A Man Without A Plan

All the experts agree, (including me, not that I'm an expert in, well, anything)(okay, maybe not all of the experts but at least a good couple of them)(and some people who are pseudo-experts)(also, some idiots too), that there's a difference between working out and training. Working out is synonymous to exercising. Training is exercising with the intent to meet a certain goal. I have started training for the 2013 season.

Races highlighted in red

Or have I?

See, here's the problem: I got nothing. In a normal year, I would already have signed up for an Ironman, a half-Ironman, several Olympic distance races, a duathlon, and a running race or 2. Currently on the schedule, there is zip, zilcho, nada, rien, null, and the empty set when it comes to races. My calendar is very similar to the stare my students give me when I start talking science- blank.

Which begs the question... What have I been doing these past few weeks?

I have been averaging about 8 hours of training for 3 weeks now. This includes swimming, biking, and running. Okay, I haven't actually done any swimming per se. I won't really get in the water for swim training until about March. Maybe April. Probably May. Definitely by June. I admit that I've gone to the pool a couple of times in the past couple of weeks for no real reason other than to accompany the Wife. (I'm a sucker for skin.)

The bike trainer is set up in the unheated, uninsulated garage. I am out there 4-5 times per week at roughly 1 hour per ride, sometimes more but rarely less. I wear long sleeves and my feet get uncomfortably cold from unseasonable cool temps. I can't wait for what the middle of winter will bring (sarcasm implied). I hope that, later on the front edge of spring, I can get off of the rollers and onto the open road. Until then, it's Netflix up the wazoo and I am thankful that they have expanded their streaming library.

I've been waking up every morning at 5:20. I get out of bed, enjoy my daily cup of luscious, chocolaty happiness. Then, I hit the familiar yet very dark pavement. I wear my reflective gear and I bring the PRP. At least he's happy about the added mileage. If I'm lucky, the sun will peak out near the end of my jaunt. I do this about 5 times per week with the intent to bump that up to 6.

I've got all of the normal aspects of training. I've got intensity. I've got tempo. I've got intervals. I've got long days. I've got recovery days. It looks like training. It feels like training. It smells like training (at least my laundry does anyway).

So, what exactly am I training for? I honestly have no idea. Sure, I'd like to get faster but I'm not sure as to the distance. Sure, like to have more power on the bike but I don't know for how long.

What I'd really like to do is to stop kidding myself. I'm working out. I have no goals. I have no races. I have no focus. I'm a little lost. I've got some ideas but until I make the commitment, they will stay in the realm of ideas.

I'll keep you posted.