Fear of the Off Season: How it all began

I have always had an all or nothing personality. Which is probably why I hate the word ‘off - season.’ Because I’m scared of the shift from the ‘all’ to the ‘nothing’

In fact, I really haven’t taken a significant break since I began. I started really ‘training’ to run (defined as stringing together at least three runs a week together for several weeks at time) in the fall of2008 when I had a random goal of doing a marathon. I was about to turn 27 and although I had been involved in sports my whole life, and was a trainer and avid exerciser, I had fallen into a period of being relatively sedentary for at least a year.

I decided I didn’t want to turn 27 and be so out of shape, so I joined one of those early-morning boot camps. The boot camp was run as most probably are, combining running and bodyweight exercises into races and competitive games. I was embarrassingly out of shape at the beginning, but on the timed ‘almost mile,’ which was an element of the benchmark test, I almost caught the instructor who was leading the group and running all out. I almost puked, but something long hidden awakened in me.

After several weeks of boot camp, I started to get freakishly good at random things like doing the most pushups, tricep dips, bear walking and crab walking.It was like a ‘race’ every morning at 5:45 am and I loved it. Most of all, though I looked forward to the running because I had never considered myself a good runner and suddenly I was ‘winning’ in my little corner of the universe.

After a few months of boot camp, I was promoted to instructor and then it wasn’t as fun anymore. There was no competitive element and it turned into getting up way too early to attend a session where I may or may not actually get a good workout. I needed a new challenge so I set my sights on a marathon.

First step was to go to Barnes and Noble and pick up a copy of “Four hours to a Four Hour Marathon.” I picked Gasparilla Marathon in March 2009 as my goal.

I had jogged some in college but my motivation was solely to keep the pounds at bay. And for reasons I won’t go into on this blog I was never really great at it, even though I did manage to slog my way through a few races here and there. My only other previous motivation was running was something that I shared with my dad. He loved it and so it was really nice to pick out races to run together.

So back to the marathon. In the three months or so leading up the race I got a lot faster with some actual consistency. My goal gradually shifted downward to the 3:20s. At the same time I was training, I was getting fascinated with the next logical step in athletics, doing a triathlon. Okay, not really “doing a triathlon.” I probably decided I wanted to do a marathon in October 2008, and looking at my records, I had already signed up for two half-ironmans for 2009 by December. This is, of course, without owning a bike, nor really knowing how to swim.

This is also the time I discovered Atlanta Triathlon Club. I called around the various triathlon clubs and ended up talking to Ron Teed, who reflected the attitude I needed in a potential club; interested, engaged, helpful. My first 20 miler for the marathon was a thirty –degree day where I showed up randomly to an ATC group run in Piedmont Park. I think there were only a few people there that week considering it was basically Christmas! Ron was nice enough to run with me for 18 of the miles and I told them I’d see them next week.

The rest was history, and I was able to find my niche and discover a group who didn’t think it was odd that I had planned a whole ‘season’ of triathlons and marathons with little background to speak of. And three Ironmans, and a gazillion other races later, I’ve been going every since.
All that brings me to this off-season issue. The aches and pains I acquired on my First group ride, the calf pain that nearly killed me the last few miles my one open marathon, they pretty much have been with me ever since. I mean, I’m Sure it’s just a coincidence…

And while I know rest is very valuable and often recommend it to others, I have a Very hard time following my own advice. So that’s why for the last several weeks, my training totals are pathetic. And I took today off. And this is what my coach wants me to do! Hoping that it will pay off and that I don’t rest myself into forever slothdom!