Staying Sane on the Bike Trainer

My current training plan has me biking 3 times a week for 1.5 to 2.5 hours per session on my indoor trainer.  Indoor biking can be monotonous and tedious at times, so there are things I do to try and stay focused during the workout.

1. Sometimes I get so bored I just scream out loud.  AAARRRRGGGGHHHH!  It breaks up the monotony and gives me a little boost of energy.  :)
2. Watch TV, either a movie or multiple TV shows.  These have to be high energy and fast-paced in order to do much good.  Anything too ‘drama-like’ doesn’t work for me.
3. During commercial breaks or for one scene do some cycling drills.  Sometimes I stand up and pedal, or I practice different cadences like a hard gear with a low cadence, or an easier gear with a super-high cadence.   I usually like to make these drills hurt and I talk to myself to get through them.  For example, “It’s just one commercial, you can do this for one commercial, and then you can sit down”.
4. I also talk back to the TV.  If there is a question asked I will answer it out loud.  Or if somebody asks ‘how are you feeling’.  I will yell “GOOOOD!”  It’s amazing how well this works – the body behaves much better if the mind tells it that everything is great!
5. If the ride is more than 90 minutes I always have some type of snack to eat, and I always have something to drink no matter the length of the ride.  When eating something I take that time to slow down, sit up, stretch, and do some easier pedaling for a minute or two.  It’s a great way to provide some mental and physical breaks during the workout.
6. I know I have to do these workouts and the end result is that I will be in great shape for the outdoor biking season!  It’s the carrot dangling in front - kind of a pay now, play later type of thing meaning do the hard work now and reap the benefits when the outdoor season starts. 

Do you have any tips for getting through monotonous or tedious tasks?

Do you have any high energy, fast-paced movies you recommend? 
I watched “The Bridge on the River Kwai” last Saturday.   It’s an old movie (1950s I think).  Pat got it from the library and watched it the night before – normally this is not a movie I would watch but, I was desperate for something during this bike ride.  It was actually a really good movie.  It had great music and plenty of action to keep my mind focused during the bike ride.

Swimming … What do I expect?

My coach was at the pool yesterday morning when I showed up for my swim.  We chatted for a couple minutes and then he went back to focusing on his client and I started my workout.  Later that day I got the following email from him:

“BTW, your form looked good in the water today!”

My reply:

“Thanks... It didn't feel like it was good.  I don't know what I expect - I am having a hard time accepting that anything I do in the water is right/good.”

I regretted this reply as soon as I sent it. 

I met Matt about a year ago and he has coached me in both group and individual sessions.  So I think he knows me pretty well, and I know him pretty well.  He is always straight with me and can sometimes be pretty blunt and I like that!  He doesn’t hand out compliments easily and when he gives a compliment, he means it!

So, my response should have been:  “Thanks!”  And I should have accepted it and more importantly BELIEVED it!  In every other aspect of my training, I do accept and appreciate his compliments but, when it comes to swimming I have a mental block for some reason (and I think I figured out why – keep reading).

The other part of my response in that email that really bugged me after sending it was the “I don’t know what I expect…”.  WHAT???  How can I not know what I expect, I can’t wander around aimlessly.   So I spent the evening and a sleepless night trying to figure out what I expect.  The truth is I do know what I expect – I just needed to admit it.

So here it is:  In the back of my mind I have this goal of wanting to finish the Ironman swim in 1 hour 40-45 minutes.  Based on where I am right now with my swimming, this is a completely unrealistic goal so after every swim workout I come away with “It’s not good enough”, “I’m not fast enough”, “I’m not getting any better” and I am frustrated and a bit down.

The Ironman swim time cutoff is 2 hours 20 minutes.  I do believe that I can complete the swim in this amount of time barring any equipment malfunctions or physical problems.  But, I also believe that if it takes me that long to finish the swim I will miss either a bike cutoff or run cutoff time at some point in the day, and then not be able to finish the race.  So, for whatever reason I set this 1:40-1:45 swim time goal giving me a 35-40 minute cushion for the rest of the race.  I really don’t have any basis for wanting this time but, it’s there and now that I have admitted it what should I do???

Should I set a more realistic swim time goal which would probably make my swim workouts more acceptable and less frustrating.  But, then will I have enough cushion for the other parts of the race?

Or  

Do I stick with my unrealistic time goal and continue to work my butt off trying to achieve it, while at the same time mentally beating myself up over not being fast enough or good enough?

I don’t have an answer for myself  yet. 

Do you have any insights into this?

Do you set unrealistic goals for yourself?