I've been in a rut. I'm in training, and I don't really know why. It's been hard after IMAZ to get excited for a race season full of sprints and Olympics. So I decided to work on speed, fully forgetting that just because speed workouts are shorter, they require more recovery. I've been hard on myself, killing myself in every workout, and beating myself up because I'm "slow".
I've been skipping morning workouts. However, I feel guilty the rest of the day about it. Today, after missing yet another morning masters swim class, I decided to bite the bullet and squeeze in a noon masters session. It was very disruptive to leave work, drive to UCSD, park, change, warm up, and start the workout. (After, I had to shower and grab something to eat, then drive back--major time suck). However, once I started swimming, I didn't want to get out.
I purposely swam in the slow lane. I have been pushing myself so hard and getting my ass kicked in faster lanes, and I wanted to take it a bit easier. It felt nice to lead. I swam at a comfortable pace.
The workout was crazy hard (http://swimtri.blogspot.com/2008/05/400-100-200-time-trial.html). I decided I didn't want to swim 3200 meters. First, I had to get back to work. Second, I didn't want to kill myself. I swam slowly but comfortably. After 2100 meters, I hopped out, totally proud of myself. I had squeezed in a swim workout, hadn't beat myself up, and felt mentally better afterwards. Totally (almost) guilt-free.
Guess I learned something today. Sometimes, less is actually more!
6 comments:
"slow" Uhhhhh nope. Girl you crack me up! ;-)
i was so lazy after my ironman. I just let my body recover itself. Hope you enjoy the 'less'.
Why are we triathletes always so worried about how "slow" we are. Not preaching, as I do the same thing; just observing.
A bit of slower paced training sounds perfect and it's obviously what your body is telling you that you need. Hopefully it will help you to feel re-energized and ready to tackle some more speedwork (in moderation).
less really is more...especially when the body is telling you that..
what speeds do you hope to get to??? is it mostly the run you want to increase the speed??
good for you for taking a step back and examining the kick your ass workouts and then to follow that with an "easier" workout!
I can understand that the transition from IMAZ to shorter distances would be extremely hard, but you seem to be doing it just fine!
there is no reason for self-beating! you might still be recovering from AZ (a little), and your body is getting used to getting its HR 'up there' - be easy on yourself. if you aren't excited about sprints and olympics - choose a race later in the season to make it your "A" race, and make that your goal! I am sure the motivation is tough, but personally, I am gonna shut it down for a solid 2-3 months after LP.
seriously tho, with all the base you built for AZ, you could just race to stay in shape for the rest of the summer!
btw, when was the last time you had time off (for longer than recovery from a race)?
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