The always say you should start with the good first. In true against-the-grain fashion, I will do the opposite. What a shit week!
The are those weeks during training for a long distance endurance race that are a joy. You jump out of bed to the singing of early morning bird song, think the world is just swell and bolt out of the door. This was not one of those weeks. It was truly ironic. Perhaps some of the most bike worthy days of the year. Yet, the idea of heading out the door and going for a ride longer than 1 hour was not at the highest on my list. Although I will gladly admit that, once out there, it was a joy and I was glad I had struggled out the door.
No matter what though, I would wake up wishing to hear a monumental boom from Mother Nature indicating that today I just might be able to get away with a slow morning and a large cup of coffee. This training robs you of many things and sacrifices are made, both by yourself and others. It is these small little things that you elect to give up - breakfast at a normal hour with your wife. Reading the paper and drinking a seriously over sized coffee that Starbucks doesn't have a name for yet - the things that one weeks like these, you miss dearly.
However, during these weeks, you tend to find yourself pleasantly surprised. The mood that clouds your outlook. Then the warm sun occasionally breaks through and reminds you that life really isn't all that bad. That sun broke through during the first open swim of the season. It was truly wonderful. It is easily forgotten, from one year to the next, what you have experienced the year before. The first open swim is one of them. Yes, I hate the open water. It is not my favourite place to be. However, when you get in that water, when the visibility is up, the fish are gloriously unaware of any human interference and the water is just about warm enough, you wade out into the shallow waters of the lake and dive in. Yes, there are many times I can be heard whimpering between breaths as I swim out in to the lake. It is not lost on me, however, how this particular swim is a special one.
Then the clouds began to dominate again, the sun went in and another lonely 3 plus hour ride presented itself. This discipline has been hard this year. Absent are the training partners of yesteryear. The rides have been increasingly rides of one. This is, in fact, a good thing for Ironman distance training as it is a lonely place out there and anyone who partakes in this tomfoolery needs to be ready for that. That said, it is nice to get out on the sunny days with a few friends to distract you away from the monotony.
The long run of the week epitomised monotony itself. 11 miles run on a treadmill can be a brutal experience. This one was no different. However, the positives must be gained and recognised. The mental training on an experience like this are invaluable. Chrissy Wellington, to whom I am certainly not comparing my meagre self, wrote in her book that her coach, Brett Sutton, would often make her run an entire marathon on a treadmill in a small dungeon. This was by no means a dungeon, in fact a wide open street mall gym, but the psychological effects were the same. Glad the choice was made to do it. And why on earth did I decide to undertake such lunacy? The city was Jackson, Mississippi. A remote area. I think that's all I need to say on that!
The week is concluded and behind us. A positive week lies ahead. More open water swimming this evening with the fishes (and the savage weeds). What also will present itself is the first race of the season, followed by a long relaxing week on a houseboat in Northern Minnesota! The ankle will be tested and the body stretched.
Good luck to us all!
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