Fresh?

I’m well into the R&R part of my year, training-wise (not work-wise: still no sign of a break from that yet). I’ve had 4 weeks off training since Bala, with a teensy, weensy 10k race with 3999 other people 2 weeks ago, but I’m really not feeling very fresh. I’m doing a little running every other day, cycling to work and back, and having the odd 20 minute splash in the pool, but that’s it. I’m still tired, heavy (ok, 3.5kg of doughnuts & Coca Cola around my waist since Bala) and a bit stiff. Why do I not feel fresher than this?

I’ve had a bit of a bug, which didn’t help, and the running is still making my hips and hamstrings tight and annoying my Achilles tendons. I guess stopping daily stretching hasn’t helped, so I picked that up again last week and it’s helping. I can’t get anywhere near touching my toes right now.

My back’s in poor shape, and he-who-looks-after-my-legs has been pummelling and cracking it back into place so the anatomy looks a little more like it does in the textbooks. The last session was probably more painful than any massage I’ve had this year, or maybe the pain tolerance part of my brain is also out of shape. When he said he couldn’t get the rib to pop back into place after some hefty loading I thought he was going to go and find a bigger bloke to lean on it. I’ve got another session on Wednesday now that he’s loosened off some of my thoracic muscles and vertebrae to try and get the rib moving properly again. Oh joy. He’s doing a good job though – this week I’ve been able to breathe deeply without pain.

So the off season isn’t just the time of year to recuperate and fix all the things that are failing on your bikes and other equipment. It’s the time of year to fix the parts of your body that have begun to fail too.