Slogging

Oh boy, swimming hurt today. And I mean hurt. It hurt in that special way that only a tough training sessions can, that low level persistent miserable fatigue and ache that spreads through the body as the session progresses. Ouchy.

There is no great mystery why swimming hurt today.

Point 1: I haven't swum for a couple of weeks, giving myself a little break after the Busselton Jetty Swim.
Point 2: I did a particularly tough threshold paddling session yesterday morning
Point 3: I have just returned to strength training and it is hurting with a vengeance.

As I said, no great mystery.

The upshot of the swimming hurting today was that the session was a bit of a slog. There was nothing pretty about it, it was simply a case of gritting the teeth and getting to the end. Work through the discomfort, try and keep the form together and get to the cool down.

The thing is though that that is okay. Not every session can be poetry in motion, in fact most of them aren't. Lots of sessions aren't glorious, inspiring or even particularly fun. Sometimes training is simply a slog. A battle between fatigue and the little voice in your head that says 'keep going'. In fact I would say that these hard sessions, the ones that are a slog, these are the ones that successful athletes are built on. Anyone can train when they are feeling good, it is those that get the session done when they are tired and struggling, that get it done even if it isn't pretty, those that persevere even when the going is tough, those are the athletes that achieve their goals.

Plus the nice thing about sessions that are a slog is that you know that with time it will get better. If you work through those hard ones then you know there will be good sessions and good races around the corner.