Training with Boredom

Boredom.. Something that is not tolerated in our house. If one of the children even say it, I have a project for them! If James hears it, he says "you're not bored, you're boring." 

I had my training in absolute, painful boredom Monday. I rode 89 miles around Fiesta Island on my bike in 5 hours. Goal was 90 miles in 5 hours which would be 18mph pace- I need this for IMAZ. Each lap is 4 miles so I rode it 22 times.  


I don't handle boredom  well, never have. Ironically, I have chosen some paths throughout life that require a significant amount of patience,  waiting and working through my inner boredom whether it be waiting for days for a woman to give birth or running marathons. Those are different. Midwifery  was never boring. I was patient and ALWAYS paying attention. Big difference. Running was never boring because back in the day I was always struggling inside wishing I had the luxury of feeling bored. Now when I run long it's fun. I want more. I have ridden in 4 Centuries (100+ mile rides) and never been bored. The scenery changes. There are hills. I am constantly calculating in my head or enjoying the company and chatter of others riding.

I know there is a lot of mental training for Ironman. I held an 8 minute plank to work on mental strength.  What I never thought about though was mental strengthening through boredom and monotony. The Ironman AZ bike course is 112 miles and 3 loops, some of it through town but the majority of it in the desert along the Beeline Highway. No mountains, no rolling hills, only a slight gradual ascent out and a slight descent back with headwinds and tailwinds. I hear it is a pretty boring bike course. So Fiesta Island is a perfect place to train for that.

The first 20 miles were fun. It was my first time there so it was novel for about 4-5 loops. The road is smooth, flat and one way. There are few cars and the ones there are slow so no traffic. No stoplights, just undisturbed riding. I was thrilled to see Meb Keflezighi running with his cycling pacer. I got to chat with him a bit and he cheered me on when I passed him one of the times. 

The 4 mile loop:
·         Fast stretch #1, no wind. 23-25mph easily at a 
              low heart rate.
·         Nearing the headwind.
·         Smack, short headwind, get way down in aero and 
             down shift just a bit and listen to my legs. 
            At no point should I be doing anything more than
            spinning.
·         Crosswind blowing me to the right, road starts veering 
            to the right.
·         Excellent! Slight tailwind and a break.
·         No wind. Fast Stretch #2 Pick up the speed.
·         Turn, Crosswind build blowing me to the left. This part 
             is long and the wind changes in 
             intensity throughout the day.
·         Back to the start of the fast stretch #1 and where my 
              car/SAG stop is.

Over and over and over and over 22 times.


A good friend of mine passed me and cheered me on - I didn't realize it was her until after! I thought she was someone I rode with 2 days ago. Both women are wicked fast. I attempted to catch up but there was no way today- not if I wanted to do the full mileage. It was nice to see someone else I knew.

My spouse kindly came along and rode 30 miles. It was nice knowing he was around.  He has not ridden much so he had to stop and run instead. He threw down 4 laps running- 13 miles- impressive. It was a lifesaver seeing him every lap. I would yell out random things as the time went on and I grew even more bored and sick of this ride. "Hey James! Some days it's a good day to die!" A quote form the movie Smoke Signals. The next time I planned to say "Some days its a good day for Denny's." But I was busy eating a gel that lap and forgot.

Around mile 55 I was hitting a mental wall. Physically I felt fine and could spin forever. I proved my point and was entertaining stopping at 56 miles and going home. I get it. 56 miles at 3:10, not bad. My PR at my second Ironman 70.3 Oceanside was 3:18. I know, physically,  I can ride like this and maintain my pace another 56.  Some guy starts riding with me and asking me if I am in the 3rd hour. Yes and I have 2 more -- ugh! How does he know? I guess all the Ironman athletes around  here do this and know. He kept talking to me. Who the hell is this guy and why does he talk to me? I don't want to talk to anyone right now yet I don't want him to leave as it gets really lonely out here. Oh it's my bike fitter! hey!!! we talked about riding a bit today. Another familiar face- excellent. I got through my funk and rode.

·         Fast stretch #1, no wind. 23-25mph easily at a low heart rate.
·         Nearing the headwind.
·         Smack, short headwind, get way down in aero and down shift just a bit and listen to my legs. 
              At no point should I be doing anything more than spinning.
·         Crosswind blowing me to the right, road starts veering to the right.
·         Excellent! Slight tailwind and a break.
·         No wind. Fast Stretch #2 Pick up the speed.
·         Turn, Crosswind build blowing me to the left. This part is long and the wind changes in 
           intensity- at this point winds are stronger.
·         Back to the start of the fast stretch #1 and where my car/SAG stop is.

My pace is close to my Ironman goal pace. My heart rate is a little higher than it should be on race day but not bad. If I were running after this I think I could sustain it- just not happily. Maintained a pace of 17.6mph the whole time. I'll take it. I have 5 more months to increase my pace and decrease my heart rate. I can do this.

Afterwards I emailed my coach. I was torn between telling her- Don't EVER put that on my training plan again! vs I should do this for IMAZ and get stronger. Her immediate reply was " we are going to do this once a month." Um....yay? Yes...yay.

I envisioned the really hard training encompassing really just the physical (pushing through fatigue and pain) or psychological (pushing through self doubt). Was not planning on boredom. But like my days as a midwife, I need to always be paying attention, appreciating the moment and exercising patience on the ride. My intention is to prepare for the worst, expect the best and roll with it. I guess I'll prepare for the worst boredom ever, expect an awesome race day ride and embrace the boredom by race day.

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