Lately I've been getting hit with all of these needling little injuries. Pulled calf, sore adductor, pulled glutes, and a nagging back pain. Fear that one of these injuries is going to break through and take me out of the race is what has me spun up. It's the anticipation of pending failure - the potential for a DNF - that looms in my mind. None of these injuries is bad enough to sideline me, but focusing on them has magnified their potential for harm in my mind. And the mind can be a formidable foe when it works against you.
And yet if this was a training weekend I wouldn't be spun up at all. I'd do what I usually do if I've got a minor injury - go out and see how things felt. If things felt bad I'd simply cut the workout short and start thinking about adjustments to my routine needed to get things back to good. The other thing I'd do is warm up carefully and focus on form. If things felt good after a solid warmup I'd push a bit and then reevaluate.
So that's going to be my plan - go easy, warm up well, and focus on good form. If things feel bad I'll DNF. If things feel good I'll finish. I'll resist the temptation to push hard because I know I'm not at 100%, however I'm not going to let anticipatory fear of a potential DNF derail me here. It is what it is, and I'll make the best of what I get.
Workout Summary
My legs seem to be dropping a bit on my swim - going to have to focus on that a bit. I think I may be worrying about my back so I'm tensing up a bit and under-rotating. Aside from that though the distance is still comfortable and the rest of my stroke mechanics seem solid.
I was tempted to do a spin class today as it was raining when I headed out to pull my bike out of the car after my swim. Since the Rooster joined me again today I decided to tough it out and ride in the rain. I reasoned that a rainy day outside is better than a spin class with Coldplay any day. I think I made the right choice.
Run off the bike was again fine. I played a bit of soccer with my son over the weekend and I aggravated my adductor injury a bit but it didn't bother my form so I ran through it. No sign of my calf injury so I think I have that one licked. My back was tense again during the run but not overly so so I spent a bit more time stretching my back muscles afterwards. Will have to be careful in T2 since that's where I'll likely experience the most back aggravation. I'll probably spend a little more time in T2 stretching and loosening my back muscles before setting off on the run.
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