126 days until IRONMAN 70.3 Chattanooga
Commentary
I’m stressed.
Of course I can’t expect you to know that. You haven’t heard me yelling at my computer and you weren’t aware that the project deadline at work is January 17 which means my coworkers get to experience my psychotic behaviors for five more days. Actually, all this stress is manageable: I can handle it. But how does it affect my training?
This morning I got the answer. Seven hours of quality sleep wasn’t enough. The body felt fine, but it took another two hours to fully wake up. I walked around the house and slept on the couch and stumbled over the dog. It was a sad sight.
By the time the mind was clear enough to make some oatmeal, I realized that this was the result of accumulated work stress, family stress and training stress. The realization came from the training journal.
I love numbers and quantifiable things which is why I record everything in Training Peaks, but just recording the numbers like power and heart rate is not enough. If you want to understand why certain things happen the way they do, you have to record everything that impacts your training.
I decided to swim today anyway, because I have a full day off on Monday (tomorrow).
Workout Summary
The fatigue mentioned above had a noticeable effect on my swimming. That’s the first place you’ll notice it: in the swim. I have had many days like this where I feel pretty good as I enter the water and then wonder why I feel like I’m drowning after 50 yards. If your swim form is suffering, you may need to clear the next day in your training calendar for some much needed rest. Something to thing about.
Until tomorrow…