Self coaching is a two edged sword. On the one hand, your coach is very likely an asshole that gets inside your head, knows all the buttons to push, and goads you on with all the dirty tricks in the book. On the other hand, your client will often come up with ingenious excuses for skipping a workout here and there, or try to short shrift a set when they are tired and whiny.
Okay, all kidding aside, self coaching is not easy. I don't have anyone waiting for me at the pool, so if I don't show, no one will be the wiser. I run alone, so if I decide to skip the last set of hill repeats it will be my dirty little secret. I cycle alone, so if I decide to just hit cruise control and take a relaxing ride through the countryside, no one is left waiting for me at the first pit stop. This would make it easy enough to slack off. The flip side of this is that I will know.
I was thinking of this last night in the pool, as I did a new, grueling endurance set. It is called a Broken Endurance Countdown. It goes like this: Warm up 5 laps; Then 150 yards each pace - - Cruise, Race Pace, Easy at the Wall Sprint between the Flags (cruise the first and last 4 yards of each length, sprint the middle 16 yards), finish with a Build to 90% for one set; Then each set is reduced by 25 yards i.e. 125 yards of each pace, 100 yards, 75 yards, 50 yards, 25 yards. Cool down 250 yards mixed strokes, 300 yards kick drills. It totals 58 laps or 2900 yards, or 1.65 miles Halfway though the first, and longest set, I was already thinking, "Oh dear gods, I am never going to be able to do this." It was tough, a real shoulder burner. But I also have the Coach voice in my head, "You're just warming up, it will start to flow once you are warm. Okay now, longest set is done, it gets easier from here." Yeah, that last part was a total lie, and I bought into it. Much like the people cheering you along on a long race course, "You're almost there, it's all downhill from here," they are always lying. Yes, I did get smoother after I was fully warmed up. I also realized that I was pushing a lot harder than the actual drill called for during the entire first set (my "Cruise" was more like Race Pace, and my Race Pace was more like the 90%). Time and time again I thought, "I can't finish this." And time and time again, I goaded myself along, "Just finish this set. You're a third of the way done, you're halfway done. You're down to the last few laps." I talk to myself, encourage myself. And, most of all, I listen to myself. The funny thing was, as I was getting towards the end, I was already thinking of ways to make the set longer, and a little tougher. Self coaching requires a certain level of sado-masochism.
I know it is easy to become complacent with training. I do it to a degree with my strength training, relying on a fairly consistent series of sport specific sets. But I mix it up, increase weight and/or duration. I add in new exercises. I am always on the lookout for ways to tweak my routine, but not to the point that I am all over the map with it. I do know that consistency is vital. But I also know that I need to have some variation or my training will become stagnant, and I will plateau.
For me, one of the hardest aspects of self coaching is not motivation or work ethic, it is forcing myself to rest when I need it. Currently, I'm recovering from a knee injury, and I am having to force myself not to rush back into cycling and running. I am slowly increasing my cycling, adding 5 minutes to each session, and only spinning every other day, instead of nearly every day like I want to. I am up to 45 minutes, as of today, and had to force myself off of the bike. I wanted to keep going, it all felt so good. I have been religious about the leg work I'm doing though, it is basically knee friendly strength training and toning to keep my muscles active and strong, and to help balance my hips and glutes. I'm not sure when I will be running again, but hell, I just bought myself a new pair of trail running shoes (honestly, they are shoes I have been coveting; Vivo Barefoot Neo II, clearance priced at $25, marked down from $120... how could I resist?).
In a few weeks, if all goes well, I will go to the Eco Park for a gentle trail run. It is an easy trail, a half mile loop, well padded with wood chips, that winds through dense woods. Yes it has some short, steep hills. Very short, and I will be careful. I was going there twice a week, using it as a combo trail run/hill repeat workout. Running laps around the loop, taking it easy on my knees even before the current injury. It is a great place on hot days, since it is heavily shaded.
I dream of running. Which seems odd, since I don't consider myself to be a rabid runner. But I dream of running through the woods, nimble and quick. Light on my feet. The dreams are so real I can smell the crushed leaves beneath my feet, and feel the dappled sunlight on my shoulders. I do dream of running, and it is so hard for the Coach inside my head to be the hardass, and keep my on track with the rehab.
Coach says it is a time for base building. Time to reset the training schedule. Take a step back and look at the big picture. If I behave now, heal, keep strong, work on technique, continue to build my base intelligently, then maybe I will be ready for the Ironman next July. I just have to listen to my Coach.
