The key word today was patience. After hitting the proverbial wall last Thursday, today was a welcome reboot of my training. We're in the middle of babysitting, so I needed to fit some training into the day. I needed to do some grandpa chores this morning, so by the time I got on my bike, it was already over 80 degrees out. My goal today was to ride my hilly neighborhood loop while keeping my wattage below 200 and my HR under 140. I briefly bumped above both (the HR was a little harder to manage today due to the heat), but was really please with my wattage today. It's really easy to push too hard on climbs, and I will definitely need patience at Kona to keep myself from burning "matches" too early.
The best part about today's ride was that it wasn't that much slower than most of my "easy" rides around my loop. In fact, it was pretty much on track with most of my long ride paces. Another lesson about consistency and moderation. After getting home, I realized that my daughter was occupying my grandson, so there was time for a short run. My legs were definitely a little "out of practice," but I quickly decided it was time to run a 1.8 mile extremely hilly loop near my house. Of course, it was 85 degrees, and the humidity was 50%. I didn't worry about my heart rate too much, except to walk on the steepest parts of the loop, when my heart rate exceeded 150 bpm. Before I knew it, I had run for 3 miles, with plenty of climbing.
The best part of today is the feeling that I'm back on track. Over the past four days I did very little training, focusing on getting sleep and starting our babysitting gig. I had originally planned for a high volume week last week, but that plan went out the window on Thursday when I hit the wall. I have always assumed that this week will be relatively low in volume while we're babysitting, but I'm now wondering what I can accomplish if I am dedicated to keeping my efforts in check and just making sure that I put some workout time in every day. My longstanding struggle, as my coach knows, is that I tend to need to include some intensity in my workouts, but those ultimately reduce the total volume that I'm able to absorb. I'll try to absorb volume this week. I've even entertained the idea of trying to run every day, although that may not work the day after my Wednesday long run. We'll see what happens. No matter what, I'm feeling back on track.
Monday, September 2, 2019
Sunday, September 1, 2019
Journey to Kona Day 208: PapaThon
We're babysitting this week, and today was the first full day. My dynamo of a grandson woke us up at 6:45 am, and my wife kept him occupied until about 8 am. He requested a trip to the bookstore, a kid after my own heart! So, we first stopped to feed his bunny, then went to Barnes & Nobles, where we waited outside on a bench until they opened. He quickly found the book that he wanted, though we looked at a few more, and we headed home. From there, the three of us set out for the day, driving to Ventura to go to our favorite beach park. A couple of hours building sand castles and chasing him in the playground, and we were on our way back towards home, with a stop for frozen yogurt. We got home around 3:30 pm and I took bath duty, which was definitely necessary after the beach. My wife read to him for his nap, and I took a half an hour nap myself. I needed it! I've been fighting fatigue this week, and today was it's own challenge. I can feel my reserves coming back, but chasing a 4 year old around all day can definitely tire you out.
While he finished his nap, I went to feed our kid's bunny rabbit, and then went to the super market. By the time I got home, our grandson was awake, although a bit grumpy, so he chose to watch one of his favorite tv shows. I'm taking the time to write my blog, but I admit that today was somewhat fatiguing in it's own right. At the same time, it kept me moving and certainly didn't allow me to sit around and vegetate.
I had consulted with my coach prior to accepting the task of babysitting just six weeks from Kona, and he made it easy. Being a grandpa is more rewarding than anything that I do, and that includes going to Kona! Kona is a one day experience, being a grandpa is worth a lifetime of experiences. I'll do a "PapaThon" any day!
While he finished his nap, I went to feed our kid's bunny rabbit, and then went to the super market. By the time I got home, our grandson was awake, although a bit grumpy, so he chose to watch one of his favorite tv shows. I'm taking the time to write my blog, but I admit that today was somewhat fatiguing in it's own right. At the same time, it kept me moving and certainly didn't allow me to sit around and vegetate.
I had consulted with my coach prior to accepting the task of babysitting just six weeks from Kona, and he made it easy. Being a grandpa is more rewarding than anything that I do, and that includes going to Kona! Kona is a one day experience, being a grandpa is worth a lifetime of experiences. I'll do a "PapaThon" any day!
