Rode the Timberman course yesterday plus an additionall 25 miles which included a lot of climbing. Route 106 was the perfect place to do those intervals, straight for 16 miles, one light, 10 foot breakdown lane. Just put your head down and crush yourself. It was a great ride. Followed by 30 min. run along the lake. Definately worth the 1 hour drive to get there.
Met my family at the lake following the workout and sat on my azz in a beach chair for 5 hours, it was an awesome day !!
Having trouble getting motivated to get out the door to do my Sunday 3 hour ABP ride. I'm afraid my mojo for these long solo sufferfests is starting to fade. I know we are getting close but I'm a little concerned about my attitude. Last 2 swims have not been great. I guess the fatigue is catching up with me.
I know taking a day or 2 off would be smart but we are so close to taper. Mentally, I'm concerned about missing workouts at this point. So should I just HTFU and just push through for another few weeks, find some special motivation, or take a day or 2 off to recover??????
I'm sure I am not alone at this point in the game, what are your thoughts?
Bob- I won't lie- for me- lack of mojo is not a reason to stand down completely. Now today, I could not wake up and get out of bed. It took me almost 1.5 hours to get up and that is highly unusual. If today were a bike day, I'd be backing off. But it is a swim for me (switched all around). So I'll meander to the lake and get something done because swimming on weekends is relaxing. I don't have to worry about how long it takes. Everyone is feeling the fatigue. Only you can know what is best for you.
Can we all hate you just a little. Nice job! Certainly broke the trend, which is great!
You took the words right out of my mouth!! Good job Eric
Bob- I'm with Michele. At this point, lacking the MoJo isn't a reason to stand down. But you gotta know you are NOT alone!!!! It took a huge amount of effort to get my AOB this morning for that 3 hour ride. What got me going were a few things. 1) My Moo Jo sitting on the dresser staring me down as I wanted to sleep in- I could just hear her saying "all the other EN Cowpolks are getting up- you better get moooooooooving!", 2) a quick check on FB while sipping my smoothie to see Linda had posted similar "ugh, I don't really want to do this" thoughts, and 3) reminding myself that its times like this when I get the build my mental six pack that will be needed for race day. So I practice my One Thing- Being on the IMoo run course with all my EN buddies, and crossing that finish line to celebrate with the cowgirls. If I want that One Thing- I gotta put in the time.
So just above I posted about being so tired. But I had to get the swim done before the beach officially opens cause your not allowed to leave the swim area. So I got going and felt cold. You know how that is when you first get in, so you swim a little extra hard to warm up. Once I got going, I felt great. Of course my legs were barely moving. It felt like I was doing pull sets and I was loving it! Also, I forgot my watch, so I had no idea how long each interval actually took. It could have all been in my head. I got out feeling very refreshed. I was very tempted to run or bike but decided that I had better cool it.
I know that 3 hour bike was hard to face for all of you. How did it go?
One thing RnP try to explain (and often people do not listen) is that the schedules are not meant to be set in in stone. They are not meant for us to follow every single workout. How that mindset gets ingrained is typical, but it's not wise, nor what is intended. We all fall prey to it, and that's human nature. They know that expecting people to do every workout week in and week out is often counter-productive--no good coach does that.
Example--I had a long conversation with Lisbeth Kenyon on Friday. She is currently the 40-44 Ironman World Champion after her victory in Kona last year. She set the age group course record in AZ, and was the overall amateur winner at Ironman Florida 2007. Credentials enough? She told me how her coach is currently testing her limits, but will immediately back her down as soon as he sees she's off her game, not absorbing, or mentally defeated. If she's willing to back down, why do we stress about taking a day or two off? She is all about using recovery to help her push her limits. It's not about doing every workout just because it's on paper. Thing is, as self-coached athletes, those are the difficult assessments we need to make for ourselves.
