Hard at recovery

Kelly thinks my swim is off on vacation with her swim. That's good. Maybe when it comes back, my swim will have learned something from hers.

What I've learned in the last couple days is that I needed a rest. I had been wondering why my swim fell apart after doing so well a few weeks ago, and yet the bike and the run were doing well. I am assured that you can't be overtrained in one discipline and not in the others. But some of what I'm feeling is a bit like being over trained, or at least tending in that direction.

I came up with this. I've been doing really well the last little while. The extra time working out has paid off in better performance. However, our bodies aren't machines. I've been pushing mine pretty hard the last bunch of weeks. I suspect the swim fell apart because my shoulders are sore and tired, so my stroke efficiency and power is off, and that shows up instantly in swim speed. Or the lack thereof. If you think about it, your swimming muscles are not as big as your running and riding muscles. No wonder they're the first to go.

Even so, my legs were feeling kind of achey. It's hard to describe. Normally I love getting out on my bike, but the thought of doing hill repeats, or even just riding on Tuesday made me go ick. So I spent a bit of time exploring why. It didn't take long to find out I just needed to do something else for a little bit. So I've been puttering about the house dealing with some odds and ends that have needed doing for a while. As always, there is no shortage of those.

I feel no guilt. We all know and accept that if we do our workouts we get stronger, faster, able to leap transitions in a single bound. But the rest is important too, and that's harder in some ways. Part of it is the thought that if you are 'resting' you're being lazy. And part is if you overdo the rest, you turn into a slug.

The mental aspect is so important trying to figured out if you're just normally tired and that the right thing to do is get your ass out there again. Or if it's more than that, and give yourself a break. Fortunately, I'm not trying for a Kona spot, or trying for a podium finish, or anything where workout choice could be critical. In the last couple days, I just remembered that this whole thing is supposed to be something I enjoy doing, something that adds to my enjoyment of life.