As we find ourselves on yet another "holiday" in America in celebration of another country's independence (insert joke here) I find myself reflecting on the year so far, with a GMO free margarita in hand.
What particularly comes to mind is Constitution's old favorite. Just do hills! Lots of hills. In fact, every time a hill looms on my vision's horizon a small menacing chuckle pops in to the psyche with his mantra echoing in my fatigued mind.
What does he mean with this old classic? It's his way of teasing every publication touting the same repetitive guff in each edition. In almost every edition the editors profess to have found the key to "PR" in your next race and almost every time there will be reference to hills. Just do hills! On our long ride the other week Constitution decided he was releasing a new ground breaking magazine and his lead article would be "just eat greens", swiftly followed by "just do hills".
So what's the point? I'll get to it. So often we fret over getting it just right or having just the right equipment with the leading widgets and gadgets (I am no exception to this rule). However, ultimately, this is all quite unnecessarily complicated. Just get out there and, to borrow a phrase, do it! Or, as Napoleon loves to say "don't over think it". When the long weeks full of volumous amounts of training begin to set in, just getting out there and getting the job done is key to it all. We could all waste copious amounts of valuable minutes prepping extensively for a long ride - quite frankly, being prepared is in my DNA - however, you could simply throw some food in the back pockets and head out the door for 6 hours. It may not develop in to the greatest training ride in a triathletes life, but the job will be done. None of our group is a world record prospect, or anywhere near winning anything from these races. The within reach goal that we hope for is simply coming down that finish chute with a smile on our faces and the crowd's raucous cheering ringing in our ears.
So, to recap, just do hills. Just eat greens. Brilliant, now pay me loads of money for that advice and my life will be sorted!
Training recap. The volume is headed to its highest levels for this training. 6 hour rides are a fixture for the next few weeks. Long loops around the beautiful Minneapolis/St Paul metropolitan area, followed by some dehydrating, languid loops around the lakes on foot.
The hip is mending in the nick of time. A productive visit to the Ortho Doc ensued yesterday. A diagnosis of just do hills wasn't exactly what they said, but she did indeed give me the golden stamp to keep training with a focus on strengthening my, as it turns out, somewhat weak derrière. My regrettable teasing of my wife doing Denise Austin exercises in front of the TV has come back to haunt me. As I perused the the leaflet of exercises recommended to me by sporty doc, no fewer than 8 of the 10 movements are the very same that my nearest and dearest completes every week. She was admirably restraint in her "I told you so's" and was quite eager to demonstrate the moves. I now have a new strength coach :)
This week started well with a good swim yesterday. Last week wasn't too much to write home about but a solid set of sessions nonetheless. Progress is good. I'm sure the oh-so-familiar fatigue will crop up on my shoulder soon enough. However, we are prepared this year. Embrace the fatigue. Welcome it to your world. It's all part of the experience.
To finish, just a quick update to fundraising efforts. The progress has slowed a little, but is still marching forward at a steady, army like pace. A fresh push towards £2,000 mark is required and will be enacted over the next few weeks. If you are reading this and are being overwhelmed by the urge to donate, feel free to rush to my fundraising page at uk.virginmoneygiving.com/cliffsironman. I hope to get back in July and visit the cricket ground where it all began for me as a cricketer. First, scoring the game as a young 12 yr old, receiving manic arm gestures from the umpires and having my shoulder looked over continuously by anxious batsman wanting to see how their averages have faired. Then, progressing in to the adult team in my 14th year (they must have been short). My one and only century I have ever bothered the scorers with was with Frieth CC. Can't wait to watch a game there in the brilliant British summer sun.
Good luck to us all!
No comments:
Post a Comment