Bad Days

Bad days are all over the place, and not just for hair. I think that some of us--nay, many of us, especially those of us who live without having to wonder where our next meal is coming from--get to a point where we simply EXPECT sunshine and butterflies all the time, and therefore we are shocked when the train comes off the rails.

My philosophy about bad days is that, like good days, they only have 24 hours to them. Sooner or later they pass.

Whenever I had a whiney outbreak as a kid, my sainted grandma would always say to me: "point to the blood." If there wasn't any (and usually there wasn't), then in her opinion, whining wasn't justified. And I can attest that there are times when there really is blood to point to (ask any bike rider about that one), there probably isn't enough of it to justify a bad attitude even then.

Bad workout days can really be discouraging. We all have them. And as we increase our fitness levels, they come more often. It's just our body fighting back before it gives in--the "can't we just bag this bike ride and go get ice cream" will sooner or later get taken over with the "okay, I can put up with this stuff if you simply insist." You just have to win that fight.

The thing about bad workout days (or even bad races) is not that they happen--they do and they will and there is nothing you can do about it. It's getting past them, leaving them behind, and moving on, that is so important. Yes, I think you can learn from a bad or failed workout, but you simply can't obsess over it and pick it apart forever. It was bad. It happened. So what. Get over it. Point to the blood.

I had a bad bike ride on Saturday. I had limited amounts of sleep Friday night (from circumstances out of my control--it wasn't for lack of trying), and I had obligations Saturday morning that kept me from getting on the bike until about 1:30 p.m. At which point it was 99 degrees, 104 heat index, and a stiff hot southwest wind was blowing grit and nasty smells around (seriously. I always seem to be biking by a sewer or a rendering plant).

I loaded up 32 oz of sports drink and my Patient Spouse and I went out to pound the pavement in the 'hood. The problem with the 'hood is there are lots of stoplights you have to wait for, and there's no shade canopy at these lights. So even though I was able to catch my breath at times at some stoplights, the sun just was pounding down on me at those times, and making my head swim. When I'm moving, there's a bit of breeze. When I'm standing at the light, there's only shimmering pavement heat. Ick.

We also worked about 10 hills, with 4 of them being pretty tough. Hillwork is important to me, as there are hills in all my upcoming events, but at 104 heat index they can be pretty brutal. I was really pounding them out, trying to stay over the bars and keep my cadence high. Good things to do on hills. After 10 of them, though, in the midday heat, there isn't much left in the tank to do other things.

The Patient Spouse and I sweated pretty profusely, and at the halfway mark of the ride he had to go into a Hungry Howie's and beg them to refill his water bottle (yes, I did warn him that he didn't take enough. No, I have not said I told you so more than, oh, say six times). On the return trip, I started feeling a little lightheaded and woozy. Plus, my bike seat is simply not comfortable. I had a reputable bike shop fit me on my aerobars and give me a forward bike seat that they swore was perfect, but let's face it--it's turned out to be a literal PIA. If you can't sit on it, it's not worth much IMO. I'm going to have to replace it.

So I was hot, tired, lightheaded, sweaty, and uncomfortable. And also angry since my average speed on the return trip was dropping and I just had no energy left to keep up the pace, or even keep up with the Patient Spouse, who is and has been a much better, faster and fitter biker than I am (he can outbike and outswim me. I can still smoke him on a long run. A short run is a grim battle to the end).

We ended up cutting the ride about 15 mintues short, and I was sorely disappointed in myself and my ride. It was not even quite half of what I have to ride for the 70.3next May! I felt weak, and humiliated, and out of shape.

However, I have since left the ride behind me. I've analyzed several reasons why that ride was so poor (the heat, the humidity, my tiredness, my bike seat, my position), and I've decided there are some things I can do to fix that (one idea was move to Canada, but I've elected, after careful thought, to just stick with waiting until October in Texas until I try to push the bike riding too hard), and I'll fix the things that I can, and then what I can't fix I will work on over the next several months. I'm going in for a second bike fitting, I'm going to replace that nasty seat, I plan to hydrate a bit more, I plan to do a better nutrition intake pre ride, and I plan get better sleep the night before. Until October, not much to do about the heat and humidity though. Just suffer through it.

I ended up with a half decent long run on Sunday morning even after having my rear kicked on the Saturday bike, so I know I can recover from the bad workout and move forward with my training.

An old Chinese proverb reads: "fall down 99 times. Get up 100." When faced with a lousy day of any variety, remember that mantra, get up and keep dancing.

Tonight's a short swim. Looking forward to a workout where I don't have to sweat!