Spoiler alert: needed a rest week

Here I was, two weeks ago, saying “wheee, I don’t feel like I need a rest week”.

Spoiler alert, I so needed a rest week. As they stay stress is stress is stress, mental or physical, and I finally hit my limit. Physically, I just felt like I was dragging ass on the daily, and I was working a lot of hours and had a lot on my mind so I was mentally shot as well. I needed a little reprieve from the 630am alarms and it felt SO GOOD.

But, going back to the week before, I bailed on a few things but got the important workouts done. I skipped a swim, honestly intending to make it up on Saturday with another race distance lake swim because I super enjoyed that the week before. Saturday showed up, I was sooooo tired. Like, you know, the kind of tired where your BONES just feel exhausted? That kind of tired. I bailed on the swim and also the weights. It paid off, because I felt fresher for the brick the next day and we rocked a race distance bike (on the road bike, so it took like 4 hours) instead of just the 45 miles planned. We did shorten the run because DAUYUM it was hot at 1pm, but still. Confidence, she has been built.

Every other session that week was super solid if slow. No issues besides both mental and physical fatigue and that’s normal around this time of the training cycle so no worries (yawn).

8/2-8/8 – Still building

• Monday: 1.5k-2k swim, weights
• Tuesday: 1 hour TT bike/3-4 mile run/walk
• Wednesday: 1.5-2k 1.2k swim, weights
• Thursday: off/heat acclimation walk
• Friday: 6 mile run/walk
• Saturday: weights
• Sunday: 45 56 mile bike (TT or road), 4 2 mile run/walk

My stress levels could be summarized by last Sunday: I got up at 6am, did a 4.5 hour workout and then I immediately went to work and didn’t finish until 11pm. Monday was just as long, just not quite as early and I’m not sure I’ve ever been so tired in my life as Monday night. I. was. toast. I took the rest of the week very, very easy, converting every other session to a (40-60+ min) walk but my kept my two most important sessions, the long run and the weekend brick, intact. I just didn’t have the mental capacity to do much else.

The long run was rough and I had to talk myself into it in stages. I slept in and almost skipped it. I got myself out the door, willing myself to go 3 miles. Then I talked myself into 5 after a pit stop. Then I found myself far enough away from the house at 5 that I put together the whole 7, but it wasn’t a run/walk in the park, that’s for sure.

8/9-8/15 – Rest week

• Monday: walk
• Tuesday: walk
• Wednesday: 7 mile run/walk
• Thursday: walk
• Friday: off
• Saturday: 42 mile TT bike, 4 mile run/walk
• Sunday: off

Lest you think I devolved into bad behavior, I did not. I did a decent job getting some rest and relaxation, and didn’t stay up too late or have a multitude of adult beverages because I had more time off. In fact, I had fewer than normal. It was definitely not party time, it was recovery time.

I have tracked my food every day (yay) and have maintained a really solid deficit most days (super yay!). I’ve been icing and using the boots a few days a week. I’m not 100% without pain but my back is handling the training well and I feel nothing like I did six, or even three months ago. I can get up and out to train in the morning, which was one of my greatest fears when I signed up for a fall race. It’s just un-possible to train at any other time in the summer when it’s eleventy-billion degrees after 10am. It’s either run in the morning or don’t run at all. This wasn’t an option when I signed up, I’m glad my hard work has made it one now.

I haven’t been the greatest at stretching or weighing myself – a few times a week for both at most. So, I just need to, like Nike says, do it.

So, what’s next? I’ve got this week, the next week, and the week after until we taper. Holy crap! It feels like forever but also how did it get here so quickly? With three more long workouts, we decided this week that we feel pretty confident on the bike now, but could use some more run miles. So, we’ll do a brick with a longer run this week, something TBD next week, and then our big brick (56 miles on the TT bike, 10k on the run) Labor Day weekend.

It’s all coming together! I just gotta survive August and early September and I’ll make it to my first friggin’ triathlon in 2 years (OMG).

8/16-8/22 – Three weeks to go til TAPER!

• Monday: 1h trainer
• Tuesday: 8 mile run/walk
• Wednesday: 2k swim, weights
• Thursday: 45 min TT bike, 15 min run
• Friday: weights
• Saturday: 1.5h TT bike, 1.5 hour run
• Sunday: off

And, because it’s time to get up at like zero dark thirty, it’s time to roll into bed at 9pm and conk out. Gnite!