It's hard and I'm even harder on myself...
Waking up tired and sore can kill motivation for early morning training sessions. This morning was one of those days. I woke up so exhausted, but it was 6 a.m. I looked at my training sessions today. There were two: one was a swim session and the other a cycling session.
When I looked at the swim session, I saw a couple of time trial intervals, one 400 yards, and the other 200 yards. A time trial interval means to go as hard as you can. I visualized that workout from my bed, and all I could see was pain and suffering. Swimming is my least favorite of the three triathlon disciplines, and doing intervals is the pool with which I have a love-hate relationship.
The hate is having to do them and the pain and suffering; the love is how proud I am that I did them after I'm done. It's the only way to get stronger and faster in the pool.
So, I was lying in bed watching the clock from 6 a.m. to 8 a.m. and thinking about my swim and whether to do it this morning before or after work, along with a bike ride. I pushed myself out of bed and was off to LA Fitness for my swim with dread in my mind. I knew I needed to get up and do it and not think anything different.
The pool was nearly empty; just one other person was doing laps. All I could think of was finishing off my one-hour swim, doing the time trials at my maximum effort, and not mailing it in, which ended up happening.
On those intervals, I swam as hard as I could, and near the end of each interval set, I was in pain and forcing myself to push harder. To have no regrets. Once I've done it, I feel relieved and proud, knowing I don't have to do another swim until next week Monday.
After work, I had a scheduled one-hour, twenty-minute bike ride. I didn't want to do this ride either, but the weather helped push me out the door. It was warm, 28C, and I love riding in the heat. It was also windy. I call the wind "prairie hills."
The minute I started my ride, I knew I could not keep my heart rate under 122 bpm. It was supposed to be an easy ride, and I was to focus on a cadence of 90 rpms. I focused on the cadence, and with the wind and actual hills, keeping it under 140 bpm was tough. If I were to keep it under 120 bpm, I'd have to ride my mountain bike around the neighborhood.
As much as I beat up on myself about my poor cycling speed, I saw a meme on Instagram that said, "When I'm a slower cyclist but realize most people my age aren't even trying." I thought that's true. Even though I'm slow, I'm out there. I think of all the barflies I used to see at the restaurants & bars we'd eat and drink at daily for the last year before this journey. The guys at the bar and most guys 58 years old are not sweating it out on the bike by comparison, so I shouldn't be so hard on myself. At least I am on the bike.
During my ride, I realized I needed to get a new bike. I'm worried about the one I have. I wonder if it's safe. I hear creaks from the front forks when I brake going down hills, and it starts to shimmy the front end. I'm concerned the aero bars will snap with the weight I put on them, and my crank is bent from falling off the wall. The gear shifting could be better. I bought it in 2009 and have at least 60,000 + kilometers on it, and I don't feel safe on it. I also am concerned that I don't want it to break down during the race.
The thing that hurts is the price of new bikes. The least expensive Cervelo is $5700, which can go up to $16,000. I feel that I'll have to spend $7500, and then there will be additional costs for a speedometer and cadence meter. The costs are going to add up.
Doing triathlons is indeed expensive. To do just one race, besides the $400 registration fee, you have travel, hotel, training supplements, gear and clothing for swimming, biking, and running, and coaching costs, and now I'm going to have to buy a new bike. By the time I'm said and done, this race will cost me $10,000 - $12,000, maybe more. All that money just to put me through torture training, and then the race is going to be a good 6 - 7 hours, and I'm sure I'll finish in the hurt locker.
After the bike ride, I was physically and mentally exhausted. I muscled through it, knowing tomorrow was a rest day, and based on my diet plan, I could go out to a restaurant with Alice.
I still need to find a new diet app, but still looking.
Swim - 1:00:11 / 2000 meters (Avg HR 118 bpm, max 145 bpm)
Bike - 1:20:20 / 31.13 km / 23.3 kph avg pace
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