Monday, September 27, 2010

Day 55: Stamina

Today, I'm tired. I took a long nap this afternoon, which is most unlike me (the youngest snuggled beside me watching TV). Why so tired? I had a great week, last week, training-wise; well, in one sense, it was great, and in another, it was not in the least targeted toward the final triathlon goal. I did yoga four times, and ran once; I couldn't run on the weekend due to my husband's work schedule, and I wasn't sorry about that. Instead, I went to a kundalini yoga class and was deeply humbled by the weakness in my thighs, which I'd assumed were made of steel or something. Nope. The effects are still with me. Stairs hurt.

Nevertheless, this morning, after I'd volunteered in my daughter's kindergarten class, I had just enough time to go for a forty-minute run before picking up my youngest from nursery school. Other than the fact that I arrived dripping with sweat, this was a good experiment, and I'm looking forward to repeating the plan on another Monday. But instead of coming home and making good use of the two hours of "quiet time" that we often have after lunch, I slept most of it away.

Why? Why so tired? Because you're training, said a friend on the walk to school. Right. But what's the balance? I was hoping that by becoming stronger, I would gain more stamina, rather than suffer from the effects of training. So maybe I need to figure out what exercise strengthens me without wearing me down. Is there such a thing? I do find that yoga comes close. I would miss running, though. Will I get up early on Wednesday to go swimming, now that the pool's open? I'm not sure. Getting up early ... less and less appealing, the more tired I feel. I'm not sure what would give me the sense of feeling "recovered."

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