Psyching myself Up!

Do you ever have to mentally psych yourself up for some task? I do it all the time. When I used to wait tables and bartend (which I did for the better part of a decade!), I used to always have to psych myself up for the weekend shifts because they were so so draining! I’d have to mentally prep myself for the ordeal.

(Source)

In school I’ve always had to psych myself up for any math classes. I’ve never been fond of math, and I have had a TON of upper-level math courses, especially the sophisticated statistics that help me analyze my research. Sometimes I feel like this guy if I’m not mentally prepared

(Source)

And when I was training for my half-marathon I’d have to give myself little pep talks and psych myself up for those weekend long runs, especially when everyone was going out on Friday nights and I knew that if I went, too, I would be unable to enjoy any libations.

I’d have to mentally prepare myself for that.

(Source)

Now, I’ve got a couple of things to mentally psych myself up for. The first impending thing happens in the beginning of March. I’ve decided to try P90X full gorilla. Yes, I know I’ve mentioned it before (and have even incorporated some of the P90X videos into my workouts before), but my mind has been made. I’m going to start with just 30 days and see where it goes. But, for that first 30 days – I’m going to stick to the program to the T. That means changing everything: my diet, my exercise, and my social life (no drinking again!)

(Source)

If you’re familiar with P90X, you may be wondering why I’d only do 30 days…..the “90” in P90X is all about it lasting 90 days!

Well, the reason why I don’t want to full on commit to the entire 90 days is that I’ll have something else I need to “psych” myself up for – both mentally and physically – and it may interfere with my P90X challenge.

I have decided to stop thinking and just GO FOR IT! I’m going to be doing my FIRST TRIATHLON!!!  As you may know, I’ve been batting around this idea for several months now. I’d looked up several that I was interested in, but was quite wishy-washy about committing. Plus, I was looking for summer time tri’s & I couldn’t commit to anything because I was waiting for my summer employment info (I always teach during the summer, but didn’t know if I’d be scheduled for Summer I or II or both!). Well, I got my assignment earlier this week (2 classes – both in Summer II) which leaves me available for my #1 choice of tri’s – the Cap Texas Tri in my own hometown, Austin, Texas!!!!

It’s May 30th, which is still beautiful weather in Texas – summer time, for sure, but generally it’s not unbearable-death heat quite yet

Plus, bonus, my step-brother is planning to do the same race! My whole extended family situation is complicated. My mom and step-dad married when I was almost outta the house. Since I didn’t grow up with my step-brothers I’ve never really been close to them. This one, though, has always been one of my faves (one of the least controversial, at least….oh lord, the stories I could tell!) I’m hoping that this will bring us closer.

I’m so excited to start training for the triathlon. I used to be an AVID swimmer. Swim teams when I was younger, lifeguarding when I was older, and I’ve always had an affinity for water and swimming, in general. More recently I’ve been a runner & I’ve very recently been incorporating biking into my regiment. I know the transitions are the hardest part, and I definitely plan to start practicing those, but I think this may be something I can really excel in – and more importantly – really have a good time with!

Because of that, I think I’m going to register for the Olympic length triathlon. We’ll see….maybe I end up backing down to the shorter distance, but in this race I really feel like even the “Olympic” length isn’t too bad (1.5K swim, 40K bike, 10K run). Right now I feel like I can totally do that, so hopefully I can make it happen!

Anyways, I’ve got to run – need to do some grocery shopping so we have something for dinner! Then figuring out our evening plans!

Happy Friday!

Have you ever considered doing a Triathlon?

Did you see Caitlin’s post about trying a “tri”?