#61: Wherever I may roam - training on the road

The objective in week 2 of 2012 was to refine my plan down to the details and continue to work on the aerobic-engine with more base-work.


Any time I have to travel anywhere by plane, this time to South Carolina, I always walk away with some additional respect for those who do it often.  I do plenty of travel by car, bus, train, etc.....but (thankfully) not nearly as much by plane.....it's so time consuming and fatiguing.....huge energy drain.  I do seem to get some positive items done during the actual flight.....but with all of the travel to/from the airport, through security, waiting to board, connections, etc.....it's tough.


So unfortunately, it was not the easiest week to get it done for me.  


Looking back, I finished up the week with:

• Swim x2
• Bike x2-ish (1 + short spin on a hotel stationary)
• Run x1
• Strength x2

Not terrible, but definitely not the volume I was hoping for.


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In regards to plan refinement, I have established that it's really the planning in general that I need to work on.  I have determined that the start and end of the day, every day, is critical time for me as some planning first thing and some reflection before lights-out, helps me to keep each day's primary objective in the front of my mind all day long.  It seems that when I do that, I am almost always able to keep things organized throughout the day and carve out the right amount of time to put a solid training session in place.  Without dedicating the time to planning and reflection I feel like I'm playing catch-up all day and wind up losing too much ground.


How'd it go?

This week's grades....

Training Variables: This week, I'm giving myself a C+ for my training:

• Volume = 80%
• Frequency = 85%
• Intensity = 70% (still working too hard in some cases)

Avg = 78%

Physiologic: This week, I'm giving myself a B- for my physiology:

• Sleep/Fatigue = 75% able to catch up some, but not enough
• Pain = 85% (a little less volume and a some add'l strength training has me feeling pretty good)
• Recovery-training = 80% (no significant change this week)

Avg = 80%

Nutrition: This week, I'm giving myself a B for my nutrition:

Food/Fuel (a couple of travel days knocked me down a bit here) = 83%

Hydration (better but not "there" yet) = 83%

Avg = 83%

Mindset: This week, I'm giving myself a B for mindset:

Outlook (fatigue makes cowards of us all) = 75%

Growth Focus (the plane trip was good for something) = 90%

Being Present (was pretty happy with this one) = 90%

Avg = 85%

Methodology: This week, I'm giving myself a C+ for methodology:

Swim Form/Technique Sessions = 90%
Bike SpinScan & HR Session = 50%
Run HR Session = 85%
Strength with emphasis on hip stability = 90%


Avg = 79%


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So my training objective for the coming week is to get my volume back up to where it belongs.  It's all tied together of course:  get enough rest to have a clear mind, put the time into getting organized to make sure I'm prepared to meet each day's objectives, have the discipline to stay on task throughout each day and leave enough time to get my training objectives met.


I'll let you know how it goes.


Mike E.