Our biggest volume week of the year so far (26 hours for me, with three intensity sessions) culminated in one of the most challenging distance races of all time, the Ironman triathlon. No, we didn’t do it, but I made it out on foot for the 6:50AM start and by bike later in the day to marvel at these seemingly ordinary looking people performing an extraordinary feat. And we thought our sport was hard! (more…)
We just finished an intensity week, but I feel unusually fresh. It’s not an easy thing to have a new coach every year because that means a new and different training plan. Luckily, our coaches are constantly in contact, sharing ideas so that most of us are on a similar schedule. Unfortunately, so far this year I feel that the training hasn’t quite been adequate. I made a request in the spring to be allowed more recovery and more responsiveness to the way my body was feeling because I felt like I struggled with fatigue through much of the early 08/09 season. But after “surviving” last year’s training, I’m beginning to realize that I’m a lot tougher now than I thought I would be. And since I’m not attending school this summer and don’t have to juggle training with classes and homework, I notice the difference even more.
While I at first view at the more relaxed plan with a feeling of relief and gratitude, I approach the end of the week feeling as though I’ve cheated myself, like I’m not pushing myself as hard (without overdoing it) as I could be. There’s a line that I want to avoid crossing, on one side of which looms chronic fatigue but on the other, average performance and only small steps forward. But I don’t want to allow myself to be stuck on the latter either. Now, I’m working with my coach and reviewing last year’s plan to find a happy medium where I can progress as much as I would like without taxing my season.
The third week of camp promised to be a tough one, mainly because we had already been through the first two. A single day’s recovery was no longer felt like much 40 hours and 6 intensity sessions after we started. In the final week, though, we managed to complete more than 20 hours and another three intensity sessions, including one four-hour distance workout, a technique-focus combo session, and about 3 hours at threshold. Looking back on those three weeks from the tail end of my recovery week, I can evaluate my progress and formulate the goals I’ll set for myself over the next training period. (more…)
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