Saturday, February 14, 2009

Know When to Fold 'Em...

"You got to know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em
Know when to walk away and know when to run"

-Kenny Rogers, The Gambler


Every once in a long while this will happen during training and the decision must be made...today was that day.

And the decision was made - I scrapped the ride. I'm not one to normally bail but it just wasn't in the cards today. It all started with my pre-ride 5 mile run. The run went fine (sidebar: it was my 21st of 21 days of running!) but I noticed that my tummy was feeling just a bit off and I wasn't sure if it was going to pass or become an issue. I figured I'd head out on the ride anyhow. The weather conditions were fairly brutal in that they were very much like last weekend...only colder. Yes, nasty wind and bitter cold. Fortunately, unlike my riding partner, I was dressed appropriately and wasn't all that uncomfortable. But as we slogged out to Fitzhugh, it was determined that we were not getting in a workout at all. We were just going through the motions, my mind obsessed with what my stomach might or might not do and we really weren't getting anywhere. Literally. We traveled just over 12 miles in an hour. Stellar (insert large quantities of sarcasm here).

The decision was made and executed.

The turnaround occurred.

Breakfast ensued.

What did I learn?

That I made the right decision. Turns out that as the day progressed I felt genuinely fatigued, as if I might be fighting off something. I managed to sneak in a nap before getting to all the other plans I had for the day, but I could tell that all was not quite right. So much so, that by the second half of Carrie's show, I was feeling run-down and ready to pass out. I'm trying to be better at listening to my body and this was a good example. Yes, the guilt associated with bagging the ride will linger but at least I will not have run myself into the ground and suffer by having to miss additional training sessions.

5 comments:

erin said...

good for you for listening to your body, and being okay with it. care to teach me how to do that? :)

michelle said...

Oh how I wish I could pass that on! I'd be rich and retired and train all the time!! :D all I can say is it's been a long road of trial and error!

etg said...

Michelle - such a valuable post for SO many of us...especially for me. Thank you, thank you for sharing your lesson with all of us...and here's to you feeling better!

Dionn said...

You are growing wise in your years young grasshopper.

AustinTriDad said...

I was so envious of you when I saw that you were already coming back. You looked strong and determined to me. Good job listening to your body.