Seriously people--now is not the time to croak and fall apart. We want to hit these final weeks with verve and game on. There is a difference between being tired and dragging your feet, than that other place where you KNOW you need a little rest. It can do wonders. There's a lot to go in these next few weeks, so whether you push on or stand down--just be smart, honest with yourself, and act accordingly. Get Buddhist and embrace the paradox--sometimes less is more.
Sat ride: Holy crap! That was hard MENTALLY. After getting the intervals done, I came to an intersection: Turn left and be home in 20 minutes or Turn right and ride for another 3 hours. My inner Kitboo voice was one big, whiny bitch---just wanted to go home and sit on the couch. The only thing that made me turn left was knowing that Inner Kitboo voice would mercilessly berate me for not getting that workout done later. So for the rest of the ride, it was WAHWAHWAH. I could've really used an aero binky and a diaper change. Sheesh.
Sun ride: Started early (translate: before 9am I'm too sleepy to be grumpy about the workout) with my friend, Janelle. She's a super swimmer and runner, coming back from a running injury and pregnancy and doing sprint tri's this season. She agreed to ride part of my ride with me, but ended up riding all of it with me. I completely forgot how tired/fatigue I whined about being the day before and hammered up every hill and rode steady for the whole time. I went way harder with her there than I ever would have by myself.
So my conclusion at the end of the weekend: 1. I'm so freaking happy that there's only one more weekend of these rides, then it's RR#2 and taper. 2. On some level, I wish I had another 4-6 weeks of this training (with Janelle!) to really show up on race day with the fitness I want. 3. The thought of 4-6 more weeks of long run + weekend long rides is just utter HEINOUS to me. Ha! A look inside the mind of a crazy IM chica!
well okay I was kinda sad, only 3 more weeks and then a taper so with a sense of urgency I set alarm for 5:15 and was on wheels at 5:50 as it got a bit light.... trick was I met up with 4 other friends... and with intervals and yes some chatting and laughing, I did 44 miles, if there was a run afterwards, I hadn't looked but feel caught up on running and didn't want any more run miles as las tweek was highest # on run so far. now yes I want to take a nap right now but need to go to store! and yes packing up and doin laundry is constant. !! so out the door I go. still not hungry though, very humid today. very! it had just rained and was still thick with moisture. and there I was riding down a quiet small hiway! m
I should say that with our heat, we all are exercising early...not sure what time I woulda gotten outta bed if I lived in the north! but you just don't wanna be out there too long.. but we got a bit of cool air with the storms... so we are celebrating! yesterday it was 94 and you could tell it was cooler. now watch I will freeze in WI!! I did last year at IMLP! couldn't believe how cold it was there so was super excited when it warmed up on race day!!! can't do the tng in WI, sorry guys 12 hour drive away. m
Another week done gang! Great work everyone. Yup, I'm feeling the cumulitive effect of fatigue. This is normal at this point in the training. Linda is right on about the plans being a guideline. I never do all of the workouts. I always take off one day a week with zero guilt. I skip one of the swims to do this. You really need to listen to your body and figure out what works for YOU!
@Marianne, I think I need to put some Skittles in my car as a treat.
I had my AOB and on the bike by 0715 both Saturday and Sunday. Saturday's bike was hard and I did my brick run after it. My Saturday bike ride is really hilly and has the perfect place to run afterwards. Like many of you, I just do the intervals where I can. When the road dictates it I push as hard as I can for as long as I can. Yeee haaaaa! Sunday's bike ride took a few minutes to get into the groove and then it was game on. My ABP route is 50 miles with a few rollers and plenty of places to bring on the pain. It takes me less than 3 hours but "is good enough". Today my legs were burning and I had to channel Jens, "shut up legs". I just told myself to push because the faster I ride the quicker I get off the bike! After the bike ride the DH and I went home and made a big breakfast.
Keep up the good work everyone. We are getting closer.
I did Saturday's 4.5 hour bike today and, Kitima, I wanted my aero binky, too. But I also decided I wanted the mental toughness in the bank.