Sunday, August 2, 2015
Thursday, July 30, 2015
Nothing Goes To Plan
I can honestly say that nothing has gone according to planned this year. Starting with losing my job as of January 1st. Granted, that was a blessing in disguise, and I enjoyed being able to take a step back, look at my life, and decide what is truly important.
But this is a fitness blog, so let's keep focused. I thought the time off would give me extra training time. And it did, to a degree. Then, in early spring I found out that the Epic 250K, my "A Race" was cancelled. Suddenly I was without a goal race. I floundered. I decided to make it The Summer to Race With My Friends, and started lining up events throughout the summer. Seemed like a good idea at the time. It would be a run heavy schedule, but fun, and with variety. A persistent, nagging cough that was exacerbated by breathing the humid, chlorine laden air at the pool kept me from logging as much time in the water as I had hoped, but my running and cycling were still on track.
I approached running carefully and cautiously, opting for shorter, focused running versus long, pavement pounding, joint crushing runs. I ran every third day, trying to keep injury free. I kept my runs to 3-1/2 miles or so, which seemed to be the magic number to avoid IT band issues, or patella pain. I avoided pavement, sticking to trails and tracks. I flirted with Runner's Knee, but managed to keep it at arm's length. Until the Mount Hood Scramble. Other than the Freedom 5K I have been unable to run since the Scramble. My knee made me miss a 10K I was registered for, and have had several highlighted races come and go without being able to participate. I don't know if I will be able to run another race this season.
I was cycling heavily from early on, since that is the best approach to long course triathlon. Especially for someone with running difficulties. "Swim Smart, Bike Strong, Run Tough." I was cycling nearly every day, until the Scramble. I have only just in the last few days been able to spin for 30-35 minutes without pain. Now to build up slowly, and carefully.
With most of my normal cardio, and leg work out of the schedule for a while, it has allowed me to switch focus a bit. I am back in the pool regularly again, swimming 1-1/2 miles or so, often doing the tougher individual medley set (2 laps breast stroke, back stroke, freestyle, repeat for 1+ mile). I have increased my upper body strength training and core work so I am getting a bit of the She-Hulk definition in my shoulders and back. All with an eye to increasing my swim strength, and improving my core stability which helps improve all aspects of triathlon. I have been focusing my leg work on hip and glute strength and flexibility, both of which will help prevent future injuries (I hope), as well as increase running and cycling strength and endurance.
So, training has taken a 180 from where I was last year. All racing events are in a holding pattern while my knee decides to stop being so angry. I will say, I'm glad I hadn't paid the entry fee for the half-Iron I want to do in September, my consolation race, since I can't do the event I really want. My weight has stayed steady, I am on track with my nutrition, even if I do eat dark chocolate almost every evening (if I didn't, I wouldn't be able to maintain my weight). I am definitely not where I thought I would be at this point in the season, but I am in a good place because I am making it be so. And I am at a good point for base building for next year.
But this is a fitness blog, so let's keep focused. I thought the time off would give me extra training time. And it did, to a degree. Then, in early spring I found out that the Epic 250K, my "A Race" was cancelled. Suddenly I was without a goal race. I floundered. I decided to make it The Summer to Race With My Friends, and started lining up events throughout the summer. Seemed like a good idea at the time. It would be a run heavy schedule, but fun, and with variety. A persistent, nagging cough that was exacerbated by breathing the humid, chlorine laden air at the pool kept me from logging as much time in the water as I had hoped, but my running and cycling were still on track.
I approached running carefully and cautiously, opting for shorter, focused running versus long, pavement pounding, joint crushing runs. I ran every third day, trying to keep injury free. I kept my runs to 3-1/2 miles or so, which seemed to be the magic number to avoid IT band issues, or patella pain. I avoided pavement, sticking to trails and tracks. I flirted with Runner's Knee, but managed to keep it at arm's length. Until the Mount Hood Scramble. Other than the Freedom 5K I have been unable to run since the Scramble. My knee made me miss a 10K I was registered for, and have had several highlighted races come and go without being able to participate. I don't know if I will be able to run another race this season.
I was cycling heavily from early on, since that is the best approach to long course triathlon. Especially for someone with running difficulties. "Swim Smart, Bike Strong, Run Tough." I was cycling nearly every day, until the Scramble. I have only just in the last few days been able to spin for 30-35 minutes without pain. Now to build up slowly, and carefully.
