Training for Whatever

The picture above has nothing to do with anything other than it makes me laugh, and it somehow echoes ‘three’, as in ‘tri’. A stretch, I know, but I’ll write anything to justify posting a ridiculous image. By the way, that’s a disco group from the ‘80s (Company B), as if you couldn’t figure that out on your own. Love the uni-wig. And the color scheme that uncannily matches the colors of this blog/window.

So here’s a funny, odd article in last week’s New York Times about triathletes and training and how often it doesn’t quite come together at one time:

For Peak Performance, 3 Is Not Better Than 1

As for my training, it’s been affected by an overall post-race malaise (which you can discern from my lack of posts and blog comments). This usually hits me right after a marathon. Sort of like, ‘well, that’s done with, so now let’s train for another one of these stupid things all over again’. Not that I’ve been sitting around with Ben and Jerry (much), I’ve had a few strength-building workouts over the last week, including a 30-minute swim, one-hour bike and 9-mile run last Thursday. Here’s where I’m at, I’ll try to keep it brief:

Running: Going OK, though my quads usually hurt the next day in the pool (see article, above). There was a 4-miler in the park yesterday, and I’m proud to say I didn’t even consider entering. My last 4-miler was a PR, and I’d like to rest on that a while before I start getting competitive on my own ass again.

Swimming: I do the time, I do the drills, 4 times a week or more, at least, and I’m getting better. But not anywhere near ready for competition, unfortunately. Not that I want or expect to be a competitive swimmer, when I say ‘competitive’ I mean ‘not drop out’. I spend a half hour or more in the pool each trip, and I long ago made a deal with myself: when the moment comes that I’ve gotten halfway down the pool lane and think to myself ‘I really, really despise doing this’, then it’s time to get out of the water. That way, the next day, I’m ready to return to try again.

Biking: After Boston, I returned to the spinning that I’d grown tired of (along with screaming quads, part 2). That’s fine, but I’ve discovered that the bike I’m borrowing is not up to anyone’s standards, and probably a road hazard at that. So I have to buy a bike, and spend money on more bike stuff, and I could say something sarcastic, but I chose this life, so I’ll shut up now. But if somebody creates a new event and calls it The Money Pit Triathlon, I, for one, would get the joke. I believe some of you, would, too.

So now I am at a training crossroads. I’m reasonably sure that I will be doing two speed and strength workouts each week this summer. I will continue hitting the pool in an effort to become a machine in the water, before my pool membership ends months from now. All that said, I am not sure how I can afford a few grand on bike-related purchases, that remains to be seen. With all this taken together, it’s not looking very likely that I will be ready for any sort of triathlon this summer, as in, a few weeks from now. Not to say I won’t be, but I have to be honest with myself. I will try not to internalize all this crap, too, which is difficult for me. Despite being a novice in the water and my dwindling bank account, I’m still a fairly decent runner, I have to hold onto that. And remember to watch the news, because there are several billion people on the planet with problems a thousand times worse than any triathlon training bullshit I can inflict upon myself.


P.S. I’ve been meaning to write about ‘the world of triathletes’, since I joined a triathlon team several months ago and have had a fair amount of exposure to ‘those people’. I’ll write about that sometime soon.