The "balancing act"

Well...I suppose it was bound to happen...I got sick. Everyone I know has been sick, Danny "Double D/Aquaman" Domingo (and all his family, Clair, Emily, Emma, Matty), Greg "Gills" Carr, Jeff "Koppster" Kopp, Curtis "Thigh Master" Long, everyone at work...and finally my wife, Jennifer.

I felt the darkness approaching late Wednesday...and was full on sick Thursday. Now comes the balancing act that all training athletes attempt to perform...train, but not too hard, get over the cold, but not get worse. When younger I would train through and be OK, but I trained through a few years back and ended up with Pneumonia. "Double D" also did the same thing in 2006 training for an Ironman in Germany...he ended up with Pneumonia and wrecked his season.

It is so difficult when your putting in a high volume of training (1 day off every 3 weeks), and then you get sick...mentally it's a HUGE blow. You understand that now you're not progressing forward to become more fit, but you will actually regress.

This next six weeks is a crucial training block...I'm only 12 weeks out from IM Arizona and at least 2 weeks will be taper, so I have 9-10 weeks of solid effort that is IM specific. There will be a few 6-6 1/2 hour training rides followed by an hour run...and a few 2-3 hour runs...and some longer pool/open water swim sessions.

I've mixed some races in this last block to break up the training a bit. I have a 5k, 15k, 1/2 marathon, a few bike races, and a triathlon or two to help with speed and transition work. This weekend kicks it all off with a 5k Saturday morning, followed by a bike race, followed by a few hours on the bike afterwards.

We'll see how my sickness weighs in on my "balancing act"...I'll keep you updated...and post after the weekend.

Thought for the day:
"Somewhere in the world someone is training when you are not. When you race him, he will win."
- Tom Fleming's Boston Marathon Training Motto

HTFU,
Sween