Yah, you know how the rest of it goes. The message of course is that hard times toughen you up. It's really a pretty cynical way of looking at things, but I'm a pretty cynical guy so the idea works for me. Or at least it used to work. I don't know if I'm just looking for excuses to take life a bit easier but it occurred to me today that maybe the rule is a bit weak. Certainly it hasn't worked very well for me in my training.
I think the real killer (even though it hasn't killed me) is trying to do this bike program as part of my overall Ironman program. It is intended to be a stand alone program for cyclists. and even though I don't do all of the workouts, (I really only skipped the easy ones) the ones I did include were persued with an absolute intensity.
When I look back at my first Ironman it is still my most successful from the perspective of training approach. Because I had to start from a long way back, I was very careful to build slowly, and when you combine that with the fact that I was still travelling a lot, it made for lots of rest as well.
So although I didn't get around to planning the remaining 19 weeks as intended, I did make a philosophical decision that I'm pretty comfortable with.. I'm gonna back off the intensity a bit and at the same time make sure I get recovery weeks built in. My overall goal of this race is to enjoy it as much or more than the first one, and the key to that is to keep it all in perspective. I admit that what was driving me to overtrain was a focus on getting faster, and I also admit that it wasn't working.
And you know what else I just remembered? It's five years later, and I'm getting older! Sometimes I forget! Maybe cause I'm getting older???
So there you have it. And while there may or may not be any truth to my earlier suggestion that I'm looking for an excuse, I am at peace with my new strategy. Game on!
computrainer, 90 minutes
"The more you trust your intuition, the more empowered you become, the stronger you become, and the happier you become."---Gisele Bundchen
Love
Peter
I think the real killer (even though it hasn't killed me) is trying to do this bike program as part of my overall Ironman program. It is intended to be a stand alone program for cyclists. and even though I don't do all of the workouts, (I really only skipped the easy ones) the ones I did include were persued with an absolute intensity.
When I look back at my first Ironman it is still my most successful from the perspective of training approach. Because I had to start from a long way back, I was very careful to build slowly, and when you combine that with the fact that I was still travelling a lot, it made for lots of rest as well.
So although I didn't get around to planning the remaining 19 weeks as intended, I did make a philosophical decision that I'm pretty comfortable with.. I'm gonna back off the intensity a bit and at the same time make sure I get recovery weeks built in. My overall goal of this race is to enjoy it as much or more than the first one, and the key to that is to keep it all in perspective. I admit that what was driving me to overtrain was a focus on getting faster, and I also admit that it wasn't working.
And you know what else I just remembered? It's five years later, and I'm getting older! Sometimes I forget! Maybe cause I'm getting older???
So there you have it. And while there may or may not be any truth to my earlier suggestion that I'm looking for an excuse, I am at peace with my new strategy. Game on!
computrainer, 90 minutes
"The more you trust your intuition, the more empowered you become, the stronger you become, and the happier you become."---Gisele Bundchen
Love
Peter
Sounds like a good idea to me, and I wouldn't be surprised if this new strategy also makes you faster!
ReplyDeleteIf you need mental health relief from relaxing too much, walking works just as well as more vigorous exercise and also gives time for reflection.
Love happy odd john
For what it's worth, I applaud this plan! If the things we choose to do aren't fun, we probably ought to choose other things, or at least choose to do them differently, as you have. Enjoy the training!
ReplyDeleteLove, gail