On my run today, I was thinking about my training style and how it is markedly different from how I like to manage the rest of my life. I'm a total planner - a day out, week out, months out, years out. I prefer to think now about next summer's vacations and have already picked up a few Christmas gifts and started a list.
However, when it comes to training, I am not a planner. I am quite happy to leave that aspect to others, and even then I want the info doled out on a need-to-know basis. I realized this summer that I like getting my workouts in two week blocks. That allows me to schedule, but prevents me from getting psyched out from what lies ahead. A bit of ignorance is bliss. In the gym I'm even weirder. I don't want to know what's coming, unless it affects wardrobe (e.g. deadlift shoes or belt required)! Going from exercise to exercise without any warning (with my trainer) keeps me from "saving myself" for the next thing. When I work out solo, I am more prone to rationing out my effort and energy.
One beneficial offshoot of the training is that I've learned to be a bit more in the moment, taking each day as it comes. Good thing since today's 13 miler was only the first of many long runs between now and Richmond!!
Sunday, September 6, 2009
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Goal: Normalize, Schedule-ize
Week TWO of the semester and I'm starting to get a feel for what is going to be doable and how to squeeze things in without compromising work or family.
The latest Triathlon magazine had a sports psychology article in it dealing with motivation and digging below the superficial reasons people give for participating in multisport competition. So what are my reasons? Well, I'm thinking this through as I type but I would have to say for me it about the structure and discipline, the required focus, and the mental effort to push myself and to adhere to a specific workout plan. I love to sweat and huff and puff and think I can't make it but then do!! I like the time alone and the fact that there is no way to multitask during workouts. I enjoy the confidence it brings, and the way I feel, and the way I look. I like buying clothes in size small (except for my shoes, bigfoot there!). I am proud of my cardio fitness, my low blood pressure (it was 90/70 last week), my strength, and my work ethic. I enjoy the journey toward a goal, the nerves and buildup to a race, then putting it all on the line for race day. I enjoy the feeling of success - whether in a workout, making a good food choice, or having a strong race. There is a freedom that comes with knowing I am an athlete and not simply wishing I were in shape or exercising.
I love the challenge of committing to a goal that my head questions, but my heart embraces. I have faith that I will do the work required to be successful. I have faith in the wisdom of my trainer and coach and the soundness of their plans. On race day my faith shores up my body and allows me to turn the screws a little tighter to give it more than I knew I had.
Faith. FAITH. faith.
- I got a locker and towel service at War Memorial, which is halfway between my office and Torgersen (my class) So I can stop by there T/H and get a 40 min swim workout in.
- Gym workouts are moving to 5:30 M/W/F. The kids will already be at the gym so their fabulous Oma has agreed to pick them up there while I get my session in.
- And of course I like running at 6 am, which limits interference with kids and family.
- Cycle rides I can do on the trainer in the garage either early AM or evening.
The latest Triathlon magazine had a sports psychology article in it dealing with motivation and digging below the superficial reasons people give for participating in multisport competition. So what are my reasons? Well, I'm thinking this through as I type but I would have to say for me it about the structure and discipline, the required focus, and the mental effort to push myself and to adhere to a specific workout plan. I love to sweat and huff and puff and think I can't make it but then do!! I like the time alone and the fact that there is no way to multitask during workouts. I enjoy the confidence it brings, and the way I feel, and the way I look. I like buying clothes in size small (except for my shoes, bigfoot there!). I am proud of my cardio fitness, my low blood pressure (it was 90/70 last week), my strength, and my work ethic. I enjoy the journey toward a goal, the nerves and buildup to a race, then putting it all on the line for race day. I enjoy the feeling of success - whether in a workout, making a good food choice, or having a strong race. There is a freedom that comes with knowing I am an athlete and not simply wishing I were in shape or exercising.
I love the challenge of committing to a goal that my head questions, but my heart embraces. I have faith that I will do the work required to be successful. I have faith in the wisdom of my trainer and coach and the soundness of their plans. On race day my faith shores up my body and allows me to turn the screws a little tighter to give it more than I knew I had.
Faith. FAITH. faith.
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
HR Zones
Estimated/calculated HR zones from Jim.
Bike
Aerobic: 120-139
Tempo: 140-155
Threshold: 156-169
VO2 Max: 169-180
Run
Aerobic: 125-152
Tempo: 153-160
Threshold: 161-169
VO2 Max: 170-176
Maximal Intensity: 177-185
Bike
Aerobic: 120-139
Tempo: 140-155
Threshold: 156-169
VO2 Max: 169-180
Run
Aerobic: 125-152
Tempo: 153-160
Threshold: 161-169
VO2 Max: 170-176
Maximal Intensity: 177-185
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Lake Norman Sprint Tri!!
Hot off the press [click on the whole slide show for bigger pictures in Picassa]:
Don't have a lot of time to write but here are some quick impressions.
I've been nervous about this for weeks, primarily the swim, but also just the whole thing. There are lots of details to remember about each segment as well as transitions and I was sure I'd forget something, but nope, I pulled it off. Jim gave me great coaching on all of it, and I read and reread everything, visualized it, and was able to go on a bit of autopilot.
The swim (750m) was great. Not quite the mass chaos I had feared thanks I guess to the wave starts. Yes, I had a few people about swim over me and I about did the same to others, but quickly we spread out and found our rhythms. I swam around floaters, backstrokers, and the like. I enjoyed the 85 degree water, and doing what I had practiced - reaching, gliding, rolling, and before I knew it I was finished and coming out of the water in a sea of blue caps that told me I had finished with at least some of the folks from the previous wave that started five minutes ahead of me. That pushed me on a bit as I ran to transition.
