Posted by Some days you don’t have it
My dog Simon woke me up at 1:30AM this morning and I had to let him out to pee. After that I had trouble getting back to sleep so I tossed and turned until it was time to get up.
To add insult to injury, I had trouble finding my bike shoes. Then I realized I couldn’t shift, a problem which took me several minutes to diagnose and fix. I had somehow accidentally dislodged the cable that connects my Di2 shifters to the rear derailleur.
So I was already tired, grumpy, disorganized, and unfocused before my ride even started. The workout plan prescribed a lot of muscular endurance intervals, which I knew would require energy and motivation. At this point, I just knew I wasn’t in the best physical or mental state to tackle that workout.
But I didn’t just quit. In the past, I would have either gotten right off the bike and not logged any miles OR, conversely, would have tried to slug it out and end up either crashing and burning or overtaxing myself. Instead, I stayed on bike and called an audible: do my Thursday workout today, a relatively easier Zone1/Zone 2 ride.
If I was really injured or sick, it would have been wise to make it a rest day. This wasn’t one of those extreme cases—I was just a bit off, but still had enough to log some miles. I was able to complete most of that ride and keep streak going. Sometimes, training is about learning to suck it up when you don’t have your best.
I don’t actually blame the dog for my struggle, but I do hope he let’s me sleep better tonight.
Out and Back 