Another Aspect of Training

Have you ever woke up and no matter what you have planned, or how much coffee you're drinking, or how beautiful it is outside, you just can't seem to wake up?!  Whoo, that was me this morning!  I woke up at 5AM this morning ready to get my run in, but my body just didn't want to cooperate.  I woke up, ate breakfast, and even walked Franklin and still could not get my butt moving.  I shamefully went back to bed and woke back up at 7AM so I could get to work on time.  Even then, I basically peeled my eyelids open.  I had convinced myself that I was going to get my run in when I got home from work so I wasn't all that bummed.  (I bet you know where this is going already)

It was a Plain Jane day at school, nothing crazy going on, after school activities were even cancelled so the study hall for football players that I lead was let out early.  It was great to walk out of the building earlier than 4:30 for once!  ...and into high 70 degree temperatures too!  What a great day for a run!  I was tired from the day, but I still believed I could power through once I got home.  As I drove back home though, my fatigue just wore on me.  I walked in the house and took Franklin back out (when Brian's not home, Frank doesn't get his midday walk--poor pup), and then laid down on the couch.  Yeah, I know, not quite as motivating as putting on running shoes and going out the door.  But I did fall so deep asleep that I even had a dream.  

As much as I hate to admit it, recovery is an incredibly important part of training.  Yesterday, I had a killer workout day--a 60 minute ride in the morning, a 2500 m swim in the afternoon, and a 60 minute ride home after the swim.  This was also superseded with two other great days of iron workouts and a busy weekend before that.  On top of that, my job is not fun for me so I'm stressed out most of the time.  Shocking, I know, my body freaks out every once in a while.  So without the occasional rest and recovery day, I won't make it to the start line in Louisville.  I really get annoyed when I miss workouts.  It may be my least favorite thing about training, but I try not to get too upset.  In fact, after I woke up from my nap, instead of trying to force a run on a body that clearly needed rest, I had a little dinner and scraped some paint off our ugly windowsill that is in desperate need of a fresh coat of paint (no, I didn't do ALL of this tonight, Brian did some yesterday, and I worked on it for a while on Sunday).  

I'm going to try to get in my run from today and a short swim tomorrow, but if I still can't do the run, I won't force it.  I am still 23.5 weeks away from the big race!  Overtraining has never been the answer to a good race.