2022 week 6: big, bold self belief

Last week I had some BIG swims! And not just BIG volume, but BIG, BOLD self belief! I believe in my abilities without looking to the evidence, data, or results to support my belief. I have made the decision to believe in myself more than anyone else. I don’t know the how or all of the steps to achieve my big, bold, next level goal and that is ok. I don’t need to know them or have all of the answers to have my own back and believe in me and my next level!

Quote of the week:

“You don’t achieve podiums and World qualifications by waiting for results. Don’t wait! Don’t miss another second not moving in the direction of your dreams, goals, and next level”

~Vanessa Faye Foerster

Swim: 13,450 yards

Let me tell you a story about a girl who did something she’s NEVER done before.

Today my swim workout was 100s to failure. I have done this workout 4 times in the past (2/4/20, 10/6/20, 3/9/21, 9/2/21) with my best effort rewarding me with 10×100 at a sub 1:38/100 yard pace on 10/6/20. This workout always intimidates me (maybe it is the word “failure” ), but today I decided ahead of time that I was going to do something I have never done before with this workout. Today I was going to stay present, focused, and committed to my effort during Every. Single. 100.

When I averaged my first 5x100s and realized I needed to swim a sub 1:35/100 yard pace for all of my 100s to failure, doubt immediately crept into my brain. “I have never done this before. There is NO WAY I am going to be able to do more than 10 of these…if I can even get to 10.”

I took some deep breaths and said, “This swim is within you. Reach for it! Lay this brick!” Instead of looking at “this brick” as the whole workout, I broke the workout into smaller, more manageable bricks. “This brick” was the 100 yard interval I was presently in. With every stroke, every breath, and every interval, I had “how’s my effort” and “lay this brick” on repeat in my head. I focused on the current 100 yard interval I was in without worrying about past or future intervals.

The result of my presence, focus, and commitment was nailing 17×100 at a sub 1:35/100 yard pace (with 20 sec rest between intervals). The icing on the cake was my 18th and 19th intervals were 1:35.1; only missing the sub 1:35 pace by 0.2 of a second. This swim was within me! ⚡️

I was stronger, faster, more focused, and more present during this swim than I ever have been for this workout before and it paid off. I didn’t let the doubt that my brain was screaming at me be a problem. I changed the narrative, didn’t look to my past results to dictate today’s performance, stepped into the uncomfortable, reached for it, laid some bricks, and pushed my limits to the next level! ⚡️

“If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always got.” ~Henry Ford ⚡️

• Warm up:
  • 300 swim
  • 200 pull
  • 100 kick
  • 100 easy
• Main Set:
  • Swim as many 100s HARD as possible.
    • Average the first 5 x 100s and add 3 seconds to this average. This is the target pace. All 100s should be faster than this target pace. (20 seconds rest)
    • When two consecutive 100s are slower than target pace, failure has been achieved and it is time to move on to the cool down.
• Cool Down:
  • 200 cool down

Bike: 19.5 miles

I didn’t get many miles in on the bike last week, but enjoyed the miles Mojo and I did have together! No pics to document it though…

Run: 17.1 miles

Monday I had a negative split run. I was carrying a LOT of fatigue in my legs from the week before, so I had a lot of doubt about how well I’d be able to execute this run. During that first mile, my legs felt like lead, my mind focused on the doubt, and I had thoughts about micro-quitting by cutting the run short. Thankfully I recognized these thoughts, realized they weren’t helpful, and changed them into thoughts that would better support me in this moment. I know that when I focus on the big picture it causes my mind to spiral into the doubt, negative, ‘what if” cycle that is not helpful. So by shifting my focus to the present moment, it allowed me to set the doubt aside and not let it be a problem. I reminded myself to lay this brick, to question how my effort is, and to stay present. In doing so, I was able to have a solid, strong, well executed, negative split run!

#decideaheadoftime time to be present and give your best in this moment! It will get you one brick closer to achieving your goals and dreams!
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The belief you have in yourself is more important than any amount of belief others have in you. It’s natural to want others to believe in us, but we have to believe in ourselves first! Sometimes it’s difficult because we are setting out to do something we haven’t done before, but let the pesky brain know that it’s ok to be stepping into new territory. It may be a bit uncomfortable, but when you #believe in yourself to the depths of your being it is totally worth it! #laythisbrick⚡️

Strength Training: 15 minutes of core strength daily

Weekly Totals: 10 hours & 52 minutes
2×30 minutes of full body strength training
30 minutes of yoga

Attitude of Gratitude:

Morning 🔥 in the sky on campus!

Swim/bike/run days are seriously the BEST!

Normatec recovery + the Olympics = yes please!

All the snuggles! 🐶🥰

We finally completed our 2000 piece puzzle!

These two peas in a pod have my heart! 🐶🥰

Super grateful we are able to support Isabella at her State Swim meet! 🥰

What were your highlights from week 6 of 2022?!