Lunging, stepping and bricking toward recovery

Woohoo! It's play day!
Friday is my off day. If I go right home after work, there's a better than 70 percent chance I will fall asleep on the couch. But if I plan accordingly, I can laugh, drink, eat, go to a movie or simply play with friends. Rest and recovery are as important to training as reps and bricks. They're also good for the soul.

Saturday is another swim day, coupled with a 30-minute bike ride. A relative rest day compared to Sunday, which is long run day.

While I continue to rehab my knee, I have been building my stamina and strength back up during these Sunday runs. I complete the set time goal (this week it was 80 minutes), but at a slower than normal pace. I also run on a 9-1 system, meaning that I run for 9 minutes, then take a 1 minute walk break, then repeat.

During the past few weeks, Jeff has been running with me while the rest of the gazelles in our group gallop ahead. Jeff has graciously offered to be my running partner during my first test of the season — the Vancouver marathon. During our Sunday runs, he paces me. And we talk a lot. About the voice.

I mentioned the voice earlier. It comes in many forms. It can be that inner demon that has been telling you from birth that you aren't good enough. It can come in the form of your mother or your friend's voice, questioning your sanity or wondering if you aren't really just avoiding other "deficiencies" in your life with all this training nonsense. It can come in the form of others who wonder if you aren't showing proper respect for Ironman by trying such an endeavor with little previous experience.

Sometimes, it can be a whisper and other times it roars. It pops up during training sessions and physical therapy and I can be sure it will bellow like a soprano doing "La Boheme" during the Vancouver marathon and Ironman itself. We talk a lot about how to answer the voice, in all its forms.

It's natural and normal to have doubts, especially when it involves something that is so big, so demanding. But the chase for Ironman, or any other meaningful endeavor, isn't something you do to avoid getting a real job or finding a mate. It's not a mission of madness or impetuosity. There's too much time alone on the road and in the pool to ponder your actions. It's about testing your body, your heart, your mind. And knowing that no matter the outcome, whether you finish Ironman or not, you are up to the test. In all things.

Next installment: I love the smell of chlorine in the morning. It smells like work.

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