Enter Sandman

Um...yeah.

OK.

I've sort of, had to....um....sleep.

I don't like to admit that--for some reason it feels like I'm "giving in" a little bit. But let's just say after this week I think I have a whole new appreciation for sleep. And how much I need.

Apparantly, I need a LOT.

I've struggled with getting enough sleep from day one. A quick search through my blog reminds me of this. I just am sort of a busy bee and I'm always, ALWAYS moving and thinking. So sleep gets pushed to the back burner, especially during the school year.

Starting back up this week, I definitely underestimated just how much my first day of school sleepless night would SCREW ME UP all week. I did have a friend visit, too, so I wanted to stay up a little bit to hang with her.

All week, I just haven't felt great. The previous post states how I CRASHED hard on my swim Wednesday.

Ugh.

Then, I sludged through my hour and a half ride Thursday--in an hour and twenty.

Ugh.

Matt is fighting a nasty head cold, and I'm now interacting with 126 teenagers. Germ city.

UGH.

So yesterday, when I was staring at a 4600 yard workout, I just sort of froze up. I just KNEW that I didn't have it in me. Well, I should rephrase that....of COURSE I have it in me. But I started to realize that I shouldn't use it up, you know? I think it's that post I recently re-read from back in January when I "just couldn't figure out why I didn't feel good," so I kept doing 6 mile runs in the snow and 5am swims, and then was KNOCKED OUT WITH PNEUMONIA for 2 weeks.

And, yeah. That can't happen right now.

So I called my coach and told her what was in my head. She talked me out of the tree. We have readjusted things, because, as she says, taper affects everyone differently. Some need LOTS of rest and others not so much. Some are OK doing very similar, and others need more Zone 1. So here's the protocol:

1. NO SWIM Friday. Done. Over with. No worries. I'm fine in the water. I will be fine in the water.

2. SLEEP must now be #1 priority. I am NOT TO SET MY ALARM this weekend. NO early morning ride. I will sleep until I wake up, and then I will do a 3 hour ride in Zone 1-2 instead of a 4 hour ride. And, if I'm not feeling good, I will cut the ride short, and I will NOT BEAT MYSELF UP.

3. I will NOT set my alarm Sunday. I will sleep until I wake up, and then I will do a 1:30 run. But if at 1 hour I'm feeling tired, I WILL STOP. And I will not beat myself up.

4. I will NOT do lots of heavy/taxing chores around the house with all my spare time. I will do what most Americans do and sit my butt down.

5. I will supplement with a bit more Vitamin C until race day, and be even more OCD than usual about hand washing/antibacterial stuff in school.

6. I will GET OFF MY FEET as much as I can...including school. It's been in the high 80s and high humidity all week, and I'm on the 2nd floor, with up to 32 students in my room, and no A/C. My thermostat read 89 yesterday. I pretty much SWEAT from about 11am on. It's really disgusting. So I need to keep hydrating lots and SIT DOWN during the day.

Hold up. That last one's gonna be a problem.

I CAN'T. SIT. DOWN. AND. TEACH.

But OK....I tried on Friday. I told my 6th period kids that this is unusual, but I have to try and sit down. They were laughing at me since they know I never sit. But I sat for a whole 20 minutes and introduced the Renaissance! Yahooooooooooooo!

I swear that felt harder than my 5 hour ride last week.

So, I took a nap after school yesterday, which I never do. It was supposed to be a half hour.

It was almost an hour and a half. I totally got up too late to meet the NE Ohio IM MOO athletes. :( But I guess I needed it, right?

We hit the hay last night around 11:30. Matt got up at 8 to head to work. When I woke up, sans alarm clock, it was....are you ready for this?.....10:35!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I freaking slept for 11 hours.

Okay, so I guess I really REALLY needed this.

I've been relaxing all morning and early afternoon here, and now I'm getting ready to head out for this ride that, according to coach, should "feel so easy you are annoyed with it."

And you know what? I am feeling better.

So, we'll see how this weekend goes. As coach says, I've done all the work. Nothing I can add workout-wise at this point will HELP me, but it can HURT me. So I NEED to trust the training, trust myself, and back off.

And two weeks from tomorrow, it's go time.