Life and Training

Am I alone in this - that my life and my training is linked, when life is good, when everything is settled, training becomes easy and the little set backs liking waking to find your bike has a flat, getting ready for a run and discovering you forgot to recharge your MP3 player arent big deals and you push on.

But when life gets hard training gets hard.  When work stuff refuses to stay in its 9 to 5 box, when that big bill arrives out of the blue, when you and your family are still adjusting to a new way of life (like commuting between Melbourne and Newcastle and all the issues about not being there for your teenage daughter)  it takes bugger all to convince you that today isnt your day and how about we let this session slide.

Well, a review of my training diary over the fast four weeks has made it painfully clear I've drifted into that zone.  I kind of knew it had happened but it was really only when I went back and added up the k's I was running/swimming/riding before and after that it hit me in the forehead.

Well, I have been here before.  This is how I put on 30+ kilos over many years and never managed to shift it.  The key for me is the realization that the link between life and training is real and that it also works both ways.  Yeah, life can drag your training into the shitter with it, but training can pull your life out of there also.

I read an article recently that postulated that the single greatest difference between elite competers and we completers at the back of the field is mental strength. The ability to man up, take the pain and push on.  This applies in a race, in a training session, in a training season and in life.

Well right now my life is a little tough, all that means is that its time to man up.

So I'm off to the pool.

Training tip. Getting up for a run.

I have always hated running.

Never been big fan of riding either to be honest but recently my riding has picked up as Ive begun riding to work. And it was this that got me thinking, why had my attitude to riding changed and what could I learn from that experience?

What I noticed is that riding became a lot easier when I stopped "going for a ride" and started riding somewhere I wanted or had to be. Whether it was work or the gym or the shops, I actually really enjoyed the experience (even though the ride home from work sometimes leaves me exhausted). So could I apply this to running? Well why not?. Anyway, the ride to my gym is just over three and a half kilometers. A little short for a ride but I thought, you know I could run that.

And I did. And I actually kind of enjoyed it, note that, it wasnt ok, it wasnt "not bad", it was good, I had a good time. I enjoyed it so much that I actually ran home faster (after a strength session) than I ran to the gym.

So, there's a tip. If you find yourself struggling to motivate yourself for that ride or run, try changing your routine so that instead of running or riding a circuit go somewhere (even work).