Actually I have to be completely honest here and state for the record that I did get one email about six months ago asking me this or that about training....or perhaps was it the house training of my dog? Unfortunately we'll never know because somehow I managed to lose the email.
But as you may suspect I'm not one to let facts, questions, or even rumors get in the way of doling out my vast plethora of sage advice thus I will do my best to answer this long forgotten question:
When do I training and when do I not train?
When it comes to training I have the simple to remember Everyman Golden 2NF rule.
You way be wondering what "2NF" stands for...at least I hope you are because that's how I keep you reading and not clicking over to your favorite online gambling, porn, or chat room/forum web site.
No I'm sorry I didn't mean that. I meant your favorite news, work, or research web site.
If you are still with me here's what "2NF" stands for. And since I'm all about choice, I'll give you two possible definitions and choose the one you like best.
1) 2 Negative Factors
2) 2 No F@#%ing Way!
We'll, thanks for stopping by and I hope that my sage advise has been of some help to you.
OK, sorry about that, I won't tease you anymore. Please don't leave as the rest of the story is really good...you'll see.
Let me explain....
The Golden Everyman 2NF Training rule is what I use to determine if I should go out and train on any given day. Here's how it works.
Let's start with running as that is the way many of us got into endurance sports.
Picture yourself well rested on a perfect day. The sun is shinning, it is about 70 degrees with light fluffy clouds in the sky, no wind, and no traffic and you have nothing else to do but go for a lovely run on the perfect running path, around the perfect lake, running with young people with perfect bodies, followed by a perfect and peaceful nap.
That would pretty much be the perfect training run.Now lets add some common negative factors to that run. I'll start with three to keep this simple, but we'll add a few more as you get the hang of this.
The Three negative factors (NF's) are:
1) Dark
2) Cold
3) Rain
So the Everyman 2NF Golden Training rule states that I will go for my training run as long as only two out of these three negative factors are in play.
In other words, I will go for that run if it is cold and dark, or I'll go for that run if it is raining and cold, but NOT if it is cold, dark, and raining.
The simple idea is that if the negative factors exceed 2 or more, I'll just not do that workout.
Now that you have the basic concept here are some other factors that could negatively impact training:
nagging injury
fatigue
wind
gear issues such as only having the wrong shoes
time (as in not having sufficient time for the workout)
sickness
pain
hunger/nutrition
mud
hills
mental stamina
heat
new training route
allergies
hangover
I'm sure that you can add your own negative factors to this list.
So why the 2NF rule?
Because I have found that all too frequently when I break this rule, instead of making me stronger, the workout makes me weaker.
What I mean by this is that by breaking the rule I tend to do more harm than good to my overall fitness and stamina.
The most common way this happens is that I get injured.
For instance, the last time I went running in the dark, cold, and rain I slipped and fell on a huge rock and twisted my ankle. I would have been in much better shape if I had just stayed in bed instead of going for the freezing early morning run.
This is especially true when I get a bit stupid and try to train trough a nagging injury. If I combine the nagging injury like my (Pf) Plantar Fasciitis with a hilly, and hot run, I can promise you the next week I'll be exclusively in the pool because I won't be able to run.
As many of us type "A" endurance athletes have either become addicted to training, or can not stand the thought of not getting in that training day, this rule serves as a common sense tool to actually get fitter and faster.
But I digress, the second most common way that breaking this rule impacts my training is that I get sick.
If I'm fatigued and I go for a cold and wet run, chances are that I'll be looking down the double barrel of a nasty cold and flu within 48 hours.
The great thing about the Everyman Golden 2NF rule is that it also works for the bike and the swim.
You just need to add and subtract a few of the negative factors and you have a training rule that you can live by on your bike and in the pool.
As an example, you can add negative factors such as "questionable water quality" or "unknown masters coaching" for the pool workout and "incorrect bike fit," dangerous traffic" and "crazy riding partner" to the bike ride.
I'm sure if you think about it you can come up with your own negative factors.
Now for me I have set the bar pretty high with the Golden 2NF rule. For a newbie, I would suggest that you don't exceed the Everyman Golden 1NF rule...at least not until you get to better know the limits of your body.For instance, you don't need to go on a training ride or run in the cold with a "crazy training buddy" who will run or bike you into the ground. That may be a huge ego boost for him or her, but it does absolutely nothing what-so-ever for you when you can't walk the next day because your knees are screaming in pain.
So the next time you are not sure if a training workout is worth doing, the Everyman Golden 1NF or 2NF rule is all yours.
Oh yes...you may have two other questions:
1) You may be wondering why I call is the Everyman "Golden" 2NF rule?
Because do unto your body, as your would have it do unto you. Or in other words, the way you treat a training workout is the same way it will treat your body.
2) You may be wondering about why NF can also stand for No F@#%ing Way!
Because when I tripped and fell on that rock in the cold, wet, and dark, I swore that "No F@#%ing Way!" would I ever violate my own Golden 2NF rule ever again.