Learning to push through on tired legs
I have come to the conclusion that running on fresh legs whilst in full training is something that more or less does not happen. I suppose this is how it is meant to be, you taper before a race or big event so you can have those fresh legs, but when you’re just training your body needs to get used to pushing through on a tired body. I know that when I get off the bike leg in my first Ironman in December my legs are going to be feeling anything but fresh as I begin to tackle the 42km run ahead so spending 3 days recovering between each training session now to ensure I am in fully recovered is not going to help me achieve me goals in any shape or form. Don’t get me wrong, I have recovery days and days where I just swim which mend my body back to a point where I can walk down stairs without thinking my quads are about to explode. My body is not falling apart and I feel stronger than ever but I am beginning to deal with the fact that every session though the week isn’t going to be pain free… it’s all part of the preparation. Having someone to train with and an encouraging coach makes those hard days 100 times easier!
Swimming alone is fine; you can’t talk when you are under water so I don’t mind doing my easy long swims solo as they are over in less than an hour and a half. Long runs are the same, coming from a running background I am content with being in my own headspace for around 2 hours taking in everything around me, I can zone out and time passes without me noticing. Long rides on the other hand I am yet to find anything enjoyable about doing them alone and therefore I tend to tag along with others. Two weeks ago I did my longest ride yet and I was lucky enough to be able to jump in with a group of boys who are training for Ironman 70.3 World Champs. For them it was snail pace, for me I was trying not to pass out from exhaustion as I held on for dear life pretending I was absolutely fine as we heading up long gradual hills. Riding with others has not only improved my riding ability but it is also making me a more confident rider which is fundamental when spending the best part of 5 hours on the bike training on a Sunday morning. It is a strange feeling these long rides, I start off in the first 30 minutes thinking there is no way that I am going to be able to do this for another 5 hours but when I am with other people the hours pass without much effort at all and I come to the end of the ride a bit tender but feeling relatively fresh compared to what I did in the first hour. I am so grateful to anyone who allows me to look at their bum for hours on end!
Self-doubt has been creeping into my head lately thinking that I do not know if I am good enough to be able to get to the start line of Busselton full Ironman. However I look around me and see other athletes feeling the exact same pain that I do on a weekly basis, their legs are sore and they see the sun rise more mornings than not but I think we give each other a sense of belonging. I know we are not normal, to each other we are, but to the external world people look at us as freaks, and I can see why. Winter mornings we wake up and step into Antarctic condition outside to freeze for an hour cycling or running, and then it takes 30 minutes in a boiling shower to warm up before we eat enough food for three people and begin the day. I used to think my dad was crazy when he would cycle into work; I am now one of those crazy people
Getting back to the feeling of fresh legs, I find the body absolutely incredible the way it works. On the weekend that just past I did a hard brick session (ride/runs) in the morning and my legs felt like I had metal blocks in them the entire training session. I got home, lay in bed and could not move for a good few hours feeling like someone had taken to my legs with a jack hammer. After feeling sorry for myself and thinking I was never going to be able to train again I lifted myself up and headed to the pool for a 3km swim. It was a hard slog for the first 10 minutes in the water but the more I got into it the more my body thanked me and by the end I felt like had been blessed with a new let of legs.
This is why I love triathlon, if your arms are sore you can run, if your legs are sore you can swim, and if both your arms and legs are sore you sit on a bike and spin easy for a good few hours until you don’t hurt any more. It is a hard balance, knowing when to stop, knowing when you need to push through the soreness, knowing how to recover properly, and knowing what to do on rest days. It is all learning and getting it wrong every now and then is going to happen. My only advice here it is to not be afraid to ask for help from those around you, chances are they have once been in your exact same position.
The post Feeling Fresh Whilst Training for an Ironman appeared first on Muuve.
