It seems like the only time I find time to write is on days I take off, lol. (Well, I am swimming today, but as I've said, that's a day off to me).
I've been thinking a lot lately about the differences in the way I train versus the way so many of the triathletes I know train. I don't know what causes the difference, but it's there and it's obvious, to me at least. Some possible causes: different priorities, kids vs no kids, my propensity for injuries, mental toughness (or lack thereof)... I'm sure there are more.
In a nutshell, I don't do the training volume that everyone else seems to do. Frankly, I don't know how people find the time, energy, and health to do the kind of training that (sing along) everyone else seems to do. At times I wonder if I am selling myself short by not pushing it harder or differently. Other times I know without reservation that I couldn't (wouldn't?) handle the volume others do.
I don't use a coach. My life is neither predictable nor easily scheduled around a given training requirement, and my training is often based on how my body feels and what needs a rest at that given moment. (Case in point: I had planned a longer trainer ride and swim today, but when I woke up a) my legs were dead, b) my knees were sore past the acceptable point, and c) I realized I was starting down that path of "more more more" and needed a day off. So, off it is...) I would drive a coach nuts and s/he would stress me out completely, so, no coach.
In many triathlon circles, telling someone you don't use a coach is like telling a group of 4 year olds you don't believe in Santa Claus or telling a hair stylist that you can cut your own hair, thank you very much.
So, I look around at the training my coached friends and acquaintances do (and even some of my uncoached ones!), week in and week out, and, yes, sometimes I feel completely inadequate and like a slacker. I really do think people would laugh if they knew what my training looks like, yet it is about all I can handle physically and schedually. I do wonder what I could accomplish if I could/would train as my peers do (peers defined as anyone between the age of 22 and 65, male or female, married or not, kids or no kids, training triathlon, lol), and it takes effort sometimes not to compare and to remember to stay within myself.
My first Oly was 3 years ago this month. My first full Ironman was 17 months ago. My first half ironman was last year. (Yes that is backwards). Anyway, the point is, I've only been training with any degree of focus for 3 years. A lot has happened in Matthew's and my world outside of triathlon in those 3 years, which has both detracted from and ultimately improved my training. It's been a learning process, and I am fairly pleased with where the training falls right now, inadequate in the world of tri-studs though it may be, lol.
For the first time ever I have been running 6 miles or so consistently 5x every two weeks, on average. I am also swimming consistently, and have been, more or less, for a year. When I first started I literally did about 700 yards by 50s and called it a day. As a former swimmer, nothing made me gag more than swimming, lol. Feeling like a floundering special needs swimmer in the Hammerhead ocean swim in '09 somehow spurred me to actually do more than 1000 yards twice a week. Now I swim 3k, 3x week on average, and I am pleased with myself for doing THAT. (So, I smile inwardly when I hear a friend and very accomplished tri-gal say that she only did 2400 so it wasn't even worth doing...)
But, what I am not doing, and will never do, is hit the kind of training volume I hear around me. 18 milers every week. 4 and 5 hour road rides on back to back days. Seven or eight or nine hour training days. Wow. I stand in awe of the ability of my friends to do these things. I worry about all of them and hold my breath that all the effort will not dissolve in injury before they can reap the benefit of their dedication. Personally, I'd be in an institution trying to do that, and my kids would hate me.
I always feel like I'm teetering on the edge of turning nagging aches and pains into full blown problems, so training turns into a game of "how close to the edge can I get without falling in" on a daily and weekly, and seasonly, basis. I think a lot of endurance athletes play that game, of course. We all want to push ourselves as far as we can go before something pushes back. The pounding our bodies take, by definition, leaves us prone to injury if we are not cautious and vigilant. And, I think we all have a limit that is uniquely our own -- everybody's body draws the line differently. One training plan that works for me might create a chronic injury for you. And I KNOW yours would kill me, lol.
So, maybe I am more cautious than my peers, or more hesitant. I want to be the best I can be, but I want to BE for as long as I can be. That's not an easy tightrope to walk. (And, of course, body parts give out without warning or identifiable cause, so the best laid plans can blow up in your face anyway...). It is always an interesting feeling coming to a starting line and feeling fairly good about your own training while also knowing you are wildly UNDERtrained in the eyes of most of the athletes around you. Don't get me wrong -- I work HARD, and the nontriathletes out there are convinced I am obsessive and insane.... but compared to my peers.... hmmmm...not so much.
...that's my why, what's yours?
No comments:
Post a Comment