Wednesday, June 21, 2006

To Train or Not To Train

I'm caught in the same delima I was this time last year. I am not really following any kind of set triathlon training schedule right now, and I find myself training pretty hard, then tapering off for a day or two because a race is coming up. Then resting a day, then training pretty hard again for a few days. And I really need to be getting in more long miles for the Olympic Distance triathlons I'm gonna be doing in several weeks, but then again, I also want to do well in these sprints I've got scheduled between now and then. I guess I'm gonna just have to decide which is more important. I just hate going into a race knowing I might still be a little fatigued from training.

So I rested on Sunday, Father's Day. And when I say "rested", I mean I went to church, cooked out with my parents, came home and crashed. I slept from like 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. that night. I biked during my lunch break at work Monday (20 miles), and then I ran 6.75 miles Tuesday morning. And I was struggling. My time was 1:01:46 which is a 9:09 pace, but I thought I was gonna die before I got home. It was not that hot, but very humid. I did some strength training Tuesday night while Briar practiced with the swim team, and then the boys and I relaxed at the outdoor pool until like 8:30. Holly just got back from the beach, and she joined us.

I got up this morning about 5:45 and went to the pool. I felt like I really needed to get a good swim in, so I passed on biking with Michele, Kim, and Tisha. I first swam 2000 yards, then swam a 350 to get ready for the McMinnville City Triathlon swim leg. But I forgot that there are 1.0936 yards in a meter, and the McMinnville swim leg is 350 meters, not yards. So I really should have swam 7.7 laps instead of 7. I didn't get an accurate time on the distance anyways, though, because I had my watch in the wrong mode.

I'm not sure what the rest of the week holds for my training. Either an easy bike or run in the morning, and probably rest or easy swim on Friday, then race on Saturday.

7 comments:

Michele said...

Is there a training schedule that can get us ready for the Waterfront??? :-)

I am thinking an easy 3 mile run in the morning and then a easy swim Friday morning. I was going to rest tomorrow but I already took Sunday off this week.

Great job on the workouts.

Cliff said...

Lana,

That's tricky. Is the tri coming up your A race? If it is, i would just rest up and be fresh on sat. I am still newbie at this. I do know, when in doubt, rest :).

I have a HIM coming up. This is my A race. I dno't htink i train well for it but what can I do now. Nothing. I plan on doing a tri the week after. That one is just for one so I won't even bother training for it.

JamieW said...

I have ever fully respected rest when the race wasn't a marathon. As a result my fastest 1/2's have been the first 1/2 of fulls. I regret this and the fact I don't race enough in general. Seems like a fast race might provide some serious motivation/excitement to get you through the rest of this summer's training.

Afternoon Tea With Oranges said...

Cliff - No, this wasn't an A race when I planned out my schedule. But as usual, as it gets closer I start itching for the competition and want to place as high as possible. I guess at some point I'm gonna have to quit stressing over my place in the standings at every race. But gosh it's hard.

jdoubleu - good point. If I do well in this race it will certainly be good motivation for the rest of the summer.

Janet Edwards said...

I struggle with the same thing...especially on my weekends. Just do what you think you will enjoy the most.

Rice said...

I’m very much a schedule person, as you can see by my last post. But I admit sometimes its nice to just go out and do what you want. And that’s great that at least you still out there doing it..

Cheers.

Rice.

Scott said...

Your race schedule is probably hindering your ability to do truly well in any of them. What you need to do is focus on one race and make it the goal for the season. (Okay, maybe two races.)
You have your calendar so packed with races every two to three weeks, you are always in a taper mode and not really getting true benefit from training. This kind of race schedule can be good as long as you look at the smaller races as training runs for the big one (Fall Creek Falls, I imagine.)
If you go all out at every event, you will likely see diminished returns as the season progresses, not just in races, but in the general lack of energy in training as well. You just can't keep yourself in top race condition all season.
Focus on one leg at each of the next races and then go strong at Chattanooga.
There's my nickel's worth of free advice.