May 2009-Adventures In Training

With the Pigman Tri less than a month away it’s time for “Adventures in Training.”

I recently created a new type of bike training I like to call “Beating the Sun.” On a weekday evening I decided to bike out to Alburnett to visit a friend I hadn’t seen in awhile. We got to talking and the next thing I know, the sun is going down. Of course, I am unprepared for this; my bike has no lights and I am dressed in black.

I hauled butt home, glancing to the horizon as the sun crept closer and the sky darkened. This is a good workout, I thought, as my legs burned. Greg Bodeker would be happy to see that I am increasing my cadence. I can see the flashing lights of County Home Road. Can’t let up now. I just hope I can avoid becoming road kill.

I reach Robins as the sun disappears and I finally get back on the trail. It’s a short distance back to the Boyson Trailhead. Wouldn’t it be ironic if a family of raccoons would wander onto the trail and they would be the ones to take me down? I reach my vehicle, tired and much wiser for the experience. I think I’ll stick closer to home on my weekday rides…or at least wear a watch.

I had another training setback. I went to lap swims on Saturday and started feeling a sharp pain in my ear. I tried to “swim through it” but it began to feel like a knife was being driven into my head. I had to cut the workout short.

It was off to MercyCare where I was diagnosed with an ear infection. My only question to the doctor was: “Can I still swim?” Typical triathlete to care more about training than my health!

One of the things I have learned in this sport is to “listen to my body.” Your body will tell you when you have overtrained or when that soreness is turning into an injury. We seem to have a need to push ourselves to the limit, to almost revel in punishing our bodies. We always want to go that extra mile.

During the season I am sleep deprived, always hungry and I know my immune system is compromised. I also know that sometimes it is far better to take a couple days off and get healthy than to risk further injury or to give less than 100% because my body is weakened.

My ear still fills full and I can’t hear from it, which can throw off my balance, which makes training especially challenging! I tell myself that the more obstacles I have to overcome, the greater the rewards!

The Pigman will mark the beginning of the racing season for many of us and a first-time experience for the newbies who have recently joined our club. My advice to our new triathletes: relax and have fun!

I know I was terrified at my first Pigman, certain I was going to drown or crash my bike. This was before the MWX Club existed so I was self-taught and pretty unsure of what I was doing. To our first-timers: take in the whole experience, enjoy being out there with your fellow triathletes. You will find they are some of the most supportive people in the world! Don’t worry about your time, just focus on finishing. It’s a tremendous accomplishment and something few people get to experience. And when you cross that finish line, if you are like the rest of us, you will be hooked for life!