Solo Training

A short swim yesterday - 1 mile, mostly technique.

Hot and steamy this morning. Did a short track workout; 3x1mile at 5:50 pace or better. Just tuning up for my race this Sunday. Felt pretty good. I needed a little confidence boost after Sunday's run.

I've been thinking about Solo training versus Group training. I'm often conflicted on this.

I like to ride with the WC Cycling club, run with the WC Run club, and swim with the YMCA Masters, but I typically don't for a bunch of reasons. Its funny, because Ken Glah, a local pro triathlete showed up for a training run once with the Run Club and I wondered why he didn't show up more often, but as I've been training for Ironman events over the past 3 years, I'm beginning to understand.

Here are the top reasons why training Solo make sense (for me) when getting read for a big race:
- My schedule needs to be very flexible and group sessions are typically fixed and sometimes downright inconvenient (masters swim at 5:30am; run club at 6pm (dinner time))
- On the bike, there are either too many breaks (A- group) or the group hammers hard everytime (A group) - there is no long, steady group ride (i.e. 60+ miles at 18mph+ pace)
- My training needs often often don't match the group

On the other side of the equation, this is why I like group training...
- Long rides and runs go by a lot faster when you're with people
- I get to meet a lot of interesting characters (that always seem to have bad jokes, or new ways that I can punish myself - like 'hey Jesse, why don't you try an Ironman - ha, ha')
- During speed sessions, I push myself harder when there are faster people around me
- Learning new routes
- Learning new training tips

I'm looking forward (post Ironman), when I can just relax and do more group training.