Saturday, August 31, 2019
Journey to Kona Day 207: On the Ledge
I went to bed last night around 10pm. Whenever I awakened, I just went back to sleep. I finally got up around 9 am this morning. 11 hours of sleep was just what the doctor ordered! I also kept thinking about the fact that I was literally on the ledge. I had given some consideration to working out today, but I knew better. Both my father and my coach had told me to rest. In fact, I had been telling myself to rest. Tomorrow, my wife and I will begin a week long babysitting gig, and I'll definitely need my energy. So, today, I will tiptoe off the ledge and work towards getting myself back on track.
The Ironman World Championship in Kona is 6 weeks from today. I've pushed and prodded my body. I prepared myself for Ironman Boulder and had an excellent result. I pushed myself to be ready for the Santa Rosa 70.3 and also had an excellent result. I've done more long swims, long bike rides and long runs (with the exception of my 20 weeks of 20 miles in 2016), than I've ever done since I started doing triathlons nearly thirty years ago. I got too close to the edge on Wednesday, and my body immediately rebelled.
Looking back at my training logs for the past six months, it's clear to me that my local bike rides often make it necessary for me to put out wattage that's a little on the high side. I reviewed my rides and found that it's very typical for my 2 minute wattage to average between 210 and 220 watts on a relatively relaxed ride. On Wednesday I hit 235 watts (and 286w for one minute). I let my heart rate come up to lactic threshold levels for quite awhile, at the end of a long ride, no less. Of course, nine days earlier I'd done the same coming up an incredibly steep hill at the end of another long ride, and I'd survived that experience. Like always, I've been pushing my limits, and I needed to find them. I can only hope that my body's immediate response has allowed me to back off without undue harm.
Every time I woke up this morning, my brain immediately went to the thought that I was on the ledge. When I finally got up, I knew that today needed to be a rest day. I also checked some data to corroborate this. My resting heart rate this morning was about 44 bpm. This isn't too bad, but when I'm at my fittest, it drops below 40, and when I'm either sick or unfit, it has approached 50. My HRV (heart rate variability) was 83, which is a little low. Most importantly, when I stood up, my HR went from 44 to 86 (in about 20-30 seconds) and I felt very lightheaded. That's historically been an important sign for me. I prefer, and feel better, when my HR only goes up to 76-78, and is not associated with becoming lightheaded.
I'd been feeling on the edge of getting sick for the past two days, that feeling is improving today, although it's not totally gone. I'd gotten adequate sleep over the past couple of days, but last night really added on the necessary additional sleep that I was certainly craving. Instead of cycling all day today, which was my original plan, I'm spending the day with my wife. We went out for breakfast, and after I take another short nap, we're going to the movies. Of course, because I still need my head in the right place training for Kona, we're going to see Brittany Runs a Marathon! Tomorrow we start our weeklong babysitting gig. Hopefully, I'm already getting off the ledge!
The Ironman World Championship in Kona is 6 weeks from today. I've pushed and prodded my body. I prepared myself for Ironman Boulder and had an excellent result. I pushed myself to be ready for the Santa Rosa 70.3 and also had an excellent result. I've done more long swims, long bike rides and long runs (with the exception of my 20 weeks of 20 miles in 2016), than I've ever done since I started doing triathlons nearly thirty years ago. I got too close to the edge on Wednesday, and my body immediately rebelled.
Looking back at my training logs for the past six months, it's clear to me that my local bike rides often make it necessary for me to put out wattage that's a little on the high side. I reviewed my rides and found that it's very typical for my 2 minute wattage to average between 210 and 220 watts on a relatively relaxed ride. On Wednesday I hit 235 watts (and 286w for one minute). I let my heart rate come up to lactic threshold levels for quite awhile, at the end of a long ride, no less. Of course, nine days earlier I'd done the same coming up an incredibly steep hill at the end of another long ride, and I'd survived that experience. Like always, I've been pushing my limits, and I needed to find them. I can only hope that my body's immediate response has allowed me to back off without undue harm.
Every time I woke up this morning, my brain immediately went to the thought that I was on the ledge. When I finally got up, I knew that today needed to be a rest day. I also checked some data to corroborate this. My resting heart rate this morning was about 44 bpm. This isn't too bad, but when I'm at my fittest, it drops below 40, and when I'm either sick or unfit, it has approached 50. My HRV (heart rate variability) was 83, which is a little low. Most importantly, when I stood up, my HR went from 44 to 86 (in about 20-30 seconds) and I felt very lightheaded. That's historically been an important sign for me. I prefer, and feel better, when my HR only goes up to 76-78, and is not associated with becoming lightheaded.
