Incredibly Weird Training Question

Aug 23, 17 13:29

Post #1 of 16 (2203 views)

Ok so im in a situation i have never been in before and im just not sure how to go about things. Long story short Wife was diagnosed with breast cancer about a month ago. I am signed up for IMFL. I tried to opt out but she is insisting i do it. I know some people are thinking uh huh yeah right but seriously she and the doctors agree we should try to keep our lives as normal as possible and not let the cancer control everything. Plus the kids were really looking forward to going to the beach. So that being said here is my Q.

Im having a terrible time finding time to train but specifically long workouts. Saturday is my long bike day and Sunday is my long run. Wife started chemo 3 weeks ago and gets that every friday till the end of December. So far she has been fairly sick starting saturday morning around 3am and continuing through most of Saturday through Sunday evening. There is no way in the world I can get a 3-4 hour bike ride or longer in right now. ITs just not possible unless I want to get on the trainer by 4:30 or 5am and then get the time in. However Im usually not in bed before midnight or 1am due to work and picking up household duties. So that would mean 3-4 hours of sleep with the option of a nap not possible at all.

SO my actual question. How much of an overall negative impact will come from splitting up my bike into maybe hour long chunks. If I could ride for an hour and take 15-30 minutes to check on my wife and get her anything she needs and ditto on the kids I could probably go back and forth like that for a total of 3 to 4 hours but im just not sure of the overall impact it will have on the quality of the ride. I have already accepted that all my riding will need to be done on the trainer so that im accessible if needed so thats my first step. I just dont want to spend a bunch of time doing something that is not going to really net me any overall benefit.

thanks for any thoughts or suggestions.

________________________________________________

God's in his heaven, alls right with the world -Nerv

Re: Incredibly Weird Training Question [suparuki] [ In reply to ]

Aug 23, 17 13:34

Post #2 of 16 (2180 views)

It won't be ideal but if that's all you can do, it'll be fine.

Best wishes to your wife and family.

Re: Incredibly Weird Training Question [suparuki] [ In reply to ]

Aug 23, 17 13:40

Post #3 of 16 (2160 views)

Is it easier to get the ride in Sunday, get whatever long run you can get in on Tuesday or Wednesday? Take saturday off?

Then if you need to, switch it the next weekend so you run long sunday and get in a longish ride tuesday or wednesday?

Good luck

Re: Incredibly Weird Training Question [suparuki] [ In reply to ]

Aug 23, 17 13:43

Post #4 of 16 (2151 views)

First off prayers towards your wife and family, she will win the battle........

Is there anything wrong with making your long bike on sunday and making your off day for Saturday? That is the way I made my schedule and loved it. My long run was tuesday morning so my legs were at least in decent shape for the long run. I maxed 2-2 1/2 hours on the run so was out the door by 4am and back by 6AM befroe family was up and stirring.........Is this feasible? Maybe your wife would be less dependent on you on Sunday and allow you to get maybe two 2 hour sessions in during the longer bike rides? I hope this helps, so many people always make Saturday their off day but that is when my kids are most active with sports so it only made sense to make that my day off with the family. Although your needs are certainly different it might help?? Cancer sucks . Tell your wife to kick its ass!!!

edit: Kevin the MD beat me to it :)

Last edited by: griffeyfan04: Aug 23, 17 13:44

Re: Incredibly Weird Training Question [suparuki] [ In reply to ]

Aug 24, 17 14:59

Post #5 of 16 (1904 views)

Both days are equally difficult but saturday is a little easier for a ride. I think im going to give it a go with my ride break schedule and see how that all turns out, at least I will be doing something again instead of nothing.

Im so going to die at IMFL.

________________________________________________

God's in his heaven, alls right with the world -Nerv

Re: Incredibly Weird Training Question [suparuki] [ In reply to ]

Aug 25, 17 10:20

Post #6 of 16 (1590 views)

Trying to help out with some reassurance... I did IM Hawaii years ago... now into adventure racing that is basically a long tri with kayaking and orienteering thrown in. Races are 10 - 11 hours long.

With wife + kids + work + aging, I have found it much more beneficial to break up the workout days into chunks and I don't feel that my fitness has slipped because of it. In fact, the intensity of each segment can be higher rather than just slogging through endless miles.

I like a workout that mixes 30-16 minute runs with 60 minute bike rides... you can get a lot of benefit from a day like that and lose nothing!

God bless you both!
Ray

Re: Incredibly Weird Training Question [suparuki] [ In reply to ]

Aug 25, 17 10:43

Post #7 of 16 (1561 views)

I wish her the best and speedy recovery.

Do what you can. What's the alternative?

BTW this is not a weird training question. :) We've had guys in Afghanistan asking how to train behind the wire. And one on a submarine once? Only a matter of time before an astronaut shows up.....

