Clinton, Mississippi
Fatigue is a reality I've yet to completely comprehend as an endurance athlete. As a scientist, I know the physiological causes and stages of fatigue, both short and long term. As a coach, I understand the cyclical nature of training for performance- challenge, recover, repeat. As an athlete, I experience discomfort, both general and localized. Sometimes the discomfort is painful. I try to listen to my body so I can identify this as a normality of training versus a warning sign of an oncoming injury. Then, I adjust.
The problem is here: distinguishing the difference between discomfort & a real problem, and pinpointing exactly when I need to back off and let my body heal.
The greatest challenge in training is doing so injury free. The athletes who can stay healthy through intense training phases are the ones who will have the best performances on race day. This is why I value the phrase "Train Hard, Recover Harder". Make the most out of your non-workout time so that you can have quality training sessions each time you hit the water or pavement.
This means actively practicing the following:
- eat when you're supposed to
- sleep when you need to
- give the legs a break and sit during downtime (I prefer to stand- it keeps me focused at work. SHAME!)
- stay hydrated
- wear your compression gear (Always Swiftwick socks! serious recoverysocks) http://blog.swiftwick.com/the-secret-to-recovery-swiftwick-compression)
- practice self-massage, & schedule massages when necessary.
- DON'T just do these things when you're not feeling 100% (Guilty. But then again, when's the last time I've felt 100%?!).
Sunday we started our first week back of speedwork. Kyle says this was by far our best speed session. It was pretty aggressive (but manageable) for our first week back.
4x400 hitting 1:25-1:30 goal with SHORT rest intervals
400 recovery
repeat 400 + recovery
4x200 hitting 40-45 goal.
Monday was the usual- masters swim + run. BUT since we do bike intervals & long run on Tuesdays, we decided to move the 90 min. run to Monday to allow recovery time & get the most on the bike. The run was rough from the beginning, but I kept waiting for things to loosen up. After 50 min. I finally came to terms that my body was not going to cooperate so I stopped. MY LOWER LEGS KILLED! Shins, achilles, calves... both landing and pushing off were painful. At the end of the run I was having difficulty balancing on one leg. Spent the evening massaging muscles that have never before bothered me & hoping I hadn't overdone it.
Tuesday- Bike intervals- SPEED! Then short recovery run with our New-B training program. Not good. They were definitely pulling me along!
Wednesday- masters swim. Took the afternoon/evening off & massaged.
Thursday- Swim + short brick (1.5hr + 15min + striders). Legs felt ok (except on striders)- still a bit stiff in the lower muscles but MUCH better than Tuesday... I might be ok on Saturday! Keep massaging.
Friday- masters swim + shorter brick (45min + 15min). Legs better, striders less painful. More massage.
Saturday- RACE DAY! Spent the morning at the Superhero 5K for Terrod Jackson (serving NUUN to thirsty runners), BUSY day at the shop, then left early afternoon for the track meet.
Arrived to Jackson, checked in, then got to work. The warm-up felt more exerting than I thought it should have, but my body was giving me a red flag during our dynamic stretches. Impact was extremely irritating, I was having difficulty toeing off and felt like I was just dragging my legs along. With about 15 minutes to the race start I just sat in the grass massaging my achy legs and hoping they would stop throbbing long enough to get through the race. Kyle gave me a pat on the back and told me to get it together, we're here to race. Conditions were perfect and there were 19 girls running the 5K- COMPETITION. Wimping out was not an option, I was chasing the 20 minute 5K.
20 minutes came and went, but I could have told you it would before the gun went off. The goal pace was 1:34 per 400m, which was realistic, just not today. I hit my times on the first mile, made my passing moves strategically, and felt ok. After that first mile I could feel my body want to stop. I tried to ignore it, but my physical limitations beat out my mental strength. I went into survival mode- just finish and do the best I can today.
21:23- Nowhere near my sub-20 goal. It was a painful finish, both physically and mentally. Emotionally I was disappointed because I feel like my goals and expectations for this race were within reach, and conditions were PERFECT. But physically this was all I had today. Before I could get too discouraged, Kyle reminded me that we don't have GREAT races every time we gear up for competition. The goal is to always work towards getting faster; some days we just don't have it and that's ok, because the big picture is that we are better today than we were last year, month, or even week.
And guess what?!? 21:23- a "BAD" race by my standard- is STILL A 3RD BEST TIME! So I can still blow up terribly and have a pretty solid race. I might not have the number just yet, but the level of improvement over the past year is significant, and that is what we really value. At least until the next open track meet...
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