Kona Diary 2011 - Days 6-10

The last five days have been a bit of a mix of good and bad.  Tuesday's training went well and on Wednesday I had one of my best bike training days ever.  The 70 mile ride from Kona to Kawaihae and back included 2h30' of riding at 3.9 watts/kg, which was a huge confidence boost.  The weather was... hot!

Unfortunately that's the end of the good news for the week.  On Thursday I woke up feeling a little under the weather, but still headed out for an early morning 8 mile run.  As soon as I started the main set I knew that I wasn't feeling 100%, but put it down to accumulated fatigue from training.  From mid-morning onwards, I spent the day inside.  I ditched the idea of a lunch time swim and quickly forgot about the possibility of a bike session.  Later that evening I was feeling worse and with an upset stomach, I barely ate all day.  I slept 11 hours that night - which I'm pretty sure is a personal record.  Friday was much of the same, although I didn't train at all.  Zero.  Nothing.  I kept my feet up, trying to eat and drink throughout the day.

I've felt a bit better today (Saturday), enough to manage a short 5 mile run and a 2500yd swim.  I'm hoping that tomorrow I'll be back to something resembling normal and be able to get in some decent training.  To say it's frustrating is an understatement.  I'm almost never sick (touch wood).  It's easy to dwell on the few days of lost training and worry about what I've missed out on, but there may be a positive side to it.  Having a few days of enforced rest and recovery isn't the worst thing that can happen.  With exactly 4 weeks to go until race day, the hay is most definitely in the barn.  I'll be sensible and rather than try to cram in the missed sessions over the coming week, I'll stick to my plan and take it on the chin.  Onwards and upwards.