The Torch

Back on the bike this morning. My rib is feeling fine but I am just being very cautious--there's no reason to push it. I think if there was a race today, I would be fine, but the fact that there is not gives me the chance to make sure it is not just healed but even stronger. It's not something I'm interested in messing around with at all. There are two weeks until the Speed Order and the goal is to be able to perform on the day in Princeton, not before.

This morning I did core work for 30 minutes or so before getting on the bike and spinning for 90 min. I am trying to stay in the 135-145 HR range. Since you are only using your legs the HR should be 10-15 beats lower than in the boat to get the same lactate levels. In the boat my target HR is 150-155 and on the bike it is around 140. I have logged some good hours the last few days on the bike and on foot. Yesterday, I went for a Sunday long run, which ended up being 75 min fairly easy then the last couple miles at threshold and above. This is a workout that I have done in the past to replicate the conditions of a 6k and it seems to be very helpful. For the first 9-10 miles, I was cruising and enjoying being outside, just easy breathing and spending time on my feet. At the 75 min mark, which is the end of our typical steady state session, normally the HR is right in zone. This makes a jumping off point for threshold work. Once you push from there into the 170's HR, you start to feel the burn of the race. And from there the name of the game is SUSTAIN. Yes, it's painful, but what is my coefficient of pain? How long can I sustain this output? This is the feeling of the third 500, the last 2k of a 6k, etc. The point in a race when people start thinking about quitting. At least from my own experience, it's incredibly important to get my body to this level of fatigue and then practice how I am going to deal with it. Practice what to do when its really hard and uncomfortable. Mostly I want to practice what I am thinking about. There is so much garbage that goes through your head when you are in this type of pain and its easy to let it consume you. By putting my body in this state by choice, I am more likely to respond to the pain positively and reinforce my efforts with empowering thoughts. On race day, its easy to think that the pain felt in a race is imposed on you by someone else and that it is out of your control. I guess in some ways thats true, but that's not going to do you any good. It's always your choice to push to the limit, always your choice to be tested. Taking full ownership and responsibility of that choice is critical to being able to answer the question when it is asked, normally around 2 minutes to go in a race. The question is: " Are you going to give ALL of it, or just some of it?" A tough question!  The point being, I did that run yesterday to see what my answer was. There is a part of me, that can only be accessed at 185-190 bpm. The choices I make at that exertion are what really interest me. When its not flowing, my breathing is heavy, feel like I'm underwater, legs are heavy, heart rate is at max, and everything is telling me to stop, THEN, how much longer will I go? This is the place that devours the unconfident, the moderate, and the skeptical. 

Anyyyyway, didn't mean to get too grim there, but its real. The run went well, but the end really hurt! I was really happy I did it though. It made the intensity of this morning's bike feel right. 

Had my first sampling of candy corn yesterday. The world's best candy consumed in a serving size less than 15 total candy corns. Past 15, it is the world's worst candy. Don't believe me? Give it a try. Enjoy your elation while it lasts. It will last roughly 15 pieces of candy corn.