Times I thought about quitting my workout today and didn't. A list. By Beth
1. I started late, got off the train with my bike and it started raining -- even though the forecast said zero percent chance of rain. On a whim, I had stuffed the raincoat in my jersey. I thought "good. I get a possible race day scenario and get to test out the raincoat." And rode on. I got to see all my cycling brethren heading in. Good thing we practice doing the opposite of what everyone else does!
2. Two minutes later, in the rain, I crossed a metal bridge that was now very slippery and I was fishtailing everywhere. I had a brief glimpse of crashing -- shoved that thought out of my head immediately and replaced it with being on rollers. Didn't crash. Was rattled, but moved on.
3. Rain was making for a slow warm-up, so I decided to practice stuff from the basic bicycling skills list -- riding safely in the rain (clearly rims, descending smartly) and, because I had cover, and um, rinsing, peeing on the bike. Hook me up with that triathlon scout badge.
4. Then it was rainy and stupid windy. But I could hold my bike upright, so I decided riding was still okay. Plus, it is way easier to hold goal watts in the wind.
5. I turned onto the road with my favorite interval loop and it was closed! I called my sister, found out there were scattered thunderstorms all over, and decided to ride loops of the path close to the train, so I would never been very far away from shelter. Skies cleared. Raincoat dried out. All was good.
6. I thought of sixteen billion reasons to take it easy on the intervals (wet brakes, I was cold because the wind was cold ( I could have used arm warmers), these were my new "hard" watts etc.), but was on a pretty clear path, so rode on.
7. 10, 12, 15, 12, 15. The second twelve was glorious. Like, I sat on 203 (ftp 194) watts and rode. The second fifteen took two tries. And serious mental toughness. I'm glad I wrote the intervals on my arm today, so I could visually tick them all off. I secretly relish these devil and Daniel Webster sets, when you get to prove to yourself you can do something that hard. And like it.
8. By this point, it is getting hot and humid. I stop to refill bottles and find the vending machine full of glorious, ice cold coca cola is off! Whine. Demoralization. I rode on.
9. Mission now is the simple task of getting myself home. If there would have been anyone around, I would have totally been drafting. --especially since the wind is now blowing feriously again. I also feel like I've been on my bike for days because I've had all the weather. I ride as hard as possible, ticking off major streets and towns, back to the train station. I have never been so thankful to see the Lake/Cook County Line ever. And when did I start riding a lead-framed bike? It can't be carbon fiber. Because of the wind and rain, my mileage total was completely sucking.
The mojo in the haus has been so good, that I was actually pleased I got a tough day. It was a little dark getting home, but I got there and got there fast. Mileage was lower than expected by a lot, but watts were beautiful. And there were coke and swedish fish in the store at the train station.
@Hansan and Heather - thanks for all the feedback. I will keep working on the streching and try the streches you shared Hansen. I had PF a few years ago and it was much much worse than this is now. I'm pretty sure I just need need to stay on top of the streching and I'll be fine. I am also going to try the night splint and I now have an opportunity to try out some Kinesilogy tape for the next 8 weeks or so.
Comments
Rode the Timberman course yesterday plus an additionall 25 miles which included a lot of climbing. Route 106 was the perfect place to do those intervals, straight for 16 miles, one light, 10 foot breakdown lane. Just put your head down and crush yourself. It was a great ride. Followed by 30 min. run along the lake. Definately worth the 1 hour drive to get there.
Met my family at the lake following the workout and sat on my azz in a beach chair for 5 hours, it was an awesome day !!
Having trouble getting motivated to get out the door to do my Sunday 3 hour ABP ride. I'm afraid my mojo for these long solo sufferfests is starting to fade. I know we are getting close but I'm a little concerned about my attitude. Last 2 swims have not been great. I guess the fatigue is catching up with me.
