Of Ego and Man...

Ego talk 1: "My my b-day this year, I rode 200 km. So what about next year? What's the challenge? 225 km? 250 km? That sounds too easy. How about 300 km? After all, if Faris Al-Sultan go 300 km on his long ride, why not me?"

Reality: "Ahem, do you know how big his aerobic base is compare to yours. If you bust your legs riding 300 km, you probably have to take 1-2 day before to prepare and 3-4 days to recover. The days spent resting, you can keep training. Some day you will get to be as fit as him. But not now."

Ego talk 2: "You ran a 1:53 on your last Half Ironman. You can bust out a 1:40 on a 1/2 marathon. You never ran a 1/2 full out. You can do it."

or

"Remember the local 10 k race where you got hustled? Your base is so wide now, you can tear the course apart. Why not go all out and see how fast you can run?"

Reality: "You probably can do a 1:40 on a 1/2 Marathon. You probably can even go under. Wait, Ironman is the goal. Who cares if you can run 21 km in 1:40. What about the other 21 km?"

Ego talk 3: "In Feb, there is a 24 hr indoor bike marathon. Why don't you go there and ride 12 hrs. Wait, why not ride as far as you can until you blow up."

Reality: "Hmm blow up means 3-4 days of recovery at best. At worst, you risk one to two weeks recovering."

These are some of the talks I have in my head for the past few weeks. Most of the ideas are coming from my ego. I need to find the off switch.

This is where someone objective and more knowledgeable can tell you to not go hard to kill yourself.

It is very encouraging to see a pro like Gordo talked about walking uphill to keep his heart rate (HR) down on his early season training. It reminded me of those 13 min mile long run I did back in winter to keep my HR below 145. Don't ask me why I choose 145. I was just testing myself to see how low I can keep my HR while running.

I am leaning towards of finding a coach, or very least a free program and follow that. What I did last year, I was lucky I didn't got myself injure. There were a number of training sessions I went way too hard. Example, 5 hr bike ride + 1 hr run in high intensity.

It takes a long time to be good. And I have to keep this in mind.

It ain't about fast. It is about growing consistently from season to season. It is about being fit and let the body grow so it can absorb the training. Body cannot be rush. It takes a lot of hard fun work.

If you ever hear me talking about going fast and hard in the next season, please slap me on the head. :)

Have a great weekend everyone....Chicago Marathon is this Sun as well. As far as I know, E-speed and Phase V are doing it. If I forgot anyone..good luck.