Wednesday, September 3, 2014

TrainingFuelRecoverTrainingFuelRecover

I am in my biggest week of training since I trained for Ironman.

Let that sink in.....in other words....it's been a long ass time since I've done 15 hours of training. So far, this week, I feel really good. I suspect I'll start feeling the volume early next week when I have 15:30 training hours.

Back to back 15 hour weeks, I'm actually kind of excited to do it because I've been feeling surprisingly good about the whole thing.

Of course, alot of that has to do with how much I'm eating too. Coach left me a love note saying to CARB UP! this week, and I'm obliging. I'm doing my best to not experience "hunger pangs" during the day and snacking throughout the entire day.

I think it's working. I have yet to feel sore or tired or worn out, even on my previous 14 hour weeks. I've been energized and been able to put in the work when I need to.

Granted, my kitchen counters look like this....

And, the laundry baskets seem to be constantly overflowing with dirty training clothes.

And, I have two full cabinets dedicated JUST to training fuel and supplements.

And, the house smells something like either a sweatfest or shower just took place, depending on the room.

On the other hand, I don't have to get the kids off to school, picked up from school, off to some activity or team practice. I don't have to make sure they have cupcakes for a school bake sale or meet with teachers.

In fact, since JMan left for college, I feel like all I have is TIME. There's still 24 hours in a day, but I HAVE SO MUCH TIME NOW. I think it's something only parents can truly appreciate.

I've always been good at time management, but now I really feel it.

It's good to have Mr. Tea's support. He knows this week and next week are my two biggest weeks. We make plans around my training. It's only 2 weeks. Then, I'm back to my regularly scheduled training volume.

It's funny to me now, but the training was what I was most worried about. I kept saying, "I just want a positive experience."

Yet, I had my own ghosts to deal with AND I had other triathletes telling how hard 70.3 training is.

The entire time I was worried that I wouldn't be able to handle it. I almost skipped it. Until I realized that I needed to do it, so that I could have a "new" 70.3 baseline. It had been a long time.

Now, I'm so glad I did. I am enjoying every step of the way.

I have no reason to think the race will be any different.