Re: Incredibly Weird Training Question [ In reply to ]

Aug 25, 17 10:59

Post #8 of 16 (1529 views)

Re. how much training affect will you lose by doing your training in smaller chunks.

It doesn't matter.

Your wife is going thru something really bad and needs you. Be there for her. Train when you can.

My wife is 50. An incredible (to me) fraction of of her chick friends and family have, or are now, dealing with breast cancer. Some of them, to my complete shock, did not survive. Some of them initially seemed to do well, but shit comes back. So be there for your wife. Train when you can.

Books @ Amazon
"If only he had used his genius for niceness, instead of Evil." M. Smart

Re: Incredibly Weird Training Question [suparuki] [ In reply to ]

Aug 25, 17 11:30

Post #9 of 16 (1498 views)

You actually sound like you have a substantial amount of time still available within your constraints. You're not going from an A to an F on your training plan but from an A to a B with the strong opportunity for extra credit getting you back up to B+ or even A- if you go shortish (3-4 hours is not exactly short) but use higher intensity and intervals where necessary. Just take your constraints and do what you can do.

You'll be fine and you even have room to cut out some more hours and still have a decent, if not stellar, race if your wife and family need you. You'll be fine.

And sending prayers your wife will be too!

FWIW my sister-in-law had cancer and went through chemo. My brother is a fairly serious runner and she would get really pissed at him if he got caught skipping a run because of her. It was VERY important to her that everything stayed as "normal" as it could be and him running every morning was part of that. Some people react that way and that is how they cope.

Last edited by: STP: Aug 25, 17 11:32

Re: Incredibly Weird Training Question [STP] [ In reply to ]

Aug 25, 17 11:45

Post #10 of 16 (1470 views)

yeah i think one of my biggest concerns is that people will see me and be like "what a jerk his wife is home with cancer and he's going to florida to do an ironman, somebody needs a priority check"

Not that I'm super concerned with what people think about me but I was worried about even asking this question for fear of getting some snarky responses.

________________________________________________

God's in his heaven, alls right with the world -Nerv

Re: Incredibly Weird Training Question [suparuki] [ In reply to ]

Aug 25, 17 11:46

Post #11 of 16 (1469 views)

suparuki wrote:

Im so going to die at IMFL.

Yes you are. But you are going to do it and never once complain about lack of training to your wife.

As the spouse of someone with a chronic illness I have dealt with similar issues. If she has told you to do the race she wants you to do it. She could have easily said not to. So make sure you don't let her feel guilty about taking too much time from your training. Do the opposite. Tell her how much she is helping you.

Good luck, to both of you.

I'm beginning to think that we are much more fucked than I thought.

Re: Incredibly Weird Training Question [suparuki] [ In reply to ]

Aug 25, 17 11:52

Post #12 of 16 (1458 views)

You can only do the best that you can do. Trust it will all work out. If it were me I break it up and see what happens. The priority is your wife and all things fit around that.

Re: Incredibly Weird Training Question [j p o] [ In reply to ]

Aug 25, 17 11:53

Post #13 of 16 (1454 views)

You make a really good point and one I really need to watch myself with and probably haven't been that great about to this point. This morning we saw her oncologist and he asked how my training was going. I said well not so much. I need to stop making comments like that especially in front of her as she has so much shes dealing with I don't want or intend to make her feel guilty about my training. I can bitch and moan to training buddies if i need to.

________________________________________________

God's in his heaven, alls right with the world -Nerv

Re: Incredibly Weird Training Question [suparuki] [ In reply to ]

Aug 25, 17 12:45

Post #14 of 16 (1398 views)

First of all, good luck to you and especially to your wife.

I think that if you emphasize intensity on your rides vice just time, you will probably not lose nearly as much as you think you might. Lots of folks have been very successful at IM with what seems to be ludicrously short rides, but they are putting out significantly more power than they plan to on race day.

___________________________________________________
Taco cat spelled backwards is....taco cat.

Re: Incredibly Weird Training Question [suparuki] [ In reply to ]

Aug 25, 17 12:56

Post #15 of 16 (1376 views)

You could also do part of your ride outside and then throw your bike on the trainer. Or you could do it all on the trainer. Netflix is your friend.

At the end of the day, if you're limited to a certain amount of time per week, that time will do. This sport is what your make of it. As long as you enjoy your training and racing, nothing else matters. (Nothing being your time/place)

Re: Incredibly Weird Training Question [suparuki] [ In reply to ]

Aug 25, 17 14:03

Post #16 of 16 (1278 views)

Oh, wait, didn't you just pull a hamstring injury on this upcoming weekend's ride? Those are awful and take about 4 months to heal. Really can't look at it and see a difference but oh-boy can you limp around sometimes when the spouse is near. Best recovery is to warm the hammy in the sand while on a FLA vacation.

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