Under the weather and killing it

I have been taking Monday’s off for the past couple of months (except for Master’s Swim).  This is typical triathlete syndrome.  In the past an off day would be swim plus strength training.  I guess I have gotten smarter (just a little bit) and have made off days at least off for the legs.

Anyway, I did nothing training wise on Monday morning and Masters Swim was challenging but in a good way.  I completed all of the session and felt strong. 

However, later in the day I started to feel run down.  I was exhausted in the afternoon at work.  Driving home I could hardly keep my eyes open.

When I got home I had a quick dinner and then I headed to bed.  Jodie had just returned from a conference in Mexico but I was feeling bad before I saw her.  That was a good thing otherwise she would have gotten the blame – haha.

I ate some dinner and laid down at about 6PM – that is super early even for me.  About an hour later I woke up feeling horrible.  I was running a mild fever.  My body temperature is naturally low so any time I run even slightly warm I go a little nuts.  And by a little nuts I mean the walls start moving, animals start talking and I ramble about the craziest things.

I was hot.  I went to the freezer and grabbed some of the ice pack sheets that I use for inflammation.  I wrapped my arms with them.  They were too cold for comfort.  I then placed one of the sheets on my chest with the sheet in-between.  That worked to start cooling me off.

Please no awards Big Daddy Diesel, but the next thing I know I am throwing up in the toilet.  Sorry for the graphic nature but the vomit was thick.  Thick like oatmeal or chili or something.  Now this is very odd.  You see, I drink so much liquid it is almost comical.  I mean like liters and liters and liters a day.  On top of that I swam at lunch which means I drank even a little more.

I felt better after the episode and was able to sleep.  The next morning called for a challenging session on the bike trainer.  It would be 4 x 10 minutes at a set intensity.  The intensity would be just a little bit harder than my 2 x 20 minute sessions.  Challenging but not insurmountable.  After the warm up on the trainer I just crumbled in the first minute.  I could not hold the intensity at all.  I canned the workout and moved on.  I also skipped the gym completely at lunch.

I went to the BMV for my drivers license renewal.  Now, this can be a nightmare process but I have to say that it was almost pleasant.  I was in and out within 20 minutes.  I did not even get to read much of the book that I had brought along. 

I left work a little bit early because I was still run down.  I was not feeling bad but I was very tired.  I relaxed with a book all evening and got a good nights sleep.

This morning was a challenging run session.  It would be 6 x half mile @ 6:10 pace out on the trace.  The recover would be 90 seconds.  The last time I did these repeats I only did 4 and was thankful that I was done.  I can do more of these and faster in the winter on the track but 30 or 40 degrees makes these during the summer dramatic more difficult.  I headed out of the door with some trepidation.  My legs were still tired.  There was fear in the back of my head.  I took my cones and my water bottle.

Thankfully the temperature was cooler this morning – 72 instead of 76 – it makes a difference.  The humidity was still 100 percent.  I was soaked to the core after the warm up. 

I nailed this session.  I had complete success.  This run turned me completely around.  I was feeling down in the dumps and then BAM – back on track.  The half mile repeats were done in 3:03 / 3:00 / 3:03 / 3:01 / 3:02 / 3:01.

Just when I needed some success it came through like a charm.

Have you had a swim, run or bike that just made your day?