3 days before my best Ironman, I was putting on my bike shoes for a short ride and my low back seized up. Three days later, it was still slightly sore, and I actually worried about it getting worse at different points of the eleven hour and thirty two minute day. It didn't. That same spot invariably seizes up on me at various times in my training, and often prior to races. I've blogged about it before. It hadn't happened to me in at least several weeks, or perhaps longer. Until yesterday. Fortunately, it's only a nagging ache, and not a full blown spasm. My coach and I often relate it to my body telling me it's time to rest. My massage therapist says it's where I store things that are bothering me. It's probably a combination of the two.
Anxiety is a nefarious demon. It settles in under our skin and pops up at inopportune times. I've learned that there isn't always an obvious trigger to my anxiety, though I'm sure Freud would disagree with that. I just am suppressing that trigger. I have a number of things to be anxious about. I have a number of things on my mind. Ironman training has been a very healthy release for all that makes me anxious. Tapering can certainly mess with that. The endorphins are reduced and the anxiety rises to the surface.
Yesterday was a rough day. I never finished this blog as I was struggling with my anxiety throughout the day and evening. Part of my challenge was the fact that I had three presentations today, and two papers that I'm working on. Plus, my workouts have been minimal for the past few days, almost mimicking my reduction in training a couple of weeks ago that also led to increased anxiety and feeling pretty lousy. The cure: getting caught up today with all of my projects and getting in two workouts, one of which was a bike VO2 workout. That really gets the endorphins up! It helped!
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