by a thread

A few hours ago I showed up at work at the wrong time. Then I came home. Struggled through a workout, then took a shower. Chicken soup is cooking. I am not sure where my brain is. I have an absolute boatload of things to do between now and Tuesday at 4pm. Most importantly I need to ace a Physiology exam at 4pm on Tuesday. Like a big race I am preparing for I am preparing for this exam.

Yesterday I set out do execute my first 1/2 mile repeat workout (running). I selected the flat trail near home that happens to have a perfectly marked 1/2 mile. The diamond sign to the grey post..... perfect 1/2 mile. My high expectations perhaps were a bit too high. Because I did not execute the times I had wanted to execute.

True I have been sick this week. I am fending off some sort of flue quite handily. I am listening to my body. Day one a sore throat. Day two sore throat gone stuffy nose present. No medicine on board.... sleep a plenty. Nutrition spot on. Hydration up to snuff. Resting heart rate normal and feeling relatively good through workouts.

Until the 1/2 mile repeats in which my legs and in turn my brain felt like complete ass.

I felt defeated, disappointed. But between number three and number four I had a 150 second enlightenment. I have never done 1/2 mile repeats. Like all of you I have had the classic "Training Peaks" stock workout: 3:30 at zone 3 repeats...... but never true best sustainable effort 1/2 mile repeats.

So we set the benchmark. I remembered when I ran that first hill and how it felt like death. And how just a few months later I ran that hill 13 seconds faster.

Same thing. We have now set the benchmark. I now have something to shoot for. When I told my husband he looked at me sideways.... "That's not bad!" he said. He was right, they weren't that bad. In fact..... a day later they weren't bad at all.

Next time I will run them better and stronger. The time after that I will improve on that.

Here we go.

It's a fine line we walk when we begin to feel an illness coming on. I am finishing up a very big week, I have a very kind recovery week coming up and I'd like to stay on that track rather than shuffle the whole darn histogram. So I have these parameters to work with:

I may train if and only if:

1. I have no fever
2. My legs feel good.
3. My heart rate is normal in the morning and where it should be during workout.
4. I want to train, and I don't feel pressured to train.
5. My nutrition is stellar.

So every morning this week I ask myself those very questions. And thus Far I have had no fever, my legs have felt good (before my repeats :-), I want to train, I do not feel pressured to train, and my nutrition is spot on.

Tomorrow morning I have four hours on the trainer. I will ask myself the same questions. I will not lie to myself. Pushing this too far will set me back rather than allow me to pull ahead. I will be smart.

It's a very fine line between being smart and being stupid. I have a very good coach, I have a very incredible husband (and not necessarily in that order) and above anything else in this world I have an ability to listen to my body. Plain and simple.

We'll see where that gets me!