The storm is over. We all lost a week’s worth of training. On top of that, many of us, myself included, had our workweek cut short. A week is not a lot of lost time, but the general rule is not to pick up your training where you left off. This is crucial when coming back from injury, but also applies to travel. A couple of lost days is not a problem, but a week or more off requires adjustments.
In my case, I am fortunate to have a smart trainer setup indoors. It just so happens that this past week was a reduced intensity week, and on top of that I had scheduled most workouts on the bike to give my legs a break after the 10K. Oh, and a box jellyfish influx already had me out of the water through Saturday. I did have a couple of easy runs on my schedule, and those were rained out.
Never overlook the importance of commitment. There is no way you can perform at your best with a haphazard approach to training. That said, you must not forget your priorities:
Family
Job
Training
Let’s use my morning today as an example. My wife and I have made it our routine to swim on Saturday morning, followed by breakfast and shopping at the farmers market. We often meet up with friends at the market, one of our rare social opportunities. The box jellyfish influx this week meant no swim on Saturday, so I scheduled a run, followed by breakfast at the market as usual. The Kona Low storm that rolled in on Thursday meant no market. I decided to do my run indoors at Planet Fitness. Oops, no good. They are open 24 hours Monday through Friday, but don’t open until 7am on the weekend. Breakfast was to be at Jack’s in Aina Haina. If we waited until after my run the place would be packed with a long waiting list. I checked the conditions when I got up. No good. Running outdoors would not be a smart move. I skipped the run, we got the last open table and enjoyed a delicious breakfast and the company of a good friend.
I am confident that I can do the planned 8mi time trial tomorrow as planned. It would have been on the virtually closed course on Ford Island, but I’ll do it on the indoor trainer instead, in part because the road is likely to be a mess but also out of curiosity to see how TrainingPeaks Virtual handles it. My challenge going forward will be easing back into running, to be ready for the Hapalua without getting injured.
Being committed to your training plan is a key value to having a good performance. Just remember to relax and bend when life gets in the way, and never short change family for the sake of training.