I know taking a day or 2 off would be smart but we are so close to taper. Mentally, I'm concerned about missing workouts at this point. So should I just HTFU and just push through for another few weeks, find some special motivation, or take a day or 2 off to recover??????
I'm sure I am not alone at this point in the game, what are your thoughts?
You took the words right out of my mouth!! Good job Eric
Bob- I'm with Michele. At this point, lacking the MoJo isn't a reason to stand down. But you gotta know you are NOT alone!!!! It took a huge amount of effort to get my AOB this morning for that 3 hour ride. What got me going were a few things. 1) My Moo Jo sitting on the dresser staring me down as I wanted to sleep in- I could just hear her saying "all the other EN Cowpolks are getting up- you better get moooooooooving!", 2) a quick check on FB while sipping my smoothie to see Linda had posted similar "ugh, I don't really want to do this" thoughts, and 3) reminding myself that its times like this when I get the build my mental six pack that will be needed for race day. So I practice my One Thing- Being on the IMoo run course with all my EN buddies, and crossing that finish line to celebrate with the cowgirls. If I want that One Thing- I gotta put in the time.
I was very tempted to run or bike but decided that I had better cool it.
I know that 3 hour bike was hard to face for all of you. How did it go?
One thing RnP try to explain (and often people do not listen) is that the schedules are not meant to be set in in stone. They are not meant for us to follow every single workout. How that mindset gets ingrained is typical, but it's not wise, nor what is intended. We all fall prey to it, and that's human nature. They know that expecting people to do every workout week in and week out is often counter-productive--no good coach does that.
Example--I had a long conversation with Lisbeth Kenyon on Friday. She is currently the 40-44 Ironman World Champion after her victory in Kona last year. She set the age group course record in AZ, and was the overall amateur winner at Ironman Florida 2007. Credentials enough? She told me how her coach is currently testing her limits, but will immediately back her down as soon as he sees she's off her game, not absorbing, or mentally defeated. If she's willing to back down, why do we stress about taking a day or two off? She is all about using recovery to help her push her limits. It's not about doing every workout just because it's on paper. Thing is, as self-coached athletes, those are the difficult assessments we need to make for ourselves.
Seriously people--now is not the time to croak and fall apart. We want to hit these final weeks with verve and game on. There is a difference between being tired and dragging your feet, than that other place where you KNOW you need a little rest. It can do wonders. There's a lot to go in these next few weeks, so whether you push on or stand down--just be smart, honest with yourself, and act accordingly. Get Buddhist and embrace the paradox--sometimes less is more.
Sun ride: Started early (translate: before 9am I'm too sleepy to be grumpy about the workout) with my friend, Janelle. She's a super swimmer and runner, coming back from a running injury and pregnancy and doing sprint tri's this season. She agreed to ride part of my ride with me, but ended up riding all of it with me. I completely forgot how tired/fatigue I whined about being the day before and hammered up every hill and rode steady for the whole time. I went way harder with her there than I ever would have by myself.
So my conclusion at the end of the weekend:
1. I'm so freaking happy that there's only one more weekend of these rides, then it's RR#2 and taper.
2. On some level, I wish I had another 4-6 weeks of this training (with Janelle!) to really show up on race day with the fitness I want.
3. The thought of 4-6 more weeks of long run + weekend long rides is just utter HEINOUS to me.
Ha! A look inside the mind of a crazy IM chica!
Alright, Nemo. Where are the links to THE pack lists??? Somehow, mine have disappeared in E*cel, so starting over.
@Marianne, I think I need to put some Skittles in my car as a treat.
I had my AOB and on the bike by 0715 both Saturday and Sunday. Saturday's bike was hard and I did my brick run after it. My Saturday bike ride is really hilly and has the perfect place to run afterwards. Like many of you, I just do the intervals where I can. When the road dictates it I push as hard as I can for as long as I can. Yeee haaaaa! Sunday's bike ride took a few minutes to get into the groove and then it was game on. My ABP route is 50 miles with a few rollers and plenty of places to bring on the pain. It takes me less than 3 hours but "is good enough". Today my legs were burning and I had to channel Jens, "shut up legs". I just told myself to push because the faster I ride the quicker I get off the bike! After the bike ride the DH and I went home and made a big breakfast.
