Over the past 6 or so weeks I've been training specifically for my next race, Rev3 Full (140.6) Cedar Point, September 11. Prior to training "specifically" for this race, I was most concerned with getting my L achilles completely healed, and spending the extra energy on particular weaknesses of my swimming and biking (namely threshold).
I had a little bit of a late start (mid-July) getting into ironman-type volume, so I've really tried my best to make the past 6-7 weeks count. And by "count" I mean getting in bigger volume, maintaining some quality, all while building my long runs and bikes to 2:15 and 6:00, respectively.
Anyone that's ever trained for an ironman, or even half for that matter, and has other things going on in life (wife, kids, work, etc.) knows that training does not always go to plan. Nor does sleep, eating, resting, etc., etc.
That's where I pick up the title of this post, "knowing when to say when."
Ironman training is about consistency over the long haul. A solid amount of volume sprinkled with quality, day after day, week after week, month after month. The temptation to go out and "kill" it in one heroic training session is trumped by stringing together a series of solid workouts day in and day out.
At least half a dozen times over the past 6 or so weeks I've headed out the door with a time/mileage/intensity/pace goal in mind for that particular session, and made the tough decision to say "when", and cut the session short, cut out intensity, or both. Saying "when" at mile 85 when you have 115 miles planned is hard on the ego and can diminish your confidence............ if you let it. But pulling the plug at just the right time can make the difference between staying on track or completely derailing your training program for the next 2-3 days.
I can think of one ride, specifically, during my buildup where I decided I was going to push well beyond what I had in the tank that day. My training partner Brad was feeling good (or at least decent, does anyone feel good during ironman training?) and started pushing the pace about 30 or so miles from home. I started the day fatigued, low on sleep, and low on energy, and I knew it. Had I been on my own, I would have shut it down the last 30 miles and taken it easy. Instead, I decided to match his effort and finished the ride on nothing but fumes, completely smashed, and extremely fatigued.
The next day, the day after, and the day after that were spent recovering from those last hard 30 miles of riding. I felt like complete garbage and had no energy for anything long or quality in any of the three disciplines.
So when should you say "when"? My general rule of thumb I give athletes and use myself is to end the mainset and long sessions in general feeling like you have another 1-2 repetitions or at least 10-15% time at the same effort level remaining when you actually stop the workout.
This gives you a chance to recover adequately and do it all over again tomorrow, albeit in another discipline or two (or three).
Being a smart self-coached athlete DURING your training session requires experience, wisdom, humility, and patience. It can be a very difficult decision to make but one your body will appreciate when you attempt to do it all over again tomorrow, next week, next month, etc. Consistency will ALWAYS trump knocking it out of the park in just one session, esp in longer endurance events.
I don't have it mastered, but I am getting better at it with hopes of it showing in my next ironman in 10 days. We'll see!
Coach Kirk
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