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Glad the OS is only 14 weeks

rmillerrmiller
in General Training Discussions

So it is as this point that I'm glad the OS is only 14 weeks.  Thats a long time to be doing the same thing, over and over again.  Sure, you slice and dice it up various ways into manageable chunks ("Only 3 weeks in!", or "Only 1 more week until we test again", or "Now we're in double digits!") - but at the end, it's a mental drain.  

Humans survive on routine, but I also am someone who needs to change things up every so often.  I think that is why I like doing triathlon - because just running day after day, or just biking day after day, or just swimming day after day, gets boring.  There's a difference between the work we do during workouts to get better, and the work required to get a job or chore done.  I know I'm ready to change things up a bit when the prospect of the latter starts to overwhelm the fun of the former.

For me - that always seems to happen somewhere between 2-3 months.  Right around that 2.5 month mark is when my brain starts saying 'Aww come on, again?' to yet another workout, and things start to become more of a chore - lets just do this and get it done - than a fun activity.  I've seen it in myself time and time again.  My fellow NOS'rs - I am there.  

It's mostly the bike workouts, to be honest - no change of scenery.  I'm traditionally averse to training indoors, so the fact that I've been able to spend so much time on a trainer as I have been is quite an accomplishment for me.  The run workouts aren't an issue - time passes relatively quickly on those.  It occurred to me during yesterdays run - I do my long runs on a particular loop that takes me between 80-85 minutes.  I have incentive to keep moving and keep pushing, because the faster I cover that distance, the sooner I am done.  But on the bike, especially on the trainer - it's different.  No matter whether I slack off or bust my ass, that clock still ticks by one second at a time - although I swear time has started to pass more and more slowly on the trainer over the past couple weeks.

That said, I can rally for two more weeks.  I snuck a peek at the transition week coming up after the OS, and I started day dreaming.  30' runs at easy pace with strides, 60' on the bike @ 65-70%, and maybe some swimming!  More excited at the prospect of doing something other than running or biking, even if it means I'm gassed after 100 yds in the water.  But then comes the bike focus block, where 2 hours rides on the trainer are on the horizon.  I'm hoping the transition period recovery, combined with the change of schedule, will give me enough momentum to get through that without having to dig too deeply into the well of mental fortitude.  Or maybe towards the end of that block it will start being nice enough to ride outside(!).

Thanks for listening to me ramble.  

 

 

Comments

  • rlh2000rlh2000
    Makes me glad I'm not doing one of those 36 week (or whatnot) Ironman plans. At least with EN we get a new plan every couple months or so. Definitely a mental thing.
  • benvanmarckebenvanmarcke
    I find it hard also, but it is the nature of the beast. Max results with little training hours doesn't provide endless opportunities to keep it fun and exciting. I know for me, I'm anxious for a change because it has been a long time since my last race (IM ST George in May) and it's still a long time since my next A race though luckily i have some fun events sooner like a half marathon mid Febrary and IM California end March en route to IM 70.3 St George.

    We've been doing OS for a long time now, and what makes me want to do something different isn't necessary the type of work, but more the goals associated with it. I'm still in the 'winter' mental phase but desperately want to get out of that and into real in season HIM or IM training mode.
  • Joe HallatschekJoe Hallatschek
    You know, you actually build up an endurance for the trainer. My first OS was a real challenge. Then, I did the short course plan and did most of it outside, but when the weather was bad, it was easy to just take it in for a really good trainer session. The next OS was easier on the head and once again for the SC when I had to take it in. Now in my third OS, I take it inside if the weather even looks threatening because I know I'll get a good workout. We have had several bike-car incidents here in San Antonio this year, a couple of fatalities included. So now, I'm thinking about just doing the biking indoors as a matter of course during the week and then only take it ouside on weekends.

    Bottom Line: for an hour, it's bearable. But nothing beats a sunny day with no wind in your favorite kit smoking down the road!
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