Friday, August 1, 2008

Knowing when to say when...

I realized yesterday that my training this week was leaving me pretty sore, the hard swims and my track work out and my biking had kicked up a notch, so I was thinking ahead to next week and realized that if I kept up training at that pace, I would run the risk of being sore for the Boulder Long Course.

Before I hired Amanda on as my coach, I would do my own thing, just train whenever, I sort of followed a plan and made sure I got mileage in, but the one thing I always made sure of, was that I got plenty of rest. I posted on here a while back that I do really really well with a decent taper, usually 10 days. I don't mean that I back off all intensity or all distance, just not as long hours each day.

When I saw my training for this weekend which was initially 3 hours today, 5 tomorrow and 3 on Sunday, I got a little nervous because it included intervals, hills and distance. I'm not sure if i'm still tired from Vineman or what. This is the first time I have ever raced two half Ironmans three weeks apart. I know the pro's do it all the time...but ya know what, i'm not a pro =0....and my knees remind me of that occasionally, like today.

I talked to Amanda yesterday and I just love this about her, she knew immediately that I was worried and we rearranged my schedule, just to get the "distance" in and back off the intensity a little bit. Then, I can do a little more intensity next week, but i'm trying to give my legs time to not be as sore. For some reason they took a beating this week. I felt so much better after talking to her because I .....hate skipping anything on my training calendar, but that's why I pay her, for when something comes up, she can help me figure out what my plan of action can be. It's really an investment to me, to have Amanda as such a great resource. I respect and appreciate her knowledge, but she also has my best interest at heart and she's always supportive and really listens. I think because over the last year and a half, i've proven myself to be a hard worker, that on the rarest of occasions when I tell her that I need to back off, she trusts that i'm really truly being honest.....as opposed to trying to get out of training!

So. Today I ventured into the unknown. Desperate to heal my legs a bit, I bought ice. 47 pounds of it. If ice is good enough for Bree Wee, it's good enough for me. Little did I know that 47 pounds is a bit ambitious, I think I was supposed to do something like 15-20 pounds. Whatever, I was none-the-wiser.

Poured all 47 pounds in my bath tub and ran the water. Stared at it for a minute. Stuck a foot in and seriously, it reminded me instantly of the Big Kahuna swim, my foot was numb almost immediately. (a little dramatics always make for a good story right?).

I tried kneeling in first and gasped. Jumped out.

Next I lowered myself in, butt first, thinking as long as I keep my feet out, i'd be fine, and actually, that worked really well. So, I sat there saying "ok, ok, you can do this." I almost swore it was harder to stay in that water than Ironman...almost.

I grabbed the towel next to me and just sat there clutching the towel...waiting for ten minutes to pass. 10 minutes passes, and I got out and I couldn't stand, my legs were just really numb and pained.

So, I got to our office chair and just sat and waited for my legs to warm up again.......and that left me shaking uncontrollably, really cold. So, I went back to the bathtub and ran a shower...that helped a little bit.

When all was said and done, I was EXHAUSTED. I fell asleep on the couch for a bit! I had Dave laughing when he came home, I said "i'm SO tired," and he was like "yeahh! ice baths are probably totally stressful." I think it totally jacked up my heart rate and body temperature.

In previous posts I was saying how horrible I am about "recovery." No longer. I had a recovery drink with milk and LUNA Bar Chocolate recovery shake/powder, I did my foam roller today and ice bath (typically people do this only after a really hard workout, not that frequently...thank god). Today was a 90 minute run.....and tomorrow is a 4 hour ride, no intervals, so we'll see how that goes!!

Next up: Epsom salt baths, this may be more my speed (WARM tub).

7 comments:

BreeWee said...

ha ha ha!!! You are the funniest girl I ever met in my life! I would laugh so hard watching you try to get into that ice! Yeah, it hurts SO good! Hope it helps you recover and gets you ready for some more training and racing...

Shan said...

Hehehe - love it! I'm glad you're listening to your body...recovery via ice, foam roller, nutrition, etc is TOTALLY key as you ramp up for IMAZ. But you know that...

Looking forward to the ride tomorrow!

xoxo

Anonymous said...

You are soo funny, I agree! And, there is nothing better than a good coach who you like and trust! And, yep that ice hurts!!!! Good luck w/ your recovery! Jen H. :)

Mary Eggers said...

Another good recovery trick, lay with your feet up the wall for 10-30 minutes, most simply inversions reverse the pull of gravity! After the ice bath of course!

Enjoy the recovery!

Anonymous said...

You are pretty brave to sit in that ice! I'm not sure i could do it. Good luck in Boulder!!!

Lauren said...

I can't imagine laying in ice! Whatever it takes to recover...I think :) When do you leave for Boulder?

Trisaratops said...

Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr! Cold just thinkin' about that!

Thanks for stopping by! :) I'm glad you enjoyed my post! I look forward to reading more of your adventures! Best of luck in your training!