Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Ironman Training For The Type B Personality

It's getting close to commitment time. A typical ironman training schedule is about 36 weeks. So right now, I'm not beating myself up if I miss a workout, or if I have the fried rice instead of steamed with my triple delight and egg roll. Those that know me, know that I rarely beat myself up over that stuff anyway. But, things are going to have to change. Or are they?
I've been searching for a training program online that will fit me perfectly. I'm still searching.
The typical ironman-in-training may or may not have a job that requires 50+ hrs a week (like me), may or may not have a family (like me), and may or may not care if he finishes under 12 hrs with enough energy to skip across the finish line in the daylight (not like me). I am playing referree to an internal battle between my heart and my mind. The majority of the training programs out there are written by and intended for type "A" personalities who really enjoy counting their calories, logging their workouts, and monitoring their progress searching for "trends" that will help them alter their training, fueling, recovery etc. to maximize their performance on race day. These programs START at 12 hrs a week and move up to 16-18. Well, what if you truly just want to finish before the cutoff with a smile on your face and walk away with a great story you'll be able to tell the rest of your life. Where's the training program for that? Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying one should not approach an ironman without a great deal of respect and seriousness. There is a lot at stake. You can really hurt yourself attempting one of these. And I believe I have an appropriate amount of respect for the sport to know what I'm getting into. This is not a decision I've made on a whim. I've been involved in the sport of triathlon for almost 5 years and while an ironman may be on my "bucket list", improved fitness is not. Fitness is more of a lifestyle commitment that I have to make every day. It's an investment in my future with my family. Besides, an Mdot tattoo just wouldn't look right if it got all fat and stretched out, HA!
I could stress over finding and committing to the right program a bit more, but that would take a bit of the fun out of the process. Coach K (of the Duke Blue Devils) says that champions aren't just passionate about competing, they are passionate about preparation. He's right. But I'm not trying to qualify for Kona. I might not ever do anything longer than Olympic distance tri from here on out... who knows? My point is this, unless I find a program that will allow me to train before 6:00am (I work construction) and after 8pm M-F (my daughter's bedtime) and squeeze in long bricks on the weekends, my daughter will be 4 by the time ironman TX comes around and I will completely miss out on her being 3... and I am quite enjoying her as a 3 yr old. And I'm sure my wife would like to see me every once in a while. I've had a bad habbit of letting my hobbies get in the way of what is truly important to me, and that's NOT a part of the plan this time around. Discipline (the character that every triathlete recognizes as a virtue) is primarily about improving the quality of your life, not mis-aligning your priorities so that your life and everything truly important in it begins to suffer.
So train, and train hard. But put it into perspective every once in a while.