As my training volume has increased, I have less time to write. I still have various random thoughts, some deep and thought provoking and some shallow.
This is where I am. I thought that by this point I would have dropped my cycling, but since I feel great, I'm gonna keep going.
This week was a swim-rest week. My swims were short and sweet with the longest being 45 minutes.
My running has been going great. I've found that I do best with slow ramp up and run-rest weeks every 5 weeks. So, for example if I have a 7 mile run on Sunday--do that two weeks in a row then do 8 two weeks in a row--then drop to 5 (or 2 less than where I started). This is the plan that my body works best with. I don't have to worry about overtraining, and I never feel beat down. Although it's more conservative than the initial plan, it works better.
Cycling is more drill work than anything and that's probably why I have been able to keep it going with my running mileage.
Yoga--aahhhhh---love yoga---have I said that before? Well, I do. I typically do it about 5 times a week. I don't do it on long run days because that's enough stress on the muscles.
Strength training--so far still at 2-3 times per week. This week I start lowering my reps and going heavier.
All this, all that training stuff I wrote above? That's about me. I write my plans based on my history, my abilities, my race schedules. In fact, I try not to post too many details because I don't want anyone jumping in assuming they can do a particular workout when they are new to an activity. It's silly to assume you can do upward bow, headstands, should stands, 3000m swims, speed runs and grind workouts on the bike if you've never done them before. And attempting them can lead to injury.
That leads me to something that I've been thinking about this week: Acceptance and accountability.
I guess it's just the time of year, but I over/hear, read (blogs/facebook) soo many people who have not found acceptance in themselves. I don't know if I will explain this very well because I think there are a couple of different issues at play.
First: Acceptance. ACCEPT.WHERE.YOU.ARE. This doesn't mean not to strive to get better at a sport. It means if you're in the bottom 25% of your age group ACCEPT it. Don't excuse yourself away. I'm SO tired of the excuses. We all have bad races (ie my half marathon in Oct where I came in at 2:47.). I'm not talking about those. I'm talking about where your times usually fall. I'm so tired of hearing: oh I didn't train properly or I have ongoing health thingy or or or....and that's why my race time was so bad. Yet the finish time was pretty close to your average finish time.
A bad race is when things fall apart. Everyone who reads my blog regularly knows EXACTLY how that feels.
You finish with a time that is pretty much what your other races predict and YOU want to blame everything EXCEPT YOUR TRAINING AND DEDICATION?
BS people! Take ownership of where you are. If you want to get better, they only way to do it is to train! It hurts. It's hard. I know. If you're a 5:30 marathoner, be proud of that! You can't just expect in a year, to shave off an hour of your time! It takes work. These people who are faster than you PUT IN THE TIME and the DEDICATION. PERIOD. They have sh!t going on their lives too.
WAH WAH WAH
HTFU*
I guess I've already addressed the accountability issue, huh?
Seriously, there is NOTHING wrong ABSOLUTELY NOTHING wrong with being the last across the finish line.
I take issue with the fact that people are never satisfied. If they have a 5 minute PR, they complain that it should have been a 10 minute pr. Oh but I didn't get the 10min PR because my spousal unit did this or I was too stressed.
Say these words with me: I didn't get the 10 min PR because I DIDN'T train poperly. (by training properly I mean answer the questions below).
Look in the mirror:
Do you get enough sleep? Do you have set sleep hours? Do you fuel your body to push it to the limits? Do you training consisently? Do train correctly? Do you have reasonable goals? Do you have an appropriate timeframe to get there?
If you answer no to any of these questions, accept the responsibility when you cross the finish line.
V recently reminded me a quote:
We don't rise to the level of our expectations. We fall to the level of our training.
Thank you. I feel much better now.
*Harden the F!$%K up!
(I think it's important to stress the fact that I don't feel this way about the people who read my blog. Y'all are pretty amazing the way you do balance personal/professional issues, school, health issues. I never hear you guys make excuses. It is what it is, and I respect you for that).
