Training under the radar

It's been a good six weeks since I last posted anything here.

Since then, I lost my fantasy football championship (how do you run a league for 12 years and never finish better than second ?), had the stomach flu, and most recently, was hit with what was for all purposes walking pneumonia.

There have been a lot of distractions. Quite a few people warned me about trying to prepare for such an early-season Ironman. I kind of laughed it off. I've always thought that the big thing which hampers early season training for people is their dislike of spinning indoors. I mean, even when the weather is miserable, you can still get in a two hour run outdoors, but I feel like I paid my outdoor riding dues a few winters ago, and it's just not productive riding at 15-16 miles an hour in the bitter cold for 4 hours when you are training for a warm weather race- at least not for me.

I have the advantage of having trained for a November Ironman, and it can be the same thing. October gets dicey and you aren't going to get 80 degree days on the weekend. And I like to spin- I'd rather sweat my ass off in the basement than freeze my fingers and toes off.

Still, I have to say that I feel like I've been fighting to hold onto whatever it is that keeps you driving forward towards your goal. The last illness was the worst. It hit me in the afternoon after a two-hour run. The next day, a Monday, I was barely conscious (although I had to work for five hours). I missed two days of workouts all together, but by Saturday, I was back, and I not only did a two-hour run, but I really buried the back half of it. the next day, I put together my best brick of my training arc.

I usually roll my eyes when people say to me 'Maybe you needed the time off.' I take my two weeks when I'm instructed to, don't particularly like it, but I take it and then get one with it. However, in this case, I think maybe that's exactly what the case was. The illness, although not helpful, did not, as I thought it might, wipe me out for a week or more. I feel refreshed, my workouts have been back to the intensity I think I need 5-6 weeks outs, and while not an ideal path, I'm still on track.