Training Volume and Schedule

I missed my run yesterday at lunch and had to get to it after work. Luckily, one of my former analysts who is training for a half marathon also missed her lunch time run, so we got together across the street after work to get a run in.

As we were running along, she asked me something that I hadn't really consciously thought of before, but perhaps subconsciously had recognized and embraced.

She asked if I ever got tired out from always having a race to train for. This half marathon she was prepping for was her first race she had trained up for in a few years, and although she has an athletic background as a college softball players, doing endurance events like running as an adult with a marriage and career to balance were very new to her.

As I slowly made my way through organizing an answer, I came to the conclusion that in the past, I did tend to get worn down, but that over the past year, things had changed and it was no longer the case.

I used to love racing, and love the sense of satisfaction I would get in observing my body adapt to the stresses I'd put it through. Whether it be watching pounds fall off from hard work, or speed going up, or volume tolerance improving, I loved the adaptation. The sense of satisfaction from doing well in a race was also a bit like a narcotic.

I didn't however like the training. The perceived lack of variety, the plateauing of improvement, and the compounding fatigue would usually get to the point of reaching an unbearable level.

For the first few years that I did running, and then triathlons, I would very rarely be able to successfully develop a training schedule and stick to it. It seemed that life would always get in the way. I'd get sick, or have to travel, or would get stuck in the office on a project. One little blip would rock me and I would get depressed for having come off schedule, and it would take me a few days to recover, then I'd get depressed that I spent a few days recovering and that the ordeal had set me back maybe a week or more, and next thing I know, 2-3 weeks would pass, the event would be on the horizon, and my 10-12 weeks of carefully planned scheduling would amount to 3 weeks of sticking to it, 3 weeks of sputtering along, and 4 weeks of cramming to make up for the detour prior to race day.

I would sometimes still have a satisfying race, and it would be satisfying enough for me to sign up for another race, which would usually entail me repeating the cycle above.

It happened as recently as last year. The first half of my season got off to an okay start. I had a PR at my race in Galveston, and was geared up to go for an Olympic distance PR in Austin on Memorial Day Weekend.

Training had been going okay, better than normal. I was able to minimize the disruptions, and get to the start lines pretty fit.

It turns out that the race was going well, but I literally melted on the run in the heat. After the race, I took the entire month of June off. It wasn't by design, but because I couldn't get things rolling. I took a week to go on vacation in Europe, and when I got back, I had a hell of a time getting things started. As I think back to why, I think the main reason was that I was pissed off about not getting in any training while I was in Europe. I took running clothes and hoped to get a few runs in. Instead, I ate and drank, put on some weight, and gave back all of my spring fitness. Sort of stupid to let disappointment over training not going how I'd have hoped be the thing that kept me from training.

I finally mustered up the courage and motivation to get back to training in early July. It actually happened on July 4th when I met some friends from work to do a lake swim at Lake Grapevine. I was out of shape, and they were all days away from doing IM Lake Placid. The discrepancy between our current places on the training spectrum was so vast, that I think it was the shock I needed. Perhaps a joke about my beer guy had something to do with it as well. I had a 70.3 race on the calendar in just 6 weeks which I clearly would not be ready for, but I decided to sign up for a 70.3 in Oct, and try to throw together a solid 12 week training block.

It was during this 12 week block that I think I turned the corner in terms of scheduling my life and planning my time.

First, I tried to simplify my life as much as possible. I started going to bed earlier, eating a little bit better, I cut down on the TV watching (I still watch allot, but I found that I was watching some things I didn't even enjoy), and I prioritized my days trying to maximize my productivity. Why go to lunch and eat crappy food with the same crowd every day when there is a gym across the street with a treadmill, showers and towels that I can jump on a couple of time each week. Get the workout over with so I can come home from work and spend time with the family. I even started riding my bike to and from work once a week to essentially turn my 70 minutes of daily auto commuting into 140 minutes of bike commuting.

By no means is my life simple, but it is 'simpler' and is a bit more productive.

During these 12 weeks, I got pretty fit and came out of the experience having learned allot about how to motivate myself, how to avoid the common road blocks that had derailed me in the past, and how to get back on the horse if life bucked me off.

I've found that it is a hell of allot easier to stay fit than it is to get fit. So the last 8 months or so have been like a big land slide picking up mass and speed as the weeks have rolled on.

I'm now feeling as fit as I ever had for this time of year. I'm still highly motivated and I've found that the correlation between my motivation and fitness with my overall disposition are strong.

So I don't get tired of always having a race to train for. I used to, and the boredom would usually cause me to fall off "the plan." But I've found I'm much more happy on "the plan" than off of it, so having that goal is now a necessity for me. Approaching fitness and training as a lifestyle as opposed to a hobby was what changed for me. When I made that change, things found a way of falling in line.