Okay, back to reality. I've been doing some solid training, and it seems (based on my training profile) I'm stepping in the right direction. But I can say, all this training is really starting to weigh heavily on me.
As you can see from the graph above, I've been very consistent in my build up to IMC. Starting smart and low and using each week to build upon. You can even see the one week which I used as a taper week. Classic graph if you ask me. (for the record, I'm only a weekend punter and have no qualifications other than the fact I know I'm nuts)
I have to keep at it.... 4 more hard weeks of training, then the best words in any athletes vocabulary... TAPER. Lots to do between now and then, such as keeping focused, keeping honest and above all trying to keep a balance between work, home and training.
The last week, I just kept at it. I didn't let my foot off the gas pedal, so to speak, which is exactly what I wanted to do. I trained longer and harder but I missed core workouts. Not good, but perfection is tough to achieve. Slightly more kms (quality not quantity was the key here) and slightly longer too. To be honest, I channelled my work frustrations into my training which helped somewhat, but I could see I was not myself. Between management duties and difficult clients/contractors it wasn't a good week. These stresses were high, and the training helped, somewhat, but I can really feel it spilling over to the home life.
I can honestly say I'm very lucky, okay damn lucky to have such a great wife and family that has allowed me to try and tackle 2 ironman races in a short time frame. These coming weeks I will pour myself into this training, race to my fullest potential, then it's time for me to hang it up for awhile. Family is the most important thing in ones life and if you stuff it up, you can't go back and ask for a re-do. I think I've used all of my free credits, and then some with the family and I need to focus more on them come the end of August. Going to the park, going to the beach, waking up when we want to, then making a nice brekkie on the weekend. A second or third cup of coffee with the lovely mrs.... why yes, that would be great.
The other part of me is looking forward to racing, but not being away from my girls. This will be the longest I've been away from my wife in the 19 years we've been together and I'm not looking forward to that. Yes I have to race which I will to my fullest ability, but I'm going to be very sad, that I won't have either of the girls there once I'm done. Me and mancub will have a great time where we'll be out there, playing, bonding and seeing what troubles he can get into which I will love very much.
Sigh....
This week I had some very good training sessions. Thursday's swim session with Coach evil ;-) okay Bronwyn, was just what I needed here. Prior to the session I was chatting with her on what it would take for me to get faster (very dumb move, or good depending on how you look at it), so when it came to the main set, she bumped me up a lane, putting me out of my comfort zone. I managed to hold the time sets given, but with very little recovery. I can say, that at the end of it, I was completely spent. No more energy available. In fact, the arms were shaking afterwards for awhile, meaning I gave it all I could. Thanks Bronwyn, I needed a session or two like this.
Then today, I headed out for a run with mancub. Pushing the extra 25+ kgs during a long run set is hard, but rewarding. We headed out and after we got through the "where are we going dad?" and the "you're going the wrong way dad", things were okay. I wasn't looking for a negative split here, but more about being consistent pace throughout. We kept at it, and believe it or not, Vaughn got mad at me when we turned around (what a slave driver). One thing I didn't like, but successfully managed, was the tummy. At the one hour mark, I tried to take my 2nd gel, but all I could get down was half of it. To be honest, I was pretty close to throwing up, but managed to hold it off. No more gels for me, just water. And that's all I had. It worked well and I kept a solid pace throughout the run which was fantastic. We got home, I convinced mancub to have a nap, and very quickly I managed to catch some zzzz's on the couch.
A tough but good week. 4 to go, I can do it. It's all about the donuts right? Here's my IMC summary thus far. Look at all those tv's I've powered
Keep at it, keep honest, and try and enjoy the little things.
Cheers
Rich
1 comment:
You're doing awesome friend, and I'm very much looking forward to racing with you. You are right - you are damn lucky to have a wife like Colleen - she is THE BEST. :) Her family will be there to cheer you on, yes? I know it pales in comparison to your own family, your own wife and kids...but Kayla and my Mum (and Aunt) will be there to cheer you on too, and you will be part of our family on the 28th.
Post a Comment