Workin' the Plan

12 weeks to go until it's time to hit the Ironman stage. I am totally focused and dialed into my plan. I am disciplined and will not be derailed. So far, my energy is really good, but I'm still toting around a good amount of body fat, so that's to be expected. I am tapping into one of my favorite contest prep mantras..."when you have it give it." Essentially, when I've got extra energy I go ALL OUT because I know that soon enough I'm gonna be sucking air just trying to get through the workout. And on those days when I feel particularly tired I just keep telling myself the opposite and within a few minutes I can hit my stride. So much POWER in thoughts!! And I never quit and I never make an excuse why I can't do something or can't give it my best effort. I just decide that's the way it's going to be and don't cut myself any slack.

Getting up at 4am is definitely....ummmmm...early. But I'm 15 days into the morning cardio routine and know that after about another week or two it will be habit and it will be easier. I actually LOVE to do early morning cardio. I love to be up before the rest of the world and I love having that time to process my thoughts and map out my day. It's pretty much the only hour of solitude I get. This week I am up to 50 minutes of morning cardio and 30 minutes in the evening, with my training in the afternoon on a 5 day split.

I started weighing myself last Sunday (1 week ago today) and have dropped 3.5lbs this week! WOO HOO!! When people hear how much weight I have to lose before I get on stage they look at me like I'm crazy. "Do you really have that much to spare?" Yes, yes I do. But the thing is, I don't want to just lose pounds I want to lose strategic pounds. The key to this game is sparing as much lean mass as possible while losing body fat. I'm on a pretty substantial number of calories right now and I do not do "fasted" cardio. At 4am when I wake up I consume 48g of protein...and end the day somewhere close to 300g. A total of 8 meals/day - eating is definitely a full time job right now so I do my best to make it as easy as possible since many times I'm eating on the run, during a training session, in my car, in my office, etc. Gotta keep it easy!

I have followed my plan to the letter this week with no diversions at all! Funny thing happens when you work the plan...it usually WORKS!!

Changes probably not so noticeable to the "untrained" eye in just one week, but as promised...here they are...