The end of December is a unique time of the year. With the Festive Season culminating in Old Year's Night, this period can be either be very quiet or very busy, individual circumstances depending of course.
Almost exactly two years ago, I wrote a blog post outlining how I prefer to take a series of shorter breaks during the course of the year, as opposed to one long holiday. While I am still wholly partial to that particular notion, circumstances this year are such that our office is closed for two weeks. Instead of being part of a skeleton staff compliment over December, something which I do relish, I'm experiencing an enforced work-break for the first time in years. And I'm actually quite enjoying it.
I must admit, though, that the thought of of an extended period away from the office did leave me slightly apprehensive, but purely in a sporting sense. You see, holiday time for an athlete can actually be detrimental if one gets sucked into the dangerous, counter-productive - yet ever-present - mindset so prevalent amongst amateur athletes, otherwise known as the “training camp mentality.”
A friend of mine recently posted a great piece on social media recounting how he successfully completed a recent ultra-distance triathlon on around eight hours of weekly training. He was faster this year on much less preparation than he was previously following a rigid, mega-mileage routine. As concise as his micro-blogging was, it was even more insightful in the sense that his triathlon pursuits fall around his family commitments and busy medical practice as opposed to the other way around.
Having worked at that same event in a massage therapy capacity, I was therefore amazed by the contrasting approaches and mindsets of some of the athletes I treated. One guy, upon my inquiring what he had planned for the rest of the weekend, stated that he was participating in a 15km road running event early the following morning. Another finisher explained that this ultra-distance event was the first part of a training camp-orientated weekend, where her coach had planned a four-hour bike ride complete with hill repeats followed by weight training the very next morning! And all this whilst sprawled out on my massage table, almost paralytic after an arduous and draining event in hot and windy conditions.
There have been times in my life where I've been seduced by the notion of the training camp. I can think of a couple of December-periods where I really chased miles in pursuit of glorious weekly totals. One two-week period saw me accumulate around sixty hours of cycling and running, culminating in flat out 240km bike ride with a couple of equally-possessed training partners on a rainy Saturday. Another “holiday” soujourn saw me trying to emulate a visiting friend on NCAA athletic scholarship, where his 140km weekly running mileage seemed so appealing and inspiring. Just two examples of my own impure and unhealthy motivations in years past but food for thought nonetheless. And to be honest, I'm not sure if I really derived any true benefit from these sorts of mileage spikes in any case. On the contrary, I would return to work subdued and fatigued, the downside of such madness being both mental and physical.
Needless to say that I resolved to leave behind such obsessive/compulsive tendencies behind long ago and have been revelling a new lease of more balanced athletic life over the last few years. The thought of two weeks at home filled me with fear of returning to my old habits, but alas I've managed to restrain such desire so far.
What am I doing this time round? A follow up post in the coming days intends to reveal a sort of training camp with a difference, where terms like “mega-miles” and “total hours” are conspicuous by their absence.
