If nothing else, this whole Half-Ironman training is a learning experience. Granted, I generally knew what to expect based on my marathon training. However, what I didn't realize was how much I would have to be on top of the way my body feels on a DAILY basis.
I am meticulous about my training plans. I am one of those anal people with a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet -- no, correction, entire workbook -- full of weekly mileage goals, statistics, races, charts, graphs, lines, colors, etc. My nutrition plan, calorie goals, training days, and milestones are all captured. It gives me a sense of confidence, knowing that if I follow the plan, I will ultimately be in the best position possible to succeed on race day. Plus, I love planning this stuff out. I don't know why. Yes, I'm weird.
I usually plan my training in mesocycles, where I have about a 4-week training period, a 1-week rest, and then another training period, etc. Training for this Half-Ironman, however, has made me realize I need to think about microcycles -- my training week to week, if not day to day.
For example: On Thursday, I was wiped. I didn't quite know why. I was following my training plan, my nutrition plan, getting sleep, etc. I'd had a couple really long days beforehand, but nothing too strenuous. Needless to say, my swim workout that day was a struggle to start, let alone finish (but I did!) and my easy, normally leisurely bike rides during my lunch hour were tough. Thankfully I had a rest day on Friday.
By Friday afternoon, after taking it relatively easy (just some yoga and foam rolling in the morning), I realized I did not know how I was going to make it through my training day the next day. I have one training day a week I like to refer to as "Hell Day," and yes, it usually falls on a Saturday. I use that day to do a "race simulation," meaning, on that day, I do a short swim in the morning and a long bike ride and run whenever I can wedge it in later in the day. Yesterday, it consisted of a 40-mile bike ride and a 6.2-mile (10K) run. So, feeling like total crap on Friday night, I was frustrated and wondering if I should hold off.
Then I had a realization. Even though I was only upping my mileage a little bit each week, I had to account for several workouts each week, which would account for an exponential increase in my calorie needs (rookie mistake, I know, but hey, I am human). So I did what any normal person would do. I dove into a box of crackers and jar of peanut butter. Before I knew it, the box was gone and the peanut butter was running low. With my belly sufficiently full, I went off to bed.
And like a miracle had occurred overnight, I woke up Saturday morning like a new person. Full of energy, although a little bloated from the excess of calories. I powered through my training day, even impressing myself on the 10K run after my bike ride. I figured I could even do better without all the heat, but it's better to train in heat and expect cool weather on race day than vice-versa.
So, the lesson for the week? Pig out on crackers and peanut butter? No. Be more in tune with my body and listen to it when it's telling me it needs something. I've retooled my nutrition plan to not only account for my increased calorie needs NOW, but also adding a sliding scale of calories to my future training weeks. (I know, such a rough problem, right? To have to eat more...)
But I am going about it in a more responsible and healthy way than just binging on junk foods from time to time. I'm adding a small amount of calories to each meal (i.e. a bowl of fruit, an extra serving of brown rice) to keep my energy levels consistent throughout the day. I'll keep you posted with my progress.
As I said, this is a learning experience if nothing else. But each day feels like a new challenge and I can't wait to see where this summer takes me.
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