Sometimes In Training, You Hit A Speed Bump

Friday, September 17

My schedule as the CMO of Cenegenics is usually pretty packed with travel, and this week was certainly no exception. I left Boca Raton, Florida, to travel to Washington for my Kabbalah studies, Cenegenics Chicago and the Cenegenics headquarters in Las Vegas, all in one week. On my way back from Washington, I got hit with a cold. I was totally out of training from Saturday to Tuesday, and even though I started back slowly, training has been limp.

When I resumed training on Tuesday, I swam a half mile in the pool, followed by a 15-mile bike ride (when I ideally would have done a long ride between 70 and 100 miles). On Wednesday, I ran for an hour in the morning, then flew to the Cenegenics in Chicago, where I'm able to do laps in the hotel pool. Although I normally would have trained about 16 hours this week, I only ended up up training 4. Next week, I should be able to put in 18 to 20 hours of training in Las Vegas, where I’ll have access to pool and a bike. I’m looking forward to it because Vegas has same climate as Arizona, which will put me in training mode.

Over the next 8 weeks, my training will be more intense. Week 9 will be a rest week, then there’s the event. But if I feel like I’m piqued on week 7, I’ll taper week 8 and 9. You always let your body recover from trauma and injury for 1-2 weeks to go into the event rested. Nothing you do in that week will change the event. You’re either ready…or start training for the next race.

On a scale of 1 to 10 of how busy my schedule currently is, I'm at a 12. It's challenging to find time to train. But that’s the life of a triathlete, you learn to live with it. So, I try to do my training in the morning, before the sun is up, or at night when no one else is out.

My advice to anyone trying to reach a physical goal, or any goal, is to learn that adversity is part of the game in all aspects of life. Just roll with the punches and go with the flow. Sometimes your mind is clear, but your situation doesn't allow your body to follow suit. Don’t beat yourself up, just stay focused and keep moving. We're not all pro athletes, we find ways to fit training into our lives. I’d like to be able to say to never let work interfere with your training, but the bottom line is that life goes on all around you. You have to find a way to fit it in. It is always possible to train and live a full life.