The Science of Stress

It's an ominous title that one isn't it?  Allow me to explain what I mean and how the effect is being felt ...

Since January of this year I have been in an interim role with my company, serving as the Quality Manager.  We manufacture contact lenses, which are classed as a medical device and are therefore subject to many regulations and laws regarding their manufacture.  This is all scary stuff!  It would also, were I fortunate enough to secure the job, represent a major promotion - so the incentive is definitely there.

As this is such a key role the recruitment net has been cast far and wide - not just within the company boundaries (global) but also externally.  Thankfully, I am now down to the last two candidates - statistically speaking I have a 50:50 chance.  The intention is for one final phone interview with the Global Head of Quality, which should take place this week - possibly with a decision being made by the end of the week ...

This all sounds very grand and very exciting ....

Do not be fooled dear readers.  This is playing bloody havoc with my training, both in terms of intensity and more disturbingly in terms of motivation.  I think the stress of not knowing is proving to be the worst thing.

Mind you, the inner mad scientist in me is finding the whole experiencing strangely fascinating.  How can a person go from being totally driven in their sport and their goal, especially with an impending Iron Man, one day and then go totally flat, energy less and unmotivated the next?  You could probably write paper after paper on the topic - in fact I'm sure plenty of sports-shrinks already have done?

I thought about going for a nice long run on Saturday to clear my head.  That's as far as I got ... thinking about it.  I felt so dead and unmotivated that all I could do was play on the damn Xbox and eat Mars Bars ... how crap is that!

Felt a bit better on Sunday though.  Got up and went swimming with James, who is now under the expert supervision of Dean. He swam his heart out and I was SO SO SOOO proud of him.  James has decided that triathlon may be the way forward.  Little steps ...

After swimming I went out with Jamie and Tamsin for a ride across the Downs and put in some real beastie hill work on a couple of killer hills ... lovely, especially as I rode home with the virtual polka dot jersey (see Tour De France for relevance of that last gibberish statement).  Not the longest of rides at 55km door to door, but at least I'd got off of my fat Mars Bar arse and done something.

And so, here I am, awaiting the important call details ....  So hopefully, the next time we speak, I will have found out one way or the other my fate.  Either way, a decision will have been made, and I will be able to get on with my IM training properly.

One quick note before I go.  I haven't mentioned my new toy yet have I?  My rollers no less ....

Ah - this picture doesn't really help does it?  I haven't been struck with some bizarre desire to alter my hair style to a curly top ... that would be bloody ridiculous and would make me look, along with all the Mars Bars, like some fat arse footballist from the North ....

No, I refer of course to the dark art of bike rollers - that genuinely terrifying prospect for all cyclists and triathletes to try to develop the art of, what the French call, souplesse.  Smooth, powerful and efficient riding.

Well, that's what the advertising blurb says anyway.  However, the terrible truth is that you sit on your bike atop 3 moving rollers and try your hardest not to throw yourself at the ground.  My first attempt - setup in the hallway at home - resulted in me not being able to let go of the picture rail, sweating heavily with absolute panic and a 200+ heart rate.  I think I may have left fingernail marks in the rails!  Attempt two - able to get up a reasonable amount of speed and ..., oh yes, think I've got it, bit wobbly but still upright.  Attempt three - getting confident now - can you see where this is going?  Up to full speed, feeling good, very confident, bit too confident ....., throwing in some deliberate wobbles and recovering it ...., massively over confident ...... CRASH !!!!!!!  Big heap in the hall, with me, the bike and rollers in a real tangle.  That HURRRRRRTT!!!!!  The author, Douglas Adams, wrote in The Hitch Hikers Guide To The Galaxy that the art of flying is very simple - all one must do is to throw themselves at the ground and miss ....  I can assure you that I threw myself at the ground at great speed and damn well hit it square on - no flight achieved.

Only one thing you can do in a situation like this .... get back on and ride .... and be VERY thankful that no one else was around to witness you getting 'baptised' by the rollers.

Will speak soon, hopefully with good news.  Until then, be good children.

Where did that month go?

Going to have to start with an apology, better make that a bloody great big one.  It has been a whole month (and probably a smidge more) since my last update, shame upon me!  Rest assured I shall have myself taken aside and thrashed enthusiastically with an old bike tyre.

 I shall make sure I keep on top of the updates from now on as the training steps up into the properly scary serious phase.  But first, let us play catch up while I tell you, my dear readers, a tale or two ...

A long time ago, on a race course far far away (well, Battle actually, so that shows that this is turning into a fishing tale already ...).  The Sussex Marathon - a new event from Team Lifestyle, that brings the challenge of a marathon to the local area and then, in true Team Lifestyle character, makes it much MUCH more challenging.  I have been training for a number of months with some team members, all of whom, ran the marathon.  One of our happy crew, Tamsin, had not run one before but was determined to rack up the 'big-one' and to do it in style - hills and all.

As we had trained together, and in order for me not to go at the race like some bloody loony and put myself out of IM training for months on end, I elected to run with her as her pacer.    Tamsin is a superb athlete but had a real mental block about the distance.  Those of us training with her could see that this block was only as solid as mist and all she needed was self-belief.  I know this sounds like a load of hippy-crap but it's true, and anybody who has stepped up to a much bigger event will have experienced this.

Marathons do funny things to the best of them, and this event was no different.  The miles pound away at your body and drain you of energy and muscle endurance - this is why you put in the miles to build up to it.  But a marathon also targets your mind - a result I suspect of rapidly diminishing blood sugar and can, as a result, do really weird things to you.  We started off well, with good pacing and good refuelling at each drinks station.  But the long long hills took their toll, and our minds gradually broke down resulting in my impression of the Morecambe and Wise dance (think back to 'Bring Me Sunshine').  The final clue as to our psychological collapse was the loud and graphic squabbling that must have looked something like Terry and June - The Early Years!  However, we battled on and went on to finish strong and triumphant -  a damn fine race ran well.

Bit of a rest for a couple of weeks after the marathon.  Conventional wisdom states that you should take a good four weeks to let your body rest and repair.  And there lies the problem, wisdom and my total lack of it ...

Then, along came the long Easter weekend and the first big Iron Man training day - the grand brick set.  Also starring for the day was a whole heap of nervous anticipation and self doubt (there we go, as previously mentioned).  Soon gave that lot the heave-ho though after four hours of high quality riding with John and Sarah, followed immediately by an hour run up and down the sea front and over both part of  Galley Hill.  We only dropped 1 minute between the two bike laps and covered somewhere around 70 miles of riding.  A good training session (especially so close to the marathon) and good company - cheers guys, you both restored my cycling faith.

First sea swim followed on later the same afternoon - the perfect chance to try out my new 2XU R1 wetsuit (the replacement to my old 2XU E2 - fantastic customer service).  The suit was fantastic but the sea was bloody freezing, and I do mean properly cold.  Despite all the clever technology in the suit nothing can cancel out the affect of cold water making your chest tight and your breathing going to pot.






Then we have had the Royal Wedding weekend - and another chance for copious amounts of training.  I marshalled the Royal 5k on Friday, but then went on to put in 40km of hill work on the bike and 45 minutes of running on Satuday, 1 hour swim / 65km of riding hard and hilly on Sunday and rounded off with another 40km of steady riding followed by an hour of running yesterday.
So, what next?  I think it needs to be lots of stretching, a bit of a rest for a day or two and then back onto the rollers and the turbo for some specific technique and strength work.

Look after yourselves dear folks, I'll be back soon ...
Al