Feelin’ like I’ve been off the radar for a while here, but
I’m right back into training and feeling on par with where I was this time last
year. In fact, I seem to be hitting all
the numbers I hit last year this time – weight is crossing the 165 lb border on
the way south, track intervals at the same speed, swim intervals the same
speed, etc. But I’m realizing how much I
put into this training thing last year and it’s literally blowing my mind as I
attempt to repeat it in order to be ready for St Croix and the early summer
races. This effort is taking a lot out
of me!
I intend to stay on the plan through Lake Kristi in
June. After that, I’ll get off the wagon
and allow some boozin’ and snoozin’ to preserve my sanity, with the idea of
stepping it back up on September 1 to get ready for Ironman Florida. Well, maybe sometime in August. Maybe August 1. I dunno.
But I’m gonna need a break for sure, and I’m already finding my mind
drifts to thoughts of 2013 and not giving a rip about all this fitness and
training stuff for a while.
Anyway, back to the here and now. The body seems to be adapting to the training
well, even though I now have 40 years behind me. It’s the mind that seems to struggle the most
through all this though. Meals on time,
no second helpings, no boozing, nailing every workout even when sometimes I
just don’t wanna…..it takes its toll.
I’d love to sit on the porch and sip some wine tonight, but it isn’t in
the cards.
And getting my weight back down to sub-160 is consuming
me. I nailed it last year by my early
May half iron race, and all is on schedule to do so this year too, but I feel like I have this creepy exercise induced eating disorder (I
know there’s a name for it, but if I don’t use it then I feel like I’m not
quite admitting I have it). Two bites of
chicken from completing a half a breast last night left me in disgust of what
it might have done to my morning weigh-in had I given in to them. So, I threw them out. I went to bed early just to make sure I
wouldn’t feel a hunger knock later that evening. I have two scales in the bathroom and I check
my weight every morning on each of them – one because I’ve always trusted it,
and one for a “second opinion.” This
healthy lifestyle is, perhaps, not the most healthy after all.
So, how does a Kona qualifier do it? Clearly, they must have more talent to draw
from so that the sacrifices aren’t unbearable.
But I can just imagine what a rearranging of lifestyles it is to be
one. I will never understand how one
does it with kids and a career.
All in all, I suspect this is really just some form of
burn-out trying to get hold of me. I
made a mistake doing that late fall marathon last December as it didn’t allow
me enough of an off-season to bounce back into my routine here in the late
winter/early spring. I still have good
days but there are a few bad days in there where I just don’t want to
perform. So, for now I’m just trying to
cowboy up to the training but also looking forward to that post-Lake Kristi
beer……
A couple notes about the shoulder. Since the cortisone shot in January I’ve had
much improvement. The PA suggested
possible surgery in the long term but for now the shot seems to be doing the
trick. The only time I notice discomfort
is after I’ve swam yardage over 2500.
It’s noticeably weaker on the pull phase of my stroke, but otherwise
bearable. I still ice it from time to
time and try not to raise my right arm above my shoulder any more than I need
to. I miss doing lateral raises in the
gym when I hit the weights but I’ve been diligent to exercise the rotator cuff
in place of that.
Spring is happening all around and now there’s still daylight
after work for a good workout. At the
very least, there’s gumption to be drawn from all o’ dat! Peace out!
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