To bail or not to bail?

Triathlon Forum
1

I’m looking for everyone’s opinions on a dilemma I’m facing. When I set my season goals for 2004 at the end of last year I wanted to do 2 1/2 IM’s and had time goals for these. I was also going to do several shorter races but my two big races would be CaliMan 1/2 and Big Kahuna. Well, long story short, second baby was born in February and the training has not gone as expected since then. While I was averaging 10-12 hours a week before the baby, I’ve been averaging 4-6 hours a week since then. There have been a couple of nice 12 hour weeks but there have also been a few 0-2 hour weeks :frowning: Consistency is definitely lacking at this point. I’ve told myself that I should forget about the time goals for this season and I should just race for the fun of it, but now I’m starting to question how fun a 1/2 IM is going to be on 4-5 hours of training a week. I’m still able to squeeze in long runs and rides sometimes, and I’m in the 10-12 mile run range and 50-60 mile bike range. If I really made a push over the next few weeks I could probably ramp that to 14-15 mile long run and 70-80 mile long ride before CaliMan, at the expense of a somewhat shortened taper.

My question isn’t so much about whether I could finish a 1/2 IM, because I’m fairly certain I could, but at what cost and benefit? Injury risk is elevated, but mostly the enjoyment factor is gone. Not only will I not hit my time goals from the beginning of the season (which I keep telling myself is OK, but I don’t know if I’ve bought into emotionally yet), but I’m actually dreading the thought of this race. I’ve never dreaded a race before. I don’t want to dread racing- this is what burnout is about, no? Do I bag the race until I’m mentally in a healthier place and have the time to train more consistently? Do I just suck it up, run a nice slow race and enjoy it for what it is (a long workout with lots of friends and aid stations)? Friends and family have already made plans to travel to Folsom for this race, so bailing has a certain embarassment factor involved. What to do, what to do…

2

“. . .but mostly the enjoyment factor is gone.”

Then what’s the point? I mean, if it was just that you haven’t been able to train enough to do really well, but you thought you’d still have fun anyway, I’d say go. But if you’re dreading it and there’s no enjoyment. . .Why not find a shorter race somewhere?

3

I’ve only done one half IM. But, my training consisted of one long run of 13 miles… one long bike of 55 miles… one long swim of 1.2 miles. I finished the half in 5:12.

I realize you may be shooting for a much faster time… but, you can still have fun even if you aren’t flying. I did.

It’s not so much the amount of training you do but the quality. If you can manage to get in a few key workouts you can still finish in a respectable time.

And, most likely everyone in the family that is coming to watch is going to be impressed regardless of your time.

Whatever your decision… good luck!

4

I bailed out of IMWIS last year because I just didn’t have time to put in the training. The loss of part of my entry fee was worth not having to go through a miserable experience.

It’s all supposed to be fun, in some twisted sick way… :slight_smile:

5

If the enjoyment factor is all about going for PR’s then you should reconsider why you are doing this.

Perhaps you should do them as training races. You actually might surprise yourself with how well you do when you take the pressure off. Or, heaven forbid, do one of them on PC’s and see how you do (and, so you’ll have an excuse if you do badly).

When I used to commute to work by running, sometimes I would wake up feeling awful and just “dread” the run into work, but a mile into the run I would feel great and have one of my best times. One never knows how one will do until one tries. My guess is, if you don’t do these because you are dreading them then you will have trouble ever doing one again because things never go as one hopes and it may be awhile before you have the time you used to have (if you ever do again).

6

Frank, those are some valid points. I wouldn’t say that the enjoyment is all about PR’s. It’s about feeling like I’ve done my best to prep for the race and the race is a reward of sorts for all the hard work that’s gone into getting there. In this case there’s no reward to be had or deserved. In fact it’ll be a punishment of sorts for a lack of preparation- which may be justification in and of itself to do the race.

Now, as far as doing the race on PC’s… in case I didn’t mention this earlier, I HAVEN’T BEEN TRAINING HARDLY AT ALL !! :slight_smile: Doing this on PC’s would be laughable at my current state of adaptation.

7

“Perhaps you should do them as training races. You actually might surprise yourself with how well you do when you take the pressure off. Or, heaven forbid, do one of them on PC’s and see how you do (and, so you’ll have an excuse if you do badly).”

That is an interesting point. With insight, I have achieved my best results when I did not have any time goal in mind. I just trained and raced for the enjoyment and the results were a bonus. Lately, I have noticed that I have put more emphasis on the results, and I don’t seem to achieve my goals. I am trying to rediscover the state of mind that gave me the best results, but am finding that I am struggling to find it! It may mean a lot of things: 1. I am not good at setting realistic goals. 2. I may need a coach. 3. I may be at this point where I need to work harder to get the same results as before.

I am not giving up yet, but I am finding that I need to make more adjustments than I was used to.

8

If you are only doing 5 hours a week training you shouldn’t be comparing yourself and your results to someone (including your old self) who trains 10 or 20 hours a week. If you took the attitude that I was only able to train x amount and I am amazed I was able to go y fast you might find it a challenge (which is what you seem to savor) to see what you can do when you try.

