Thanks to Ti for this one. My neighbors, in particular, THANK YOU, Ti.
Let that sink in....
You understand what I'm saying? You think I post a lot now? Wait until I'm not training X hours per week! You ain't seen nothin' yet.
I'm so excited about this. This was the first time EVER that I put so much effort into getting my training done for an earlier race.
I've been working on my race plan that I have to get over to my coach. I'm really putting a lot of thought into this plan because last year I didn't do well at this race. No. That's wrong. I did EXCEPTIONALLY well for the amount of training that I put into it. I've already talked about how I was under-prepared (due to my OWN fault) last year.
Or as I used to tell my coach.....I was going through a phase. Probably very similar to what a 12 year old girl goes through, complete with temper tantrums, foot stomping & pouting.
We don't need to go through all the ways I kinda sorta screwed up the race last year. The irony is that I screwed up and still pulled out a PR, so that's kinda cool.
Now imagine, if you will, what I will accomplish this year! I don't know. My goal is simply to execute well. The time will be what it will be.
Here I am, heading into 2 weeks of taper, and I'm struggling with some scheduling issues. It frustrates the hell out of me because this is the stuff that I have complete control over.
I really need to get my sh*t together in the next month.
Besides these stupid scheduling issues, I think I have a pretty decent plan for my long training days to keep things interesting.
Swimming: My coach told me she wants me to start doing some 4000m swims. I'm game. Long swims will be nice. I'm also going to switch up my open water venues. Besides my regular spot, I'm going to hit up the OWS in Boulder and the Horsetooth swim. I've done these before. It helps me when I switch up locations and see some different people.
(Speaking of swimming, TODAY I passed the 100 mile marker for the year. Not too shabby given that I couldn't swim much in May).
Biking: Here's the plan, Stan. I already know a certain someone who might ride with me. Hey! I'm not picky. Join me for 10 miles and call it a day. Having company for even a short time, breaks up a long ride. BUT, in addition to that. I might enlist the company of another person who shall remain nameless for the time being....umm....because I haven't asked yet. WHAT I'm trying to avoid is riding with a certain dude who is nice enough....and we're pretty equal on the bike, but I don't think I can handle him for more than an hour at a time. (Do you know those people with ridiculously whiny voices? That's him. Five hours with that? NOPE.) Again on the bike, I think what I need to do is ride all over the place. Do some different routes to keep things interesting. BIKE tours. Rides like the Buffalo Classic. Best idea ever.
The jury is still out on Tour of the Moon, mostly because I mentioned it to my Coach and she gave me the, "NOPE." I didn't tell her I was already registered. Fortunately for me, somehow I ended up with a super cheap registration, so it's no big deal if I miss it. I want to go back and tackle the 62 miler, but I don't want anything to interfere with my 70.3 training.
AND....driving 3 hours to do a bike tour on my own....no matter how badly I want to do it? Not much fun.
See? I'm taking this stuff seriously and finding ways to keep me focused and engaged in the process. yay.me.
Running: Not really a problem. I mean. Come on. I've been running marathons and half marathons for a long time. I don't really have a problem with running by myself.
So. Those are the thoughts of the day: Wrap up my last big volume weekend and figuring out ways to get through the next 4 months of training.
That's that. Enjoy your weekend!
