Hello Runner,
Well, Week 6 is in the books, and there are only 6 weeks to go. Summer is here, and it is 95 degrees out right now. Luckily, it is a refreshing swim day.
Also, sorry for the delayed posting again, last week we packed and shipped our June StrideBox (good stuff inside). If you don’t get it every month, you are missing out.
The Simple Way To Do A Triathlon:
There is only one easy way to do a Triathlon… don’t do it. This applies to Marathons, Half Marathons, 10Ks, heck, any event that requires any sort of training is easier if you just don;t even attempt it.
The months/weeks/days waking up sore, or sitting in an ice bath, or dreading the stairs up to the second floor, or sitting down for an hour after a tough bike or swim is too much.
Waking up this past week and putting on my shoes has been a chore. I have been pushing every ounce of my body to the limit, mentally and physically knowing that in 6 weeks, I have to do something that 99% of the world will never even dare try.
It’s funny if you think about it, the race won’t be on TV. My mom and wife may check the results online, but none else will. Nobody will even know I did the race unless I tell them.
So Why All The Trouble?
There’s something special about this training thing that I have noticed in everyone I have met so far along the way. Talking to people at the pool, or after a run, they all like the fact that they are in charge, and they get to compete against themselves.
The race isn’t the motivation, its merely a tool to gauge your self motivation, your internal drive to want to be the best person you can.
And really, we even pay for the privilege to do these races. Even the medal and shirt can be bought on eBay for a fraction of the cost you paid to compete.
The True Measure Of Progress:
We’re halfway to the big Triathlon day, and I am in a little bit of a slump. I am halfway through my training, and I feel like there is so much longer to go. I’ve gotten better at some things, but really still feel like the hard work is ahead of me.
This is one reason I advocate physical handwritten training logs. I keep one, and I won’t share it here, as it incorporates a lot of extra stuff like mental mood, and daily happenings and thoughts. But it allows me one more thing.
It allows the quick and easy ability to see where I started, and how far I have come in the past 6 weeks. The mental attitudes, and physical glitches that affected my performance one day, or those bad habits I have overcome to make my swimming better, or the awesome scenery during my bike ride that took my breath away.
These are little things that Strava, Runkeeper, etc. just can’t match. Sure, I can go back and see my route, speed, and pace for anything I’ve ever done, but what about my mood, or the sunrise, or the huge business problem I solved during my run.
OK, I know those trackers will let me calculate my mood, and take photos, but are they that easy to reach… maybe there is one. I still prefer to put my mental state and progress into words rather than some silly emoji.
My Actual Progress:
This blog post went a different way than I thought. A little rant-ish, and I am sorry for that. I just wanted to truly share how I was feeling during the journey, and I guess you could say that I feel like there is a lot more to a training plan than just the daily activity. That, and it can’t go fast enough.
My swims, my runs, my rides are all going well, and all progressing nicely. I will have no problem going into the event in 6 more weeks. Waiting is the hard part.
It’s a bit of a sophomore slump. The excitement of starting has worn off, and the excitement of competing hasn’t yet hit.
But I’ve watched enough Disney movies to know that if there wasn’t a struggle, there would be no happily ever after.
Just Keep Running Training…
