Yesterday, I went to ride. Forgot my pump, and my tires were stupid-low… so I did an unscheduled 10 mile run instead. That was fine, and for once, I was glad I brought my running shoes.

Today, I went for the second time is a charm for my ride.  Woke up super early, worked for a few hours, and then made it to the route on time in hopes of doing 60 miles before I had to be back working.

I started off.  My power meter battery was dead–not fatal, but it was a race-rehearsal, so that threw me.

I was way-improperly dressed for the ride and the weather (not sure what I was thinking).

The sun coming through the trees was blinding me, and making me see things.

I felt nauseous.

Strangely, too, my bike-fit felt completely wack-a-mole.  I stopped and adjusted my seat and aero bars–Allen wrench and all–three times.

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So I made it two loops (~10 miles)—and bailed.

I haven’t felt this kind of just sheer “quit” in a long time.

I am not sure if I am failing to follow my own discipline versus motivation philosophy.  Or, if I am having a hard time picking myself up and going from recovery to peak week this soon after Augusta after all.

Or if I am losing my mind. Stressed.  [Could be all of the above.]  Anyway. Short post. Toldya.

Now… y’all tell me something good!

14 Responses

  1. I had a half marathon and felt like I had a great race in spite of not getting a PR.

  2. I’m losing my mind too, I registered for IM Chattanooga 70.3 for next May ?, now where’s that link to the race tailored training plans? Lol ????
    And I’m sure you will be awesome in NC, everyone has an off day. You still went and logged ten miles !

  3. I don’t think you’re losing your mind. I did St George this year and then Chattanooga 70.3 three weeks later. The recovery-build-taper was definitely a challenge. You’ve got this. You know what to do. Your body and mind know what to do. The fight is in you, and it takes fight to do races this close together. It’s mentally and physically hard walking the line of training too much/not enough between races. Trust the training and racing experience you have. There is a lot of power in that. Hugs from Colorado!!

  4. Sometimes you just need a random day to play hooky from your workouts. Rest up and get the next one! My happy: I had a great last long brick workout this weekend and now it’s time to taper for Austin 70.3!

  5. M – so many times had I read your race review of IMLOU and finally…FINALLY…I raced it this past weekend. Good swim, great bike, and for some reason, I couldn’t seem to find any energy or motivation for the run. Completely dead. Legs nowhere to be found. Head completely negative and needing some reassurance that never came. Somehow I found both “Just Keep Moving Forward” (thank you!) and “You may run as slow as humanly possible, but you may not walk” (what I tell my six year old when she wants to walk on our mom/kiddo occasional two-milers around home) and they got me through. Somehow I finished. Now I’m reading your reviews IMLP and ready to sign up today. 🙂 You’re the inspiration to so, so many and we are all so thankful for ALL of your days, good and bad. <3

  6. Went for a ride up the Col du Farmington on Saturday and managed a second best (personal) effort on the relevant Strava segment. That was fun.

  7. FWIW… it sounds to me like you are distracted by something you haven’t identified yet. Two days in a row you forgot something and were unprepared. You couldn’t get your aerobars adjusted; weirdly, that sounds like a metaphor to me for something else in your life. What is distracting you? What are you trying to get aligned correctly? Take some time to figure out what your subconscious mind is trying to tell you–and listen to it. (It might be as simple as “get more sleep.”)

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