31/08/2018
So you have a setback...What do YOU do?
1. Get upset
2. Count out how many days and workouts you are going to miss out on. How many rides, races, etc. are lost.
3. Get depressed
4. Swear, pray and try to figure out how you aren't going to gain weight and go nuts from being a couch sitter.
5. Remain grumpy
6. Isolate. Research injuries, and modified workouts, and see what you can do when you can't do what you want to do.
7. Ruminate, feel like life is over.
and then....
3 weeks pass.
1. You've calmed down. You realize the slower pace is actually a nice change.
2. You've found out more ways to "modify" workouts than you ever thought possible! You haven't gained weight.
3. You've realized that the number of workouts missed spread out in one year is a small fraction. (You have used the calculator.)
4. You wonder how in the world you're going to get back into being so much more busy.
5. You reconnect with some people you hadn't seen in awhile.
6. You clean up some things that had been untouched.
7. You see the light.
and there are suddenly only 2.5 weeks left in the initial recovery period. And you start to want to savor each day and bask in the sun, slowly play with the garden, etc!
For any training athlete, or active adult, how you deal with setbacks is an interesting topic that is worth a ponder.
Resting is a crucial cycle to healing the body. It was one thing I was adamant about after my own Ironman races. Maybe not even adamant enough. But like this time, it was finally at 3 weeks where I settled, and then after week 4 I was back in the saddle, always.
I hope the racers out there who might still follow this page are planning an off season and a change of pace. It's starting to be that time. Off-season is a great choice to make versus moving straight into a single-sport focus.
This setback has become...my off-season. :-)