The past 8 months have been an endurance event for me. I worked 80 to 90 hours a week. Since January 1, 2023 I spent 80 nights in hotels. When I was home in New Hampshire my work days often started by 6 a.m. (although on a number of occasions I couldn’t sleep and would log on at 2 a.m. just to get things done) and I would regularly work until 7 or 8 p.m. When I was on the west coast my work days would start at 4 a.m. and end at 7 or 8 p.m. I spent weekends either working or traveling. Getting from New Hampshire to Oregon is not easy or quick. In order just to make it through the day I completely deprioritized myself (and ended up struggling through a nasty bout of shingles, hooray facial scaring), Ryan, and to a very large extent Ivy. If there was an important event in Ivy’s life during the winter and spring of 2023, I likely missed it.
Now What?
Sitting here in July I am finally (I hope) on the other side and working my way out:
From a training and racing perspective I didn’t (and couldn’t) do a whole lot. No matter how much motivation you have, no matter how strong the why, there are times when we all face situations when the how is just too hard, too complicated, too much. That has been my last eight months. Not training and not racing makes me feel disconnected from who I am. It sucks. I don’t want to relegate all of 2023 to the dustbin, so I’m committing to starting (and hopefully finishing) IRONMAN Arizona 70.3.
I am making the (probably questionable) decision to coach myself to the start line. The reason for this is two fold. First I’m still a bit unsure of my schedule and workload and don’t want to commit to a coach only to constantly rearrange, flake, and then rearrange again. Second I want to see if I can both show myself the grace and objectivity I show my athletes.
What am I starting with?
My strengths:
- I have a solid swim background and don’t need much time in the pool to be both comfortable and moderately fast (for a triathlete in the water);
- I have years and years and years of endurance on the bike. While my biking has been sporadic over the past 8 months, the three years prior are very solid with thousands and thousands of miles in the saddle.
- I kept up running to some degree while traveling. The one thing i could do on the road is plod along on a wide variety of hotel treadmills. My runs weren’t long or consistent, but I can comfortably (and slowly) run for an hour or so.
- I have a lot of race experience. I’ve been participating in triathlon since 2006. I know how to get to the finish line even if it sucks.
My weaknesses:
- My body is pretty wrecked. I went without consistent sleep for a long time and was consistently switching time zones. I’m pretty susceptible to getting sick at the moment.
- My time is still limited. I have a more reasonable schedule at the moment, but I still work 50+ hours a week, which feels amazing given what I’ve been doing but is still a fair amount of stress and time at a desk.
- I have no speed. None. It’s all gone. I also lack run durability, which will be a big deal come race day.
- I haven’t swam since December 2022 (and during December I swam a grand total of one time).
Week 1 of Training
With all that in mind, last week was week 1 of IRONMAN 70.3 training. The goal was consistency and aerobic volume. I scheduled 7 hours of training, I accomplished just over 5.5. I misjudged being able to get in a long(ish) bike on Saturday. Ivy had a swim meet in Rutland, Vermont and after a very early morning, all day running around in the sun getting small people to their events, and a long drive home I had a pounding headache (not enough water) and was exhausted. I picked sleep over getting on the bike. Probably the right call. With where I am at physically and mentally get it done at all costs likely means getting sick, injured, or both.
What’s on Tap This Week:
With 15 weeks to go, this week is more of the same. I’m aiming for 3-4 bikes and runs each week, 2 swims, and strength. ALL. THE. STRENGTH. Runs will be aerobic with a few hills thrown in, not that I can avoid them in New Hampshire. Bike will be a mix of things. Swim is really about getting a feel for being in the water. Challenges this week will be the weather. Lots of thunderstorms close the pool and make running a challenge and Ivy has another swim meet on Saturday so I’ll need to figure out how to navigate that on.
