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Anti-motivating long workout
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Anyone have the experience where you completed one of your long bike or runs leading up to your big race, instead of giving you confidence and assurance, it has the effect of making you think - why the heck am I doing this? - that ride (or run) was so damn long and hard and it wasn't even race distance - That really wasn't much fun. Anyone? Bueller?

Geoff from Indy
http://www.tlcendurance.com
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Re: Anti-motivating long workout [geoffreydean] [ In reply to ]
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Right here. Had one last Saturday. 2 miles left to go on the run and I f'n hated nature, the running path, everyone on it, my bottle, the warm heed that was in it, and everything else I could think of. Then I got over my little fit and got it done.

"Calvin, go do something you hate. Being miserable builds character"

- Bill Waterson

Regards,
J. Smith
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Re: Anti-motivating long workout [geoffreydean] [ In reply to ]
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Nope. I think about that extra long shower at the end, and all that food I'm going to eat. And also think about how easy 56 miles will feel on race day after 75 mile training rides.

Most fun I have training is on the long weekend rides or runs. Going somewhere scenic, far away from traffic and people, helps immensely with motivation. The worst is trainer intervals or track speedwork. Ugh. Those are only 1 hour but... shoot me already.
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Re: Anti-motivating long workout [geoffreydean] [ In reply to ]
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Yes.

But I can hopefully remind myself that I'm doing the workout on tired legs and tired mind. That the race will be on fresh legs.
If i t is a particularly intense workout I remind myself that the race will likely be at a lesser intensity.
I also try to put it in the suffer bank account. When I'm racing and suffering I think back to workouts like that and to remind myself what I'm capable of and what all that sacrifice was for.

In the moment it is hard to think of those things though.
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Re: Anti-motivating long workout [geoffreydean] [ In reply to ]
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I think we've all been there at some point - doubting yourself is one of the challenges that comes with being human. The trick is to turn it into a positive somehow.

With 50 in the rear view mirror, getting to a decent level of race fitness means I basically hurt all the time...not miserable, but there is always some fatigue that I need to push through as I start the next workout. I tell myself I'm working on my suffering skills.

You never know what race day will bring, it could be bad weather or a bad attitude. One of the cool things about the sport is our races are long enough that if you keep going the sun will come out , or your mood will improve. Just wait it out and keep moving forward.

" I take my gear out of my car and put my bike together. Tourists and locals are watching from sidewalk cafes. Non-racers. The emptiness of of their lives shocks me. "
(opening lines from Tim Krabbe's The Rider , 1978
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Re: Anti-motivating long workout [geoffreydean] [ In reply to ]
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Sure.

Saturday, I got up at 4:00 AM and went out for 26 mi. on my road bike (in the dark....I have lights). I rolled in from that, filled up my bottles and did 75 on my tri bike. Sunday was a 16 mi, run. I'm 52 and I'd never ridden an imperial century. Other than the novelty of that, though.....yeah....the long bikes suck some of the fun out of the training. Oddly enough, the run was great, Sunday. The bike rides just take so long.

After Oct, I'm thinking I'm more of a HIM guy.
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Re: Anti-motivating long workout [geoffreydean] [ In reply to ]
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Yes, but I remind myself that a training day isn't race day. Trust your training. You'll get there.
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Re: Anti-motivating long workout [geoffreydean] [ In reply to ]
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In many of my hardest workouts where I feel like I'm dying, I have the thought of "there are easier ways for me to stay fit". But I remember I enjoy triathlon and the training (mostly) and have certain goals I'm trying to achieve.
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Re: Anti-motivating long workout [geoffreydean] [ In reply to ]
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i've come to expect at least one bad workout before each key race. when i don't have one, then I worry. the race usually goes great
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Re: Anti-motivating long workout [jsmith82] [ In reply to ]
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jsmith82 wrote:
"Calvin, go do something you hate. Being miserable builds character"

- Bill Waterson

Embrace the Suck

"What's your claim?" - Ben Gravy
"Your best work is the work you're excited about" - Rick Rubin
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Re: Anti-motivating long workout [geoffreydean] [ In reply to ]
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Heat training for texas in my basement.

Ridiculously bad winter here in canada.... did a 4hr indoor ride, max temp, no fan.

That workout took something out of me mentally. It really affected me.
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Re: Anti-motivating long workout [geoffreydean] [ In reply to ]
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Then you start questioning what got you into triathlon in the first place. It's expensive and takes away from your social life.. Definitely been there done that.


geoffreydean wrote:
Anyone have the experience where you completed one of your long bike or runs leading up to your big race, instead of giving you confidence and assurance, it has the effect of making you think - why the heck am I doing this? - that ride (or run) was so damn long and hard and it wasn't even race distance - That really wasn't much fun. Anyone? Bueller?
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Re: Anti-motivating long workout [geoffreydean] [ In reply to ]
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Back in the days I used to do a long bikeride as one big loop of 4 or 5 hours in the same boring slow speed and god how I loved it when I came home.

Now I changed and it is not boring anymore. A typical long ride looks like this:
Commute from work with my citybike. Than I get on my TTbike in aerogear (yes I do not care what the people say about my aerohelmet) and ride to the place where I always bike. I always do the same laps here of about 15 miles. I like it when I know every bump. Here I do intervals in aeroposition, e.g. 2 times one hour with an intensity about 10 heart beats lower than IM intensity. I look at my average over the intervals and feel happy when they are fast. Lately I'm always happy, because the intervals are always fast (about 34 km/h and that is with a small hill included).
The whole training unit is 4 or 5 hours long.
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Re: Anti-motivating long workout [geoffreydean] [ In reply to ]
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geoffreydean wrote:
Anyone have the experience where you completed one of your long bike or runs leading up to your big race, instead of giving you confidence and assurance, it has the effect of making you think - why the heck am I doing this? - that ride (or run) was so damn long and hard and it wasn't even race distance - That really wasn't much fun. Anyone? Bueller?

Tell me about it. I have done 5 to 7hours on the bike around May time. Come 90kms I start moving in the saddle. 100kms and I am wondering why the last 10 took so long. 120 kms and I look at the watch just to notice I still have 2 to 3 hours to go. I despair. I wonder why I am doing this. Why am I not with the kids? If I am a bad father and if I will make the 180kms on the bike. At 140kms I start to wonder if I should hang my bike. I slow down terribly in the last hour or so. I am desperate. Close to the end I think I can't move anymore, much less run a marathon.

I get home, have a shower, hug the kids, kiss my wife and forget about it. 180kms on the bike followed by a marathon sounds impossible but then come race day and all goes well. Go figure!

Paulo Matos
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Re: Anti-motivating long workout [TriDevilDog] [ In reply to ]
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Off topic - but I love your signature quote.
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