Motivation
There's a point in time after a life changing event where things start to get back to normal. It may be a new normal, as it certainly is for me, but you do have to get on with life and you can't keep the particular life changing event top-of-mind forever. The motivation I felt during the first 6 or so weeks after my stroke was intense - I was determied to re-gain my health and I most certainly did not want to exit this world at a young age. But now that things have started to feel more or less normal, I have to find the daily motivation to keep training hard, keep my diet under control and keep my work-social-exercise life in balance. It's not always easy to stay motivated and energized - especially as the weather changes from an absolutely gorgeous long Summer to the cold, sideways-rainy days of Fall.
Mix It Up, Baby
I knew from my past life as an amateur bicycle racer that trying to focus on one sport for exercise would have a near-zero chance of success. So in spite of my desire to race bikes again next year, which would "normally" mean that I ride my bike 6 days a week regardless of the weather, I've been trying to run at least 2 or 3 times a week and spending 2 days per week lifting weights. Mixing it up will allow me to get in an intense run of 4 or 5 miles on those really nasty days - or I can just go to the gym and lift. I don't feel locked in and can train in several different ways based on how I feel and what the weather might allow.
You Get What You Measure
I've been timing a number of set cycling and running routes so that I can check my progress as I improve my fitness. And I'm not just measuring time and distance; I'm also measuring average and maximum heart rate. If I can run or ride the same route faster and at a lower heart rate, then I know I'm making some fitness gains. And if I feel sluggish due to over-training, guess what? I'll be slower for the same or an even higher average heart rate over the same course.
Here's a few examples:
Claremont Standard Run - this is a 3.6 mile course, always run the same direction, that goes from my house and around a neighborhood just to the West. I've been running it for years. In the Winter of 2009, I did a lot of running and dropped my time from 32 minutes down to 27:38. I've run the course 4 times since my stroke and dropped my time from 31 and change down to 27:30, which was a PR for me. Man, was I psyched that day! It was the week before last and I just felt great. I was also really excited about the fact that I had recorded my times back in 2009 so that I could compare. Then, last week on Monday I had intended to set another PR. I had run long on Sunday but I was still pretty confident I could run it even faster. WRONG! It was dumping rain; I was wearing different shoes; my body was tired; and I knew within 200 meters that I was going to be uber slow. I pushed as hard as I could and ended up 3 FREAKIN' MINUTES SLOWER! Unbelievable! Depressing. And my heart rate was about the same as when I set my PR the week before. Ahhh, but I am intelligent, I can learn - the 90 minute hilly trail run had kicked my ass the day before and I paid the price. And of course I'll report my Claremont Standard time again. Stay tuned.
Sauvie Island TT - there used to be an OBRA (Oregon Bicycle Racing Association) event on Sauvie Island every year - the first time trial (TT) of the season. It's very flat and the traffic isn't horrible - and it's perfect for an out and back 10 mile TT. I've used the course before - back in 2001-2003 to train for TT events. My best time was 23:45 back in the good old days. So I decided to set up my track pursuit bike with a front brake and a freewheel so I could do 10 mile TT's once every week or so, with the added benefit of getting used to being in TT/Pursuit aero position on a regular basis. My first effort in mid September wasn't pretty - 30:10. The next week with a slightly bigger gear I did a 27:53. And the week before last I did a 27:05 (the same week I set a PR for the Claremont Standard run). Remember, this is a fixed gear bike so I only get one gear - I chose an 85.4" gear on my last attempt (49 tooth chainring to 15 tooth freewheel).
I have other fixed courses as well. I think it's a great way to keep track of your progress as you train. Why wait for the big event to find out your training isn't working? And if you do have a bad day at an event, which has certainly happened to me before, at least you'll know that you did something wrong in terms of diet or over-training - or both.
And heck, Ski season will be here soon. That should be motivation enough to work extra hard now. Enjoy the Fall!
Oh, I almost forgot to mention my stroke... it was a life-changing event. Nuff said.
