How many times have you walked into your office and looked at the mounds of work on your desk and wanted to turn around and walk right out the door? Maybe you have over one hundred emails to return. Maybe you are working on a project that is never ending and you wonder if you will make your deadline. Maybe you are a busy parent and dread the morning alarm clock going off because you know as soon as your day begins it will be many hours until you can relax. Training for an endurance event is not much different than any of those things we face in life. Some mornings I can't imagine training, and if I think of what is in store, I immediately want to retreat to my bed.
I am one month out from my half iron man and I'm feeling burned out, tired, overwhelmed, and just plain sick of training. This entry is about how I manage all those overwhelming feelings and move forward in what I call,"crunch-time."
My first tip for anyone doing any kind of endurance event is to not think of the whole distance you are facing. I have a total of 70.25 miles to cover the day of the event, but if I thought of the race in that number I would overwhelm myself. I think about all of my triathlons in pieces, but I also take it down to one event at a time; the swim, then the bike, then the run. It's no different than when you are at work tackling a project; you work on pieces of the project, or if you are cleaning out your garage- you take one thing out at a time, sweep, then put things back where they belong.
The other morning I set out to run. The weather was perfect for running, the sun was shining, and my kids were off to school and I didn't have to go into work. Nothing was standing in my way, except for myself. I didn't feel like running that morning. What did I do? 1.Call a friend. I primarily run alone but I needed some distracting that day, conversation with a friend makes you forget that you are running 2. Change up the route or location of your run or bike to add variety: that particular morning I changed my route. 3. Give yourself permission to run, bike, or swim a little less and give yourself permission to have a break or two incorporated into your workout. The cool thing that happened was that by doing these small tweaks, once I got started, I was able to enjoy my run. I had incorporated a strategy prior to going out. I always feel that some work-out is better than no work-out. 4. "Do," don't think. How many times have we procrastinated because we listened to the negative voice in our heads? I turn that voice off and put into action my training plan by doing- I pretend I'm a robot. I go and "do" whatever is on my training log before I have time to think about it.
Another strategy I use to ease anxiety as I am approaching an event is to organize what I'll need. Triathlon is complicated as there are three sports to deal with ; you need more than just a good pair of running shoes. I make lists and think about what kinds of fuel I am going to incorporate into event day; you don't want to experiment with that the day of an event. If you are doing a shorter distance race this still is helpful. Here is an example of the list of items I will need for the half iron man:
Swim: wetsuit, swimsuit, goggles, cap, throw-away flip-flops( to leave on the beach), old sweatshirt that can be left on the beach that am if it is cold.
Bike: bike shorts, running bra-top, HydroWorx bike jersey( for Sprint and Olympic distance I would wear a tri-suit for the whole race, but for this distance I will change in the transition tents between each event for comfort-I don't want to run in thick bike shorts that I'll need for the 56 mile bike).
Run: running shorts, dry socks, running shoes(I"ll strip off the bike jersey and wear the running bra-top that I already have on).
Fuel: Water bottle full of water on my bike, Power bar gel chews(3 packs- one per hour of the ride, lasting 3 hours) that I will carry in my bike jersey or bike holder.Water bottle left in transition for the run portion( they will have water at each mile, but I like to carry my own as well just in case). Some extra gel packs for the run( in transition with my water).I prefer strawberry- banana and tangerine gels made by Power bar. I also like to use jelly beans for fuel.
After race clothes- I usually bring some comfy shorts or pants, clean socks, and a shirt to change into after an event. It feels great to somewhat "clean-up" after you've worn the same or some of the same sweaty clothes for hours.
These are some small distractions that help me as I get closer to the" big" day. I also remind myself how many hours I have put into training and if I skip a few work-outs I'm going to be fine come race day. Sometimes it is simply your body saying,"hey enough already." Listen to your body because if you are overtired or if you over train you may be susceptible to injury which would be worse than missing a day or two. I once over trained myself into a stress fracture that took a year to heal; that was before I discovered the HydroWorx pool where now I could easily mend an injury.
Triathlon, like life, is better and less overwhelming when you can piece it together. Building a business or building a career doesn't happen overnight; becoming a triathlete doesn't happen quickly either. Patience and working steady, following a plan;these are the things that build performance and there is nothing like the feeling you have when you cross the finish line.
Happy tri-ing!
Kelly
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