Solo Stint vs. Group Gains

One of our future group riders. 

Steady by jerks.

So goes the life of two parents training for an Ironman triathlon.

Despite the forecast for seven inches of snow, we really did see spring this week. I can hardly believe we actually had two weekends in a row of warm, windless days. But we did. So again, we took advantage of it.

Our best training has taken place on our three-day weekends. Jason hammered a 10K tempo run on Friday, I completed over an hour of a long run on Saturday, and we both took our turns on a fairly calm and definitely warm (downright beautiful) Sunday afternoon.

This leads me to our topic of the day: group training.

As far as I can tell, there are three basic philosophies:

1. Triathlon is a solo sport. So you should train alone, especially when you're doing your serious training. If you want to be serious about the sport--you have a time goal or want to place in your age group or just want to be better, then plan on training hard alone. If you don't train with a group and always go it alone, you're what many may deem a triathlon snob. (Ironically, the snobs don't care if they're snobs or not because they're so focused on their training.)

2. Mix it up. Train hard alone. Train easy with the group.

3. Never go out alone. Skip workouts because you don't want to go out alone (you may want to reconsider endurance sports at this point, by the way).

I am thinking Mr. T. and I have fallen pretty much into the third category. We do train alone during the week, and we will sometimes tackle solo runs or rides alone. However, if our friends want to ride or run on the weekend, we will ride or run at least part of our workout with them. They are, after all, why we started this journey in the first place.

I have polled our experienced friends and trainers on their thoughts on this issue and come up with similar responses from them. It's pretty interesting especially to see the different takes on training together between guys and girls. One trainer in particular said that if you're going to train with a group, stick to whatever the plan is from the start. Don't try to go faster than what you need to go or are supposed to go. While I'd love to label this problem just a "guy problem," I remember the few times I've ran with Jason. He  has slowed down for me, and I've sped up for him. It's a pretty bad combination, actually, with him running too slow for what's good for him and me running too fast for what's good for me. We both end up nearly injured.

This wise trainer also said personalities will contribute to our training. Introverts will find themselves fulfilled by those solo ventures. Extroverts will need the people to feed off of, to fill them. Good advice. Very good.

This past week my training was lackluster (much like the blog today) while Jason's was downright stellar. He continues to work on conquering his strength-training demons by consistently training twice a week in addition to our cardio training. I keep having these mental demons haunting me, telling me that I'm not doing enough, and that if I don't get my rear in gear, I may not see the finish line.

And then the truth speaks to me. On a long ride a friend told me yesterday, "I have no doubt in my mind that you will finish." These words with such a confident voice will carry me a long way.

And then there's the other news about IM Choo. Two words: Mike Reilly.

For those who don't know, Mike Reilly is "the voice of ironman." When you're watching an Ironman and you hear this deep voice say, "You are an ironman!" that's Mike. I was floored when Jason shared the big news with me this week: Mike is announcing Chattanooga.

Time to train a little harder!