Maybe I Need a Rest Day

Today’s brick is history. Got ‘er done. It was the icing on the cake that got me to 11 hours and 40 minutes of workouts this week. I’m tired and thirsty for beer.

Today in numbers:

54: # of miles on the bike
197: # of minutes it took to ride that far including stops
1: # of dumps I had to take in the weeds before we even headed out. And the band did not sing about it
40: # of ounces of liquid I drank while riding
1,700: # of feet climbed on the bike total
3: # of dead snakes on the road
20: # of minutes I ran after I got off the bike
15: # of times during the workout I questioned If I have it in me to do this race
15:# of times Ken told me I have what it takes
35: # of days until the race I hope I can finish
1: # of times I got stung by an unknown bug
6: # mile at which I was passed by a group of riders and felt slow and thought about stopping
500: # of calories I ate while on the bike
0: # of pictures I took along the way
8: # of days since my last rest day

Training is a weird animal. You have so many ups and downs mentally and physically. Some days you feel on top of the world, stronger than you’ve ever felt. Other days you are tired, irritable, not having fun. You wonder why you’re doing it at all.

If it sounds like I’m whining I kind of am. The workout went well enough, but I’m always surprised by how much it takes mentally to get through 3 hours and 37 minutes of constant and strenuous exercise. And, after a 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike, I will still need to run a half marathon, so I think that’s what is psyching me out.

Around here you get kind of skewed. Everyone is SO stinking fit and fast and lean and mean. For god’s sake I was passed by a 55 year old woman kicking ass on her aero bars. I’m not fishing for people to tell me that I’m strong and mean (but you can). Some days I just think this half ironman stuff is way harder than I expected. And that makes me feel like a pussy.

Don’t get me wrong. This training has challenging me and strengthened me in so many positive ways. I’m just being real here.

Penis

I guess we’re all different. Some would say that training for and completing a marathon is one of the toughest things you can do. Personally, I find this HIM stuff much more challenging. More time. More disciplines to be good at. More gear. I’m glad I’m doing it, but I’m not convinced I’ll do another.

Or, maybe I just need a rest day.

Shut up and take a rest day and then shut up and keep training, right?

Ever feel that way about your training? Any tips?

SUAR

Stop Fighting What Is

Me, tired and whining with dog in face

I felt like a bit of a whiner after my last post. WAH!! Thanks for all of your comments of support and understanding about my love/hate affair with running. In my infinite wisdom I've decided and realized that running is hard. There is no way around it. It is physically, emotionally and mentally intense and challenging. That said, I thought my friend Macker (and resident sport's physiologist on my blog and in real life) made an excellent point in response to my post:

Welcome to the club. Everybody that has any kind of ambitious running goals hits the point of "What's this all about"? Happened to me a couple of years ago and I'm just now coming out of it. There's the sport. To be your absolute best, you've got to push the envelope; unfortunately past the point of it being fun. There's other fun on the other side. You start hitting workouts that were unimaginable and when the races pay off, it's way fun. However, there are days, weeks, even months where it really is an absolute chore. I don't know anyone who trains seriously and enjoys it like they do when they're doing 15-20 miles/week. Everyone has to come up with their own cost/benefit. There have been times where the benefit was worth having running as a part-time job and there were times where I didn't need the hassle. I think that you've been doing great training and will continue to improve regardless of where you go from here.

What I loved about this response is it didn't let me, or any of you off of the hook. Macker's point is: yes, running and training are tough, especially when you have lofty and challenging goals. That's the point. If marathons were easy, if BQ'ing was easy, if any of it was easy, everyone would do it and we distance runners would not be doing anything out of the ordinary; would not be pushing ourselves so that when we crossed that finish line we are so overcome with emotion and bodily pain that we simultaneously cry, shit, and breathe a sigh of relief. In essence, it has to be this hard for it to be the accomplishment it is.

My solution? To keep running and running hard with goals in mind. The difference is, I am expecting it to feel really tough. I will stop fighting what is and realize it is part of the process for all of us. Not just for me. And it is never wasted time or energy, even when you don't get that PR.

So keep on everyone and I will too.