I did the elliptical machine last night at the gym for 60 minutes. I couldn't do another aquajog because I spent too much time in Barton Springs this weekend. I also wanted to do something that didn't leave me wanting to eat every piece of food in my house afterwards. Problem is the elliptical is boring as well and it doesn't really give me that good of a workout. I even up the resistance and keep my cadence up but not so much. Also, I think it shortens my stride. Well, I start running again next Tuesday so that should make me happy.
This morning I swam 3000yds. Did it in about 60min and I was resting a lot between sets. I did 5x200 warmup. Then, I did this weird set where I would do 1x200,1x133,1x66 and each one got faster. I did 2 of those. Then, I did 600yds easy followed by another descending set. 200yds cooldown and I was done. No major breakthroughs except that I was expecting to be toast this morning. I swam fine, though. I was a little fatigued, but not much. I had to cough and coughing while trying to swim and get in enough air to continue breathing is somewhat difficult.
Stacy was fairly warm this morning. I'm at work now and I had a single bowl of cereal and I feel OK. If I had swam in Barton Springs, I would've been through a bowl of cereal, an apple, a granola bar, and then eyeing my jar of peanut butter by now.
You know what, I'm so ready for this Ironman to be over with. This is probably the most difficult thing that I've done in my entire life. I set out a year ago DNF'ing my first half Ironman and determined to get through the year and make the sacrifices to get to Florida. I'm 30 days away now and those 30 days can't get here quick enough. I love training, but some weeks are just crazy because I have no free time at all. My social life sucks and I need more interaction than the old people at Barton Springs and Stacy. I want to expand my thinking besides what will I do at the next workout. Ironman training is not only a battle of your physical self, but it's also a battle of your psychological self. You have to be extremely determined and dedicated to set a stake in the ground and work towards it for a year. It's very solitary as well. I do 90% of my training alone. Why? It's very difficult to find a training partner that is the same speed as me and training for the same race. I've had a few in the last year but they all disappeared for different reasons. I've also had to learn to push myself on my own. I usually think that I get faster by training with people just a little bit faster than me. I catch up to them and then I gun for the next fastest person. Doing my training alone is a battle because I have to make myself hurt by chasing ghosts in the pool or that phantom rider that also just a few yards ahead of me. I have to beat them even though they aren't there because it's easy to go out and say "this speed is "hard" enough". Nope, you gotta take that extra step and push a little harder. You become accountable for yourself and in some ways that's very good.
This has opened my eyes for my future training, but I'm so ready for beer and burgers. 30 more days.
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4 comments:
It's been very interesting reading your blog since we are on opposite sides of the same journey. You have accomplished so much in the past year that I hope you savor every moment of your IM finish. Eat a couple burgers and drink some beer for me, will ya? I still have 9 months of deprivation!
:)
Jodi
BigE...the big before the E really doesn't mean anything...
First off. Next time you sign up for an IM, have fun with training and racing for about 8 months. THEN buckle down and hit it hard.
Secondly. Getting back on the Burgers and Beer won't get you to one of your goals very quickly...watch those!
Jodi,
You don't have to deprive yourself of burgers and beer for 9 months. I've only cut out crap for the last 2 months. Cheating on your diet is OK every now and then and it's great for your mental state. Now cheating every day isn't good and that'll get you in trouble. Also, thanks for the kind words. I'm glad that someone besides myself is finding my blog useful. I'm just a normal guy that's willing to share his experiences with the entire world.
-Brandon,
I'm only going to have burgers and beer for a couple of weeks, but not every night. I need to live a little and the 2 weeks after IMFL will be it. After that, I'm buckling down again, but not as tightly, and start training again. This winter will be The Winter of Pain and I plan on working on my LT on the swim and the bike to get faster. For running, just consistent, easy running like you suggested. I really don't want any more injuries like the 3 that I've had this year.
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