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<\/p>\nIt’s Friday night at 10:50pm.\u00a0 Typically, at this point, I’m tucked into bed dreaming away about Saturday’s adventures.<\/p>\n
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Indirectly representative of my evening instead…<\/em><\/p>\n Right now, I’m on the couch, and I was trying to read, and failing because my mind wouldn’t quiet, and drinking some wine.\u00a0 I had planned to be doing the former, but sometimes you have to save yourself from yourself.<\/p>\n See, I had planned on doing about a 90 minute run tomorrow.\u00a0 Here’s all the reasons:<\/p>\n However, my body and the universe has other plans.\u00a0 I’ve been nursing a cranky knee, which has subsided just in time to give way to a cranky heel.\u00a0 I don’t want to say the PF word, and I’m hoping it’s just that the sandals I live in all summer just need to be replaced or at least varied, but I’m trying to listen to the universe talk instead of waiting for it to shout (and be sidelined for weeks).<\/p>\n I even had an incredibly encouraging run on Wednesday, where the pace for the last mile had an 8 in front.\u00a0 But, to be honest, I pushed through a little heel discomfort to do it.\u00a0 And then it didn’t feel great after.<\/p>\n As an athlete that is self coached, I have to sometimes disengage and talk to myself in two personas.<\/p>\n Me: My heel hurts two days after running.<\/p>\n Coach: Then REST it.<\/p>\n Me: But I need to run.<\/p>\n Coach: Why do you need to run?<\/p>\n Me: Because I feel SO BEHIND and I’m worried I’m not going to train enough for this half coming up that I want to PR.<\/p>\n Coach: Didn’t you say this was your little offseason?<\/p>\n Me: Well, yeah, but a short run shouldn’t make a difference.<\/p>\n Coach: So, you’re going to jeopardize your ability to train well over the winter because you feel like you need to build your base during your offseason while you’re hurt?<\/p>\n Me: ….<\/p>\n And just like that, coach (and the wine) wins.\u00a0 If I had an athlete that had a race three months out and had the same issue, NO EFFING WAY would I say, “well, suck it up, run on that shit, and hope for the best”.\u00a0 It’s so different when it’s yourself because there are all these mental games of why it’s not so bad and why it feels like the cop out not to train.\u00a0 We are strong.\u00a0 We are impervious to bad things.\u00a0 We persevere (even when persevering is not the sane thing to do).<\/p>\n After being at this stuff for long enough, it becomes the new normal.\u00a0 Running when your tired.\u00a0 Biking when your quads are sore.\u00a0 Swimming when you want to do anything but get in that cold pool.\u00a0 Pushing through discomfort and pain.\u00a0 And then, when you make the choice to avoid pain, it’s a lingering question of, “did I make the right decision?”.\u00a0 It’s what we do.<\/p>\n The epitome of a smart triathlete knows when to say when.\u00a0 When to tell the lazy thoughts to go the eff away and get ‘er done.\u00a0 When to succumb to them because they are actually encroaching on burnout.\u00a0 When to push through aching muscles to simulate race conditions and encourage breakthroughs.\u00a0 When to hole up on the couch with wine instead (or better yet, ditch the workout to stretch, foam roll, eat healthy food, and get amazing sleep).\u00a0 The most enlightened among us know the difference or have really good advice from a coach to help discern when we should suck it up, buttercup, or actually effing lay off our crazies and rest.<\/p>\n I’m trying to get there.\u00a0 I’m definitely not there because I had a little heel discomfort on Tuesday, and went ahead and ran hard at our brick on Wednesday, rolling the dice it was just a niggle.\u00a0 But I’m trying.<\/p>\n #mfw I want to run and coach (me) tells me not to run because it’s a stupid idea.<\/em><\/p>\n Here are the things I try to ask myself to keep myself in check:<\/p>\n What am I feeling?\u00a0<\/strong> Is it pain?\u00a0 Is it soreness?\u00a0 Is it residual stress from work?\u00a0 Is it pure laziness?\u00a0 Is it fear?\u00a0 What is currently bothering me, because normally training is fun and feels good.\u00a0 What about this doesn’t feel good?<\/p>\n What do I have to gain from this training session?<\/strong> Is it just “filler”, like an easy run or trainer, like base building?\u00a0 Is it a key session that’s actually really important to my training like a long run\/bike or a speed session?\u00a0 Have I missed a lot of sessions lately?\u00a0 Is it offseason? Is it peak?\u00a0 Is it race week?<\/p>\n Can I reschedule?<\/strong>\u00a0 If it’s a morning run and I’m super tired, can I just run at lunch instead?\u00a0 Can I give myself an unscheduled day off and trade it with another off day I don’t need?\u00a0 Is it a scheduled workout with my team?\u00a0 Is it a Saturday morning long workout I can’t do any other day of the week?<\/p>\n What do I have to risk by starting?<\/strong>\u00a0 If I just feel a little bleh, can I just give it a try and bail if I feel bad?\u00a0 Is it potentially an injury I can train through and make worse later?\u00a0 Will I risk getting sick or being knocked out of training by pushing through?\u00a0 Is it something that if I start, I’ll be unable or unlikely to stop even if it’s not good for me to continue?<\/p>\n As much as sport is a labor of love, we run into periods where don’t feel motivated for various reasons.\u00a0 Maybe we didn’t sleep well and we snooze the alarm instead of hit the pool.\u00a0 Maybe work has been stressful and the last thing we want to do is put on our kit and ride with the team.\u00a0 Maybe our legs are sore from a week of training and the last thing we want to do is go crush a track workout.\u00a0 It. happens. to. everyone.\u00a0 No matter what social media says, everyone has that day where all they want to do is be a normal human and eff all this training noise.<\/p>\n However, by really concentrating on the HONEST answers to the questions above, you can help coach yourself.<\/p>\n Sometimes I’ll find I’m pushing off a session that intimidates me.\u00a0 In that case, I’ll suck it up and commit.<\/p>\n Sometimes I’ll find I’m feeling life stress.\u00a0 That’s a toss up, because stress is stress is stress.\u00a0 If I’m not feeling completely burnt, I’ll start a workout with the out of bailing.\u00a0 Sometimes instead I’ll reschedule or bag it if it’s especially bad and\/or it’s not a critical session and\/or I’m feeling particularly stabby.<\/p>\n Sometimes I’m feeling sore.\u00a0 Pushing through soreness has lead to some big breakthroughs for me.\u00a0 Sometimes it’s a great (albeit miserable) race simulation.\u00a0 Sometimes it’s unnecessary torture.\u00a0 In that case, it really depends on what the workout means to me and how likely I am to reschedule.<\/p>\n Sometimes I’m feeling something I can’t determine is a niggle or the beginnings of an injury (like this week).\u00a0 Wednesday, I pushed through because it was a fairly key workout and might have been just a twinge.\u00a0 I’m still dealing with it two days later.\u00a0 In that case, nothing is worth a flare up that could sideline me for 2-6 weeks.<\/p>\n Don’t want to eff up this day in January….<\/em><\/p>\n At this point, you have to make the plan going forward.\u00a0 For me, here’s what I’ll do (and I may be posting this so I actually commit…)<\/p>\n I’ve been through this one before.\u00a0 It’s much less frustrating than my back being out, since you can’t do jack or pucky with a hurt back.\u00a0 I just have to lay off the running for a little bit (and also replace my shoes).\u00a0 Frustrating, when the weather is perfect for it, but I will live to pound the pavement another day.<\/p>\n Sub-2 plan is not subverted.\u00a0 Just on hold…<\/p>\n\n
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