I reached a point of terminal velocity with my schedule where I had somehow managed to wriggle out of all physical activity. (How did it ever come to that?!) Obviously my schedule had run amok and it was time to whip it back into shape. A 40-50-60-70-80 hour work week be damned — if I were going to delay my Ironman dreams yet again for another launch then at the very least I’d better get some mental breaks (and not to mention a few races) on my calendar.
So it started with another challenge again. Guy-that-I’m-dating (we’ll call him E) and I decided that enough was enough and that we needed something to keep ourselves honest to our goals. It’s one thing to say that something is a priority…it’s a completely different thing to make the time for it and to commit to it.
Our bet went something like this:
A: Hey, I’m tired of not going to the gym.
E: Yeah, I’m tired of not getting any time to run.
A: So let’s make a bet. Let’s make it a goal to SHOW UP at our scheduled workouts at least three times a week.
E: (Details are getting fuzzy…)
A: Loser cooks for the other. Deal?
E: Deal!
And so began our challenge. At the beginning of the challenge, I went ahead and purchased a sprint tri training plan. I didn’t have any time or brainpower to come up with a plan myself, or to add it in to TrainingPeaks or Google Calendar. So I found a decent 8-week plan that’ll whip me into shape for a sprint tri somewhere in July and I went for it. So far so good…I’m trying not to miss any workouts but it still happens. (Legitimate excuse: I got sick over the weekend!) And trying to cram in an hour to go to the gym is harder than it looks when you’re jugging a pretty intense workload at your day job and a few grad school classes. (My second one started this week. Eeeeeeeeeeee!)
Week 0 Seafair Sprint Tri Training:
Thursday, May 8: 17 minute/0.5 mile swim, 40 minute/10 mile indoor trainer ride. I’m sucking wind in the pool!
Saturday, May 10: 20 minute/0.5 mile swim, followed by 35 minute/2.47 mile elliptical run
Sunday, May 11: 20 minute/0.5 mile swim
Week 1 Seafair Sprint Tri Training:
Monday, May 12: Rest day
Tuesday, May 13: 40 minute/10 mile indoor trainer ride
Wednesday, May 14: 45 minute/4.1 mile elliptical run
Thursday, May 15: 45 minute/11 mile indoor bike ride, followed by a 15 minute/1.5 mile elliptical run
Friday, May 16: Out sick
Saturday, May 17: Out sick
Sunday, May 18: Reward – 4.29 mile hike at Rattlesnake Ledge
Lessons learned this week:
-Just because I can’t reach my A goals this year (Ironman + Grand Canyon hike) it doesn’t mean that they are forever off my plate. It just means that they are rescheduled.
-Always pick alternate goals in lieu of the major ones in case you can’t make them for sure. I will aim for an Olympic-distance tri in Palm Springs in December and couple that with summiting San Jacinto Peak in the same trip. So technically I still get an A-race and a major hike in this year. All in all I feel like I’m winning!
-Grad school and work is not enough of an excuse to not exercise. I’m at my best when I have a training/race goal. I know that. I need to design my lifestyle around my needs too, not just around other people’s needs.
-Finding zen in a shorter race will be difficult. I’ve had my sights set on an Ironman for so long. I need to make do with the time I have. I don’t have a lot of time for training through the rest of the year so I will take any level of triathlon participation I can get.
-Rewards work! I was looking forward to my hike all week and would’ve been bummed if I didn’t get to do it.
Looking forward to a fantastic 2nd week of training!
Amara in Training 