Life feels so busy lately! I’ve been stretched thin this week, which I try not to complain about because it’s really in the best way, but I haven’t stopped moving since I got back from Poland. Lots of juggling with responsibilities and life while celebrating friends, logging miles, and easing back into school (we’re in kindergarten now!)/routine after back to back trips.
In the baby bird weeks of recovery where I still couldn’t make eye contact with other humans, I outlined a Jeremy Bentham chart in a spiral notebook dissecting the merits of being strung out vs staying clean and I really had such surface level expectations for what life would look like. Being in recovery is neat because it really grounds your perspective if you can just pause enough to replay that tape. Now it feels like there’s never enough time to do all of the things.
But we do the best we can with what we’ve got (my favorite loose definition of humility) and I was pretty proud of my efforts this week.
What went well?
-WE ARE SWIMMING CONSISTENTLY! AND finally had a great swim session, thanks to Brittney and her whiteboard workout. Swimming the same pace is so boring, so having someone else there for a push made all the difference. I will definitely be incorporating varying speeds and intensities moving forward in my plan.
-I finally hit 20 miles on foot! This was a goal, after a few weeks under that benchmark. Getting more comfortable each week honoring our jack of all trades/master of none era.
-The bike has just felt like home lately. Different routes, more cycling friends, gains in fitness and outside being bearable after 9 a.m – lots to love this week for sure. Finally getting comfortable pushing some pace and feeling like I’m shifting more intentionally. A friend also loaned his extra bike computer so I’m seeing my cadence (not as bad as I thought!) now which gives me another element of data to obsess over (we love it here). I also tested out the 360 cam which has been a treat even though the last thing I have in the world at the moment is extra time to thoughtfully dissect the footage (it takes forever).
-Started tracking my macros again – this has been super messy because I’m in that limbo period where I’m trying to figure out how to train with a wee deficit but not have it completely derail all of my efforts. I failed miserably this week, evidenced by the saddest long run in weeks. Hopefully I can dial it in the next few weeks or I’ll reach back out to Black Iron for help
Was I resentful, fearful, or overly self-critical during training?
-Yes, my long run was awful. I had such garbage negative self-talk the whole time. I remember trying to justify struggling to my running companions, all of whom are good friends and have been in my shoes, so I’m not sure why it prompted a whole ass existential crisis. It was strange to reflect on how embarrassed I was, like my worth was tied to how well I can execute a workout.
-Struggled with food. Coupled with the fact that I’ve barely had time to strength train, I got in my head about aesthetics big time. Grateful that Alta wraps up after this week so I can shift focus to 70.3 training, add in some more hypertrophy, and finally settle into a routine. Lately it feels like I’m just throwing spaghetti at the wall with all these piecemealed goals.
Where did I find joy?
-All of the animals I saw this week! We spotted a spotted pig with a happy wagging tail on our long ride, along with a few cows guarding a sinkhole mid route (v. Florida). The next day I went back to Lake County for a run around Sugarloaf where I had a whole moment with an old soul Donkey who looked into my eyes like he knew me forever. After letting me boop his crinkly little nose, he led me to his cow friends, looking quite majestic in their post-sunrise glow.
-Post long ride pool dips! Also, specialty beverage treats after almost every training session
-Feeling really strong towards the end of the week on the bike.
-Just lots of great community, on and off the roads this week. I don’t take for granted how lucky I am to have such a solid network of humans in my life. I think I only did one workout solo this week.
Off to Alta for Cirque Series later this week, so we’ll give my body (kind of) a bit of a deload – which I think it is really craving. Happy Training!
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