An Ode to a Rest Week

You know that point in your training where you have been working out for 4 weeks straight, no rest days, your legs refuse to cooperate, your HR monitor has rubbed you raw, you can no longer sleep, one eye is twitching, and you are having homicidal tendencies towards your coach?

That was Wednesday.

Thursday morning I woke up to an email from Mary giving me the day off. I think she got the point of my ever-increasing desperate emails: "I don't know if I will be able to make it through this week." "I am dying." "I just had to worst run of my life." "Please murder me."

Friday was easy as well.

Saturday and Sunday were not. They were my final 2 big workouts before Ironman Wisconsin. I did them, and they went well, but it was not easy.

Honestly, I'm surprised I made it through. The final push is the W-O-R-S-T.

I am now on a rest week, with 1/2 week of build and then some not-too-extreme tapering to sharpen up before my last (and biggest!) race of the season.

I just want to give a shout out to the rest week!

Unlike most type-A crazy triathletes, I LOVE rest weeks. I like doing other things, getting a chance to screw around and be lazy, to curl up on my couch with a book, to go out to dinner, to actually do something during the day on a Saturday, to be able to run errands.

Plus, I am 100% sure I would have gone insane if I didn't have today off. Like, lock me up in a padded room wearing a straitjacket while I rock back and forth babbling to myself, INSANE.

I really, really, really, really don't want that to happen.

tailwind love

Apparently I started this post on Monday and forgot to finish it, so I will post it now!

I had a really crazy weekend. 17.28 hours in the books last week. Feeling strong! Also feeling very tired. I am in my last week of this build and then I get a rest week.

I got in a really solid 5 hour ride on Sunday. I rode from Coach Mary's house at 8 am with Mary, Kim, Greg, and Karin (who was riding 3 hours). We had a little pace line going for a while but then Mary and Greg broke off ahead, Karin turned around, so Kim and I were riding together and I stayed with her MUCH better than during last weekend's ride. She's still way faster than me but I could see her most of the time.

I also maintained a good attitude despite pretty heavy winds on the way out. That lead to some really fantastic tailwinds on the way home that we just CRUISED with. I really don't think there is anything better in life than a tailwind. Maybe chocolate..

Attitude really does determine everything. On Saturday I got up early, and forced myself to be excited to run for 1:45. Not dreading it. Not just getting it done. Being happy to do it. Because it is a privilege to be able to run for that long. It is also a privilege to get to race. What is the point in doing any of this if I'm just going to whine that my legs are tired or that my crotch hurts. I should be happy that my legs move and have the strength to run for 13 miles, to pedal a bike for 5 hours, and that I have the time available to me to do these types of things without feeling guilty.

I ran for 2 hours and it was grand!

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Pt. 1 comes out on DVD tomorrow. You can bet your ass I will be in Target buying that shit at 3:30 pm - the minute I can get there after work!

On tap for this weekend: 5 hour ride (solo & in the rain) on Saturday and (!!!!!!) 19 mile run on Sunday. I have a wonderful friend who is going to pace me for the 2nd half of this run. I have only run this far three times in my life - one 20 mile training run pre-marathon, the Philadelphia Marathon, and Ironman Lake Placid. It will be nice to have her company and the motivation because I know she will keep me running!

Looking forward to my rest week and going to my parents' house for Easter weekend!