Clara in running mode
TO GO IT ALONE
There are times in the season when I need my team and ther are times when I need my space. Sometimes, these tw needs overlap and I am left feeling overwhelmed by the group o people I train with, or I am left all alone with a punishin workout to get through. We train together so much that patienc can run thin, especially when we become tired. Such is the cas after a long Spring and Summer of base training, followed by calculated build-up of intensity that brings us into the skatin season.
After my ‘transition’ period, lasting a short five days spent at home in my preferred surroundings in Quebec, it was time to bring the pain back into exercise again. It was difficult to make my body move faster than the enjoyable pace I savoured all week long. After only a few days the body shuts down and no longer wants to hurt. If I was with the team, there would be no choice in the matter, and the extrinsic motivation would be enough to get me going again no matter how badly I felt.
But there I was, at home, alone and forced instead to find the intrinsic push to just get myself out the door. What waited for me after warm-up was an effort level that surpassed everything I did in training since my Olympic race back in February.
It was time to start hill sprints, one of my least favourite things to do. Why don’t I like running up the steepest hill I can find at full-gas until I cannot take another step; until I want to throw-up? It’s not so much the effort that puts me off this workout; it’s more that I am not very good at these all-out efforts. You see, I am too heavy for the inescapable effects of gravity and ultimately crawl like a turtle in comparison to my faster, lighter team-mates. That and the fact that my technique is, well, let’s just say I have some work to do in the hill-running department.
You’d think this would bother me less if I were doing it on my own. If only that was the case! Instead, I imagine how far behind my training partners I would be, and I worry that maybe because I am alone I am not pushing the effort hard enough. Even while gasping for air, bent over in pain and feeling my stomach turn after each ninety-second effort, I wonder ‘did I go hard enough?’.
I guess you can say my vacation is over. It’s time to go back to the team, to be pushed and challenged. I must admit, I miss all of the things that were starting to drive me crazy about my team-mates. Of course, I’m sure I never drive them nuts….
I can’t wait to see how far behind I’ll be during hill sprints next Saturday when I’m back in Calgary!
