How's Your Training Portfolio?

A trip to the dentist the other day brought back some funny memories. Like most kids (and adults for that matter) my siblings and I strongly disliked going to the dentist, despite the fact that our dentist was also our uncle. We were terrified of receiving “the news” of a dreaded cavity, as if that was the end of the world. Side note: to this day I’ve never had one, but I wish that was still my biggest concern! Anyways, roughly 24 hours before our appointments, we would begin a binge-brushing regimen of at least once an hour. We were still nervous, but figured this last-ditch effort could be our saving grace. Collectively we rarely if ever had cavities, but of course it wasn’t thanks to scrubbing the enamel off our teeth the morning of... it had much more to do with good habits throughout the year. As I small-talked with the dental assistant while various torture devices were being prepared, I envisioned how the conversation would’ve gone as a kid:

“So, how’s your flossing going?”

“I’d say strong… to quite strong? I mean, I flossed 11 times yesterday.”

“And brushing?”

“Couldn’t be better… I brushed 27 times this morning.”

A recent episode of Modern Family applies my dentist story to the world of training/exercise. Phil had a deal with his wife that in order to keep his stairmaster machine in their bedroom, he would need to cover the distance from their home (Bay area, I believe) to the Canadian border within the calendar year. If he failed in this quest, the machine would be moved to the garage. Of course, Phil got way behind schedule throughout the year, and had to put forth a Herculean effort in the final days of December to get the job done.

As another example, here’s how my conversation above could apply to the morning of your big race:

“So, how’d your swim training go… you ready?”

“Well, I swam the course several times yesterday, so I should be good to go.”

“How bout biking & running?”

“Great, I got up early and got a nice long brick in!”

It’s still only February, but hopefully we can all stay the course, putting “hay in the barn” on a regular basis as opposed to a last-minute scramble. Best of luck as you work towards your goals for 2014!