Tri, Jeff, Tri! posts from January 2011

Over the past couple of weeks, I'd been really on top of training. I hit a really good time for a 10mi run (which put me right on target for my time goal for the National Half-Marathon), I swam a 5000yd set really strong and felt great afterwards, and finished more than one multiple-hour sessions on the bike trainer (while watching some amazingly good TV shows and some surprising good movies). I spaced the sessions out well and got something hard in every day. It was great and my motivation every morning was really high due to the momentum from the previous days. I was in the zone. Then...

I got sick. Ugh. There's something going around the area I live, which is a combination of a chest cold and some really bad sinus stuff. My wife got the chest cold version early last week, which resulted in some pretty miserable nights for her of coughing very deeply throughout the night (which, of course, kept me up too). She is pretty prone to sinus infections and such, so I didn't really think this was much worse the usual for the season. I, on the other hand, do not get sick very often (I attribute this to the great immune system that I got from my maternal grandfather who was the more resilient person I've ever met; he, also, just did not get sick). I get sore throats every once in a while (this is because I'm allergic to cats and we have, of course, a cat in the house) but that's about it. It is very rare that I'm sick to the point where my normal day-to-day activities are impacted.

So, come Thursday morning of last week, I woke up with a deep cough. Not a good sign. Then, by the end of the day, my voice started to go. In the middle of the night, my throat was really sore and it hurt quite a bit to cough and sneeze. Friday, I went to work and then had to leave after a few hours because I was coughing all the time and could barely talk. Even then, I was still able to get a long session in on the bike trainer, as cough drops were able to hold things back enough for that. Come Saturday, no hope. I spent all day interviewing potential new lifeguard candidates (not the best activity for someone with a horrible voice) and then coughed the rest of the evening away. Sunday was even worse and I spent the entire day on the couch, watching football, sucking down cough drops, and drinking hot tea. By the end of the day, I was coughing less but still quite a bit; things did not look good (for me...the wife was actually feeling better, probably due to her fruit-based smoothie recovery strategy).

It's Monday morning now and I feel somewhat better. The coughing has subsided (it's never as bad in the morning as it is in the late-afternoon/evening, but I'm hopeful this will last) and my voice seems pretty normal, but still somewhat deeper than usual. I told myself, when I went to bed last night, that I was, in no way, to consider running, biking, or swimming today, as my body needs recovery time. But...the motivation is there. My bike trainer is right next to me as I write this. It's less than 20 degrees outside, so running would need to be on a treadmill where I could have my own private TV to watch while I ran. Swimming...is out of the question. :) This is the hardest part about being sick...coming to terms with the fact that recovery time now, while putting my momentum in check, is absolutely going to be better in the long term. So, for today anyway, the bike trainer will sit idle, the treadmill will spin for someone else, and the pool will have one less person in it. I'm going to play this one smart and let my body get over this horrid sickness from beyond the moon.

Tomorrow, however, is another day. ;)

There are a ridiculous number of benefits to running as part of a group. There is a huge sense of community and bonding, lots of distraction from the fact that you're putting your body though the constant impact of many miles of slamming your feet into the ground, some really good conversations, and sometimes you both rely on and are relied on, others to get each other through the run.

I have the good fortune to train with a wonderful group of people all of the time, ranging from a Kona competitor to people still training up for their first sprint triathlon. I count a large number of these folks as my closest friends. Each brings a different perspective and a collection of strengths to the group that makes it add up to more than the sum of each individual. This includes Masters group swim training and competition, lots of cycling classes (led by the best cycling instructor in the world, who is also the before-mentioned Kona competitor) and other organized group rides, to lots of running, both in the form of brick runs after each of those cycle classes to longer runs on the weekends. I love that I can train with these people and the benefits to me have been immense (indeed, I attribute the increase in my running speed over the past two years to the faster pace we run during those brick sessions).

That being said, I do not join said group for the longer running sessions that typically take the form of Bagel Runs, which is an informal but well-organized weekly event led by our local running club. You set the distance, anywhere from 5 to 30 miles, and join a big group that starts together at 7am every Saturday morning. Rather that do this, I typically do my long runs by myself, and I'm pretty much sold on the benefits of this approach. Here's why.

• Mental health - Running by myself is very therapeutic for me. It is a long period of time where I can be alone with my thoughts, be that to figure out a technical problem that's been bugging me at work, to come up with new creative ideas, to mentally dissect recent events and determine how they fit in with my life, and so on. The repetitive nature of the physical act of running frees my mind to wander and I (and others) use this as my form of meditation. My wife likes to think about and resolve issues and decisions by swimming on them. I do the same with running. While I love the conversations I have with my training partners during shorter runs, bike sessions, and so on, sometimes being alone with myself and my running is necessary and the solitude is a welcome friend.
• Presence - Almost a complete turnaround from above, running is often an exercise in being present for me. One of the key tenets of Buddhism is mindfulness, and being present. This means focusing on everything that is happening at the present moment and not dwelling on the past or thinking about the future, as those concepts may not exist anyway. During traditional meditation, this may take the form of breathing awareness, concentrating on the in and out of the breath. During running, it takes the same form and adds the feeling of my feet on the ground, the growing tightness of my muscles, the cold air on my already cracking hands (I don't wear gloves when running), and so on. There is so much to pay attention to while running that it can be a perfect way to practice mindfulness and enjoy all of the amazing feelings and sensations that physical endurance and excursion can bring.
• Flexibility - A downside to running as part of a group, especially as part of an organized event, is that the courses tend to be repetitive. For example, brick runs after Tuesday morning cycle class are always the same 5mi loop. Yes, it's a good, challenging, and fun loop, but it is still always the same loop. Same with the Saturday Bagel Runs. Limitations on who can run when, where, for how long, and so on, force these constraints. However, when it's just me, I can run anytime and anywhere I want. My primary job affords me a very flexible schedule and I work from home on a semi-regular basis. I take advantage of those days by sleeping in (since I get up at 4.45am most weekdays for group training sessions) and then doing long runs later in the day, while most others are working in their offices. If I did the Bagel Runs, I'd need to get up at 6.30am on Saturday morning, which would mean not catching up on sleep, forgoing one of the only opportunities for lazy mornings in bed with my wife, and other compromises. Quite frankly, I'm not willing to give those things up and when it's only me running, I don't have to...I get to run when I want to (or when I have the ability to) and I get to run however long and whereever I want. Bored with the usual 10mi course? Find a different one! Or just start running with a GPS running computer and carve out a new on-the-fly course to see areas you've not been before. The sky is the limit!
• Discipline - This one goes both ways. One aspect of running solo is that you need to get out and do it. It is very hard for me to pass on running after cycle classes during the week, as my training partners won't let me do so without a huge amount of hassle (indeed, this is one of the key benefits to group running). When it is just me, alone, putting on the running shoes, it is much easier for me to just bail. By forcing myself to do so, I build and reinforce my mental discipline and, by the time I'm done, I'm very proud of myself for going out and doing it, just for me.

Now, I'm not trying to say that you shouldn't run (or train) with other people. Over 90% of my training is done with my core group of athletes and I swear by that strategy. I attribute almost all of my success to them. There are a huge number of benefits to running with a group. However, running by yourself has its place too...don't discount it.