On Training a Lot, Recovering, Planning, Weight, etc.

So my last post I realize was written from a perspective of having actually been training quite a bit. Lucky for me, I keep detailed records of my training, that includes assorted notations such as getting sick, skipping workouts, shortening workouts, other life activities.

When I went back a ways and looked at things, it was clear that I've actually been training at a pretty high level for many weeks. DOH!

I have officially passed a full 12 months without doing an Ironman or beyond. In 3 weeks, I'll have passed a full 12 months without running a marathon! The tug of long is still there, and I will find ways to experience it without a 4+hour single run or 12+hour single training day for a few months yet. I, like many people I know, have a warped sense of what constitutes "a lot."

This week I am unloading from 5 weeks straight of pretty good training. I am in good enough shape for an Ironman--not a best effort, but maybe like 14-15 hours. I've had to let biking take a back seat to running, which is fine, and will also set me up for the winter months of Ironman prep training with shorter, more high intensity biking, and the same for running. I'm feeling pretty good about my running right now--on Saturday I ran 14 in the flats of Greene Valley and capped it off with 2 repeats up and down the big hill there, and it didn't even suck! Well the part where I was bonking after 14 miles sucked, but some more Coke perked me up and I absolutely loved the hill repeats!

I was reading on an old forum I used to frequent about racing "weight." While I may sometimes appear to be weight focused, it is really body fat. I will say it's become a tad more challenging to stay lean having gone through menopause a few years ago, but it still boils down to quality of diet and calories burned training. I eat less starch now than I did 2 years ago, having replaced it with more vegetables and fruit. I still enjoy a beer every day as long as I am doing quality training of at least 12 hours a week. I am lifting heavier than I used to but with less repetitions, and that seems to be good for my muscle mass and energy level. I know when I'm at an optimal body composition based on how I feel running up a steep hill and climbing on my bike up a steep hill. Time was when I'd do that and be thinking, "I wish I was lighter." Right now I feel just great in both situations. It's really subtle, but the sense of carrying my body uphill while running feels less like dragging and more like floating. If it doesn't feel that way, then either I am woefully out of shape or just plain too fat. Since my weekday running route features some good hills, I get many opportunities to test myself!

Periodically, I still weigh myself and take and record measurements just to see where I'm at and observe where my body wants to store its fat. The sad reality is that post-menopause my body wants to store more fat in my lower abdomen. Sucks, but it's true. So I will just need to continue vigilance in the name of vanity and competition! I don't want to have to go out and buy a whole new "I'm an old lady" workout wardrobe because I can't bear to bare my midsection any longer! Well maybe I do already look disgusting, but based on the looks I get while out running, I'm still way ahead of the game for my age.

While earlier this year I had trouble mentally coping with a period of injury and then a general decision to not race much at all, I feel pretty good about it now. I just read this article, and it really spoke to me. Over the last 2 years, I have added in more recovery weeks and days than I used to include in my training plans, and I could use even more. But underlying all my training has always been good nutrition, adequate sleep, regular massage and other ways to keep it real. I have no regrets about the past 10 years of high volume training, but I think maybe, just maybe I might have another good 10 years in me, so this recuperative period is welcome. Plus, in about a month I am going to have a serious sit-down with myself in terms of thinking about the "R" word (retirement), or at least moving on to something different. I'm not unhappy where I am--I don't really think too much about happiness as a general state of being--I am more interested in enjoying the current moment. And right this minute I am typing and haven't worked out yet today, but my body craves movement, so off to a short run I will go and enjoy the fact that it's still shorts weather here!