IT’S ALL IN THE MIND, WELL MOSTLY
I’m amazed at the things we can do during training. When I’m not racing I almost feel bad putting in long and hard workouts for other people. It doesn’t seem like reality. But when I’m in it, I realize first hand, the power of the body and the mind.
HYDRATION & SLEEP
Yesterday was a little rough. I had a 1:30 run along with a 2k swim and was really wiped by the end. But I think I’ve boiled it down to too much coffee in the morning.
I’m all about hydration, and sometimes I get a little crazy about it because it keeps me up a lot of nights going to the bathroom. Then I’ll wake up from a restless sleep and hit more coffee. Vicious cycle that you can get away with sometimes, but not always.
I was listening to a podcast the other day with Shawn Stevenson who wrote Sleep Smarter and he made a wild claim. “Sleep does more for your health than exercise or nutrition.
My gut agrees with him and while not a great sleeper, I take it very seriously. Back in my corporate news days I walked into a morning meeting once and openly stated that I overslept. My co-workers were livid, but my boss said, “Hey, what can you do, he overslept?”
Corporate life is VERY serious for some reason and I just never felt the allegiance to a company over my own health. I just think it’s weird when people knowingly sacrifice the most important thing in their lives for the collective goal of making unknown stockholders a lot of money.
NUTRITION, OR LACK OF
Anyway, after the swim, I hit a sauna and a cold shower and felt much better. I also drank a shit-ton of water. I have been neglecting my fueling a little bit during training, but it’s been on purpose. I’m trying to teach my body to burn more fat and not overloading with sugar. It’s been sort of a governor on my effort. The trouble comes when I go too hard, which I did yesterday.
I didn’t go super hard, but just a little too hard and I paid the price.
I took a quick nap and got to bed early. I’ve shifted my training priority to getting to sleep and waking up earlier. That’s going pretty well and the next step is to get more morning workouts.
TRANSITIONS AND MOVING FORWARD
Today, I’m looking at a 2 hour bike, which I’ll likely do on the trainer. Cycling without routes sucks and I just haven’t had the urge to find them around here. I also love what the trainer is doing for my fitness. There’s something about “not stopping” that makes me feel like I’m getting a better workout.
You ever wake up and say, “This is the last thing I want to do right now” then start the process and it feels great? That is the biggest mystery to me. It’s like getting out of bed. It’s all about the transition of getting out from under the covers. Then you’re in a different mindset.
Same with jumping in the pool or onto your bike saddle. It just shifts perspective. That’s why I really try to be in the moment when it comes to racing. If you start thinking about the marathon before you swim it can really put an unnecessary weight on your shoulders.
Break it all down into sections. Swim, bike, and run. Then parse each of those into smaller sections. I’m just gonna do a chill swim. Then, oh, I feel pretty good. I’m gonna keep going. I feel really good. Swim strong to the exit. Then repeat on the bike and run without getting ahead of ourselves.
I know my mind is in the right place when I’m not thinking about mile markers and they just start showing up before I expect them. You’re in control and in the moment. It’s cliche’ but one stroke, one pedal, one stride at a time. Good breathing, etc… I have good luck with mantras when I’m swimming, biking and running. Takes the mind away to a place of meditation vs. overthinking everything.
WHY DO WE DO THIS?
One of my favorite quotes is, “If 90% of the people think you’re crazy, you’re probably on the right track.” That is the mantra for all of this training. I’m like everyone else. I want things to be easy. I am an excellent candidate for the couch most days. It feels good. It’s a nice escape. But I also know what I’m doing makes those lazy moments more rewarding.
Training also makes you more resilient. The things that were tough don’t seem so bad anymore. It’s a weird thing though because it’s hard to remember. Everything becomes relative in your mind. “I know I’m training for Ironman, but I’m “still” lazy when I don’t do the laundry.
I really try to let those thoughts go into the ether because it’s all a trap. There’s really not much that’s black and white in the world. We have to find our own place of happiness and health. It seems like the work is never done, and it probably isn’t, so I just take things as they come and celebrate little wins with a higher purpose guiding my journey.