February Training

February is kind of a tough training month.  The weather is still pretty bad so you're stuck indoors, yet it's also the month you start to realize spring is coming and it's time to get in shape.  It won't be that long before race season is upon us.  But with it still being winter, you're not in the shape you want to be.  You might have a few weeks of training under your belt, but you're still building your base.  But the real problem is that you're starting to have expectations and goals with your training that you may or may not be meeting.  

I am not meeting some of my goals right now, and it's a little frustrating.  

Saturday was the second of three one-hour indoor time trials this winter at SBR Coaching.  Last time I averaged about 272 watts and wanted to bump that up close to 280 this time.  I started out around 280 and faded a bit and couldn't pick it back up.  I was getting pretty frustrated toward the end.  I was pushing hard, but just didn't have that last little bit I needed to hit my goal.  I ended with an average of 273.  It was enough to win the overall, which is nice, but that wasn't my goal.  My goal was 280 watts.  

 

My running is going well, but again I'm not quite running up to the level I wanted to be right now.  I'm hoping things come around, but it's a little frustrating and makes me wonder if my goal of going sub 10 hours at IMWI this year is obtainable.  I still have a lot of training time left so I'm definitely not giving up, not by a long shot.  But self-doubt enters in when you're not where you want to be and you start to feel like there's a ton of work left to do....even if there is a lot of time to do the work.  

On a positive note, my swimming is going well.  I'd say I'm about where I want to be.  It's tough to say because I've never done a lot of swimming time trials so I don't have much to compare things to.  I'll have a better idea where I'm at when I do my first triathlon and aquathon this year.  Then I'll know if I'm where I need to be or not.

I signed up for the Shamrock Shuffle 5K in March so that will be a good test for my running.  I ran that race in 2008 and assuming it's the same course I'll be out to beat that time, which should give me a good idea of my progress.