Uh, yeah. How embarrassing. This weekend definitely kicked my butt. Two short runs, with a mini-brick thrown in for good measure, and I'm feeling it. This is soooo not acceptable. Even worse was all of the huffing and puffing it took me to barely maintain my snail's pace while running. And my shorter-than-short ride? I'm not even going there. Ugh. What has happened to me? How did I go from Half-Iron shape last month to this?
Yes, I did intentionally take time off and tone down my training after the Steelhead 70.3. I'd earned a little rest time, after all. But I had no idea my fitness level would take such a nose-dive. The whole thing is mortifying and humbling. Less than a month ago, I would have breezed through said workouts, without a second thought. This weekend, it took every last bit of determination I could muster to make it through that last mile. Maybe this is my body's way of telling me it's time to scale back and give it more recovery time. I'll be the first to admit, I've been pushing myself this year. First, the Big Sur Marathon. Then the training for the Boise 70.3, even though it ended up becoming my race that never was. June was a blur of backpacking the Tetons and Yellowstone, putting in upwards of twelve miles a day with fifty-pound packs upon our backs. Then I jumped right back into training for Steelhead.
Maybe my poor body has earned the right to rest a little longer, but the Pumpkinman Olympic Triathlon is quickly approaching, so I don't see that happening any time soon. I wouldn't miss this race for the world, so I need my body to start cooperating. Maybe I just need a new, more forgiving approach. Maybe I need to start a little slower and allow my body to find it's groove. Either way, I'm not giving up. I'll just have to find a way to push through the pain.
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