These days it's a different story. Two months out, I find myself with
a papa's belly and huffing and puffing when I try to pump up the
volume.
Not to worry though. I've been in the same boat before, and as I
approach the half-century mark, I may have lost my year-round fitness,
but I still have the motivation to stoke the competitive fire within
myself. Here's how I do it:
For three weeks, I'm going to throw in as many garbage miles as I
possibly can. Garbage is good.This means skating or biking or running
as long and far as I can with the available time I have. I'm lucky
because I have set aside these two months to train pretty exclusively,
but even if you have an only an hour in the morning and another hour
in the evening to go out and skate/bike/run, do it! Garbage miles are
not too easy but also not too hard; by doing these you will make
consistent gains without ever feeling like you're going to die. By the
end of these three weeks, your perceived effort will remain the same
but you will actually be going faster. Chances are you might also be
lighter in weight, but if not, don't be demoralized, since the muscles
you are building weigh more than the fat you're burning.
For the second three weeks, I keep piling on the miles but also up the
intensity. Because I'm in better shape, it feels like I'm putting in
the same effort, and I have energy left over to start adding some
speed work. Two days a week, I find a hill that takes me about a
minute to climb and do this 6 to 8 times with two minutes of rest
while I coast back down to the bottom. Rinse your mouth with water and
repeat! If I do it right, I feel slightly nauseous by the end of these
intervals. By suffering this pain, I make huge gains. I sometimes need
to remind myself that pain is only transitory, and the harder I work
my intervals, the easier (and more fun) the NorthShore Inline Marathon will
be. After my intervals, I reward myself with a treat like an ice cream
or a beer, but not before warming down with some more garbage miles.
The last three weeks, I reduce the overall mileage but add even more
intensity. My garbage miles become treasure miles. I draft behind
mopeds at faster than race pace. My intervals get shorter but even
more intense with less rest in between. I alternate skating and biking
religiously to allow my muscles to recover between efforts. By the
time the NorthShore approaches I'm itching and twitching like a
greyhound, and so will you if you can adopt some of these training
methods.
Thanks for reading and happy getting ready for the big event!