With most of my normal cardio, and leg work out of the schedule for a while, it has allowed me to switch focus a bit. I am back in the pool regularly again, swimming 1-1/2 miles or so, often doing the tougher individual medley set (2 laps breast stroke, back stroke, freestyle, repeat for 1+ mile). I have increased my upper body strength training and core work so I am getting a bit of the She-Hulk definition in my shoulders and back. All with an eye to increasing my swim strength, and improving my core stability which helps improve all aspects of triathlon. I have been focusing my leg work on hip and glute strength and flexibility, both of which will help prevent future injuries (I hope), as well as increase running and cycling strength and endurance.
So, training has taken a 180 from where I was last year. All racing events are in a holding pattern while my knee decides to stop being so angry. I will say, I'm glad I hadn't paid the entry fee for the half-Iron I want to do in September, my consolation race, since I can't do the event I really want. My weight has stayed steady, I am on track with my nutrition, even if I do eat dark chocolate almost every evening (if I didn't, I wouldn't be able to maintain my weight). I am definitely not where I thought I would be at this point in the season, but I am in a good place because I am making it be so. And I am at a good point for base building for next year.
Tuesday, July 21, 2015
The Zen of Swimming
I am struggling through the frustration and depression of being unable to cycle and run. My knee continues to give me grief, even after 5 weeks of taking it easy. I have been going through KT Tape like a teenage boy goes through a gallon of milk. I'm keeping it taped, and often adding a compression wrap. I'm careful to wear supportive shoes, and mindful of how I walk, step, and kneel. And still it reminds me of my frailties with a random, hot, stabbing pain. Not a dull ache, mind you. This is one of those pains that really lets me know that there is something wrong. Something wrong enough that it is making me be sensible, and cautious, and shit like that. Not to mention pissed off.
At least I have really upped the intensity of my upper body, core, and dryland training. Before too long I will have the shoulders of She-Hulk, which is kinda awesome. I have been doing leg work, but it focuses on hips, glutes, and calves, while avoiding load bearing the knee. Yeah, that is not all that easy, and my quads are going to suffer from it. Sunday morning I got on the bike, to do a little easy spinning while watching NCIS. My knee told me to stop at 23 minutes. 23 MINUTES! Fuck. I'm used to going for at least an hour or two, or more, with hard gearing and sprints. So, cycling is still out for now. So it was off the bike and into the no-knee leg work.
I was forced to take a week off from swimming while they drained and cleaned the pool. It needed it. But it meant a whole week of no swimming. Last night I was back in the water, and it felt good. But even there, my knee reminded me of the damage done. I like to do my Individual Medly workout for overall swim strength and stamina: 2 laps each breast stroke, back stroke, freestyle X 6 = 1 Mile. My knee was not happy with the scissor kick of the breast stroke, so I had to modify the set, and be very mindful of my kick. Nonetheless, it felt fantastic to get back in the water. I swam a mile and a half, and felt strong and comfortable.
Swimming is a form of meditation for me. The steady, repetitive movement. Stroke mechanics. Controlled breathing. The need to be always mindful of what my body is doing. The only sounds are the bubbles of my own breath rumbling past my ears, and the quiet swish of my arms entering the water. Sometimes I hold my breath and swim as silently as possible. Smooth and silent. Last night, letting my brain fall into the Zen of Swimming allowed me to get past the angst of not being able to bike and run. I had the image of me becoming a distance swimmer. A distance swimmer. Why not? Why not train for longer distance while my legs are forced into standby mode? I have already swam a 5K (granted, it was at the beginning of a 250K Tri), so why not aim for longer? It gives me a training goal, which I don't have right now. Something to push for. I need that. I need solid goals to each for, even if it only ever happens on my own time, in my own way. This is the beauty of the Zen of Swimming, it helps me push past obstacles and see the path ahead.
At least I have really upped the intensity of my upper body, core, and dryland training. Before too long I will have the shoulders of She-Hulk, which is kinda awesome. I have been doing leg work, but it focuses on hips, glutes, and calves, while avoiding load bearing the knee. Yeah, that is not all that easy, and my quads are going to suffer from it. Sunday morning I got on the bike, to do a little easy spinning while watching NCIS. My knee told me to stop at 23 minutes. 23 MINUTES! Fuck. I'm used to going for at least an hour or two, or more, with hard gearing and sprints. So, cycling is still out for now. So it was off the bike and into the no-knee leg work.
