56 days but who's counting???

As I sit here tonight, enjoying the last few days of a recovery week, I can't help but dwell on the fact that 8 weeks from today I will be competing in the longest and most ridiculous race of my life. It has been a long road getting here but the time is drawing near. What once seemed to be an eternity away is now less than 60 days. Where does the time go? I am considering this to be "crunch time". I need to make some changes to my training, my nutrition and to my life to get me to the start line on Oct 10 feeling confident and ready.

The changes to my training are easy- swim, swim and swim. I have missed less than five workouts in the past few months but four of them have been swims. It would appear that I am not taking the swim portion of this race seriously. Over the next few weeks I need to hit all my swim workouts and feel good about them. 4.8 miles of lake swimming before biking and running will surely tire me out so I need to get into the water in Oct and feel ready to efficiently tackle that distance. So far I am not feeling the swim confidence that I need. Thank goodness for wetsuits...

The changes to my nutrition will make or break me on race day. The last few weekends have been tough and I am having a hard time determining whether or not it was a faulty nutrition plan or if it was the heat and humidity. More than likely it was a combination of both but here is what I am thinking. Alcohol = NO!!! I will not consume any alcohol in the next 8 weeks. I am certainly not a "one and done" drinker so there is no need to try to learn restraint now. It's all or nothing and unfortunately I have to choose the nothing. Secondly, I am cutting out the majority of the highly processed sugary foods from my nutrition plan. Today was the first step in that direction. Today I did not eat any Pop Tarts, Zebra Cakes or Oatmeal Creme Pies. I focused solely on liquid nutrition (I will reveal my new concoction once I refine the measurements a few more times) and solid foods. I have a few more things to try next week so more details will follow about this as training continues. There are a few supplements that I am considering trying as well so I will post about them when I make up my mind.

Lastly, some changes in my life will help me reduce unnecessary stress and allow me to focus on my goal of completing this race. Don't get any crazy ideas about what I am implying though. I am referring to my decision not to pursue full time employment until Oct. Last week I made the decision to move some money around to be able to stay out of corporate America for two more months and allow me to train as my coach recommends. Honestly I want to not only finish this race but finish it strong and feeling good. This will make more sense to you if you knew a little about my coach- google Peter Kotland and you'll see why he trains me the way he does! I think he's crazy but I am doing things I never thought I'd be able to do! (Thanks Peter!) I am still applying for jobs and interviewing but I will not consider a start date until at least Oct 13. Whew...that decision lifted a huge weight off my shoulders. I am so fortunate to have had the opportunity to step outside of the corporate America mold for a year and try some new things but come Oct I am ready and willing to return. I have learned so many things in the past year and am ready to make a comeback and apply these life lessons to the corporate world.

So there you have it- crunch time. 56 days will fly by quickly so I need to be smart and focused.

Thanks to everyone for all your encouragement and support. I truly mean it when I say I would not be able to do this without you. Swim, bike, run, eat, sleep.....