Andromeda Train
I am tired. And it’s not from my recent string of late night training sessions--well, at least not completely. The Andromeda Strain visited our house a month ago and has yet to leave. First, the boys were sick. Nothing serious, just a draining, long term fever with the always enjoyable GI eructations. Then my wife and I got it. Then, after a false plateau of good health, it cycled through the whole family again. Fun, fun, fun.
After many relatively sleepless nights and arduous days of nursing ill progeny (my poor wife usually has to fend for herself), it’s quite hard to even think about getting in a single workout, let alone the doubles often needed for triathlon training. Any other time, I’d have taken some days off while awaiting the scourge to leave our home, but with an Ironman looming, I didn’t.
I probably should have. It would have been the prudent thing to do. But, being lazy by nature and always looking for reasons to slack off, I often feel I have to lash myself to the mast of productivity and workout sick, and tired, and oftentimes just plain sleepy.
And while this is not always wise, it does fit into my new training philosophy--a veritable sea change in how I view my workouts. Before I began training for my upcoming Ironman, I was always yearning for a kind of ease in my runs and rides. Not “easy” mind you, but ease, where things felt right and good and dialed in, even when I was going hard. I would be put off by those inevitable times when I felt crummy or lethargic.
Now, with an Ironman in my future, where a marathon run follows a long swim and near-epic ride, I’m trying to embrace those bad times in my workouts because no matter how bad I’m feeling, I suspect it’s likely to be worse at some point during my race. Rather than worry about why I’m feeling horrible on that long run, I now try to own that feeling in a way--internalizing it so I know how to work around it, or through it, the next time it comes up.
In many ways, it’s a healthier approach to training, even when I’m working out sick. (How’s that for twisted logic?). Now, if I can just apply this new paradigm to other aspects of my life, I’m sure my wife and two sons would be ecstatic. It’ll probably take more effort than the Ironman, but I’m working on it.
After many relatively sleepless nights and arduous days of nursing ill progeny (my poor wife usually has to fend for herself), it’s quite hard to even think about getting in a single workout, let alone the doubles often needed for triathlon training. Any other time, I’d have taken some days off while awaiting the scourge to leave our home, but with an Ironman looming, I didn’t.
I probably should have. It would have been the prudent thing to do. But, being lazy by nature and always looking for reasons to slack off, I often feel I have to lash myself to the mast of productivity and workout sick, and tired, and oftentimes just plain sleepy.
And while this is not always wise, it does fit into my new training philosophy--a veritable sea change in how I view my workouts. Before I began training for my upcoming Ironman, I was always yearning for a kind of ease in my runs and rides. Not “easy” mind you, but ease, where things felt right and good and dialed in, even when I was going hard. I would be put off by those inevitable times when I felt crummy or lethargic.
Now, with an Ironman in my future, where a marathon run follows a long swim and near-epic ride, I’m trying to embrace those bad times in my workouts because no matter how bad I’m feeling, I suspect it’s likely to be worse at some point during my race. Rather than worry about why I’m feeling horrible on that long run, I now try to own that feeling in a way--internalizing it so I know how to work around it, or through it, the next time it comes up.
In many ways, it’s a healthier approach to training, even when I’m working out sick. (How’s that for twisted logic?). Now, if I can just apply this new paradigm to other aspects of my life, I’m sure my wife and two sons would be ecstatic. It’ll probably take more effort than the Ironman, but I’m working on it.
posted by Hank at 11:48 AM
<< Home