Down Time

On Monday I wrote about how much I was struggling. Well that struggle hasn't got easier. If my HRV is to be believed then I need to keep an eye on things as my morning reading has been off for a couple of days, indicating reasonably high levels of fatigue. Once again, that is really just telling me what I already know based on what I am feeling, but it is nice to have a number to confirm it. I will certainly be trying to get a good night's sleep and watching that space for improvement, as I really don't want to get sick at this stage.

The high levels of fatigue and generally low levels of go have meant training has been a bit painful for the last couple of days. The ride with Front Runner yesterday was okay as it is a pretty low intensity session and I managed to drag myself through a tough gym session this morning, but the session last night was looking a bit questionable.

In the end for training yesterday I went to the beach with friends. Now I will admit that it doesn't sound like much of a session, but bear with me here.

One of the races I am doing in October involves a lot of racing in and out of surf, so going down the beach and playing in waves is actually a legitimate form of training. On top of that, it is actually a pretty solid session, so it isn't quite as much of a bludge session as it sounds.

On top of all of the above though is that the session was a bunch of fun. With the way I was feeling yesterday afternoon I am not sure I would have had a big tough session in me, I just don't know if I would have had the motivation. However, a session which was a bit of fun and provided a bit of downtime was just what the doctor ordered. It was effective training, but I also came out feeling energised, invigorated and happy. Perfect.

We tend to get fixated on the quality of training, longer, harder, faster etc. However, sometimes every now and then it can be good to put that to one side and just get out there and have a bit of fun.