11 WEEKS!!!
I think this weekend I realized how little time 11 weeks is...this weekend I did spin class, in 2 weeks I have convocation at UW, a few weeks after that is a training weekend at the cottage, then - taper weeks start! Usually it takes 6 months to prepare for an ironman, not 12 weeks.
This weekend was the first rainy weekend we've had this spring so the long ride was moved indoors. There's nothing worse than having to ride inside when you've been able to ride outside for weeks. The good news is I got to be the coach.
Spinning as the coach is waaay harder because you can't slack. You need to be the motivator for everyone else - and pumping out that much encouragement takes a lot of energy. I think I may have discovered something though - motivating everyone else made my biking stronger and I found new energy when I was tired. On race day I think I'll have to remember this and maybe even scream out encouragement to myself when it gets difficult.
One more thing I thought about this week is how on earth we, as triathletes, find the inspiration to get up before the sun every day and do everything it is that we do. Let me give a brief breakdown of my workout week with Team ENERGi;
Monday: 6:15-7:45 swim (coached)
8:00-8:45 run (track speedwork)
17:00-18:30 strength & weights (20 min run warm-up)
Tuesday: 17:30-19:30 bike (speed work and hills, short run off the bike)
Wednesday: 6:15-7:45 swim (coached)
8:00-10:00 bike (easy aerobic miles)
17:00-18:00 recovery run
Thursday: 18:00-19:30 run (speed work and hills)
Friday: 6:30-8:00 swim (distance swim, wetsuit optional)
17:00-18:00 optional easy bike/run
Saturday: 8:00-... bike 100+ km (moderate pace, run off the bike 30 mins)
Sunday: 8:00-... run (20+ km long run, optional bike before run)
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=20+ hours/week; and I probably spend just as much time eating...seriously.
Sometimes the hardest part about a workout is just getting there. I think many would agree that it's easy to lose focus and motivation to keep training this much every week. This is where Youtube comes in.
I get most of my inspiration to train and race from Youtube (not all of youtube, but a lot of it). It's like the video hub for everything anyone has ever thought or done while they had a camera handy. Whenever I'm tired, or in a rut, I get on Youtube and watch old triathlons, Ironmans, Swim Championships, etc. My favourite has been watching "The Road to Kona" featuring Craig Alexander. There's also a good NBC special on Macca and the 2011 Hawaii Ironman. If you have some free time, I highly recommend watching these.
Nothing, however, gets me as pumped up as watching the Kona swim start does (this one's is my favourite).
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