With Joe away on vacation, I was on my own for paddling Tuesday morning, and I was very tempted to skip it. My body was still not recovered from Sunday's sufferfest, and getting myself to do much of anything other than lounge around and stare into space was a challenge.
My motivation for training activities seemed to have hit rock bottom at that moment. Having spent two hours withering in the heat on Sunday, immersing myself in it again was the last thing I felt like doing. I love to train and race, but I can do without the survival aspect of the sport.
In the end, I willed myself into the boat for an easy 40-minute paddle. I felt better after paddling than I'd felt before, and that's not unusual on such a day: I think there's a physical benefit when I get some blood flowing in fatigued muscles, and a psychological one when I make myself go out and do even the tiniest something when it would be so very easy to blow it off.
I did a round of the strength routine Wednesday morning. It was my first time doing strength work since the previous Thursday, and I think that break did me some good. I felt stronger and more energized as I did the exercises, especially the pullups.
By yesterday I was definitely feeling back to normal, more or less. With no racing scheduled for a few weeks, I got in the boat intending to do whatever I felt like, and nothing more. I paddled at a solid pace for 50 minutes.
I did another round of the strength routine today. It looks like we have another hot weekend ahead. Those dog days are persistent some years.
For more information on what this blog is about, click here.
No comments:
Post a Comment