TRAINING DAYS

"Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go." ~T.S. Eliot

(The Rorschach test? OK, is it just me or does this look like a manta ray flying over the soccer field.) 

It was a beautiful day in Kona today. Whales splashing around the ocean, White fluffy clouds making pictures in the sky, windy. Just plain beautiful.

Last week I dug myself into a hole with my training. I had hard days on the legs Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Last Monday I had hill work on the bike that included riding up Hualalai and 5 times up Kam 3, then an all-out TT down Alii. Tuesday was running hills and Wednesday was a 50 miler on the bike in a strong headwind and lots of fast intervals followed by a 3,000 yard swim. I was hurting and had exceeded my fitness level.

I had to take Thursday off just to recover. Even by Sunday I was still feeling the affects of over training. But it's hard to tell where that line is between pushing to a new level in your training and over training, at least for me it is. So this week I'm backing off just a little on the effort (not the distance) and hopefully I'll stay out of that hole I fell into last week.

This week I started out with a triathlon: A 3,000 yard swim, a 2 hour (40 miles) hard bike and a 30-minute hard run. Actually, everything today was hard. Even the headwind on the way out on the bike was what Kona is famous for. I think I averaged less than 13 mph most of the way out and only about 15 mph going down Scenic hill. I actually went faster up Scenic than down it today. But the plus side is I flew back to town at around 30 mph or so thanks to a good, strong tailwind. It was a good day to get some riding-in-the-wind practice and to build some mental toughness. 

My run after the bike was an all out sufferfest. Jumping off the bike and running as fast as I could go and maintain for 30 minutes. I generally take it easy the first mile or so after getting off the bike but I decided enough of that. Time to make it hurt. I'm not going to get any faster by running slow. I'm hoping by Lavaman time (March 28) my body will adjust to the faster pace off the bike and I'll be able to hold my goal race pace for the entire distance. Well, that's the goal. 

Tomorrow I'm running 10 miles of hills with a little all-terrain (gravel, lava rock and sand) running thrown in. The effort will be just enough to feel the burn and build some endurance with a close eye on my heart rate. Gotta stay outta that hole. As someone once said though, "Know your limits, but never stop trying to exceed them." So here's to good, and bad, training days. They all help us get stronger, only one hurts more than the other.

Stay safe out there and happy training.