What I think about when I am training. The Coach House Fitness blog.

What am I training for when I am thinking?
Sometimes I train, sometimes I ‘work out’, as it has come to be known. When I train it’s for my own pastimes, those that have got me into this mess in the first place. When I work out it’s partly so I can instruct personal training clients and know what I’m talking about – where that discomfort should be felt, how it goes wrong, what needs to be corrected for it to be safe and effective, when you feel like giving up most. I’m trying to lead by example.
Also, like everyone else, I need to. If quoting the health implications seems too sanctimonious the fact is life involves a fair bit of lifting, pushing. pulling. Well, mine does. I’d like to be in good working order for as long as possible.
More specifically, at this point (June 2010) I am preparing for L’Etape du Tour 2010, a stage of the Tour de France, an amateur event run at the same time as the real thing but on a route the professionals have yet to do. This will be my 5th or 6th, something I swore I wouldn’t do again but got talked into by the old gang, 7 strong, who got all fired up and then, one by one, quickly withdrew leaving just the usual Etape regulars of Monkey Mark and myself stranded with our entry forms already tendered.
This year’s route is 108 mile long, and climbs 3 enormous Pyrenean passes, finishing on the mighty Col de Tourmalet, where it may be a baking 30 degrees or 3 degrees and hailing – I’ve experienced both there before, usually on different occasions. I’m also trying not just to finish but to finish fast, gaining another time-related Gold standard to add to my collection. The effort is similar to running a marathon and requires months of training, hundreds of hours and miles in the saddle in all weathers.
And that’s far more fun than I make it sound.