This past Sunday, I made a big decision to enlist the help of a triathlon coach. Joanna Zeiger (Shenk). I'd been thinking about this for a few months (can't find the prior blog post where I said I was considering it), and I think it was because I believe I've licked the whole low back/hip/foot issue thing and feel healthy that I figured I was in position to actually EXECUTE on the training I had planned for myself, that I thought, hey, I might be aligned for a really stellar year. But I also thought this might be the perfect time to seek outside help from someone who I believe would be able to understand the peculiar combination of my athletic history, past training style, results, lifestyle, goals for this year, blah, blah, blah, and maybe take me to another level.
It is odd to be 55 years old and thinking about an Ironman PR and another Ultraman. I don't know too many other women like me. After last year's time off (which despite how much I needed it caused me intense mental pain), I really wasn't sure I wanted to "keep this up," as is how some other people put it. But I figured what the hell, I don't really suck that much, let's see what I can do, and I know I'm at a stage where I do need to employ some different training protocols to improve.
I can see the impact of aging year by year, mostly externally (skin, hair, where fat likes to go), but in terms of SBR, I haven't slowed down all that much. It was time for a change on the training front, and I really don't have time to do a whole bunch of research and figure it out. I have been training like a 40-something Crackhead, but now it's time to train like a 50-something Crackhead, and the outside view will be really helpful to me. Now, I'm not your average 50-something Crackhead--I can still kick it and fully intend to do so this year, but I want to do it on the knife's edge with someone's guidance.
I wasn't even sure Joanna had bandwidth to coach me, whether she'd laugh at me and my goals, or as has been the case for some coaches in the past, not even bother to respond. So I was so happy to get an email from her and then we talked on the phone Sunday, and we are going to start things up this week.
As per my sidebar, my "big" events are still Triple T, Ironman Canada and Ultraman Hawaii. Those, in and of themselves, comprise a fairly big schedule, no? Although I won't be so much racing Triple T, as testing my Ironman fitness (that statement was not coach approved!). There are a few other things I've registered for that I hope are still good with her. As performance/results oriented as I am, I still love, love, love training and need a dose of a few other non-race events to keep me mentally balanced (if there is such a thing!). Those would include Horribly Hilly 200k followed by another 200k the next weekend, a silly half marathon in 2 weeks, and maybe a trail marathon in October.
The challenge here still remains how do I train for a PR at Ironman Canada while being prepared to train for Ultraman Hawaii. Even though now I'm technically "just" training for an Ironman, the looming Ultraman cannot be ignored. At least that's how I see it. I've shared the ATP I made for myself with Joanna, and I hope we have some fun discussions about Ultraman training, because as I've already told her (and I am sure she was aware anyway), there is NO SUCH THING as a template for Ultraman training, at least not for a working stiff like me. Sure, if you don't work full time and can train 25-30 hours a week, there are some best practices there (crap I need to find that Endurance Corner article), but the way I see it (if you aren't trying to go in and WIN Ultraman), you need to capitalize on your strengths (although biking can NOT be shorted) and just have a superior endurance capacity coupled with outstanding nutrition/pacing knowledge to get through it. How one assembles a training plan to accomplish that is an art. I learned a ton from doing it to myself 2 years ago, and will learn more this year. I still get a chuckle at looking at what I initially THOUGHT I could do in training in 2010. It was psycho. I would have needed to quit my job and be 20 years younger to do it! But I settled on something that ended up working, probably in large part to my overall endurance base and will to push myself for many hours.
There is still a bit of fear in turning over the reins to Joanna. I would be lying if I didn't admit to that. But what balances that out for me is that I suddenly feel like one element of self-induced stress has been removed--that of me being simultaneously the coach and athlete for once, especially with such high expectations. Could I do this year without a coach? Yes. Might I do even better WITH a coach? Definitely. We get to see how things work as I ramp up for Triple T. I am sure it will be OK. I did my homework on Joanna--obviously she has a world-class athletic resume, but what settled me on her was when I started reading her blog, but then the clincher was actually talking to her. She will be good for me. I might hate her at times, but I've hated my former coach a lot more at times!
Oh and while I am embarking upon a coaching relationship, I am designing what I am doing with my family room. Mostly the bar. It is going to be awesome. The hood is going to be covered with this, the bar top is going to be granite (haven't picked out that yet--probably copper-ish with flecks of gold and blue), and the front and side will be glass blocks. There will be some LED lighting involved. I think it's going to kick ass. The storage behind it will be reconfigured, and I have already gone through all my bike and run stuff and organized it so it will be nicely put away when this is all finished. I had my new 42" TV mounted on the wall yesterday, although it will be taken down when construction begins, my old TV is upstairs in my bedroom now, and next step is to find the replacement furnace, humidifier and water heater--those go in in a few weeks, and remodeling commences mid-April.
I am excited about SO many things right now, and I think that has been part of my issue with sleeping. But it seems that settling on a coach has been one of the pieces of the puzzle, and I am beginning to sleep a bit more already. All to the good. 2012 looks to be one helluva year for me!
No comments:
Post a Comment