May 22, 2009

Fatigue

You learn a lot about your body while training for an Ironman. Within minutes of beginning a workout I can tell if it's going to be good or if it's going to be a struggle. The days I struggle are almost always due to fatigue from previous days' training. I'm not talking about feeling tired, in fact I usually feel perfectly normal until I take that first step. I'm talking about a deeper, heavier sort of feeling.

I got a decent amount of sleep after the century and my legs didn't hurt at all. I was able to do that three-mile race just two days later at a relatively fast pace so I was recovered, right? Wrong. Training got progressively harder throughout the week - starting with awful foot cramps during Wednesday's swim, continuing with skipped training Thursday and culminating with a miserable brick today.

After the unplanned rest day I thought I'd be feeling great, but that was not the case. While the bike was generally ok, it simply felt forced. I had zero desire to be out there even though it was a beautiful day. I usually run well off the bike but for the first time in a long time I was treated to that lead legs feeling everyone complains about with bricks. I felt like I was running with weights strapped to my legs. To add to the fun, my HR was through the roof for minimal effort and I developed a hideous side stitch about a half mile in that never subsided and got so bad on the final mile I felt like I had a knife jabbed in my ribs.

I had considered making up the missed bike time from Thursday but decided against it. This is a rest week after all and clearly I need the rest. I'll finish the week as scheduled and hope my body is ready to go again next week.

Biking
Distance - 30.86 miles
Time - 1:54:02

Running
Distance - 4 miles
Time - 34:05

2 comments:

  1. our bodies are interesting for sure. I have found, some like you, that I'll feel good the first few days, but that delayed muscle soreness sets in--but, it's all about getting stronger, and you're definitely get there!

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  2. I totally hear you about being tuned into your body, and know if you're going to have a good workout or not. I've had both.

    To some extent the workouts have to teach you to push on when tired, but you also have to know when to back off and let your body recover. Sometimes it's hard to find the balance. Personally, I take the long view. I'd rather take a bit of time off to give me a chance to get stronger, rather than risk an injury from overuse, or a bike crash because I wasn't paying attention to the world.

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