There must be some sort of name for it. Kinda like Murphy’s Law, only from someone
not named Murphy. Or perhaps just a
different Murphy. Begs the question of
what would have happened had Murphy come up with a second law. The basic theory is that as soon as you
convince yourself that there’s not enough time to handle whatever your current
schedule is, something else will come along that will make you long for the
schedule that you thought was impossible.
Maybe it can be my law. I’m
definitely living it right now.
I thought my running schedule to train for an ultra was near
my limits in terms of duration and intensity for what my mind and body could
handle while still staying employed and actually seeing my family on
occasion. Then I discovered triathlon
training. Kinda putting a beating on me
right now.
Admittedly, I’m pushing the boundaries a bit on the tri
training since I was already signed up for a marathon in the middle of
February. I’ve created a Franken-plan
combining a 24-week Ironman training plan, and a moderate-level marathon
training plan to get me to the line in Myrtle Beach in 3 weeks with the
potential to try and race the marathon and see if I can put together a PR. Net result is for 6 weeks each week consists
of 2-3 strength-training sessions, 2-3 bike rides, 3 swims, and 5 runs. Trying to get enough sleep to support this as
well, which is equally challenging. It’s
been pretty fun so far, but I won’t be terribly unhappy to get past the
marathon and work out a more sustainable model.
My recent tinkering with my running shoe mix has me going
the opposite direction of the wave of minimalist-shoe momentum, and looking at
Hokas. For those that aren’t familiar
with these shoes, they take the approach that more-is-more, and offer more
support and cushion than just about any other shoe on the market. I finally saw one of these shoes in person at
a tri store last week and I’m thoroughly intrigued. Rockstar
Emz uses Hokas for much of her
prodigious treadmill running, and if they help her put in 4,000+ miles a year,
they certainly have potential for me.
With the amount of training I’m pushing right now, these might be some
more insurance against overtraining injury.
I’m always looking for ways to slay the injury dragon.
Swimming remains my main nemesis right now. Apparently water has gotten much thicker
since I did swim-team as a kid. There
can’t possibly be any other explanation for the degree to which the pool owns
me right now. Water and I are starting
to work out some sort of tolerable agreement, but it’s still pretty
contentious. In the meantime, I’m
stepping up my sprint workouts at the track in hopes that I get fast enough to
just run across the water like this guy….
Seems like a reasonable plan.