Keep up the good work everyone. We are getting closer.
Good work, everyone!
I did Saturday's 4.5 hour bike today and, Kitima, I wanted my aero binky, too. But I also decided I wanted the mental toughness in the bank.
Times I thought about quitting my workout today and didn't. A list. By Beth
1. I started late, got off the train with my bike and it started raining -- even though the forecast said zero percent chance of rain. On a whim, I had stuffed the raincoat in my jersey. I thought "good. I get a possible race day scenario and get to test out the raincoat." And rode on. I got to see all my cycling brethren heading in. Good thing we practice doing the opposite of what everyone else does!
2. Two minutes later, in the rain, I crossed a metal bridge that was now very slippery and I was fishtailing everywhere. I had a brief glimpse of crashing -- shoved that thought out of my head immediately and replaced it with being on rollers. Didn't crash. Was rattled, but moved on.
3. Rain was making for a slow warm-up, so I decided to practice stuff from the basic bicycling skills list -- riding safely in the rain (clearly rims, descending smartly) and, because I had cover, and um, rinsing, peeing on the bike. Hook me up with that triathlon scout badge.
4. Then it was rainy and stupid windy. But I could hold my bike upright, so I decided riding was still okay. Plus, it is way easier to hold goal watts in the wind.
5. I turned onto the road with my favorite interval loop and it was closed! I called my sister, found out there were scattered thunderstorms all over, and decided to ride loops of the path close to the train, so I would never been very far away from shelter. Skies cleared. Raincoat dried out. All was good.
6. I thought of sixteen billion reasons to take it easy on the intervals (wet brakes, I was cold because the wind was cold ( I could have used arm warmers), these were my new "hard" watts etc.), but was on a pretty clear path, so rode on.
7. 10, 12, 15, 12, 15. The second twelve was glorious. Like, I sat on 203 (ftp 194) watts and rode. The second fifteen took two tries. And serious mental toughness. I'm glad I wrote the intervals on my arm today, so I could visually tick them all off. I secretly relish these devil and Daniel Webster sets, when you get to prove to yourself you can do something that hard. And like it.
8. By this point, it is getting hot and humid. I stop to refill bottles and find the vending machine full of glorious, ice cold coca cola is off! Whine. Demoralization. I rode on.
9. Mission now is the simple task of getting myself home. If there would have been anyone around, I would have totally been drafting. --especially since the wind is now blowing feriously again. I also feel like I've been on my bike for days because I've had all the weather. I ride as hard as possible, ticking off major streets and towns, back to the train station. I have never been so thankful to see the Lake/Cook County Line ever. And when did I start riding a lead-framed bike? It can't be carbon fiber. Because of the wind and rain, my mileage total was completely sucking.
The mojo in the haus has been so good, that I was actually pleased I got a tough day. It was a little dark getting home, but I got there and got there fast. Mileage was lower than expected by a lot, but watts were beautiful. And there were coke and swedish fish in the store at the train station.
Congrats Beth !! Way to perservere and get it done. Sounds like you are getting mentally tougher with every ride.
@Hansan and Heather - thanks for all the feedback. I will keep working on the streching and try the streches you shared Hansen. I had PF a few years ago and it was much much worse than this is now. I'm pretty sure I just need need to stay on top of the streching and I'll be fine. I am also going to try the night splint and I now have an opportunity to try out some Kinesilogy tape for the next 8 weeks or so.
Matt, gertting better at those forums, know how to attach files now!!!!!
those are the 3 stretches you need to do
Thanks Hansan, but I can't find them. Can you just email them to me: matthew.ancona@gmail.com ?