Tag: getting proper rest for Ironman

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Day 2 of "10 Days of Rest"

The Blessing of Addiction

When you grow up in an alcoholic home, you have a tendency to crave excitement.  So, when I don’t start the day running through fires naked, it’s worthy of note.

A subtle, but valuable indicator is when I’m not actively thinking of coffee.  It’s a sub-conscious decision that I like to interpret as a symptom of balance.

I have to be careful though, because in some ways I fear that this newly concocted “10 Days of Rest” is the excitement.  Do I really feel more relaxed, or am I just more optimistic because I have a fresh stimulant?

This thought process is a blessing and a curse, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.  It’s a great base for being a triathlete.  You crave new challenges and push your ass to the limits.  You believe (or want to prove) you can accomplish anything you set your mind to.  But, staying committed is the real battle.

Today’s “Workouts”

On “Day Two,” I eased in without anxiety of a missed or pending workout and I swear the calm was real.  I didn’t have my first sip of coffee until I got to work.  Often, that is time for cup number two.

The stretching and leg exercises from the day before helped, but I had an underlying feeling meditation was having just as much or more impact on my serenity.  I’ve also been reading a book called “Flow” which is a pretty intense dive into consciousness and how your state of mind can be controlled and not left to chance.  (More on that when I figure out what the hell he’s talking about).

Over lunch, I repeated the pelvis and hip flexor stretches from the day before.  After work, things got a little more physical.

I added push ups, pull ups, some dumb bell work, then swim catch and pull simulations with cords.  None of it was overly intense.  Simply a wake up call to unused muscles.  As the 10 Days build, so will the weight and reps.  I also did Beso ball step-ups and can feel it a little in my calves.

Race Schedule Options

After walking the dog, I pulled my new USA Triathlon card out of the mail and found some intriguing race teases in the package.  Louisville is my ultimate goal, but if I get done with these 10 Days and decide I’m gonna race short courses I have an alternative plan . . . that coincidentally could all take place in Wisconsin.

June 22 – Rev3 Wisconsin Dells (Olympic)
July 20 – IM 70.3 Racine (Half – most doubtful)
August 10 – USAT Olympic Nationals Milwaukee (Olympic)
September 13 – TriRock Series – Lake Geneva (Olympic)

In reality I will probably only do 3 of the 4, but it feels like a good plan considering I would have convenient lodging for most of it and I love being home in the summer.

If, I decide Louisville is my destiny, the schedule will probably look like more this:

August 24 – Ironman Louisville

Either way is a win and I’m just gonna let it play out naturally.  Of course, the third option could be spending a summer in meditative recovery, but that might make a blog about triathlon kinda boring.

Rev3 Knoxville

 

 

 

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Idiots Guide to Triathlon #IMWI

One of the challenges of writing this blog is that it’s easy to sound like an idiot.  I’m blathering on about Ironman before I’ve ever done one.  But, before I know it, I’ll be floating in Lake Monona and all of these words, postulations, and unknowns will be mute.

The last nine months have taken my fitness to levels I never dreamed possible.  Four hour bike rides followed by hour long runs.  Four thousand meter swims in the morning and two hard hours on the trainer at night.  And through it all, one thing has remained the most important factor in my training:  I have trusted my gut and listened to my body.

I’ve never seen the point in chasing miles.  I take a lot of shit for this, but I do not like to go to extreme lengths, especially when I’m deprived of sleep.  I would rather skip or delay a workout than risk injury because my muscles haven’t recovered.  In many ways, I’m still building my base for years to come.

I’ve learned a lot since we started training in January, and one thing is undeniable . . . no plan is fool proof.  Everyone has their own methods but most of us struggle with the same questions.

Mileage . . . nutrition . . . burnout . . . wheels . . . strength training . . . race weight . . . recovery?

I’ve been fortunate to have a coach to bounce these (and hundreds more) questions off.  He has laid the groundwork, adjusted to my fitness level, and been there for motivation at the right times.  The rest has been up to me.

I’ve yet to bike more than 80 miles and my furthest run is 14.  A ton of people have told me about the dreaded biking and running walls, but I’m trying not to get caught up in that because triathlon is so mental it’s mind blowing.  I’m focused on remaining confident,  training hard, and trusting my strategy.  The struggle will be there, it’s just a matter of how I handle the pain.

On September 8th I will be chasing Ironman a mere 13 months after my first Sprint.  It has been a daunting journey which has transformed into a lifestyle.  I’ve become highly tuned into my body and it says some powerful things when I let it talk.  I just hope our conversations haven’t gotten lost in translation.