Overcoming

My intention was to swim today.

I woke up early naturally after an early night to sleep.

By the time I got into school, I was really not feeling it mentally or physically. My knee/hip is still sore, and my wrist is experiencing noticeable soreness. I went to walk over to the pool, and the thought of getting into the pool and swimming sounded awful.

I read some of the "Triathlon Training Bible" last night, and it was talking about the importance of recovery. How many athletes (especially ones who self-train) overdo it (it's hard to have the emotional disconnect within yourself to know when to back off sometimes) and burn out. I'm not feeling burned out, per se, but that is the last place I want to be.

I called today's training off.

I'm not sure how much of this is physical and how much of it is mental. Physically, it worries me that I'm experiencing this soreness in the parts of my body that have gone through previous injury. This is where I really need someone I trust wholeheartedly to help me discern when to push through and when to lay off - pretty much a doctor or a trainer who understands physiology (and my physiology) to help me push myself, but not to the point where I wear myself out. I want training to make these areas stronger - that is pretty much *the* point of this whole endeavor, to increase strength - not to break them down. Unfortunately, I have to rely on myself, which is something that is difficult to do in this sense. I feel like I am lacking in the knowledge I need. Right know, the knowledge I do have says to listen to and trust my body when it comes to training. Mentally, I know I am tired and cranky today, too.

I have to tell myself that it's okay to take today off. That it's not a failure. Since swimming involves the least impact of the three sports I'm trying to increase my ability at, I will try again to plan a swim tomorrow - even if it's a gentle one. We shall see.

The good thing about today is that I did bring my bike downtown and to the bike co-op at school. Handle bars tightened? Check. Kickstand tightened? Check. Gears greased? Check. I took the bike for a quick spin down the parking lot, clicked the gears, and it seems to be running much better so far. I may not be able to really do a ride until Thursday to really check it out, but we'll see. So far, so good. :)