“Life has no limitations, except the ones you make” – Les Brown.
Just enough time to squeeze in a sunset ride!
Ah recovery week, I have been waiting for you! After a hard six weeks (including a ‘drop’ week for the Middle Distance Race) I was really looking forward to the recovery week. As I have mentioned before, it really is amazing how your perspective changes if you commit to a goal.
One of my clients has been thinking about entering the Race, Sea 2 Summit and said, ‘Maybe I could start the training, see how it goes, and then enter if it’s going to plan.’ The problem with this is that you are still not fully committed so I said, ‘Enter, then you will commit to the training and be excited about it! (If you want to be tempted by this amazing race, read my summary from last year here).
Once I had entered the Ironman I was fully committed to the plan, before then it was not a priority and I would probably still be doing ‘recovery week’ training the whole time! As a result, I have not… In the last six weeks I have cycled over 800miles, run for over 16hrs hours and swam 20,000m I would say. So a rest was required!
The important of a recovery week is key. It allows your body to adapt and recover, gain the benefits from training, reduce the risk of injury, boost your immunity and increase your motivation. When I am working with clients, getting them to trust me to do implement a recovery week in their training cycle, whatever their fitness level or goal, is key. Have a think about your training? Do you integrate this in? Try it, trust me, you will be surprised by the benefits you gain.
So after only six hours of training at the weekend, instead of the usual 14 hours (obviously this is Ironman recovery week, not ‘normal’ recovery week) I had the best weekend! Lots of good food (in recovery week sometimes you actually need more quality fuel, not less which is a common mistake), fun time with family and friends and resting. The result? I am feeling fully recharged, full of bounce and ready for my final two huge weeks (eek, wish me luck) of training before the taper begins…
With the extra time I wrote about why I was motivated to enter the Ironman and shared my friend Emily’s story. If you want to have a read and find out why I’m putting myself through this, click here.
