When I was training for ironman I was training in excess of 20 hours a week, braving the elements, there were many a day that I resented having to train in the harsh winter conditions, but I did, because I had a goal in sight! To become an iron(wo)man! Never in the past year have I resented going to the gym, I love it so much that I actually feel upset if I miss a day due to circumstances out of my control! The gym is climate controlled so it doesn't matter if it's 5 degrees or 40 degrees, snowing or sunny! Sure the nutrition is a little harder, but again, I'm committed to the goal and as long as you have the right mindset, nothing is too hard!
With this week being peak weak I'll start water loading on Monday, for ironman I was instead carb loading! Instead of getting my bike serviced I'll be practicing my posing! I'll be getting everything ready for my comp day bag, but the list looks very different to a triathlon bag! So far the only similarities are Gatorade, towel, lollies and Vaseline! Whilst in ironman Vaseline came in handy to prevent chafing, apparently it will come in handy for next weekend for my gums so that my lips don't stick to them whilst I'm smiling on stage!! Yes that's right, I have to practice smiling too! Instead of coating my body in suncream, I'll instead be coating it in a very dark shade of fake tan!
Yesterday I had an interesting conversation with my boss, he said he was very surprised that I was doing a body building comp, getting up on stage for everyone to judge my physique, it's not who I am! Yet I beg to differ, this journey has given me so much more confidence, in so many aspects of my life, I'm actually not nervous at all about getting up on stage, nervous about nailing the poses, but not actually being on stage.
Just like ironman where I devoured icecream post race, I can't wait to eat a tub of the new magnum icecream post comp!
