Mr. Big Guy says...

I'm not arrogant.  I have been called arrogant before but I'm not arrogant.  However, I do tend to think I know best when it comes to certain things: brewing beer, Monty Python quotes, drums, and of course...cycling.  Its not that I think my knowledge is superior to everyone else, just that I think my knowledge and ideas serve me best.

Mr. Big Guy would disagree.  See, I sorta, kinda, slightly modified the training plan he and I put together and did so without his input or feedback.  After a couple of rides that he and I planned out, I felt perfectly at ease and decided to up the intensity.  So I did.  Significantly.  And that was a bad idea.  This training thing is challenging.  I love challenges.  But very often the fundamental challenge for me is to keep a steady pace and not burn out.  Since Randy and I did our baseline testing, I logged 2 weeks worth of hours and intervals in just over a week.  I was tired and feeling kind of oogy.

So, today I had to let Randy know what I had done.  Like a dog that has eaten its owner's favorite shoes, I humbly asked him for his input on my previous 10 days of training and whether or not the increased load would be reasonable.  I told him that I was feeling tired and even had trouble getting my heart rate into the interval zone during 'cross practice.  His response:

The short answer is: NOT reasonable, :-) you have way too many interval days ahead of you (per your schedule).

You are currently TIRED.  You have OVERREACHED, not yet OVERTRAINED.  Focus on RECOVERY so you can have good training this weekend.

That's kind of what I expected him to say.  Being Mr. Big Guy, he's not one to be insulting or sarcastic.  But today he could have been and I would have understood.  I took my one week of training and coaching and somehow convinced myself that I needed more work.  Uhh...yeah...right.

Here's my advice for those of you training with Randy:  Do what Mr. Big Guy says.  No matter what you think you know about training, he knows more.