Whelp, I wondered when I'd hit it and finally it happened. I hit the wall this week., in fact today after my 2 hour and 15 minute run. (Note that it happened after which I find relieving/entertaining) I came home after my run and I just felt so exhausted, I cried. All I could keep thinking was, 'I'm so tired.' Matthew was encouraging and reminded me that I'm done with the heavy training, and that the next two weeks leading up to race day are my taper, so my body will have time to rest but, when faced with the wall, rational thoughts couldn't undo the emotions I felt.
This weekend was extremely exhausting. Not only did I have three major training sessions, I also had a (super fun) packed weekend and I just didn't have anything left in me. I spent the rest of the day in a bit of a haze but am actually feeling relieved. I kept wondering when I'd hit a wall in my training. I almost wanted it to come so I could practice pushing through it because it may very well happen on race day. I knew I was feeling fatigued on my run but I finished it anyway, and the fact that I hit my wall when it was over actually gave me a huge confidence boost. I can stay focused and not let my emotions get to me until it's over and that's exactly what I'll need to do on race day.
This week was weird for other reasons too. Namely, I was sick for the first half of it. But it's over now and I get to allow my body to recharge a bit before New Orleans and I am really looking forward to that! Here's how my week ended up:
Monday: Rest/Slide Day
I officially felt sick. So sick in fact, I stayed home from work. I spent my time resting in hopes to kick this sickness fast and only miss one workout.
Tuesday: Run 60 mins, Swim 60 mins
I still felt sick so this definitely didn't happen. In the evening I did mess around with the Gopro to figure out how exactly it worked and I ended up taking 100 photos of a variation of this photo below lol.
This weekend was extremely exhausting. Not only did I have three major training sessions, I also had a (super fun) packed weekend and I just didn't have anything left in me. I spent the rest of the day in a bit of a haze but am actually feeling relieved. I kept wondering when I'd hit a wall in my training. I almost wanted it to come so I could practice pushing through it because it may very well happen on race day. I knew I was feeling fatigued on my run but I finished it anyway, and the fact that I hit my wall when it was over actually gave me a huge confidence boost. I can stay focused and not let my emotions get to me until it's over and that's exactly what I'll need to do on race day.
This week was weird for other reasons too. Namely, I was sick for the first half of it. But it's over now and I get to allow my body to recharge a bit before New Orleans and I am really looking forward to that! Here's how my week ended up:
Monday: Rest/Slide Day
I officially felt sick. So sick in fact, I stayed home from work. I spent my time resting in hopes to kick this sickness fast and only miss one workout.
Tuesday: Run 60 mins, Swim 60 mins
I still felt sick so this definitely didn't happen. In the evening I did mess around with the Gopro to figure out how exactly it worked and I ended up taking 100 photos of a variation of this photo below lol.
Wednesday: Bike 45 mins, quick change Run 15 mins
I was starting to feel better but still not 100% so I chose to not workout again in hopes to be fully recovered Thursday.
Thursday: Bike 60 mins, Swim 60 mins
I actually felt like I took a few steps back and was feeling slightly worse than on Wednesday but mentally, I couldn't take off any more days. I decided to do Wednesday's workout here and then went to the pool to do an easy swim. I only clocked in 30 mins at the pool, but I practiced some open water strategies, including not pushing against the wall and stopping and turning around without any wall assistance. No photos, just focused on getting the workouts completed.
Friday: Rest/Slide Day
I couldn't stand the idea of taking the day off after missing two workouts so I chose to do Thursday's bike ride. I'm really enjoying the new training room Matthew set up for us!
I was starting to feel better but still not 100% so I chose to not workout again in hopes to be fully recovered Thursday.
Thursday: Bike 60 mins, Swim 60 mins
I actually felt like I took a few steps back and was feeling slightly worse than on Wednesday but mentally, I couldn't take off any more days. I decided to do Wednesday's workout here and then went to the pool to do an easy swim. I only clocked in 30 mins at the pool, but I practiced some open water strategies, including not pushing against the wall and stopping and turning around without any wall assistance. No photos, just focused on getting the workouts completed.