If you did your best based upon your current state of training then you should be proud.

Frank

9

you can always go to folsom and deceide at the last minute to race or not. If you do have fun and use it as a learning experience. If not have fun with your family and friends

10

Ihave done a half iron on minimal training and the half marathon hurt a lot over the last five miles. Like Ironman hurt. If you just want to go for the experience my advice is to ride pretty easy so the run won’t be so bad. Either way that is going to hurt a lot. G Did I mention that will HURT?

11

Wow, I was just about to post the same thing(with the exact same title). I’m considering bailing on CaliMan myself. I already bagged Wildflower this weekend. Thing is, I haven’t paid for CaliMan yet, so I wouldn’t be out any $. Some family members already have made plans to come, though.

My training has been sporadic for the last 6 weeks, although I have managed to get in some long rides the last 2 weekends. I had very high hopes and time goals for this race, but I think I’m fooling myself considering my training of late. I swam for the 1st time since Cali 1/2 tonight(one month) and I was dying after 200 meters. To make matters worse, swimming is by far my worst event. I am signed up for IMW, so I suppose I could just focus on that. I figure I’ve got about another week to make a final decision. Maybe I’ll see If I can regain any kind of swim form in a week(not like I really had any to begin with).

12

Definitely stick with it guy. You can quit at any point. The satisfaction of having done the best you could do with what you had to work with will leave you proud no matter how it turns out. The hardest part of every race is making it to the first step. And how are you going to look back on this if you bail…the babies cost you your triathlon season(s…it doesn’t get any easier)? Jeez, there’s gotta be a hundered more cliches to quote…bottom line…get your ass to the race in whatever shape its in and have fun.

13

Frank, those are some valid points. I wouldn’t say that the enjoyment is all about PR’s. It’s about feeling like I’ve done my best to prep for the race and the race is a reward of sorts for all the hard work that’s gone into getting there. In this case there’s no reward to be had or deserved. In fact it’ll be a punishment of sorts for a lack of preparation- which may be justification in and of itself to do the race.

Now, as far as doing the race on PC’s… in case I didn’t mention this earlier, I HAVEN’T BEEN TRAINING HARDLY AT ALL !! :slight_smile: Doing this on PC’s would be laughable at my current state of adaptation.

jkatsoudas,

Congratulations on the birth of your second child.

I can’t say that I know how you have trained in the past and what level of stress accompanied your training. But to a degree, I hear an obsessiveness in your training that you have been frustrated by not being able to get in all the training that you desired.

I can say, from my own experience, that the first year I made big gains in performance, I concluded that was because I had trained more than the previous years. My plan for the next year was to do even better by training even more. As a result of ignorance, I became a victim of over training. I trained more and harder and got worse, frustrated and lost my enthusiasm for the sport.

I spent the off season trying to figure out what went wrong. I did some reading and discovered I had classic symptoms of over training!

The next year I was much more laid back about training and not missing workouts or doubling up if I missed a workout. When I still felt sore or still tired, I took another recovery day, either an easy workout or skipped that day’s workout completely. I listened to my body and paid more attention to what it was trying to tell me. I was much happier, too, not being so fixated on “staying” on track with every single workout.

The gains I made surprised me beyond my wildest expectations.

My point is that you might surprise yourself as well by discovering that you do very well on much less training than you thought you required to reach your goals. This may be as a result of not realizing how much of a factor the stress level of your life plays in your training plan.

As far as the half IM’s you were planning to compete in, you indicate your long rides can manage the distance required and your long runs also manage the distance required.

It sounds as if you have the endurance part in hand. Get in some speed work while easing off the endurance level and you may just surprise yourself.

In RAAM (Race Across America) in years past when Pete Penseyres first won RAAM, he trained by riding a tremendous volume of miles. Mileage regularly exceeded 1,000 miles a week.

When Pete set the fastest speed record for RAAM, which still stands today, he cut the mileage way back and put speed workouts into his training plan. He also just didn’t have the time to log the same level of miles as he had the previous year he had won. He certainly gave proof to how balance in types of training workouts can permit one to advance one’s performance. And that success in endurance events does not rest solely upon endurance workouts!

Good luck, but in the end, its your call. Just don’t forget or give up having some fun along the way. Celebrate your family and your new addition. In future years you may be able to look back and say that one of the best years I had was the year my second child was born, believe it or not.

14

I think you should go for it and I agree with what Ben said. I think there is an adaptive process that your body undergoes during periods of restricted training volume. With the 10-12 hours you were able to get in previously and now on 4-6 hours you will definitely be well rested and prepared. Your body did not ‘un-learn’ the months of training you have already done. At the very least, show up and start. You will be proud of yourself for starting the race. That’s a pyschological advantage that will help carry you. If you show up to a race overtrained, when the going gets tough it’s likely you’ll DNF. But if you show up slightly undertrained, all you’ll end up doing is slowing down a little bit.

Good Luck!!

15

If you can train to a non-injury level, I’d do them. I do the same every year and a few months later I wish I would have not signed up for half the stuff. Once I get there and do it, I’m very happy to be there. Perhaps forget the time goals, and replace that with a goal just to do it.