Training is in full swing...especially after this past weekend. Last week I trained 14.5 hours (11,300 yds swim, 161 miles bike, 26.6 miles run), up from 11.5 hours the week before (6250 yds swim, 170 miles bike, 11.3 miles run---post Marathon week!). The weekend was a "wake up call" with all of the 11,300 yards swimming coming in workouts on thursday, friday, sunday---my shoulders, lats and traps were tired! I also had a nice 4 hour ride on saturday without a single stop for anything over a red light pause. After finishing the final step of sundays run, I felt a bit punished! It's a good kind of punishment, if I could say so myself. My body recovered quickly, and is ready for more after mondays day of rest---but the next 6 days have me on the ropes for 17 hours of training for the week.
Looking at my workouts, I can see that Chris is pushing me to another level already, especially on the swim, but also a bit on the bike and run as well. There's an extra swim and run workout this week versus the same week in 2010...I am expecting this for the duration of 2011---I am not convinced there are more boundaries for me to break through. They will be on the brink of impossibility, but that's what this is all about for me...to push my own envelope, not to failure, but to places I don't know exist.
I'm back to focusing on my workouts much like it's a job...I always get a smirk on my face when someone asks me about my workouts; I think it is mostly because I know they will have a hard time comprehending them, and think why the heck I am doing it at all. The smirk behind it is my mind saying "I know you're going to think this insane but...(enter the weekends workout here...). I really have no answer to their comment of two words: "you're insane." Mainly, it is! And sometimes it's a slugfest with myself---a part of me is victorious (usually the mental side), and part of me goes down with the punches (muscles mainly here)....I guess that is what it is all about. Overcoming that mental challenge time and time again---telling your body it can't quit, it can't give up, and then backing that up by charging up some hill on the bike, finishing that last mile of a long run, or getting every rep in with consistency in the pool---that I think is what toughens you up both for the battle/challenge to follow at a race, or, for that matter, at work, at home, or driving down the road.
I seem to be writing a lot about the mental side of things lately...I think I have figured that once you get to a certain point, your mental toughness is what leads to success or failure. I believe in Kona that will be the difference between having a great race and "just finishing." I'll just keep logging the miles and challenging my toughness to the point that, come race morning, I've dealt with the struggle over and over again in training, now, I'm tapered, fresh, fast, fueled, and ready to fly....let's see if this becomes reality over the next 9 months!
Cheers,
Erik
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