I was forced to take a week off from swimming while they drained and cleaned the pool. It needed it. But it meant a whole week of no swimming. Last night I was back in the water, and it felt good. But even there, my knee reminded me of the damage done. I like to do my Individual Medly workout for overall swim strength and stamina: 2 laps each breast stroke, back stroke, freestyle X 6 = 1 Mile. My knee was not happy with the scissor kick of the breast stroke, so I had to modify the set, and be very mindful of my kick. Nonetheless, it felt fantastic to get back in the water. I swam a mile and a half, and felt strong and comfortable.
Swimming is a form of meditation for me. The steady, repetitive movement. Stroke mechanics. Controlled breathing. The need to be always mindful of what my body is doing. The only sounds are the bubbles of my own breath rumbling past my ears, and the quiet swish of my arms entering the water. Sometimes I hold my breath and swim as silently as possible. Smooth and silent. Last night, letting my brain fall into the Zen of Swimming allowed me to get past the angst of not being able to bike and run. I had the image of me becoming a distance swimmer. A distance swimmer. Why not? Why not train for longer distance while my legs are forced into standby mode? I have already swam a 5K (granted, it was at the beginning of a 250K Tri), so why not aim for longer? It gives me a training goal, which I don't have right now. Something to push for. I need that. I need solid goals to each for, even if it only ever happens on my own time, in my own way. This is the beauty of the Zen of Swimming, it helps me push past obstacles and see the path ahead.
Thursday, July 9, 2015
Knee. Borked Again.
I am beginning to come to the sad conclusion that running is never going to be my body's sport of choice. I have been plagued with injuries this year, even more so than in past years. For months I have been flirting with a case of Runner's Knee. The Mount Hood Scramble took it from mere flirtation to a full-blown relationship about 4 miles into a 6 mile trail run. I knew right away that I should stop, but what do you do when you are still 2 miles out? You just keep going. There was no option, really. On the plus side, I did place second in my age group. On the negative side, here it is, nearly 3 weeks later, and I am still relying heavily on KT Tape. I didn't even get into my crash near the end that split open my elbow.
I know I made several critical mistakes on The Scramble: First, I didn't wear my Merrell Trail Glove shoes, since I had not done any training runs in them. Instead, I wore my worn out Saucony running shoes that are my pavement pounders. Second, I did not tape my knee beforehand, even though I knew I was close to a bummer knee. Third, I was not as careful on the descents as I should have been. Downhill, especially as steep as in this race, is much harder on the knees than the ascents. This was a brutal race: steep hills of sand, ash, and rock; boulder fields; a long slog on the soft, dry sand of the river bank that had just enough softball sized rocks in it to make it treacherous; multiple river crossings; and did I mention steep hills? Very. Steep. Hills.
Last Saturday was the Freedom 5K. A simple run on a relatively flat course, following the parade route for the Buckaroo. Hottest g'damned race I have ever run. I figured my knee would be okay, since I had not been able to run, and could barely cycle on the 2 weeks between it and the Scramble. I had my knee taped within an inch of its life, and felt pretty decent about my chances. I knew I would take it slow and easy. My knee griped a bit the first half mile or so, then settled down just fine, but I was being so careful, and trying to run as gently as possible. And hot. It was so, so very hot. A friend, who ran a great time, had heat exhaustion that had her loopy for a few hours afterwards. Despite the knee, and the heat, I did place first in my age group, to my great surprise. My knee felt fine, until about 2 hours after the race and I had that now all too familiar burning pain under my patella. KT Tape has been my constant companion of late.
I have another race in 8 days. I had signed up for an easy 10K. Last night I contacted the race coordinator to ask if I could be switched over to the 5K, and even that is very likely pushing my luck.
What does this all tell me? Do I give up running, which means giving up on triathlon? Oh, hell no. I won't give up on triathlon, and especially the Ironman plan. Maybe back off on the mileage? Yes. I will go back to the drawing board, back to basics, back to building foundation strength. There are a lot of exercises I can and will incorporate into my training in order to improve my muscle balance. I can increase strength, flexibility, and muscle stamina without the knee pounding. Hopefully, anyway. I feel like I am taking a giant leap backwards in my training though. But if I can't run, at least I can try to recover. 8 days until my next race, 3 weeks until my next adventure run. If I'm careful, maybe I won't break myself.
