The Prepared Shall Not Fear

After I finished the marathon on the 6th, I ran through the cooling mist sprayers and went to lie down on the grass, and I remember going through three emotional phases:

1) Relief/joy: naturally. I can't believe that I finished. That's a very long way to run.
2) Pain/fatigue: you don't really know how tired you are until you stop moving.
3) Fear: oh, Petey - what have you done? Do you not remember that this was in preparation for an event that, at your peak of fitness, should take you an additional 2 hours to complete?

But, as it's been said somewhere, the Prepared Shall Not Fear. Put in your hours, and you'll be fine. Or at least, you'll go in with the confidence that there was nothing else you can do, and race day is just going to give you what it's going to give you. And, after hours spent putting together a training concept and plan, I admit - I do feel better. There is much work to be done, but the Plan is there.

I'm frankensteining the ideas of two different programs:

CrossFit: I've recently joined a CrossFit gym here in St George, based purely on that system's reputation. I've had a strange fascination with really intense programs such as CrossFit, starting with an article I read on Mark Twight and his infamous Gym Jones in SLC (I have a secret suspicion that CrossFit based itself largely on the ideas that Twight helped to popularize). All of my weight training will be done through this program.

The Triathlete's Training Bible: this tome, by Joe Friel, is for those who want to get deep into the methodology of training, without all the hassle of actually going to college and getting a degree in Exercise and Sports Science. It reads like a textbook written for professional endurance athletes who don't have time and resources to hire a coach. It will walk you through every part of creating a year-long training plan, from mental preparation to planning the actual movements that you will do during each day's session(s). I'm borrowing the concept of Periodization from this book, and dividing my weeks into prep, base, build, and peak periods. I'm also using it to schedule the amount of weekly hours I'll train each week, what my workouts will consist of, etc. To fill the pages later on, I'll probably spend some time writing about all of that stuff.

So there it is. Written down. Now 'scuse me, I'm off for a swim.

End transmission.

70.3, here I come

Long time no blog, eh, Mr. "Enthusiast?"

It's been an interesting year, culminating last Saturday in my first participation in the St George Marathon! I had played with the idea of running the marathon for a couple of years, but always had a different "A" race around that same time of year. Not this time, though, so I just ponied up and did it. And it's a great and beautiful race, of course, very well organized, etc. etc.

I actually signed up for the marathon as a prep for a larger race, though - as a Father's Day gift this year, my family got the funds together to sign me up for the IronMan 70.3 here in St. George!

I've learned through experience that the enjoyment that you get out of a race is always equal to the effort that you put into it - not only in terms of training, but mental preparation, and general enthusiasm as well. My favorite races, and also the ones that I've done the best in, are the ones that I've revved myself up the most for. I've talked to people about them for weeks or even months beforehand; I've obsessed over the course and how to overcome its specific obstacles; I've connected with other people doing the same race so that we can obsess together...all of these things help to make the actual race day much funner, and frankly, much more worthwhile. When I haven't done them, race day tends to feel like a really rushed day at the bank.

So between now and next May, at least, this blog will be a flurry of activity, recording my efforts to prepare for the event, and any thoughts and info that I happen upon along the way. I hope that anyone who might read it finds it interesting!

Coming soon: The Prepared Shall Not Fear