Growing up, my dad would call me before school to make sure I was up and getting ready. On many of these days, especially when there was something I didn’t want to do like an exam or *gasp* the semi-annual mile run. I would put on my best raspy voice and explain that I don’t feel good, hoping for a bit of sympathy and a day at home. More often than not, without missing a beat, my dad would respond with “you don’t have to feel good.” Obviously I hated this at the time, but since he’s passed, I have learned this is one of the best life lessons he could have shared with me. It doesn’t just have to be going to school when you don’t want to, it’s an attitude that can help push you to do nearly anything that you don’t want to. This applies to going to school, going to work, having a tough conversation, but especially going for a workout. This doesn’t mean pushing through no matter what, but it’s a reminder that you don’t have to feel good, you can feel okay or even a little bad and go try to do whatever you’re avoiding.
What Happened?
This week started off as a pretty normal, productive training week. I felt good, workouts were getting done as planned, and momentum was building. By Wednesday, though, I started feeling sick. Since it was my work-from-home day, I pushed through and completed my workout as scheduled and even went out to trivia that night without any major issues. Thursday morning was different. I got up early, went to the gym before work, but I didn’t feel right. I skipped the workout and took a nap in the truck before showering at the gym and getting ready for work. I stayed off routine Thursday night and again Friday to focus on rest. Saturday was supposed to be our big progression ride — 25 miles — and I really didn’t want to miss it. We’re building distance intentionally, and I didn’t want to lose the week. I felt a little better, not great, but better. I showed up, only to find out it had been canceled. There were notifications, but I don’t have them turned on — my fault, but it is what it is. Later that day, after some shopping, I got out for the 25 miles solo. I finished in under two hours with about a 13+ mph moving average. Despite being sick, it felt really good. The first 12.5 miles included about 500 feet of climbing, with some tough hills going under major streets and back up. There’s also a general upward incline throughout that stretch. This ride made me start thinking more intentionally about climbing — especially if I’m going to take on longer events around the valley. I completed strength training Saturday and made up one missed session Sunday, while still keeping Sunday mostly as a rest day. I spent most of the day cooking on the smoker — tamales and other meal prep. Not necessarily “diet food,” but better, prepared options. It was an active recovery kind of day, with breaks and even a nap.
What Worked?
Resting while sick was the right call, when I woke up Thursday, I felt a bit of tension in my chest like it might have been pneumonia, besides the sinus infection I knew it was. I took the time to rest up, even Saturday morning, they offered to have me join the C group for the day but it seemed like a lot and I knew I needed to rest, even though I did end up putting in the mileage later that day. I still think pushing myself more would have been a mistake.
My cycling continues to improve; the 25-mile ride felt strong. The climbing didn’t break me and my pace was steady. That’s a big confidence builder. I am even considering the Tour de Scottsdale, which offers a metric century (100km or 62 miles) and a half metric century (50km or 31 miles) option. The website shows a lot of elevation gain 3,214 feet or 1,257 feet respectively. It looked like it was mostly front loaded, so we plan to drive the route to see what this looks like.
What Didn’t?
Honestly, not much. Obviously being sick and missing workouts was not the goal, but I think I made the best choice because of it. Strength training felt harder this week, likely from being sick and maybe accumulating fatigue. In hindsight, this probably should have been a deload week. It wasn’t — but we adjust and move forward.
What am I going to do about it?
There isn’t much to change, the BEST training rides were pushed out.
25-mile “official” group ride got pushed to this coming Saturday.
30-mile graduation ride the following Saturday
43-mile poker run the next Sunday
Potential Tour de Scottsdale (~63 miles) two weeks after that
The gap week in there coincides with Luke Days air show, so this month is packed. I need to intentionally plan a deload week. It might even be this week. I haven’t reviewed my training plan as thoroughly as I should, when you’re sick, you don’t always want to look at all the red. This coming week will be slightly slower. I already skipped this morning’s swim. The priority is fully recovering so I can build again.
What do the numbers say?
I lost 4.4 pounds this week. With last week’s gain, that balances out fairly. Most importantly, I am officially back in “uncharted” territory under 330 pounds. My previous low was 329.8 around New Year’s, now I’m below that. It’s proof that despite sickness, schedule changes, and a canceled ride, the overall trend is still down. I’d love to continue to push downward a bit further before the Arizona heat really sets in.
Summary
This wasn’t a perfect week, but it was a resilient one. I listened to my body. I rested when I needed to. I still showed up. I rode 25 miles solo when the group ride fell through. I handled hills better than before. I stayed trending downward on the scale. And I’m starting to think about distances that used to feel unrealistic.