I know I made several critical mistakes on The Scramble: First, I didn't wear my Merrell Trail Glove shoes, since I had not done any training runs in them. Instead, I wore my worn out Saucony running shoes that are my pavement pounders. Second, I did not tape my knee beforehand, even though I knew I was close to a bummer knee. Third, I was not as careful on the descents as I should have been. Downhill, especially as steep as in this race, is much harder on the knees than the ascents. This was a brutal race: steep hills of sand, ash, and rock; boulder fields; a long slog on the soft, dry sand of the river bank that had just enough softball sized rocks in it to make it treacherous; multiple river crossings; and did I mention steep hills? Very. Steep. Hills.
Last Saturday was the Freedom 5K. A simple run on a relatively flat course, following the parade route for the Buckaroo. Hottest g'damned race I have ever run. I figured my knee would be okay, since I had not been able to run, and could barely cycle on the 2 weeks between it and the Scramble. I had my knee taped within an inch of its life, and felt pretty decent about my chances. I knew I would take it slow and easy. My knee griped a bit the first half mile or so, then settled down just fine, but I was being so careful, and trying to run as gently as possible. And hot. It was so, so very hot. A friend, who ran a great time, had heat exhaustion that had her loopy for a few hours afterwards. Despite the knee, and the heat, I did place first in my age group, to my great surprise. My knee felt fine, until about 2 hours after the race and I had that now all too familiar burning pain under my patella. KT Tape has been my constant companion of late.
I have another race in 8 days. I had signed up for an easy 10K. Last night I contacted the race coordinator to ask if I could be switched over to the 5K, and even that is very likely pushing my luck.
What does this all tell me? Do I give up running, which means giving up on triathlon? Oh, hell no. I won't give up on triathlon, and especially the Ironman plan. Maybe back off on the mileage? Yes. I will go back to the drawing board, back to basics, back to building foundation strength. There are a lot of exercises I can and will incorporate into my training in order to improve my muscle balance. I can increase strength, flexibility, and muscle stamina without the knee pounding. Hopefully, anyway. I feel like I am taking a giant leap backwards in my training though. But if I can't run, at least I can try to recover. 8 days until my next race, 3 weeks until my next adventure run. If I'm careful, maybe I won't break myself.
Sunday, May 3, 2015
Loss of Focus
I still haven't full recovered from the disappointment of having my A Race denied to me (the event was cancelled). My training has floundered considerably. Add to this the fact that I can't seem to manage to get back into running without various injuries plaguing me.
Yes, plagued by injuries. Go figure. At first it was the typical IT Band pain, an angry Achilles', my hip flexor copping an attitude. Then 2 weeks ago, on a 5 mile run I rolled my ankle when I was barely halfway through the run. That benched me for a few days. Then I got busy helping with the heavy labor out at my Grandparents' property. While there I damn near borked myself with a nasty fall. I was standing with one foot on the rail of a truck bed, and one foot on the side of an 8' tall dumpster, with my head at least 10' off the ground. I lost my balance as we chucked a heavy chair up over the side and into the dumpster. I almost managed to regain my balance, but instead went straight over backwards. There was nothing to grab, nothing to break my fall, except for the hard packed gravel road, of course. I managed to take the brunt of it on my ass, and fell flat and straight. It hurt like a m'fucker. I lay for several minutes, doing the internal assessment of injury. Miraculously I did not break my tailbone, twist my back, or hit my head. All I could say was, "I think I broke my ass!" Really, the only injury is a bruised sacrum. I got out of it cheap, since it was the hardest fall I have ever taken. But it is nigh on impossible to run with a bruised sacrum, cycling is bad enough.
I am determined to get back on track though. It isn't like I am slacking. I have been doing hard physical labor, climbing up and down hills, hauling and stacking bricks (lots and lots of bricks), and generally getting a great full body workout day after day, but it isn't focused training. I have kept up with my cycling, at least with the indoor training sessions. My swimming has been a bit less than I would like, but I am doing dryland work 2 or 3 times a week. I have kept my weight training consistent, and feel strong. My weight has stayed at a steady 155 to 158.
