Another Great Day

Today was another great day. I started with a good 3k swim w/ the Tucson Masters club. The main set was 4x100 w/ 20,15,10 & 5 seconds then a 400 straight. Follow that with 4x50 on 1, :55, :50 and :45 followed up with a 200 straight. A 600 yd. kick set was followed with 2 round of 4x50 with the 1st one on 1', the next 3 on :45. It was a concise and purposeful set, just what I like.
I drove back to the house and had a great breakfast. Some cut up pineapple, cantaloupe, strawberries and mangoes with a small bowl of cereal, a small bowl of oatmeal w/ an egg white in it, and a nice cup of Kona Coffee. I let that settle and then it was out the door for the ride.
The weather was great, mid 70's and sunny. I had a headwind for the first 90 minutes, which I didn't mind as I did a low cadence/power set into the wind. I held the aero position for the entire 45 minutes. After that I did some tempo sections holding 200-225 watts. There were some good climbs in there as well.
During the ride I thought about upcoming races, my wife, trying to break 9 hours and other things. Timing really is everything. At one point late in the ride I had a tough section where I wanted to hold 250 watts. I saw a sign that reminded me of my wife and it just motivated me to nail it. I really dug deep and just let it rip. Some times fatigue just has to be pushed aside and you have to step through to the other side. Many times I have been suffering like a dog one minute only to be loving it and feeling like a million dollars the next. The door just opens up, and you have to be ready and willing to walk through. That's what I love about training. A bad day and turn good in a flash.
Fatigue is a funny thing. It is a sign that you are really working and pushing the envelope. What you do when you are fatigued is the key. Right now I am trying to put in the volume with quality, so fatigue is to be expected. As I see it for right now, being tired is just an opportunity to push past what I think I can do. It's a challenge to not let the whole, "I am so tired I can't go harder" mentality creep in. I am tired right now, and I will wake up sore and tired tomorrow. But when I step out the door for my run, I won't thing about being tired, I will focus on nailing the run and dealing with the fatigue later. Fatigue can also indicate when to shut it down. Where you are in your season will dictate what you do when you are tired. If I had a race coming up, I would back off and start a taper. Where you are in your season is really the guide to what to do when fatigue sets in.
I forgot to mention how fantastic my wife has been. I have been gone more this winter than past years, and she's been supportive through it all. But for this camp she took it to another level. On Thursday I received an email from her entitled Daily Motivation Email #1. In it she wrote some lines about training and what to focus on, keeping form together, pushing beyond my limits to reach my goals. I can't begin to tell you how motivation it has been. Every morning after my swim I get on my phone and check my email to see her notes.
OK, so it's time for dinner and bed. Tonight will be marinated chicken, potatoes and yams cooked w/ rosemary, thyme, balsamic vinegar and garlic. Add in a spinach salad w/ pine nuts, gorganzola cheese and cranberries and you have yourself a great meal.
I am looking forward to tomorrow. A 2 hour run in the AM, mid day swim, then another hour run. Right now I am tired, but tomorrow I won't be concerned with that. I will wake up and be anxious to get on my run because it will be a great opportunity to break through.
Thanks for reading,

AJ