The highs, the lows

If you've been keeping up, my previous post about feeling awesome really did reflect the natural high I had after finishing a major milestone in my long road to recovery and overall Ironman Arizona goal. It was the cap to a challenging week and a performance that was inline with where my race season ended last year.

Hence, the high.

Enter the new week. I knew deep down that pushing a few extra miles on my Sunday run would probably have consequences...and of course, it did. My calves were knotted up pretty good and my hamstrings were really tight. Several nights of stretching didn't help provide any relief. Hell, I even had a massage on Monday and that only seemed to spread the soreness around to places that previously felt great!! Subsequently, I did not work out on Monday at all - between post-brick soreness and post-traumatic-massage-disorder, I opted to lay low on Monday.

Tuesday morning was another one of those "I need sleep more than another workout" mornings. I felt horrible about skipping that morning.It had been a while since my last swim and I really needed to get back into the pool. I was determined to get in a workout that day however...until I realized I was booked for a meeting at my normal afternoon gym time. Dammit.

Turns out, my meeting got canceled and I was able to bust out of my over-heated office and go for a bike ride. Normally, I try not to ride in the afternoons around here - hot Arizona afternoons don't bode well for the skin, respiratory system or water bottle temperature. Being that it was sub-90 and breezy however, I figured it would be fine.

I only had an hour for my ride so I decided to make it a good one. I was reminded of what a buddy of mine has always maintained, "The faster you go, the sooner your get home (in reference to his kids, wife, etc)". Let's give that a shot.

I couldn't be happier with my performance -  I was able to maintain a good spin, strong cadence and a relaxed aero position. I was hauling ass. In fact, my time (56:13) for 20 miles yesterday is a PR. It's great to see improvements in performance.

In my mind, I've negated all the previous 'lows' of the week and am focusing on creating new 'highs' - as small as they be. Everything counts.