Training unplugged...

This year I am going back to the 140.6 distance at Louisville this year in August.  I did this race 2 years ago and am ready to tackle the course again. This year, though, I will be making a few changes in the training schedule.  Some of the minor ones are swimming only 2 days a week, increasing my run days (not necessarily more long runs, but more runs in general), and only doing 2-3 rides of 100 miles or more (but increasing the rides in the 80 mile range). Hopefully these changes will keep me fresh for the race while not leading to burnout like I had a couple of years ago. 

The bigger change though, is I am training without using a computer, stopwatch or heart rate monitor.  I am going unplugged.  And so far, I like it a lot.  I wanted to go out and train for the race and enjoy it without being tied down to how fast my workout was, or what HR zone I stayed in  or how my cadence compared to other rides.  I just want to go out and swim, bike and run.  If I feel like I can push it some days, I do.  If other days I feel slow, I slow down. So far this season, I seem to be benefiting from it. I have been able to run and bike faster than I have in previous years. I think alot of that comes from the fact that I am enjoying it more and not having those "disappointed days" where I didn't measure up to some metric that I felt like I missed or didn't quite hit.  I am doing it for fun and doing it with a smile on my face.  For those of us that aren't podium material, the race and training should be something we enjoy.  And this year I am enjoying it more than ever!

Keep moving forward and keep smiling! See you at the races.