There are two sides to training for an Ironman. There's the physical side, the one that most people are aware of, ask questions and are curious about. They want to know "How many miles did you ride this week?" or "What is your long run up to now?" The other side is just as important if not more so. And that's the mental side.
I think that we can all agree that the brain is just like any other muscle, if it's not worked out and kept sharp it will lose it's strength. For me that mental strength has come from doing many hours in the pool, and on the road. But also like a muscle that mental strength can get injured, sore and fatigued when pushed too hard for too long and then it needs a little bit of a break.
This is where I found myself last week.
The last 12 weeks have been met with early mornings, runs that end just in time to take a shower, grab something to eat, give Kati and good morning and good night kiss and pack my bag for the next days workout just before going to bed. Constantly smelling like chlorine which also continues to permeates from your skin to the point that you sweat the smell. 12 weeks of this would drive anyone to the breaking point eventually. Mornings start to feel earlier, long rides go by slower and get a little bit harder and runs start to get inexplicably slower. It is at this point when I started to lose the desire to train and wonder if all this was worth the reward at then end of the tunnel. A reward that was less than guaranteed and one that I had no idea what it would be like. If I cross that finish line will I say all this was worth it? I do believe that I will.
I think that we can all agree that the brain is just like any other muscle, if it's not worked out and kept sharp it will lose it's strength. For me that mental strength has come from doing many hours in the pool, and on the road. But also like a muscle that mental strength can get injured, sore and fatigued when pushed too hard for too long and then it needs a little bit of a break.
This is where I found myself last week.
The last 12 weeks have been met with early mornings, runs that end just in time to take a shower, grab something to eat, give Kati and good morning and good night kiss and pack my bag for the next days workout just before going to bed. Constantly smelling like chlorine which also continues to permeates from your skin to the point that you sweat the smell. 12 weeks of this would drive anyone to the breaking point eventually. Mornings start to feel earlier, long rides go by slower and get a little bit harder and runs start to get inexplicably slower. It is at this point when I started to lose the desire to train and wonder if all this was worth the reward at then end of the tunnel. A reward that was less than guaranteed and one that I had no idea what it would be like. If I cross that finish line will I say all this was worth it? I do believe that I will.
I wish that I could say that I thought I was immune to these mental struggles for some special reason. That as a person that had signed up and was training for an Ironman I somehow superseded the average Joe's ability and mental capabilities. But in the end I always knew that it was going to happen sooner or later. I'm just glad that it was later into training.
I am glad to say that fortunately this difficult period passed within a few days and I was back on track and ready to hit the road. This is good since next week is going to be my most brutal week yet and probably the most difficult in all my training. I'll have to write about that after it happens.
I am glad to say that fortunately this difficult period passed within a few days and I was back on track and ready to hit the road. This is good since next week is going to be my most brutal week yet and probably the most difficult in all my training. I'll have to write about that after it happens.
