Things have really been on the decline over here in the workout department.
Monday Eric and I headed to bike with the triathlon club, but when we got there, it was starting to rain and we heard thunder, so they said the ride was canceled.
I had a variety of other workout options available to me: YMCA, workout DVD, running....I opted for none of them.
I took the rain as a sign that after my epic whirlwind weekend I needed some time off. We worked out by picking up all the random crap that we'd been dropping on the living room floor and actually put all of our belongings where they belong, and did laundry.
Tuesday morning I went swimming, attempting to do 1000 meters, aka 20 laps. After 10 I started to feel sick so I switched to breaststroke. That seemed to help but when I switched back to....um....regular stroke (what's it called?) I got really dizzy and nauseous and got out of the pool after 15.5 laps. The nausea lasted until after I got to work, and I thought "I can't tell anyone, they'll just think I'm pregnant", and then I thought "just a few years ago I wouldn't have been able to tell anyone because they would have thought I was hungover, when did I cross that line?" then I got depressed that I was old. Then the feeling passed and I blame the chlorine.
Tuesday night was another track workout. It was 85 degrees with high humidity, the sun beating down, and we were doing two sets of: 400, 800, 400, 4X200, and I thought I was going to die. Most of my sets were 7-10 seconds then last week and I just kept thinking "This 400 is so hard....how am I going to run 31 MILES next week?????".
I somehow managed to get up this morning and do Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred, Level 2. So I worked out for a whopping 20 minutes, but it was with Jillian, so whatever.
So we are 10 days out from the 50K, I have basically been training since December with only about 2 weeks off, I am totally burnt out, insanely busy, and starting to freak out about the race. I just need to get through the next few workouts and then I am taking June OFF from training.
I've never had this lack of motivation before (having bronchitis and taking two weeks off before the Shamrock marathon probably helped) so please share any advice! And if you watch Biggest Loser where the hell was Ruben last night???
Here is where I used to document my attempts to train for marathons, ultramarathons, and triathlons. Now I chase my two toddlers, and occasionally fit in a run around working and sleeping.
I started to feel burnt out too (from blogging AND running.)
ReplyDeleteBut you have to remember that you are about to achieve something BIG. Your FIRST ULTRA! Hello, that's awesome! You'll make it through the race and do great. Then you can take as much time off as you want.
You can do this. I have faith in you!
I think admitting that you lack the motivation means you're at least on your way to getting back out there.
ReplyDeleteYou probably did need some time off from your rocking weekend, so maybe now it's time to reset and start over.
The time off from working out will probably BE your motivation! I got so burned out and I took over a month off from running and I finally think I'm ready to start again.
ReplyDeleteSo, I think that month off in June is just what you need!
"Regular stroke" is called freestyle :) (I only know this because I was on the swim team in highschool)
ReplyDeleteI had a week like yours last week. One day I actually got to the gym, got on the cardio machine, went for about five minutes, decided I just wasn't feeling it, and just went home. Sometimes you just have weeks like that. But then this week I got new gym shoes and have had an awesome workout week so far. Don't be too hard on yourself. (Easier said than done, I know). It probably just means next week you will kick serious booty.
Here's some motivation: you better be ready to run in 10 days or the bears and snakes will get you. :)
ReplyDeleteSeriously though, burn-out during a taper is expected. Take a day or two off, catch up on sleep, I guarantee you won't lose any fitness. It's better to take a day or two off and come back strong than to keep forcing yourself to do crappy workouts!