Saturday, August 15, 2009

Kona - the build is on!

It's really been a great summer. I mean, it is what you make it - do you sulk about things and dwell or do you think about being progressive? And even though my Red Sox got their asses handed to them by the overweight, out of shape, fat ass Yankees, I know that there are still six games left against them and the Sox are 8-4 vs them this year. Again, focus on the positive. The only thing that sucks more than watching your team lose is watching your sons team lose.

I thought I'd post a very self-centered post and update on my Hawaii training. I went to Marthas Vineyard with the family for a week and figured I would take this as an off week and begin my Hawaii build when I returned. We had a great family vacation - and the bonus was that I did a fair amount of training. From 9am to noon each day, there was a "kids club" where we stayed - college kids that were camp counselors who organized fun activities for the kids. My kids loved it and so they participated in it each morning. Lisa would go out and exercise with her friend Jen, which left me to go exploring on my bike. In two days, I knew every road on the island. I did eat and drink a bit too much, but no worries.

Upon returning, I began my "real" build. I left at 5:15am on a long ride around Warmaug last Saturday. I met Kenny along the way who kept me company for it. Not only did I feel great, but I really enjoyed the ride. I finished up at 10am with the whole day ahead of me. The next day, I ran 2 hrs 15 minutes and again, felt strong and enjoyed the long run. My motivation is high and after racing IM's since 96' give or take a few years, this is a nicely accepted feeling. I've learned not to question it, although I feel that taking some down time, not over-racing, and getting beat at RI are the keys as to why I'm enjoying the process.

I've been deeply analyzing my previous Hawaii builds and had a discussion with Big Rocks today about this. As a coach, I often advocate "do as I say" rather than as I do. However, It's time finally for me to begin listening to my own advice. I've been laughing this off for years which is pathetic. The fact that I don't get much sleep and have limited time to train doesn't change anything. In fact, that's the situation of most of my athletes. I really feel that I have stood at the starting line in Hawaii a bit cooked, from a combination of training a bit to hard (not to much, but to hard), and not getting enough recovery/rest. Something I strive to avoid in the athletes I coach. It's not an arrogance that makes me think I'm different but rather an insecurity thinking about my goal for the race and the minimal amount of weekly time I'm able to train. So this build for Hawaii, I am going to really be cognoscente in sticking to the heart rate and power guidelines that I assign myself. I have found throughout the years of training that I respond better to lower intensity, B zone efforts anyways. I have been blessed with some natural power and speed and when I work this in training which is always fun, I wind up a bit cooked on race day.

The key point though with this post is that I'm on track, the hot and humid weather is here, and I'm lovin' every minute of it!

Cheers,

EH

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