It's Sunday morning, two weeks after the marathon and I am facing the start of the next build cycle for my training and it's scary as hell. In a way, I'm excited and relieved to be starting in on the really heavy duty training again. What with the pre-taper, the taper and the recovery, it feels as though it's been about six weeks since I was in proper training mode. And you'll recall that I didn't react well to the tapering - body felt like crap, reacted poorly to upsets at work, put on weight (how does that happen when you're training for a marathon, eh?). So I'm looking forward to high serotonin levels and regaining some of that serenity that I miss in my day to day life. (Don't laugh - I can be serene, even if it is an exercise induced chemical serenity.)
But what's scary about March is the schedule. We're starting the build on the bike, which means far longer rides (typically 3-4 hours each Sunday) and two spins a week. I'm trying to figure how I can manage going to track with my running team as well as following my tri team's overall schedule. This would mean three workouts two days a week, which may prove to be just too difficult. I've coped in the past with three workouts on Thursdays, but only if I remember to eat lunch and dinner as well as pretty much constantly snacking in between and when I'm super busy at work, it's not unusual to be heading to the spin workout after work and realise that I hadn't eaten since noon. I can then get through the spin with the aid of sports drinks, but I'm buggered by half way through the swim workout that follows. I'd like to stick with track for as long as I can since I absolutely adore it and the coaches know my running style and issues so well and also because I've grown close to all my fellow runners and really need them to help me through this training.
This week:
Monday - strength training, run
Tuesday - track, spin, swim
Wednesday - strength training
Thursday - track, spin, swim
Friday - rest
Saturday - long run
Sunday - long ride
We'll see what my coaches say. Stay tuned.
On other fronts, the past week has been a difficult one. On Monday, within about an hour or so of each other, I heard about a good friend's wife's potential serious health diagnosis (results this week - everything I have is crossed) and a colleague's death at age 36. The latter hit everyone at work hard and I found myself just really emotionally delicate all week. The team really pulled together though, and at the funeral, I was amazed and gratified to see both the general manager as well as someone from a different department attending. Work has been tough too because the announcement of the elimination of positions (thankfully, all those affected are being offered the chance to apply for other open positions, but I have no doubt that some people may find themselves without a job in a few weeks) and budget hearings with our board where we start to explain publicly the impact of the cuts we've taken and 'take the temperature' of potential additional cuts. But when someone dies, somehow everything else just fades away.
This week also saw a significant first for me - my first mammogram. Woohooo. It hurts as much as everyone says (my technician prided herself on being an expert 'puller' and let me tell you, she's gold medal material), but the whole process was fascinating and I want a copy of one of the scans because, if I say so myself, I looked pretty perky! I also stopped procrastinating on all the other referrals I'd gotten from my doctor and had an EKG which showed that the heart murmur my doctor had heard is in fact 'innocent' and nothing to worry about. Phew.
OK. That's enough for now. I have work to do, as well as a 2 hr spin.
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