commute 3/19/08

Greetings Readers!
 
Boy us athletes are an anal bunch aren’t we? :)  Yesterday I was all panicked over missing an opportunity to ride, and it was only Tuesday! Having got back on the bike this morning all is right with the world again. :)  I only missed two days off the bike, but for some reason I had my days mixed up in my head and thought I had gone 3 days without riding.
Sheesh, what a stress case! Would 3 days off of the bike have been so bad? Would it have hurt me? Nope. In fact, it would probably give me some much needed time to recover. This is one of the things Joel Friel talks about in his book. “Do you feel like your competition is riding more than you are?” is one of the questions Joel likes the self trained cyclist to ask themselves. “Do you feel anxious when you miss a workout?” or, “Do you feel the constant need to train and intensify your workouts even though you feel fatigued and burnt out?” Ahh, thanks Joel, I answer yes to all three of those questions.

Keeping my mindset on training and “coaching” my body is so difficult because the emotional side of training subscribes to the “more is better” approach. I have to objectively try to listen to the self coach within myself and let it make the decisions. I have made this mistake already in 2004, I was burnt out and declining rapidly by Sept, having pushed myself too hard all summer with little regard to recovery.
The truth is I was stressing over missing a ride yesterday, when it was probably the best case scenario for my body to get another nights sleep and recovery. I had no lead (fatigue) in the legs this morning on my commute in to work. That’s not to say I wasn’t tired, but the legs felt good, there’s a difference.
 
For those of you that related to my post yesterday, (and you know who you are) and if you’re stressing over missing a workout, chill, let it go….. :) Who knows? You may even feel stronger having had an extra day to recover!

Disclaimer: this doesn’t mean that you should skip workouts, remember commandment #2 of training? Consistency! Us “Da Fodder” cyclists who are comprising the field at local CX events all over the country need all the help we can get!
It does mean missing a workout will happen, and when it does? No worries, don’t stress, and your body gets and “extra” recovery day. Embrace it!
 
Cheers!

Miles ridden today, 21

Miles ridden 2008, 788