Modification

After my last post I had several friends remind me that I need to be taking care of myself. I've started to look at my schedule and my training a little bit differently. Something that I've heard several times since I started triathlon is that amateurs (such as myself) tend to go too hard on our easy workouts, and too easy on our hard workouts. This contributes to both lack of training (I'm not pushing myself to my full potential during interval workouts, tempo runs... therefore not maximizing my training) and overtraining (never allowing full recovery from those harder workouts).

This week, after my hill run on Monday (ie: key workout), I took it very easy in spin class on Tuesday, never allowing my HR over about 130 and I took Wednesday off completely except for a 45 minute walk on my lunch break. On Thursday and Friday I had two easy runs and a 1 1/2 hour bike ride with some tempo intervals (... me trying to keep pace with the pack).

As far as my work schedule goes, I've already started to reap some of the financial benefits as I was able to book our tickets to Boston. And this weekend I should be able to book our airline tickets to Monterey. I don't have to stress about taking those 10 days off because I know I'll make enough to pay the mortgage and bills that month. I've decided that when I work at my primary job, I am going to go for a walk during my lunch hour which will be a nice mental break. When I stay in my office I generally don't get a lunch break because there are constant interruptions. By taking this hour break, I get to mentally detune instead of waiting until 6 pm when I'm rushing home, frazzled, trying to get dinner on, laundry done, dishes washed, etc etc etc.

So by employing mental health breaks in my work day, and focusing on training hard in my key workouts and easy in my non-key workouts, I am hoping to create a more positive mental and physical environment for myself. I'm already in a much better mood than I was a week ago. I am still sleeping like a rock, but now I'm back to waking up about 15 minutes before my alarm goes off which tells me that I'm more rested. Even though my legs still feel leaden, I am looking forward to my long run tomorrow (key workout!). And on Sunday, I'm going to do a nice easy brick ride/ run and an easy straight swim of 2000 m. I'm terrified that I'm not going to be able to perform to my standard in Boston, but I'm not willing to give up on my goals just yet.