I miss that feeling

Something that I have come to miss in training for XTERRA (compared to Ultimate) is the ability to “play”. What I mean by that is that in Ultimate while you do your conditioning, drills, and strategy sessions you almost always get to the play the sport during some of your weekly practice time. I never understood how much I enjoyed the ability to line up against someone and play at 100% - sprinting, playing D, or making the big throw. Playing is different from practice like racing is different from training. The problem is that during training I never get to race. Most of my sessions I have to do solo, because no one is ever doing the exact training I am, and it is counterproductive to go all out 100% during training sessions. There are intervals to keep, HR requirements, and just some long haul endurance swims/rides/and runs which are nothing like racing. The thought of only competing in a couple of races a year feels like far too few right now. I have an intense desire to put my training to the test and measure where I am in my training, but I have two weeks until that happens down in Georgia. In Ultimate, you can always push yourself in a scrimmage and measure your progress. I find that I really miss that opportunity in my training now. Perhaps I’m just missing how to do that in endurance training and it takes time and a different set of measuring sticks; I hope that is the case. Until I figure it out I’m just going to have to deal with all the competitive energy flowing through my veins.

100% Mental

Training for endurance sports is very different than training for a team sport. I’m coming off of almost 10 years of nationals level competition in Ultimate, and those years were filled with practices and training done mostly as a team – with other people. I’ve got a great training partner in Chris, but there are still plenty of workouts where I’m out there on my own. It takes a different kind of motivation to train by yourself. On a team, you just have to get yourself to practice and your teammates/coach pretty much take care of the rest. Out there on the trail….. it is as much a mental battle to keep on going as it is physical. In the woods no one knows if you duck out early, slack off, or just plain don’t go. The flip side is that you are 100% responsible, no teammates to blame, no one but yourself to let down. It is a sick kind of mental anguish, but I am learning to enjoy it. I’m not sure I will every really get used to it. I do think that it has the potential to make race days more gratifying. I’ve got Friday off and am looking forward to a big brick training day, maybe followed by a massage from the greatest little sister in the whole world. She also happens to be an excellent personal trainer and massage therapist. What more could an older brother ask for? The Stats: Monday – Rest (much needed after the weekend) Tuesday – Great 1.5 hr ride on the trails (singlespeed, I love that bike) Wednesday – 1,850 morning swim