Triathletes are famous for having A-type personalities. I do not place myself in that category, but that doesn't mean I am invulnerable to its pitfalls. This week I stepped in it.
The recent pair of so-called Kona Low rain storms has kept me off of the roads and out of the ocean. Not entirely. I did get in a couple of road runs and one decent bike ride, but that was it. Much more indoor running and riding than I am accustomed to, and no swimming.
It is widely accepted that riding indoors is more stressful than riding outside. A typical outdoor ride includes a lot of variation. Stop lights, for sure, but also small changes in road conditions and wind gusts break up the monotony, not to mention the glory of cornering and breaking.
My training week ends on Sunday, but here I am going to make the point that it began on Sunday. This was a cut-back week, so Sunday’s ride was an eight mile time trial, the goal being to get comfortable sustaining a hard effort, what cyclists called turning a big gear. I always do this on Ford Island, where I can go non-stop for as long as I want (or can). (If can, can. If no can, no can) The rain nixed that, so instead I did a TrainingPeaks Virtual Sweet Spot ride. They schedule by time, so I flipped a coin and chose the thirty minute version, which as luck would have it came in at seven and a half miles. After that I was pretty tired. Full body glowing soreness. The biggest challenge for me on that ride was staying down in aero position, as I have been doing long rides on the road bike. Long before it ended my shoulders were throbbing.
Monday is my rest day, and I sure needed it. My shoulders were so sore that I had trouble sleeping. I avoid taking NSAIDs (e.g. Advil) because they depress the tissue repair process, thus throwing away the sought after muscle growth. But a bad night’s sleep is bad for recovery. At times like this, a better night's sleep wins.
My training plan has introduced low intensity, long duration activity for the latter part of the week. Last week I got in a one hour swim on Wednesday, before the flooding really took off. I was supposed to do a ninety minute swim on Thursday but the storm nixed that. The Friday ninety minute run morphed into a forty-five minute run on the treadmill. (I really do not like running indoors!) This week had a 90 minute run on Wednesday, a strength and mobility session on Thursday, and a ninety minute swim on Friday.
It was after the Wednesday morning long run that I noticed I was dragging myself around the office. I felt tired, all over. No sharp pain (except for my left big goes but that’s another story). I justified my condition by telling myself that this is the endurance part of racing. It’s why we call running marathons and doing long course triathlons endurance sports. To be successful you have to endure, so how I felt could be taken as race practice.
Yep, I talked myself into believing that a heavy load of fatigue was a good thing. Actually, it’s not. Fatigue brings with it at least four potential negative consequences.
Poor execution of following workouts, and possibly skipped sessions.
A reduced physiological response to subsequent workouts - the body can’t absorb any more.
An acute injury caused by abnormal movements.
Illness caused by the compromise of the immune system
I am posting this on Friday, after finishing a forty-five minute recovery ride on the smart trainer, a substitute for the ninety minute swim due to brown water. I struggled, not because of tired legs, but stiff and sore shoulders. The sudden increase in TT bike work caused by the rain has left its mark. It was not until I was thirty minutes into the season that I could hold aero position with something resembling comfort. At least our house wasn’t flooded.