Not overreacting

I had a bit of an average training session this morning.

After a bit of a quiet week training wise, letting my body and mind recover a bit, I went to bed last night feeling refreshed and eager to get out and do some paddling training. My friends were planning to do a time trial, about an hours worth, and I thought I would tag along for the adventure. It was going to be a pretty tough session, but I was feeling up for it.

In the end the session didn't go all that well. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't a disaster or anything, it was just a bit slower than I expected. I have just been through some analysis and it probably wasn't as bad as I first thought this morning (maybe 4 or 5% so certainly not a disaster), but it was still a bit slower than I would look for normally.

When these unexpected sessions happen the temptation is to absolutely freak out. What has happened, am I unfit, has my technique suffered, my gear is probably rubbish. The list of over reactions that athletes jump to is long and varied. I must admit a few of these thoughts crossed my mind this morning. However, in these circumstances it is important to take a deep breathe, take a step back and tell yourself to get a grip. "Self, get a grip". Something like that.

Typically when you have these once off bad sessions there is some sort of explanation. It might be pretty simple, or it might not be. There were probably several reasons why my session this morning didn't go to plan, some of which occurred to me when I thought about it a bit more. However, whether or not there is an explanation is sort of irrelevant. The important thing to remind yourself of in these circumstances is that it is just one session. One session in long story of all the training you do doesn't really mean too much and so we have to resist the urge to read too much into it. Sure if the bad sessions begin to form a pattern it is time to dig a bit deeper. But if you under perform for just one session then you need to put that session behind you and move on. Refocus on what is ahead of you and work towards nailing the next session and the one after that.

That is what I will be doing for tomorrow.