I'd been feeling on the edge of getting sick for the past two days, that feeling is improving today, although it's not totally gone. I'd gotten adequate sleep over the past couple of days, but last night really added on the necessary additional sleep that I was certainly craving. Instead of cycling all day today, which was my original plan, I'm spending the day with my wife. We went out for breakfast, and after I take another short nap, we're going to the movies. Of course, because I still need my head in the right place training for Kona, we're going to see Brittany Runs a Marathon! Tomorrow we start our weeklong babysitting gig. Hopefully, I'm already getting off the ledge!
Friday, August 30, 2019
Journey to Kona Day 206: Overreaching
I emailed my coach yesterday after writing my blogs for the past two days. I also looked back at the titles of my blogs over the last week and it really stood out that something was going on. My dad emailed me that he was concerned after reading my blogs over the past three days. What’s going on? Am I overtrained? Should I be concerned? Am I pushing myself too hard? Why?
The answer came to me the moment that my coach noted that based on the data it seems that I have been overreaching. There’s a big difference between overtraining and overreaching, although too much overreaching could easily lead to overtraining. I’ve been overreaching my whole life. I’ve written about that many times before. I love to set the bar higher than I can actually achieve. I intend to go to Kona and give it my best. I’ve written about that a bunch. I’m feeling that more than ever. I’m also feeling like I’m fitter than I’ve ever been and capable of more than I’ve ever been capable of. That’s what overreaching is all about. You push yourself, then you recover. You push some more, and then you recover some more. The key element that my coach noted is that my workouts have all been solid. If I were overtrained, I’d be pushing without positive results. With that said, I could be one workout away from dong that. That’s what I need to pay attention to.
As low I felt two days ago, I was already feeling better yesterday. I went for a walk and did a 20 minute swim. My swim reminded me of how much I’ve improved, and how, no matter what comes from my Kona training, I have found something in my swim stroke that I’ve never had before. My form feels locked in, and I really want to work hard to secure the muscle memory for the future. For that reason, I’ll try to get in the water as often as possible, even if I don’t put in a ton of volume every day.
I’ve written a lot about recovery, and that is equally, if not more important than the hard workouts right now. With that said, I feel like I have a few more “overreaching” workouts left in me before I begin tapering for Kona. It’s not that I have anything to prove. I’m just testing my body in order to see what it can do. So far, it’s responded positively. Despite my emotional ups and downs in the past week, my workouts have been solid. It’s definitely part of the journey, but as both my coach and my dad reminded me, it’s time to show a bit of caution.
Kona is six weeks from tomorrow. I feel like I have a few more long bike rides in me, and I still have a goal of doing 10 loops over my 11.2 mile, 850 feet of climbing, course in my neighborhood I’ve done 8 loops, 7 loops and 5 loops. I’ve done several 5 plus hour rides. I’d set my sights on 10 loops, which would be ~112 miles with 8500 feet of climbing, and should take me about 8 hours. That will be the pinnacle, if I can get there. It’s my carrot. If I get there, great! If I don’t, the effort trying will be of great value. If I feel good tomorrow, it would be a great time to hit this goal, if not, I will try again the following weekend.
My run is as locked in as it can be, but I feel like I have a couple more 20 milers left in me prior to Kona. I’m setting this upcoming Wednesday for the first one, as it will have been 10 days since my last one. Then, in 10 more days I’ll be 4 weeks out from Kona, and it will be time for my last long run.
So, while I will continue to overreach, I really only have a couple of more weeks and a few more chances to do so. I’ll pay close attention to how my body responds. If it rebels, shuts down, resists any of these workouts, I’ll rest. If I’m able to handle them, I’ll rejoice in doing so. At the end of the day, it’s still all about the journey. It’s about the exploration of what the human body can do. I’ll continue to learn from overreaching. It’s what I do.
Thursday, August 29, 2019
Journey to Kona Day 205: The Morning After, Again
I woke up this morning trying to immediately decide whether to put in a full day of rest, or whether I had enough energy to get in some time in the pool. Swimming can be therapeutic if I don't push too hard. My immediate thought was to rest, but I had already started to do an accounting of how I felt, and I knew that I had already improved with a good night's sleep. I had a phone conference to prepare for and a the conference itself this morning. That was one of the things that I had been stressing over yesterday, though I was already feeling much less stressed.
