Finding the Groove
Month 3 of training using the Maffetone Method is complete. I found my rhythm and it feels good. Waking up early enough for swims, hitting those lunchtime runs and getting on the bike are routine. I don’t have any more races for the season so no speed work, no intervals, just good old fashion aerobic training. Coach Nick Carling decided that the next few months should be dedicated to building my aerobic base.
The schedule
My training schedule has remained the same for the most part:
Monday– Bike
Tuesday– Swim in the morning and run in the afternoon
Wednesday – Yoga and bike commute (about 7 miles each way)
Thursday– Swim in the morning and run in the afternoon
Friday– Rest
Saturday – Long bike ride
Sunday – Long run
A Change of Seasons
While training was going smoothly, I knew next month would be uncertain in terms of hours I could log. My son was due early November and I would be at the hospital and home taking care of my wife and two young kids. Both the ritual of working out and the exercise calmed my nerves for the upcoming birth.
The October weather in Northern California is ideal for running and cycling. Temperatures are in the 50s and 60s, ideal for breaking a light sweat outdoors. The biggest obstacles, quite literally, are the tarantulas that migrate across the road in Mt. Diablo State Park.
Hikes with my three-year-old daughter combined great recovery workouts with family time. As training has become more of a lifestyle, integrating that with family fun grows increasingly easier.
I averaged a 10:40 mile in my log runs, which is much slower than I hope to become race day, but the consistency of training feels good. No sickness, no injuries, no stiffness, and plenty of energy to wrangle kids and have quality family time. The biggest drain on energy turned out to be a softball tripleheader. Yeah, that shocked me too. While I have a much-improved aerobic capacity, I was slower in my sprints to catch balls in the outfield. I wore my HR monitor each game to see how taxing it would be. The start-stop of the game spiked my HR much higher than I previously thought. As a result, I felt drained and took the next two days off from training.
My little giraffe all ready to Trick-or-Treat.
Come November, my son arrived a little earlier than planned and I found out the restorative power of meditation and Yoga.
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Great retelling of life! It’s so inspirational to hear other people hitting their marks with routine. I find routine very difficult but am constantly encourage to keep trying when I read about you and others putting in the effort and seeing the results. Keep on sharing! I love it! Tanya – Cairns
Thanks Tanya. The routine is hard at first, but it becomes much more simple in the long run to carry out. I should have my next couple updates coming out very soon. Thank you for reading and commenting.