So, what am I bitching and moaning about? I don't have my focus. The last two years I had laser sharp focus for both training and nutrition. This year, not so much. That is going to change. Today was my first day not out at the Grandparents' property in over a week. I got in a strong though a bit slow of a swim today, 50 laps, despite running on about 3 hours sleep. Last night, for some reason I felt like I was damn near burning up. I tossed and turned, my muscles felt like they had electricity running through them, and I was sweating as heavily as if I were running hill repeats. I finished my evening with a 65 minute cycling workout, doing a hard gearing pyramid.
Nutrition has stayed pretty solid, though I am eating a bit more sweet stuff than I would like. I keep extra dark chocolate on hand to satisfy my sweet tooth.
But my loss of focus has me stressed. It could be that since I have no schedule in my real life right now I am not scheduling my training like I have in the past. It's like they say, "Need to get something done? Ask a busy person." I feel like I'm busy as hell, but without a framework to plan around. It has to change. I need to regain my focus.
Yes, plagued by injuries. Go figure. At first it was the typical IT Band pain, an angry Achilles', my hip flexor copping an attitude. Then 2 weeks ago, on a 5 mile run I rolled my ankle when I was barely halfway through the run. That benched me for a few days. Then I got busy helping with the heavy labor out at my Grandparents' property. While there I damn near borked myself with a nasty fall. I was standing with one foot on the rail of a truck bed, and one foot on the side of an 8' tall dumpster, with my head at least 10' off the ground. I lost my balance as we chucked a heavy chair up over the side and into the dumpster. I almost managed to regain my balance, but instead went straight over backwards. There was nothing to grab, nothing to break my fall, except for the hard packed gravel road, of course. I managed to take the brunt of it on my ass, and fell flat and straight. It hurt like a m'fucker. I lay for several minutes, doing the internal assessment of injury. Miraculously I did not break my tailbone, twist my back, or hit my head. All I could say was, "I think I broke my ass!" Really, the only injury is a bruised sacrum. I got out of it cheap, since it was the hardest fall I have ever taken. But it is nigh on impossible to run with a bruised sacrum, cycling is bad enough.
I am determined to get back on track though. It isn't like I am slacking. I have been doing hard physical labor, climbing up and down hills, hauling and stacking bricks (lots and lots of bricks), and generally getting a great full body workout day after day, but it isn't focused training. I have kept up with my cycling, at least with the indoor training sessions. My swimming has been a bit less than I would like, but I am doing dryland work 2 or 3 times a week. I have kept my weight training consistent, and feel strong. My weight has stayed at a steady 155 to 158.
So, what am I bitching and moaning about? I don't have my focus. The last two years I had laser sharp focus for both training and nutrition. This year, not so much. That is going to change. Today was my first day not out at the Grandparents' property in over a week. I got in a strong though a bit slow of a swim today, 50 laps, despite running on about 3 hours sleep. Last night, for some reason I felt like I was damn near burning up. I tossed and turned, my muscles felt like they had electricity running through them, and I was sweating as heavily as if I were running hill repeats. I finished my evening with a 65 minute cycling workout, doing a hard gearing pyramid.
Nutrition has stayed pretty solid, though I am eating a bit more sweet stuff than I would like. I keep extra dark chocolate on hand to satisfy my sweet tooth.
But my loss of focus has me stressed. It could be that since I have no schedule in my real life right now I am not scheduling my training like I have in the past. It's like they say, "Need to get something done? Ask a busy person." I feel like I'm busy as hell, but without a framework to plan around. It has to change. I need to regain my focus.
Saturday, March 14, 2015
Single Anvil?
In an apparent attempt to throw yet another rock in my cogs, another monkey in the wrench, it turns out that there is now an Iron distance triathlon at Hagg Lake in mid July. It is at the Double Anvil event (a double Iron distance race). Last year they only offered the Double and Triple Anvils. Yes, there are people crazy enough to do a 421.8 mile triathlon, as if 140.6 isn't crazy enough. So, I tracked down the even website, thinking of using the Double Anvil as a training goal for next year, since my hoped for A race this year was cancelled. Lo and behold, this year they are offering the Single Anvil. I am sorely tempted, and still wrestling with the idea. But I honestly don't think I can be ready for an Iron distance race in 4 months. I was expecting a late September race with a shorter run, knowing I could be ready for that with no worries. But to bump the timeline by 2 months and add 10 miles to the run, that puts me on the edge of difficulty. Could I do it? Yes. I know I could. Would I suffer? Yes. Granted, there is a level of suffering to all ultra endurance, but why add to what is already there.
