It has been SO GOOD to get back to “normal!” The first week or two I actually felt pretty
beat. 10 hours of training had me
TIRED! Now I’m feeling normal, and
actually want to do a bit more ;)
I could talk about what I’ve been doing, but it’s nothing
earth-shattering: bike block is currently in the works, and while I don’t feel
like I’m pushing any massively impressive watts, I know I’m definitely ramping
up the miles and my coach is spot-on with giving me enough intervals—quality
over quantity (in this case, quantitiy of watts!). I’ve realized that just because I CAN do more
doesn’t mean I should. And as long as I
can hold it, who cares if I can hit a big number—sustained power is what I’m
after.
Most importantly, I’m currently focusing on not
comparing. To anything. Comparing to myself, and what I think I
should be doing or what I was doing last year, and also comparing myself to
others.
I’ve getting a few outdoor rides in now, which is SO
nice…the trainer is great and all, but riding a bike outside is just plain
FUN! I mean, that’s why I do this after
all, right?! But at the same time, I
keep wanting to compare to how I usually ride these roads. I know it’s the beginning of February and
that I really shouldn’t be as fast or in shape as I was in September of last
year, when I had ironman base training, racing, and then a 70.3 build-up under
my belt. But of course that’s not what I
think of, all I think is “this shouldn’t be so hard, why am I not going faster,
blah blah blah blah blah.” I go up a
baby hill and feel myself get winded, and immediately am disappointed knowing I
“used” to be a lot faster and stronger.
But I’ll get there. I’m just
impatient, and don’t like the reminder!
So there’s that.
It’s also nothing new that it’s super easy to compare with
others! I see everyone on social media,
I see my friends...but the fact of the matter is that they have their own
schedules, and I have mine. In all
honesty, my big race is still not for another 7 months! I have 28 more weeks until I should be at my
peak. I BETTER not be doing anything crazy
now! Yes I have races before then, but
the first isn’t until the end of May, and all of that is nothing else but
tune-ups and tests. I want September 4th
to be my BEST race of the year…not the others.
As a result, I’ve really been learning how to just focus on my own
schedule. Do my workouts, put in the
solid work, not stress about who else is doing what, or the fact that I think
my hours need to be up. Long-range
planning like this is not my forte ;) but that’s why I have a coach! And luckily, I AM very good at just doing
what I’m told to do.
All that aside, I do have to say: the best thing about 70.3
training is that I still think/expect my swims to be the same as 140.6 training…which
is great, because every single day in the pool I think “oh, just a short swim
today!” Even my “long” swims now are
just “normal” (and my “short” recovery swims seem just plain comical). ;)
Bright side to everything, right!?
