Making your mistakes in private

Well, I have to admit, the title of this article and what I'm about to do are completely opposite.
It's more like "Making your mistakes in private and then giving a full view to the public, by blogging about them".

But then, who really reads this? :P

This is something I decided to write because :
a.) I have too much time to kill (in between training sessions)
b.) I haven't written much from a long time
c.) People should know what it takes to be what you want to be

And don't let the title fool you. This article is about training and trials and errors.
So *poof*, there goes the irony.

Training is a ground where you make your mistakes, try different permutations and combinations, completely screw yourself on some days and feel like Craig Alexander on other days.

I have my Ironman on September 26th. I'll not lie, I have been training for it. It's something that I love doing.
I'm teary eyed whenever I watch Ironman Finisher videos and whenever I think of the finish line on September 26th, but in order not be teary eyed in my journey to the finish line, i prefer to blind myself with sweat.

Why is training important?

Well, simplest possible answer is you learn how capable your body is at one point of time and it gives you room to increase its capacity as you approach race day.
That's glaring and visible and everyone knows about it, amirite?

No.

People ask me, how do you run at the speed you run, or how can you even imagine putting yourself through the torture of swimming 3.8 kms, biking 180.2 kms and running 42.2 kms?

Well, I train myself to take the torture. I train myself to bear the pain and grin through it.
Something I picked up from Lance Armstrong(He might be a cheat but he is a brilliant tactician)was to learn to smile through the pain. Nothing more painful than seeing a guy blaze past you, smiling, even as you struggle to keep up with him. Not cool right?
Well everyone can do that, if they train for it.

Every person I have met(and isn't a runner,cyclist,swimmer, triathlete or not involved in any other sport), asks me one question after listening to the distances covered in Ironman : "180 kms cycling? Really?"

And my answer always is this : "Yes, everyone can do it"

Trust me on that. I had severe bronchitis as a kid and was tiny and fragile.
When I was 13-14, I remember my coaches screaming on me from one end of the pool and my mother looking for me from the stands.
I wasn't allowed to slack. Never.
And that built self discipline.

With my mom looking, i never stopped because I didn't want to let her down and it slowly became a habit.

I am a really boring guy to hangout with when i'm working out.
I keep lapping the swimming pool, up and down. I keep running round and round the 500 meter track in sports complex.

Conversations?

Outside the pool, off the track, or if you can run with me, i'll chat you up.
I enjoy chatting a lot, while running, if I find someone to chat to while running, nothing better than that. But the training shouldn't stop.

I became fast because of a simple reason : Work Ethic aka Training.
And I am the laziest guy humankind has to offer. Ask my mom, she will vouch for it.
But not on a training field. There it is a different story. I know the importance of showing up for the session and finishing my set. It's quite common sense if you ask me : You don't train, you don't succeed. Simple as that.

Plus hard training sessions make for good excuses to slack off in other areas :P

If I can do it, anyone can. That's my belief and trust me, anyone willing to try will succeed.

There is another dimension you get to work on and improve when you are training for an event :
The nutrition, the gear, the add-ons you need to power through a race.

You learn what feels right to your body while training. I started off by running only by drinking water before the run.
I added a banana before a workout, maybe during a run. I graduated to gels to see how much my body would need on the effort i'm putting in.
At times, I try and deprive myself of the factors to make the nutrition more effective during the race.
Trial and error.

You come to know which gear is working for you. Which shoe works and which doesn't. Whether your saddle feels comfortable to you or not.
I learnt after 6 hour rides on the trainer that my bums hurt way too much even on very padded shorts.
Given the triathlon suit has a thin pad, it will kill me as I try to finish the Bike Leg in Ironman.
I learnt 0 mm drop shoes are not meant for me and that I should have sufficient cushion to keep my pace up while not killing my calves.
I learnt my saddle is too far behind and feels very uncomfortable in rides more than 3 hours.

So I changed them. And none of it would have come to my mind if I didn't train for it.

Its always better to make these mistakes in private, you won't cause that much damage to yourself on a uncomfortable 6 hour trainer ride and changing your saddle afterwards. But realizing, that it is getting more uncomfortable by the minute, during race day, that is the worst thing can happen to anyone.

I learnt i'm not used to running in the late afternoons(and that's when Ironman Marathons happen) and that's something I am working on.

"You win a race in training. You merely show up on the start line to collect your medal"

It might be a cliche but its true : "A wise man makes his mistakes in private."

PS : 7 weeks to go to the race. I hope things keep falling into place. And some windfall appears and I have my tickets to Spain without paying a dime :P

Carpe Diem
Keep Training
Jai Hind!