I definitely know that I've been straddling a bit of a fine line with my training, and I certainly learned a valuable lesson yesterday. When you start feeling a little tired, don't throw in a hard 42 minute bike effort, pushing your heart rate up to lactic threshold levels! Not too smart, though it was fun. I can hear my coach whispering in my ear. If I survive this, it was ok. If I don't, it wasn't. And, just two days after telling him that my goal was not to do anything stupid with my training in the coming few weeks! I can only laugh at myself.
I always say that this ironman "thing" is about the journey. It's a metaphor for life. My favorite race advice that my coach gives me is that it should feel easy until it starts feeling hard. If you're effectively pacing yourself, that's about how it goes. Life is like that too. Especially for me. That's how I've always been at work, or with most things I do for that matter. Though, I have to admit that starting "easy" has never been easy for me. I remember the first 5K that I did, at the age of 32. Of course, I went out too fast and felt the bottom drop out half way through the race. Unfortunately, one doesn't know what their limits are unless you test them. And, I'm constantly testing, even at the age of sixty.
I guess I understand my grandson even more right now. He is constantly testing. He pushes us, he pushes himself. He wants to see what he can get away with. He wants to see what he can do. A chip off the old block, I'd have to say! I've never trained for Kona before, it's my life's dream. I'm giving it everything that I have. I'm testing my limits. As low as I felt yesterday, I'm already feeling better this morning. A swim feels about right today. I have a meeting and some driving to do tomorrow, so tomorrow becomes another easy day. That should set me up for another long bike ride on Saturday, before my wife and I enter a five day stretch of babysitting! But, I've figure out how to squeeze my long run in during that time. I guess the morning after is going to be ok.
I definitely know that I've been straddling a bit of a fine line with my training, and I certainly learned a valuable lesson yesterday. When you start feeling a little tired, don't throw in a hard 42 minute bike effort, pushing your heart rate up to lactic threshold levels! Not too smart, though it was fun. I can hear my coach whispering in my ear. If I survive this, it was ok. If I don't, it wasn't. And, just two days after telling him that my goal was not to do anything stupid with my training in the coming few weeks! I can only laugh at myself.
I always say that this ironman "thing" is about the journey. It's a metaphor for life. My favorite race advice that my coach gives me is that it should feel easy until it starts feeling hard. If you're effectively pacing yourself, that's about how it goes. Life is like that too. Especially for me. That's how I've always been at work, or with most things I do for that matter. Though, I have to admit that starting "easy" has never been easy for me. I remember the first 5K that I did, at the age of 32. Of course, I went out too fast and felt the bottom drop out half way through the race. Unfortunately, one doesn't know what their limits are unless you test them. And, I'm constantly testing, even at the age of sixty.
I guess I understand my grandson even more right now. He is constantly testing. He pushes us, he pushes himself. He wants to see what he can get away with. He wants to see what he can do. A chip off the old block, I'd have to say! I've never trained for Kona before, it's my life's dream. I'm giving it everything that I have. I'm testing my limits. As low as I felt yesterday, I'm already feeling better this morning. A swim feels about right today. I have a meeting and some driving to do tomorrow, so tomorrow becomes another easy day. That should set me up for another long bike ride on Saturday, before my wife and I enter a five day stretch of babysitting! But, I've figure out how to squeeze my long run in during that time. I guess the morning after is going to be ok.
Journey to Kona Day 204: Feeling Crushed
I woke up today feeling much better. The fatigue had lessened considerably, and I was excited to get in another long bike ride. It was a beautiful day, started out on the cool side as I rode the first loop of the 11.2 mile, 850 foot climbing loop in my neighborhood. While the first hill is never easy, I felt like I was in a reasonable rhythm. I wore my heart rate monitor and was watching my power readings, which were all pretty good. I was getting in an adequate amount of calories and fluids as I completed my second loop. The loop itself is almost never flat, starting with a one mile climb that has portions that get close to 10%. The next climb starts as more of a "false flat" before turning up for a shorter, somewhat harder climb. I get a short downhill reprieve at that point before starting the third, nearly one mile climb that rivals the first climb of the day. Of note, the first climb is definitely the hardest, and it literally starts right away, as I have a 30 second ride down my street before turning to start the climb. The prior "false flat" becomes a stretch where I can go fast while pedaling, but not feel like I'm actually descending before I hit another false flat before I get to the backside of the first climb, which is shorter, but starts out hard before smoothing out. The first climb becomes a screaming downhill that garners all my attention as I hit 38-42mph. Some times I don't touch my brakes and hit the 42 mph mark. Other times I don't have the concentration to do so, tap my brakes a couple of times to scrub a little speed, and "just" go about 38 mph. It's amazing what a few mph does for the confidence. As I get to the bottom of the descent, I can either coast, or ramp up my wattage to try to get a Strava record for the downhill. That can be dicey, however, as I have the quarter mile steep climb back to my house at the end of the loop. Some loops I just put my bike in its lowest gear and try to spin up the hill, other times I hammer up the hill until I can't, and other times I hammer up the hill for the requisite one minute of torture and my highest one minute power outputs.
