Week 22

A reduced week of work leading up to The Boskman on Sunday.  Total SBR 6.5hrs with as much stretching as possible, some core, probably no weights.

Tuesday - Swim 3400m, Run 60min Z2 with 5x1min sprint

Wednesday - transition session Bike 45min to Run 30min

Thursday - Swim 30min easy in the wet suit, Bike 60min with 5x1min sprint

Friday - Run 40min Z1 with 5x1min sprint (after sleeping in, I've taken the day off work!)

Saturday - Bike 15min easy, Run easy 20min (both on the race course transition area to familiarize myself)

Sunday - RACE! Swim 2.6km/ Bike 120km/ Run 22km

Nervous?  Of course.  Going head-to-head with Alan for the second time since training began, and the competitive spirit is heating up.  I took the first race, but Alan has stepped it up since then and won't accept the same result this time.

Excited, stoked, can't wait?  You better believe it.

Physically and mentally the week has not started great.  Physically, my legs have been heavy both Tuesday and this morning.  The long weekend, 171km/ 106mi over Sat and Sun, has had a longer lasting effect than I thought.  I need to do a better job of recovery and by recovery, I mean not going out straight after sessions rather sitting on the couch or in bed allowing my body to cope.  Let's hope tomorrow's easy swim and subsequent bike go smoother for my muscles.

Mentally, it's mostly diet-related.  With the pick-up in training and in response to conversations with Freddy and books I've been reading, I've tried to listen to my body (within in reason) rather than targeting a specific calorie intake.  However, my brain seems to be playing tricks and I overate on Sunday and again on Monday.  This has led to feelings of being unfit and questioning my discipline on the dietary front.  This second guessing spreads to other areas: both Tue and Wed mornings, I spent 10-15min debating if I should get out of bed for the morning sessions, 'How can I rearrange the sessions to sleep-in?  I should sleep more, need to make sure I'm rested for Sunday.  But, there's no efficient way to re-arrange the sessions, let's just get up and do it now.  Ok, but you've been reading that you should listen to your body and right now it's saying sleep in.'  Well both days I got up and did the sessions, but maybe the mental reluctance then led to the heavy legs mentioned previously.  And all of it leads to questions of whether I'm fully fit and prepared.

Stay focused, re-group, deep breath, remember the previous 21.5 weeks of sweat and be confident through the next 8.5.