You know you went to college in the late 80's and early 90's if you know that little tune. Just singing it in my head makes me feel like drinking piss beer out of a keg and dancing on a beer soaked floor.
But back to life. Back to reality. Back to 2010 with a home that hasn't been cleaned in two months, a garden that hasn't been tended since mid-June, and three kids who have been bored stiff and fighting over who gets to steal my iPhone next to play DoodleJump since arriving home last week. Apparently being home after two months straight of beach, ice cream, cousins and best friends leaves you wanting--and in need of video games.
But it's all good. You wanna know why? Because SCHOOL STARTS TOMORROW.
Praise God and Hallelujah! Actually, school starts for my oldest two. My third is entering kindergarten, and so she has psuedo-school for a little bit. For example, tomorrow I GO WITH HER and we stay for an hour. Then the day after that she goes for like three hours. This goes on for about a month until finally she is official and she goes for the whole day. What I find so funny about this arrangement is how old school it is. The assumption is that my littlest puppy has been home with her mommy since day one and the trauma of being separated and starting school for REAL is going to destroy her. However, MY little baby has been in daycare since she was two months old. I went back to teaching in September after having her in June. This is also true of my other two... who got about two months of Mommy before begin turned over to the 7 a.m.-5 p.m. workers in the daycare system. It sounds cruel. It sounds harsh. It sounds like the twenty-first century, in which a huge portion of mothers can't afford to stay home with their little tykes or simply decide they want to continue working after having a child. But the K system of gradual introduction to school remains...
Anyway, my point is only that my kids are daycare kids (aside from the summers--in which they get all Mommy all the time). The idea that they need to transition over a month into real school is a bit hilarious to me.
So, in short, I know I'm supposed to be weepy that my last child is leaving my side to go to Kindergarten. Should I be admitting that this does, in fact, NOT make me sad? I think it's because I have always been a working mother. The start of public school does not mean that I am losing my child. It means I finally don't have to pay someone to look after my child while I work.
I went off there a bit. On to triathlon-related bizz-buzz.
Oh wait.
I'm not sure I have anything to say there. Ho Hum. Is it October and time to rest yet?
I had a great brick yesterday. I did these 12 minutes intervals at Oly race pace wattage and it was tough, man. Just tough. But fun, too. Then I had a little transition run in which I contemplated how I was sucking wind to a much greater extent than I should be given my pace. But still, it was a swell workout.
I did have a bit of a light bulb moment this week surrounding my training.
I was talking to SoloBreak, who is, btw, a very smart dude, and who suggested that perhaps I was struggling with my run because I had put more energy into my bike this season. Well duh. Yes. Of course. That wasn't the smart part. But he also mentioned how when he begin running a few years back he noticed that even a few runs per week really had a negative effect on his biking. Maybe the opposite was true for me? That the gradual addtion of biking to my life has had a progressively worsening effect on my running?
ding ding ding!!!
I know this seems obvious too, but I hadn't regarded it that way. Over the last few years I have finally learned how to work hard on the bike. The problem with that is that since I can get a lot out of myself on the bike now--it has negatively affected my run. WHY? Simply because I don't have the juice I used to have for the run--both in training and racing. I cursed myself two years back (and so did Jen) because I knew I was a loaf on the bike. But what I didn't acknowledge at that time was that being a loaf on the bike allowed for some good runs off the bike. As soon as I learned how to work the bike... while.... my run became far less stellar.
My run is in the shitter simply because I have a certain amount of me to give -- and when biking started taking more of me-- well, the run suffered. Again, I know this seems patently obvious, but what you need to understand is that I haven't been shirking on the run. My training for the run has remained steady and strong through all of this. It's just that that didn't matter. The more the bike absorbed--the less I had to give to the run. The more I tried to get my run back while killing myself on the bike, the more tired I got. And lo, here we are. I am wiped out. My bike is strong. My run is weak despite my effort to make it strong again. And I need a freaking break already.
The question is--can I somehow train such that I am giving enough to the bike--but not so much that my run is destroyed? Does it have to be one or the other? Can I achieve a balance? Triathlon... such a fun game.
