Workouts Cancelled (But Not Because of Swine Flu)

I cancelled my workouts last night and this morning. Last night I only had a short run planned, so I bagged it in favor of taking it easy and having a good dinner at a reasonable time. I also skipped swimming this morning because I didn't feel well when I got up. I'm feeling better now and am kicking myself for not swimming. I only have two more real swim workouts until I leave for Florida. But I think the rest was probably a good decision.

I'm just trying to put myself in a position to have strong workouts this weekend and get my head around what I'm about to do. My confidence level is a little low at the moment. I'm confident about each of the three distances, but am not sure about my nutrition plan. There is a big difference in a 3-4 hour workout (which I'm okay with) and a 6+ hour workout (which I have never done). A lot can happen to your body and your stomach during that extra 2+ hours. If I get off my nutrition plan during the bike, or if something goes wrong, the last 13.1 miles is going to suck.

I have a triathlon magazine that includes an article explaining that immediately after completing a full ironman your body ages 20 years. Of course you get back to normal 2-3 weeks afterward, but that is still a pretty serious thing to put yourself through. Of course, I'm just doing a half-iron distance and don't expect anything that severe, but I'm still pretty sure that my body will not appreciate what I'm making it do on May 9. I just have to get myself to the starting line healthy and then deal with the rest.

Jessi and I were talking about races and endurance sports on the way to Double Decker last weekend. I was telling her that one thing I really like about this type of stuff is that it is pretty much impossible to cheat. In most sports, you can claim to be better than you are and nobody will know. More times than not, you can even cheat if you are so inclined. That's not easy to do in endurance sports. When you step to the starting line in a race, there isn't much you can do but finish. You can't skip a mile, take a break, or anything else. You have to swim/bike/run the entire distance on your own. It's not always pretty or pleasant, but it doesn't always have to be -- there's not always an easy way out (plus almost all race results are posted online so you can't lie about your results).

***No workout last night or this morning. I plan on a light bike ride tonight ramping up for my weekend workouts.

See Ya.