Over the last year or so that I've been training, in the back of my mind, I've always been waiting for that moment, when suddenly, it's easy. That ride where hills feel easy. Or that run that doesn't feel like a struggle. But recently, something occurred to me: it never gets easier, you just go faster.
That's not quite as depressing as it sounds at first. At one point, running a mile without stopping to walk seemed almost impossible. Now I do that without hardly thinking about it. I could barely swim one length of the pool two years ago. Last night I knocked out 2250 yards in an hour. But it wasn't easy. The whole point of training is to push yourself. And racing even more so. When I run a race, I want to feel like I left everything out there. That I gave everything I had. And so, it's never easy. To use an incredibly cliched line, "if it were easy, everyone would do it." If it were easy, it wouldn't feel like an accomplishment. If biking up the hill were easy, flying down the other side wouldn't be so much fun.
So, it never gets easy. That doesn't mean you don't get better. In fact, if you want to get better, then you should make damn sure it never gets easy.
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Checking in
Well, my last post outlined some goals for the off season. Frankly, other than the "eat a lot of turkey and pie" goal, I haven't done much to work towards the others. However, I've decided this year to extend my "off-season" a little longer than usual. True, I'm training for a half marathon right now, but I'm considering that my off-season from triathlons. So I found a training plan that includes a fair bit of speedwork. I'm hoping for a 13.1 PR, and to generally improve my running speed.
As far as the strength training goal, I've done zero. As in, none. Not even a token attempt. More on that later.
I've realized that in my last few races last year, I was really just phoning in my efforts at training. That is, training just enough to be able to comfortably finish the race. Which was fine and good for Beach 2 Battleship. That was my first attempt at that distance. I didn't know what to expect. But my half marathons were suffering. I got slower. I realized it's because I haven't been consistent with my training, or putting in the required effort. This year, I've decided to attempt my first full marathon, and concentrate on running. Of course, I will still bike and swim, they just won't be my main focus. I've signed up for a couple tri's this year, but I'm just sticking to Oly and sprint distance. Next year will be for tris.
But this year is for running. I want to get enough faster that if I do attempt a full marathon, I won't be running for 5 hours. To that end, I'm working hard at staying consistent with my training, and sticking to the plan as much as life allows me too.
As far as the strength training goal, I've done zero. As in, none. Not even a token attempt. More on that later.
I've realized that in my last few races last year, I was really just phoning in my efforts at training. That is, training just enough to be able to comfortably finish the race. Which was fine and good for Beach 2 Battleship. That was my first attempt at that distance. I didn't know what to expect. But my half marathons were suffering. I got slower. I realized it's because I haven't been consistent with my training, or putting in the required effort. This year, I've decided to attempt my first full marathon, and concentrate on running. Of course, I will still bike and swim, they just won't be my main focus. I've signed up for a couple tri's this year, but I'm just sticking to Oly and sprint distance. Next year will be for tris.
But this year is for running. I want to get enough faster that if I do attempt a full marathon, I won't be running for 5 hours. To that end, I'm working hard at staying consistent with my training, and sticking to the plan as much as life allows me too.
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