Clearly this entry is a bit late, we are half way thru week 7 alreadly! That’s okay…
I have something very specific to write about for this entry: Motivation.
I like how I feel more motivated as time goes. It’s a different kind of motivated than I feel when I’m training for a race. It’s a lot more calm. I’ve been thinking a lot about that difference lately.
I know my workout habits and thresholds fairly well. In the past when I picked a race to train for the first thing I’d do is map out my workout schedule. Last year in January I knew what my workout would be through the month of September. With most of the training schedules that I’ve used, there’s usually a pattern: First couple weeks are gradual cardio increases; the third week is a seriously intense muscle killing, mileage logging kind of week; then the forth week is somwhere in the middle but it feels so easy because of the week before. That’s the pattern that continues and your cardio and strength get better and better. Somewhere in the middle of the training schedule there’s an especially easy week, recovery week. Recovery week was the point where I’d set my goal time for the race. Picking a goal time is a big part of what helped motivate me through the rest of the training. At the end of training, I knew I was ready for my race.
But… after the race, after the endorphin overload and the feeling great, and then after a couple days of rest I’d fall into my maintenance routine. I usually don’t train hard for more than 7 months a year because that, so far, has been my threshold. At 7 months I usually start feeling a bit drained or like I want to do some other things. Usually, when I’m not training, I just maintain a healthy baseline of fitness and diet and spend more time painting and writing. I start missing those other things when month 6 or 7 of training hits, you know?
So, an interesting thing about UBBT, for me personally, is going to be seeing how I feel about the workout schedule 6 or 7 months from now. So far, though, I feel calm. I have a few thoughts on why I feel so calm, and I’m glad to say they’re mostly hopeful.
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- Firstly, I think the fact that the workout (pushups, situps, mileage, kata repetitions, sparring), that’s not really going to change from day to day. And I’ve already proven that I can do those things in a day. And If I can do it yesterday, and the day before, then I can do it today and I can do it tomorrow.
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- Secondly, the UBBT regimen has stopped feeling so much like a workout and is starting to feel more like part of my day. I think growing that feeling will be really important for me going forward.
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- Thirdly, I’m not “racing” alone this year. And while I will always love a long a bike ride or a long run on my own, it’s really cool to have a group to share the feeling with. And to top of the awesome dojo-family, I have a pretty cool home-family, too.
And with that… on to the next!