Happy February! January was a busy month for me with work, training, tons of travel, temperature extremes, strange hotels and constant time zone changes. From D.C. to Arizona and then to Utah, Idaho, Nevada, and on to Texas, it was a month filled with speaking at colleges on behalf of the Navy, running the Phoenix Rock N Roll marathon, being on call at the hospital, hitting the slopes in Park City, and helping children of fallen soldiers have a fun experience in Las Vegas. If you have seen the movie “Up in the Air” with George Clooney, that is pretty much my life. But rather than fire people like Clooney, I hire people, traveling the nation looking for top notch young men and women who want to serve their country as Navy doctors. It’s a very rewarding job, but when it comes to staying in shape it can be very challenging.
The Nautica South Beach Triathlon is right around the corner in April, and my big race of the year – Comrades Ultramarathon 56 mile road race in South Africa is just a few months away. Check it out- www.comrades4thekids.org I need to start getting those weekly miles up. As we say in the military, if you fail to prepare, prepare to fail. I’ll be honest; the longest distance I have ever run is 26.2 miles. How do I get my body and mind ready to run 30 miles on top of that? Well, I am going to use the same principals I have over the years for any race I’ve done, and the same ones you are going to use in getting ready for the race you signed up to do with your friend. Remember, a new year, a new you! If you haven’t completed your assignment from the previous blog entry, you must return and commit to a race before continuing. Otherwise the following will have no relevance for you.
Congratulations on signing up for an athletic event for 2010! Now let’s work on getting you to the starting line prepared. Whether you are training for a triathlon, a running race, a swimming event or a marathon, there are certain preparatory steps that should be followed to ensure you are physically and mentally prepared on race day.
I think the biggest worry people have when contemplating a race for the first time is fear that they will not be able to complete the physical process of getting through it. I had that fear at many points in my career as I worked my way up from my first triathlon, first marathon, to first half-Ironman to a full Ironman. I have that fear now that I am tackling my first ultramarathon. The best way to conquer this fear is to work your way up to doing ¾ of the distance or even the full distance in practice two weeks before the actual race. Do this today – with your training and racing partner, take out a calendar, and go to the date of your race. Track back two weeks and write down that you will do a ¾ to full practice session of your race distance. Now go back week-by-week setting a training distance gradually leading up to this max training effort. Think of this as the peak, the training effort that will demonstrate to you mentally that you can indeed do this. It is a great feeling. After this point, make sure to rest and do short training sessions leading up to race day. The final week leading up to a race I do virtually nothing besides eat healthy meals, stretch, rest, and allow my muscles to heal and regain strength. I guarantee you if you do this on race day it will seem almost effortless compared to that peak training session. With this type of graduated planning you will ensure your body is ready.
You don’t need to do the activity of your race each day. Mix it up a bit and have fun. Training is tough in the winter months, but regardless of what it takes, make a point to break a sweat and get your heart pounding every day. Bottom line is anything that involves activity is helpful in keeping the heart strong and the muscles limber and progressing towards the goal of completing your race.
Stay tuned – next time I’ll give you some tips on nutrition. Until then, remember to eat your vegetables and drink 10-12 glasses of water each day!
Andy Baldwin is a Nautica sponsored athlete
0 COMMENTS
No comments added.