Today, I kept thinking about how many loops I would do. I started the day with a vague plan to ride about five hours or so, which would mean at least 6 loops, and probably seven. When I had completed the fourth loop, I stopped at home to use the bathroom and replenish my fluids. Up until this point, I had been feeling fine, and my heart rate, wattage and paces seemed to be right on target. As I left my house, I had a fleeting thought to just stay home and finish my ride, but I'd ridden 3 hours and 15 minutes, and I really wanted to get in at least four hours. I had started thinking about my next long ride on Saturday, and that today's ride was really the prologue to that ride. I didn't want to sacrifice Saturday for some extra miles today. And therein was my first inaccurate thought. It wasn't about the miles, or even the absolute number of hours today. I was climbing 1000 feet every hour, and the cumulative impact of each hour was heightened because of that. If I'd been riding on a perfectly flat course, I could have easily ridden 5-6 hours without even noticing it. So, today's ride was having a positive training effect. I had even been thinking of running a short while when I finished my ride today.
I decided to do one more loop and then call it a day. However, knowing that I just had one loop left, I somehow decided to ride hard for the entire loop. Looking back at my power and heart rate, that's exactly what I did. In fact, I increased my power by approximately 20 percent from where it had been the entire ride. The 47 minutes that the loop had been taking was shortened to about 42 minutes. My "need" to put in some hard effort was assuaged, but I didn't quite comprehend the toll it would take on me for the rest of the day.
I was still feeling fine when I got home. I ate, got in the requisite protein, calories and fluid, and laid down to watch some television. About 45 minutes later, I felt like the bottom had dropped out, so I took a nap. I awoke about an hour later feeling refreshed, but that was probably the high point of my day. About the only way to describe how I felt the rest of the day is that I felt "crushed." I kept eating and drinking, hoping that would help. I kept resting. I had some "work" that I needed to do, but the thought of thinking was just overwhelming. Knowing that I needed to get the work done became very stressful. I even began to get the onset of a panic attack, which I knew made no sense and was unnecessary. I finally settled down enough to get most of the work done before going to bed.
I fell asleep wondering how I'd wake up in the morning, and whether I'd get in my swim that I'd planned to do.
Today, I kept thinking about how many loops I would do. I started the day with a vague plan to ride about five hours or so, which would mean at least 6 loops, and probably seven. When I had completed the fourth loop, I stopped at home to use the bathroom and replenish my fluids. Up until this point, I had been feeling fine, and my heart rate, wattage and paces seemed to be right on target. As I left my house, I had a fleeting thought to just stay home and finish my ride, but I'd ridden 3 hours and 15 minutes, and I really wanted to get in at least four hours. I had started thinking about my next long ride on Saturday, and that today's ride was really the prologue to that ride. I didn't want to sacrifice Saturday for some extra miles today. And therein was my first inaccurate thought. It wasn't about the miles, or even the absolute number of hours today. I was climbing 1000 feet every hour, and the cumulative impact of each hour was heightened because of that. If I'd been riding on a perfectly flat course, I could have easily ridden 5-6 hours without even noticing it. So, today's ride was having a positive training effect. I had even been thinking of running a short while when I finished my ride today.
I decided to do one more loop and then call it a day. However, knowing that I just had one loop left, I somehow decided to ride hard for the entire loop. Looking back at my power and heart rate, that's exactly what I did. In fact, I increased my power by approximately 20 percent from where it had been the entire ride. The 47 minutes that the loop had been taking was shortened to about 42 minutes. My "need" to put in some hard effort was assuaged, but I didn't quite comprehend the toll it would take on me for the rest of the day.
I was still feeling fine when I got home. I ate, got in the requisite protein, calories and fluid, and laid down to watch some television. About 45 minutes later, I felt like the bottom had dropped out, so I took a nap. I awoke about an hour later feeling refreshed, but that was probably the high point of my day. About the only way to describe how I felt the rest of the day is that I felt "crushed." I kept eating and drinking, hoping that would help. I kept resting. I had some "work" that I needed to do, but the thought of thinking was just overwhelming. Knowing that I needed to get the work done became very stressful. I even began to get the onset of a panic attack, which I knew made no sense and was unnecessary. I finally settled down enough to get most of the work done before going to bed.
