Week 8 ...A Stressful Week



Jonathan amongst the flags at Kings Park



Concert In Kings Park 24 September 2011



The Narrows Bridge where lots of my training rides start from .
The Swan river on a beautiful day 24 September 2011


Week 8 Begins with last week being a bit of a disaster just in terms of work , stress and injuries and motivation. I am glad I had a rest. I felt a lot better  on Monday despite not swimming for a whole week or cycling much.

Monday morning , I actually made it to swimming .A first after several weeks of sleeping in on a Monday. I managed 2.7km .It was a 200m warm up but I did 300m with another 200 with a 100 free , 50 back and 50 breast .Then 200 with 50 m drills x 2 .
The main set was simply 100m, 200m , 300, 400m,400m,300m, 200m, 100m with a 50m kick and 50m back in the 400m and a medley in the 300 m which I skipped. No PB and the arms were feeling a little tired from the lack of swimming for a week but otherwise it was comfortable.

In the evening , I had a 1.5hr run and managed just over 16km . It was pretty nice with no rain an a light breeze. I ran along the river to Nedlands and then back through the University and Kings Park .

Tuesday Morning : the days are getting warmer and the sun is rising earlier . We can actually see the road before 6am. it was the usual hour of power and I rode with Michelle and Rod . One of the guys in another group joined us in the 2nd lap .

It was hard but I hung in there .The legs were a little tired from last night. Unfortunately with a very stressful week at work I wasn't looking forward to the training . At run training with Brad in the evening I got an early start and did my warm up and we then did some drills for a further 4 laps before the main set which was 4 x 1 km at "I "pace and active recovery ie. running at a slower pace for the same I pace period with a 1 minute plank as well. Did all my Ï"pace runs at below the pace and it felt a lot better than last week. Did exactly 10km of running.

The rest of the week was extremely busy at work and I was exhausted at the end of the day.I ran fairly late on Wednesday night starting at 6pm and did just an hour run. I had a big rest day on Thursday again as I was just feeling too tired mentally.

By Friday I was feeling better and ran 9.5 km and swam in the evening. Ross was back and we did an easy 2.3km swim with a warm up of 300 m drills with flippers for another 600m and then the main set was 200m x 5 with two 50m at fast pace and a 100 cruise. The followed bu a cool down. Friday turned out to be quite relaxing after a busy work week.






On Saturday , I managed to get out of bed and started my long ride at 5.30am . Got to the Narrows and saw Jason and Jaimie who were riding the Freeway. I continued down the Freeway cycle path and Jason caught up with me at Mt Henry bridge and I followed him till they stopped before Murdoch to wait for Jaimie. I turned off at Roe Highway and headed for Welshpool Road . Been a few months since I rode this route. It was slow but my legs felt pretty good till the end when it did begin to tire. I was still pretty slow on the climbs but I managed to pace myself and not get the legs burning on the climbs. There were 2 occasions when at the end as I passed cars on side roads where they were just oblivious to my presence and I was just careful in case they proceeded out as I passed them.They were just not looking out for cyclist .I could tell as they were just looking past me. On Mundaring Road I passed some cyclist including I presume someone from Exceed as they shouted out my name. there were lots of friendly cyclist about today ...everyone waved back as i passed and said hallo.
Did 125 km in just under 5 hours which was painfully slow but I felt good and ran at just under 5.30 pace. Legs were holding up well .

The afternoon was spent enjoying the best Perth weather for a very long time . Took Jonathan to his Sunday school picnic at Kings Park .

Taking It Easy

I am getting old . I feel it in my bones especially in the morning. I have for the past few weeks struggled with the discipline of getting up early and training and working and then training again in the evening .

Something has to give. I am tired and I think suffering from over training .

My fall last Thursday in the wet did not help .The heavy work load this week has not helped . Family commitments and all the usual family responsibilities has made me re assess my training. I have had to pare back some of the sessions. When I had a long day in the office , I have just had to skip sessions. i feel guilty but I don't think it is worth an injury or getting sick.

The weather has not helped .All the riding in the rain and training through winter has made me tired.

I lie in bed and wonder why I am putting myself through this. At times I am just too tired to want to get out of bed. It is better to lie there and just feel comfortable.

As a result I have put on 2 kg and now have to try and get the weight back down. I do know all that I feel is a reflection of where I am mentally more so than physically. It unfortunately has its desired impact. I am exhausted with work and training .

It is hard ....not to be putting the desired hours in but unfortunately work takes precedence. It isn't fun if it becomes a chore and taking it easy is the hardest lesson to learn. I am struggling to learn it.

There are clues in training . There is logic and science in divining what works .The problem not everyone can work it out and I certainly struggle. But as in Brett Sutton's piece Looking For Clues...there are some nuggets of wisdom. Similarly not all sessions need to be done at hard pace. there is some benefit in easy and there is some benefit in an easy week.(Easy Explained by Emma Bishop)

This week i learnt lots about my own body clock and indirectly about the impact of workers on night rosters and the effect that can have on the body. Hence the highest risk of accidents on the road is between 1 am and 6am when despite being quite alert on finishing work , where the individual is active and busy and in a light environment, once in a vehicle with darkness and no distractions it is possible for a person to dose and the consequences can be devastating.

The other fatigue is just being dead tired. You can gain a sleep deficit but you cannot build a sleep bank. I recall my tragic forays into training in my first year and falling asleep on a bike mid training. Fortunately the consequences were not disastrous. Just bruising , a broken helmet and a slightly dented aluminium bike.

I think if I am going to remain for the long haul , a few lie ins's once in a while won't hurt .