Cold Wet Rain - November 30, 2008

I awoke to cold, wet rain - A big fat YUK!!!

My entire system is starting to get out of whack.  I'm not doing my normal training.  I'm not following my typical diet.  I'm not sleeping the same hours, not working the usual hours (a lot more), on the road more than usual, less motivation to train than usual, holiday season is creeping in and I have a TON of stuff to wrap up before year end at work.

That's a long way of saying that, "I've had a headache all day" :) ha ha.

I find it strange how we can function during full blown Ironman training.  We pound ourselves into the ground, we seem to always feel fatigued, yet we function at such a high level of performance.  And then when we lay off for a bit, everything goes to pot.  I'm feeling like crap, feeling unfit, sloppy, lazy, unmotivated, unstructured, undisciplined, and darn-right goofy.

It's not the first time I've felt this way (and certainly not the last).  It's all part of the offseason and the recovery process.  Part of recovery is also the mental and emotional end of the spectrum.  We certainly can't keep Ironman fitness year round (nor train at a high level constantly).  As a result, when we back off, we lose some fitness and when we lose fitness it changes the feeling we have about ourselves even mentally and emotionally.  I no longer feel as though I could run through a brick wall.

I remember seeing something similar in athletes back when I was into weightlifting.  There were always a few guys that chose the short-cut route and used steroids.  And the steroids/drugs were the trap.  Once they got on them, they couldn't stop.  The addiction wasn't physical, it was mental.  When they juiced, they grew (muscles) and felt huge, powerful and strong.  But once they stopped juicing for a cycle, their progress went backwards and THAT killed them mentally.  They couldn't stand getting smaller, weaker, less powerful.  So guess what they did?  They not only juiced again but they juiced even more...and the cycle continued until they exploded and blood squirts everywhere.

Ironman is a similar addiction.  It's not a pure physical addiction, it's a mental and emotional addiction.  I'm sure it's the same with pure runners, pure cyclists, any sporting enthusiast for that matter.

But for now, I still have a headache.

But there is good news!  My back is doing better from yesterday.  I think I was right, the inflammation and soreness peaked at the 48 hour mark.  Hopefully I'll be back to 100% within a few more days.  Then I'll be back to "high fiven" and "low fiven"!

By The Numbers

• Injured Jan 1 through June 30 with plantar fasciitis and achilles problems on the left leg.  Sick for two weeks at and after Ironman Canada with a cold.
• 0 - Days in a row of consistent training
• 7 - Days missed of training at least 30 minutes in 2008 (goose-eggs in the training log)
• 238- Days remaining until Ironman Lake Placid
• Only 26 shopping days remaining until Christmas
• Only 22 days until Hanukkah (Happy Hanukkah Caplan)

Comments

[Jim]

Jim Wagener

335/0

Paul-Glad to hear your back is getting better.

Also, congratulations to fellow streaker Nat on her recent accomplishment. I will let her provide the details.

[dave kindzia]

YTD 335/0

[Matt]

Matt Erbele 335/0

[Joe Reger]

Ditto. Good post summarizing the off season. What's wrong with us?!?? Lol. Hey, high five for your back recovery. Oh, wait. I get twinges in my back from the strangest things too... always annoying. You don't realize how much you use your back until it's hurt. They call it core for a reason.