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St. George 70.3 - Taper Time


This morning, after I had taken a look at my to-do list for the day, the following occurred to me: 

Training is the easiest thing I do! 

Then I told the husband my revelation. And, smart as he is, he says: I am just going to sit here and smile. What's that supposed to mean?!? 

Some people may disagree with me, but let's face it: Training is my escape from real life and its responsibilities. Well, sort of. Ok, not really. But if I have to choose between calling the dentist for an appointment (on my to-do list for months now) or riding my bike for 4 hours, which one do you think is going to be easier for me to accomplish? It seems like I prefer a tempo run over signing up my kid for soccer camp. Writing a resume for a (little) job I want to apply for? Are you kidding me? Please tell me I have double brick on my schedule so I have an excuse. 

And this is why I don't get a whole lot of anything done. I just stick to the basics (you know: kids, make breakfast, lunches, dinner, do dishes, vacuum, clean up, laundry, etc.) and by the time I have taken care of those, I am pooped. It amazes me how people (i.e.mostly women) can balance a job, family, and training. It's a good thing Karl is around. He takes time to do random things like fix the microwave, clean the drawers in the kids' bathroom, and scrub the table hard so it's shiny white again. It would never even occur to me to do that! And if it did, I would think to myself one of three things: 1. Not now. I am in training and too tired. 2. Not now. I am tapering and should be resting. 3. Not now. I just had a race and need to recover. 

Unfortunately, I don't have a good excuse right now not to write that resume, or call that dentist, or meet that deadline for an article I need to write. Because I can do all that while sitting down on my butt. I just don't want to... Why doesn't dedication in training translate to dedication in housework? 

My point is: 

I don't like tapering because my most favorite thing - exercise - gets taken away and is (or should be) replaced with many of my least favorite things - chores. This means: I have a problem. And when I have a problem, I go ride my bike or run in the woods. Except: That's not really an option right now. The following charts explains my situation fairly well: 


But of course I know how important it is to give my body rest. I may be an addict and my drug of choice (as M called it the other day) is triathlon but I am no fool. That said: You'd think I have been in this sport long enough to really have nailed down my taper. But the truth is: I still struggle with it. In general I know what to do but not when it comes to specifics. Of course Coach gives me some good guidelines... Ok. They aren't just guidelines, she tells me what to do. But I am a little rebellious when it comes to tapering. Because I know how personal it is. No two athletes are the same and everybody's perfect way to taper is different. I just need to figure out what mine is. Or maybe I should just take this quote to heart: 


Because I don't want to have to post this one after the race: 


I think what I am going to do is stop worrying about it. Because a) It's too late anyway and b) I don't believe in worrying. So I will go with this one: 







Comments

Unknown said…
Great post, Sarah! I can really relate with your sentiment, and some of those graphics!
April 30, 2013
Karen said…
you're hilarious. Great post. Love how "go ride your bike" is the end point for all of life's options.
April 30, 2013
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