I am currently preparing for my first triathlon in 35 years, and my longest and most ambitious one ever. And so in this post, I am looking back at one week of training.

 

On Monday, I went cycling, trying to head for Lim Chu Kang. But seeing the dark sky ahead, I ended up doing five back and forth circles on Jalan Buroh along Bedok reservoir. This was not fun, but there are no major traffic lights and I still managed to do two hours of intense riding. Right after the cycling, I continued with a 13 km run to and around West Coast Park. This was my longest distance after cycling thus far and was really tough. What made it easier was listening to an amazing Rest is History podcast about Nelson Mandela and the South African National Anthem, which brought back memories of Clint Eastwood’s great movie Invictus.

 

Tuesday was swimming day. I usually swim during or after lunch at Clementi pool, even though it might be easier to use the NUS pool. But I prefer the anonymity of the public pool. Also, it feels nice to be away from work in a different environment during work time. The pool is very empty during the daytime and all this makes the swimming experience a little less painful. Surprisingly, I realised that I became faster compared to the previous week, which thus far I thought to be almost impossible.

 

On Wednesday at lunch time I went for a run at Rail Corridor, one of my favourites running spots, especially during the day on a weekday when there are very few people. Because it was very sunny, I cut my usual 15 km run short by 2 km. But clearly, of all the triathlon disciplines, running is the most fun and I actually look forward to it!

 

On Thursday I went swimming again. As always, I was dreading having my head mostly under water and feeling exhausted while counting down laps for 45 min. But I finished my 1600m of swimming, and afterwards, I felt happy that I did it.

 

On Friday afternoon at 5:30pm I headed off to cycle again, this time riding to Tuas. But this was a mistake because of the two and a half hours on my bike, I spent a large portion waiting at (unnecessary) traffic lights. Going forward, I will try to go to Lim Chu Kang or East Coast Park (if I am riding during the day when it is not as busy). After my bike ride, I followed up with another 13 km run, and although it was tough, my heart rate at the end of it felt lower than after previous cycling and running sessions, which is definitely a good sign.

 

Saturday was rest day, so I took a walk from NUS to Harbourfront, which was a lot of fun.

Thus far, it had been a good training week. And so on Sunday, my plan was to go for a long cycling session. However, I ended up not going. I simply could not motivate myself to go.

 

What made it so difficult?

 

It seems that I unconsciously knew that I did well this week and concluded that it was okay to skip this session and relax instead. Knowing this, I put a lot of things that I wanted to do into my morning schedule. And by the time I was finally ready to go out, it was already very late.

 

It goes to show that following through on plans when there is no urgency is difficult. In principle, it is, of course, okay not to follow one’s plans all of the time, because very few people do.

 

On the other hand, we usually plan the things we do because they make us feel good (or because we know that we feel good afterwards). In contrast, if I abandon my plans I often end up not relaxing or doing fun things, but to wasting time. This Sunday, I initially tried to take a walk, but it was cut short by rain. I then read and subsequently listened to music for a couple of hours, which was enjoyable. But eventually I wasted close to three hours searching for new music.

 

This is a strong argument for me to try to follow through on my plans. Looking back, the main problem was likely that I planned to do too many things in my office beforehand. By the time I finished them, I feel so tired that I wanted to relax. And then it was hard to find the motivation to go out and cycle.

 

In conclusion, I need to plan to do less!

 

Finally, one obvious question is why do I spend so much time and effort on training sessions that are tough and that I do not always enjoy in the first place?

 

Firstly, I feel that it is good for me to try new things. (Technically, I have tried triathlons before as a student, but that was so long ago that my experience now is likely going to be very different.)

 

Secondly, I know from experience that it is beneficial for my mental well-being to have goals. It provides a purpose as well as excitement.

 

Finally, challenging goals create meaning in my life in a bigger sense. When I look back at the two marathons I completed over the past two years, they feel like major achievements. Remembering them gives me great joy, which definitely offsets the difficult training. And I already feel excited about other marathon challenges in the future.