Ugh. I had a few bad workouts this week.
Sure, fatigue and niggles are major components of endurance training but it sure is nice to breeze through workouts without any issues. Perhaps we often take for granted allllllll of those workouts that do go smoothly without any major issues. It's easy to take good health for granted until a setback occurs.
As athletes, we are constantly balancing training stress and recovery in order to achieve positive adaptions. Sometimes we get the recipe right and sometimes an ingredient or two is missing and the final product turns out, well......really unpleasant.
On Sunday morning, I had a really great run on the neighborhood hills below Paris Mountain. I was feeling so much gratitude toward my body for being so strong and resilient. But toward the last few miles of the run, the posterior tibial tendon of my right leg became really inflammed from the up and downhills as well as from the camber of the road. I tried to minimize the inflammation by stopping periodically to not overstress it. Later in the evening, my calf and inner ankle started to feel much more tight and painful.
On one hand, I was frustrated that I may have injured myself. But on the other hand, I saw this as an opportunity to appreciate how remarkable the body is at healing. I avoided running for the next 48 hours and let my body go to work (with a little self care). By Wednesday, it felt 90% better. After a strong swim on Tues morning and another strong bike workout on Tues evening, I gave it a test run on the treadmill after my morning trainer workout and I had no issues. It took great courage to trust that my could heal itself. This also gives me strength for the next time - if this were to happen - that all I need to do is take a few days off to avoid a more serious setback.
As for Tues, I had a really strong swim at masters practice. Although I started out a bit tired in the water, my body showed up for the main set of 18 x 100's on 1:30 with every 3rd strong. I was cruising in around 1:18 for the steady efforts and around 1:15 for the strong. This felt so good and I was shocked with how good I felt in the water and how I could keep good form throughout the entire set.
In the evening, I had another solid bike workout on the trainer. It was a mixture of high cadence and heavy gear work with a bit of intensity. I rallied through it and felt really accomplished at the end.
Wednesday I could barely hold the power that I was holding smoothly on Tues. On Thurs swim, I could barely hold the paces that I was coming in comfortably for 18 x 100's on Tues.
I don't like using the word bad workouts as it's all relative. When your body feels off, you are simply comparing your abilities on that day to a day when your body feels on - when you meet your self-imposed expectations for how you wanted to feel.
Perhaps you have an injury that needs addressing, not well-fueled or hydrated or extremely stressed out? All of these warrant immediate attention so that future workouts (and your health) are not negatively impacted.
Otherwise, accept that off workouts are just part of the game. It's part of being an athlete. Don't let them weigh on your mind or self worth.
If anything, the workouts when everything seems to click are the magical days - not the norm. If every workout feels easy or if learning a new skill comes naturally, you are limiting yourself from your true capabilities. When things are difficult because they are unnatural, unfamiliar or uncomfortable, that's where the real magic happens. And improvements aren't linear. Sometimes you need to go through a series of blah, just ok, off workouts before a breakthrough happens.
The solution is not to not have bad workouts.
The answer is how you respond to the bad workouts that will inevitably occur throughout your athletic journey.
👉So when you are having an off day, show up anyways.
👉When you are having an off workout, don't give up on yourself.
👉Control your emotions when things aren't going well. Reflect and reframe.
👉No matter how bad things may appear, remind yourself that off days are part of your complete athletic development. Do the best you can with the day that you are dealt.
When you have an off day, don't overthink or question everything that you are doing. You don't need to overhaul your diet or change your equipment or gear. These things don't make the situation better - they may make things worse.
Create your crappy workout pile. When you have an off day, throw that workout in there and move on.