Mark Twain is the inspiration for this Triathlon and racing season. The combination of Coach E rubbing elbows with the rich and famous as he promotes Born To Run and my decision to work for a start-up post grad school has had me training myself. I'm self motivated enough to train consistently so getting out the door is never an issue. What is an issue is the ignorance I have for how important recovery is. My biggest need for a coach is to hold me back some so I'm not training till I throw up every day. But who am I to argue with Mark Twain, if ignorance and confidence are the recipe for success then this is sure to be my most successful season!
That ignorance was on full display a few weeks ago. With tired legs and a groggy mind I tried to push myself through a speed interval run. My goal was to run 6, 3 minute intervals at a sub 6:55 pace. I barely could muster the turn over to reach a 7:05 pace for those intervals and realized that my muscles were flat out fried. Since that time I've scaled back the intensity and gone for miles or just enjoyment and the results seem to be great.
My weight is down 4 pounds from IMCDA, I'm running faster for distance than I ever have and my bike continues to get stronger. Consistency in training has been a huge issue so I'm not sure how fit I'll be for my first half iron next week but I know my ability to perform is there. Working at least 75 hours a week really puts a dent in the consistency to train so I've had to be creative about what I can get in. This Sunday I'm headed up to the Napa Valley Half Iron course to check out the bike leg and see what I can reasonably expect on race day.
I signed up for this race with the intent of placing in the top 10, full discloser and the pressure is on. Had I continued working with Eric with the same consistency we had going into IMCDA there isn't a doubt in my mind a sub 5:15 half iron was within my grasp. Now I'm not sure, part of me is just praying I can go sub 5:30 again but part of me wants to push as hard as I can go to see what I can accomplish.
My blood sugars have been rock solid in training. The work I did to figure out how to train with blood sugars below 170 has paid huge dividends. I'm feeling much more awake, aware and consistent during longer days and my body is recovering a bit more quickly. The need for lower carbohydrate intake also helps me avoid some GI distress which I encountered in the past. Not entirely sure what to expect on the bs front on race day so time will tell.
So with that I have the confidence that I can perform and complete ignorance when it comes to my level of fitness for the start of this season. April 30th may be an incredibly painful day but I'm going into it with the same goals I had when I signed up for the race. The following week I'll race in my first road classic, 33 miles in the hills of Berkeley. I know I'll have fun in the races and I know I'll be racing for a cause, with the two most important things deeply ingrained in the reasons I do endurance sports its now time to translate that into some results.
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