A bit more rest

Lazy morning this morning. I was all set to get up and do exercise as planned, but wasn't feeling it and decided to go with the 'lazy recovery week' option.

This kind of sounds like a good excuse to be slack, which it sort of is, but I also spent several hours this morning chatting to people who have come off two weeks of relaxed training post Busso and it reiterates how important this period is. One athlete in particular said something that stood out. He said something like, just before Busso I was pretty over it all, but now after a couple of weeks I am itching to get back to things. This feeling is exactly why we encourage people to have a bit of a break.

The athletes who are about to return to training on Monday are signing up for 16 weeks of training through Perth's Winter. Winter here is hardly that tough, but at the same time it does mean training in the cold and dark, often solo, not heaps of fun for people and it takes quite a bit of personal motivation, which can be just a little bit harder to come by when you are fatigued both physically and mentally.

For me I wouldn't say I am at the 'itching to get back to it" stage, motivation to get up on cold, dark mornings is still a little lacking. Plus, for me my big race is still 22 weeks away, and while that is absolutely heaps of time to get fit the lack of time pressure probably isn't helping my motivation levels. However, for me my bigger concern isn't about fitness levels but skill. I have 22 weeks to improve my technique, skill and strength as much as possible and all those things take time. This knowledge is what makes me want to get back to training sooner rather than later. I am not quite itching to get back to things, but I am not all that far off.