Back in Training

Last week was challenging, mentally rather than physically.  I'm now over the worst of the cold and back in training as of yesterday, however, I took 6 days off.  To put that into perspective, I have never taken that long off due to illness since starting triathlon.  In fact, the only time I've ever taken 6 days off training was after my first Ironman in 2008.

Rather than get down and worry about losing fitness, I tried to concentrate on the things that I could do.  That involved a reasonable amount of stretching and paying extra attention to my nutrition.  Incidentally, I continued supplementing with Extreme Endurance, despite not training.  What I felt was something I had not felt in a while - complete freshness.  For the past 3 months I have been so used to having heavy legs through high run volume, I'd forgotten what it was like to have literally zero muscle soreness.    

When I made the decision to get out and train yesterday I was so excited.  It's amazing how even only a week without training can leave you feeling like there's a void.  After a 10 mile run I'd had my fix and was feeling good again.  The pace was a little slower and the weather was miserable, but I was really enjoying being out.  

What I'm hoping is that this forced downtime will serve as a help rather than a hindrance.  With less than 8 weeks until IMSA, it's now crunch time.  I'm fresh and I'm ready, physically and mentally.