I fell asleep wondering how I'd wake up in the morning, and whether I'd get in my swim that I'd planned to do.
Tuesday, August 27, 2019
Journey to Kona Day 203: The "F-Word"
The "F-word" of ironman training is fatigue. It sneaks up on you. When it hits you, sometimes you just don't know what to do. Yesterday, I woke up feeling great. I'd completed one of my best ironman training weeks ever, culminating with one of my most rigorous 20 mile runs ever. I had energy. I was looking forward to another solid week of training. By yesterday afternoon and evening, I was laying on the floor, not wanting to move. I was tired, I was doubtful, I felt like I needed a week of rest. The good news is that I've been here before. As I noted yesterday, delayed onset fatigue is similar to delayed onset muscle soreness. It's delayed! It takes a little while for the body to recognize the degree of fatigue that you're carrying. It also takes a little while for the endorphins from the week, and from the long run, to dissipate. When those endorphins dissipate, bam! The fatigue hits. It didn't help that we were babysitting my grandson. An hour and a half of playing with a cyclone of energy probably put just enough stress on my system to exacerbate my fatigue. Or not? It was probably going to be there anyway.
Ona positive note, the way my training has been going, I should snap out of this pretty quickly. I made sure to nap yesterday (twice!) and to graze all day on protein and carbohydrates. And, I stayed hydrated. Today is a long swim, which should be fine. I actually swam yesterday, and went for a short walk. I was going to do a short bike, but by the time I thought about it, it was 90 degrees outside, so I thought better of adding unnecessary stress to my already fatigued body. These are the important decisions on the road to being ironman fit. Recovering from fatigue is part of the process of getting fitter. It's also part of the process of becoming resistant to the fatigue itself. It's a fine line. Too much fatigue and one slides into overtraining. Too little fatigue and one doesn't continue to get stronger and more resilient on the journey to tolerating the rigors of ironman.
The hardest part about fatigue is the doubt. When you're really tired, doubt begins to seep into your mind. You wonder if you should do tomorrows workout? You wonder if you're on the edge of overtraining. For me, being a physician, I begin to wonder if there's something wrong with me. I feel the manifestations of fatigue and wonder if I have some sort of terminal illness. Of course, I stop, look at myself, realize that I've just rust for 20 miles, and remind myself that wouldn't be possible if I was dying. There is humor in fatigue. Tomorrow and Saturday will ideally be long bike rides. After speaking to my coach, I put off the plan for another 20 mile run this week. That might be too much, too soon. As I prepare for Kona, there is definitely a balance. I must avoid unnecessary stress and excess fatigue that is not productive. Only then, will fatigue be the real "f-word."
Ona positive note, the way my training has been going, I should snap out of this pretty quickly. I made sure to nap yesterday (twice!) and to graze all day on protein and carbohydrates. And, I stayed hydrated. Today is a long swim, which should be fine. I actually swam yesterday, and went for a short walk. I was going to do a short bike, but by the time I thought about it, it was 90 degrees outside, so I thought better of adding unnecessary stress to my already fatigued body. These are the important decisions on the road to being ironman fit. Recovering from fatigue is part of the process of getting fitter. It's also part of the process of becoming resistant to the fatigue itself. It's a fine line. Too much fatigue and one slides into overtraining. Too little fatigue and one doesn't continue to get stronger and more resilient on the journey to tolerating the rigors of ironman.
The hardest part about fatigue is the doubt. When you're really tired, doubt begins to seep into your mind. You wonder if you should do tomorrows workout? You wonder if you're on the edge of overtraining. For me, being a physician, I begin to wonder if there's something wrong with me. I feel the manifestations of fatigue and wonder if I have some sort of terminal illness. Of course, I stop, look at myself, realize that I've just rust for 20 miles, and remind myself that wouldn't be possible if I was dying. There is humor in fatigue. Tomorrow and Saturday will ideally be long bike rides. After speaking to my coach, I put off the plan for another 20 mile run this week. That might be too much, too soon. As I prepare for Kona, there is definitely a balance. I must avoid unnecessary stress and excess fatigue that is not productive. Only then, will fatigue be the real "f-word."
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