The one huge downside to doing either the single or double (or gods forbid, the triple) Anvils is that they are run on a fairly short course with multiple laps. The single consists of the 2 mile swim, then 11 laps around the lake for the bike, and 12 laps around a 2 mile course for the run. This would let you become well acquainted with the course, optimizing your efficiency. But it would also be boring as fuck. Both the 70.3 and the 250K that I have done were on a grand scale through beautiful, though steep country. One benefit of the Anvil races is that they are held at a Lake about an hour from me, and I could train on the course with regularity. But would I be ready to run a marathon in July? That is the kicker. Half marathon? No problem. Marathon? Not so easy-peasy.
I am torn. Do I push myself and do 140.6 miles in July, eliminating most other fun races I want to run? Or keep to the plan of aiming for the 70.3 in September, beating my previous time by a solid hour, not having to beat the hell out of my body quite as badly, running some fun races with friends, all the while training myself to do the Double Anvil next year? Damn it. Decisions, decisions.
I am leaning towards the Best in The West 70.3, and kicking my old finishing time to the curb. I have already found some fun races to run to get my body ready for some half marathons through the season. Trail runs, adventure races, and road runs. This will be a fun season, maybe not quite as obsessively focused as last season, but with a very tough end game in mind: Double Anvil 2016.
The one huge downside to doing either the single or double (or gods forbid, the triple) Anvils is that they are run on a fairly short course with multiple laps. The single consists of the 2 mile swim, then 11 laps around the lake for the bike, and 12 laps around a 2 mile course for the run. This would let you become well acquainted with the course, optimizing your efficiency. But it would also be boring as fuck. Both the 70.3 and the 250K that I have done were on a grand scale through beautiful, though steep country. One benefit of the Anvil races is that they are held at a Lake about an hour from me, and I could train on the course with regularity. But would I be ready to run a marathon in July? That is the kicker. Half marathon? No problem. Marathon? Not so easy-peasy.
I am torn. Do I push myself and do 140.6 miles in July, eliminating most other fun races I want to run? Or keep to the plan of aiming for the 70.3 in September, beating my previous time by a solid hour, not having to beat the hell out of my body quite as badly, running some fun races with friends, all the while training myself to do the Double Anvil next year? Damn it. Decisions, decisions.
I am leaning towards the Best in The West 70.3, and kicking my old finishing time to the curb. I have already found some fun races to run to get my body ready for some half marathons through the season. Trail runs, adventure races, and road runs. This will be a fun season, maybe not quite as obsessively focused as last season, but with a very tough end game in mind: Double Anvil 2016.
Thursday, March 12, 2015
Respect The Distance
I recently came to the conclusion that I have been depressed over my lack of money, and that it was likely going to make it very difficult to repeat a trip to do the Epic 250K. I have been wracking my brain trying to think of how to make it affordable. I thought maybe if I can scrape together the money for the entrance fee, then worry about the cost of the trip later this summer, that I might be able to swing it. Maybe. I decided to see exactly what the race fee was and came up against the even more depressing obstacle: The event has been CANCELLED. Yes, you heard me right, Cancelled, with a capital C. Holybaldfacedpalomino, Batman, Cancelled? That really hit me where it hurts. Yes, I was beating myself up over the fact that it was going to be a major financial strain if I entered. But g'damn it, I wanted to get a decent qualifying time.
So, after already being pouty over the financial aspect, I spent more pouting over the cancellation. But I had already been trying to formulate a backup plan, just in case. For starters I will enter the Best of The West half-Ironman again this year, which is in September. I did this 18 months ago, and the swim and bike were easy, but the run was particularly brutal since I started having leg cramps at mile 4. My goal is to repeat the event and beat my time by at least an hour. Now, the downside of doing this event is that in reality, I don't consider a half-Iron to be enough of a challenge. I know I could walk out the door tomorrow morning, do the event, and get a PR. But the run course on this event is brutal. There is no level section. None. All uphill and downhill, every damned step. So therein lies the challenge: swim smart, bike strong, run tough. And always Respect the Distance. I could do it tomorrow, but I can kill it in September (at least for me). So I will train as hard as I did last summer, but dial in my focus on speed.
By doing the Best in The West, that also frees me up to do the Firefighter Stair Climb again. I had to skip it last year because it fell on the same weekend as the 250K. Fuck yeah, 40 flights up the Bancorp Tower in full bunker gear and SCBA. Yes, it kicks ass, and will kick your ass.
