Cutting it short

Swimming this morning, down at the usual Wednesday morning Swim Smooth session. Last night I made the decision to cut short what is typically a 5km session and only do 3km or so. The basis for that decision was that after a standard Wednesday morning swim, I am usually still carrying a bit of fatigue in the shoulders by Friday. Not something I want this week.

It is an insight into the psyche of the standard triathlete though that it took a real effort to get myself out of the pool early. I felt a significant pang of guilt doing so. Any other day and a 3km set would count as a full session. But all my brain could process was that there was a program and I wasn't doing all of it. Sometimes I suspect there may be something wrong with me. No news there I hear my loved ones say.


The swimming that I did do felt pretty good though. The last thing we did before I got out was a 1000m piece and I was pretty happy with it. Speed was good and consistent, I didn't really feel like I fatigued much. Just the sort of lead in swim session that I wanted.

Running last night felt good as well. Despite my fears from yesterday, getting out the door didn't pose too much of a challenge. The run was an easy one with a few bursts. On the whole it felt very nice and comfortable, but despite that the speed wasn't to bad. All around a reassuring run.

Back on the bike tonight. The session tonight is similar to the run yesterday, an easy spin with a few bursts. There is talk of some possible rain, so hopefully that holds off.

The weather for Sunday is firming up for pretty strong southerly winds (25-35km/h). That means tail winds out of town and big head winds on the trip back in. Strong man riding conditions. Those kinds of conditions can be pretty tough mentally, they are the sort of conditions that can break people. Still a few days to go, but I suspect the forecast won't change much between now and then.

At this point I should clarify something, I don't mention the wind because I am worried about it (well a little bit). The standard response when somebody talks about weather conditions is, 'Well everybody races on the same course', meaning that there is no point getting concerned because it shouldn't make much difference to the result. That is true and from that perspective I think it is a good attitude. There isn't a lot of point fixating on the conditions, the conditions you get are the conditions you get and worrying about them will not change them. However, there is a difference between fixating and worrying about the conditions and being informed and prepared for the conditions. If you were heading for a race and the forecast said it was likely to be 40 degrees, you would be a fool if you thought you could get away without modifying your race plan. In my mind big winds are the same. If your plan is to hold your average speed on the bike, no matter what the conditions, then you are going to smash your legs doing so into that wind. Instead if you factor in the wind when it comes time to visualise your race, then you aren't going to panic on race day when you turn around and see your average speed fall. On the flip side, preparing yourself mentally might lead you to modify your race plan so that really push the downwind legs to make the most of the wind.

There is a difference between worrying about something and being ready for it.