Thursday, October 7, 2010

Toughy.


I knew last night when I went to bed that the following morning would see me doing something I haven't done in a while in the pool. I was going to be looking straight down the barrel of a few hard, long sets, and as a sprinter - I knew I would struggle. But if this is what my 70.3 training session was saying I was going to have to do, then so be it. I was going to have to suck it up buttercup.

I woke up this morning and fuelled up adequately before making my way up to the Leisure Centre. And as I started on my 400m warmup I already found myself thinking of ways to cut my long sets short. The distance as a whole didn't have me worried but I know how much mental toughness is needed for long sets. So trying hard to ignore the negative thoughts I just focused on doing one set at a time.
  • 400m Fr/s Warm up
  • 6 x 50m Drills - 15sec rest
  • 4 x 500m Fr/s - 100m hard then the rest aerobic
  • 8 x 50m Fr/s - Odds hard, evens easy
  • 400m Cooldown. I chose Br/s kick.
  • Total - 3.5km
Now that I have done it, I have realised that I do not give myself any credit whatsoever. And although it was tough, I am tougher. I know that when I encounter this set next week, the only tough challenge I will now face will be to do it in a faster time. And by that I mean, doing it faster than an hour. This means shorter breaks inbetween sets and setting myself a slightly faster tempo.

After the swim my husband shouted me to an hour long massage. Need I say I almost fell fast asleep on numerous occasions. I know I keep saying that I need to do this more often, but I really do need to make this a fortnightly ritual. The muscles in my shoulders feel like they are made of concrete and at times I feel like my shoulders are up near my ears.

Tomorrow is group ride with the locals. Am I scared? Yes. I don't want to make a fool of myself.

6 comments:

  1. Great swim...and hurray for the massage!
    (I JUST went for one last week after a crazy 3km swim...so needed!)
    You will NOT make a fool of yourself! Can't wait to hear how it goes!!

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  2. "It was tough, I am tougher" = BAD ASS

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  3. 4 x 500 in the middle of it? You're a tough cookie! Way to go.

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  4. Awesome swim! Yay for the massage! They are soooo nice!

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  5. Your husband's awesome. A massage! He knows the way to a girl's heart.

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  6. God work! Mind over matter wins the game every time!

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Your hard work will be rewarded.

"The path to a dream is paved with sacrifices and lined with determination. And though it has many stumbling blocks along the way, and may go in more than one direction, it is travelled by belief and courage and conquered with a willingness to face challenges and take chances" Barbara Cage