Now, with those two weekends solidly locked up, I have the whole spring and summer open before me. I have decided that this will be the Summer to Race With My Friends. I have only done one event with someone else. All my other events I have attended and ran solo. Since I need to work on my run strength more than anything, the best way to do it is to partner up. Well, at least make it a point to have at least one friend run each event with me this summer. Last year I was training so hard that I only ran one other race, the Buck Mountain Mudslinger in late winter. This year I am going to try and hit at least two races a month, more if possible. I am going to find fun runs that will appeal to a wide range of fitness abilities. Trail runs, road races, adventure runs. I already have a handful of friends that I have thrown the gauntlet down to, and they are eager play.
Finally, here comes the insane part, I am going to start training for the Double-Iron that is held at Hagg Lake. Yeah, a Double, as in 2 x 140.6 miles = 281.2 miles. How fucked up is that? This could be a total pipe dream, but now that there isn't an Iron distance in the state, the Double is the next step. Honestly, I had been kind of eyeing it already, thinking that maybe in a few years I could be ready. Now I can have a solid 18 months to train. This almost works better since I won't need to take as long a recovery time after doing 70.3 like I would after the 250K. After the race I can pretend that it was just a long, brick training session. Leading up to it, and during it, it is not a training run, I will respect the distance. This will be a race. A full out, balls to the wall, I wanna catch you motherfucker, race. Now that I know I have the endurance, and have learned so much more about pacing and nutrition, as well as smart training, I think I can really push myself.
So here is to a plethora of races, long and short. A long season, full of adventures to share. 5K to 70.1 miles, every race I will Respect The Distance, and give it all I've got.
So, after already being pouty over the financial aspect, I spent more pouting over the cancellation. But I had already been trying to formulate a backup plan, just in case. For starters I will enter the Best of The West half-Ironman again this year, which is in September. I did this 18 months ago, and the swim and bike were easy, but the run was particularly brutal since I started having leg cramps at mile 4. My goal is to repeat the event and beat my time by at least an hour. Now, the downside of doing this event is that in reality, I don't consider a half-Iron to be enough of a challenge. I know I could walk out the door tomorrow morning, do the event, and get a PR. But the run course on this event is brutal. There is no level section. None. All uphill and downhill, every damned step. So therein lies the challenge: swim smart, bike strong, run tough. And always Respect the Distance. I could do it tomorrow, but I can kill it in September (at least for me). So I will train as hard as I did last summer, but dial in my focus on speed.
By doing the Best in The West, that also frees me up to do the Firefighter Stair Climb again. I had to skip it last year because it fell on the same weekend as the 250K. Fuck yeah, 40 flights up the Bancorp Tower in full bunker gear and SCBA. Yes, it kicks ass, and will kick your ass.
Now, with those two weekends solidly locked up, I have the whole spring and summer open before me. I have decided that this will be the Summer to Race With My Friends. I have only done one event with someone else. All my other events I have attended and ran solo. Since I need to work on my run strength more than anything, the best way to do it is to partner up. Well, at least make it a point to have at least one friend run each event with me this summer. Last year I was training so hard that I only ran one other race, the Buck Mountain Mudslinger in late winter. This year I am going to try and hit at least two races a month, more if possible. I am going to find fun runs that will appeal to a wide range of fitness abilities. Trail runs, road races, adventure runs. I already have a handful of friends that I have thrown the gauntlet down to, and they are eager play.
Finally, here comes the insane part, I am going to start training for the Double-Iron that is held at Hagg Lake. Yeah, a Double, as in 2 x 140.6 miles = 281.2 miles. How fucked up is that? This could be a total pipe dream, but now that there isn't an Iron distance in the state, the Double is the next step. Honestly, I had been kind of eyeing it already, thinking that maybe in a few years I could be ready. Now I can have a solid 18 months to train. This almost works better since I won't need to take as long a recovery time after doing 70.3 like I would after the 250K. After the race I can pretend that it was just a long, brick training session. Leading up to it, and during it, it is not a training run, I will respect the distance. This will be a race. A full out, balls to the wall, I wanna catch you motherfucker, race. Now that I know I have the endurance, and have learned so much more about pacing and nutrition, as well as smart training, I think I can really push myself.
So here is to a plethora of races, long and short. A long season, full of adventures to share. 5K to 70.1 miles, every race I will Respect The Distance, and give it all I've got.
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