That would be the goal of next season. Suggestions as to how to accomplish this are always welcome.
14 comments:
Wow! You do start school late, guess that's an East coast thing! I teach pre-k and K and our kiddos come for 7 hours from the get-go. No into to Kinder here, LOL. Hope you enjoy some down time and peace & quiet for a bit :-)
damn, you over analyze shit. you know that, right?
:)
kids here have been back to school for like 2 weeks. just sayin'.
which IM did you sign up for next year? i am super disappointed in USAT and the IM with how they disgraced athletes in KY this year. they fucking RAN OUT OF WATER on the bike course. people were picking up empty bottle on the ground and using lawn garden hoses to refill. fucking despicable. shame on them. there was a 28% DNF rate this year, DUH, ya think?
It's funny you mention this, because one of the guys I talked to at my HIM who came from a running background told me that the better he gets on the swim and bike, the slower he gets on the run. He also told me that the power meter and HRM are making him slower and he is trying something different now, training by feel. I think I managed to have a decent run at my HIM bc I had such a sucky bike:) I bet that next season you are going to be strong on the bike and run. I think the body needs time to adjust!
Oh, and we don't get this slow transitioning into kindergarten where I live:)
You are such a thinker my dear.....
(Sallyaston..not an East coast thing. My kids started 8/26. Too early for me...)
excited to see you at L'man!
Before you go looking for changes, you need to better quantify the changes. Sure you may not feel better, and your run splits might be a bit slower, but how much. You/we don't care about road races in this case- only run splits in tris. If your bike is "x-20 min" faster, and your run is "x+10 min" slower, you're better off. Obviously this is a difficult exercise. While imperfect, you can compare splits from the same course one year to the next. Or maybe even IMLP to IMCDA. In that case, don't look at the times, but the ratio of bike to run. Oh- and trust your coach. She's paid to figure these things out.
And eventually you must ask yourself... What about my swim?
But of course that's all I want to talk about.
And yes my friend -- a big AMEN for public school aka free childcare!!!
Hey thanks for the mention. The only split that really matters is your overall finish time. Comparing your run time to a standalone running race is impossible to avoid, but it has very little meaning. If you did stand alone bike time trials you'd be way faster than your tri splits too, because you empty the tank at the end. Ditto swimming. In tri with the run at the end you're going to think it's just like a running race, but it's not. Bottom line is it's all one race and you're still improving your performances. Relax, you got the job.
Ah school! It starts for us tomorrow. Full days at PreK! although my guy has been in preK for the last two years part time...yes, the last two years, this is NYC we are all competitive ALL the time..ha! he starts testing for Kindergarten this month for next year..it is insane!
I wish I had a suggestion for you, but I imagine your coach has the answers. Besides, you are light years ahead of me.
I'm struggling with the same thing. i'm trying to pick up more 5ks and speed work to help compensate, but now, i fear my bike will suffer. oh, the lovely balance of three sports. ugh.i'll stay tuned for more info.
I love the summer, but I also love when school starts :) Have a great week!
I love that song- I am totally going to use it in my back to school mix for Spinning this week!
love the new look!
Let me know if you figure out the run off the bike thing... I have not. I do not have a background in any of the sports and to add to the challenge I have suffered 2 running injuries the last 2 years which definitely affected my running! My goal for the next race is that when i get off the bike to curse like a madwoman, grit my teeth and just give it what I've got. Screw the lack of training, sometimes its the grit and determination that gets you there faster!
I am sooo not qualified to give an expert opinion (being not a triathlete, just a recovering-from-injury marathoner trying to bike to cross train) BUT when I mentioned to my fab chiro who is herself an XTerra (winning) athlete that pretty much anything but easy spin on my bike trashed my running, she had 2 suggestions - 1. focus on pulling up in cycling instead of pushing down (will have to get clipless pedals or straps to make that happen) and 2. do a quick 5 min easy run after getting off the bike, and the next day's run would be just fine....I have not had a chance to put this into practice yet as training for a half mary, my priority, is challenging me at the moment (my xtraining is now walking). Really enjoy your blog!
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