The Bug
Shelly posted yesterday about all of us bitch'n and moan'n about being tired/burned out already. I got to thinking about this during my run last night. Which, by the way, was probably one of the most difficult runs I've had in a looong time. It was only 50 minutes, but I was cooked before I even started. I figured I needed to push through it because I didn't feel *that* bad. It was probably a good opportunity to test out a little bit of mental endurance and determination. I'm sure I'll need it down the road a way.
I needed the support of a running buddy last night. Since I have yet to join up with a training group of any kind, I took along my trusty MP3 player. Luckily, the new one is ginormous and I was able to bring along about 3 dozen podcasts to choose from. I settled in on Zen and the Art of Triathlon and listened to Brett start work on rebuilding a bike. His podcasts are sometimes a little like Seinfeld. Great shows about nothing in particular - it kept me entertained the whole way. Lots of folks have been calling in and leaving him messages. I'm thinking of calling in after I finish the Freescale 1/2 marathon next weekend and giving him the low down on my first Half Marathon experience.
Anyway, back to being burned out. During the run it occurred to me that there has been an abnormally high number of people, myself included, talking about being tired in their blogs. Shelly was right! What gives? The only thing I could come up with was that we, the triathlon world, were going through something like the 6th minute of a race - only, in our newly started training schedules.
You know - 6 minutes into a race you suddenly have this twinge of fatigue in your muscles and realize "Oh crap! I'm swimming on adrenaline! I'm going out way too hard! I still have a bike and a run to finish!", it never fails (for me anyway). For a split second you have this pause in your mind where you wonder if the goals of the day are still possible. Did I screw up everything in just the first 6 minutes? Then, some perspective returns - I've got a couple of hours of work to do here - nothing can get screwed up in the first 6 minutes. The fatigue passes and turns into power.
I think many of us are going through something like this in our training right now. For most of us, the "new" training plans are now weeks old. The first race is still weeks away. The anticipation and excitement has faded and we are now fully immersed back into training after weeks of rest. We may even be feeling the effects of the first months of training on our bodies and trying to come to terms with our own internal Potato Pete who loves to sit on the couch and watch the "Iron Chef" marathon for 16 and half hours straight.
So, what happens next? If you're a triathlete, you already know. The fatigue will pass and turn into strong workouts once again. We'll find comfort in striking the balance in our busy lives and marking through the workouts on the schedule one-by-one. The goals on the horizon will get closer through strong, steady workouts. We'll all pass the 6th minute and finish the race.
See ya out there...
I needed the support of a running buddy last night. Since I have yet to join up with a training group of any kind, I took along my trusty MP3 player. Luckily, the new one is ginormous and I was able to bring along about 3 dozen podcasts to choose from. I settled in on Zen and the Art of Triathlon and listened to Brett start work on rebuilding a bike. His podcasts are sometimes a little like Seinfeld. Great shows about nothing in particular - it kept me entertained the whole way. Lots of folks have been calling in and leaving him messages. I'm thinking of calling in after I finish the Freescale 1/2 marathon next weekend and giving him the low down on my first Half Marathon experience.
Anyway, back to being burned out. During the run it occurred to me that there has been an abnormally high number of people, myself included, talking about being tired in their blogs. Shelly was right! What gives? The only thing I could come up with was that we, the triathlon world, were going through something like the 6th minute of a race - only, in our newly started training schedules.
You know - 6 minutes into a race you suddenly have this twinge of fatigue in your muscles and realize "Oh crap! I'm swimming on adrenaline! I'm going out way too hard! I still have a bike and a run to finish!", it never fails (for me anyway). For a split second you have this pause in your mind where you wonder if the goals of the day are still possible. Did I screw up everything in just the first 6 minutes? Then, some perspective returns - I've got a couple of hours of work to do here - nothing can get screwed up in the first 6 minutes. The fatigue passes and turns into power.
I think many of us are going through something like this in our training right now. For most of us, the "new" training plans are now weeks old. The first race is still weeks away. The anticipation and excitement has faded and we are now fully immersed back into training after weeks of rest. We may even be feeling the effects of the first months of training on our bodies and trying to come to terms with our own internal Potato Pete who loves to sit on the couch and watch the "Iron Chef" marathon for 16 and half hours straight.
So, what happens next? If you're a triathlete, you already know. The fatigue will pass and turn into strong workouts once again. We'll find comfort in striking the balance in our busy lives and marking through the workouts on the schedule one-by-one. The goals on the horizon will get closer through strong, steady workouts. We'll all pass the 6th minute and finish the race.
See ya out there...
posted by TTUTri at 7:04 AM
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