Have you ever been so proud of your progress and then completely fell off the bandwagon?
I have! So many times…
I buy my training plans from TrainingPeaks. I find the software useful since I use a smart bike trainer that sends data to my various apps, which then uploads it to TrainingPeaks. I also use a heart rate monitor (when I remember), which also sends data to TrainingPeaks. I’ve used training plans for various things, like swimming, base training (preparation training for a heavier training load), and various distances of triathlon training.
I recently hit a snag with my training in general. I was doing so well with my base training for my late fall 70.3. (A 70.3 is a long course triathlon: 1.2 mile swim + 56 mile bike ride + 13.1 mile run.) Right before I left for Beijing, I got some rather bad news. Really bad news. I’ve retreated a bit. In doing so I stopped training, mostly because I am so emotionally drained. My sleep has been listless (more than it already is). My eating wavers between decent and heart-attack-avenue.
You can actually visually see where things go south with my training schedule:
It’s really hard seeing so many red blocks, for so many weeks in a row. It makes me feel pretty anxious actually. I wonder if I should just erase those workouts that haven’t been completed…if somehow it would make me feel better. Based on the lack of completion of base training, I don’t really know if my body is ready to take on the load of 70.3 training. I sometimes think that just because I can swim the distance and run the distance, all I really need is to buckle down on is the cycling and open water swimming (hopefully)…and to work on my transitions and brick workouts.
In the week that I left for San Diego, it was nice seeing that I was capable of a 5-workout week again. This past week was a bit emotionally tough (and very warm!) so I was only able to get in 2 workouts.
My 70.3 training plan technically hits my calendar tomorrow. There’s workouts 6 days a week. On most days, I have 2-a-days. Back when I was training for triathlons the last time around, this seemed like an easier commitment to make. Maybe it was because I had less commitments overall.
I’ve been trying to transfer my 70.3 race registration for awhile now (since I got back from Beijing!) but no one seems interested in buying it. I feel like I should give the race a chance, even though when I do the calculations of the swim/bike/run splits, the bike splits seem a bit improbable given the terrain and my technical abilities. The worst that can happen is that I could bike too slow on CO-36, get wobbly and tip over on the highway where cars are driving 60+ MPH on a weekend where my husband is out of town for a race. When I type that out it seems just as bad as it did in my head! Yikes!
I was looking into other later races I could consider, like IM 70.3 Arizona or IM 70.3 New Orleans. That would give me an additional month of training time. The only downside would be the travel costs and the higher registration fees.
I really need a coach or instructor for cycling and open water swimming but have been struggling to source someone for…well, almost two years now. I’ve seen the Boulder Aquatic Masters group. They get together very early in the mornings at the reservoir. I’d just need to trek over there from Denver and then make it back in time for work.
My training mantra for the week: “The night is darkest just before the dawn. And I promise you, the dawn is coming.”
Amara in Training 