Another Monday following another great weekend. It is tough to say whether awesome weekends make Monday easier or harder, right now it is on the harder side. It is beautiful outside and I want to go out and PLAY all day! With the small exception of being really allergy stricken at the moment. Allergy meds have been consumed in three forms [pill, nasal spray, eye drops] and I will keep them coming until my body figures out how to properly respond to spring. I'm annoying my body isn't toughing it out, come ON NOW!
I spent the weekend at Yale cheering on Harvard Track and Field at the Ivy League Track Championships [Heps]. Not many people are excited about spending 6 hrs at the track each day...but I am one of them. It was great to be in the middle of action for the weekend. When I was a senior, two freshman multis came into the program and were my training partners. I have seen them develop athletically and it has been really fun. This weekend, both competed in the heptathlon and had entirely opposite experiences. One of the girls had multiple lifetime PRs and finished 2nd after running an insane 800m to climb from 5th to 2nd. The other really struggled after a disaster hurdle race and had her most disappointing finish at Heps. Going into the weekend, they had both done identical training for the season, same preparation, same meet schedule, no variability to speak of.
And that is why you compete. Training is predictable, regimented, charted, and recorded. Competition throws all that out the window when you step on the line. Some days, with little training, you step on the track and have the best day of your athletic life. Other days, you are completely physically and mentally prepared, and it just doesn't come together. As I told heptathlete #2 this weekend, you compete because nothing is ever set in stone. Training does not always correlate to performance level. The variability is what makes competition interesting. But not always fun.
I hitched a ride home from the meet with heptathlete #1's mother and sister [amazingly generous of them]. As we were driving, the mother asked me if I continue to train and compete. I sort of stuttered...I was like 'well yeah I definitely still train. I do a lot of running, lifting and cardio. But I guess I haven't competed since last year.' [My half marathons were hardly competitions, more like survival experiences]. The mother's question made an excellent point. In order to train....you need to compete. Otherwise, what is the purpose of your training? I am actually highly unusual in that I love to train, with or without a competition in my future, so this is less pertinent to me. But I think that most people have trouble staying motivated in their training without an end goal. Solution: find a competition! Whether it be a half marathon, a tri, a cycling race, or just a personal cardio or lifting goal with a deadline, set it up! I think the next competition in my future may be a fitness competition. It would couple my passion of cardio and lifting with a tangible goal and timeline. There is also a really strong community of women surrounding the sport. I'll have to do some research [and come to terms with a spinach and chicken breast diet] but I think I'm about ready to compete, and win, again! Do yourself a favor and find YOUR next competition, your training will be appreciative!
No comments:
Post a Comment