The bike phase was only 13.5 miles, shortened from the original due to construction. There were some slight grades, but riding around the hills here prepares you for most anything. I love the hills, but some of my fellow participants must have had other feelings toward them! I just focused on high cadence and staying aero and tucked. After a successful flying dismount (still new to those), I racked the bike and onto the run!
With the run (5K) I settled into my happy pace pretty quickly and then never left it. Mile splits were 7:18, 7:22 and 7:10. Just focused on cadence, breathing, and passing people. And pass them I did!
Then before I knew it, the race was over, and I headed directly back to the lake for a nice little soak. The awards ceremony was held and shockingly I won the women's master novice division. But we all know a better athlete could have shown up and blown me away so placing is arbitrary. I did run the race we had planned for, crossed my t's and dotted my i's, gave it everything I had, and had a good positive energy throughout. It was a great culmination to a fabulous summer training journey in the gym, on the roads, and in the pool.
This was a definite group effort, to get me from injured reserve to triathlete in one summer. Thanks to Jim, to Jake, to Robert and the kids, my family and friends, and all who encouraged (or refrained from impeding) this experience. I can't explain WHY I am this way, but I definitely love these opportunities to strive, to push, to sweat, to challenge myself. I hope that what I do might help encourage others to seek and pursue these opportunities. I just needed a little push (OK, SHOVE, thanks, Jake) in the right direction to discover this amazing source of peace and contentment.
Look for me in the Virginia Triathlon series next year for SURE!
Results: http://www.setupevents.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=event_detail&eventID=1181#results-text
[Swim 16:25][T1 2:02][Bike 41:09]
[T2 1:18][Run 22:03][TOTAL 1:22:54]
1/36 in Master's Novice Women (7th in swim; 1st in bike; 1st in run)
2/136 overall Novice Women (38th in swim; 2nd in bike; 4th in run)
Don't have a lot of time to write but here are some quick impressions.
I've been nervous about this for weeks, primarily the swim, but also just the whole thing. There are lots of details to remember about each segment as well as transitions and I was sure I'd forget something, but nope, I pulled it off. Jim gave me great coaching on all of it, and I read and reread everything, visualized it, and was able to go on a bit of autopilot.
The swim (750m) was great. Not quite the mass chaos I had feared thanks I guess to the wave starts. Yes, I had a few people about swim over me and I about did the same to others, but quickly we spread out and found our rhythms. I swam around floaters, backstrokers, and the like. I enjoyed the 85 degree water, and doing what I had practiced - reaching, gliding, rolling, and before I knew it I was finished and coming out of the water in a sea of blue caps that told me I had finished with at least some of the folks from the previous wave that started five minutes ahead of me. That pushed me on a bit as I ran to transition.
The bike phase was only 13.5 miles, shortened from the original due to construction. There were some slight grades, but riding around the hills here prepares you for most anything. I love the hills, but some of my fellow participants must have had other feelings toward them! I just focused on high cadence and staying aero and tucked. After a successful flying dismount (still new to those), I racked the bike and onto the run!
With the run (5K) I settled into my happy pace pretty quickly and then never left it. Mile splits were 7:18, 7:22 and 7:10. Just focused on cadence, breathing, and passing people. And pass them I did!
Then before I knew it, the race was over, and I headed directly back to the lake for a nice little soak. The awards ceremony was held and shockingly I won the women's master novice division. But we all know a better athlete could have shown up and blown me away so placing is arbitrary. I did run the race we had planned for, crossed my t's and dotted my i's, gave it everything I had, and had a good positive energy throughout. It was a great culmination to a fabulous summer training journey in the gym, on the roads, and in the pool.
This was a definite group effort, to get me from injured reserve to triathlete in one summer. Thanks to Jim, to Jake, to Robert and the kids, my family and friends, and all who encouraged (or refrained from impeding) this experience. I can't explain WHY I am this way, but I definitely love these opportunities to strive, to push, to sweat, to challenge myself. I hope that what I do might help encourage others to seek and pursue these opportunities. I just needed a little push (OK, SHOVE, thanks, Jake) in the right direction to discover this amazing source of peace and contentment.
Look for me in the Virginia Triathlon series next year for SURE!
Results: http://www.setupevents.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=event_detail&eventID=1181#results-text
[Swim 16:25][T1 2:02][Bike 41:09]
[T2 1:18][Run 22:03][TOTAL 1:22:54]
1/36 in Master's Novice Women (7th in swim; 1st in bike; 1st in run)
2/136 overall Novice Women (38th in swim; 2nd in bike; 4th in run)
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Purpose-Driven workouts
I'm in week 9 of my triathlon summer crash/cram course and was looking back through the weeks of workouts and how far I have come both physically and in terms of my understanding of the training approach and process. One has to train for each sport individually as well as in concert, building endurance, speed, and skills.
Triathlon is a sport of efficiencies and no effort is wasted. I began to see that each workout was geared toward a specific purpose. For instance, some swim workouts were designed as "settle-ins" so that when/if I start my swim too aggressively and get anaerobic, I will have the confidence and know-how to rein things in and get back into an aerobic rhythm. There were indoor cycle workouts created to give me a sense of different cadences as a faster "spin" can help save the legs for the run, especially at the end of the bike ride. And of course the "brick" workouts help you learn how to do two or three of the activities in direct succession - bike then run, or swim-bike-run. Last week's double brick or bike-run-bike-run was a nice challenge!
So I really like the notion of a focus for each workout. That's not to say they all have to be major efforts, sometimes the appropriate focus is an easy enjoyable outing, to get back in touch with the great feeling of the water, or to find that flow to tick miles off on the road. Knowing the purpose, whatever it is, helps to quiet the mind and dig in a little deeper.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)