Shortcut

'Well, there you have touched upon something, Andrea, because that's it right there. The thing itself is the absence of compromise. There are no...deals available. I wish there was someway to explain it. The thing...doesn't dilute'- Once a Runner

I always am pleased with myself when I can silence the voice to cut corners in training. I don't have issues with that voice in racing, but in training that voice is omnipresent as I do a ton of stuff alone.

I am especially happy when the stuff that I don't short change is a real stretch...

The first one I didn't cut short was my 16 mile run... It was a 3 lap run with my plantar faciatis acting up on the first lap, and some unrelated foot pain on the second lap. Both had me thinking about throwing it in, but I chipped away at it and finished properly in 90 degree heat.

The second one was yesterday. The workout was ride 15 min warm up, 45 minutes @ Ironman pace then a 3 mile run @ Ironman pace then back on the bike for 1 hr @ Half Ironman pace and finishing with a 5.5 mile run @ HIM pace. Tough if done well. The short cut voice was getting seriously creative with ways to alter this workout to make it easier. All sorts of permeatations of shorter runs and rearranged orders were popping up in my little brain.

Bottom line is if I am short cutting training, I might as well forget the sport in any sort of competitive sense and do something easier like watch movies or eat fried chicken. I wouldn't have to bother with energy gels and the smell of chlorine.

But... I didn't mess with the workout at all! Totally done the right way... It turned me inside out and I woke up 7 times last night just totally screwed up... The good news is I am nailing some really fast paces in my workouts with relatively low heart rates. All the effort levels are in line and I am MOVING on the bike and the run is solid. Still rolling.