Besides getting back into my weekly training rhythm after a couple races, I received a bit of good news in my email inbox Tuesday from USA Triathlon:
Congratulations Adrienne Langelier. You have qualified for the 2012 USA Triathlon Olympic-Distance National Championship after finishing in the top 10 percent in your age group at the 2012 15th Memorial Hermann Sugar Land Tri.
This news definitely picked up my week! I compete not for recognition and validation, but I'll admit it is nice when my hard work does get recognized. As for the championship race itself, there is a significant wait list and even more significant travel costs to Burlington, VT this year but I do plan on one day, sooner than later, participating in a championship event. My triathlon career is VERY young and I'm still in the very base phase of training.
Speaking of training...here's my oh-so-smooth segue to the title of this week's post...
A process goal for this season it to train smarter. I'm doing an awful lot of it, and I need to be sure I dial in to paces that I can handle long-term on days that are now key workout days. This means a lot of runs that are simply how my body feels, even if it's slower than my usual. With the exception of Wednesday night track, I have been training solo a lot, especially in my longer workouts. Saturday I did my usual 12 miles taking off behind the pack on purpose. I had been dealing with a "nigglet" in my anterior tibialis muscle ( reminding me of my HS soccer days) and I knew that I should take my next few runs easier-and so I did.
I felt like a million bucks and enjoyed getting into my own rhythm. You know you ran a good easy run when you get back and you could have easily put in many more miles. I also had plenty of time to be social and play coach to one of my runners before and after. Good thing I took it easy, because I had a 40 mile bike ride the next day.
I usually ride with a group, but I took off an hour earlier than usual so again it was just me, my bike, and my thoughts for a couple hours. I found it amusing how I rode the same route as usual and almost instinctually hammered the parts that the group does. While it was harder not having a draft, it was great training and I was still able to hit speeds up to 25 MPH during my pickup intervals. During the ride I kept picturing myself doing well in my first Olympic-distance tri; having a great experience crossing over bridges and cruising the flats. To cap off my weekend of primarily solo training, I hit the pool for my recovery swim set alone. I do enjoy Magnolia Master's swims, but with a visit from my parents, I pushed back my 2400 meter swim session. Call me crazy or just easily amused, but besides having the disadvantage of a coach on deck for immediate feedback, I don't see swimming alone as too big of an obstacle-as long as the work gets done that's all I care about.
This week wasn't easy, but it was a rewarding one and I'm hopefully a little bit better of an athlete and stronger from it.
Stay the course.
7 comments:
I can relate to your in your "own little world" feeling. This past spring so many of my Ironman preparations workouts were done alone, except for most of the longest bike rides and some of the longest runs. I usually found this time to be valuable alone time filled with silent reflection and forward thinking, though there were times I missed training with others. In time, that period of my training came to an end with the race completion.
Congratulations on the championships - that is absolutely fantastic!! You rock, girl!!! xoxoxox
I do the vast majority of all my training alone. I prefer it this way I just hate holding anyone up or vise versa and it just works well. I am thankful for my iPod and my treadmill :).
Between you and Richard, I am just surround in awesomesauce-ness! LOL
I have been training solo for so long now that it has become my friend, but I ALWAYS jump at the chance to train with someone! Our souls crave the community as well as the solitude, so finding balance between the two things appears to be one of those things I keep striving for.
I am so enjoying watching your life as a triathlete unfold! And I am blessed by your friendship!
Almost ALL of my running is solo. Most of the time I love it- but was happy to get a chance to run with friends recently in Portland. If I ran with others, I can imagine that it wouldn't always be beneficial to my training.
Nice riding!! 12.5 hours is solid stuff.
Almost ALL of my running is solo. Most of the time I love it- but was happy to get a chance to run with friends recently in Portland. If I ran with others, I can imagine that it wouldn't always be beneficial to my training.
Nice riding!! 12.5 hours is solid stuff.
Nice article, thanks for the information.
Like we discussed on the phone, training alone definitely has its benefits! I think you are doing an amazing job and seem to have a very good balance of training with friends, but also seeing the positives to training alone. You ROCK!
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