite coffee shop and most satisfying of all, my last chocolate binge (which in case you’re wondering, consisted of eating 3 of my favourite chocolate bars within about 10 minutes).

But my training officially starts on Monday so I’m back on the wagon. I can’t say that the view from there has been that spectacular in the past, but this time I’m going to grip on for as long as I can! Sticking to any kind of ‘diet’ or eating plan is obviously going to be the toughest part of this challenge for me; but I’m also determined to stick to the exercise plan. That’s the fun part after all.

Over the past year as a novice runner I’ve learned that it’s mostly mental. Running involves quite a lot of discomfort and pain, and if you can find a mental space to go when the pain sets in, then you can run the distance. So I think I’ve got what it takes to successfully complete a triathlon. My hiking friends think I’m a bit crazy. I’m the one who always wants to climb the highest peaks at the fastest pace. And then again, maybe I’m just being overly optimistic. But I’ve always that I’ve got a fairly high pain threshold, and I think my ability to have my son via natural waterbirth after 25 hours of labour goes some way towards proving that. I may have to remind myself of that to get through the actual triathlon, though I imagine that in 7 months this chocolate-eating woman will have turned into a lean and mean triathlon machine!

After all the eating over the last few days, I had a surprisingly good run today. I got back from a work trip to Durban on Friday evening, but when I heard from friends over a braai later that night that they were planning a long, slow run on Sunday morning, I didn’t want to be left out. My hubby ran the 36km Red Hill Classic on Saturday and was quite happy to babysit on Sunday, so I got up at 5.30am and together with my two running mates we ran 21km from Claremont to Muizenberg via Constantia and Tokai. A hilly route, so we took walk breaks every 20 minutes, and I surprised myself not only by being able to keep up with them the whole way, but by beating my personal 21km record and finishing in 2h35. I hope I’ll get to this point with my swimming! But first I’ll need to get over that feeling that I’m drowning after 1 or 2 laps...

Now you must excuse me, I’ve got to run. There’s a packet of crisps in the kitchen that needs my attention. It might as well be my ‘last’ packet before I start the official training tomorrow. Besides, my ipod running kit tells me that I burned 1323 calories on today’s run, so I’ve earned it!

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