Unloading fatigue. At the end of the day, that's what the taper is all about. It's become a fascinating journey as I try to listen to my body and respond accordingly on a near daily basis. Last week was an opportunity to unload fatigue by literally taking 5 of 7 days completely off. Of course, one of my workouts, at the end of the week, was a 6 hour and 10 minute solid bike ride. Between technology, primarily my new Garmin watch, and how I feel, I try to measure my fatigue and adjust based on it. The goal is that I will have let go of most, if not all, of that fatigue 25 days from now on race day at Ironman California.
Over the past two days I worked out for over six hours, obviously increasing my fatigue level, and today is a "rest" day. The quotations are there because I'm working and driving in traffic. That's the problem with exercise based fatigue measurements. They ignore the other stresses in our lives that increase fatigue. For instance, four days of babysitting last week is not accounted for, except somehow, by my new "body battery" calculator on my garmin! I'm definitely feeling the fatigue this morning. My resting heart rate is up (~44-45), and my HRV (heart rate variability) is down (80). Neither are particularly bad numbers, especially for the average person! Still, I know that I'm at my "best" when my resting heart rate is below 40 and my HRV is in the low 90's.
So I truly begin my focus on tapering and unloading fatigue in earnest. I've made workout plans for the rest of the week, but I am not married to them. I'll adjust on the fly with the knowledge that I've been training for seven months and the "hay is in the barn," so to speak. Recovery and rest, and the unloading of fatigue, is paramount at this point in time. I continue to learn about the body and how it responds. Let's see what tomorrow looks like!
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