A slight aside here. I'm burnt. Crispy, actually, have been for a while. Most of this is due to work, which has been somewhat soul sucking in the last month. I like parts of my work -- the design, the meeting with people, etc. There are other parts -- the legal shit, the adminstrivia, that suck ass. And even the fun stuff is piling up as the product I'm developing is starting to get some legs underneath it.
The other reason I'm burnt is quite simply that I'm doing this for the wrong fucking reason. I've fallen into a rut -- I'm the king of ruts, a veritable rut magnet, a heavy rut attractor. This particular rut is all about triathlon training + weight training in an attempt to get faster+stronger. The problem is that I should have focused a lot more on strength early in the season -- I'm definitely feeling the lack of a base right now. Some long term fatigue creeping up. And some mental symptoms as well.
Symptom #1: I don't like riding my bike. This shift started around the time I started riding tired (after a hard 1-2 days running + weights), doing intervals (hill intervals, up Gallager Hill Rd). I normally _love_ riding my bike, on the aeros, back flat, legs churning. However it's not so fun when the legs are tired. And forget any fun when doing tired leg hill intervals.
Symptom #2: I'm getting fried in the pool when doing fast sets. I have no problem spacing my way through a 500. Just that the 100s on the 1:40 are hurting.
Symptom #3: nagging running injuries: my achilles is tightening up, my back is twinging.
Last weeks schedule:
Monday: swimming, 1700 yards, rolling easy.
Tues: weights before plane trip. Hard leg weight session. Now using 40 lb dumbells.
Wed: in Connecticut
Thurs: in NYC
Fri: 26 miles, 3 Gallager Hill intervals. Felt really, really tired. Blech.
Sat: took day off to go to Olympic Peninsula
Sun: 4 miles easy, 9:15 average, focused on cadence and little else (other than keeping pulse down)
Read a great book: Born To Run. What this book makes me want to do: rebase my running on long, slow steady efforts with focused speedwork. Also want to rebase my leg strength, working up to single leg squats with 40-80lbs weight, maybe plyos, etc. I want my legs to be fucking hammering strong.
Finally, I want to get back on trails. Trails make me happy, and that in the end is what this is about. I've got a tri next weekend, the LakeMeridian tri, and then maybe a swim-run du the next Wednesday, and then maybe-maybe the Mercer Island Tri sep 11, but maybe not since Lopa's parents are leaving that day. I just want to back off the 'training mode' intensity a bit and rebase what I'm trying to get out of the whole massive effort. I think in the end it should be less about being fast, and more about being happy through tough efforts. If I can get there, it will be a huge step in the right direction.
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