Friday: Rest/Slide Day
I couldn't stand the idea of taking the day off after missing two workouts so I chose to do Thursday's bike ride. I'm really enjoying the new training room Matthew set up for us!
Saturday: Bike 3:15 quick change, Run 15 mins
I was determined to get in an open water swim this weekend and asked some of my fellow DA ambassadors if they would be up for it on Sunday. One of them, who is affiliated with DFW Tri Club, invited me to come to their open water swim on Saturday morning. I have to admit, I was feeling pretty nervous about swimming in cold water with my wetsuit. I've only worn it a couple of times and wouldn't call it comfortable. But thankfully, the water wasn't too bad and I really valued the instruction/coaching I was given by DFW Tri. I'd never swam with a large group of people and didn't know how to draft so it was awesome learning. I wouldn't say I felt confident in the water, in fact, I felt pretty tired after only swimming half the 70.3 swim distance but I chalked it up to still recovering from my sickness and feeling increased resistance while wearing the wetsuit. (my left shoulder hurt so bad the rest of the day)
The bike ride was great! My dad joined me again and we bumped up the effort level a bit. The day was beautiful, I was feeling comfortable, it just couldn't have been a better ride.
I was determined to get in an open water swim this weekend and asked some of my fellow DA ambassadors if they would be up for it on Sunday. One of them, who is affiliated with DFW Tri Club, invited me to come to their open water swim on Saturday morning. I have to admit, I was feeling pretty nervous about swimming in cold water with my wetsuit. I've only worn it a couple of times and wouldn't call it comfortable. But thankfully, the water wasn't too bad and I really valued the instruction/coaching I was given by DFW Tri. I'd never swam with a large group of people and didn't know how to draft so it was awesome learning. I wouldn't say I felt confident in the water, in fact, I felt pretty tired after only swimming half the 70.3 swim distance but I chalked it up to still recovering from my sickness and feeling increased resistance while wearing the wetsuit. (my left shoulder hurt so bad the rest of the day)
The bike ride was great! My dad joined me again and we bumped up the effort level a bit. The day was beautiful, I was feeling comfortable, it just couldn't have been a better ride.
After the run, I hurried back home to wash up and then meet up with some friends of ours to go to the Fort Worth Japanese Gardens and out for dinner. We couldn't have enjoyed the gorgeous weather more!
Sunday: Bike 30 mins (easy), Run 2:15
My muscles were feeling pretty sore/fatigued in the morning but felt better as I moved around a bit. I could tell my energy level had not replenished itself but I didn't have much of a choice. I did my bike first (thankfully!) and then went off for my run. It was fairly uneventful, just felt long. My legs felt heavy nearly the whole time but I just kept putting one in front of the other. You'll see no smiley face photo here just a snap shot of my awesome Coeur tri shorts that have saved me from some serious saddle pain these past couple weeks.
My muscles were feeling pretty sore/fatigued in the morning but felt better as I moved around a bit. I could tell my energy level had not replenished itself but I didn't have much of a choice. I did my bike first (thankfully!) and then went off for my run. It was fairly uneventful, just felt long. My legs felt heavy nearly the whole time but I just kept putting one in front of the other. You'll see no smiley face photo here just a snap shot of my awesome Coeur tri shorts that have saved me from some serious saddle pain these past couple weeks.
Now, I get to enjoy my rest day tomorrow and look forward to feeling stronger and more energized over the next 13 days :)
Totals:
Swim: 1:00
Bike: 5:30
Run: 2:45
Total: 9:15 (not too bad for being sick 3 days out of the week!)
Totals:
Swim: 1:00
Bike: 5:30
Run: 2:45
Total: 9:15 (not too bad for being sick 3 days out of the week!)