02 July 2008

like a fish, again. and some thoughts.

Great swim tonight. I really love swimming -- I feel so good in the water ... strong, long, fast. Too bad the swim is the shortest part of any tri!

warm up: 200 swim, 200 kick, 200 pull
main set: 16 x 100 (first 100 slow, second moderate, third faster, fouth fastest. repeat 4 times)
cool down: 200 easy

How do people find time to train for IMs? I know I'm at the beginning of my triathlon (sure to be illustrious, I'm sure ;)) career, but I can't help but think about the granddaddy of them all. I was talking to my husband today after work, and I don't understand how people find the time to train for an IM. With this HIM, I am either training, working, sleeping, or eating. J said that he supports me (and boy does he - the man comes to all of my races and plays photographer, bag holder, cheerleader, driver) but he worries that I will completely burn out if I attempt to work 55 hours a week and train for an IM. And some people do with this kids! HOW?! J reminded me that I don't have to cross everything off of my life to-do list now. That J, he's a smartie.

Um, that said I'm thinking of doing this HIM in September and then finding a marathon in January/ Febrary and attempt to BQ. I PRed at Richmond with a 3:53:13, so I need to drop 13 minutes off of that to BQ ... it's 30 seconds per mile, which will be hard, but I think do able. I didn't do any speed work for Richmond, so I'm hoping that will make a difference.

[I'm sure a lot of you athletes feel this ... the need to always be training (or resting in preparation for the next training cycle). I need plans and I need them ahead of time.]

Something else I was telling J: while I respect professionals, I really admire those who work full time, have kids, families, lives ... and train. And compete. Pros do this for a living -- they are paid to train. They have trainers and coaches and dieticians and a whole gaggle of folks who tell them what to do and when to do it. The rest of us schedule training around family, work, obligations. We rarely have someone else pushing us -- it's up to us to get out of bed early and get in that run/ swim/ ride. We buy our own gear (oh, btw, if you haven't done so already -- don't add up what you think you've spent on tri gear. It's quite scary!) and our own food. While athletes are amazing for what they do and how fast and how strong they are ... we are amazing for simply getting out there and doing it. Cheers to all of you!

2 comments:

  1. Agreed on all fronts! I think the key to IM training is getting up super early. I don't think you have that many 20 hour training week. So, if you think about it, you are probably already working out 10-12 hours most weeks, so you're really only adding on 2-4 more hours. Okay, yeah it's very tough! I don't think I could do it unless I had someone else here in Cleveland to train with on all the long Sat bricks. I think I could get myself through the runs and use master's classes to get myself through the swims, but would need a partner for all those 4-7 hour bike rides followed by runs.

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  2. its about finding a balance...
    faith family training work....

    though i have had decent results over the years in the sport (23)I have never really approached the insane level of hours others train at some weeks, especially for the Ironman distance.

    But, my performances in the Iron distance have reflected my lack of intense-long workouts... 16 hours, 46 minutes... 15 hrs 45 mins and another about 15:20. Sometimes I wish I hit it harder, but I also was trying to keep up with all the other stuff in my life. I never wanted it to be all about the ironman because the fam would likely suffer.. However I recognize that each situation is unique, and my way might not be someone elses..
    good luck trish and you are doing great!!!

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