Week Eight

After last weekend's race I was hit by a wave of tiredness which lasted pretty much until Wednesday and put me in a uncharacteristically grumpy mood. I chugged my way through a swim and hour long run and then came unstuck about 40 mins into a pretty gentle cycle. Admittedly the route was very hilly but I was crawling along at a snails pace and enjoying not feeling quite so grumpy. However mid-hill my legs just gave up and turned instantly to jelly. It felt like I was running on a bouncy castle covered in custard with lead weights strapped to my thighs. Not a pleasant experience. I made it home in a cold sweat and slumped on the sofa, consumed a recovery shake as quickly as possible and followed that with just about everything I could get my hands on. I guess the lesson here is that rest is just as important as sustained effort.

I took Thursday off and then swam for 45mins on Friday morning and kept it smooth and steady. Friday saw me turn the ripe old age of 28 and so to celebrate I lunched on pie, chips and gravy, followed shortly by a huge slab of victoria sponge. Brilliant. I definitely over indulged at Belgo's later that night but stuck to beer and felt I had earnt it considering my strong result at Cirencester last weekend. Feeling hungover and with many wedding chores/family obligations the weekend was a no go for training.

All in all a pretty poor week training wise but it has shown that listening to your body is more important than anything and that there is a noticeable difference between just not being arsed and genuinely needing a rest. It's also shown that my protein recovery drink is bloody amazing, within minutes I feel better. Is that physcological or a genuine outcome? I also feel that the plan I'm following rather unfairly assumes that a sprint distance tri mid way through will be no more strenuous than a extended training session! Ok so I sound like I'm whinging but it is designed to allow OD competitors complete the distance within 12 weeks, not a plan for super fit atheletes looking to romp home on their first attempt!