Looking back at my blogs, I realize that it's been a few weeks already since I began a stretch of blogs outlining my level of fatigue. I was ready to shut things down, but it wasn't time. I'm now within sight of the finish line, so to speak. Kona is three weeks from this coming Saturday (today is Monday). I woke up this morning feeling pretty good, but I should have known what was coming. While my soreness regularly peaks 36 hours after a hard workout, so does my fatigue, as I've been discovering during this journey. I only ran 16 miles yesterday, and I really didn't run hard, so I"m not surprised to find that I really have no soreness to speak of today. On the other hand, the fatigue is hitting me tonight. I took advantage of a "day off" by getting back to hot yoga. 90 minutes of hot yoga certainly had some impact on me, but I was careful not to do anything that would cause me harm. I also hydrated really well throughout the day. I hope that in the aggregate, I achieve some detoxification as well as some gentle muscle stretching.
The fatigue I'm feeling tonight reminds me of the fatigue I felt three weeks ago. I feel it deeply in my body. That means that I've managed to push myself again over the last couple of weeks to create a situation where I can effectively recover and end up stronger. That's one of the things that I love about this journey. Seeing what my body can do. At the age of sixty, I feel more prepared than I ever have for an ironman. I feel both physically and mentally ready for the race that I've dreamt of doing for the past thirty years. The fatigue I'm feeling today is actually encouraging.
It's time to be smart. As I've written, what happens in the next 3 1/2 weeks is unknown. What works one time, might not work another. I do wish that I could bubble wrap myself, because I"m already in the time frame where I usually injure myself. "Fortunately," my wife sprained her ankle a week and a half ago. She says that she did it for me. She took one for the team. I hope that she's right, and something tells me that she is. No injuries, no muscle strains, no upper respiratory infections. I've been sleeping when I'm tired. In fact, I had a good night of sleep last night and took a nap this afternoon. Naps are key! I've been eating pretty clean, and with a decrease in training coming next, there's no point in taking in empty calories. Vegetables, protein, eating clean is the order of the day.
A couple of weeks ago, I was on the ledge, and my coach walked me off. Since then I've done two major rides and two major runs. This time my fatigue is both expected and timely. I welcome the fatigue and look forward to eliminating it, allowing my body to recover and prepare for Kona.
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