Workout: Monday 12/31/2012

MFT, Dylan, Steve: it wasn’t planned and both Dylan and I could have used a rest day but Steve House was driving through town and I had not seen him for two years. We communicate best when we are moving so we took action in Big Cottonwood Canyon. While I was out doing a solo lap on “Argenta” yesterday Dylan was also on Kessler’s Peak lapping and “God’s Lawnmower”, so named for the large avalanches that have, in the past, mowed down most of the trees from this striking 2000′ face. The snow was good enough that we went back today and did a couple more runs: 4500′ elevation gain, and we managed to respect the conversational pace.For me this capped a week when I drifted unintentionally back into ski touring. Weather conditions are manageable on the bike but I realized that I don’t need to be racing fit on that machine in the early-season, and my racing expectations aren’t high for next year so there’s no need to ride in the garage right now or force it on the road. I have been missing the mountains and the truth is, when we love what we are doing we will train harder and more often. The sport of ski mountaineering racing has developed quite a lot since I last participated in 2006 and I’m strangely comfortable with the idea of dipping my toe back into that (now raging) river. A good beat-down would be the best possible outcome in terms of motivation.You Need To Be Realistic 
Sometimes I miss the old days. I dismiss the notion that it is simple nostalgia, a longing for days remembered in better light than actually shone then. I recall those days clearly. I am the sum of those days. I am the sum of what I have done. I am the result of a uncertain, painful transition. I am in the second act. I don’t get to go back. I know that. I don’t want to. I don’t want to be the man I was then, now. But I could never be who I have become without having been him so it cuts both ways. The miles I bloodied my feet by walking were the result of how I thought about things – and that is what I miss. I was ambitious. My goals depended on what I would give to achieve them. I was willing to give everything to do what I wanted. I’m not willing to offer that anymore. And I miss the commitment that was normal back then.

Commitment was founded in honesty. I investigated what I was capable of doing – of spending or sacrificing – and adjusted my goals accordingly. This idea is lost on many people.

The other day I was surfing Alex Wigley’s blog and came across an interview with Spanish World Cup competitor Javier Martin. Alex asked him about advice he would give ski mountaineering racers. Javier listed several ideas but what struck me hardest was this, “If my goal is to be top 10 in the World Championships, I must accept that I will have to sacrifice a lot of things, and that training will be hard. If my goal is to be fit, and enjoy the races, then I can be more relaxed while training.” It seems obvious, perhaps to the point of being ridiculous. Simple.

Simple is the hardest thing for some to hear.

Much frustration and disillusion could be mollified if folks would simply balance what they are willing and able to give against what they want to achieve. Sub-10 in Kona? Not on six hours per week of training. You need to be realistic.

Realistic doesn’t mean pessimistic. It means honest. Whatever the cost.

Accurately matching the goal to its requirements is something that most people subconsciously refuse to hear. A goal is often expressed in conjunction with what the protagonist is willing and unwilling to do. Assuredly we must have goals but our resources must be in equilibrium. Our own delusions cause imbalance and we can be pushed further out of balance by hopeful promises that feed an innate desire to score something more for less. Marketing can make us lose our way, make us stupid when – without the bait, the switch and the pressure – we aren’t.

I’m tired of the “coaches” who sell the dream of achieving an objective on X amount of training where X corresponds to what the client says they can offer. 3×20 minutes @ sub-threshold power three times per week won’t get the guy to nationals or even regionals but it is pitched as magic, and perfect for the time-restricted (and usually Masters-age) athlete. These “coaches” aren’t stupid: they realized quickly that they cannot sell the truth of hard, disciplined work so they have to lie. Fuck them. They line their own pockets while clients who they could make better by putting forth an honest effort miss their objectives as a consequence.

Reading Martin state it so clearly was refreshing: if you want to get fit and participate in races for fun the time and pain demands are manageable, if you want to race in races and not finish too far back the time and pain requirement increases – a lot.

Take an honest look in the mirror and ask yourself, “What am I willing to put in to this?” Answer truthfully. In detail. And the realism of your goal will declare itself.
Courtesy, Gym Jones.