Lots of Workouts
Posted by Admin on February 28, 2011 in Training
In past training seasons, particularly for Ironman Lake Placid and Ironman Brazil, I was under the impression that three workouts per discipline per week (nine in total per week) was the general and accepted approach to triathlon training. For Ironman Germany and under the direction of the Terrier Tri coaches, we are just doing just about twelve workouts per week (four per discipline per week). I’m not complaining really since I physically seem to be able to do them, but scheduling time has become a far greater challenge than I expected.
I’ve not really been known to be a slacker and in reality, it’s my own conscience that drives me to do these workouts. Not doing so results in a dreadful array of guilt feelings since I’m doing this for me, and for the ultimate goal of having a great finish time at Ironman Germany. But, I’m finding that I’m not doing all eleven or twelve workouts even though I could. And, I don’t have a great rationale for it. Seems as if this triathlon thing is far more challenging than mere physical ability would portend.
I have my plan for this week: double sessions (morning workout, then an evening workout) every day except Friday. That went to pot immediately since I got up today just a little later than expected and bailed on a short recovery run. I ran a lot this weekend (total of about 17 miles) and felt good enough that I could have run this morning, but knowing that tomorrow is another run day of something like 10+ miles made it easier to just say forget it. I feel just awful for giving in to the laziness and stupid rationale, and I don’t really believe that I’ll be any worse off physically by having skipped the run today, but herein lies the situation: my conscience is the big problem here. I think that I need to learn to be okay with skipping a workout from time to time. I mean really; what’s the big deal?! Too often, I think that we find ourselves obsessing over the little things when the big picture perspective is what should be in focus. Contrarily, it’s the little details that help make the big event happen, so I’m stuck in this paradox.
Now that the NYC weather is seeming to ease up a bit (the 40 degree range feels balmy!), I might be more incentivized to get up super early on Tuesday mornings to join the team for the run workouts, and I’ll soon be able to get outdoors on the bike. Can’t wait for that frankly. Before long, we’ll be in race season and the training mileage will really begin to ramp up.
I’ll be done with my current job as of March 18th thanks to an acquisition by a competitor, so with severance package in hand, I’ll soon be on “vacation”. I’m not sure what to make of what will happen in the immediate aftermath, re training. Part of me believes that the workday is the perfect segue between the morning and evening workouts, and it’s entirely possible that my efforts to find a new job may come to fruition sooner than later and not afford any such vacation. But if not, and if I do get a few weeks between gigs, I can only hope that the motivation is there to do my double sessions and to become fitter and stronger.
I have my eye on this Ironman adventure as the most important one yet. I don’t want to sound like a braggadocio, but I am supremely proud of owning the title of two-time Ironman finisher, and I have intentions of finishing an Ironman on every continent. But I also know that I can’t bank on that happening for a variety of reasons… and that Germany could be my last hurrah in this extreme vision, so I intend to appreciate the lead-up to the race, bust my butt in preparation, and cross that finish line in daylight. Then, I want to be able to call Roya and my parents and announce that I am a three-time Ironman and that I didn’t just earn that title, I did so with a finish time that was reflective of these current efforts. Is that so much to ask?
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