Rough Week

I trust we have all had days like the ones I have had lately. Days where the routine things in our lives take more energy and more focus than usually, your motivation seems absent and you just feel blah!

Well maybe there are some lucky folks who never find themselves feeling this way, but I know for me this is not the first time. Talking about this with Bart and Aquil it is clear that this time of year is usually accompanied with a crash-dip-block, or whatever you want to call it.

I am happy to say that training has been going well. My times in running workouts are where they need to be or better, for a while I had maintained a relaxed focus in training, my weight training is building up strong, and my technical work is starting to come together. In addition, the new eating schedule I am working with has been going well. I am sleeping an average of 9hrs a night. So on the surface, things were looking ok.

However, I was struggling. I have spent the past week feeling disconnected emotionally from what I was doing. Perhaps it was a sign of over training, or maybe I just checked out early – I am looking forward to going home in just about a weeks time, and I think when I booked my ticket, I was already home in my head.

I think a part of my problem has also been that when things are going well I allow myself to set my expectations a little higher and higher, and forget to stop and put things back in check. Both my head and my body are tired and lacking focus and coordination. I need to accept that this is a moment I need some rest. I need to talk more and let people know what is happening with me and express what I am feeling so that I can make some changes.

The problem may seem strange to someone outside of sport: I am exhausted, but the hardest thing for me in this moment is to take a break. This highlights the importance of a good working relationship with your coach and having trust in him/her. At a time like this, I have to rely on Bart to see my tiredness and scale down the training, remind me to have faith in the hard work we are doing and know we are still moving forward even when we slow down. He reminds me that courage does not always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, "I will try again tomorrow."

Your Athlete,
Susan